The little show that could on the crappy-ass network that couldn't finally (FINALLY) made its return on Sunday and did not disappoint. After Chuck's season finale last year, I was more than a little apprehensive about the path the show would take in its coming year. You know, what with Chuck suddenly having super powers and all... Well, the powers that be have managed to add new layers and intrigue to the concept without totally diminishing the basic concept that has made the show so delightful to watch since day one.Chuck 2.0 not only has all the intersect information in his head that has always been there, but he also apparently has a seemingly unending cache of physical abilities, special skills, and badass martial arts tucked away in his head. After last season's finale, it was hard to know just how this would all play out. I had feared that Chuck, the new super-spy, would lose a lot of what made him Chuck. I was afraid he would be this unstoppable force who, not unlike Neo in The Matrix sequels (and who got a rather apropos shoutout), would be so formidable that it would be completely un-fun to watch. The season is admittedly only three episodes in, but the writers have skillfully avoided this so far and have set up one hell of a season.
I loved the premiere and think it set up the dynamics for the rest of the season nicely. I was very pleased to see that Chuck is just as Chuck-y as ever and when push comes to shove, he's no super-spy no matter how much information is potentially at his disposal. Chuck is a regular guy who gets freaked out by bad guys, hates guns, and is too emotionally invested in everything to be able to compartmentalize his feelings (like a good spy should). Although I'm still a bit apprehensive about Chuck having pretty much every piece of knowledge regarding everything that has ever
existed in his head, the fact that he has such trouble accessing that information manages to keep the roots of the dynamic in tact. Chuck is a lot less useless and a bit less helpless this season, which, in the grander scheme of things, is where the show needed to go and is a logical next step for the show to take.For the past two seasons (particularly season 2), I have found myself getting annoyed that Chuck doesn't seem to be getting any better at this spy stuff. I'm not saying he should be able to take out a room full of gun-wielding bad guys or infiltrate an evil cabal with ease, but it just felt like he should be making some progress. In certain regards, he made a lot of progress, but at the end of the day, he was still compromising missions for the dumbest of possible reasons and needing his ass saved every 15 minutes. Yeah, yeah, I understand that that's kind of the point of the show, but after a few dozen episodes, it was starting to feel a little too convenient. Still thoroughly enjoyable and all, but story-wise, I was getting the itch to see something more diverse.
Enter season 3, stage right. Chuck's new set of skills gives him a lot more to do and a lot more potential to do it right. There's a chance this could turn into Chuck The Super Spy, but I think the writers have things well in hand. They know that Chuck The Adorable Geek is the motif that works and is the concept upon which the entire show is built and I don't thin
k they'd do anything too drastic to uproot that. Even with all his new abilities, Chuck still gets himself locked in a bank vault, thrown out by security, and totally in over his head when he has to remove a bullet from Casey's leg. Granted, his newly acquired skills manage to get him out of the last blunder, but it's done in similar fashion to his "flashes" of yore. He's still the fish out of water at the mercy of his emotions and the store of goodies in his head, only now he's accessing different kinds of information. I don't think Casey and Sarah will be rendered irrelevant anytime soon and Chuck will still need saving on a regular basis, I have no doubt.In that vein, I very much liked that they showed Chuck at spy school...er, whatever... and showed him failing miserably. The intersect was never intended for the Chucks of the world. It was intended for a Bryce Larkin, and he's no Bryce Larkin. We know, he knows it, and General Beckmann knows it. Quite frankly, the fact that Chuck has these incredible resources in his head and still sucks at all this makes his failure all the more mortifying and devastating. And just when you thought that wasn't devastating enough, we find out what Chuck gave up in order to try his hand at spydom...
