This week on Chuck, we’ve got an all Buy More adventure featuring some guest stars who previously were thorns in the respective sides of Chuck and Sarah: Steve Austin and Nicole Richie. This leads to tons of shenanigans inside and around Castle, which is no good for Morgan and the newly returned Big Mike who are attempting to launch a hot new video game as sweaty nerds look on.
Recipe for a high quality episode, right?
Find out of it made it work after the jump.
Synopsis: Chuck is happy in his relationship with Sarah. Sarah is a bit less happy, as the discovery of their Achilles Heel last week (her lack of interest in getting married and having kids) is eating away at her without Chuck realizing it. Meanwhile, two prisoners are dropped off at Castle to await transport – previous Chuck enemy Hugo Panzer and ex-high school nemesis turned super hot sparring partner of Sarah Heather Chandler. Predictably, the prisoners don’t stay that way for long and they only act to bring into the open the problems Chuck and Sarah are having.
Upstairs in the Buy More, Morgan is attempting to launch the hottest new video game with limited inventory, hundreds of sweaty fanboys, and Big Mike returning. Predictably, that storyline weaves into the spy story.
What Was Good: There were some really nice fights in this episode, as Sarah and Heather’s rematch was solid but not as incredible as the one we previously saw in “Chuck Versus the Cougars.” The showdown between Chuck and Panzer was also pretty awesome, especially when they were in the Buy More cage and Chuck was forced to use the Intersect to run up a wall and leap over him…and then get his ass kicked. Realistically, it made sense that no matter the advantage the Intersect provides, a monster like Panzer should be able to take him out given his training and bulk. It was a good call by the writers, and made the episode tie together better.
What Was Bad: This was one of the weaker episodes of the past couple seasons. Everything about it felt like a Diet version of the previous appearances by Austin and Richie. The action was less exciting, the dramatic tension wasn’t nearly on the same level, and the character moments felt a lot worse throughout. It didn’t help that Richie was brutal in this episode (she was pretty solid last time, but I think she was at capacity for how well she could act there) and that a lot of the set up was just completely ridiculous, but it was still pretty bad.
The Buy More scenes were very disappointing as well, especially considering that I felt like Morgan was making a big move upwards with the way he handled General Beckman and the sanctity of his beloved Buy More previously. Seeing him fall apart in this episode and have to fall back on Big Mike was a disappointment, as I really felt like Morgan was taking a big leap here. Alas, it appears it wasn’t meant to be.
One positive that I didn’t mention was that even Chuck was like “maybe we can FINALLY get started looking for my mom,” but it still didn’t help that the main plot thread of the season is making What About Bob? style baby steps forward. I want some progress people!
This also was not a very good episode for Chuck and Sarah, as their communication is just terrible and is scripted so prolifically so that it bothers me here. That they have to use Nicole Richie to smoke out their emotions kills me, and it is just a very ineffectual for the couple that really seemed to be on an upswing in recent episodes. That the episode ends with a cliffhanger involving Big Mike’s ring was alternately crazy predictable and overdrawn. To me, it had very little dramatic weight and kind of came off as a cheap ploy to set up next episode.
Sadly, Jeffster couldn’t even save this episode, and I was also disappointed by Casey’s role being continuously reduced. Sigh.
Overview: This was the worst episode of the season without a doubt, and probably the worst in the past couple seasons. It had a hell of a time keeping my attention or entertaining me, which is a huge shame for the show that I have long called the most entertaining show on television. Every streak must come to an end however, and I trust the show wholeheartedly to make a fearsome comeback in future episodes.
