Chuck vs. The Role Models 3.15 **

The writer of this episode, Phil Klemmer, had penned one before, “Chuck vs. the Final Exam.” My problem with Exam was how the humor diluted some of the suspense that gave the story some needed bite that Chuck had to face. In Role Models we have all humor and no bite, well, there’s the tiger but I don’t think he counts.

Concerned about them officially being a couple, General Beckman assigns Chuck and Sara to shadow Craig and Laura Turner, a revered married spy couple played by Fred Willard and Swoozie Kurtz. Beckman wants Chuck and Sarah to gain insight into how to function successfully as a spy couple by observing the best in the business.

Meanwhile, Casey has his own mission impossible to deal with in training Morgan Grimes to become a spy–or at the very least a guy who can handle himself in the field.

Unbeknownst to Chuck and Sarah, however, the years of espionage and spydom has disillusioned the Turners. They’ve become spies for hire and are perfectly willing to sell world-security threatening weapons and technology to the highest bidder. If it’s not a marriage built on love and trust anymore, at least it can be built on profit gains.

This show has always worked when it is balanced. The Beard was also a light-hearted Chuck, but it still had the Ring presenting a serious threat when they infiltrated Castle. Danger was still present and lives were still threatened. Of course, we knew our heroes would turn out okay, but the episode still gave you that illusion, that suspension of disbelief, that all successful adventure comedies have to have.

In this one, everything is a bit too tongue-in-cheek. We don’t buy for a second that Chuck and Sarah are in any danger or that the Turners would make serious antagonists. The idea of using a tiger as a security measure is also a bit over the top, and it certainly doesn’t help when it starts turning into a live-action Looney Tunes cartoon. Yep, we even have to have the delayed sneeze from an allergic Chuck.

I think it’s a common mistake that befalls many a show in that the producers overcompensate when they try something different and get a negative reaction from their audience. This is an episode that is very ginger in its execution and it’s too bad, because they have some nice setups here for a potentially interesting story. And sometimes that’s better than making everyone happy.

For instance, I think Willard and Kurtz should have relied less on super agent bickering Bickersons than a spy version of George and Martha. In Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? George and Martha are a bitter middle-aged husband and wife who seem to enjoy hurting each other. We really don’t get that here, and I think it’s to the story’s detriment. Why wouldn’t you be bitter about something you’re so good at doing but have come to despise through the years and mission after mission after mission?

So it would have been interesting to see the Turners as people who can’t stand each other but wholly dependent upon each other, ironically making them very formidable. In some ways, it reminds me of the relationship between Macbeth and Desdemona on the animated series, Gargoyles. Two co-dependent teammates who would turn on a dime against each other if given the chance. But, in a way, kind of reluctant to because regardless of the mutual hatred, they work well together. The job they hate brings out the best in them.

This, I think, is the biggest fear that wasn’t quite articulated enough and given a whitewash here. What if Chuck and Sarah get disillusioned by the job and the missions and constant distrust? What if instead of wanting to be together they are stuck together, unable to function as effectively solo as they do as a team…and hating every single minute of it? What if Chuck and Sarah get to the point where they secretly want to kill the other one, but don’t have the stones to actually sever the team?

It’s these things that get swept under the rug when the Turners rediscover their old idealistic heroism when they see how in love Chuck and Sarah are. And while that’s a wonderful message for the shippers, I think angst is tolerable if it’s internal rather than external, like Shaw posed with the external threat. There’s nothing wrong with angst about the unknown in a relationship. Particularly one so rife in strife based merely on the job itself. This is not going to be a case where they can separate the job from daily life. They are intermingled for good and ill.

In purely practical purposes, though, a lack of resolution for the Turners would have made them legitimate threats. One thing I’ve been wanting for Chuck is his own Rogues Gallery. Recurring villains with a bit more of a personal angle than Fulcrums and Rings. The engineer from Nacho Sampler was a nice start, a mirror version of Chuck. The Turners would have been even more interesting because they don’t just show what Chuck and Sarah might have become under different circumstances but what they still can turn into. The Turners are the ultimate cautionary tale and potentially their most dangerous foe. Because thanks to the Turners, perhaps their lives are not the only casualty at stake here, but their love.

From a thematic standpoint, Role Models also seemed to abandon one of my favorite themes of this season: the pros and cons approach. It seems like the season has alternated back and forth with certain storylines. The one that comes most to mind is Awesome’s indoctrination into the spylife. One episode he’s experiencing a new sense of adventure and excitement he’s never felt before, which is like crack to an adrenaline junkie like him. But the following week he experiences the flip side of being in constant danger and sobering life-threatening situations. This is no game, no do-overs.

It’s this approach I was looking forward to seeing with Morgan. I loved the whole training montage and how hopeless Morgan looked, and I even kind of bought the whole selfless heroism on Morgan’s part even if the tiger didn’t fly for me. But I wish we didn’t get that damned wish-fulfillment angle that I hope doesn’t get overplayed. We can’t all be Chuck. We can’t all be nerds who become spies. I was hoping that Casey came to the decision that Morgan will never be a spy but he is invaluable as a field analyst. He can handle himself in a way not conducive to spying per se, but he’s still a valuable member of the team. It would have been neat to see some kind of scene where Casey finally just lays the brass tacks down. That it’s not about the mission or girls or adventure or any of that. The ultimate success in being a spy? Staying alive. That’s all that matters.

But the worst Chucks still have that little hook that wants them to reel you in. So glad to see the Ring back. And I really like how we’re seeing the new plan develop perhaps. They tried going through Chuck’s employment. Now they’re going through his family. But like all great espionage thrillers, this is a meticulous effort. The Ring is moving their chess pieces into place and the first pawn to be used against Chuck looks like it will be his own sister, who is getting played by her doctor friend. That’s the meaty potential I’m looking for and am disappointed that Klemmer failed to see that. Considering that his pedigree includes Veronica Mars where twists and turns happened at every act break, this is doubly disappointing. But I‘m confident that Chuck will deliver when it counts.

TallGent

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Chuck vs. The Honeymooners 3.14 ****

When Schwartz and Fedak pitched NBC their 13 episode Season Three, the brass was so happy with the plan that they gave the producers six “bonus” episodes. Because of the closure that Other Guy provided, they both thought it was nice to have a lead-in to Season Four. A kind of Season 3.2

“Chuck vs. The Honeymooners” kicks the new mini-arc where the last one left off with Chuck and Sarah enjoying their time alone together in France. Alone together for hours (and perhaps days) upon end, being the emphasis.

Both of them decide to make their little sabbatical into a full-blown escape. But, wouldn’t you know, they’re on a train that has enemy agents on it. Old habits, you know.

Meanwhile, Beckman has Casey and Morgan track them to bring them back. Here is where Morgan’s value really comes into being as he uses his knowledge of Chuck and his quirks to pinpoint where they’re at.

Unlike the labyrinthine twists and turns from the last episode and the dark themes throughout, this is light and frothy, cut and dried, and Chuck and Sarah heaven. We finally see the two of them together and the adorable reading is off the scale. This is as much fun as we’ve ever seen Sarah have. She’s laughing and playful and enjoying herself for the first time in a long time, and it’s clear that they love playing spy couple.

I particularly liked Sarah’s heavy Texas accent. So over the top and hilarious, but also interesting in that she hides behind it a little with the intimate moments with Chuck. Especially when they pose as the honeymooners and Chuck slips on the ring, Sarah tries not to lose herself in the moment. And again when Chuck tells Sarah they make a really good team. She still uses the accent, still not letting herself quite actually believe they’re together. And conveniently that’s when a disgusted Casey shows up to take them back to Burbank.

It might be the biggest duh observation to make, but it’s interesting how Sarah wasn’t really playing a role right from the start. As a real girlfriend, she’s acting exactly the same with Chuck as when she was his fake girlfriend. So on some level it’s always been real for Sarah. It was never an act.

Then, of course, there’s the fight ballet which is awesome on its own but even more wonderful when you consider that the only other one that Sarah was so in tune with was Bryce. So for Chuck to finally reach that level of partnership, not only as a lover but as part of a dynamic duo, is incredibly significant. And that’s why we get the moment where they decide to be lovers and partners in the spy world. Because not only do they want to be together, they belong together. And they finally accept that they belong to the spy world. It’s as much a part of them as they are to it.

When Chuck episodes go off the air permanently, this is the episode that will probably be most fondly remembered. It’s not the best one the show has done, but it’s the one you can enjoy watching again and again. Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski just take it and run with it, using their screen chemistry, comic timing, and presence to really inject some sorely missed fun back into the show. Adam Baldwin and Joshua Gomez may just be the breakout tag team in the show now as supporting players. Morgan is still a fish out of water, but he’s adapting to the current as only Morgan can despite Casey’s impatient grumblings.

It is kind of strange, though, that the angsty, dark tone of the show this season has brought about unintended expectations. I wanted a bit more menace from the villains, although the non-pacifist “Canadian” harpy was a nice touch. But I had become so conditioned to the sturm and drang that I kind of missed it when it wasn’t there. Still as a second episode by Rafe Judkins and Lauren LeFranc, you couldn’t ask for a better episode to fill devoted Chuck fans with such giddy pride in their show.

Well, okay, there is the Ellie and Devon subplot of having a final farewell party before leaving for Africa and Chuck not being there. Jeffster even makes an appearance and like Morgan with Casey, they actually adapt and step up to the plate when hey sing a halfway pretty version of “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” I’ll be honest, though, I would have preferred that Chuck never really said goodbye to Ellie and Devon. There has to be cost, even in the light and fluffy stories. Unlike Chuck and Sarah, you can’t always get what you want. And it would have left Chuck and Ellie in a bittersweet place.

