Posted by Janie Logan Oct 6, 2010, 16:44 GMT
Heather (guest-star Nicole Richie) returns to wreak havoc on Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah's (Yvonne Strahovski) relationship. Photo courtesy of NBC.
Between the escape through the air vent and the rooftop shootout, this week’s episode of Chuck felt like a video game. This feeling was only magnified by the fact that the Buy More was hosting an actual video game release party. With the return of memorable former villains—Stone Cold Steve Austin as Hugo Panzer and Nicole Richie as Heather Chandler—it was like a staging level before we meet the Big Boss.
As we know, Chuck’s primary concern is locating his mother, but both Panzer and Chandler have a connection to Volkoff, whose mystery is ever-increasing, as he orders two assaults on their prison transfers.
And speaking of bosses, Big Mike returned, as well! He wanted to ask Morgan’s permission to propose to his mom, but then Morgan—and we—saw how much Big Mike was needed around the Buy More. Complications with the video game release caused a riot to break out among the hundreds of waiting fans, who were incensed by being subjected to Jeffster’s poetry slam. Big Mike saved the day, restoring order and capturing Panzer as he was about to escape.
Poor Chuck had a rough episode. He was so blissful about how well his relationship with Sarah was going, but when she said they needed a “chat,” the doubt began to creep in. Unsurprisingly, the reappearance of Sarah’s high school nemesis, Heather Chandler, magnified the issue.
Last we saw her, Heather was betraying her sweet dork of a husband in “Chuck vs. the Cougars.” She picked up on the vibes between Chuck and Sarah, and drew the inevitable comparison. Sarah’s a true spy, just like her, and her attempts to settle into a happy life will only end up boring her.
Chuck could see how flustered Sarah was getting over Heather’s snipes, which only concerned him more. Add to that, he had to go face to face with Panzer again, this time IN A CAGE. Excellent fight choreography in the scene, but not even the Intersect 2.0 could prepare Chuck for being crushed by his massive opponent.
When the helicopter on the roof turned out to be Volkoff’s men, one of whom shot Casey, Sarah did something very non-spy-like—she cut Heather’s restraints and gave her a gun to help in the fight. It was this that made Heather realize, perhaps Sarah has become a better person with Chuck. She even gave them the bit of information she knew about “Frost,” Mama Bartowski’s alias.
Chuck and Sarah finally had their chat, which was nothing to worry about—they love each other, but they need to take it slow, etc. That is, until Big Mike’s engagement ring fell from the sky and Chuck picked it up on bended knee, setting up next week’s adorable misunderstanding.
I’d call “Chuck vs. the Cubic Z” a solid but unremarkable episode. My favorite part was the interrogation of Heather, when Chuck wanted to play “Good cop, bad cop,” whereas Sarah thought they should go with “Tough cop, silent cop.” Nicole Richie was given all the best snarky lines, teasing Chuck for being a wispy man-boy and guessing that he probably had a Tron poster in his bedroom. I’m glad Big Mike is back, and look forward to further amusement from him serving as (in the words of the departed Emmett Milbarge) Morgan’s “Ass. Man.”
In next week’s episode, Chuck and Sarah go with Ellie and Awesome on a trip to Costa Gravas, and Casey learns some unwelcome news about Morgan and his daughter, Alex.
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