Alright fellow fans, I thought I should get this up and posted so the reviewers could start commenting right after the episode airs at 8 p.m. Eastern (sorry left coasters!). I for one may end up rewatching right away (I love Tivo!) and didn’t want to keep anyone waiting on me! Looking foward to your comments!
-amyabn
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amyabn
Ernie Davis
Faith
joe
thinkling
Chuck This 
Since I will be missing Chuck in three time zones (East, Pacific, Hawaii), please BE specific about things, my friends. I don’t hit my hotel until after the show airs in Hawaii and several hours before it’ll be available on line….
Details, pls… 🙂
Liz, I’d give you the details, but I have to be up at 4:30 a.m. – so I’ll leave the “explanin'” to others. Let’s just say if THIS was the Season Premiere back in January, we’d be talking about a 3.0 demo consistently, and not “are we going to get canceled?”
This episode had everything that makes CHUCK, “CHUCK.” No other way to sum it up other than that. I think one would have to have a serious case of hemmorhoids not to have enjoyed this episode, especially after what most of the season has been like!
Time for bed. 6:30 a.m. Mass and a funeral after that.
I am seriously pumped. Ausiello isn’t helping either…
@EWAusielloFiles: Chuck/Sarah fans will seriously heart tonight’s all-new CHUCK — especially the ending.
Faith, The ending is the best part 🙂
The ending is SO good. 🙂
Best ending for a Chuck eps EVEFR…
I know after the interview where TPTB said how good C&S were together after seeing the 314, we all thought “what the hell , we knew it from the Pilot”, but geez, it was SO good. They were afraid to do it, but it makes sense that after seeing that ep, they were relieved and amazed about it.
The last scene is so AMAZING. The whole episode is amazing. But the CS scenes are just… WOW!
It was unironically speaking, awesome 🙂
It’s just like they have so much chemistry but when they’re happy and they’re together it increases tenfold. I almost feel like there should be a small print on Chuck: will make you smile like a demented fool for days.
I love this show.
It is funny, we all knew they had great chemistry together; but what we saw perfect and natural, better than I ever even expected.
@Faith: You expressed my feeling exactly. I haven’t been able to stop spontaneously grinning every few seconds for no reason since watching it. (and it’s happening again right now! =])
There aren’t words to describe how amazing this cast is and how totally awesome it is to see them having fun (it’s hard to even put words to my reaction when Yvonne gives us an honest smile!).
2 commercials b4 chuck, morgan and morgan law firm, then papa johns, foreshawdowing the newest shipper couple on chuck maybe?
Second set of commercials, haven’t stopped grinning yet.
Simply put. On a scale of 1 to 10. AN ELEVEN!!!
THIS is what CHUCK can and should be all about.
SQEEEEE!!! What isn’t to love?
-Chuck and Sarah actually (with a little help from a Basque terrorist) actually talk to each other!
-Morgan: Need I say more? Well done to the little bearded man; he is a fount of knowledge, both on Chuck and Europe!
-Casey as a repulsed partner, too funny!
-Beckman: “Off the record, it’s about time!”
The reappearance of the bracelet.
Ellie seeing that Chuck isn’t alone!
Jeffster!
Ok, I have to go watch it again, this time without !@#$ commercials. I’ll try to have something more intelligent to say tomorrow!
I missed the bracelet — when was she wearing it?
The scene at the doorway of Ellie’s apartment, it’s on her left arm, below the watch.
left hand:
whoops anonymous was me. 🙂
How things can change in a year.
http://img231.imageshack.us/i/changesq.jpg/
My thoughts exactly… 😉
You know, Amy? This was the first time I was seriously annoyed with all the commercials. Necessary evil, I know, but I started to resent every second that wasn’t the show!
I don’t know how you all do it! We have at best one commercial break during an episode in France!
Ellie’s reaction was great, so touching! Loved it!
I would have loved to see Ellie and Sarah interact with each other, have a small chat, a hug.
My favotirte part of the scene was Ellie was:
Ellie: You guys are BACK together!
Chuck: We are TOGETHER
I would have loved to see them interact too but I’m not disapointed by the scene.
I’m sure we’ll get a Ellie/Sarah scene at some point.
Though getting way ahead of ourselves, it would be in the spirit of the show if Sarah came to Ellie to ask her blessing for an engagement with Chuck rather than the other way around. While it would be nice to see Gary Cole come back if the opportunity arises for Chuck the series to get that far, it wouldn’t be out of character for Sarah (based on what we saw last night) to take that step before Chuck. Since Ellie is really the father figure in the Bartowski family (absent Steven and Mama B), Sarah would probably feel the need to get her approval. Although it would be mere formality, or course.
Morgan in the Intersect on The Intersect 🙂
This episode was awesome. It makes all others mediocre by definition.
Chuck brings Nina Simone…very cool way to end an awesome episode.
Then…the promo…the why don’t you move in smackdown??????
i don’t know about everyone else, but as soon as i heard the song I was so relived they played a SONG, not some diddy, but a beautiful song. I am pretty sure im not the only one buying it tonight.
Nina Simone is one of my fav artists…that song is just note perfect for the character(s) and the two leads did an amazing job with it…
I am still happy from seeing it once, but sometime this week go to this site http://www.jonestimjones.com/music.html for the guy who rights thew music for the show.
Gonna say it again, IMHO that was THE BEST ending of Chuck ever (or at least up to this point)…and not because it was shipper heaven. The song choice was perfect (and how can you NOT go wrong with Nina Simone), and seeing Chuck and Sarah simply holding each other tenderly while the song played was beautiful.
I did catch that line in the promo, I think Sarah was joking. That or she’s pushing for something; notice we also saw them anounce themselves as “The Bartowskis.” Perhaps Sarah agrees to move in after one specific condition is met.
It is a great song, but I was wondering why , why that song? and a reviewer hit it in their title. Chuck and Sarah final scene together, and the lyrics
Its a new dawn its a new day its a new life for me and I’m feeling good.
WOW
It was the most perfect ending for the ep. I too was hoping for Chuck/Sarah moment of real closeness and intimacy, and they could not have done a better job than they did. Zac and Yvonne are amazing working off of each other.
The song was perfect. With so many versions of this song, i’m golad they picked this one. It carries such emotion.
I liked their small dialogue:
Sarah: I like this
Chuck: It’s a good start
This is not about the song, this is about them and their new relationship.
It was perfect!
What about “I think I found the one”?! 🙂
i don’t recall that line! :O
Chuck opens with that line before playing Feeling Good for Sarah.
Chuck: I think I found the one. This is going to be your favorite song.
Sarah: I like this.
Chuck: It’s a good start.
I imagine that was a bit of an editing trick for the promo. I doubt that’s actually her reaction to that question. =p
Man this sucks. I can’t believe they pulled this crap. All the signs were there. This is so far out of character I can’t believe it. They ruined the show for me. The Love Bunker is over. 😉
Nah. The general is just feigning happiness. She’ll be supportive, but is secretly waiting around to pick up the pieces and throw them in the love bunker.
Thanks for your support, I’m just a little emotional right now. I really thought Chuck and Dianne would work it out..
Let see, tough, petite, commanding, doesn’t take no for an answer… Hey! I’m in love with Diane too! Get lost, Roan!
The Gereral only has eyes for Morgan, it’s pretty obvious. Like Roan (among others) said, the lady doth protest too much
She did say: “Stop right there. Release Agent Walker.” LOL
C&S were funny in front of the General; like nervous kids in front of a parent. I really enjoyed that sceene. I was grining the whole time… both tryig to cover for the other, trying to figure out how to come out and tell Beckman about their new status. Their smiles when Sarad declares they are dating each other exclusively. And we found out Beckman is a total shipper!
They got me at Mr. & Mrs. Charles. And anyone who doesn’t yet know the reference, take the time to look up Merna Loy and Wm. Powell. 😉
On a scale of 1 to squee, it easily registers a *SQUEE!*
“Off the record, it’s about damned time”
You’ve been missed General.
shipper! She is a shipper and I called it lol.
Oh – forget to mention. From the very first episode, I realized that Sarah was almost, but not quite, the perfect girl (for Chuck – ahem!)
She didn’t know music.
Can you believe it? They even addressed *that* issue!
I loved that.
I find it funny because in Cougars she can be seen buying ipod speakers so…either she was lying and she really just wanted to see him, her boyfriend (like Chuck says) or she listens to music but not really lol.
Maybe Chuck has been creating some playlists for her or she was trying tio get into the music he likes 🙂
OK, when i get home i’m gonna rewatch the ep for the umpteenth time 🙂
I could see Sarah working out to some kick @ss music while she hits the heavy bag!
I love that call back too. She may be ready for Arcade Fires album-it is an auditory aphrodisiac after all!
How about Morgan’s line “Oh, Canada” ha! Morgan has really grown on me—I mean as a character 🙂
Okay. Let’s rate the separate elements.
Spy story? Rating – today, who cares?
SFX Rating – today, who cares?
Humor? Rating – today, who cares?
Jeffster? Rating – Funny, but who cares?
Buy More Rating – Today, I DON’T CARE!
C&S Teamwork Rating – MOREMOREMORE!
Ellie Rating – Awwwww – great second to last scene.
Wakertowski Rating – *SQUEE!*
Spy Story was pretty decent when compared with the rest of the season. Chuck and Sarah accidentally eliminating the protection detail of a Basque terrorist turned stool pigeon was relatively believable.
The fight scenes were superb. I’m thinking the Sarah and Chuck handcuffed scene could earn another Emmy.
The episode was quite humorous, with Yvonne surprisingly involved in a fair portion of it.
Jeffster was good. I hope they don’t make that a pattern.
Buy More: Not much there, but the little we saw was interesting and well integrated.
You pretty much covered the rest.
I thought it was all great Joe; I seriously enjoyed the “one last mission” bit, and then totally screwing it up. That handcuffed fight sequence was absolutley beautiful; Chuck and Sarah in perfect unison, it was awesome!
I can’t argue with any of your last points, I’ve been needing this for a long time. And geez did I laugh! When the show is right at its core, everything else takes on a special feel. I was laughing from beginning to end. Sarah as the loud, drunk Texan was adorable and painfully funny at the same time.
They didn’t pull any punches about being together either, that was clearly what the episode was about.
Being a long time Lindy Hopper, I loved the swing dance aerial elements they threw in!
And, oh yeah, Jeffster! actually sounded good! Scary, huh? Maybe they should do all their sets unplugged… 🙂
Yeah.. and i counted 7 carts.. hehehe, they didn’t leave that room in a whole week!
Jen … maybe a couple of days at most. It was a train ride from Paris to Switzerland not … India 🙂
7 carts for a Paris-Lyon, I think the train was going backwards…
But I got it when Casey said they left from Montparnasse train station, it is not the good parisian train station to go south!
I think the carts were symbolic for at least 7 courses of other types of appetites being fullfilled, one avg, I would guess twice per cart, maybe 3 or 4 for the first 2 or 3 times, geez, that might get the number up to 20. Did you notice how tired chuck looked when he answered the door?
Yeah and when they’re talking it does seem tired and Sarah a little less but she does too.
maybe the train conductor was motivated to go slow, if a hot blond threw a butter knife past my head and it stuck into my speed control panel as I was pulling out of the train station and told me to make the trip last 7 days, I might listen.
Yeah and we know that she’s “pretty good with knives”!
You are right Josh… it’s not like it’s u eat a meal per day 🙂
I like how they pulled off the beginning with the continuous carts of room service. I was laughing my ass off.
I’m so deliriously happy right now.
The episode tonight was great.
Great music: from Vampire Weekend at the beginning, to Jeffster, to “Feeling Good” at the end, the music was amazing.
Great comedy: Morgan as a spy is hilarious, and Casey gagging and growling as Chuck and Sarah kissed nearly threw me off the couch. Great Sarah comedy, too (We do everything bigger in Texas!)
Great Walkertowski moments: Oh, there are too many! From the great partner fighting,to the romantic scene at the end, to about every moment on the train, to the Charles’.
It was great. Amazing.
Sorry for erraticness. Still processing it 🙂
Greetings, Abbie. I don’t think I’ve said Hi to you before this.
It feels like a party this evening – here. Have another drink. 😉
Ooohhh! I’ve been forgetting to mention Sarah’s southern accent. I have to admit, being a yankee, I find it – fun. Okay, exciting, too.
