Posted by Janie Logan Feb 22, 2011, 12:16 GMT
Chuck (Zachary Levi) feels very out of place at the masquerade party where he meets Vivian Volkoff (Lauren Cohan). Photo courtesy of NBC.
This week, Chuck kicked off a big journey for the characters, one with plenty of good stuff to occupy the latter half of Season 4. Relationship dynamics are shifting, so it will be exciting to see what changes are coming.
In "Chuck vs. the Masquerade," everyone is trying to take control of his/her life in some way. Ellie and Awesome are struggling as new parents. Much to their surprise and confusion, the only thing that soothes Baby Clara to sleep is a sheep with a Jeffster recording, played on a continuous loop. The possibilities with this are endless--imagine, Jeff and Lester as babysitters?!
In the end, Ellie and Awesome only find peace when they move Clara out of their bedroom and into her nursery.
Another baby bird who has to leave the nest--Morgan. After a hilarious Valentine's Day fiasco, Casey rightly points out to his little bearded buddy that he is the child who has grown too comfortable living with Mommy and Daddy. The point isn't really driven home until Sarah tries to spend quality time with Morgan, just the two of them, and she plays with his Star Wars "toys."
Morgan and Chuck have some separation anxiety, to be sure, as shown by their dilemma over how to decide what will happen to the collectible Han Solo and Chewbacca figurines they purchased together as kids. The solution is the sweetest and best thing: Han and Chewie remain together, now watching over Baby Clara.
Not that Morgan is growing up too fast: "I'm gonna finish packing up, and then I'm gonna head out that door, dude...open myself up to the universe." Chuck nods, "So, moving to your mom's?"
Casey's situation is also comparable, as he considers a future away from Team Bartowski. A sleek agent (guest star Robin Givens) offers Casey a position leading her sleek new team. He won't leave Burbank and Alex, but does Casey feel like it's time for him to move on to a new opportunity?
Then there was the introduction of a new character, Volkoff's daughter, Vivian (guest star Lauren Cohan). In danger from a power-hungry Volkoff lieutenant, Chuck and Co. went to protect her. She was more than a little overwhelmed by the news of who her father was and why he has kept her so far removed from him all these years.
Despite Chuck's protestations, she insists on helping them because of just that--now that she knows the truth, she wants to take control of her life. Unfortunately, with Vivian that means killing someone and covertly digging into her father's work. Granted, the guy she shot was trying to kill her, but after everything Chuck, Sarah, and Casey did for her, I was disappointed to see her take the darker path.
Other thoughts on "Chuck vs. the Masquerade":
I grew to like Lauren Cohan a lot on The Vampire Diaries this season, so I'm glad that she will be sticking around on Chuck for a while, even if she becomes a villain.
-I am still laughing at the look on Casey's face as he walked in on such a bizarre sight--Alex and Morgan, sitting on a bearskin rug, blindfolded, playing with chocolate...Sarah in a silk nightie with angel wings...Chuck wearing a "Love Machine" t-shirt with his face on it. His eyes just kept flashing from one thing to the next until he looked like he was going to explode.
-Points for accuracy in the scene in which Vivian makes her horse rear up. Speaking as an equestrian myself, I can tell you that it's true that spot she was patting, where the barrel of the stomach meets the hind legs, will make horses do weird stuff. You have to be careful brushing there. So I appreciate the attention to detail, and it makes up for the ridiculous Chuck-swinging-on-the-tree-limb moment!
What did everyone else think about this one?
Comments