Can anyone say "best episode of 'Chuck' this season?" If not, then I will: this was borderline beautiful stuff, ladies and gentlemen -- hats off to Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak for allowing one of the show's more mysterious characters to get a complete backstory.
There were some elements of this episode that were very Chuck-centric, but really to me this episode was more about Adam Baldwin's John Casey. For one thing, we finally learned the guy's real name: Alex Coburn, otherwise known as the name thrown out already this season. Alex was revealed thanks to a collaboration with his former commander Keller (Robert Patrick), someone he thought he could trust from when he changed his identity back in 1989? Alex wanted to make a name for himself by serving his country -- and so he left everything he knew behind. How much did he sacrifice? We'll get into that soon.
But first, we have to commend the show for finding a unique way to incorporate Morgan into the storyline now that he knows "the truth." If it wasn't for him spying on Casey early in the episode, then Chuck may have never figured out what was going on. As a matter of fact, it started off a chain of events leading to Casey being captured and thrown in a holding cell for treason. His former commander? As it turns out, he was now a Ring operative looking for a new recruit.
Once we started to realize the stakes for Casey, the episode really got moving -- as it turns out, he was being forced into betraying Chuck and Sarah under the notion that his the former love of his life Kathleen (who already thought he was dead) would be killed. Casey has a heart! Adam Baldwin did a mighty fine job acting in this episode, especially once Chuck, Sarah, and Casey managed to come up with a plan to trick The Ring and save the damsel in distress.
At the end of the day, John / Alex had a choice: reveal himself to Kathleen as her longlost love or allow her to live a normal life. Believing that his silence would best protect her, he stayed quiet as she failed to recognize him after all these years. The painful part? She had a daughter named in Alex's honor -- someone he may never get a chance to know.
At some point Casey will probably find his way into Kathleen and Alex's life, but I doubt it will happen until the end of the series. At this point, I'm also thinking the same thing about Chuck and Sarah as a couple: they seemed far closer together at this point last year than they are now. Chuck is on his way to becoming a bona fide spy, but as we saw in the end he is losing himself in the process. This leads Sarah to potentially make a big decision at the end of the episode: return with Beckman to Washington DC and leave Chuck to potentially do his spy work solo.
All in all, "Chuck vs. the Tic Tac" was a game-changer that brought a human side to Casey and managed to make us both smile and sniffle. It's a reminder of way "Chuck" is one of NBC's best shows, and it makes me all the more excited to see what these ragtag spies will do next.
What did you think about the episode? Let me know your thoughts with a comment and stay tuned for more TV news.
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Comments
I agree. Best episode so far. Adam Baldwin was fantastic as always. I just wonder how he's going to get himself back into the spy world. So heartbreaking to watch him walk away from what would have been his family and painful to see how hard it was for him to walk away from Castle. I was laughing and having a good time in the early parts of the episode, then bawling like a baby by the end!
Great episode. I hope they bring back both Casey and Sarah. Morgan was fun as the wannabe spy who actually is central to Chuck helping Casey and solving the mission. This is still one of the best shows on tv. Can't wait til next week.
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