What I’m Watching: Chuck

Chuck: Season 5, Episode 5 “Chuck Versus the Hack Off” (B+)

Who knew Chuck was such an awesome hacker? I loved the way this episode incorporated terrific, exciting music and plenty of highly relevant, hilarious references to Chuck’s behavior while in the zone. Guzzling white wine was one thing, but hearing that the movie “Swordfish” was based on Chuck was an entirely more terrific revelation. There’s nothing more impressive than when the team comes together to help out one of their own, and the operation to rescue Casey was no exception. Gertrude’s involvement in the mission made it even more fun, as she posed as a guard and then had some significant heart-to-heart conversations with Sarah about what it’s like to be a part of the spy life. When Chuck was thinking about turning Carmichael Industries into a computer company, I couldn’t believe that neither he nor Sarah thought of public relations as an appropriate position for her. Lester’s stint in jail and the power he got from getting everyone free cable was great, and Danny Pudi’s speedy guest spot was pretty funny as well. Guest team members seem to produce deadlier results, as Gertrude decides that she’s not willing to hand over the virus to Decker and instead plants a bomb in his hands, something which is sure to cause future problems for Chuck and the gang. It may have solved the issue of Casey being incarcerated, but with Decker out of the way, the good guys may be after Chuck without any hope of a true defense, which is sure to prompt plenty of missions and shenanigans.