And not badly done for an Aussie actress, either.
“Off the record, it’s about damned time.”
So say we all, General Beckman. So say we all.
Amen!
I knew Beckman was a shipper!
I didn’t, but I should have!
[Joe makes eyes at Diane B.! ;)]
Allelujah!
Whoops lol. Well amen is apt 😉
Poor ETA terrorist I felt his pain. Man Chuck and Sarah really have got to get over this communication thing 😛
Even General Beckman knew they needed to be together hehe
There are so many great lines and moments in this episode I need to watch it a few more times just to soak them in.
Yvonne doing the comedy was great, she has really good timing. As a Texan I enjoyed the way over the top fake Texas accents.
Oh and how could I forget Jester…in black turtlenecks…with Jeff in those glasses perfection!
I do enjoy when they let Yvonne/Sarah be funny. I’ve seen enough of her waterworks for now; she is so good at being funny (why is that no surprise?), hopefully see more of it ahead.
Ok ok, I just rewatched. My ONLY peeve was the retcon of Sarah saying she never wanted to give up being a spy. Sorry, that is the only plot point that doesn’t ring true, but then again, it feels like we hit the reset button again and most of S3 thus far doesn’t count. Liz, I look forward to your comments on this once you’ve had a chance to watch.
But, I also have to say that I can overlook said plot point, because I’m too busy squeeing all over my house! That had to be the fastest Chuck episode ever! So much better without commercial interruptions but wow! I have to hit the rack-early morning tomorrow. I hope to have something more intelligent to say tomorrow after I’ve processed all the Walkertowski goodness!
Sleep well, Amy.
Not too much retcon; this episode follows almost perfectly after The Ring, at least it does to me!
I think Father Rick already said it, but if they’d started S3 with this we’d never be in this ratings jam. Oh well, we got there, and it is good!
Amy-
I’m still trying to digest Nina Simone. And now you say they have Sarah saying she never wanted to leave the spy life? Good lord, I don’t know whether to leap with joy (jazz!) or stop in LA and strangle TPTB for the ret-con of the ret-con (Sarah). But lemme watch it first!!!!
If you go back to Crown Vic…you will realize that she only wanted the normal life because that’s what Chuck has and like she said in this episode, “I want Chuck.” To me that was one of those things that really didn’t make sense and wasn’t very well thought out this season. The normal life NEVER appealed to her, case and point Chuck leaves her in Prague and she doesn’t quit the spy business and move into the suburbs.
It’s because when it comes down to it she doesn’t and didn’t want the normal life for the sake of normal, she wanted normal WITH Chuck. There’s a reason why she said in this episode, “well I’ve lived all over the world, but well Burbank’s the only place that felt like home.” Notice she said Burbank, because that’s where Chuck is. Where she fell for Chuck, where she loved Chuck. Not DC where the spy life is, not wherever it was she was with Bryce. Not even San Diego in which she spent I’m assuming at least a couple of years of her high school years.
So among their crimes this season (no not Casey-Grimes lol) was not delving all that deep into Sarah’s feelings/emotions/wants. She never wanted the normal outside of Chuck, she wanted it because of Chuck and only with Chuck.
I’d have to go back and rewatch the entire series, but I think that it’s only Chuck who ever refers to it as a “normal life,” while Sarah always refers to it as a “real life.” There’s an important distinction there.
I agree with you Faith. I thought I was reading too much into it at the time but maybe not. Remember The Ring..when Sarah is standing along in the courtyard before she and Chuck dance? She looked wistful…as if…I have made a decision to give up my current life for this new one…
And yes… real and normal…two very meanings. I will also have to go back and re-watch the episode to make sure Chuck/Sarah didn’t interchange the words.
Yeah the real life was always about Chuck. And when she asked him to run away she said “I’m saying I wanna be a real person again, with YOU”. A real person, not a normal one. Normal was never her thing, Sarah’s special. 😉
IMO, her “self-loathing” and hate of the spy life was also only Chuck related –> how it would affect him, change him, and the responsibility she had in it.
When she talked about her red test, Shaw said something like « it’s never easy but in the end it helps to save lives ». And she agreed despite the fact that it was the worst day of her life. She always knew there were difficult things to do for the greater good, and understood it. After all, she’s the one who taught Chuck about the greater good.
What she couldn’t “accept” was to see Chuck denying himself, what he believed in, changing, “disappearing” like she said in Fake Name. She protected him from that in the first two seasons, and always encouraged him to stay the “good guy who wants to help people” that he was. She knew he was already a hero, he didn’t need to change to be one, and she didn’t want him to. That’s what she tried to prevent by running away.
So it was never about having a normal life, it was always about “making a life” with Chuck. The spy life just stood in their way, either by “technically” separated them with rules or by threatening to take away the Chuck she loved.
Crumby, that’s one of the best explanations that I’ve seen for the situation, so thanks for that. It was a case of unclear intentions not being revealed until later. I’m not sure that that’s the best way to tell a story, but I don’t think that it counts as “retcon” either.
Thank you Merve. Glad to see I’m not crazy and the only one to think that way.
I think at the moment where we went to the “self-loathing” explanation it made sense but we were missing parts. One of the flaws of season 3.0.
That’s one thing also very good about Honeymooners. It gave a lot of answers.
I think Mo Ryan said it best though, this episode worked because Sarah became a character again.
Sarah was a character for the first 13 episodes of this season; she was just an emotional punching bag – if punching bags had fists and could punch themselves.
Ok, almost a full hour since the episode. To be honest I don’t have a feeling on it other than 1 I will watch it again with my life, and the song was…. Perfect!
One thing that I loved was the scale of this episode. We weren’t trapped in Burbank and the BuyMore. We were on a train in France! And we were at a train station! And a cafe! And the courtyard! And the Woodcomb apartment! And Chuck’s room! And Castle! I mean, they REALLY took the show everywhere tonight. The team was international. The way spies are. But we ended back “home.” I loved it.
I missed the beginning. I was heart warmed by the way Sarah delivered the line about exclusively dating – just like a young woman telling her mother about a serious relationship. Beckman is turning into a real softie (she is really slow playing Casey, not Chuck).
That line was great and Chuck’s reaction too.
“… exclusively!”
For the first time this year I rewatched the entire episode the same night as it aired, not just checking the good bits but the whole thing as it is all good. Easily the best episode of the year and one of my favorites of the entire series.
Generally my favorite things about this are letting Yvonne into the comedy parts of the show, loved her as the Texas bride. Also the action sequences were amazing, especially in the Cafe, doing Chuck fu together is great. Some wonderful Casey lines: “Chuck’s going to need a walker when Walker gets through with him” would normally be the top line of the show, but not tonight. Casey also got tremendous eye rolls and sighs when he walked into the room with Chuck on top of Sarah and her legs in the air, when she explains why she is running with Chuck, with Morgan on the plane and at the end of the Cafe scene with the big kiss. But tonight all those took a back seat to Beckman’s “it’s about damned time”. I also like the way that they are all (except Morgan) afraid of her, a case of fools rush in where wise men fear to tread.
Jeffster doing the Simon and Garfunkle thing, even down to the resemblance between Jeff and Art Garfunkle blows me away, that and the fact that they did a good job on the song. I sense the start of a rivalry between Morgan and Awesome about who is more important to Chuck’s spy life. I would have liked to see a bit more of Ellie and have her role a bit deeper, but that is a very tiny quibble in the whole of this amazing episode.
Oh and the romance thing, as Fr. Rick said, it was an eleven, it’s one louder. This should satisfy the most shippery of shippers. Some wonderful little bit of touching and physical comfort at being in close contact by both Zach and Yvonne. Their chemistry together is phenomenal and they completely sell the idea that these are two people who just have to be together. I even liked the idea that they both were doing what they thought the other most wanted by going on the run.
They cerainly started the back six off with a bang, I can hardly wait to see what comes next.
Hmmm…Chuck and Sarah each doing what they thought that the other wanted them to do – where did we see that before?
See how much angst is avoided when people actually talk to each other?
Yeah Merve, “open communication is important”.
Hey, if it weren’t for Juan Diaz Arnaldo, we would’ve had Reset 2.0, which would’ve been fun, exciting, and “epic.” It’s too bad they didn’t go down that road again.
Wow. hi everyone, first time i post here… but: wow! what an eps! It was amazing! I rewatch it because i needed the processing 🙂
This eps is terrific! got everything!
and Nina S. at the end… it was a perfect fit for that scene and summup the whole feeling of tonight’s eps.
As someone said above, C/S actually talking to each other and Casey grunting jeje…
snif… i’m a little sad ’cause now we have to wait a whole week for more chuck… but we’ve got 3×14 to keep us company! 🙂
Great to see you commenting here, Lola. It feels like a party, with everyone talking and laughing all at once. Much fun, definitely!
When we calm down and collect our thoughts, well, then we’ll still be laughing joyously about this one, I’m sure. 😉
Welcome to our blog Lola; waiting a week is always the worst part, but I’m thinking it will be worth it now, we’ve made it to the good part!
Welcome Lola! We are glad to have new viewpoints and commentary. Enjoy!
Thanks everyone! 🙂
OH MY GOD!! OH MY GOD!!! I don’t think I have words that make justice to how incredibly awesome this episode was! Everyone was fantastic. All of them, They all got to deliver a few funny lines (even the guy that was mistakenly arrest), wich were amazing, and the fights, and the romance, and the drama with the whole Elli leaving thing. So many lines that will be remembered for ever! I can’t even pick a favorite, (ok, maybe the walker thing). And i’m really greatful that I get to share this feeling with all of you, so thanks!!!
Awwww – Group hug! 😉
jajajaja!
I do have to comment on my one complaint with tonight. April 26 is my anniversary, and my wife is out of town on a business trip. So we get the sweetest episode of Chuck ever, and I’m watching alone. Bummer. Well, at least I’ll get to watch it again when she’s home on Wednesday night! (It’ll probably be my 6th viewing or so!)
aw that sucks Dave. Oh well it bears re-watching a 100x over. It is that fantastic.
happy anniversary! Two-fold coz it’s Chuck’s banner day…best episode ever.
Oh wow! Sorry I didn’t know, Dave.
Happy anniversary.
Happy Anniversary! All my best to you both!
SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
quick, none fangirl squee review 🙂
I don’t know when you all fell for Chuck but I can tell you when I did. It was this bleak monday night where I wasn’t having the best day, HIMYM (yes I used to watch it, stupid me lol) wasn’t any good and I just didn’t feel right. I tuned in at NBC and saw Break-Up.
Now you might think, wow that’s an angsty episode to fall for. But it really wasn’t. It was angsty but it made me feel something deep. I loved everything. I loved the depth of emotion they conveyed and portrayed, I loved the family aspect, most of all I felt good. Entertainment at its finest makes you feel SOMETHING. Chuck not only gives you the rainbow of emotions it staves off stress, it staves off illness, it’s purely magic.
Chuck made me fall in love with it all over again tonight. This. Was. The. Best. Chuck. Ever. I say that not because it was shipper heaven (and it was, I’m never leaving this place), but because of everything. It’s no secret that I am a Sarah Walker fan. I love her character and I love her strength, vulnerability and genuineness in the face of fakery. Tonight she really shined. She was open, she was guarded and most of all she was a woman in love. “I can’t do this, not with you”—that’s probably the most honest and heartfelt quote I’ve ever heard from Sarah in the 3 years we too have fallen in love with her. Her growth is complete, I’m sure there’ll be bumps on the road but this, this is the best she’s ever been.
Casey: “I know what it is to make a choice like this, I won’t stop you”
Sarah: “Thank you. No matter how much I want to be a spy, I want Chuck more.”
AND! She was comedic to boot.
Chuck was his usual dashing self. The thing about Chuck is he’s a totally different guy when he’s with Sarah. He’s beyond just brilliant, he’s debonair, he’s confident and it showed. This Chuck is the Chuck we’ve all been hoping for. “I’m not gonna risk losing her again.” Way to go Charles Irving Bartowski!
Morgan. Too funny. Crimes is really coming into its own.
