Chuck: Season 2 (2008 - 2009)

So the moment season once concluded, I began with this. No sense in taking a break between the shows, right? Exactly how I felt about it. Plus now that Chuck has it’s hooks in me, there is not a chance in hell that I would be able to ignore it even if I wanted to, anyway. So back to watching.

*CONTAINS SPOILERS*

Synopsis: What with Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) narrowly avoiding been thrown into a deep and dark cell for protection, Major John Casey (Adam Balwin) is issued orders to eliminate Chuck now that the Intersect may be removed. The team discovered a device that is said to be the last piece of the new Intersect. Chuck is overjoyed, and goes into full swing about what he will do with his life now that he has escaped the Intersect. He asks Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) to go out on a real date with him, and is overjoyed when she accepts. He informs his sister, Ellie Bartowski (Sarah Lancaster) that he will be moving out and finishing up studies and possibly travelling the world. Could this be the beginning of something beautiful? It turns out that it is most definitely not a thing of beauty. The new Intersect device turns out to be a faulty Fulcrum device, and the Intersect is destroyed, leaving Chuck bitter and hopeless, yet saving his life when at the last minute Casey hears Sarah take a call telling them that the Intersect was a bust, and Chuck is all that they have left, hence screwing up his assassination. Chuck’s world crumbles when he realizes that the Intersect is going nowhere, and neither is his life or romance. They Buy More it is then, though he has turned down the position of Assistant Manager, and with the hot fake girlfriend, although he vows he will find a way to get back to where he was. Emmett Milbarge (Tony Hale) comes in to pull the Buy More together, and the employees are horrified when he is employed full time. Emmett is the essence of all that the Buy More staff hate, but “Big” Mike (Mark Christopher Lawrence) seems to love him. We take a look at Sarah’s past when old high school “friends” run into her at her new place of work, Orange Orange, the yogurt store. The CIA seems to have sprung for a new base, and so Castle comes to exist beneath the Buy More and Orange Orange. The life of missions and secrecy begins again. Later, Ellie is beside herself with pride because, although Chuck returned to the Buy More and did not advance on to greater things as he promised, his Stanford degree arrives. Chuck goes with the story that he has been taking online courses, and is shocked to find out from Sarah that the degree is real, and not a gimmick.

Chuck’s old flame from Stanford, Jill Roberts (Jordana Brewster) steps back into his life, and unluckily for him, he lands the job of having to strike up a relationship with her again to see if she knows anything about her boss’s activities. Surprisingly, Chuck and Jill get along wonderfully, and after the initial lies, they fall back into an easy relationship. Chuck’s best friend, Morgan Grimes (Joshua Gomez) is slightly horrified that Chuck is back with his ex and that he was the last to know. Ellie worries about Chuck making the wrong decision in leaving Sarah, and gets involved with sort of trying to fix things. Sarah and Casey get hold of a stolen Fulcrum chip that would have jeopardized all their identities, they make a terrible discovery: Jill is an undercover Fulcrum agent. They are sure that she does not know that Chuck is the Intersect, as Fulcrum have their hands full tracking down Bryce, but this all leads to unnecessary complications. Chuck’s heart is shattered when he hears, and he tries to ignore the facts. Instead they bring her in, and again she screws him over, leading to Chuck ultimately imprisoning her for life, and not even feeling too guilty about it, although he is suffering immensely.

Ellie struggles to deal with Devon Woodcomb’s (Ryan McPartlin) family swooping in and attempting to take over her wedding, and she is stressed out enough without their constant “awesome” input. Chuck promises to bring his father home to walk Ellie down the aisle even though she evidently has her doubts.Sarah’s father, Jack Burton (Gary Cole), comes to town, and Chuck does a little spy work and establishes she is not dating an older man, but seeing her father. Slowly but surely he uncovers the fact that Jack is a conman of note, and soon they are all wrapped up in a crazy con that General Diane Beckman (Bonita Friedericy) has tasked them. Morgan and Anna Wu (Julia Ling) are having major upsets in their relationship as she is evidently looking for something more mature, and this results in their relationship being on-again-off-again.

Castle

On Christmas eve, a crazy man crashes his car into the Buy More and takes the store hostage, and Chuck becomes his communication man with the outside world and the negotiator. Chuck realizes that he is in trouble when he finds out the hostage taker and the negotiator are both with Fulcrum, and that they now know exactly who and what he is, and are intent on taking him away. After an escape is made and he is again saved by Casey and Sarah, he accidentally witnesses Sarah putting a bullet in the negotiators head, but fails to hear her reasoning before it when the man says he will gladly be locked up, but that Chuck’s secret and identity will forevermore be compromised. There is a distinct shift in their relationship. Chuck and Sarah are sent on a mission to the suburbs, and uncover that the cul-de-sac is actually a Fulcrum operating ground, and that they are intent in using Chuck to upload the Fulcrum Intersect. Chuck now has brand new and expansive knowledge in his brain. It seems he will never be free of being the Intersect.