I absolutely loved the moment when Sarah made it official to Beckman and she finally acquiesced and let it happen (like she could stop it), and even admitting that she was rooting for Sarah and Chuck off the record. You can’t deny true love, no matter how much it may not make logical sense. Love doesn’t work that way. I think that’s also what Sarah Walker is beginning to understand and accept. Judging from finally getting introduced to Nina Simone and cuddling up to her Chuck at the end, she’s finally discovered what happiness and being in love feels like. And it feels good.

TallGent

Around this time I was eating Subway sandwiches fairly frequently. Not by choice. Well, that’s not exactly true. I made the choice to join in the uber-idealistic plan to save Chuck from cancellation. But, yeah, I would have preferred to have like Togo’s or Thundercloud or…well, just about any deli sandwich besides Subway.

But I felt it was a worthy cause because Chuck had reached that fabled place in TV fiefdom in hitting its stride. Reaching that point where a show just achieves complete effortlessness in its craft. That’s a rare thing.

For this one I had no intention of eating Subways or partaking in anything if Chuck did get cancelled. But it’s not because of disappointment, rather the opposite. You can probably guess that from my rating. But more than that this episode left a warmly satisfied smile on my face of appropriate closure of a show that succeeded at what it set out to do: provide pure, joyous entertainment. One that I’d be happy to revisit again and again.

Well, I would think all of these things if this were the series finale. But it wasn’t. That being said, I can’t think of a more appropriate way to go out. With Ellie and Awesome along for the ride, of course. Except that, well, they weren’t sadly.

But regardless Other Guy does what other great finales have done in not only showing how much a character has grown or changed throughout a series but how that same character changes and affects those around him. What’s great about Chuck is that eventually everyone is affected by his Chuckness, for good and ill.

Consider that Chuck basically demands that Casey help him find Sarah, and this was the same NSA stooge who tried to kill Chuck and later intimidated and put the fear of the Casey in Chuck. Now they’re partners and when push comes to shove they’re there fro each other. And not to get all Role Playey but having an Intersect filled with lethal combat moves probably inches the power points total a bit in Agent Bartowski’s favor. But thanks to Casey’s assistance and a lock on Sarah’s position from a GPS signal, Chuck has a rescue operation in place and a squad to do it with.

Not quite as ginormous as the one that stormed Normandy but pretty close. He even brought a tank. How thoughtful.

Apparently, Chuck’s overzealousness comes for naught as Shaw reveals the Red Test Tape to Sarah. But there is no seething malice or revenge, but merely a refortification of purpose. He tells Sarah that his resolve stands firm in his mission: to end the Ring. With her help, of course.

Chuck, meanwhile, learns the bitterest lesson in the government biz. Wasted lives is not the gravest sin. It’s wasted money.

General Beckman’s relationship with Chuck has been an interesting one. It’s gone from impersonal regard for a valuable tool for the United States Government to a kind of “Chief” to Maxwell Smart communication. Now it’s reached Chief Inspector Dreyfuss levels of contempt and she’s up to her wit’s end at Chuck’s Clousseuesque antics. At her wit’s end and subtly contemptuous. At least she doesn’t have Dreyfuss’s homicidal insanity. She won’t even call him Agent Bartwoski or even Mr. Bartowski. Now it’s a withering “Chuck” like the very effort gives her a migraine

Suffice it to say, Beckman believes that Shaw and Sarah should head the Ring unit in Washington D.C. saying quite diplomatically that she doesn’t know what to do with Chuck yet and orders him to remain in Burbank. But Chuck is still wary of Shaw after everything he’s learned about Sarah and the Red Test.

But Johnnie Walker and video games win out in the end, and he retreats to his lair to sulk and get shitfaced. Morgan tries to intercede but gets some Intersect-style calf roping for his trouble. Well, it might as well have been calf roping at any rate.

Chuck’s roommate Morgan, on the other hand, is all about taking the next step. He’s already quit the Buy More to join the CIA fulltime and in a particularly poignant moment says goodbye to Casey who has decided to accept his fate as a BuyMorian. Morgan in so many words accuses Casey of being a BuyMoron for wasting his time in something he was just not built for. The guy’s a soldier. He belongs in the field.

His partner. Sarah Walker, however belongs with Chuck…at least to see how he’s taking the news. Once again Chuck pours out his heart and finally asks the biggie about Sarah loving him.

Confession time: I underestimated Chuck and Sarah this season, much as I’ve also championed them. Along with the apprehension with Chuck getting the Intersect enhancements was also a lascivious anticipation for some decidedly heated moments between Chuck and Sarah. It made perfect sense to me that while Season 1 and 2 showed Sarah falling for Chuck’s sweet side, the third season would bring out the stud in Chuck and the lust in Sarah. You can take whatever doe-eyed looks or long adoring sighs you want. At the end of the day, Sarah is in a career of high adventure, excitement, action and it’s a given that she’s got a boatload of adrenaline running through her system. So I’m sure a lot of letting off steam comes with it. She had her big release with Bryce Larkin way back when. And she did get hot and heavy with Cole briefly and, in the end, chastely. And, yeah, she did also get kind of passionate with Chuck in the hotel room while they were both on the run. But Sarah Walker is a healthy, vibrant, and confident individual who knows exactly what she’s got and that many men desire all that she’s got. Baggage and all.

So I expected a bunch of angsty kisses and angry love-making and Chuck putting the kung in fu and rescuing Sarah with the nice reward of her planting the mother of all kisses on Chuck’s mug and both of them going at it like Sawyer and Kate and Buffy and Spike only wished they went at it like.

I really wanted that.

But as Sarah so beautifully explains it was never about any of that when it comes to Chuck. She loved him right from the start when he was a lowly Buy More nerd with charm and bashful humor to spare. Particularly after he performed the heroic service of fixing her phone and before the no-big-deal task of disabling a bomb with a computer virus. It’s never about the big stuff for Sarah. It’s the small stuff. The blink and you’ll miss it stuff. She’s a spy. She sees grand heroic gestures all the time.

What she doesn’t experience are dates with genuinely sweet guys who make her laugh and smile or guys who create a mock ballet for heartbroken little girls. Go with whatever one you like or something else completely, but don’t just call this a raging hormones romance. So I was sufficiently chastened, but shoot, it’s hard to be bitter with Sarah’s smile beaming off her face. And Yvonne Strahovski sure is pretty.

The smile beams a bit brighter when she tells Chuck–her Chuck–that she knows about Casey and the Red Test. So there you go. Happiness abounds. Except it’s not quite a social visit. Shaw found a lead. Chuck has to sober and suit up.

Enter Morgan Grimes, Spy Assistant.

Talk about defining moment. Sarah Walker admits love for Chuck in her Walker way and grins when Morgan takes control of getting Chuck back in the Chuck way. In the first season she would have been awkward at best and pulling her gun and ordering Morgan to step away from the asset at worst. How love changes people.

Well, not too much. Sarah, Chuck, and Shaw successfully infiltrate Ring Headquarters and Shaw finally gets some cathartic closure. Meanwhile, it looks like Sarah and Chuck are on to smooth sailing for S.S. Charah.

Most. Anti-climactic. Finale. Ev–

But Morgan spots something suspicious after Shaw and Sarah go to Paris to stop the Ring intersect from being completed. Turns out Shaw is in cahoots with the Ring. The entire infiltration, fistfight and gunfight was a setup. Shaw is working for the Ring.

Morgan Grimes, Surveillance Analyst (and kung-fu movie buff).

Chuck tries to get in touch with Beckman, but Chuck cries wolf one time too many and is told promptly to consider his brief sojourn as a spy officially in the past tense. Permanently. And he can take the bearded buffoon with him. That just leaves Chuck and his faithful assistant–his woefully inexperienced and overmatched assistant.

Time to bring in the big guns. This calls for the Casey.

He’s just not taking any right now. And maybe ever. That’s the thing with Casey. He’s a government man through and through. He believes in the government, devoted his life to it, and ended up betraying it. So as far as he’s concerned he deserves eternal unhappiness at the Buy More. Death is a mercy compared to having your soul crushed day after day after day. Now that is punishment.

Chuck tries for the positive reinforcement. Come on, you’re Casey! We need you! Dammit, John! I need you!

But Morgan goes for the negative. Nope, Casey’s right. He’s washed up. Nothing. Less than nothing. He lives among the navel lint and the molecules that make up said lint. If he feels comfortable wallowing in the meaningless void of nothingness that his life has become, hey, props to you for that!

Yeah. Casey may be a company man but don’t piss him off. Or, maybe, do piss him off that way you get him back on Team Bartowski. And now I’m confused.

In any case: Morgan Grimes, Chief Morale Officer.

I really, really liked the next scene a lot with Chuck and Casey together in the jet. Chuck is perusing through Shaw’s dossier trying to flash but nothing comes. He’s panicking. The thing that has come to define Chuck and his role as a hero isn’t coming through for him in his darkest time. So it’s Casey of all people who reminds Chuck that the hero was never the intersect. It was him. Before anything else, Chuck is one thing. The thing that has really saved his bacon and other slices time and time again. His intelligence.

Meanwhile, in not-so gay Paree, Sarah realizes that Shaw’s mission includes a detour to unpleasant memory lane. He takes her back to the spot of her first Red Test. It’s a trap. Ring agents in all directions shoot paralyzing darts into her leaving her immobilized and very frightened. The Ring Director steps out of the shadows flanking Shaw.