Ellie. Who didn’t cry when Ellie said goodbye? I know I did. In an episode where I couldn’t stop smiling, I was forced to take a moment and be teary. Chuck is losing a sister but gaining a soulmate. Who wouldn’t want that? But it’s sad, it’s so sad. Farewell for now Ellie, you’re leaving Chuck in capable hands
Jeffster has been taking singing lessons. That’s probably one of the better renditions of “Jet Plane” I’ve ever heard.
GB….too funny. “About damn time”
There are so many wins in the episode tonight but I only have one memorable quote I want to focus on: “I think I found the one.”
On that note, I can’t wait for Jeffster’s full rendition to be on YouTube
I know I’m tempted to upload it myself lol.
I LOVED Sarah’s “I can’t fake this, not with you”!
“You were faking the whole time?!?!?”
Okay, so Chuck hasn’t totally gotten over his insecurity thing yet.
There are so many good lines, I kept on thinking: funniest line of the night and it just kept getting better.
The newbies writers are really on a roll. Great story by Ali Adler for sure but the lines are all them.
Nothing takes the cake on funny other than Beckman though. She’s definitely become the dark horse in comedy for me.
They made us miss her all season too; now Beckman is back in charge, with a vengence!
Yeah Paul, his insecurity also showed up when he said: “I should have just said we were dating exclusively. I mean, that’s a fair assumption, right?”
LOL
what ws cool about the ‘exclusive’ comment, is that is what sarah said to beckman, almost like ‘teasing’ chuck with it, like you are goint to get so much more than ‘dating exclusive’, yet still using his words, matter of fact, sarah took the lead in most every way, including saying I can’t lie to you about the spy mission she undertook solo – usually chuck would fess up first, plus she at least equally participated in the ‘let’s stay spies’ decision – another fun observation – she talked to casey about her problems, even if casey is not totally a willing participant, he is sort of stuck as sarah’s pro facto male gay friend, now that he whose name cannot be mentioned is no longer on the scene – I see some humor potential for the sarah casey relationship now also that did not exist b4
I think it was also because as she’s never been open about her feelings, before the last two episodes. It was nice to see it.
With Beckman, she knows Chuck is hesitant at “labelling” their relationship and that’s why she’s the one saying “Chuck and I are dating”. And then she made it a “private joke” by adding the “exclusively”. AWESOME!
She’s suddenly all in. Very fun to see.
Wow.
So many wonderful things.
“Off the record, it’s about damn time.” Double LOL.
Chuck and Sarah spying and loving so well together. Like we ALWAYS felt they could. They CAN have it all.
Morgan’s unique skills and knowledge of Chuck make the difference in finding our couple. Morgan again sniffing out the frauds, and Casey picking up on it, just a tad late.
Jeffster getting it done in the courtyard at the getaway party.
Chuck getting his chance to say goodbye to his big sister and assuring her he’s not alone.
Wouldn’t it be fun if they made that really Morgan’s best talent; spotting frauds of any sort. I didn’t like at first that Chuck and Sarah were trying to spy and leave the other in the dark; but I loved that they were both good at it, and I really loved that they came clean quickly. That last scene with Ellie (and Sarah) was really sweet. I liked the sort of play on words; when Ellie asked if they were “back together”, Chuck quickly said “we’re together.” There would be no difference to Ellie, but Chuck and Sarah know its not like before; very powerful.
I think that that’s exactly the talent of Morgan that we’re going to see in the future – his keen eye for spotting things that seem wrong or out of place. Heck, they could even use it to do a Psych parody.
Isn’t “Psych parody” redundant?
Oh, and I think Morgan is too mature to be Sean.
Yeah, a parody of a parody on a show that is already kind of a parody might be pushing it.
“No need for excuses
No pressures in my mind
And she said love it all, love it all, love it all
And she said love it all, love it all, love it all
My heart was living down
And I’ve been pushed over the line
But on your hand, it’d be broken
And I’ll be all over this time
And she said love it all, love it all, love it all
And she said love it all, love it all, love it all”
I thought it apt 🙂
Jeffster was actually really good 😉
And still funny, how weird is that?
Jeffster surprised me! Loved it!
I’m not sure how clear the pilot is in your memories at this point, but I watched it last night, and there was one line in this episode that is almost (if not exactly) identical to the first episode. “So you really don’t have a favorite band?”
And that’s kind of threaded throughout the episode. I LOVED that. The pilot is one of the better episodes of the series, and this one reminded me of that pilot a lot. The plot had holes, obviously, but I think we’re all over the whole “flying over the Atlantic takes 30 minutes” flaw.
I don’t remember an episode I’ve laughed at more than this one. I think the bit with Ellie finding out that Chuck is back with Sarah is touching. I think all of the Chuck-Sarah moments feel genuine and touching. The last scene is one of the best I’ve seen on television – I got chills! And it wasn’t even a finale!
I agree with all that Jake (even the speed of trans-Atlantic flight, and apparently a very slow train, or maybe Chuck and Sarah were just eating themselves to oblivion in their cabin). I loved the call back to the Pilot and Sarah’s lack of music knowledge.
I loved that call back! It was like they were back to those moments in the Pilot where it wasn’t about spy stuff, just a date between two normal people.
And how they used it at the end! “I think I find the ONE”!
One last comment before bed, credit to Lefranc and Judkins the writers (Ali Adler did the story) their second effort after Tic Tac. New writers can sometimes miss some of the interplay between characters but there seemed to be a lot of references back to previous themes so good job.
I don’t know if they were fans of the show but they seem to really know these characters.
This episode has so many great moments. From the lines to the chemistry among all the characters, especially Chuck and Sarah. I was smiling and laughing for pretty much the entire episode, a really nice reminder of what made me fall for this show in the beginning.
Some thoughts on the episode:
The good:
– Jeffster! seemed to fit better here than in “Beard” for some reason. Also, did Vik Sahay have singing lessons between “Best Friend” and now?
– The fight scene where Chuck and Sarah are handcuffed together and they rescue Casey and Morgan is the best fight scene of the series, hands down.
– Yvonne is really funny. I mean, when people assume identities, it’s almost always funny, but Yvonne was really good at it.
– The spy plot held together pretty well. (For this show, that’s a compliment.)
– The sight gag of Lester drinking the lime juice was hilarious.
The not-so-good:
– The episode did have a nice lighthearted feel to it, and there were a lot of amusing moments, but it didn’t make me laugh out loud very much. I only really laughed at the lime juice gag.
– The Ellie/Awesome going-away party plot never really seemed to get off the ground.
Overall:
Not the best of season 3 so far, but it was a really good episode. It worked pretty well as a standalone episode. Going forward, I think that “Role Models” is going to be kind of a standalone episode as well, so I hope that we get a nice, meaty dramatic arc starting in “Tooth.” The show has been on a roll since “American Hero” and I hope that they can keep the quality up.
I just want to point out Yvonne looked absolutely amazing in this episode. And not just in ahem certain scenes but overall. I swear they filmed her different during the original thirteen.
I also agree she looked stunning in this eps. It may not have been on purpose, but “stressed out/unhappy Sarah” doesn’t look quite as beautiful as “happy Sarah.”
She was shining in that episode.
I agree JC; I mean she’s always pretty, but I’d been wondering a couple weeks back if they’d changed make-up or lighting or something this season because she wasn’t quite as stunning as I’d been used to. But 3.14 kind of fixed that.
We’ve always seen Yvonne is good with facial expresssions and body language, but in Honeymooners its like she was different down to her core.
I think 3 things were going on to make her look a ‘little’ worse then:
1 – she is a shipper, I don’t think she was too excited about 3.5 thru 3.11.5
2 – she looked like she lost weight – maybe just slight exhaustion
3 – I think they dressed her more like a mature women in the spy world, a wardrobe carina would wear, with chuck, she has more a ‘college age or young women’ style – something a well, lets just come out and say it, a young married women would wear over what a ‘professional’ might
This might be reaching, but they might be linking Yvonne’s looks to her emotional status. Good example in the same eps was American Hero. She was pretty throughout the opening, but when she was “happy” or at least emotionally content (at dinner with Shaw and when she threw the gun on the bed to go meet Chuck) she looked absolutely radiant. Again, could be coincidence…..
Some interesting observations Jason. I’m sure the different clothing is carefully deliberate. I’m not so sure about Yvonne being a ‘shipper though; she’s made a lot of comments that make me think she just wants to play as much range as possible. But maybe you’re right, she certainly did throw herself into the part.
Or Yvonne is simply THAT good.
She played openly in love Sarah. I guess that’s the difference.
So let me tell you something none of you can know, because you’ve seen the episode…
When you’re not afraid TPTB are preparing the nuke the show, you can actually WAIT to see it. Love the joy you’re all exhibiting. After 23 hours of meetings, flights and delays, with no sleep, and no Chuck episode posted yet, I’m going to bed. And not living in fear of what happens when I get up tomorrow.
Maybe I’ll sit in the lobby of the hotel tomorrow morning Hawaii time and see if there are any other Chuck fans who want to watch with me…
I hope you find them, Liz. But I won’t be surprised for a minute if you find many.
Whatever the ratings are, the mission now is to get as much people as possible to see this ep by any means necessary! After seeing that, how can you not see how great Chuck is, and watch the following episodes?
“An unlikely pair often produces successful results.”
So many good lines in this ep!
“Man, pastries for breakfast every morning. Europe is genius.” We know 😉 .
But America gave us Chuck, so…
Personally, it’s always been about the breads, cheeses, and cold cuts for breakfast for me.
are bagels considered pastries? I loves them.
I’m more of a warm breakfast kind of guy. Especially omelettes, don’t eat them everyday, but if I could I would.
Medialunas (argentinian breakfast mmmm) or croisants as you probably know them :). With café con leche or Latte… mmm… i’m suddenly hungry! Tommorrow i’m having breakfast at the coffe shop!
So, I didn’t get this until watching the episode again, and on the off chance that I’m not the only person who missed it…
In the scene when Chuck puts the ring (purloined from the bed lamp chain) on Sarah’s finger, she’s actually looking in a mirror. You can tell because she was checking out her outfit in the mirror as she walked out of the bathroom.
This added a lot of weight to the scene when I realized this. As the symbolism of what he’s doing hits her, she’s not staring off into space — she’s staring at the image of the two of them together wearing the rings.
And while the train bump breaks her trance, she can’t tear herself away from the image. And the expression on her face? Wow. Just wow.
I love this episode. If it’s not my favorite, it’s definitely in my top three.
OH man I have to see that again. This gif: http://jjovenidea.com/jemell/gifs/weddingrings.gif
is not enough lol.
Thanks for the catch! I’ll definitely be slo-mo’ng for it.
I did not think the engagement or wedding was on the table for 3.19, but that scene sure makes me wonder – plus using the ‘vows’ twice – reminds me of how that evil name that can be spoken foreshadowed chuck having to shoot him at the end, in his first appearance.
Thanks for the catch! I did feel like I missed something when I saw that scene!
I’m sure there’s plenty of other stuff I’ve missed, so I’m gonna forced myself to watch it again! 😉
“forced? Would it be so bad?” (if you know where that’s from you are a chuckaholic lol).
Wow busting out season one faith. Still one of my fav scenes. Everything is forgiven for season 3. Harmony has been restored. Ying is in sych with the yang. The world is spinning on the correct axis. Wow did think it could get better than the Other Guy. Once again i am wrong
Faith, I knew someone would made it! 🙂
I saw that too! The way she lingered on the ring…wishing it were real, perhaps?
That does make me wonder about next week. Sarah giving Chuck a hard time about moving in; but then presenting themselves as “The Bartowskis” later. I doubt they would rush something like that, you know they probably want to drag out every stage of the relationship; but it did make for interesting bookends to the preview.
I hope we don’t get a weeding to soon. There’s plenty of stuff to see before that!
About moving in, I remember a very nice scene in Alias, where Sydney gives Vaughn a drawer for him to put his stuff when they’re at her place. The scene remains one of the best moments between the two. They were so sweet. That’s the kind of scene I’d like to see between Chuck and Sarah. Well we already got plenty in that ep, but still.
Yeah Crumby, I should be weeding my lawn right now, but I’m in no hurry about it.
Seriously, I doubt they would rush something like that. They will promote it like crazy, and drag it out most of a season if they can.
That’s why we need a season 4!
Season 5 we’ll be about kids!
That’s why we need a season 4!
Season 5 will be about kids!
