In parallel story lines Team Bartowski continues to chafe under Daniel Shaw’s leadership while Morgan has his hands full as the new Assistant Manager trying to quell a Lester lead staff revolt.
‘Sometimes he sounds like Bond. And other times its like a Jerry Lewis movie.’
The Shaw ShakeUp continues for Team Bartowski; his mandate still unclear. It seems Shaw wants to make Chuck a spy even if that training causes Chuck to be killed. A strange combination when dealing with the world’s only walking Intersect. Tough love indeed!
‘Let me out of the car!’
After a review of missions Shaw concludes the team is dysfunctional. Its a nice little beat that everyone on the screen and at home expects Shaw to say that problem is Chuck. Instead Shaw shocks everyone when Shaw’s verdict is that the problem lies not with Chuck but with Casey and Sarah.
They are too close to Chuck. Too protective. They will not let Chuck evolve. To remedy that Shaw announces Chuck is going on his first solo mission. Casey takes this proclamation of continuing proof of Shaw’s incompetence. Sarah is besides herself with worry. Chuck is chomping at the bit for such an opportunity and is, of course, ecstatic. His reaction at the first class tickets and the packing of his nunchunks endear and set the worry meter even higher for Casey and Sarah.

Morgan: ‘You command respect.’ Casey: ‘No. I take it.’
Over at the BuyMore, Morgan is struggling with how to gain control of the BuyMore crew as a battle of wills breaks out between him and Lester. One of the big problems that the show has struggled with, especially in the Second Season; most notably in the second half, is how to keep it relevant or a viable appendage of the show. More so that Chuck has moved on from the BuyMore.
‘Insurgents? I hate insurgents.’
So the show has retooled the BuyMore storyline. Instead of being burdened with finding ways of getting Chuck out of the BuyMore, the focus is now shifted to a vehicle for getting Casey into the BuyMore world. A slick solution, for Casey’s interaction with the BuyMore has always been a source of great comedic material. With this change in focus the BuyMore beats are now moments to look forward to enjoying instead of enduring.
Episode Flashes:

• Shaw calling Sarah and Casey on the reason for Chuck’s slow spy growth
• Protective Sarah – a caged lioness!
• Chuck’s reaction to his first class tickets
• Chuck and his nunchucks
• Russian Tranq Pen – Thank you KGB!
• Hannah and Chuck interaction – Hannah a perfect female mirror image of Chuck – and so sweet
• Shaw making it clear he knows all about Sarah’s past
• Hugo Panzer’s heart rate and pulse monitor with built in shocker
• Casey telling Chuck while he is in the coffin that there is no try, flash or die
• Casey helping Morgan with the BuyMore insurgents
• Sarah’s unknown ability as a pilot – a call back to Chuck Vs The Helicopter perhaps?
• Casey’s BuyMore promotion – Lieutenant Asisstant Manager and Chuck’s bemused reaction
• The wedding rings from Shaw’s dead wife and fellow spy

‘This is crazy.’
Sarah is besides herself this episode. Trapped between obeying orders and wanting to protect Chuck. This is her nightmare scenario. She strides around the Castle like a caged lioness unable to reach and protect her cub. Always a person of action she is angrily frustrated by her inability to come to Chuck’s aid. Her horror at finding out that the mission is on the plane instead of in Paris is palpable.
‘Who are you, Agent Shaw?’
Ah yes. The proverbial $64,000 question. Who is Shaw and what is he all about.? Sarah goes on the offensive and Shaw shows how much he and Sarah are alike when he lets it be known they both like to keep their secrets. Secrets like Sarah’s real background of which Shaw is fully aware. Shared history of having loved a spy and then lost them. Though in Sarah’s case she cleverly manages to deflect Shaw’s initial thoughts about Sarah and Chuck by turning them to Bryce. No doubt Sarah did do what she said in regards to Bryce’s ashes but the real reason of running away with Chuck stays safe.
‘You’re different. You stand out.’
On the plane Chuck is seated by the season’s second dreaded Potential Love Interest(PLI) Hannah played by Kristen Kreuk. Fans should breathe a collective sigh of relief as Hannah’s injection into the storyline is adroitly executed and Kreuk is virtually luminous in the role as a female version of Chuck. Zac and Kristen have real chemistry together and Sarah will have her work cut out for her.
The villian of the week is exWrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin, and through no fault of his own, his Hugo Panzer, while imposing in stature, does not stack up against the guest turns of Angie Harmon and Armand Assante. Basically a prop in the second fight sequence, Panzer’s best moment comes when his heart rate/pulse watch monitor shocks him awake.
The concept of remotely controlling an airplane may have seemed cool in concept but plays rather flat in execution. Though knowing Sarah has a pilot’s license in her spy repertoire was a delightful surprise. Back safely at home, Chuck gratefully acknowledges his team mates keeping him alive.
In the closing moments the mysterious weapon from 3.02 returns and turns out not to be a weapon at all. Instead it contains Ring Intel that cost Shaw his wife. Plus an envelope. An envelope which contains a ring of a different sort. A wedding ring.  Shaw has lost a loved one. Sarah is very much afraid of the same thing happening with her and Chuck. Already it can be seen that the bond between Shaw and Sarah will be based on something more than mutual professional admiration but on shared emotional experiences.
Throw in the unknown about Shaw’s true intents, the appearance of Hannah at the BuyMore, the wedding ring, and they lead to possibilities of Shaw manipulations or true events or a combination of both. A different and more complicated approach to the PLIs than seen to date. Let the 3D chess games begin!
What about that closing shot with Hannah showing up at the BuyMore? What to think? What to think indeed. Sincere or manipulation? Hear that sound? It is the clankety ratchet of the Season 3 rollercoaster being pulled up the first big hill.  Buckle up Chucksters!  The real ride is about to commence.
* – title is a homage to The Horror At 37,000 Feet.