It’s a shame that Shaw was so reviled this season because I really love what Brandon Routh does here not making Shaw a clear-cut turncoat. There’s a definite self-loathing there for how he betrayed Sarah. But he can’t let go of his wife. He can’t let go of vengeance. Trading one ring for another. He’s trapped by them. The ring symbolizing his unquenchable loyalty and love for his wife and the organization that he has now given his soul.

The Ring Director lets Shaw be to finish his business and make an example out of Sarah for what he now sees as the CIA’s betrayal in allowing his wife to be killed. Sarah’s eyes are frozen in despair until they light up when she realizes who the waiter is behind them. Just in the nick of time, Chuck Bartowski makes his hero’s entrance. Sarah wasn’t the only one who was happy, although my happy was accentuated with a fist pump.

Such an interesting reaction from Shaw. Not surprise, not anger, but resignation. And maybe relief. If Chuck is any spy, he’d put two bullets in his miserable head and put him out of his despair and misery. But Chuck is a different spy. The kind that spares his enemies and bring them to justice.

Not quite Shaw’s plan. And that gives him even more incentive to begin his revenge.

Chris Fedak wrote the episode so it makes sense he would be more aware of this than anyone, but I really like the parameters for how the Intersect works in relation with Chuck. The Intersect 2.0 is contingent on Chuck’s ability to absorb lots of information. That’s why he kicks so much ass when he flashes kung-fu. That’s all him. That’s all the information about kung-fu getting accessed by Chuck’s brain and then being implemented into action almost instantaneously. That’s how special Chuck Bartowski is.

That being said, experience will always trump knowledge any day of the week. Shaw’s been in the field longer than Chuck, is more adept at fighting skills, and is coldly efficient when it comes to dispatching opponents. So it makes total sense that Chuck would have his ass handed to him. But he’s also resourceful and I really don’t get the impression that Shaw wants to kill Chuck. He still likes him. Maybe even envies him a little.

But guy’s got to complete the mission. Even if the mission is to kill Sarah.

Yep. A guy’s got to complete the mission. Especially if the mission is to save Sarah. So as Shaw is about to shoot Sarah and dump her in the Seine, Chuck aims a gun at him warning him not to do it. And this ain’t no tranq. It’s a shoot-to-kill gun with real killing bullets.

Shaw’s not too worried, though. But I did like that Chuck was getting through to him but then he thinks back to losing his wife and then reverts back to revenge mode.

Love is a strong force. It even forces those who wouldn’t to kill. Just ask Chuck. I should have known the writers would make Chuck’s first kill mean something. And it does. He kills for the first time to protect the one he loves.

It wouldn’t be Chuck without the iconic nod and in this case it’s with Die Hard in the climactic scene where Hans Gruber is trying to pull McClane’s wife to her death. Along with him. But it’s significant in that it showed an ordinary guy elevating to adventure hero status. And I think this is that moment for Chuck. He’s been a hero before but with this moment with the epic hug and long shot of Chuck and Sarah clinging to each other on the bridge, Chuck is elevated to Jack Bauer and Jason Borne ranks. And, yes, even John McClane.

But what’s happened with the others? Well, John Casey has captured an unconscious Ring Director and calls Beckman up. Negotiations to discuss. Casey’s back on board with one little caveat.

The disgust in Beckman’s voice is just delicious when she recruits Morgan as a full-blown member of Team Bartowski. And just like his best friend he has his Buy More Assistant Manager role as a cover. Thanks to Pappy Mike not having the heart to turn in Morgan’s uniform.

And as for Chuck and Sarah? They are in a hotel room where Sarah regains mobility and consciousness. I really like how Chuck tells Sarah the truth. That he killed Shaw because there was no other way and her life was in danger. But it doesn’t change who he is.

I had the coolest flashes to one of the most unlikely shows, Kim Possible. Basically, Kim Possible is Sarah Walker as a teenager with her best friend Ron Stoppable as Chuck Bartowski without the intersect. In the final season, Kim and Ron are finally together as a couple and in the last episode they had to defeat alien invaders. In the pivotal moment, Kim is unconscious and hurt as Ron stares on helplessly. In that moment where Kim’s life is on the line that’s when his inner courage and power comes out as he takes out the aliens (well, some timely martial art mastery also played a factor.) After Kim comes to she has an incredibly powerful reaction. She stares in disbelief and awe at this geeky guy whom she always kind of loved but never really knew she could count on, and then she just collapses, spent, into his arms. Now she knows Ron can be someone she can have a life with.

I get the same feeling here. Sarah has this look of awe that Chuck Bartowski was the one who saved her. I also think it’s funny how a lot of fans thought it was inconsistent with Sarah being so afraid of Chuck becoming a killer. But what she meant was Chuck killing for missions because “it’s for the good of the country.” Killing in cold blood for abstractions and ideologies. An assassin, in other words. Sarah gets that Chuck killed to save a life: hers. And if ever that terrible decision has to be made, it’s a comfort to Sarah that it will be rare and he will only do it to save lives.

But like Kim now she knows he can handle it. He’s self-sufficient now. No longer handler and asset. No longer protector and charge. Now they’re equals. Agents. Heroes.

And with the simple sweet and longing smooch, finally together as lovers.

Well, they will be as soon as Beckman gets off the line with them. Seems that another mission is afoot. But Chuck and Sarah have other intimate ideas. Darn those unreliable laptop connections!

And with the final sexy words from Chuck‘s Yes, yes, yes, yes girl, “Shut up and kiss me.” Our would-be finale comes to a triumphant, whooping, and cheering close.

What marvels me (and worries me) is how fitting a conclusion  this turned out to be . What it lacks in epic scope it makes up for in epic and personal stakes. Chuck finally comes into his own as a spy hero and finally gets the girl. Casey is restored and redeemed. And Morgan finally gets out of the Buy More in spirit if not in body. So in a sense he’s become the next Chuck as he begins the next stage in becoming his own hero. Oh, and for those who keep score, the Ring Director is apprehended which we can extrapolate to mean that the Ring is no more or at the least in massive disarray.

Because no one else in the fandomis willing to do so, I’m gonna give props to Brandon Routh. Mostly because of taking on the full hatred from the fans for daring to come between Chuck and Sarah and also because of his impressively stoic (wooden) nature. Other Guy, though, makes Shaw into a tragic antagonist, not even necessarily villain. And I loved how conflicted and self-loathing Routh made him when it came to shifting his allegiance. And I just love the fact that the creators had this mapped out from the start. This didn’t happen due to a panicky revision due to fans jumping ship. This was all part of the plan. Further evidence that these guys know their show and know what they’re doing. And that television viewers seem to be rapidly forgetting the basics and joy of good old-fashioned storytelling. So bravo to Chris Fedak for bringing this part of Chuck’s complex journey to a satisfying close. Every hero has a dark night of the soul. Even the bumbling ones.

“The Other Guy” shows the necessity of letting go. Because Shaw doesn’t let go of his past he is consumed with vengeance and it leads to his death. Sarah lets go of her preconceptions and desires for Chuck and accepts the man that Chuck has now become. And Chuck lets go of his aversion to the dark side of the spy world. Sometimes you have to get your hands dirty. But sometimes there is righteous purpose in the hard acts. Heroes have to make the hard decisions. That just comes with the job. But if you stay connected to your family and your friends and to those you love, you’re not lost to the darkness. They can pull you back into the light.

Ultimately, that’s what this 13-episode arc of angsty hell has been about. Shaw isn’t the real “other guy” of the title. It’s the guy who emerges after Chuck’s immersion in the spy world. Chuck and Sarah learn that, no, he’s not the same Chuck. He’s better.

TallGent

Once there was a guy and a girl at a dance. A special one. It was the occasion of the guy’s sister’s wedding. As the guy and girl were dancing came this exchange:

“You belong out there. Save the world. I’m just – I’m just not that guy,” he explained sadly.

With a proud knowing twinkle in her voice she responded, “How many times do you have to be a hero to realize that you *are* that guy?”

In the American Hero, Chuck finally becomes “that guy.”

It’s a qualified statement, of course. We’ve seen him be the reluctant hero before, the one who happens to be an egoless Jacques Clousseau and bumble his way toward triumph or fall back on his resourceful and stubbornly geeky experience. But here we get the formation of the true Team Bartowski in the same way Captain America had the Avengers, Buffy Summers had the Scoobies, and Angel had the Fang Gang. A band of misfits who combined become a surprisingly effective if unorthodox unit.

In tribute to various film commercials I’ve seen of other misfit black ops teams (looking forward to The Losers and The A-Team) here now is a dossier I’d like to see of Team Bartowski.

John Casey—Real Name: Alex Coburn. Former NSA agent. Expert in weapons, surveillance, hand-to-hand combat, reconnaissance and undercover work. Arguably the most dangerous member of the team next to Chuck Bartowski. CODE NAME: THE CASEY

Morgan Grimes–Strategist and morale officer. Electronics expert. Skilled in surveillance. The heart of Team Bartowski. CODE NAME: GRIMEY

Devon Woodcomb–Unit medic and triage specialist. Signature combat move: The Full-Body Tackle. CODE NAME: CAPTAIN AWESOME*

*Captain is not official designation of rank.

Auxiliary Members:

Jeff Barnes–Chemical expert and tracker. Recruited for missions involving stealth pursuit over long distances. Immobilizes opponents through chloroform to which he has developed immunity over long-term exposure. Partners with Lester Patel. Together they form a mini-unit code named: JEFFSTER.

