This week on Chuck we get the moment we’ve been waiting for all season: Chuck meeting back up with his mother (Linda Hamilton) for the first time since he was 9 in “Chuck Versus the Aisle of Terror.” Coming on the heels of a return to form after a couple poor episodes, I was a bit wary as to whether or not this would continue that hot streak or fall back to the mediocrity that had assailed the show recently.
Find out which it was after the jump.
Synopsis: This episode brings the follow-up to Chuck’s mom calling him, as she returns to confuse and eventually shoot and then endear herself to Chuck. But is she good? Is she bad? Casey and Morgan dig for clues as to the answer of that while Chuck and Sarah deal with a lead his mother gave him: a fear agent created by a doctor played by Freddy Krueger himself – Robert Englund.
Oh yeah, and Jeffster is tasked with making the Buy More scary.
What Was Good: I really enjoyed this episode. I thought it was another really solid episode that hit on all of the things we want the show to hit on: humor, nice action pieces, good relationship moments, and steadily building the bigger plot elements. Nothing was really left behind, and the blend worked really well once again.
The acting has been uniformly quality, but with her character’s pregnancy Sarah Lancaster has managed to be able to stand out often this season, especially in this episode. I liked Schwartz and Fedak’s juxtaposition of having the unwanted mother-in-law invading her personal space while the mother she wants is always out of reach. The ending with her mother getting captured by Sarah and Casey’s team as she waited to see her for the first time in 22 years was a heart wrenching moment, and one that is something we’ve sort of seen before from the show but something that also worked incredibly well.
As far as guest stars are concerned, Linda Hamilton did well at seemingly playing every side at the same time while also being an engaging and real feeling character. While she pales in comparison to the great Scott Bakula in terms of the Bartowski parents, she is doing well. Robert Englund was flat out great as the poor man’s Scarecrow, and the development of his fear toxin and the way the writers used this to bring out Chuck’s greatest fears was fantastic. That it also led to Jeffster accidentally taking him out (even if it was set up early on) was all the better.
The fact that the supporting cast is continuing to be used properly (Joshua Gomez = The Magnet = me happy) shows a lot of hope for the remaining half of the season, and it makes me realize that they are truly back on the right path. Plus, props for playing some Hot Chip in the episode. Any time that happens, I’m a happy man.
What Was Bad: The standard “holy crap, I can’t believe they actually did that” moment of this episode was when Chuck and Sarah triggered a countdown on Wheelwright’s bomb, released him to get his help, and then promptly forgot to wear gas masks just in case. God forbid the villain double crosses you people! I know they’re nice people, but it just seems like a huge reach that Sarah would do such a rookie move.
Overall: The show continues its very solid season after the two episode swing of death, and I am all the more thankful for it. It was really disappointing to give this show bad reviews, as it has been one of the most consistent shows on TV as well as perhaps the most entertaining for the whole of its run. Now that it’s back on track, I’ve got a big smile back on my face.
