When we first met Chuck all the way back in the pilot, one of the first things we learned was that he still wasn’t over being dumped by Jill. Jill did not really come up all that often again though, and despite being mentioned in a couple of Chuck in Stanford flashbacks, we did not get to meet Jill until this week with “Chuck versus the Ex”.
Not surprisingly, Jill’s return was followed by a flash from the Intersect (can Chuck ever get through a social situation without that popping up?). Much like Sarah a few weeks ago, Chuck was forced to make an unwelcome visit to his past. In Chuck’s case though, the sailing was considerably smoother. Sure, Chuck managed to humiliate himself repeatedly, but in the end, he also managed to charm his way back into Jill’s life (for now).
I suspect there’s still more to be learned about Jill’s past. We never really got an explanation of the whole thing where she dumped him and hooked up with Bryce (I’ve wondered about that ever since it was revealed that Bryce got Chuck kicked out of Stanford for his own good. Given that Bryce apparently cares a lot about Chuck’s welfare, it seems odd that he would put a capper on Chuck’s humiliating exit from Stanford by hooking up with Chuck’s ex). I think there’s more information to be learned on that front.
As much as I really liked tonight’s episode, it had a lot of stuff that had no reason to happen other than to move the Chuck and Jill situation along. For starters, why on Earth would Chuck have driven all the way to Stanford without putting on a non-Buy More shirt. Did he just really crave that extra little bit of humiliation?
Also, it was needlessly complicated for the CIA to have Chuck pose as some super successful guy for Jill. Sure, it could make it easier to get Jill to open up to Chuck, but there were way too many ways for it to have been exposed as a lie (though we got one of the least likely ways for that exposure, via the Lester and Jeff drive-by). Sure, it played into Chuck’s lie about his success, but it still seems like it would have made far easier for Chuck to just be Chuck.
The mishap with the phone conversation was similarly problematic. Chuck didn’t push any buttons in the van, he just put the headset on. Why would the headset’s mic be live in that kind of situation. Once again, the only reason for the mic to be on was so Chuck could mess things up with Jill (again). It was still an amusing moment, but one that shouldn’t have really occurred.
And finally, there was the method the assassin used at the lecture. If someone is giving a lecture about the development of an anti-viral agent to neutralize your bio-weapon, you really don’t want to use that exact same bio-weapon against them. Particularly one that takes such a relatively long time to kill its victims. Plus ten for irony, but minus several hundred thousand for common sense. Once more though, it moved the Chuck and Jill plot along, this time giving Chuck a reason to (somewhat) come clean about his CIA affiliation.
I think we can all agree that the Chuck and Jill’s new relationship will be rather short-lived. The only question is which of the four likely scenarios will end it. Those four scenarios are Chuck dumps Jill, Jill dumps Chuck, Jill dies, or Jill is revealed to be a Fulcrum agent. If either break-up scenario plays out, expect Sarah (and Chuck’s feelings for her) to be in some way responsible. If Jill dies, expect Chuck to blame Sarah (as General Beckman thinks they should use Jill as bait for Fulcrum and not tell Chuck about it. Technically, Casey would get blamed too, but we both know that Sarah’s the one Chuck would really be upset with).
Of the four, Jill being a Fulcrum agent seems like the most likely choice. It would explain why she was willing to forgive Chuck’s repeated blunders, as well as why the assassin (a Fulcrum agent) used such a ineffective means of assassination. It was never meant to actually kill anyone, just to force Chuck to go to Jill for help. Now that Chuck has confided in her (about his CIA affiliation), Jill can try to pump him for further information in a way she couldn’t have if they had gotten back together without Chuck revealing that he worked for the CIA. Remember, Fulcrum has been suspicious of Chuck for a while now; this seems like a perfect way to try and learn more about him.
The Buy More plot of the week seemed even more superfluous than usual. It was amusing though, so the superfluousness is forgivable. If American CPR courses are anything like Canadian CPR courses, they are set up so that failing is pretty much impossible. Companies don’t really care about teaching you how to save lives, they just want to be covered for insurance purposes. If you pay even the slightest bit of attention (or even just rely on common sense when attempting the multiple choice test), it’s pretty much impossible to fail. Which is why it was amusing to see Morgan, Jeff and Lester spazzing out about the test, and going to elaborate means to try and cheat their way to success. Not to mention their rather brilliant last-minute plan to find the answers out to the Heimlich section by having Jeff choke on a pen top.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the hilarious scene where a desperate Chuck decided to save Casey’s life through saliva. Poor Casey. I don’t think Casey would have any problem kissing a guy if he thought it would save his life, but kissing Chuck? That’s a bit too much for Casey. And then when Jill came in and told Chuck his idea was ridiculous? Comedy gold.
Another entertaining outing this week. I’m looking forward to seeing how things play out with Jill and Chuck’s new relationship. One thing is for sure, happily ever after is not in the card for those two crazy kids.
Trevor MacKay is the sci-fi/horror/fantasy/cheesy/random geeky stuff guy. If something is geeky and/or unbelievably cheesy, he’s there.