• Casey ragging on Chuck – one solo mish does not an agent make!
• Weap – Con!
• Chuck’s first Johnny Walker Black
• the drooping laser pen and Chuck’s aim
• Sarah Seduction of Manoosh
• great callback to the pilot Vicki Vale scene to bookend the episode
• Sarah’s sadness at watching Chuck become a spy
• Casey’s quiet pride at Chuck becoming a spy
• Hannah telling Morgan, in his broom closet office, about Chuck’s Paris trip to the climatic strain of Swan Lake
• Jeff & Lester – professional stalkers that do solid spy work on Hannah’s background
• Sarah’s Frak Off T-Shirt
• Morgan in a smoking jacket replete with cravat
• Weap-Con floorshow models complete with automatic weapons

Boom. Boom. Pow! Jack Bauer eat your heart out!
Chuck Bartowski is not a man to be trifled with especially when it comes to his family. Chuck Vs Operation Awesome is a treat full of spy drama, comedy, tension, great character introductions, and some heart felt expressed sentiments from an unexpected corner.
Carrying on from the cliff hanger ending of 3.03 finds Team Bartowski frantically searching for any leads on the whereabouts of Devon while Chuck tries to keep from freaking out. In an ill advised move, Chuck returns to the BuyMore to await news but his choatic emotional state sets him flashing off uncontrollably. In short order he berates an elderly Thai women in her native tongue sending her scurrying terrified from the store and then takes Lester out with a single karate kick.
Devon comes stumbling into the BuyMore where he tells Chuck that his kidnappers think Devon is Chuck. Ring agent Sydney Prince, played with delicious evilness by Angie Harmon, has left Devon a Ring cellphone and told him to await further instructions. Bringing Devon home to Ellie leads to a hilarious illustration of Devon’s one major shortcoming. He cannot lie. A simple story quickly spins out of control and ends with a decaptitated bear. Devon, Ellie, and Chuck miming story points, are all hilarious here. It takes Chuck to rescue everything by creating an alternate tale that satisfies Ellie but ends up with Casey as an innocent bystander of her wrath.
Reluctantly Chuck agrees to use Devon to find Sydney and this allows for the opportunity for some great bits of Chuck channeling Sarah as the handler and Devon channeling Chuck as the asset as he was in Season 1. Sydney leaves Devon a package that includes an explosive ear piece and the spy action kicks off into high gear. It leads to my favorite laugh out moment in the episode.

