Chuck Versus the Business Trip

Missile Command is a part of our process.

Photo Credit: NBC

What a fun episode it was this week with most of the elements that make Chuck great being used. It brought the Morgan-sect storyline to a close and re-affirmed just how much of a snake Decker is. To me it felt, in places, like an episode from late in the first season; a fun mission with a little bit of danger and no Intersect kung-fu to help them.

Even before the opening credits, Morgan has the Intersect removed, but not before having one last ‘zoom’ and what a fun way to go out. Chuck and Sarah were having a lot of fun throwing shuriken, or ‘ninja stars’, at Morgan, who himself was having fun catching them in various ways. Casey and Beckman, however, were less than impressed by the shenanigans; just the look on their faces was priceless!

The mission to draw out The Viper gave us some good relationship moments between Chuck and Sarah. A couple of points reminded me of ‘Versus the Suburbs’ where, despite it being a mission, they were trying to blend in as a normal couple and wondering what that would be like.

Sarah seemed so excited that she’d made a ‘normal’ friend. It was really sweet the way she said “I think that she just really likes me” in such a hopeful way. Made me go ‘awwww’ anyway. She really wants to have a normal life and hanging out with normal people reinforces that for her.

Not everyone there is normal though. Apart for the assassin and the decoy assassin there is the worrying furry-fetishist. It certainly explains why Yvonne was beating up a guy in a rabbit suit (an went for the nuts straight off!) on the Coco-Cam that we’ve all seen.*

*If you’ve somehow missed it – here ‘s a link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFzzqQDfnDc

Whilst the mission at the Buy More convention is going on, Casey is left babysitting Morgan. His re-nerd-ucation starts with watching Star Wars, but Casey tricks him into watching Episode 1 first by telling him “everyone loves Phantom Menace”. The cruel man, although he obviously has picked up some nerd knowledge along the way.

Morgan, of course, starts watching it and voices the opinion of a large number of nerds everywhere: “I would rather scratch out my eyeballs than to listen to that Jar-Jar Binks any more.” We’re with you buddy.

Casey then tells him he lied and to start with the original trilogy. Then he goes and gives away the twists about Darth Vader and Leia, robbing Morgan of the revelations. He’s still mad that Morgan broke up with Alex and hurt her.

Casey makes up for it eventually by getting Morgan the Indiana Jones trilogy. Morgan is wary, asking if there are only 3, and that Casey isn’t keeping the best one from him. In his own way, he’s helping Morgan because I think a number of us wish we could unsee the mess that was ‘Crystal Skull’.

This week had, in my opinion, the best use of the Buy More for a while. As well as it being the reason for the convention, it gave us more on the Jeff/Lester relationship. Now that Jeff has become a functioning human being, Lester has become rather bitter about it. The fact that Jeff has turned into a company man, inspiring the rest of the staff to vow to work harder for the next year, has brought out that dark side of Lester. He was willing to pump carbon monoxide into the break room to get Jeff back to his brain damaged self, and in the process could have killed Big Mike.

This gave us the return of the word that will forever be code in the Chuck fandom. Whilst being wheeled out of the Buy More in a wheelbarrow by Jeff, Big Mike shouts the word that must not be spoken; “Pineapple!”

Not since the first season have we heard the word, so that was a nice little call back to the roots of the show.
Again, going back to how it felt very season 1, there was a parallel with the very same episode in which we discovered 'pineapple'. In 'Chuck Versus the Nemesis' the store was evacuated, leaving the Fulcrum assassins alone in the store with Chuck and Casey. Sarah and Bryce come in to help rescue them. In this episode, the store is evacuated leaving Morgan and Alex alone with The Viper after them. Chuck and Sarah come in to help rescue them.

The new and improved Jeff was even able to help out Captain Awesome. With the fresh air helping his intuition, he could see that Ellie wasn’t happy being at work and that she wanted to be at home with baby Clara. Devon decided to go back to work to give Ellie time at home, lying that all the house-husbandry and mother and baby classes were driving him nuts so that Ellie could be happy and spend time with her daughter.

Casey proved that he’s still a badass. Following The Viper, he found out that although Decker officially rescinded the kill order on Morgan, he was unofficially approving The Viper kill everyone in Chuck’s life who knew about her, with the exception of Chuck and Sarah. With Alex, Morgan and Casey all in danger, he took out The Viper and her team of six men because it was necessary. I have to say that he manage to shoot five guys and The Viper in an impressive three seconds; that’s why you don’t mess with the Casey.

During the week, we were all submitting how our lives have changed due to the show using the hashtag #BecauseOfChuck. It was another fun coincidence (remember the baseball dig in the first episode) that we got to hear Sarah’s #BecauseOfChuck;

"I've been having a hard time with the fact that I have no real friends, but I look around here at all of you today and I realize that because of Chuck, I do."

We ended up with two characters being arrested, with Lester having pumped exhaust fumes into the Buy More break room, he was taken away for attempted homicide. Decker came to arrest Casey for the murder of the Viper and her team and since he’s no longer working for the government; he has no license to kill. Actions have consequences, so it will be interesting to see how everything is resolved.

 

Next episode airs December 9th: Chuck Versus the Hack Off

A mission to track down a computer super virus leads Chuck (Zachary Levi) to return to his roots as a hacker — and to call on his biggest competition, Gertrude Verbanksi (guest star Carrie-Anne Moss), for help. Elsewhere, a new Buy More employee (guest star Danny Pudi) complicates Jeff (Scott Krinsky) and Lester’s (Vik Sahay) friendship. Yvonne Strahovski, Adam Baldwin, and Joshua Gomez also star.

Here's the trailer, take a look:


Thanks to Chuck & Sarah Media at chucksarahmedia.com for the trailer.