Lester Patel–Expert in intimidation tactics and interrogation. Not above using unsanctioned methods to get pertinent information but held in check by Jeff. Second member of mini-unit code named JEFFSTER.

In The American Hero, the “unit” is (self)-recruited for a special mission: win back the heart of Sarah Walker.

Seems that you can take the Chuck out of the Buy More , but you can’t take the Buy More out of Chuck. Meaning that as soon as he sets foot in DC he is a Jerry Lewis in a Jack Ryan world. Poor guy doesn’t even know how to properly holster his gun.

When he meets with Beckman he admits that everything is moving too fast for him and Beckman is at her wit’s end with him. She suggest that he take a week off to get his head straight about the whole super spy thing. Chuck takes this opportunity to go back to Burbank to persuade Sarah to join him in DC.

But Sarah has other plans. In a viciously sad scene, Sarah curtly tells Chuck that he killed someone and that forever changes how she sees him. He’s no longer the geeky guy she fell for. Chuck can’t tell Sarah the truth. That it was actually Casey who pulled the trigger.

American Hero seems to be made up of two halves. We see our characters in a not-so-favorable light, both humorously and dramatically. We’d all like to believe that Chuck’s friends are there for him unconditionally, but, no, there are indeed conditions and it all involves leaving Burbank. Freedom from the Buy More for Morgan and Casey, and for Awesome freedom from Chuck’s marriage-threatening spy life. If it wasn’t for the fact that Chuck is the main protagonist and he is quite likable, his pining and following around Sarah seems very stalkerish. Big sister Ellie unintentionally enabling this questionable behavior doesn’t help matters much. And Sarah looks more than a little hypocritical here with her whole blowing Chuck off for popping his cap cherry.

On the dramatic side of the ball, we have Shaw being intercepted by Ring operatives while he’s on a date with Sarah. Seems the Ring Director requests a private meeting with Agent Shaw. And the dude got Morgan tasered. That’s just so wrong.

So now we get a glimpse at what motivates Shaw much to Sarah’s concern. Not a new relationship with Sarah once old business with the Ring has been taken care of, but vengeance for the taking away of an old relationship. It’s still about the past for Shaw and he’s perfectly willing to couch this into sacrificing himself to take away the Ring once and for all. Sarah’s upset because they didn’t discuss this in committee.

Chuck shows up to apologize to Sarah for interrupting her date with Shaw and doing his best imitation of a douche bag. When Sarah tells Chuck what Shaw plans to do, she immediately goes into rescue mode. Chuck surprises her, though, when he activates the security lockdown, shutting her inside Castle.

Interesting acting moment here. Sarah isn’t hysterically upset with Chuck here like I thought she would be. This is more of a distrustful simmering anger. And I think that says a lot about how she views Chuck right now. Like every other government agent who’s all about the mission, I think Sarah actually thought Chuck locked her in so Shaw would complete his mission and, worse, he’d take advantage of his death by trying to be with her again. All very cold-blooded secret agent type stuff that she thinks Chuck has become now. You really feel for Sarah when you learn more of her past and distrust and disillusionment with that past. Her entire career has taught her that everyone has an agenda. Even Chuck.

Which is why it is so heartbreaking when Chuck tells her that he will be the one to rescue Shaw and Sarah looks genuinely puzzled and lost. Because that’s not the protocol thing to do. It’s not an advantage for Team Bartowski and it’s not to Chuck‘s advantage. So why do it? And the answer is the simplest, most humane one. Because he knows how much Sarah cares about Shaw. It has nothing to do with Chuck.

So we move into the second half of the episode which is a bit more serious, but also a bit positive with its characters. And it seems appropriate that the pivot point is Chuck and Sarah. One character desperately trying to maintain his decency and innocence while the other feels she compromised her decency and lost her innocence a long time ago. And only now has begun to mourn it.

It’s also interesting that we have two of the characters that have become the foils of Season Three become allies in Jeff and Lester as they tail Shaw and tell Chuck of his whereabouts. Chuck drives a Nerd Herd vehicle out there and meets with Jeff and Lester. Satisfied at a job well done (and reluctant for fisticuffs) the two return back to the Buy More. Meanwhile, Chuck unzips his Buy More jacket revealing a pretty impressive arsenal.

And it’s interesting to note that he dumps the Nerd Herder for Shaw’s sweet ride. Symbolism, people. This bears riper fruit as the story moves along.

As for Shaw, turns out the head of Ring wants to see him personally with some information. It’s big. It seems Sarah was the one who killed Shaw’s wife in her Red Test. Ramifications be coming down the pike, methinks.

Thanks to some timely intervention by the resourceful Sarah, Casey gets her out. She races to Shaw’s signal and to Chuck. Casey’s agonizing longing for Castle was priceless.

As for Chuck, one of those moments I was most looking forward finally happened as Chuck singlehandedly breached the Ring and took out a cell of Ring soldiers. Granted I was kind of hoping for more of a phalanx or platoon or a garrison, but eventually you have to allow for some budget restrictions. But seeing Chuck’s skills as a spy flourish is incredibly satisfying for me as a fan.

And while the intersect is certainly helpful it may also be no longer essential in the long term. Chuck takes out some guards with his trusty tranq gun and Duck Hunt training. Where Chuck’s self-confidence goes so goes the intersect.

And as Sarah arrives on the scene just as the stealth bomber drops its deadly payload, we see a lone figure retreating from the wrechage with an unconscious agent hoisted over suddenly broader shoulders. While a tearful Sarah begins to beam with pride in her happy eyes and perhaps something more.

Still while I appreciated this moment, I wish they could have played off it for the funny a bit more. Based off of Zachary Levi’s straining to carry Brandon Routh’s brawny frame it wouldn’t have been too hard.

Sarah: “Chuck! Thank–”

Chuck: (weakly) “Help…Intersect…no…super…strength….Help me…”

Back at Castle, Sarah reports to Beckham while Chuck lingers in the background. Sarah turns to look at him with the eyes of one who has fallen in love again. Chuck lays it all o the line one more time, but it seems to come from a stronger place now that he saved may-not-quite-be-her beau. And moreover, I think she knows it. There’s a great moment where Chuck tells Sarah that Shaw would have done the same in saving his life and Sarah just looks down with an enigmatic smile. She’d like to think he would.

But with Chuck, she knows he would. He did.

Chuck tells Sarah that she was right about Prague, and gives them a chance to redo that moment. This time with a train to Mexico and then anywhere they want. Preferably the Eiffel Tower. And with a last final heartrending kiss, Chuck Bartowski goes to the trian station packed with summer and winter wear and waits.

Casey later stops by Sarah’s apartment to tell her that he was the one who pulled the trigger, not Chuck. “He’s not like us,” he tells her, reminding her that like it or not she pulled the trigger. She took a life. Whatever innocence she had is gone. By her choice. So she’s just going to have to deal with it.

But maybe Chuck can keep his innocence enough for the both of them.

And for Sarah, it’s like the weight of the world has escaped her shoulders and she allows for a smile to break out on her lovely face.

There’s just that pesky phone call from Shaw.

Although, I would have given anything for an iconic nod to Veronica Mars with Chuck getting “stood up” by Sarah in much the same way Veronica got stood up at the ariport by her private eye father, it would have been a sure bet (maybe) that angry shippers would have set 30 Rock aflame. So perhaps it is good that Chuck knows that Shaw took Sarah off the grid.

Which actually was a perhaps more powerful callback to Sarah taking Chuck off the grid to keep him from being sent underground. Shaw and Sarah speed down a Califonia desert highway where Shaw enigmatically tells Sarah that he has “old scores to settle.” Perhaps being put underground threatens Sarah Walker Oooh!

It’s kind of nice that because this portion of the season is wrapping up, we get an entertainng summation of Chucks’ progress into spydom and a cementing of his place as a bona fide hero. Zachary Levi may not really sell the look of the action hero, but Chuck Bartowski has the most important factor that every great popular hero possesses and gives him the edge against the Shaws in the world. His heart.

TallGent

For the whole third season, Chuck has played a delicate balancing act between the dark and lightness of the show. For the most part, that balance has been maintained, but the argument could be made that bit by bit that balance was beginning to tip.

In “Chuck vs. The Final Exam”, written by Phil Klemmer, the tipping finally occurred.

I’m torn though. The last thing I want is for a show I enjoy to become tiresome and formulaic. On the other hand, you don’t want to lose what made the show so special in the first place. And while I don’t think they forgot per se, I think the creators laid on the melodrama a tad thick. So as an emotional, compelling episode it just really wasn’t for me.

Coming from it analytically, however, I must say that it’s incredibly observant about audience expectations and the relationship with spy touchstones that we’ve been inundated with since Bond versus Blofeld. The episode in a lot of ways is like a commentary on how pop culture view the spy world and its fantasy versus the harsh reality of the consequences of our hero’s actions. So we see familiar iconography like the Mission: Impossible Self-Destruct Video Recordings (talk about wasted tech) and Chuck’s formal wear. But we also get it in terms of attitude like Chuck’s uber-cockiness and uber-charm with Sarah like a wannabe 007.