‘Chuck you killed Julius!’
It shows just how spooked Devon is by the once exciting spy life. From here we get some great action scenes that show off just how adept Chuck is becoming a spy while Devon clings to him freaking out with each increasingly more violent order from Syndey. They finally make it to their objective only to find a CIA station. Just as Casey and Sarah are informed by Chuck of this, their van is shut down and locked up tight. A nice remote operation that all spies must just love. Beckman comes online and confirms Sarah’s suspicion that yes indeed this is a setup.
What follows next is the best character introduction done on the show to date; Daniel Shaw.
‘I know things. Lots of things.’
He does indeed. Including Chuck’s name and that Chuck is the Intersect. Shaw urges Chuck to kill him in order to save Devon’s life but Chuck cannot. In a sleight of hand move, Shaw shoots himself; faking his own death. After Sydney arrives and confirms Shaw’s death, she removes the earpiece from Devon, welcomes him to the Ring, and tells him to await futher instructions.
Everyone reconvenes back at the Castle where Beckman informs Team Bartowski they have a new leader in Shaw, who is a foremost expert on the Ring. Shaw tells Chuck that unless he can come up with a better plan they need to use Devon still to trap Sydney for good this time. Chuck wants Devon out of the spy world so he takes Devon’s Ring phone, modifies it, and calls Sydney telling she has the wrong guy and he is the spy she is really after.
Chuck tells Sydney to come to the BuyMore and calls Sarah asking for backup. Shaw intercedes and tells Chuck if he starts something then he has to finish it. Shaw detains a stunned Casey and Sarah telling them he is curious to see what Chuck’s plan is. When it is evident that Chuck has no plan, the team sweeps in leading to a showdown between Sydney and Chuck. Once again Chuck is faced with a pull the trigger moment. Once again he cannot do it.
There is no doubt that Chuck’s stance on killing is going to be an ongoing issue throughout the season. The resolution of this will be a major turning point for the character and the show.
Episode Flashes:

• Sydney Prince’s tense introduction as she puts Devon in a precarious position
• Chuck channeling Sarah in order to be Devon’s handler
• Devon channeling Chuck from Season 1
• Morgan being promoted to Assistant Manager and keep his business cards in a Twilight Zone card case
• Devon and the bear decapitation showing how poor a liar he is and how good Chuck has become at it
• original music scored by Tim Jones really amps up the spy drama and tension
• Daniel Shaw – best character introduction on Chuck yet
• Chuck taking out 6 guards using his Intersect skills but attributing them to Nintendo’s Duck Hunt
• Shaw hanging up on Chuck – wants to see his plan
• BuyMore scenes had riffs on Fight Club, The Warriors, & An Officer And A Gentleman to name a few

‘Really? This guy? I got back issues of Guns and Ammo older than he is!’
Sarah and Casey are mostly in the background in this episode but do have a few moments of goodness.
Casey’s disdain of Shaw and his youth are obvious and expected. Shaw’s suprise at Casey’s quickness on the draw is punctuated by Casey’s proclamation of gun love. This flies in the face of Shaw’s stated distaste for guns even though he will use them as needed.
‘Sometimes it helps to know that you’ve got something to lose.’
For Sarah her concern for Devon and Chuck can be seen throughout the episode and her worry about Chuck performing sets up a great comeback line for Shaw. By the episode end Shaw delivers a familar speech, one that Sarah has given Chuck many times, about family and friends making a spy vulnerable. But when Shaw asks Sarah for confirmation she does not. Sarah sides with Chuck. A big admission on her part and a far cry from the Sarah of past seasons. What is even better is the quiet acknowledgement of thanks that passes between Chuck and Sarah afterwards. It is for moments like these that new characters like Shaw are brought into the show.
The episode closes with a shot of Shaw watching the Bartowski clan together as he pulls out a wedding band and places it on his finger. A ring within a Ring? This glimpse into the personal background of Shaw is sure to play an important part in coming episodes.
My favourite episode this season in a season of a very good episodes.

Awesome is as Awesome does. And Awesome pretty well can do it all.
With the Angel de la Muerte the payoff for Devon finding out about Chuck being a spy last season is realized. Must be tough being Devon aka Captain Awesome. Everything comes to him so easily. From scoring with Ellie shortly after they first meet to becoming a doctor to mastering extreme sports to speaking other languages to being a straight arrow that accepts his gifts as matter of fact without being an insufferable cretin as would be expected. It is this mixture of awesomeness and matter of factness that has made Devon a fan favorite when he could have easily be turned into a caricuture.