I was thinking season 7 or 8 would be about the kids.
LOL yeah probably.
But then at least Ellie and Devon could have awesome kids in season 5. If Ellie is not to busy with the spy life by then…
some show is going to jump ahead in time, chuck is one of the candidates (don’t worry, there are a bunch of them) – but if they jumped to married with children, can you imagine how ‘funny’ sarah the socceer mom would be, sarah the PTA member, sarah in church, sarah in the beauty parlor with the girls, sarah driving kids to school, uncle’s casey, morgan, and awesome, auntie ellie and carina – it would be a lazy way to go, but would be an ‘epic’ reset? For some reason, the team seems uncomfortable with telling twenty or thirty episodes of stories like 3.14, I honestly think they easily could or lets say they SHOULD!?
I do agree Jason that’s where I would like to see the show go. But I would also like to enjoy a couple seasons like last night; like a younger, more dynamic Hart to Hart (the reference is intentional!).
I’m going to have go against the popular sentiment here and say that while I think that Chuck and Sarah together works well for the show, I’m not sure that I want to see them starting a family for the simple reason that I don’t think that it would work within the framework that has been established in the show. We know that the spy world is dangerous, and it seems strange that Chuck and Sarah would bring children into the world only to endanger them. In fact, I think that one dramatic thread that the writers may choose to follow in later seasons is Chuck and Sarah deciding that they want to start a family, but then realizing how impractical and dangerous it would be given their jobs as spies. But they would be able to take comfort in the fact that they can be Aunt Sarah and Uncle Chuck to Awesome and Ellie’s children.
Merve, I agree to a point. I do think they need to avoid the whole kids issue for a while, and play around with the spy couple format. Its certainly what we’ve been rooting for, and I’m not going to complain about it now! But at some point kids seem a logical extension. I know they would argue “too dangerous” and all (and be right); but the show is a comedy. If we make it as far as 7+ seasons; I would love to see an “accident” of the sort couples do have, or even a brief period when they think they’re out of the biz; only to get pulled back in as Sarah is getting larger.
Again, I want to see them explore their new dynamic for a while; but if we are blessed with a long run, I think there is so much comic gold to had in contrasting the ordinary with the adventures.
Dave, that makes a lot of sense. But given that Awesome and Ellie are almost certainly going to have children, I just feel that pursuing that thread too soon might result in “kids overload,” so to speak. But hey, if this show lasts 7 or 8 seasons, then Chuck and Sarah having children could be something interesting to explore nearer to the end of the series.
err…i think that’s what we in the biz (business of casual tv watching) call foreshadowing. they say, “something’s not right” and there’s *literally* a bump in the road (train tracks) and they get jostled. Pretty sure TPTB were hinting that it will not be smooth sailing to marriage, which they’ve already told us. But, yay, what a wonderful episode otherwise!
Well, S1 ended with Ellie and Awesome’s engagement, S2 ended with their wedding(s). Hopefully we’ll get some symmetry here and have Chuck and Sarah close out S3 at their engagement party. Sarah was pretty wistful with Carina talking about it. She could show up wearing the bracelet only some sap in love would wear. The Ring crashes the party, not knowing that they are surrounded by spies-Casey, Morgan, Sarah, Chuck, Carina. Beckman could be there in plain clothes, but have her security detail also. Could be interesting.
I agree that kids needs to wait till probably the last season, since it’d pretty much be a show killer unless Chuck and Sarah become sort of a semi-retired mentor couple for the new intersect, Morgan, and his handler, Anna Wu.
But you all know I really want to see the pregnancy scare episode, for the reactions of Chuck, Casey, Morgan, and Beckman as they’re informed of the possibility if nothing else.
It would also be interesting to have Sarah’s reaction to the pregnancy scare! 😉
You know she’d panic at first, and then decide she likes the idea.
if they cant make that a plotline, then maybe a dream episode? I now need a season 4. We care about these charachters, and the sky is the limit!
Oh no, please don’t say dream episode. I still have bad memories of the Bones one.
(Okay, I actually liked the Bones fantasy episode. I thought it was hilarious. But as a season finale? Come on. And the fact that Booth dreamed exactly what Bones was writing? Even Chuck is more within the realm of believability than that.)
I agree on that one Merve that Bones season finale was weird.
But hey the 100th was so GOOD.
By the way, it’s funny we learned the same week that Sarah fell for Chuck right from the beginning, and that Booth knew Brennan was the one from their first case too.
That 100th bones episode was pretty damn good. Sucks though that Booth put himself out there and the proceeding aftermath.
Yep Chuck604, but Brennan is definitely considering it now.
I’m think they will make it happen for the season finale.
I thought it would be hard to beat last weeks ep, but WOW!!!! Ah-mazing. So So good. Words are beyond me. Almost.
Fav line “This [body] didn’t happen by accident” love Awesome being awesome again.
Fav moment, last scene (so so cute) I am going to be watching that one a few more times before the evening is out 😉
Was it just me, or did anyone else think Pushing Daises with the ‘Charles Charles’ name? Gosh i miss that show. Chuck’s still better though.
Alright, off to watch the last scene again 🙂
I. Loved. Pushing Daises! 😀 Next week we get Aunt Lily, how great is that?
how funny would it be if her cover was synchronized swimmer! Haha!
Me too, I’m a huge Pushing Daisies fan! Very excited about Swoosie Kurtz. 🙂
I’m sure the primary reference is the Charles of the Thin Man movies. They’re kind of the prototype for a romantic crime fighting couple. But I have no doubt they loved having some more contemporary references as well.
I really want to see those movies, but I haven’t been able to find them so far here in Australia 😦
Emily, that’s too bad! I really can’t recommend them enough – all of them. There’s a lighthearted playfullness between Nick and Nora that turns to passion quickly, plus a sense that they’re always trusting and looking out for each other. You saw that same thing yesterday.
All Chuck and Sarah need now is a dog. Morgan starts to fit the bill. 😉
I agree. Can’t recommend the Thin Man movies highly enough. (Actually any movie in which Myrna Loy and William Powell starred together is awesome, they had great chemistry together.) I’m excited to see Chuck with some of the same vibes. 🙂
when fedak uses ‘mythology’, I sometimes wonder if indeed, the thin man is the mythology he is striving for. nora & sara sound alike, nick and chuck, he named the show for the male lead – thin man vs chuck, his titles are some version of the male lead’s name, thin man again, after the thin man, another thin man, etc chuck titles are chuck vs ….. If so, the whole ‘push’ toward marriage and children may indeed be real? Still does not explain 3.1 thru 3.13’s detour and the associated mythology, but then again, that part of my memory is fading fast. As referenced here, the best tell is if sarah shows up one day with a puppy (or a baby)
I do agree, Thin Man is “in the DNA” as they say. But I do vote for Morgan as Asta! And a little bit of Thin Man trivia: the original book was named for the villain of the first story; but since William Powell was also slim, everyone assumed it was him, and when the studio started considering sequels, they decided the name was valuable and they would stick with it.
They put so many things in that episode. I can’t list everything, or I’d just post the script! lol
– CS together as a couple of course (love the music call back in their first scene and the last scene is just heavenly played!), but partners too, the handcuffed fight scene was AWESOME (Chuck has definitely nothing to envy Bryce anymore) and Morgan just summed it up pretty good: “these two were born to be spies – together” (loved the hand gesture). For those who were afraid the chemistry might not be the same after the Shaw fiasco and found the Other Guy kisses a little “shy”, well, those two just shined and sent love all across the screen.
– We also got some bromance between Chuck and Morgan. “But you’re a spy, man. I mean, this is the coolest thing that’s ever happened to us.” I love when Morgan is referring to him and Chuck as “we” or “us” that way. Morgan definitely IS the Intersect on Chuck, and the Café scene was great.
– Also, Morgan IS useful. It wasn’t just an accident when he find out for Shaw lol. And he’s not just good with the spy stuff, “before you quit, make damn sure that quitting is what she wants.”
– Some partner time between Casey and Sarah as well, I almost thought we were gonna get a hug between those too.
– Crimes, Corgan, Morsey ?! I don’t know how to call them but, this was good, and this is gonna get hilarious!
– Some brother/sister time, Ellie’s happiness to CS being “back” together was great.
– Jeffster! And they were actually good!
– Beckman: scary, irritated, and shippery! Awesome!
– Some Ellie and Awesome time too: “Devon, what are these? Babe, this didn’t happen by accident.” Captain Awesome is back!
– The spy story was good as well. I didn’t expect the guy to be on the run, and to play a role in CS lifestyle choice… “Open communication is very important…” The cover with the accents was great.
– As always the acting is just amazing.
– Plus the music…
WOW, I just want to watch it again and again. So many great lines, so many great moments…
Lighthearted episode. Action, comedy, a little drama, and Romance. It was the beginning of a new Chuck era, and what beginning it was!
To use the baseball terminology – we chuck fans had 6 swings left 3.14 to 3.19 to win the game and advance into another season, with our first swing, we hit a grad slam that went so far, we should get credit for 5 runs. I’m just hoping that the theme of this show going forward was put on the table tonight, if so they indeed have created something that really is ‘epic’
Sounds a lot like Mo Ryan’s review 🙂 I find it interesting that she’s suffering from Shippers’ fatigue. Said as much on my post over there.
faith, a grand slam worth 5 runs is pretty uncommonly good, but yea, i am still wary of our creative team’s ability to deliver on a consistent weekly basis to a ‘trusting love’ theme. I only have watched once, but maybe the most trusting line was a sarah line, when they returned to the bed, and she said something like, I am not going to do this with you or to you – i.e. lie about the terrorists on board. I also found it amusing that the terrorist figured out CS both wanted to be spies, but noone would listen to him, might be reading too much into this, but in a sense, that is how fans have felt about the show’s WT/WT. A great feeling to return to finding ‘greatness’ buried in a great episode, rather than hope buried in a hopeless episode isn’t it?
Definitely. I said earlier that Chuck made me fell in love with it again but really by bringing back the fun, they made me believe again. It’s not unconditional I think we’re a little more wary than ever but for now, for this moment it feels good. Which really makes that scene and that song all the more powerful.
I swear I have never seen them more in love or more happy than in any other scene. It was simply radiant, and frankly one we’ve all been hoping for dearly and but couldn’t quite say it out loud. But now we see it and it’s great. It’s definitely better to be here than where we were. 1000x times better. Just like, to bring this back to your analogy it’s better to be 5 run up than 5 run down, or even. For awhile there we were, with most of the front 13 it felt like we were down 10-0.
If anyone is interested in this, our friends over at chucktv.net are still planning some “Save Chuck” rallies at various major cities/tv markets in the U.S. for Monday.
Here’s the link, for those who might live in any of those cities.
http://chucktv.net/2010/04/22/join-the-chuck-flash-mob/
They’re still planning. I told them I’d go to Chicago (as long as I didn’t have a funeral that day). They emailed me back and said they’d give me more info. in the next couple of days. A good possibility would be in front of the NBC studios on Michigan avenue by the Chicago river. Across the street is the Chicago Tribune – and I would assume the office of one Mo Ryan!
We’ll see what happnes.
Anyway, still reveling in last night’s episode. FINALLY, CHUCK is back on the air!
How about Chuck pulling out the vinyl? He’s definitely a serious music fan.
That’s a fact about Chuck that was never emphasised, but always there!
I think his being a big music fan was something that was supposed to be a big part of his character, as seen in the pilot, but was dropped or forgotten about. There were alot of first season references in this episode which is a treat for those of us who have seen every episode.
I think that was implied again in the Other Guy when Morgan stopped playing “If you leave”. You could hear him take the needle of the record. Plus, I do wish he played some of that Arcade Fire album that he mentioned in season 1.
Oh yeah. I do remember thinking at the time ‘wait Chuck has a turn table?’
But then I figured they did that just to be funny. There is something sorta humorous about the sound of pulling the needle off a vinyl you don’t get when you turn off a CD or MP3 player.
But yeah it totally fits with being a big music fan.
I remember when I was 8 or 9 years old and my uncle brought me to an audio record store. I played with a record player and broke the needle, man was he pissed. But I agree, there a totally different vibe when you listen to the tunes of a record player.
I knew he was a big music fan, but the fact that a Nerd Herder doesn’t have his entire library converted and on an iPod (like I do) makes him an audiophile. I’ve still got albums and a turntable from my younger days, but once CD’s came out, and then .mp3’s, I made the jump to each.
