What I’m Watching: Chuck

Chuck: Season 3, Episode 15 “Chuck Versus the Role Models” (B+)

I absolutely loved the opening to this episode featuring classic narration by Morgan and clever stylized opening credits detailing the romantic life of Chuck and Sarah. I really like seeing this side of Sarah, being sort of obnoxious and full attitude to Chuck instead of just beautiful and distant. She’s always been a great character, but now she’s finally getting a personality of her own! This episode had a great setup, forcing Chuck and Sarah to watch another spy couple operate to see how it’s done. Fred Willard and Swoosie Kurtz were the perfect people to play them, providing just enough entertainment without stealing the show from the real couple. I very much enjoy seeing Chuck and Sarah bicker like a real couple in the middle of a mission. I loved the duality of shots used here, with Chuck trying to steal the collar from the sleeping tiger while Morgan was trying to steal the keycard off of a sleeping Big Mike’s neck. Casey training Morgan was a brilliant idea, and I laughed when Morgan asked Casey to start by teaching how to do the “neck thing” he had just used on Morgan. It’s so terrific that Morgan always comes in handy, and it was quite amusing that his biggest fear about having to go through real training would be having to shave his beard. Ellie and Awesome’s adventures in Africa were evidently going to become part of the spy plotline at some point soon, and it did happen much more quickly than I had expected, even if the specific motivations aren’t yet clear-cut. Competing for the prize of the best line of the episode are Ellie’s anecdote about Awesome being nicknamed “Doctor Super Fantastic White Person” and Chuck arguing for the tiger not to be killed because thee species is “endangered and majestic.”