What is so tough about so many high levels of competencies? Finding new challenges. In the grip of post wedding blues Ellie and Devon are fumbling looking for ways to reignite their zest for life. Devon finds his chance in the spy world when he treats a Premier from Costa Gravis – a fictional country named after the writer – played with hammy zeal by Armand Assante. Grateful for his treatment Goya invites Devon and Ellie to his embassy for a gala dinner. Insinuating himself as an invitee allows Chuck and Sarah to attend the ball with the hidden purpose of providing protection.
Devon informs Chuck that the Premier was poisoned and this intel sparks Beckman to assign Team Bartowski to protect Goya as the country is in the process of being a democracy. Casey has to stay in the car as he is known as the Angel of Death in Costas Gravas – even though he has three failed previous assasination attempts on Goya.
If there is any doubt that the showrunners have been strolling through forums and blogs word browsing this episode puts it to rest. The simultaneous conversations between Chuck and Devon on one side of the room and Sarah and Ellie on the other take many fan complaints and has fun with them. Particularly Devon’s, ‘Excruciating,’ comment to Chuck about no sex. What is really great about this sequence is how at ease the four actors are with each other. Plus we finally get a long overdue Sarah/Ellie scene! Hopefully only the first of more to come.
The ball proves to be a slightly more complicated protection detail when Goya displays an open attraction to Ellie that puts her in harm’s way of a would be assassin. Chuck flashes on some mad dancing skills and he and Sarah twirl their way across the dance floor to intercept him only to find out it is a false alarm. They are kicked out of the embassy forcing Casey out of the van. Misreading the situation and mistaking a Mario Brothers lookalike disguised Casey, Devon takes him out blowing Casey’s cover.
This leads to the rescue of Casey and the saving of the twice poisoned Ambassador via a reluctant blood donation from Casey. Thus the Angel of Death becomes the Angel of Life. Too bad the Premier’s thanks was done in a voice over instead of having Assante on stage to do this scene with Adam Baldwin. The interplay between the two would have been priceless.
Episode Flashes:

• Devon/Ellie closet makeout scene including Ellie’s lucky sweater

• Devon/Ellie making out within moments of meeting each other. Poor Chuck and Sarah.

• Chuck returning from an unseen mission with the helicopter flying too close to home

• Devon switching effortlessly from English to Spanish during a news conference

• Devon scaring Chuck in his bedroom and Chuck unable to do so later on in the courtyard

• Armand’s letcherous ways and dance scenes with Sarah Lancaster

• shirtless sweaty Devon for the ladies again.

• sweaterless Ellie for the guys – for the first time! No sweat though.

• Casey’s fight scene with hypodermic needle filled with poison stuck in his leg

• Casey listing Goya’s favourite movie and showering habits

• Sarah putting weapons in a bag and Chuck taking them out as she plans to storm the embassy in a solo rescue mission to save Casey

Finally this episode sets up the relationship landscape for the third season. The handshake scene near the end between Chuck and Sarah is rife with multiple emotions and bears much rewatching. Compare this one to the one from S1. In S1 it is a handshake between two giddy children. In this one it is between adults. There is an air of maturity, loss, and recently learned lessons. For the first time in the series the two of them seem like adults.
There is regret in that handshake. Sarah wants to keep it simple. She is willing to try again but wants to start from a real place this time. She needs time to heal and she needs to be in this place for now so she can properly protect Chuck and the world from Intersect 2.0.
Chuck accepts her offer but there is an air about him of a lost opportunity and the realization that his calling has come at a high price.
This is borne out in the final scene when Sarah brings Chuck bad news about Devon. She gives him a hug that is simultaneously intense, gentle and intimate. It is not quite a gesture of comfort from a life partner but it is much more than that of just a friend.
It is a moment of sobering reality and Sarah acts accordingly.
All in all a very solid episode that only disappoints by not having a proper closing scene for Armand Assante.

Carina, ‘Oh my god! Walker. You broke the cardinal rule!’
The Cardinal Rule for spies, of course, being that they do not fall in love.
No suspense this time.
Favorite Episode of the series to date.
No surprise either as fan favorite writer Ali Adler is at the writing wheel this time. She along with co-writer Scott Rosebaum have crafted a snappy and crackling episode. Every instance in this episode is layered.