Das war eine absolute Wahnsinns-, Super-, Extra-, Hammergeile Folge. Bin extra aufgeblieben um mir diese Folge ansehen zu können. 6 Stunden Zeitverschiebung und dann gleich nocheinmal geschaut!!! Sowas habe ich zuvor noch nie gemacht!!! Geschweige denn für eine Folge einer TV-Show!!! Was für ein Auftakt für die BACK6 Folgen. Also wenn sich diese Folge nicht im Nielsen Rating widerspiegelt ist das Nielsen System wirklich überholt. Die tatsächliche Akzeptanz und Beliebtheit von Cuck in AmiLand und der Welt ist doch wirklich enorm!!! NBC – Cuck rules!!!
(Odysszeuss says that Chuck has had impact all over the world. I believe he said that he stayed up extra late to see our reactions, too, time difference and all.)
We have only an hour before we get the early Nielsen ratings numbers, Odysszeuss. I’m confident they are going to be great.
Let me say, last night was fun. I’m envious of everyone here who’s already had a chance to see the episode more than once. I’ll see it for the second time tonight, and it’s going to be delicious. 😉
I personnaly went to bed earlier last night, to be up earlier this morning, to see the episode before going to work. I normally just read the comments in the morning to see the general reaction and watch the episode during lunch but I couldn’t wait! (6 hours difference with the east coast in France, so the show aired between 2am and 3am).
Jepp, Joe!!!
Chuck really is an absolut amazing TV-Show. Nielsen should absolutly work…
if nielsen isn’t showing the real success of a show, well that’s really a problem. All Fans outside USA are dependent on your efforts. So: go on!!! Do the Fan-work for yourself and the rest of the world. We all count on you, guy’s! I already gifted the chuck dvd’s to all my friends and family. and i mean the bougth one, not selfmade. Voting in the Internet, ok. But nothing else we ca do…
I concur with that Joe. Watched it twice last night, and every bit the second time around was just as good if not better than the first time watching the episode.
My translation. It’s not word for word, rather relates the content.
That was and absolutely crazy, super, extra “*awesome” episode. I stayed up extra late so I could watch this episode. Six hours later and I watched it again. I’ve never done that before let alone for an episode of a TV show. What a start to the back six. If this episode isn’t reflected in the Nielsen ratings then the Nielsen system is really obsolete. The actual approval and popularity of Chuck in the US and the world is truly enormous.
–Chuck rules!!!
*Hammergeil is a slang term I’m not familiar with, although I’m quite experienced with geil which has many flavors of meaning, some sexual.Here it’s being used in the in the context of awesome or wicked(as used by MA residents) as opposed to its sexual connotation.
thx joe,
thx weaselone,
Hammergeil = super/extra awesome
in an extreme powerfull tone of slang term, and quite a little little bit sexism. never heard saying this word out of the mouth of a girl 😉
Yeah, thought as much. Coupling hammer to geil didn’t make it seem cleaner. Thanks for the information!
I think i will rewatch it again. i found an compatible sub in english, so i can begin to enjoy the awesome details, until in about one week the german sub is available. That’s the way someone -like me- who isn’t so accomplished in languages is “working” on chuck. Reading in this Blog and rewatching with this (Blog-input) is really exciting 😉
kind of learning a language, in a “FUN” – way…
ich zog vor kurzem nahe dem mexikanischen Rand in Texas, dank Sie um, die ich eine Weise finden muss, Klemme auf spanisch aufzupassen.
I recently moved near the mexican border in Texas, thanks to you I need to find a way to watch Chuck in Spanish.
-FOR SHIPPER ONLY-
Amazing chemistry between Yvonne Strahotski and Zac Levi. Chuck Season 3 Episode 14 Chuck vs. The Honeymooners Chuck and Sarah edition. The Best Charah Moments ever…
the 10 minute coffee break version 😉
-FOR SHIPPER ONLY-
Man that’s 10 minutes of gold.
thx Chuck604
prelim numbers are in. Chuck got a 3.8/6, which will probably means a 2.1
Always glad to see another John!
Anyway a 2.1 would be ok considering the show was pre-empted by the NBA playoffs in Oregon but those prelim numbers are notoriously misleading.
We shall see. Anything above 2.0 at this point at least keeps us alive.
Seidman from tvbythenumbers reports a 2.1 rating for last night’s episode. OK but by no means great.
http://tinyurl.com/37v43oo
It makes it especialy hard when the show directly before and after are pulling 1.5s.
Anyway Chuck slight uptick, we picked up 200K viewers so if that continues we will be ok…but ZERO margin for error. Anything below a 2.1 will probably seal our fate.
I think it takes a couple good episodes in a row to turn the numbers up, people tell people who start viewing again, plus positive articles get written, the next episode is crucial, 2.3 or 2.4 would start to turn the tide
I think 2.1 is really good after three weeks off and a mid-season slump. The word of mouth should be all good at this point; if we can start an upward trend we should be good for S4.
I think the 2 weeks off could have slightly slowed the momentum down a little bit. Though, if one were to play devil’s advocate the short hiatus stoked the anticipation levels, given the promos they were showing leading up to yesterday evening’s episode.
That song at the end was so fitting. I believe 3.14 ushers in a whole new Chuck era – the age of enlightenment.
In the past few episodes we have been treated to Sarah taking part in the comedy. We have seen the Morgan/Casey pairing come to hilarious fruition, we have seen an end to the WT/WT, and in last night’s episode we have seen the best fight scene to date. It was a combination of the Casey/Chuck fight in Undercover Lover mixed with the Bryce/Sarah fight in Nemesis. Only this time it was so satisfying to see Chuck and Sarah kicking ass together. If that doesn’t win them their 3rd emmy I don’t know what will.
In fact throughout the episode we were treated to Chuck and Sarah not only being connected on a personal level but also connected professionally (ref to Broken Heart).
Even a terrorist knew the were meant to be together as spies and manages to act as a catalyst in making them see that too. I swear that was the nicest terrorist I’ve ever seen.
Finally. How great was Beckman in this episode. What a great scene “Stop right there – release agent Walker” and “I must caution you that mixing your personal life with your spy life can be dangerous. Off the record it’s about damn time”. I think her best lines since Broken Heart “your feelings for the asset are an asset to well the asset.” No doubt about it even Beckman is a shipper.
All the characters were at the top of their game last night as couples. We had Chuck and Sarah, Morgan and Casey, Ellie and Awesome and of course Jeff and Lester. By the way, I think Jeffster have been taking singing lessons, because their last two performances have been so much better then when they performed Africa in S2. I might even hire them for a wedding.
There were so many great heartwarming moments in last nights episode its hard to single out any for exceptional mention but three come to mind.
1. When Chuck puts the ring on Sarah’s finger – the looks they had on their faces were outstanding. The uber shippers must have gone through a whole box of kleenex just on that one scene.
2. The two of them talking at the table. “We make a great team” “I’m thinking the same thing Mr Charles”(as she says it with her Texas accent).
3. The scene after the big fight in the Cafe – the terrorist tells them “After two years of running I have learned that you can’t run from yourself and neither of you wants that”. Followed by their revelation to each other that they were sacrificing their desire for the spy life because they thought that was what the other wanted followed by the new vows to be spies and stay with each other.
Also how cute was the whole “She’s a tigress” scene?
#3) you forgot Casey’s disgusted grunt at the vows… 😛
I loved the vows 🙂
“release Agent Walker” is my favorite Beckman quote ever. And I don’t think I’ll ever get the “she’s a tiger” look out of my mind, wow!
Another thing: The Morgan 3 bad guys 0
I’ll let all of these comments speak for the rest of this wonderful episode. One thing I haven’t seen mentioned yet is that when they are sitting in bed after they’ve identified Diego, and both have resolved to leave their spy life behind, their kiss is less passionate than the others they had previously. Once they realize they have each spied on him (the faking conversation) and resolved to go on one last mission, that kiss is far more passionate. Obvious signaling for what is to come later in the episode, when they decide to come in from the cold.
HA, i loved that. Well, before they were both mainly tyhinking about Diego and what to do about it. They were a little distracted. Afterwards, well, they were both excited that they were going on this mission together, they were both on the same page.
Just an interesting fact, the Polish musician was played by Yvonne’s real life boyfriend. Just an interesting tidbit.
How about all of C&S’s synchronized moves and moments of unspoken communication? LIke looking at each other, apologizing to Casey and then punching him in the face? Sarah’s non-verbal ok to what she recognized was his plan of using the vespa to break into the bakery. Loved thatt.
The cafe scene after the AWESOME fight was good too. Diego’s speach about the bad side of running away, woth Morgan nodding in agreement behind him 🙂 Sarah finally decides to speak clearly and drags Chuck to the side to clarify things. WHen they kiss, Casey looks grossed out, Morgan is jumping up and down in happiness.
OK, i’m just gonna stop saying how much i liked certain scenes becaus i just loved the whole thing A LOT, so i’ll stop so i won’t be reaping myself 😛
Like I said, just like in Broken Heart they were connected professionaly.
VOTE HERE
http://tv.insidepulse.com/2010/04/25/inside-pulse-tv-madness-bracket-tournament-final-4-voting-begins-with-lost-chuck-house-and-burn-notice-facing-off-against-each-other/
ya know its really a shame that 2 of the best shows on tv are on at the same time on the same night, thank goodness I can watch house later on, besides I’m already on hulu cause I’ve watched chuck at least 2 more times.
I know what you mean. I watch Chuck live, and I record House, so I can watch it at a later time. I’ve watched Chuck 3 times last night alone.
Well I voted, but I guess you can only vote once because when I tried a second time it stated I had already voted.
The good news is right now Chuck has 89% of the vote.
Chuck is now losing the poll. Just sayin’…
That was quite a turn around. Lost got hundreds of votes in a span where Chuck got none. Somebody from a Lost board must have linked it.
The gap between Chuck and Lost is closing. 476 votes to 411 eleven. We had a difference of over 100 votes about an hour ago.
If you clear your cookies you can keep voting. Plus, you can block cookies from insidepulse.com. That’s what i did to keep voting.
Yes, i’m cheating!
On Internet Explorer. Go to Tools, then Internet Options. On the window that pops up, go to the Privacy tab. Click on the Sites button. Add insidepulse.com, clik on Block.
Wow, Chuck 18,000 votes – Lost 8,000…
So forgive me, since I’ve just had the chance to catch the episode and sort of had to do meet, greets and pauses.
Am I to take it that TPTB have now totally retconned Season 3. If Sarah never wanted to stop being a spy (except to be with/except to protect Chuck), then all the fear, loathing and angst was phony?
I mean, it was all for nothing? Season 3 essentially never existed?
Ernie? Joe? Dave? Amy? Anybody? Bueller?
I thought she wanted to run off with Chuck at the beginning of season 3 to save him from the Spy life. Besides she might have had second thoughts if she had even then. You saw how hilariously they struggle with not being spies.
Hey liz,
Merve and Crumby had a pretty good explanation earlier. So I’ll try to paraphrase. I think they said that Sarah wanted a real relationship with Chuck, not necessarily a normal one. They made a distinction there.
Also I think Crumby said Sarah’s self loathing about the spy-life was related to how it potentially could have changed everything about Chuck that she loved about him, and how she was responsible in a way. She herself did not hate the spy life. I think she just wanted a real-life with Chuck and the spy life was the device used as a hurdle. Because the spy life would have either changed chuck or the rules would have forced them to separate, his and her fears apparently. Kudos to them explaining it pretty well at least IMO.
Yeah, but if you accept that then it becomes difficult to accept Sarah’s failure to stage interventions or even talk with Chuck throughout the season. She just jumps to the worst possible conclusions regarding his behavior. She doesn’t bother to fight to keep her old Chuck.
Yeah thats a big hole you can drive a truck through. But I guess you can imply that maybe she felt powerless to stop the transformation or that Chuck was too deep in the process of changing tht it was irreverisble; when in reality, he was just adding to his repetoire without compromising his selfless, caring nature.
Also it becomes clear that those feelings were nothing more than hurdles for Chuck. They never went into real detail about what she was going through. So we got bits and pieces that always seemed to spur Chuck into action or come to some rationalization about himself.