There’s just one thing. Chuck hasn’t earned the right for such swagger, and what makes it worse is I actually sided with Shaw during the test portion. It bothered me how cavalier Chuck was being on his mission. And granted I always like to see Chuck and Sarah interact and for them to get their vulnerable on with almost-smoochies. But there’s a time and place. James Bond and Napoleon Solo can get away with that stuff. This is a test. Act like it. What is truly unforgivable is that the whole time I was watching my hero, Chuck Bartowski, berated by his superior, Daniel Shaw, a clear antagonist to Chuck just for Chuck being Chuck. A stick-in-the-mud robotic carbon-based star varsity quarterback with about as much personality as a stick-in-the-mud, robotic, carbon-based star varsity quarterback. And I agreed with him.

From a fanboy perspective, the test has its inconsistencies. Chuck flashes and puts the hurt on some baddies in a sauna–wearing a towel and nothing else for the fan girls. Yet, he couldn’t flash to some kind of Remo Williams-mode when it came to scaling a high-rise motel?

But regardless Chuck passes the test and gets evidence of a CIA spook who just switched his allegiance to the Ring. So a Jedi Spy he becomes.

In more mundane events, there was a nice subplot that deals with Casey’s integration in civilian behavior. Casey goes a tad too far with his playground discipline and Jeff and Lester vow that most heinous of vengeances…a lawsuit. So under Big Mike’s watchful Zen eye, Casey gets some behavior and wardrobe modification. As a test, Mike and Casey sit with Jeff and Lester over Subways to break bread. But Jeffster test Casey and humiliate him Luckily, the new Casey can take it–even a sandwich bitten by Jeff.

I hate seeing Jeff and Lester as antagonists so I didn’t really like the way this played out. But similar to the main story, intellectually I could kind of see where it was coming from. It’s actually pretty poignant that Jeffster finally resort to lawsuits to battle Casey. They’ve had to deal with Caseys all their lives, no doubt. Bullies who intimidated Jeff and Lester into submission and had no chance of recourse physically. Can’t stand up to them by beating them up and practical jokes only cause more beatings, more intimidation.

So it would have been nice for Casey to face them on the only battlefield they know: juvenilia. Casey plays a practical joke on Jeffster that earns their respect, perhaps similar to Chuck where a (very reluctant) friendship is formed. And when you meet someone halfway, that gets you more in touch with your humanity.

Because losing it seems to be on everyone’s mind. If the first half was about spy fantasy, the second half deals with the harsh reality and the tone change is disconcerting to say the least. Sarah meets a cool and confident Chuck and crushes it right quick when she gives him his new mission courtesy of Daniel Shaw. Kill the CIA traitor. Both Chuck and Sarah come at it from opposite wavelengths caught up in the ultimate Catch-22. Kill the guy , become a spy, but lose Sarah forever. Don’t kill the guy, forget the spy, and be forced to let go of Sarah. Because spies don’t fall in love.

When Chuck’s contact appears, Chuck’s test becomes much darker and violent. There’s a brutal confrontation in a bathroom that results in a sliced leg for Chuck. Even the Intersect is no help as he is overpowered. But Chuck eventually apprehends the CIA turncoat.

It all leads down an abandoned set of railroad tracks, Sarah tracking Chuck’s progress and the dilemma of whether or not Chuck truly becomes a spy through cold-blooded killing.

The last bit seemed to lay on the angst a bit thickly. It’s unrealistic for one to have Chuck not have to take a life at some point. We’re used to spies or men of action who kill their enemies. Maybe it was these preconceptions that had me kind of impatient with Chuck. Like man up, already. I wish we could have seen Chuck have to shoot the guy to save Sarah’s life but she isn’t aware of it so it damages how she sees him going forward. And Chuck gets kind of resentful and has it out with her in an emotional blowup later on. “What do you want from me?” kind of thing. But the way it played out seemed kind of contrived.

But we did get more insight into Sarah’s despair with Chuck becoming a spy as she reveals the details of her Red Test to Shaw. And now we know why she’s so scared for Chuck. Because according to Sarah it was the worst day of her life and an event that has shaped the full metal jacket around her heart ever since. And then this dorky lovable doofus comes along and not only gently takes that jacket off, but changes her heart as well.

Her heart has changed again and she’s got a whole new worst day of her life.

While Chuck’s new life as a spy is about to begin. Alone. Solitary. And desperately in need of Sarah. If only for the sake of his soul.

Even the sub par Chucks have a heart. Bruised and battered though it is.

TallGent

It’s amazing how a show can go from buoyant and bad-ass one week to brutal and bad-ass the next. It’s a testament to how much confidence the crew has with the show. Good or bad, brilliant or ill-conceived, you can’t fault a show that’s not afraid to approach a tone that it rarely goes towards. Only a cast and crew this talented and confident can pull off an episode like Tic-Tac.

It’s amazing how streamlined the episode really is. It was true for the previous episode, as well, but here the story just goes by lightning quick and the stakes increase so, so much by the end. It’s also interesting to see a Chuck character with such a tragic backstory in John Casey.

We learn that just as Sarah changed her name so did Casey, who used to be Private Alex Coburn. But unlike Sarah, who wanted to escape from her family’s criminal past, Casey must burn the bridge to his fiance if he is to be the soldier he wants to be. The one that her fiance would be proud of. The one that must sacrifice love for duty.

In Tic-Tac Casey’s past comes back to haunt him when he must perform a mission for his ex-CO, played by Robert Patrick, who is now an operative for the Ring. In one of those scenes you wish the creators would force-feed to the Emmy voters, Chuck mistakes Casey swiping a vial from CIA storage as part of another test and joshes Beckman Chuck-style, but then it quickly escalates to tension-o-rama when Sarah and Beckman both confront him about what he stole. Guns are considered, jaws are clenched, and pleading the fifth is exercised in devastating fashion.

Sarah and Chuck risk Leavenworth to clear Casey’s name after Chuck gets some recon intel from Morgan. I love how willing Morgan is to leap into the spy world feet first and Chuck has to hold back the reins. We may see Chuck in more of a mentorship role with Padawan Grimes in future episodes, more evidence of how much Morgan’s role has opened up.

I’m sure the Chuck/Sarah fans squealed when they saw the terrific twosome together again and it’s wonderful to see the joy evident in the characters as well. I love how aware that shows are about relationships and about how character behavior is dependent upon the company they keep. So for instance if Shaw was in on this mission, the dynamic would have changed drastically, been a bit more intense, and definitely more sobering. He also would have been adamant about letting Casey out to dry. And judging by fan reaction probably not gone over so well.

With Chuck, we see a playfulness and giddiness that wasn’t there before with Shaw. And it’s great that despite how dire Casey’s situation is, Sarah is pleased as punch to be partnered with Chuck. She makes sympathetic owie face when Chuck slams into a transparent slab and when she and Chuck are confronted by Stanley Fitzroy, head of CIA security (and son of the king) they riff a nice con on him effortlessly. Completely in sync, finishing each other’s sentences, the whole bit.

However, just when Team Bartowski appears to be rejuvenated and revived, Casey’s CO reappears to spring him from his cell. And just like that Anakin Casey follows Colonel Palpatine the Ringmaster.

Sarah and Chuck are captured before they abandon their failed rescue and get recruited by General Backman to find Casey and, if necessary, to terminate him with extreme…terminating-type tactics. In a bittersweet bit, Sarah and Chuck lament Casey’s turn to the dark side and Sarah admits that she thought Chuck has changed. She tells him that whatever happens in his journey towards becoming a spy to not lose what makes him Chuck. The essence of this sweet-natured guy that Sarah has come to love. Chuck promises that he’s still that guy.

Hello, foreshadowy goodness!

And along that vein, I feel I have to explain the rating a bit. The pace of this episode was so ratcheted and focused that as much as I enjoyed the Awesome, Ellie, and Morgan moments individually, I was impatient that it took me away from the main action. All that said, I am very glad that my painful prediction of Captain Awesome, super villain extraordinaire did not bear fruit. As a matter of fact, when push came to shove Awesome was there for his wife and her needs. He’d support her study of neurology, Africa (And safety) be damned. In this instance love came before livelihood.

And that turns out to be Casey’s rather predictable dilemma. The Ring will kill Casey’s ex-fiance if he doesn‘t deliver an experimental vial. One that suppresses fear.

We get another echo this episode as well. This time back to Sarah Walker attending her high school reunion and Chuck telling her that he doesn’t need to know who she used to be, all that matters is he wants to be with the woman he knows now. Again, same thing this time directed toward Casey in the literal sense, which adds even more depth considering he betrayed the United States. But also in the subtextual sense because of the fact that Chuck now knows Sarah’s real name, but Shaw was the one she revealed it to. And this is why when the good episodes come out they’re really good. Because in one way or another the story always comes back to Chuck and his relationships. With his team. With his family. And above all, with Sarah.

More mirrors abound, but first some vintage Team Bartowski improv. All members, all pieces working as one in their specific theaters. Sarah takes out the henchmen. Casey takes out his CO. And Chuck protects Casey’s ex-fiance.

But this show–even if it is guilty of the occasional plot contrivance, just like every other damn TV show—nails those critical juxtaposing beats when it has to. Casey strangles the life out of the Benedict Arnold and Sarah doesn’t even blink. For Chuck, Casey slips him the mickey (in Chuck’s pocket) and he becomes mighty scary bad-ass When he flashes, I could have sworn that the martial arts were of the lethal kind. Like a John Woo ballet, Chuck makes short, brutal work of all of them.

And with that he’s in the same position Casey found himself with hoisting up his enemy by his neck crushing the air out of his windpipe. Until Sarah comes and implores Chuck to stop it. Depending upon which one you prefer, the pill either wears off just as Sarah oh-so-conveniently shows up, or all it takes for Chuck to snap out of it is Sarah’s presence. I prefer the latter view myself. After the ordeal, Casey’s is just beginning. He finds out the hard way that he has a daughter and then finds gets dishonorably discharged from the NSA for his actions. He’s the worst thing he can possibly be in his mind: a civilian.