Carina. Ah Carina. A fan favorite from the first season returns and, as before, she sets Team Bartowski on its collective ears again. This time around we see that Carina and Sarah are friends as they are out clubbing and shooting the breeze. It is an interesting dynamic that Carina can be such a prototypical spy, able to compartmentalize her feelings from the job, and yet so unerringly hone into the emotions of others. A few quick interchanges with Sarah and Carina has already mapped out the emotional landscape between Sarah and Chuck. Understandable that Carina is only a guest star with such an ability.
The spy part of the story deals with Carina’s mark a weapons dealer Stromberg, played effectively by Vinnie Jones. The show continues to show us the more serious tone this season with Stromberg putting down a man with brutal disdain. In the next instant the writers demonstrate the show’s ability to seamlessly shift between genres as he answers a call from Carina in an exchange of pet names of Smooch and Smoochie. This becomes a running gag throughout the episode.
Carina and Stromberg throw an engagement party at Stormberg’s luxurious mansion where an item is being kept that is the reason for Carina’s presence. Under the cover of the party Sarah and Chuck will sneak out and retrieve the item. This leads to two great sequences. One is the laser room that requires Chuck to flash on gymnastic skills to elude the lasers while the other sequence involves ‘Uncle Johnnie.’ With Uncle Johnnie the writers have some fun putting Casey, the man of few grunts, into a public speaking role to buy more time for Chuck and Sarah to retrieve the item. Seeing Casey scrambling to draw out a congratulatory speech is a hoot.
Chuck has been trying to talk to a still angry Sarah to the point of endangering the mission. Seeing this Carina pulls Chuck aside and when Chuck tells her Sarah has been so cold, Carina berates him. ‘You idoit! That is because she is in love with you. Now pull your head out of your ass and focus on the mission.’ Carina may have missed her calling in life. Relationship Consultant, anyone?
Chuck calms down enough to flash but only after Sarah promises him they will talk afterwards. Off Chuck goes and he successfully navigates the laser alarms, retrieves the case, and returns to the doorway. In his eagerness to talk Chuck accidentally sets off the alarm, locking himself in to a rapidly gas filling room. Anyone still worried about the Chuck character changing still?
Sarah rescues Chuck and when she opens the door, Chuck collapses into his arms. But not before he says the three words of the title.
Chuck, ‘Sarah, I love you.’
Back at the Castle, a shaken Sarah asks to be reassigned but General Beckman tells her to suck it up and train Chuck to be a spy. An eavesdropping Chuck is caught by Sarah and she orders him to training. What plays out next is undoubtedly the most romantic scene in the series to date, rife with subtext. The Bo Training Sequence. Or is that beau? Sarah proceeds to lay beating on Chuck telling him to attack her using the Intersect. Chuck refuses, saying he does not want to hurt her. Sarah deftly puts Chuck on his back, stands over him, and fiercely declares, ‘ Don’t worry Chuck. You can’t hurt me.’
Oh Sarah. Yes he can. And has. And in ways you have never experienced before.
All things lead back to Casa Bartowski where a house warming party thrown by Morgan, in an attempt to score with Carina, ends in a standoff with Jones holding Carina hostage. Chuck talks Jones down, after setting Jeff’s infamous Jail Juice on fire as a diversionary tactic. The talk may be directed at Jones but it is really aimed at Sarah.
Things end well, very well in fact, for Morgan as he finds out that saying No actually gets you want in the end. His victory pump slightly beats out the shot of Morgan’s wall of shoes. Outside in the courtyard Chuck cleans up the aftermath of the party and finally he and Sarah talk. The dialogue is deliberately vague but for the first time Chuck and Sarah are on the same page. The hidden subtext is clearly understood. Chuck is resigned to Sarah withdrawing from him for not running away with her and Sarah may not have forgiven Chuck. But she is willing to stay and try to patch things up.
Episode Flashes:

• Carina slo-mo entrance into the BuyMore

• Smoosh and Smooshie

• Morgan channeling Ellie as he helps Chuck dress for his ‘date’ with Sarah

• Casey’s Uncle Johnnie speech – proof Casey is made of more than grunts.

• Laser Room – awesome sequence and love the wink Chuck gives Sarah before entering the room.

• Jail Juice! Jeff’s deadly mix sure to be a new staple of parties going forward.

• Morgan’s Wall of Shoes

• The Bo or should that be ‘Beau?’ ‘Training’ Scene – most romantic scene of the series to date.

At this point 3.02 is already a superior episode but the final scene puts this one into the stratosphere. Carina says her goodbyes to Sarah after unsuccessfully trying to lure her to St. Tropez with her. Her final act is a gift for Sarah. A memory stick which has the video from the laser room. On the video Chuck gives an apologetic and regret laden explanation to Sarah why he could not go with her. The dialogue circles all the way back to the second episode of the first season, Chuck Vs The Helicopter, where Sarah asked Chuck if he was willing to sacrifice personal matters for the greater good. Sarah gets her answer and fights back tears as she realizes Chuck’s reasons are indeed heroic.
This is a such a great scene on so many levels. For Sarah we get to see behind her mask as she tears up listening to Chuck. For Chuck the pain and anguish in his voice is plain to hear. Finally for Carina the act of giving Sarah the memory stick brings a depth of character to her we could only speculate on before. We see that not only does Carina have feelings but she really cares for Sarah. A very strong moment that holds multiple threads of poignancy at the same time. Writing does not get much better than this.
A return by Carina is eagerly anticipated. Whenever she does big things happen.