Having recently complained that so many of Chuck's storylines feel incredibly similar, Phil Klemmer's script was refreshingly different in enough ways to leave a pleasant impression. In this episode, Premier Allejandro Goya (Armand Assante), infamous dictator of "banana republic" Costa Gavras, has arrived in the US to announce his country's move into democratic elections. After an assassination attempt on Goya leaves him hospitalized, General Beckman (Bonita Friedericy) assigns Chuck, Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) and Casey (Adam Baldwin) to secretly protect the Premier from any future attacks on American soil.
Matters are complicated for Chuck when Devon saves Goya's life in hospital, prompting the grateful dictator to invite Devon and wife Ellie to a fancy diplomatic party -- which is just what depressed Ellie needs to inject some passion and romance back into their fledgling marriage, but leaves Chuck with a problem because Devon's increasingly keen to be involved in his CIA double-life, and this enthusiasm soon leads to Devon accidentally exposing Casey's cover...
Second of Strahotness: high blood pressure?
There was nothing stunning about this episode, but I just responded to three main elements: (1) how it found a fun way to give Ellie and Devon involved in the central story with something relevant to do, (2) how the plot -- despite another party sequence -- mostly carved a unique path through the story, and (3) how this episode focused entirely on its A-story, and there was absolutely no sign of any B(uy More)-story. An obvious result of the decrease in budget this year*, as someone who generally dislikes the juvenile Buy More storylines, I found this episode far more satisfying without that distraction. For once, the story felt like it had time to breathe and its pace wasn't interrupted by whatever nonsense the Buy More might have coughed up.
Guest star Armand Assante was slightly wasted in a thin caricatured role, but Chuck's guest stars tend to be shorthand for stereotypes. But I really liked how Devon was used throughout this episode -- first ruining a mission with good intentions, but redeeming himself by helping set things right. This was also the first time we've seen Devon share in Chuck's lifestyle, and it worked well having some new blood in the mix. I also enjoyed the arc for Casey, who spent his early career trying to assassinate Goya (earning the titular "Angel Of Death" nickname in the process), but now found himself tasked to protect his former-enemy from another assassin, and eventually saving the dictator's life with a blood transfusion.
Overall, "Chuck Versus The Angel De La Muerte" was a decent and enjoyable episode that, for once, felt like it was exploring some new territory. It was great to see Intersect 2.0 used in more interesting ways with Chuck (to dance, to remove a bullet), and I was particularly excited by the fact this episode didn't wrap things up with a neat bow at the end. Instead, we were dealt a surprising cliffhanger with Devon kidnapped by an assassin at the hospital -- which is something I didn't expect to happen, but will certainly help the show retain its audience next week**. It'll be fun to see how Devon gets on as a captive, and how Chuck manages to cover his uncharacteristic absence to Ellie. He's not just saving the world now, he's protecting his sister's marriage.
11 January 2010
NBC, 9/8c
written by: Phil Klemmer directed by: Jeremiah Chechik starring: Zachary Levi (Chuck), Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah), Adam Baldwin (Casey), Bonita Friedericy (General Beckman), Ryan McPartlin (Devon), Sarah Lancaster (Ellie), Armand Assante (Premier Allejandro Goya) & Andrew Connolly (The Poisoner)
* I'm guessing the lower budget was responsible for that awful greenscreen shot of Chuck, Sarah and Devon entering Goya's home, too. Was there really no money to film a genuine exterior somewhere?
** Sunday's double-bill peaked at 7.7 million viewers, its best performance since the post-Super Bowl "3D special" last season. This episode on Monday also performed relatively well for NBC, attracting 7.3 million viewers. That's not particularly brilliant in the big scheme of things, but for NBC right now it's decent numbers. Heroes only managed 4.71 million immediately after.