The good news though, as Chuck points out, is that now he has nothing holding him back from seeing his daughter. But that’s just it. He made his choice and it was the right one.

Or was it? We don’t get a definitive answer. But for one episode at least it looks like his choice cost him a whole heckuvalot. He’s now a man without duty or without love. And in a rare moment of vulnerability he advises Chuck to go after Sarah. “It’s not too late,” he says. For Chuck. Casey’s bed’s already been made to military standards. Even if it no longer makes any difference.

So Casey had love and duty torn from him. Sarah retreats from both when it comes to Chuck. And that’s why it matters how you infer scenes because if the pill just wore off for Chuck there’s no resonance here. She was there for Chuck before his transformation to perfect, cold, ruthless killer spy was complete and Chuck’s soul was forever tainted with taking a life. But what happens next time? What if she’s not enough to keep Chuck from the cold abyss? Can she live with the guilt? Would she want to?

Better not to find out. So she flees to DC. To Shaw, the easy choice. Heartbroken but strong. Sarah Walker through and through.

The plan to darken up Chuck’s world a bit was a huge gamble–perhaps a doomed one–but here we get that plan implemented to a T. That this was written by first-timers in Rafe Judkins and Lauren LeFranc is even more impressive providing a wonderful acting showcase for Adam Baldwin, who makes John Casey as human and conflicted as we’ve ever seen him. Say this for Schwartz and Fedak and the cast. They don’t rest on their laurels. They have a story to tell. It’s an engaging story. And the engaging ones are rarely easy.

TallGent

Confession time. As much as I wax positive about character growth, interaction, complex emotional threads, and the more mature Chuck I haven’t once cheered or fist-pumped or belly-laughed during an episode this season.

That is I haven’t done all of those things until this episode.

A nice welcome return to just the visceral joy of the early seasons, “Chuck vs. the Beard” finally brought Morgan Grimes into the Team Bartowski loop.

The way it was done had some Die Hard, some Buymoria, and a lot of Chuck getting his groove back. The episode was just as streamlined and no-nonsense. Getting right to the point.

Picking up where the last one left off, a week has passed since Rafe attempted to kill Shaw and Sarah and Chuck still hasn’t flashed. After getting an interception of a Ring transmission, Sarah, Casey, and Shaw investigate. Chuck is benched.

Meanwhile, corporate bigwigs have come by to evaluate the Buy More staff. Morgan discusses with Chuck that he is “firing” Chuck as his best friend because of Chuck’s continued isolation. With this news, Chuck drifts further away into his own malfunctioning Intersect and his diminishing self-confidence. In a telling moment, even Awesome won’t come through for him as he basically blows Chuck off because he‘s on vacation with Ellie. Awesome is getting more uneasy with knowing Chuck’s secret and perhaps regrets ever really knowing it (or Chuck) in the first place.

Once the bigwigs interview everyone, ending with Chuck talking up Morgan, they get down to their real business. Infiltrating Castle to acquire what Team Bartowski knows about the Ring. They’re not the only ones to breach. Turns out Morgan discovers the underground lair as well when he tries to get rid of some contraband Jeff stowed away in his locker.

So for once this season both plot threads take place in the same vicinity. Chuck and Morgan try to thwart the Ring agents’ plans below ground while the Buymorians stage a revolt up top to save their store.

As for what’s left of Team Bartowski, they race back to Castle once they discover their mission was sham–to spy on Awesome no less. This has definite ramifications when Awesome impulsively asks Ellie to move to Africa with him. As far from the clutches of the Ring (and Chuck Bartowski) as possible.

“The Beard” reminds me of a similar tact that Smallville took with revealing Clark’s powers to his best friend, Pete Ross. What this did was open up the show a bit more and finally have someone Clark could be completely honest with.

It’s the same thing here. Morgan’s discovery leads to a lot of interesting story directions and dynamics between the characters.

It is fittingly genius then that in a fantasy celebrating geeks that Morgan proves to be worth his mettle more than Awesome, who as lovable as he is still at heart remains a jock. His complete acceptance of Chuck’s secret life and how psyched he felt discovering his friend was a secret spy was a joy to witness and Joshua Gomez played it perfectly.

In fact, Morgan seems primed to bring some fun back into the spy action. He reminds me of the little pipsqueak French guard mouse that constantly antagonizes Tom the cat. “Touche, pussycat!” And Jerry has to keep bailing him out.

So you have Morgan armed with electric knives ready to liberate Castle, unlike Awesome who would probably panic and stammer out “I don’t know” over and over again if he got caught. And this isn’t a knock on Awesome. As a matter of fact, you sympathize with the guy because as we’re reminded, he already has a responsibility to Ellie and to his marriage.

Speaking of marriages, after Sarah and Shaw successfully pose as being happily betrothed, when they arrive back they demonstrate how incompatible they are when it comes to Chuck. Shaw’s all for blowing up Castle, Buy More, and the Orange Orange if it means preserving Castle and the secrets within. And Sarah, predictably, wants to save as many lives as possible. Especially Chuck’s.

In fact, what’s interesting is the studs all fail in this episode. Casey, however, does get moments to shine. Once with a classic line about hypocrisy inherent in liberal idealists. The other a bit more of the kick-assing kind with a nice funny assist from Jeff. Yet despite this derring-do Casey also ultimately fails.

The story’s creed then is geeks are doing it for themselves. Once Chuck is finally honest with someone and freeing up the psychological blockage, the Intersect does its thing and liberation is accomplished. More importantly though, Chuck gets his mojo working. By the end he has both of his friends back. Morgan and the one in his head.

The geeks also rule in the above-ground enclosure as we see the BuyMorons in all of their anarchic glory. Barricading the door, their last stand becomes their own delusional (and clumsy) Iwo Jima. And at their zenith, the faithful warriors armed with nerf rifles even get their rock on courtesy of Jeffster. Never have we seen the Buy More with such abandon. And never has it seemed so triumphant a stand against the Man. All that said, it still takes the calmingly disguised voice of Shaw for V-Day to finally arrive and dramatic embraces and smooches to take place.

In terms of momentum, “Chuck vs. the Beard” was desperately needed and it’s a credit to the crew of Chuck to entrust the direction of this episode to Zachary Levi and he comes up aces. I haven’t seen the show directed this dynamically and inventively since the last two episodes of the second season, the creative highpoint of the show to this point. If anything, based off the Jeffster sequence, Levi should seriously consider directing music videos.

It also becomes apparent why, if he was given the option to, he decided to direct this episode. This is really a love letter of sorts to Chuck and Morgan’s friendship and was probably a gift to Joshua Gomez who hasn’t been given a whole heckuvalot to do this season. He responds admirably with his best acting of the season and because Morgan’s now in the inner circle he will be given even more stuff to do, which will make Gomez an even more featured player in the cast than he already is.

This is also a farewell of sorts for the episode’s writer, Scott Rosenbaum, who finished off his Chuck career with a bang of an episode. If this is any indication, then it looks like he’s going to bring a much needed urgency as the new showrunner for V.

But just because “Beard” is a nice throwback in a lot of ways, doesn’t mean the new season’s MO has been forgotten. Shaw and Sarah are left wondering why the Ring didn’t kill him off when they had the chance. And because of the Ring’s offensive, Shaw is more determined than ever to launch his own much to Sarah’s concern. One senses a huge tactical catastrophe coming up.

And for the first time, I actually considered the inconsiderable in Awesome evolving into a villain. It’s becoming more obvious now that he considers Chuck an obstacle to his life with Ellie, especially apparent with his Africa proposal. And I could definitely see a situation where Devon has to spill the goods or Ellie will die and he gives away Chuck to the Ring. Once that happens, he’s alienated Team Bartowski and Ellie permanently. All that’s left is the old super villain trope of biter resentment morphing to vindictive vengeance and you have Captain Awesome, super villain. But personally I think a lot of that is too many comic books.

And, finally, we have Casey getting a mysterious phone call. From the Ring. The plot thickens.

So call it a back-to-basics, cleaning of the slate. Buffy the Vampire Slayer did something similar with its episode “The Prom” which was a nice return to monster-of-the-week, good-guys-beat-bad-guys nostalgia. It was a bittersweet episode in that going forward Buffy would never have that kind of simplicity ever again. Things would just keep getting murkier and darker. And life would just keep getting harder.

Enjoy this respite now, because it ain’t gonna last.

But, yeah, it was nice to see the Chuck we love back.

TallGent

After the volatile reaction from the last episode before Olympics hiatus, Fake Name is a nice return to form that provides more depth to some of the issues fans had with the Mask.

Front and center are the Chuck/Hannah and Sarah/Shaw relationships. Both awkward with Sarah trying to back out of hers as gently as she can, and Chuck inching his way towards a connection with Hannah. Though I suppose making whoopee would give you the proverbial twelve inches to progress you to add feet to the inches.

Interestingly, each of the episodes have been like steps in Chuck’s journey to spydom. First Class had the no-nonsense solo mission to intercept a key from the Ring. Nacho Sampler had Chuck successfully using an asset. In this one, we get Chuck impersonating an assassin named Rafe. What’s frightening is how easily adept he is at assuming the role. And it was a nice fakeout by writer Ali Adler, setting it up like Chuck was going to overdo the nuances with character motivation and so forth, but once he got the voice and attitude down he was off and running.

