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| Like mother, like daughter-in-law |
Last night’s episode of Chuck proved exactly why this show deserves another season – they can pull together a story arc like no other.
The penultimate episode, I thought, was one of the best of a season – and that’s saying a lot, because I think this has been a really good season. Everything was tied together – Chuck and Sarah’s wedding, his parents’ relationship to Alexi Volkoff and the villain that’s been created in Vivian Volkoff.
After Frost got captured by Vivian during a solo mission, it was up to Sarah, Chuck and Casey to get her back. They expertly broke into the mine where she was being imprisoned, but Frost didn’t want to leave without the Norseman, the dangerous DNA-tracking weapon she’d come for. It put Chuck in a difficult position – he had to choose whether to back his wife-to-be or his mom.
They didn’t get the Norseman, but they still needed it – and Vivian Volkoff knew all their faces. Luckily, one bearded little spy in training looked an awful lot like an Italian arms dealer who was scheduled to attend an auction for the weapon. Morgan trying to be Italian was one of the funniest things the show has done. He started out with “ciao”, “spaghetti” and an East Side Mario reference, but eventually nailed the part. Telling his henchman over the phone to just “shoot the puppy”? Brilliant.
The mission, starring Morgan, was a great one. There was a lot of tension, and not just between Sarah and Frost. Casey was also worried about protecting Morgan, because he’d promised Alex he’d take care of him. Morgan ended up being in more danger than they thought, too, when Vivian and her evil mentor told all the bad guys that they planned on keeping the weapon for themselves, not selling it off. It was all an evil ruse! They’d been gathered there so Vivian could watch them all die. Morgan had to play dead, but for a while it looked like he might actually die. Since we lost Stephen Bartowski in last season’s penultimate episode, I knew anything was possible. Casey taking out all the men from the rooftop with only the aid of the camera in Morgan’s glasses was spectacular. He took them all out and just, you know, grazed Morgan’s arm with a bullet.
After a showdown with Vivian and the evil mentor, it was revealed to Vivian that Chuck’s father had been the one to do the experiment on Alexi Volkoff that turned him from harmless MI6 scientist to supervillain. Both Sarah and Frost shot the evil mentor in order to save Chuck, but Vivian escaped, leaving the Norseman behind.
The rehearsal dinner that Ellie planned was awesome. I’ve said before that I’m not a huge Jeffster fan, but I actually liked them in this episode. Lester’s ultra-creepy video of Chuck and Sarah was funnier, but even funnier was the incredibly sweet one that Jeff had made. Things seemed to be going very well – Morgan vowed to give up the spy game so Alex wouldn’t worry (yeah, yeah, we’ve heard that from Chuck before and look how long it lasted) and Chuck’s mom delivered a very touching toast to Sarah. And then Vivian Volkoff called.
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| Trouble is calling… |
The Norseman Vivian left behind wasn’t the only one she had. There was another, and she was going to use it on someone Chuck loved to prove to him how it felt. Honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure who she’d choose. It could have been Morgan, Sarah, Ellie, even Frost. In fact, I kind of thought it might be Morgan since an emphasis had been put on Casey protecting him, and because he’d just quit the biz. But she pulled the trigger on Sarah, and we were left in a cliffhanger. We’ve seen shots of Sarah in her wedding gown, but is that just a fantasy? I’m sure Sarah will pull through – she’s an integral part of the show – but I can’t wait to see what else goes down in the finale. I’ll be sitting on the edge of my seat.
What did you think of “Chuck vs. The Last Details”? One of the best of the season? Do you have your fingers crossed that Chuck gets another season? Now, check out my favorite moments from the episode:
- I love the contrast between Chuck and Morgan’s plethora of cultural knowledge and Sarah and Casey’s complete lack of it. Sarah has never seen any movie, pretty much, and misses every reference Chuck makes. And I loved Morgan trying to sell Casey on Breaking Bad as he was playing dead.
- In that same vein, Chuck singing the Star Wars theme with Morgan to get him amped up for his mission was hilarious enough, but the look on Sarah’s face made it even greater.
- Beckman’s “Oh, thanks for the invite.” I, for one, would like to see her at the wedding. She’s responsible for getting these crazy kids together, in a way!
- Awesome (after Chuck displays some Intersect skills): “You seriously don’t do any core work?”
Chuck: “Just sitting up to reach the remote.”