She did talk to Chuck about it at some points. She basically did stage an inadvertent “intervention” in “vs. the Fake Name” when Chuck overheard her impassioned confession to Shaw (the episode in which Chuck hit his rock bottom point of the arc).
Sarah hit her rock bottom point later, at the end of “vs. the Final Exam,” when she is convinced that she’s lost Chuck forever.
Those are really the key points in the arc where the characters swing around to start heading to where they are now.
And where they are now can be described with one word: Awesome! Sarah smiling once has an odd power to light up an entire episode. Here’s hoping the next 5 get even better (there’s so much potential here!).
You know Liz, I’ve always thought they removed certain dialogue from the first draft of the Pilot on purpose. I don’t think Sarah is a completely reluctant spy. I think she only really considers a “normal” life when Chuck comes along; and she only considers leaving that life to be with him.
But then that’s part of why the front part of S3 fails so badly for me. It should be a short trip for her to accept the idea of having both. I accept that she fears certain changes, real and imagined that occur to Chuck; but if she is so full of self loathing she can’t really love any man who does what she does for a living, she is really seriously damaged (as we’ve been saying most of this season). But now all of a sudden its swept away because she reconsiders and decides she can have both? She apparently just had to see Chuck demonstrate the qualities she already knew he had, again.
Which is why I think 3.01 to 3.13 are such a waste; its just a big circle for Sarah, and just a little training related growth for Chuck. 3.14 could have easily followed 2.22 with very few changes; say Chuck agreeing to run in Prague, then Chuck and Sarah discovering together that their calling is as spies together as we saw in 3.14. All they would have had to do is (gasp!!) dial back the angst a little bit and we would have had a fun season premier instead of a dark one. Then Chuck would have embarked on his serious spy training with Sarah and Casey as his guides, and we could have had a more fun S3 from the start. But the show runners were so afraid to “change” the show, that they nearly ruined it. I now see no purpose at all in re-watching half of the early S3 episodes.
^This!
I agree to a certain extent Dave. There were a lot of good moments in the first 13 episodes, especially in the last couple. But not enough to redeem the arc entirely. They tried to make the tone of the show too dark IMHO, and like many have said the angst was overpowering. Technically like liz said they could have jumped on the train in the beginning of episode 1 and then you can cue the rest of episode 14. But it is what it is.
I just found out that season 3 started over a year ago. Sarah and Chuck were having a dance at the wedding and then the credits came on. When season 3 started poppa Bartowski flashed on a ring agent and once Chuck announces I know kung fu! we had our first commercial.
If we go from the ring to the honeymooners, you have to eliminate the download of 2.0. Its at that moment that Chuck decided to become a HERO. (if I have said any of this before I am sorry) IMO it is not prague that killed the show, I think if Shaw comes on only to train Chuck, and in American Hero finds out who killed his wife, the season is better. If the explained why Sarah became a caricature of herself, and show Chuck so determined to be a spy for Sarah, he takes for granted the women he loves…well lets just say it would have been an easier ride. Someone suggested with a bit of editing this is a arc. The season as a whole for me is still not to bad, a lot better then most of the stuff on tv. Another reason to get off Monday at 7, but I digress.
As far as TPTB goes there were some mistakes made, but as I tell my daughter all the time the only perfect person in this world died 2,000 years ago. as far as I am concerned the darkness and problems only makes the last 3 episodes that much sweeter. Besides Ill never forget Morgans reaction to Chuck becoming a spy, poking the bad guy, or Chuck becoming a much more rounded and less silly spy, Casey sacrificing his career for a women he loved years ago, Awesome, realizing that a spy isn’t what its cracked up to be, the odd Sarah Chuck moment that kept the shippers hoping, and so much more..
It’s definitely true that this episode and the next 5 look like they may blow everything else we’ve seen previously away completely in terms of quality and entertainment.
But hindsight is 20/20. If these 6 eps are all as amazing as this one, I’m sure the writers will be cursing themselves for not going with this idea sooner! But the first 13 weren’t bad by any means. There were great episodes there, amazing acting, and the character progression throughout the arc was incredible (even if it seems like a lot of it was redundant in hindsight!), and I absolutely loved watching them in sequence, especially after seeing the conclusion in 3×13.
Might we have had an even better (maybe much better) experience if we’d gone down this path sooner? Probably! But the one we got was still great, and it looks like the next few eps are going to completely blow us away!
The first 13 episodes are floating in the Seine, bloody and lifeless. May they rest in peace, forever forgotten.
Short but true… 🙂
Liz, the “problem” is, you are seemingly always right with your assumptions.
Certainly this episode takes even more sense out of the former s3 episodes, but let’s be tempted and see this episode as a kind of relief after a disaster:
Like the song at the end, this episode is about feeling good.
I watched this one thrice already and it felt good – and it even felt better with every viewing. An hommage to the shippers (like mie), it’s pure happiness and goodness, albeit superficial. For the moment, I think we needed it, but in the long run I’m not sure if TPTB are still inclined to develop the complexity of the characters or if they rather keep the “light” Hart-to-Hart-like comedy… (which I watched when I was about 6) Let’s see what they have in store for us…
I’m done with this particular argument. Too many of us (including me) too often confuse our speculations and theories with fact and cannon. And we call our jumping the gun retcon when we turn out to be wrong. And I include myself, and I’ll re-emphasize I’m done with this particular argument.
agreed.
In a lot of ways it’s taking a lot of the fun we actually now have. When there was no fun it was fine, it was almost a coping mechanism but now? Looking back to me just makes me dislike what went on and I really like what went on in this episode.
Which from here on out I will refer to as the “Shaw incident.”
Or maybe “he who shall not be named” perhaps?
LOL that was a direct quote from GB so I thought it apt.
But “events that shall not be named” has a ring to it.
I agree “events that shall not be named” has a better ring to it.
Faith I actually wandered when Beckman said that “is she talking about Paris or the entire arc”? LOL
I tried to warn you, sister! I will have to do some more research this weekend (yeah, rough!) to look at Sarah’s sentiment. I myself will chalk up most of S3 to the recycle bin and selectively enjoy only what I see fit. The Sarah arc doesn’t make sense, but I’m enjoying Sarah the happy vs. Sarah the miserable. Sorry, still smiling and haven’t had a chance to digest everything. I’ll give it another viewing tonight!
I was just thinking, I don’t want to suggest there was no good entertainment in the front part of S3. I truly did enjoy the Awesome episodes; I loved Beard, Tic Tac, American Hero, and Other Guy. Of the remaining seven episodes, only Pink Slip was completely too dark for my taste. That leaves six other episodes that had good moments, but were badly mared by bleak endings or too much material that related to a central arc I didn’t care for. I don’t require every episode to be important or have a place in the grand scheme of things, so I don’t quite consider the front of the season a total waste. But I do think the main arc was a failure. Whether the characters were true to themselves or not, I simply didn’t enjoy it. But the greater context is, I’m so excited about where we are now its embarrassing to admit it.
I present to you, Jeffster…
Love it. Thanks for the link!
There is something very wrong when I actually want the Jeffster version of a song.
I know what you mean :). I listened to the original version and I liked this one better..What is wrong with me?
Yeah yeah, I got all that. And I got that TPTB can claim there is no specific dialogue/scene where Sarah wants to be out of spying independently. And I ever get that many of us (even me) said there was nothing in Seasons 1/2 that would lead you to believe Sarah hated spying.
But this all comes back now to … You know what, never mind. It’s pretty clear TBTB have renounced all the silliness of 1-13. So whoever said episdoes 1-13 are going to be the Star Trek cartoons of the Chuck canon is right.
Ignore em and move on. I won’t even bother to try to make it all fit now…
Never happened. Colonel, Ring, Honeymooners. Got it.
Liz: I feel your pain. It’s impossible to understand.
But if I take what TPTB are saying, it’s this: Sarah was in an absolute panic to keep Chuck out of the spy life. Up to and including planning a runaway. And then when he made a decision to be in it, she did nothing to help him and it sent her into a spiral of self-loathing that we were supposed to incorrectly assume was her wanting out of the spy life. But now that he’s a good spy and still her Chuck, everything is cool. And now we can resume regular programming.
Yikes. It’s a lot to swallow, even as good as last night’s episode was…
Liz, wasn’t it you who said the original Chuck show ended at Colonel. That certainly looks true now. Then we got that Chuck 2.0 show for Ring and 13 episodes, and most were poor. Now it looks like we’re getting Chuck 3.0. And, apparently, very few of the twains will meet…
In all honesty I think in this case overanalyzing just deprives one of the pleasure that was Honeymooners. Because when it comes down to it this:
“I want you, I want us” (for both of them)
Is what matters.
For once both Chuck and Sarah are…
– “I’m walking towards something”
– “I’m making a life”
and it “feels good.”
Well said Faith.
Interesting take on those first thirteen and now this episode.
http://www.inessentials.com/2010/04/27/chuck-vs-sarah/
Nice read, much more simplified than our past discussions but quite to the point.
Man I was in total agreement until we got to the part about how Sarah will always be an inferior character because she is beautiful. That strikes me as a little bizarre. So she would be superior or equal to Chuck as a character if she were ugly?
But yeah we wanted Chuck and Sarah together precisely because of what keeping them apart in season 3 was doing to their characters…
Honestly? I know it sounds simplistic but the only real problem Sarah had in season 3 was … getting dumped in Prague. Nothing else, apparently, was real. She’s the exact same person we left in vs the Ring, except a few months of weirdness happened in between. Bugs me I tried to make sense of it at times.
Oh and Chuck made full agent.
Which kinda begs the question … was that the best way to get there?
My answer? Don’t care, anymore. I so over S1-S13 it’s not even funny. I m enjoying the rest and hope we ‘ll get a season 4.But like somebody else said, they could have added that flashback of Sarah asking Chuck to run away with her from Pink Slip at the start of Honeymooners and pretty much nobody would be missing anything if they jumped from Ring to Honeymooners. Except the Morgan Plot.
The character progression actually makes plenty of sense. Sarah’s a really complicated character.
But what we should really be talking about now is just exactly how awesome these next 5 episodes (and, with any luck, a lot more than that next season!) are going to be, not worrying about how the first 13 might have been better!
Those 13 episodes were actually really good overall too. But if this episode is any indication, the next 6 are going to reach such ridiculous heights of awesomeness that we’ll all forget about the first 13 completely.
What character progression? At best Sarah is a passive observer of events she generally avoids trying to influence while assigning the most angsty possible interpretation to them. Then they were brushed aside.
If you really look at it pretty much none of the issues Sarah appeared to be dealing with in S3 had any substance.
So the jump from “Ring” to “Honeymooners” amounts to: “Hey, my former partner just died. Want to hop on a train and have sex with me?” I’m not sure that that works too well…
Oh, wait a sec, that’s the jump from “Ring” to “Pink Slip.” Oops.
In all seriousness, the jump from “Ring” to “Honeymooners” makes sense if you ignore Chuck making his first kill, Casey meeting his ex-fiancée, Ellie and Awesome deciding to go to Africa, the Ring discs, Morgan joining the CIA, and Chuck actually becoming an agent. For me, that’s a lot to ignore. I’m willing to dismiss a perceived character flip-flop as a case of unclear writing and just accept the first 13 of season 3 as what they are: 13 episodes of Chuck.
Merve, there were a lot of things that happened during the front part of S3; but if the main issues are supposed to be character growth for Chuck and Sarah there was very little. Sarah seriously went right back to where she started; she was more open and talkative in 3.14, but she arguably could have learned that lesson at any point in S2, especially after the missed oportunities of 2.22. And Chuck’s only real growth was in the form of spy training. He has found some confidence, but again most of that change had already started in S2; he pointedly starts 3.14 in saying he made the wrong choice back in 3.01. So its almost like we’re seeing what would have happened if Chuck had made a different decision back in 3.01; and the show will play forward from there. Its not quite as bad as waking from a dream, but its certainly in the same league. I’m also not entirely complaining about it, I disliked a lot of S3 enough, that I’m happy to now see it makes little difference anyway.
And I’m not saying 3.14 can run right after 2.22 with no changes. I’m saying 3.01-3.13 accomplished so little, you could redo 3.14 with minimal changes and make it work.