Another angle of the show which was handled well and which sets up an interesting dynamic for the future is the crashing and burning of their would-be romance. The writers had to come up with something to put the brakes on their relationship because there's just no way they could be
a couple at this point. Not only would that take away all the tension and alter their dynamic in unfortunate ways, but from a practical point of view, Sarah really can't be protector and teacher if she's also the girlfriend. I've never really been much of a Chuck/Sarah shipper. I admit it. Quite frankly, I spent all of the first two seasons hoping Sarah and Bryce would get back together... This may just be me, but I was thrilled to see things go up in flames. Especially the way things went up in flames. For the previous two seasons, Sarah had been trying to remain professional and wouldn't allow herself to let Chuck into her life in a romantic way. Chuck spent the previous two seasons trying to live a normal life, protect his friends and family, and become romantically involved with Sarah. Well, after the events of the season 2 finale, Sarah risked everything to give Chuck exactly what he wanted and was unceremoniously clobbered for her efforts. Sarah knows him better than anyone and knows he's no super-spy, no matter how much doll architecture is in his brain. By asking Chuck to run away with her, she's not only giving him a chance at what he's wanted all along, but is also giving herself a chance to escape. She's been disenchanted with the spy world for a good long time and saw a future with Chuck as their shared way out. That Chuck turned her down was just devastating for her. And pretty damn douchey of Chuck, I must say. His claims that he did it because he had a chance to really help people and save the world and serve his country blah blah blah didn't mitigate this fact and as far as I'm concerned, are only about 10% of his reasoning. He can sound off about the greater good all he wants, as far as I'm concerned, he saw this as his chance to be James Bond and couldn't resist. He's been playing the dork, the loser, the screw-up, the helpless weakling for way too long for him to pass up the chance to be a badass, even if it goes against everything he's been pleading for since the spyworld entered his life. Sounds harsh? Well, where was all this "good of mankind" crap back when he desperately wanted the intersect out of his head for the past two years? The intersect had just as much potential to help serve his country, but he couldn't wait to get rid of it. Sure, he helped out on missions, but at the end of the day, it was all in a bid to get his old life back and get out of the game. Now, all of a sudden, he has some grander pu
rpose in life? I'm not buying it. Not entirely, at any rate. Who knows, maybe Chuck went to spy school and realized that he really could make a difference and that changed his whole perspective, but it honestly goes against everything he's been begging Sarah for since this all began. She put herself on the line, risked her career to give him everything he ever wanted and he walked away. Ouch. I kept hoping Sarah would say, "Well Bryce would have run away with me!" just to spite him. And, let's face it, Bryce totally would have run away with her and as I recall, totally has in the past. Chuck, this person who is supposed to be the anti-Bryce, the anti-spy, wouldn't take a chance with her and that had to hurt.I was glad to see Sarah take a step back and let Chuck know what's what with their relationship now, but it was irksome to see her mooning over him. I realize that she put her heart on the line and was brave enough to love him, but he chose the job after all was said and done--and a job that he kinda sucks at no less. It helps that he's still totally in love with her as well, but again, the
mooning was off-putting at best. I did appreciate that in spite of this, she went out of her way to put him in his place. He wants to be a spy? He wants to keep the job? Fine. You want to be professional, we'll be professional. It makes for a nice dynamic going forward. She's a little bitter (going so far as to ask General Beckmann to replace her (although I think deep down, she was being totally honest about her presence being a detriment to Chuck's new abilities)) and Chuck has been humiliated, but they both still have to work together. I anticipate some longing and some jealousy to come, but having seen promos of future episodes with future love interests for both of them, I'm confident it will all be awesome.Speaking of awesome, we can't not talk about him. These first three episodes have showcased Captain Awesome... er, Devin, in ways I never would have expected and am delighted to see. Going into a third season, it's high time a show reinvented itself and built som
e new constructs to work with. I think Devin's knowledge of Chuck's real job sets things up nicely. I don't totally love the idea that he knows all about the spy game Chuck is involved in and can't see where the CIA or NSA would be too cool with that, but it's a new facet to play with and so far? So awesome. Given the previews for next time, I get the inkling Devin isn't going to find the spy world as glamorous as he once did and I can't wait to see how it all plays out. He's been put in a position where he has to lie to everyone, particularly Ellie, and as Chuck can attest, it's an unenviable part to play. Will Awesome screw up and let the secret slip? Will he break down and tell her? How is that going to work? I can't wait to find out. Awesome indeed.As a final note on the new season of Chuck, I think the most difficult line to walk will be with the Buy More. Season 1 did a hell of a job intertwining Chuck's mundane real life with his spytastic alter ego, but even as early as the beginning episodes of season 2, it seemed to get more labored at times. The more entrenched Chuck becomes in his new job, the less logical it is for him to have all that much to do with his old job. Does Chuck really need a cover if he becomes a real spy? For that matter, are Sarah and Casey even necessary if Chuck manages to tap his full potential? I'm not saying we're anywhere near that point yet, but with Chuck going on missions as an actual part of the team, it j
ust seems less and less necessary that he hide out at the Buy More. I think the writers are inclined to agree as the third episode of this new season didn't have a single scene of the Buy More and didn't feature any of the Buy More cast of characters. Saddest part? I was a good 2/3rds into the episode before I even noticed. Don't get me wrong, I love the Buy More and I love all the crazies therein (Jeff and Lester never fail to make my day) and can't imagine the show without them, but I think the writers are going to have a harder and harder time integrating that aspect of the show into the new construct. I hope to hell they can make it work, but only time will tell. On a final Buy More-related note: Poor Buster...The two-hour premiere opened to rather good numbers, but now the show has been moved to its rather unfortunate permanent timeslot on Mondays. Seriously, it's far and away one of the most competitive timeslots on the air. I don't know what the hell NBC is thinking, but, oh wait, they aren't. At least with Jay Leno's ignominious demise it'll have a better shot going forward. Honestly, if they're willing to keep Heroes around amid bad ratings and horrible scripting, they have no excuse to axe Chuck. I'm willing to wager they'll try to find a way, but with several new hours of TV to fill, and shows like Trauma and
Mercy getting a possible reprieve, I'm hoping Chuck goes the distance. The numbers for Monday were down from Sunday, but they were still pretty good. Why NBC doesn't just keep it on Sunday, I'll never know. I haven't had a good Sunday show in ages and clearly there's an audience out there for it, but we all know NBC doesn't listen to reason.Sigh. Here's hoping for the best. Or should I say awesomest?
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