WRITER: Chris Fedak[SPOILERS] It's the quondam finale of season 3 (NBC have since commissioned an additional 6 episodes that will air in a few week's time), and "Chuck Versus The Other Guy" brought the year's storylines to an effective and satisfying emotional peak, even if it was yet another episode where it was really the last 10-minutes that rescued the majority of what preceded it...
DIRECTOR: Peter Lauer
GUEST CAST: Brandon Routh, Mark Sheppard, Bonita Friedericy, Mario Perez & Kim Swennen
Continuing from last week, Chuck (Zachary Levi) had learned that Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) was the person who shot and killed Shaw's (Brandon Routh) wife as part of her "red test", and fears the worst now The Ring have told Shaw the truth and he's since disappeared with Sarah, his beloved spouse's killer. However, with General Beckman (Bonita Friedericy) refusing to believe Chuck's story, our intrepid geek's forced to assemble his own tactical team using an old military contact of Casey's (Adam Baldwin), and traces Shaw to a large warehouse, only to realize that the errant agent has no intention of harming Sarah and just wanted to explain the situation to her.A lot of "... Versus The Other Guy" played with our expectations, as the sense of deflation over Shaw's motivation for whisking Sarah away turned to a feeling of mistrust. Is Shaw really so levelheaded about Sarah's part in his wife's death, or is he emotionally unstable and just biding his time for the perfect revenge? With the majority of the episode still left to go, there's no prizes for guessing. The problem is that Chuck's now a boy who cried wolf who wasted CIA resources over a false alarm, so even when he has persuasive evidence that Shaw's alighted with Sarah with the intention of killing her during a mission in Paris, the only people he can call on to help are the civilianized Casey and wannabe-spy Morgan (Joshua Gomez).
As is typical for this show, the plot was a little shaky and illogical at times, but sometimes that can be a curious advantage for Chuck because it allows more room for solid character moments. And the characters and chemistry between the core actors is the main selling point of this show.
A big highlight of this episode, particularly for 'shippers, was seeing Chuck and Sarah have a heart-to-heart while sat on the floor, during which Chuck asked Sarah a straight question ("do you love me, Sarah?") and actually got a straight answer ("yes") instead of an awkward reaction, interruption from a third-party, or an obvious ploy to dance around the issue. After nearly three years, it came as an almighty relief to hear that simple exchange. It could certainly be a problem keeping the show going without all its will-they/won't-they tension now, but it might also open the show up to being more fun and less angst-ridden. Personally, I've always found the show to be at its most pleasurable when Chuck and Sarah are happy while out on missions, and the idea of them having a genuine relationship certainly doesn't have to be a barrier. On the contrary, it could be a welcome injection of romantic action free of any eggshells.
As I said, while I was enjoying this episode for the most part, it only really exploded into life during the final act, with Chuck and Casey tracing Shaw and Sarah to Paris. Shaw took Sarah to the scene of his wife Evelyn's murder to avenge her death in a poetic way, having defected to work for The Ring's Director (Mark Sheppard) and hand over his information on the Intersect. Fortunately Chuck arrived seconds after Sarah had been injected with a paralytic agent, but his fear for her safety caused the Intersect to fail when he needed it most, so it was down to Chuck himself to rescue the immobilized Sarah before Shaw could haul her over a bridge to drown in the river below. Fittingly, the situation reached a head with Chuck facing a tough decision: kill Shaw to save the woman he loves, but knowing that becoming a killer could dissolve her feelings towards him...
Obviously, it was a risk that had to be taken with someone's life at stake, so poor Shaw was dispatched into the waters below with some uncharacteristically brutal-looking gunshots to the chest, and Sarah was taken to a plush Parisian hotel to convalesce. And, neatly avoiding what could have been a very cynical and frustrating move by the writers, once Chuck explained what had happened Sarah's overjoyed reaction ("you saved me!") was the most appropriate and satisfying one possible.
I think every fan watching was bracing themselves for Sarah's face to fall and start stammering about how Chuck's soul's been tainted now he's killed someone, blah-blah, so kudos for the writers avoiding that to give us a happy "ending". Added satisfaction came from the fact General Beckman's laptop interruption was ignored, leaving Chuck to kiss (and finally have sex?) with the girl he loves in the city he's always wanted to visit.
Overall, "... Versus The Other Guy" may have lacked the epic tone of season 2's finale due to meddlesome budget-cuts, but it managed to bring the Chuck/Sarah relationship to a place that would have worked beautifully as a series swansong. I'd have been happy if this was Chuck's big finale, but fortunately we now have a half-dozen bonus episodes to explore the brand new "Team Bartowski" (Chuck and Sarah are a real couple, Casey's antics got him his job back, and he even vouched to let Morgan join the gang.)I'm predicting a Mrs & Mrs Smith-style dynamic to the show from hereon in, with Morgan assuming the clueless geek role that Chuck once had. That way we'll get a new formula to every episode's mission with Chuck/Sarah as a spy couple, but Morgan will reflect what the show was originally all about. Of course, I doubt Chuck's going to suddenly become a suave and accomplished spy yet, so maybe love itself will prove distracting while he's out in the field? I'm not saying Chuck and Sarah will be caught kissing by Casey every five minutes, but maybe both will feel a strain on their relationship now it's out in the open?
Asides
- Yvonne Strahovski's a delightful screen presence, and this episode finally gave us a positive, smiling and altogether happier Sarah. That temperament has been largely absent from her character since... well, it feels like forever. Hopefully the next batch of episodes will capitalize on the simple fact Sarah's a lot more appealing without the frowns and shifty eyes.
- Seeya, Shaw! Brandon Routh had his moments (mainly in his first few episodes), but ultimately his character wasn't as interesting as it might have been, or acted all that well. A few key points to his character (his Intersect knowledge, his wife's death) weren't kept in focus very well, so recent developments felt like there's been very little foreshadowing done.
- No sign of Ellie or Devon in this episode, or much Buy Snore antics overall. Like I care. The show would be improved immeasurably if it was just Chuck, Sarah and Casey in a spy-comedy without the extraneous sub-40 Year Old Virgin yuks.
- I hope the next six episodes are good, but in some ways I'd rather this had been the end of season 3. There's a chance that the true season (and perhaps series) finale of episode 19 won't feel as worthwhile as "... Versus The Other Guy". What could they do to top it? Get Chuck and Sarah quickly married? I guess there are options, but is it fair that Chuck's writers have to keep coming up with episodes that work as both season and series finales? It's like reading the perfect last page of a book, then discovering there are still additional chapters to read.