I understand most of that and I can agree with it. Sarah’s character kind of stagnated for most of the season, and didn’t grow at all until “Other Guy.” (That was kind of frustrating.) I do think that Chuck’s character did grow over the season though, and I think that we can all agree that Morgan and Casey grew a lot this season.
The problem I see in accepting this whole jump thing fully is that it seems as if the problems started in “Ring,” and if the problems started then, then I don’t see how a jump to “Honeymooners” can be made, character-wise, without even more flip-flopping.
I’m perfectly fine with people disliking the first 13 or saying that they weren’t entertaining or up to par, but writing them off as pointless doesn’t sit well with me. I think that as the back 6 progress, it’s going to become harder to write off the front 13.
I do agree Morgan and Casey grew a lot this season. I’m not suggesting 3.01 to 3.13 accomplished nothing, only that the main arc was pointless (!?). As I see it, the point of the main arc was to show Chuck’s growth on a personal and professional level; and Sarah’s growth as a person. If that was the point, it failed; it only accomplished professional growth for Chuck. I get that you disagree about the personal growth for Chuck, but it seems to me, Chuck himself basically argues the same thing I just did; he acknowledges the positive aspects of his growth (mission and confidence) that had already occured by the end of S2; while denying the negative aspects (I’m still that same guy), which were most of what we saw this season (or rather what Sarah feared she was seeing, without cause as it turns out!).
And I think I’m failing in explaining my main comment. I am not saying 3.01 to 3.13 can be ignored or skipped. I am saying S3 would have been better served by starting with something like 3.14 as a starting point. To me, it would have been much more fun if instead of starting 3.01 with a shattered Cheese Ball addict Chuck; we started with the train station in Prague, except Chuck and Sarah do run away together, giving us an episode much like 3.14; which ends with them returning home to get Chuck his real spy training. Perhaps they have to hide their relationship while Chuck is training, but basically we get them together from the start; with Sarah available to give Chuck the mentoring and support he needs to get through the process.
Again, this just sounds more fun to me. And given how much the ratings slipped during the season; and knowing what people have told me about why they stopped, or almost stopped watching; I THINK this would have been more fun to more viewers, and avoided the bubble situation we are in now.
Sorry, I’m long winded. I know I need to let this go. I just hope we don’t repeat this situation and end up on the brink again.
I think that the most important part of Chuck’s development in the first 13 is that Chuck learned to take responsibility for his actions. He understood and dealt with the consequences of his actions more so than before. A lot of that came with having to do “negative” things, but it’s a still a positive part of his growth.
I won’t go so far as to say that I think that Season 3 should have started with Chuck and Sarah together, because I don’t think that it should have. But I don’t think that the show needed a “traumatic” event like Prague to keep Chuck and Sarah apart for a bit. (I also think that the PLIs were unnecessary, but that’s not the issue here.) You’re right: “Pink Slip” should have been a more lighthearted episode, and we didn’t need three straight episodes of Bitchy Sarah to start off the season. (That’s not to say that some of the darker episodes this season couldn’t have been done; I appreciate the darker tone when it fits.) Chuck re-intersecting was a good enough reason to put a damper on any sort of relationship, and they could have come to a mutual agreement that the boyfriend/girlfriend cover was just getting too hard to maintain with everything that was happening.
As far as Sarah’s growth in “Other Guy” and “Honeymooners” goes, I really appreciate seeing it, and I wish that we’d seen some growth sooner. It’s why I keep saying that compared to Chuck’s journey in the front 13, Sarah’s was kind of boring. She was bitchy, then she was not bitchy, and then she was with Shaw, and then she was kind of bitchy again. I didn’t see much character growth there, and I do think that some character growth opportunities were missed in keeping Chuck and Sarah apart.
I guess what I was getting at earlier with my rather facetious comment about how the jump from “Ring” to “Pink Slip” and the jump from “Ring” to “Honeymooners” were similar is that neither jump makes much sense.
Well at least we are all in a really good place right now after the Honeymooners. Just hope the trend will continue.
Joe, if you are reading these posts, I hope you
pick this up.
Well, they finally did it right. I’ve had plenty of
negative things to say about the 1st arc which I won’t repeat here.
On the other hand I’m willing to give credit where credit is due. As was noted above in an earlier post
if they had done this throughout Season 3 there would not be a ratings issue now and a danger of
cancellation.
That being said last night’s episode was superb, the
best they’ve ever done. They finally got around to
portraying Chuck/Sarah the way we always knew they
should be. Too bad it took so long.
Speaking of chemistry it appears some new effective
comedy has been added. Morgan/Casey and Morgan/Beckman are simply hilarious and great fun to
watch. It speaks volumes for restoring the show’s
magic and charm it once had. We can only hope this
is the beginning of a permanent trend and regression
does not take place but last night’s show has restored hope.
Ratings: The show apparently held steady at 2.1. It’s a shame the entire state of Oregon was blacked
out because of a NBA play off game. What really needs to happen now is for everybody who wants this
show back must get out the word by any means possible to get as many viewers as possible to watch the show in real time for the next 4 weeks.
This will be CRITICAL to the show’s chances for
renewal. Don’t take anything for granted….
Once again congrats to the producers. They finally
got it right. Now keep up the good work and don’t go
crazy on us again. Just hope all of this is not too
little, too late.
Who knows? Maybe “The Force” will be with us (and NBC) when a final decision is made, thanks.
I actually liked the first 13 episodes of season 3. I think they were really good overall, especially when you watch them in sequence. And I think you can easily argue that they were necessary to make these next episodes so much more amazing.
Could it have been better? Yeah. I’m sure it could have. I’m sure there was an easier way to get us to this point and make it just as fulfilling.
In fact, it makes me even more ridiculously happy that we’re here now. This episode was so much fun that it actually made the first 13 episodes of the season (which I liked, a lot!) look unbelievably boring by comparison. Am I going to be mad that we got those episodes? No, I’m going to be all the happier that this amazing series is about to get better than EVER before!
I honestly, sincerely wish that the entire Chuck fan base shared your infectious enthusiasm.
(You can count me in as someone who really liked the first 13 and is excited to see what the rest of the back 6 will bring.)
Hi, 1019. May I call you 10 for short? 😉
Ack! Need more coffee. This is how I write at 6 AM.
One of my dearest friends disagrees with you. I don’t. I’m having an unusual reaction. The music I like so much from S1 and S2 (Signs, Creature Fear, many others) don’t quite seem appropriate now. It’s still great music, but not what I want to hear ATM. Holiday and Nina Simone are what I want to hear now, for exactly the reasons you said.
Joe, I agree, when chuck was about to play the music for Sarah I was soo worried, I thought it would be some heartless stuff, when sensual was what was needed, and WOW did they ever deliver.
That one scene is a great example of how a couple with modest clothes on can be so much more sensual, and get the point across better, then 2 naked bodies writhing on a bed.
I agree BDaddy, that has to have been one of the most romantic scenes I’ve ever seen on television.
Yup. Totally agree. That scene has, for me, become the gold standard for which to compare other romantic scenes to.
jsut rewatched – on second view – another pair of lines caught my eye as being well, awesome, first, something along the concept is my passport has been punched, but I have never seen europe, the second, I have lived alot of places but burbank is the only place I would call home – second one in particular, sarah said with a joyful expression she just has not ever had b4. Plus, that last scene, my oh my, how much more sensual can two people be in a PG setting?
Sarah has expressions in this episode that are like nothing we’ve ever seen before (Yvonne’s acting abilities, in that respect, are unmatched by anybody in the world that I’ve seen!).
Sarah smiling (honest smiles, not cover smiles) always instantly brightened up episodes. But look at her near the end of 3×14, as she and Chuck are finally realizing they can be spies and be together at the same time (the restaurant scene, when they pull away after the ETA mole tells them that neither of them actually want to run). Yvonne has never, ever smiled like that before on this show.
yeah. It’s definitely the best scene in Chuck to date.
I find the passports thing very notable because remember when Chuck was in a plane in Paris but couldn’t get out? I’ve made a point before that that’s the spy life…and Sarah proved it.
Although to be fair she hasn’t taken a vacation in like years either so…first time for everything for her. Well not everything.
Those lines almost looked like fanfic!
I’m a little worried, because now I think I’m not going to be able to watch older (amazing) episodes and be happy anymore, since this one is on a totally new level of awesome.
On a sidenote, being Canadian, I got really happy as soon as I saw the (fake, evil terrorist!) Canadian show up on the train – but when Morgan cracked “oh, Canada,” I nearly died (probably the simplest Canada joke ever on TV, but I think it takes the cake!).
Greetings, physics. See my comment to 1019 a little above this. I’m having the same feeling!
I just rewatched this episode with a friend who is also a Chuck fan. While he enjoyed all the comedy and spy stuff, he practically vomited every time Chuck and Sarah kissed. (He’s not a huge fan of romance.) He called the episode “a little too sappy.”
See, anti-shippers exist!
Um, what is he, eight? 😉
Nah, he’s almost 21.
Hey, even I think that they overdid the smoochy stuff a little. But subtlety isn’t exactly Chuck’s strong point. Part of the fun is getting hit over the head with a giant metaphorical sledgehammer. 🙂
21? Doesn’t surprise me. Most guys don’t figure out that “romance” is a lot more than just a frantic romp in the sheets for a few more years yet… 😉
Paul, he’s definitely not that kind of guy; he just thinks that when it comes to onscreen romance, most of it is better left to the imagination. And to be honest, I kind of agree, but not to the extent that seeing onscreen smooching makes me shake my head.
21 sounds just about right for that. And I guess not *everyone* is a romantic at heart (give him a few years!).
I do know guys who react the same way (Casey wannabes!); that’s kind of why I always say I’d rather the show not be “about” Chuck and Sarah, but rather the spy stories and action/adventure. But I do enjoy the occasional very sweet episode, it makes the adventure more exciting when I know what they’re fighting for.
This morning’s thing on my mind, the top 5 Jsffster! performances.
1- Africa/Best Friend: This was my favorite Jeffster! moment, the genius of letting them go out and sing off key while Lester struts around like Mick Jagger is amazing. It was a sort of “I can’t beleive they are doing this moment.
2- Mr Roboto/The Ring: Great because of the amazed reaction of the crowd, from the gasp to Big Mike saying “I don’t know, but this wedding just got good” to the “are you going to allow Sam Kinnison and an Indian Lesbian ruin your wedding” I love them all. That and the music really ties into the gunfight in the next room.
2- Leaving on a Jet Plane/the Honeymooners: I tied this for second as I thought that the music was great, something totally unexpected from Jeffster!. That and the Simon and Garfunkle sight gag.
4- Fortunate Son/the Beard: Still good and fun but doesn’t have the oomph of the others. Does have a good line “thats the sound of liberty”.
5- Fat Bottomed Girls/Comic-con: Big energy, appropriate song couldn’t hear most of it.
Africa will forever remain the cardinal Jeffster moment. I actually have a Toto song in my playlist because of it.
I’m confused and disturbed that the Jeffster version of “Leaving on a Jet Plane” is my favorite. I guess I have to wait for the Chuck mix CD for that though. Speaking of which the guy who does a lot of this music had a website where we could vote and pick music, but I can’t seem to locate it. Does anyone have a link?
I think this is the link BDaddyDL gave in a post somewhere.
http://www.jonestimjones.com/
Tim Jones composes original music for Chuck (link Crumby gave above)
Alexandra Pachavas is the music supervisor (ie the girl that picks which songs play on Chuck and on what moment) her website is http://www.chopshopmusic.com/
Patsavas .. god I murdered her surname, sorry
Seriously….the scariest part of Jeffster! in 3.14 was that they actually sounded GOOD… >.<
A few more things I loved about this episode. We are now at graduate school level chemistry. Zach and Yvonne were just amazing, especially the last scene. It manages to set up just about everything. It is a perfect ending to the honeymoon, but also sets up that is is a new day and a new life, and despite how absolutely natural they look together it somehow makes the point that we have NEVER seen this sort of closeness between them before, even in the train on the honeymoon. Notice that Sarah is wearing a pair of Chuck’s boxers with the waist rolled over? She has her territory marked already, bracelet aside. The T-shirt from Lethal Weapon might have been a nice touch, but I won’t quibble.