Each mission successfully completed and each one leaving some kind of collateral damage. The external stuff, of course: Hannah, Manoosh, his family. But Chuck is losing what makes him Chuck. What made Sarah fall for Chuck in the first place. This episode finally wakes Chuck up to that.

It’s probably why the episode was renamed at the last minute. For one, it shamelessly pulls in the Chuck/Sarah fans. This is the moment they’ve all been waiting for (besides ILY and shag city). But I think it’s also the moment of realization for Chuck. For the one she ends up telling is Shaw not him.

And the reason is obvious as you’re watching it. Because Chuck is not available anymore. Not for his friends. Not for his family. The lie is just getting bigger and bigger…and more dangerous. As Rafe, Chuck isn’t afraid to punch Casey, or take out his tooth, or even judo kick Sarah. It’s no wonder Sarah eventually retreats to Shaw. Because he’s there. He listens to her and understands her. And she can be honest to him in a way she just can’t with Chuck anymore. As far as Sarah is concerned, the Chuck she loves no longer exists. She reveals her name–says it out loud–because she doesn’t want to lose who she really is. In her mind, Chuck has made his choice, taken his path. And she wants no part of it.

I love how flawed everyone here is. I know it’s what most Chuck fans don’t want to see. We like our heroes stalwart and true. But it’s not as satisfying, really. You need conflict. And you need reminders that nobody’s perfect. Therefore, I understand where Sarah is coming from. At a certain point, it comes back to yourself. It doesn’t matter how much you love someone; if they’re on a course you can’t abide by and know it will end badly you just have to save yourself. And that’s what Sarah’s doing here. She’s saving her soul, because Chuck is so close to losing his.

Wow. I thought this was Chuck. Where’s the hilarity?

Adler uses the Buy More gang in the most obvious hilarious way, the Greek Chorus. Commenting on Chuck being the most underground babe magnet in Burbank when they see Hannah clinging to him with uber-PDA. I really liked how Adler did that, and I’m surprised that the BuyMorons haven’t been used in this way sooner. Also, it’s fair to point out that Chuck as Rafe still does some pretty Chucky things, and it’s only when Sarah kind of refocuses Chuck that he kicks her ass. But this was definitely an episode where Sarah and Chuck fans’ worst fears were realized. At least, it looks that way right now. Kudos to both Zach Levi and Yvonne Strahovski for their performances here. Levi especially reminded me that he’s an actor not just a comic actor with the occasional angsty stares.

With such effusive praise then why not the four stars? Unfortunately, while the character development has advanced, even if it’s been incremental all season, the overall plot hasn’t. I would have liked to have seen something out of Shaw besides Sarah’s new beau. Even if it was something like speaking into a Dick Tracy watch and saying “Operation: Divide and Conquer is a go.” Just to leave the suggestion. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop on our fearless leader and it still remains dangling on the toe. For me the implication is he wants to make Chuck more solitary so he can be molded to become the ultimate spy weapon. Turned on and off like a machine without having the emotional (human) baggage. But no hard evidence as of yet. He still remains a wild card, though. He seemed a bit more committed in beating the crap out of Chuck than was necessary to fool the mobsters at the end. Definite tool-measuring subtext for a possible tool. It would be a shame to see moments like that unexplored.

Which leads me to Hannah. Real shame that Kristin Kreuk was so underutilized. Hannah was a rich, engaging character with just tons of potential in her back story. With her computer know-how maybe she could have been like Oracle to Team Bartowski. Kind of silly suggestion for a show about a guy with a computer in his head, but I’m talking more surveillance-type stuff like scoping out approaching bad guys or tracing the heat signature to the power source. More on the fly kind of stuff. Not a total wash, though. Josh Schwartz was smart enough to cast her in his upcoming sitcom. That will be a nice change of pace from “What’s your secret, Chu…er, Clark?”

And from the strictly annoyed angle, I hope Tony Sirico isn’t typecast as the lovable hothead mafia buffoon. Everyone tends to forget that Paulie Walnuts could be a murderous mama’s boy when he wanted to be.

And maybe this is kind of a holdover from my love for Serenity and Adam Baldwin’s character Jayne Cobb. But I really liked how things seemed so dire for the Serenity crew that even the amoral Jayne had finally reached his limit and chose a side because it was the right thing to do. I’m getting kind of tired of Casey and Sarah being at opposing ends of Chuck’s development. If you want to get melodramatic about it, they’re both competing for Chuck’s soul. So it would be nice if Casey finally sees how cold-blooded Chuck really is. Like, “You do remember you are a good guy, right, Bartowski?” or he points out how Chuck’s behavior is pushing Sarah away. “Got news for you, Bartowski. She’s not in love with you anymore. She doesn’t even know who you are anymore. Can you blame her?”

On the other hand, dude’s a hell of a shot. No question about that.

One other thing to mention is how great the Chuck fandom looked after this episode. There was even a posting on a blog from some advanced screening kind of begging Chuck fans not to overreact. And they didn’t. Because now everything has been provided context. We understand Sarah’s pain now and quest for something authentic. And we’re there with Chuck when he receives probably the best bitching out of his life when Hannah tells Chuck that, no, he’s not nice. It doesn’t matter what his intentions with breaking up with her are. It’s the act itself. How it was done. Insensitively. Meaning that he has lost his sensitivity and by extension his humanity.

He has lost Chuck.

It’s time to get him back.

TallGent

In preparation for Chuck Season 4, here are the rest of my Season 3 reviews to be posted daily. So keep a watchful eye, peeps.

Chuck vs. the Mask *** 3.7

Finally! Jim Carrey has a guest spot!

Okay, my frivolous flag has been used up. Now we get down to bidness.

In the spirit of the mood of going on the offense that Chuck fans seemed to have collectively experienced, my analysis (or attack) will be two pronged.

First off, as a caper, I think Mask worked very well. We got set up with the dilemma of stealing an ancient mask wanted by the Ring out of a heavily secure museum, saw the plan of action, saw the improv that all caper stories must have at some point, and saw resolution to the caper. The only thing missing was some hipster cinematography and Clooney and Pitt.

We also get some character development. Hannah proved to be quite a potent part of the puzzle here, accompanying Chuck on a rescue mission, even pitching in with some IT expertise. She reveals what should be pretty obvious. She’s into Chuck hardcore. Sarah has her own admirer from Shaw, but not nearly as cute or positive. In fact, he’s kind of a creep until you realize that his experience as a spy has atrophied his social skills when it comes to women. Apparently, Sarah is drawn to his clumsy attempts at woo, and it helps that he had a hand in saving her life. And he’s not alone on the life-saving front, as Chuck manages his own rescue of an unconscious Hannah. Meanwhile, Morgan and Ellie try to get to the bottom of what’s up with Chuck. They find out what they need to know, and while one is ecstatic and content the other is feeling down in the dumps…and perhaps a wee bit betrayed.

Now the second part entails a bit deeper analysis and even a subtextual wankfest. This episode is very much about deception and how we deceive ourselves as well as others. This is kind of demonstrated through the title of the episode itself. Each character wears a “mask” of some kind to conceal their true motives or feelings.

I think it’s best to come at each character and their motivation separately, starting with the periphery characters. As we go along, I’m hoping it becomes apparent why the episode had some deeper layers than what appears on the surface as the further along we go, the deceptions get harder and harder to discern, which I think is the point.

Hannah–

Hannah deceives Morgan by lying to him so she can tail Chuck to his next install. She further deceives Chuck by saying that she came to Los Angeles so she could have a fresh start with Chuck, not so much for a fresh start at her professional career.

Shaw–

Shaw couches a burgeoning (and some would say suspect) attraction to Sarah by way of taking advantage of their couple cover at the museum mixer to do some unprofessional nuzzling on Sarah‘s supple neck. Somewhat similar perhaps to Sarah’s PDA when she played the role of Chuck’s girlfriend. But, as is usually the case with imminent death, Shaw finally reveals to Sarah that while he has been dishonest in motive, he has not been dishonest in feeling. He likes her. A lot. She reciprocates. And it seems in the end they are an ambivalent couple. But thanks to a somewhat shady look by Shaw at the end, perhaps his motives aren’t as innocent as he makes it seem. We shall see.

Morgan and Ellie–

The main deception these two have is their clandestine investigation into Chuck. (Which is hilarious with the whole secret knock business. Vintage Morgan.) But, the most notable deception occurs at the end as Ellie can’t hide her joy that Chuck has a new girlfriend in Hannah, while Morgan tries damned hard to disguise his heartbreak over losing his shot at Hannah to his best friend.

Casey–

Casey’s a pretty no-frills kinda guy but he has his moments here when he suggests a bit of subterfuge with the mask to save Shaw and Sarah who are in quarantine thanks to a poison gas.

Sarah–

I think to understand why Sarah does what she does you have to look at her events chronologically. It starts off with Sarah being annoyed at Shaw’s special attention to her and then when she’s paired with Chuck, they both air their jealousies about their respective love interests. But keep in mind that Chuck and Sarah are also glad to be paired together again. Like old times.

And that’s important because when Sarah is infected, Chuck obviously tries to save her. But he’s primarily going to save Hannah who has been used by the Ring in a trade: the mask for her life. So I think it’s a matter of priorities as weird as that sounds. Shaw also gets Sarah to the museum first because she’s more in need of the antidote than he is. So he gets to play hero with Sarah just as Chuck plays hero in saving Hannah’s life. So Shaw is splitting up Team Bartowski. Shaw wasn’t training Chuck to still keep the team together. He was training him to become independent of the team. To be a solo spy. This is what Chuck wants. And Sarah and Casey understand this. Professionally.

