CHUCK vs. The Delorean

Oh, you guys, I seriously, SERIOUSLY loved this episode. It was such a welcome after last week’s, as the consensus seems to be that it was sort of a dud. And we once again had impeccable guest star casting—Gary Cole was amazing in ways that I didn’t even know he could be. But I’m getting ahead of myself, so shall we?

I feel like it must have been in the previews, because I knew that Sarah was going out with her dad, even before he was introduced as such. I want to yell at the NBC promo monkeys for giving that away, but I can’t, because I think it actually made Chuck’s rant about what a scumbag he was more entertaining, given that we knew what was coming. And seriously, that little girl was just the spitting image of Sarah—more great casting. Can we get these people a raise?

I think this episode really nailed it on the subtleties, which is where I think Chuck really shines. There is something about the juxtaposition of these outrageous plots and action balanced with great character stuff and subtle jokes that I don’t really feel like I see anywhere else, and it makes everything feel really fresh.

Let’s start, since I was just complaining last week about not enough Anna, with Morgan and his reluctant foray into adulthood. I loved the Captain Awesome interaction with Morgan, as I often do, because they’re just such perfect opposites. But when Awesome called him Captain Morgan, I about lost it. PERFECT! And then he high-fived him—have we had an Awesome high-five in awhile? And when Awesome said, “Welcome to adulthood, Morgan. We’ve been waiting for you,” could that have BEEN any better? No way.

I did have one beef with the whole Anna and Morgan situation, though, and it’s kind of a big one—I didn’t really like the feeling that Anna was forcing Morgan to move in with her and he didn’t really want to, but there was all this external pressure on him to grow up. I mean, I understand that Morgan needs a good kick in the ass, but living with your significant other is extremely difficult and definitely not something you should be doing if you don’t actually want to. It seemed like he came around at the end, and I was glad for that, but seeing people pressured in relationships, even fictional ones, always makes me a little uncomfortable. This is something I would especially like to hear everyone else’s thoughts on.

What I did like, though, was how this all nicely set up the Delorean business. I hesitate to call it a story, because it wasn’t really, and I hesitate to call it a joke because it was bigger than that, although that’s probably closer. Jeff and Lester discussing the possibilities of where Morgan might be if he’d scored some high-grade Plutonium were hilarious, and I loved the totally awkward looks on Lester and Captain Awesome and Jeff gazed into the distance, picturing Lester emerging from his mother’s vaginal canal, and mostly how Lester just got weirded out and then was immediately over it, as I would think you’d have to do when Jeff is your best friend.

Naming the car Demorgan was hilarious and oh so Morgan (Buymorea, anyone?), and having it only go 22 miles per hour and be used as a getaway car also entertained. That actually reminds me of one of my friends in college who had a Pontiac Sunbird, but he called it the Sunturtle because of how slow it was, and he used to like to comment that he could take the cops on a high speed chase with it, except that they’d just be walking behind it at a leisurely pace. And then when the General Lee was brought in for an audio install … golden. I spent one summer working in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, where apparently Cooter from the old Dukes of Hazzard resides and operates a restaurant … now, I would not particularly want to eat at a RESTAURANT called COOTER’S, for god’s sake, but apparently other people did and all I know after that summer is that there are a lot of people who are extraordinarily serious about their Dukes of Hazzard. I do sort of wish we could’ve seen Morgan plunk down the cash right then and there, and then be able to look forward to Casey jumping it off a cliff or something in later episodes. With bluegrass music in the background. But then, I totally digress.

Okay, on to the spy plot. I have to admit, tackling this is a little intimidating because of all that was involved and everything I want to try not to forget, but here goes. I know you guys will help me fill in any holes (that’s what she said), right?

The spy plot definitely had funny parts this week, but for me, it was more of a heartbreaker. I loved Sarah’s dad swiping Chuck’s debit card (get it? Pun! I love those!), and him calling Casey “Cop Face”, because TOTALLY.

But mostly, the story with Sarah and her dad just killed me. It was actually, bizarrely, really sweet to see her having fun as a little con artist in exchange for ice cream (and I will say it again, I could absolutely believe that the young girl was actually Sarah—I would love to see side-by-side photos of her at that age and the little actress playing her), and that you could see how much she loved her dad. When he nodded at her to shoot him, with that sort-of smile on his face, you could see where they were partners, in much the same way that she was with Bryce and now with Chuck, and how her relationship with him did influence her relationship with partners (in both senses of the word, I suppose).

I thought it was perfectly Sarah that she offered to bring her dad in and probably really thought she could do it, but in the end, her heart got the better of her again and she sent him out for Rocky Road, to get away. That’s SO her, you know? I thought it showed a really good understanding of her character on the part of the writers.

And, in that same vein, I thought it was a good move in the writing to soften Casey’s character just a little bit, and not too much, but in a believable way after last week, and have him put in a good word for her dad—not that he would go unpunished, but that maybe they would take it a little easy on him. And the ensuing awkwardness when Sarah thanked him, it was just really good. Like I said, they nailed the subtleties.

And finally, because I feel like it was so worthy of the last scene and such a powerful thing for us to end on, was that scene with Chuck and Sarah’s dad. That was where Gary Cole, I thought, destroyed it. Everything was so perfect on his face—you could see all the pride, and the sadness at leaving and maybe even at who he was, happiness that she’d found Chuck and that he loved her and would take care of her, the awareness that he hadn’t been the greatest dad but that Sarah turned out so unbelievably anyway. I think it took someone really special to take a deadbeat, arrogant, selfish con man and make him so sympathetic and relatable, but Gary Cole totally brought it home.

And just when I thought that the angst was almost over, we see Chuck telling Sarah that he’ll be back, and she said, “No he won’t,” and she sounded so angry but mostly so pained, and you knew that Chuck would never really be able to convince her of how much her dad loved her and was proud of her (in spite of being “some sort of cop”), and that Sarah was going to continue to be angry at herself for caring.

I know that we’re building up to finding out what happened with Chuck’s dad, and while I think what’s ahead is a little bit telegraphed, I do like that over halfway into the second season, we’re still peeling back the mystery of everyone’s past, of what makes them who they are and even things as basic as what their living arrangements are, what they want for the future, etc. There’s something really exciting to me about the slow build of Chuck, and not in a boring way, how Heroes can sometimes kind of get (like taking half a season to ramp up to the good parts). It’s like there are always things happening, but there are also always things building, and it creates this amazing tension with only JUST enough pressure let off to keep it from exploding. In certain moments, Chuck feels a lot like that moment just before the first kiss, you know? And I think that universally, that is one of the most loved moments in the human experience, which is probably why we all like Chuck so much.

Alright, and finally, one last question that must be answered, and I am serious about this, y’all—which is more awesome, the Crown Vic or the Demorgan?

SB has many interests, including photography, her pets, entertainment, traveling and writing. She does have a day job, but that mostly amounts to her being a sarcastic young woman with a lot of time on her hands, which is why she appreciates the opportunity to recap.