Chuck and Sarah’s reaction to Beckman’s “release agent Walker!” was priceless. It was perfectly done and perfectly filmed, both of them going into schoolgirl/boy mode instantaneously was hilarious.
A callback to S1 with the tango music as Chuck and Sarah danced around what they wanted for themselves and each other. Loved it.
I like that they are (or seem to be) exploring Sarah dealing with being normal. Favorite song? She needs Chuck to introduce her to some music, it’s just never been a factor. Actually seeing Europe for the first time, and Burbank feeling like home were great aspects. Now, moving in with one suitcase, a heavy bag, and a substantial collection of knives is set up. Also can’t wait for the Buy Moron’s reactions to them back together and/or moving in.
Masey? Corgan? Can’t figure that one out yet, but Casey has a new partner. It would have been impossible had Casey not gone through the whole Chuck saga and become actual friends with Chuck. Now he has another nerd to train, but sees it isn’t totally hopeless.
Now that the ship is underway, I have a new milestone. Casey and Sarah will hug. I know Casey isn’t a hugger, but he will develop a soft spot for Chuck and Sarah, especially Sarah. And it will lead to some hilarity in season 8 when Sarah tells him she’s pregnant. Casey childproofing the entire apartment complex will be a sight to see.
Oh, and I counted seven room service meals, although the last was more a snack and Champagne and I only saw one obvious breakfast I think we can assume about two solid days of … coupling. And Chuck did seem a bit unsteady the last time he answered the door.
I loved Casey’s attempt at a quip (Chuck is going to need a walker…) and Morgan just not quite catching on. Casey will miss Chuck in some ways.
“Casey childproofing the entire apartment complex will be a sight to see.” LOL
For a second, I did think that Casey and Sarah were gonna hug when CS left the Café.
If there’s to be a Casey and Sarah hug, my guess is just after they haul Chuck away yelling “guys I’m not crazy”. Casey will react with as much warmth as when Chuck hugged him in the Ring.
Is it possible Casey would actually be dangerous about trying to make the place safe?
“Casey childproofing the entire apartment complex will be a sight to see.”
Casey as godfather? The Godfather IV???
😉
Ernie if you’re on twitter you got to send that to Baldwin. He tweets all the time, and ever since I read that this morning I have a goofy smile on my face with the image of Casey with a drill in his hand childproofing the door to a closet. He is carrying it like a gun and in the saying you never can be too careful.
Morgan never getting any of Casey’s quips could put quite a strain on their relationship and also provide for some excellent comedy. You get two jokes for the price of one. First the audience is treated to Casey’s quip and then Morgan’s clueless response.
Right on Ernie. I would like to add that the most amazing thing about the final scene, on top of the profound intimacy involved, was the air of contentedness. You could see a little half smile on Sarah’s face as she snuggled into Chuck. And I’m not sure if the forehead kiss was planned or not, but it was perfect and natural. Unless something amazing comes down the pipe, this is undoubtedly my favorite C/S moment….and there have been a bunch of good ones over the course of the series.
Ernie, we are officially on the same page here. What an awesome episode, and you’ve captured many of the best parts. I don’t have a map of France with a scale handy, but that does seem like one slow ride. Maybe Sarah disabled the engine at some point to require a lengthy stopover…
Well Dave I’m French and this was definitely a slow ride… It takes only a couple hours to do Paris-Lyon. It wasn’t a high-speed train so you can count more, but taking more than one day to do that ride is, well, unlikely.
Well Crumby, I think you’ve answered the burning question of what Chuck and Sarah were really doing in that compartment. Casey was wrong; they were eating themselves sick!
I almost point that out, but decided to let it slide. I was going to say that the real trip only lasted a few hours, they simply needed all the food to restore all the energy sapped by their activities…
I don’t think you can go south from the Montparnasse train station either, but that’s not really important.
So Crumby, you being a unique resource I have a few questions. First, that food looked REALLY good. I’m a hobbyist cook and have dabbled with some of the French country fare, but are those classic dishes? Just a little curious. Second, how was Chuck’s French?
Almost forgot, for our friends to the north, I thought Morgan’s efforts to be Canadian were hilarious. “He’s aboot..”
As to the Canadian, I have never said aboot in my life, neither have I ever heard it, other than that it was pretty good. Liked the flag on the backpack, sort of ties into some of the smug self images of Canadians, liked the leave me alone or I’ll cut you but I think she was Basque.
As to the French, seemed the same as the Polish punk rocker, say it low enough and soft enough and people will think you are saying it correctly, they just didn’t hear it right. In truth at first I thought he was speaking Italian, on rewatch I realized it was French, ok but not great.
please forgive the spelling, but Cajun French is really only spoken not written
quand l’amour c’est dommage
So herder you from Canada? I’ve heard aboot but never from a live person normally on TV and from maritime Canadians. Chuck’s French was passable, c’est comme ci comme ca.
Ernie-
About the food, it was really well presented. I haven’t seen anything I’d call classic dishes but I don’t really know what would be unusual for you guys.
Chuck’s French was understandable, exccept maybe when he said “coussin” (=pillow). But of course you can clearly hear is accent.
Chuck’s French was a passable imitation of the kind of French accent you’d hear in France. Canadian viewers might think it weird, but we’re used to hearing the Québécois accent.
Some of the things that I really got a kick out of in this episode: in the opening scene the way that both Chuck and Sarah were rushed, trying to send the steward on his way as quickly as possible to get back to what they were doing. Then the next time they speak, is a sort of dragged out Chuck at the door, when he comes back to the bed Sarah has a laughing smile that I don’t think has been seen on the show up to that point.
The next morning they are drinking coffee, sitting on the bed, her leg draped over his, his hand on her knee, very comfortable, very beleivable interplay between the actors. If you notice, they are touching one another throughout the show: his rubbing her shoulders (in a non-creepy way) after putting the ring on her finger, holding hands when Casey first shows up and so on. This carries over to the last scene in Chuck’s room which is the culmination of all this affection, comfort and closeness. They are very beleivable as a couple, more so than Chuck and Hannah, obviously more so than Sarah and Shaw.
Award winning stunts like the Cafe fight, heck, if I had someone who looked like that willing to ride a Vespa with me like that, I’d drive a Vespa.
Even on repeated rewatchings there is little that isn’t still funny and little that I want to fast forward through to get to the good stuff, it’s all good stuff. All the minor characters stepped up and seemed to want to grab the brass ring in this episode, my personal favorite was the General, but it easily could have been Morgan or Ellie or Jeffster. Seriously this may be my new personal favorite episode.
qft
You know herder, when you mentioned they were holding hands it gave me a “flash” of insight. The REAL reason spies aren’t supposed to fall in love; its so easy to cuff them when they’re holding hands!
no more Dave! I’m already a big pile of mushiness goo. I’m at 7th re-watch and I’m literally smiling at that moment right now.
Almost forgot this one…
Chuck: “My god you even make terrorist groups sound sexy.”
And she does.
feeling good, nina simone, chuck version
(music video)
01:45 DAS ist der unschuldigste und gleichzeitig heißeste Hüftschwung der Fernsehgeschichte…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z46Y-lpMpws
Ausgezeichnet!
danke, weaselone!!!
I liked that we actually saw Chuck using the cream that Morgan used to find him!
Having now watched with my usual “casual viewer”, this episode scored very well. She almost lost it laughing at “release Agent Walker.” Why is that line so funny? I mean, it doesn’t seem like much, but seriously I think its the best line Beckman has ever had; and my wife sure agreed. I guess her only complaint was, as the final credits came up, “they should be married now!” No pleasing some people!
All in due time… 😉
Oh yeah, I have no doubt. I’ll be patient for now.
LOL. I love it.
Yeah GB was seriously great. My personal fav was “No.” though. I still laugh every time I see that.
I forgot, just seeing the General on Chuck’s iPhone was good for a big laugh too.
We were noticing Sarah spent more time smiling before the opening credits than in the rest of the season combined.
“Stop right there. Release Agent Walker!” was SO funny. LOL. I’m still laughing just thinking about it.
I also liked the way Sarah said “General, Chuck and I are dating.” She said on a very determined tone.
Also the way Beckman said “interfere”. Loved the whole scene…
General Beckman was hilarious, but Captain Awesome still had the best lines of the night:
“Babe, this didn’t happen by accident.”
and
“Uh, Lester, that’s lime juice.”
Funnyyyyy…
Morgans CIA file pic of him with that huge sandwich
Morgan’s super secret money pouch
Jeffster: prepare yourself to be wowed by a wave of sound… sound… sound
She’s a tigress i tell you!
Annnnd, anything synchronized C&S did
I’m sure there is more stuff, but i’m cracking up at these right now. Yeah, i’m rewatching 🙂
“these guys are meant to be spies…
together”
LMAO.
So I was thinking about this way back, but it’s been answered in that ep.
We’ve seen Chuck and Sarah sleep in the same bed several times, but not every time on the same side of the bed. It seems that the cover-relationship side of the bed isn’t the same than the real relationship side of the bed. I assumed it after Colonel but this episode confirmed it.
Sarah generally sleeps nearest the door, probably out of an ingrained desire to protect Chuck.
no, no, weaselone, meanwhile i’ve checked crumby’s quote. he’s seems to be rigth…
fake relationship = chuck rigth side
real realtionship = chuck left side
a new hidden aspect; i love these things 😉
this “rule” works in his appertment, Hotel (colonel), Paris & the train
Well, we should know for certain if we ever see them in chuck’s bed again. If she hasn’t switched sides, it blows that theory out of the water.
what Crumby means is that Sarah slept on the left side, near the door, in S1 and S2 during her cover sleepovers and on the right side away from the door in colonel and all through honeymooners.
It’s probably some minor detail they threw in for the extra observant
Ignore what I just wrote…
Yes it’s just a detail, but I wanted to share… lol. But the first time I watched Colonel I thought “hey they switched side” and maybe it was just because Sarah took the side the closer from the bathroom in Colonel. But then all through Honeymooners they kept the same side they had in Colonel and especially in the last scene where they were back in Chuck’s room. So theory on the difference between cover and real relationship translating in the side of the bed they take holds together.
I thought that but os course colonel throws a spanner in the works
I just finished watching the episode again, I cant tell you which re watch, but its a few. When you had the Ellie Chuck conversation at the end, I think Chuck for the first time said, Im not so little. Looks like Chuck thinks he grew up!
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Just finished reading Mo Ryan’s review on this episode, I know, that was seven years ago, but she had a valid point, not sure if anyone else has mentioned it on these boards by why would Sarah & Chuck need to run thinking Beckman could stop it, Sarah & Shaw were dating over several episodes and not keeping it strictly professional whilst in castle, so what’s the difference, don’t get me wrong, I love vs the Honeymooners but it’s like the writers have forgotten what they’ve written before, it’s not as though the misery arc was written many years ago, it’s the same series.
and the other thing
I know the favourite band question was set up for the end scene (great scene by the way) but C/S have been cover dating for at least two years, he should know this by now, should have written the start differently to have reached the same end.
There was a lot of sloppiness on some of these issues. Like even the whole confusion over what “compromised” actually means! The concern would never have been over physical actions, but rather loyalty to the agency. Of course as a viewer that is the real issue of interest to us too. But the physical intimacy is used as a sort of symbol of loyalties, and it was unevenly applied. Especially once we find out there is at least one other married team of agents!
As far as running away goes, I think that was more about escaping the spy life than an actual fear of separation (at least at this point, with two full agents involved).
Early on, Sarah would have a real fear of being separated from Chuck IF her bosses knew she was more loyal to him than them (and I believe we saw this to be true from Marlin on). Broken Heart presented the conflict all bass ackwards, as Beckman only really had reason to believe CHUCK was very attached to his handler. That should not have presented a true problem.
Once Chuck is an agent this part of the problem goes away. But even so, agents can and do quit. Sarah conceivably could have quit any time she was ready to just be a girlfriend/spouse. Of course that would have been a very different story than canon.
Canon was very sloppy with these details, a lot of fan fiction is much better with this sort of stuff. Like “Chuck and Sarah vs Themselves” by ninjavanish really spins an epic of Charah escaping from under the government’s thumb.
You will have to excuse me Dave for the late entries, I’m working my way back and forth through these reviews and comments which is a lot, a lot of reading, going back to episodes or scenes, then venting my opinions into typing instead of speaking them out aloud to myself