Personally is a different matter. In a bittersweet moment, Chuck and Sarah let each other go. But in a nicely subtle bit of acting, it is clear from Sarah’s eyes that she is begging that Chuck asks to be with her, spying be damned. But she gives good subterfuge and maybe Chuck is seeing what he wants to see. Permission. A blessing to move on with his life. Back with Shaw, she puts on good attraction but she’s swimming with ambivalence. Can’t be with the one you love then do that Stephen Stills thang.

Chuck–

Chuck pretty much lies to everyone with a pulse in this episode, but the most important person he lies to is himself. He fools himself into convincing himself he’s over Sarah; mainly because he’s under the impression that Sarah wants to move on with Shaw. But it’s not all selfless. He also thinks he’s ready to be on his own as a spy. Shaw’s even admitted as such and those are pretty high props.

And he’s got a hottie computer wiz who thinks that he’s a hero, an honest-to-goodness knight in shining armor. It’s got to do wonders for one’s self-confidence. Or his ego. And that’s where we’re headed. A fall. Chuck’s on such a high right now that the mother of all falls is just around the bend.

Looking at in those terms, I think it’s easier to put the episode in context. At some point we’re gonna see some truth-telling from all parties. Confessional. Ugly. And ultimately freeing. The truth will set Chuck and Sarah free.

I was actually reminded of another moment akin to the Chuck/Sarah one in the Buffy episode First Date where Buffy tells Spike about her date with Principal Wood. It has that same kind of vibe of telling the other person what you think they want to hear and trying to convince yourself that you’re ready to move on. Buffy drops little hints about Spike not having to be noble about her date. If he wants to feel pissed, he can feel pissed. And he’s not. He’s a gentleman. Then after putting on the “it’s-all-good” front, once Buffy leaves he expresses his sadness.

The big difference between First Date and the Mask, though, is that the audience saw resolution with Buffy’s feelings. When Spike gets injured, he takes emotional priority to Buffy. When Spike might come under the influence of the season’s main villain, the First Evil, he offers to leave town, but Buffy won’t let him because she admits she’s not ready to let him go. If we saw something similar where Sarah expressed that Chuck was her primary concern, I think fans would have been fine. Sarah may be going out with Shaw, but Chuck is first in her heart.

But we didn’t. The episode ends with Chuck/Hannah and Sarah/Shaw and because of the Olympics, fans were left in the lurch for two weeks. Now while some of it was over the top, the frustration to a certain extent is understandable. But really there was no way for the creators to prepare for this very gracefully. Originally, Chuck was supposed to come back after the Olympics so the cliffhanger wasn’t very elegant.

But that’s no excuse for fans threatening to boycott a show because of the creators tearing Chuck and Sarah apart. Schwartz and Fedak don’t owe you a damned thing. It’s their story, for better or for worse. It’s their creation. And considering how many fans of Chuck there are giving them the benefit of the doubt wouldn’t be out of the question.

In any case, the most important part as per usual is what happens at the end. The Ring now knows that Daniel Shaw is alive and plotting against them. And apparently the vendetta against him has not been forgotten. Under the circumstances I think romance can be placed on the back burner for the time being. And I can’t wait to get back to the shenanigans of Team Bartowksi.

TallGent

Here is an episode that may prove to be a watermark for the season. One that marks a transition to deeper and darker areas not revealed through its innocuous title.

The pattern with some of the early episodes seem to be showing the upside and downside to changes in characters’  lives. Awesome found out the perks of knowing a real spy in one episode and how dangerous that knowledge is in the next episode. In First Class, Chuck successfully completed his first solo mission. Now he has to deal with the fallout. Friends and family who are growing suspicious about his mysterious “install trips.” It’s getting harder to tell for Chuck what his normal life even is. But most importantly, it’s getting harder for Chuck to retain the old, adorable demeanor he had before. In fact, he’s now turning it on and off with frightening ease.

This latest adventure has him having to gain the trust of an asset named Manoosh who seems to be on the run from the Ring. He’s Chuck’s doppelganger. Like Chuck he had a brilliant college career that fizzled. He’s a geek who’s partial to Battlestar Galactica and nacho samplers. But unlike Chuck he has no one. No friends. No family. No love interest.

Chuck finds out that Manoosh is more like him than he realizes. Turns out Manoosh has built a partial intersect into a pair of modified-to-the-nines sunglasses. And Manoosh is willing to sell himself to the highest bidder.

The plot is pretty cut and dried and, really, nothing special. In fact, I think the whole building an intersect out of Ray Bans totally devalues the whole mystique of the intersect and Chuck gifted with this huge responsibility. But I go for the Dollhouse argument, meaning that if the tech has been created then somehow, someway that tech can be replicated. And as Chuck pointed out, it was an imperfect intersect. It needed an external source to activate and while it gave Manoosh the physical abilities he still didn’t have the intel that needs to complete his missions. Dude’s gotta know who the good guys and bad guys are.

So the reason for the four stars comes down to the Ron Moore argument. If the show comes down to characters (stupid) then the character beats here left a lot of groundwork in place where you can go fucking nuts in storylines and character development. I love that. This episode left a lot of grist for the milling.

For instance, one of the chief complaints for fans here was how underutilized Hannah was after her big intro last episode. But I think that’s completely necessary because it shows how removed Chuck has become from his Buy More life–his family, extended and immediate.

Indeed, Chuck is starting to see the world through the eyes of a government operative. Family is distraction. Ellie’s suspicions are an obstacle an unwanted variable. Casey and Sarah are colleagues. The Buy More is a front not a life. He has no problem now lying to his loved ones with assured calm and pasted-on smile. Obstacles are what you maneuver around to attain a goal. If you can’t maneuver around it, go through it. Eliminate the obstacle.

Thankfully, he hasn’t gone that far.

But in his dealings with Manoosh–a guy only a hair’s breath away from who he used to be–he may be heading in that direction. And Sarah struggling with that is an understatement. To see Chuck Bartowski so willingly allow this cold lack of emotion is heartbreaking for her, made so palpable by Yvonne Strahovski’s effective performance.

We also see the inherent conflict for Chuck, especially with the final blow when he sends Manoosh underground. I would have preferred it if Zach Levi played this as full-on cross over to the dark side, but whether Chuck is conflicted is beside the point. He makes the hard call and ends Manoosh’s life a s a free man. All because of the way he wanted to make himself more than he was. Not that far removed from Chuck.

I’m making this sound like a serious downer of an episode, but Schwartz and Fedak are smarter than that. They know that the fans want to see some up-Chuck and the creators deliver in kind. On the Buy More front, we get Morgan trying to make a move on the neglected Hannah. Sarah seduces Manoosh as only she can: a Frak Off T-Shirt, toned midriff, and her own smoldering sensuality. Chuck and Casey get up close and personal when trying to escape from a Ring trap. Casey gets tranq happy with Manoosh. Awesome’s paranoia reaches comical extremes.

Yet, brilliantly, while we get the humorous release it leaves a melancholic aftertaste. Morgan’s machinations take an abrupt right hand turn when Hannah inadvertently reveals Chuck’s deception. Chuck has his own trick of the geek trade to get close to Manoosh with a copy of Y: The Last Man, but now he’s using a tome he held dear to his heart as merely a tool, something to allow personal connection to his asset. Chuck ends up using Casey’s little surprise in a surprisingly violent way atypical of the gentle Chuck. Chuck calls Casey Tranqenstein, yet he’s the one who ends up tranqing Manoosh at the end. All Awesome’s paranoia does is make Ellie more suspicious and in the end she teams with Morgan, Jeff, and Lester to investigate Chuck.

The Tranqenstein line gains even more meaning. The mentorship role that Casey has is becoming more pronounced while Sarah can only stand by and watch in sad disbelief as Chuck is gradually becoming a cold monster, the perfect unemotional spy. When Casey monitors Chuck’s deceptive interaction with Ellie he damns Sarah further, reminding her that she had her own hand in this creation. “You taught him well, Walker.”

This episode leaves so many tantalizing doors open, but one that especially pops out is the nacho sampler himself. The producers have a wealth of potential in this character, wonderfully realized by Fahim Anwar. It was the first acting gig for the stand-up comic and thankfully won’t be the last. Here we have a doppelganger of our hero sent underground. That can only lead to resentment, anger, madness, and finally a quest for vengeance. Heaven help Team Bartowski if he were to escape. I always wanted Chuck to get his very own arch-enemy. I might be getting my wish.

But this leaves Chuck in a bad place. Unbeknownst to our hero, the walls are starting to close in, the lies are starting to get picked apart, and inconsistencies abound. The milkshakes and mochas are being replaced with Johnny Walker whiskey. And all Sarah can do is watch heartbroken while her man is drowning.

At one point, Chuck assumes how easy it was for Sarah to use him as the asset, but Sarah disagrees. She liked him. She liked the sweet and innocent guy who created a mock recital for the ballerina girl whose dad forgot to record it for her bedridden mother. That disarmed her. That made it harder.

And it makes what’s happening to him now all the more harder.

We flashback again at the end, this time from Sarah’s perspective. She gets her info about the mark. Where he’s at. How he got there. She sees the picture. A nerd. Goofy smile. Easy as pie.

“Piece of cake,” Sarah smirks.

For Chuck and Sarah it’s never been a piece of cake. And it never will be.

Rating: * * * *

TallGent