What I’m Watching: Chuck

Chuck: Season 3, Episode 17 “Chuck Versus the Living Dead” (B+)

It’s really great that this show can have its guest stars come back so frequently, whether it’s Scott Bakula as the elder Bartowski or Brandon Routh as Shaw, although he likely wasn’t called in for this one since we never saw his face and he’ll probably have to be seen on screen next week. Steve Bartowski is back this time with a vengeance, throwing a knife at Chuck’s face to get him to reveal that he’s still the Intersect and still managing to be much tougher and prepared for things than he appears. I liked his question to Chuck regarding Sarah: “does she have the Intersect too?” The “no, not you, the other Mr. Bartwoski” wasn’t quite a direct reference to “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” it still made me think of it. While it would have been nice to see more of Sarah and Morgan interacting, Sarah giving Chuck her living will and prompting him to start writing her own was pretty fantastic all by itself. Sarah’s comeback of “well, I am a spy” to Chuck was also a lot of fun. The bizarre subplot involving Jeff, Lester, and Big Mike’s secret musician past as Rain wasn’t too much of a distraction, though I much prefer the whole Ellie situation. Awesome talking to Morgan about how amazing he is with Ellie was enjoyable, and Ellie’s delight at being a spy was fun to see. The revelation that Shaw is alive and about to become the Intersect too should make for quite a thrilling season finale next week.