In all of this, “Big” Mike has lost his wife, and Morgan is disgusted when he picks it up with his mother. Now “Big” Mike is his boss and he is at home all the time. MI-6 Agent Cole Barker (Jonathan Cake) is the first person outside of the team that knows Chuck’s real identity and secret, and is kidnapped by Fulcrum for the information. He returns, however, intent on helping Team Bartowski out as much as he can. They chase after a man that is involved in developing a new Intersect, and Chuck learns about the mysterious creator of the original Intersect, Orion. Chuck makes it his mission to find Orion himself and have him reverse engineer the Intersect.

General Beckman pops in and out of the equation all the time, and things get a little out of hand when she feels that Chuck and Sarah’s relationship may be getting to a place where it places them all in danger, and sends in another agent, a 49-B agent, Alexander Forrest (Tricia Helfer), to evaluate Sarah’s performance. She seems just like the type of woman Casey needs in his life, but the two have differences. Ellie and Devon go through some serious drama when his bachelors party is botched, what with Jeff Barnes (Scott Krinsky) and Lester Patel (Vik Sahay) taking photos of Agent Forrest playing the stripper all over Devon on a mission. Ellie is heartbroken, and furious when no one will tell her what happened, even just to ease her mind.

Sarah tracks down Chuck’s father, Stephen Bartowski (Scott Bakula), and together with Chuck they bring him home to Ellie. The reunion does not exactly go down smoothly, but Chuck is convinced it will work. However, things get crazy when Chuck is asked to take a job at Roark Industries and stop the new Roark Industries Operating System going live, as they think there is a virus embedded in it. It turns out that that is no concern of theirs when Stephen reveals himself to be Orion and Ted Roark (Chevy Chase) takes him down to build the Fulcrum Intersect. The only way this plays out is if Chuck is let free, and so he walks, but hassles Casey and Sarah to help him. Ultimately only Sarah rises to the role, and goes rogue. Casey brings them in, and Chuck hears that Casey was promoted to Colonel. He is desperate to save his father, and when they break out of Castle, they eventually convince Casey that they really need his help.

Jeffster crashing the wedding

Ellie has completely broken down thinking that both her father and brother have left her, and Devon mans up, which is so sweet. Chuck needs to save his father, and when they are there to get him, he hears that Roark is building an Intersect army. He tries to stop him, and when they are all captured, an airstrike takes the place apart after the Intersect is released. Stephen let’s Chuck know that he is free of the Intersect, and Chuck is thrilled. Chuck quits the Buy More to start his new life, and Morgan quits, too, under the horrendous seige of Emmett, leaving for Hawaii with Anna to become a Benihana chef. Chuck’s enthusiasm is short lived, however, when they return to Burbank and Ellie’s wedding is crashed by Ted Roark’s return. Just as Casey, Sarah and Chuck were all returning to their lives. Chuck turned down the opportunity to work on the new Intersect project, and Bryce Larkin (Matt Bomer) is there to take over the project. Chuck tries desperately to make it up to Ellie, and gives her the exact wedding she wanted initially. While in the courtyard having the reception, Stephen Bartowski informs them that has been captured by bad men, and they discover he has a prototype Intersect uploaded in his brain from when he created it. The team goes after the men that took Bryce, who turn out to be a new group that they know nothing about: these men are Ring operatives, and they are everywhere. Bryce is shot and killed in action, trying to destroy the Intersect. Chuck uploads the Intersect 2.0 and destroys the machine. The new Intersect has some distinct upgrades, though, and Chuck has some sweet moves to show off.

Best Episode:  Chuck versus the First Date

Worst Episode: Chuck versus the Gravitron

Rating:  8/10. I was so entertained by this season. I adored the first episode with Michael Clarke Duncan and the whole Call of Duty skit. Whoever said games can’t save your life?! I laughed so much in this season. I have managed to not really hate Bryce as much as I know I should (loyally to Chuck, that is). He has a nasty habit of showing up at the most inopportune times, but it seems that he accepts his loss of Sarah, and moves out of the picture, even though it ended with a forceful removal. My heart ached for Morgan in Chuck versus the Best Friend because I thought the things that Chuck said to Morgan were horrendously cruel. I know he was saving Morgan from being killed by the Triads and all that, but it even cut me how he ripped his dignity to shreds while he was already in a bad place from losing Anna (again). Hats off to Joshua Gomez for breathing life into that scene without trying to laugh it off. It is as though he, personally, absorbed the insults wholeheartedly. I am so glad that Chuck finally got his degree, I think that must have helped him not feel so useless all the time. Chuck made a huge sacrifice at the end by re-uploading the Intersect after tasting his freedom so briefly. I was so impressed with Morgan leaving the Buy More to follow his dreams for a change, and not run after everything everyone else always wants. If you don’t watch Chuck, I would highly recommend it. I don’t know if everyone will follow the geeky humour, but if you are one that can, then this is definitely for you! Even if the humour is not your thing, the show is put together very well.