1.24.2011

Instant Reaction: Chuck vs the Gobbler

Tweet: Live tweeting of #Chuck412 starts now.

Addendum: I feel like I need my own theme music. Frea, can I get my own theme music for Instant Reactions? I'd like something epic, that makes you think that another Rocky movie is going through a badass training montage, but with enough maudlin backing strings to make people realize that I also look adorable in turtlenecks.


Tweet: #DOUBLEAGENTWALKER #Chuck412

Addendum: Didja see her Mxpw? Didja? Didja? Also, I referred to tonight's episode as "Mxpwian" to someone because seriously they were stealing all the best pages from the Double Agent playbook tonight.

Check more after the jump.





Tweet: Poor Casey. #HeAlwaysLoses #Chuck412

Addendum: Even when they're only pretend fighting he loses! Poor guy.


Tweet: It's cheeseBALLS not CheeTOS, Morgan. #GetItRight #Chuck412

Addendum: You have no idea how upset this next reveal made me. I feel cheated on.


Tweet: Fritos?! #WhatTheHizzeck #Chuck412

Addendum: I feel like I don't even KNOW you anymore, Chuck. I thought you could be counted on to devour root beer barrels of cheeseballs and cheeseballs ONLY. And now you're throwing Cheetos and Fritos at me?! This is like finding out your girlfriend doesn't like your favorite television show HEY WAIT A MINUTE>


Tweet: Sarah Walker IS Miranda Lawson WITH Timothy Dalton IN I Like To Paint A Lot. #Chuck412

Addendum: On Lifetime.


Tweet: ....Art of Massage? #CreepyJamesBond #Chuck412

Addendum: Did I hear that right? I honestly don't know if I heard that right.


Tweet: Somehow I totally buy that Volkoff would think that was AWESOME. #MostlyBecauseIDo #Chuck412

Addendum: BACKFLIP KUNG FU GUN STEAL ACTION. This is what every Sarah Walker action figure should have. What? There aren't Sarah Walker action figures? WHAT THE HELL IS THIS CRAP>


Tweet: #SarahConnorBitches #Chuck412

Addendum: "You know the name, God damnit!" No it's not Rob Dyrdek, it's Sarah Connor. Oh, and if anyone can name the episode of Rob & Big I'm referencing with that quote, I will give you a kiss on the cheek.


Tweet: Yeah, how DO you define betrayal? #Clintonesque #Chuck412

Addendum: Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. It's important to remember that.


Tweet: Also bending people in half. #AlsoJustBendingPeople #Chuck412

Addendum: OH GOD HES BENDER FROM FUTURAMA>


Tweet: Oh my God Timothy Dalton makes everything better. #Chuck412

Addendum: Seriously can we have an all-Volkoff spinoff? With, like, random murderous rampages paired with him teaching his plucky, but clumsy protege about the ways of being a raving madman? It can be called All My Russians and it'll have a laugh track! TELL ME HOW THIS WOULDNT WORK.


Tweet: Like Klingon? #Chuck412

Addendum: EXACTLY like Klingon. Except you can ignore it.


Tweet: My little Beardo is growing up! #SOPROUD #Chuck412

Addendum: Is Morgan the first character in television history to sport a beard and not be evil? Yes. Yes he is. Don't tell me differently, you're wrong.


Tweet: Is it just me or do they have, like, the same TERRIFYINGLY INTENSE eyes? #SarahAndSarah #Chuck412

Addendum: It's scary. Please don't ever have them look at the camera at the same time because I might spontaneously fearbust.


Tweet: Oh God that was close. #NearDeathExperiences #Chuck412

Addendum: How many bruises do you think Morgan's shoulder has right now? 115? 3223253? I say an even hundred thousand.


Tweet: Oh my God Leather Sarah. #Drool #Chuck412

Addendum: Okay seriously I need a moment.


Tweet: Oh my God Leather Sarah. #Drool #Chuck412 #ITNEEDSREPEATINGYOUGUYS

Addendum: I SAID I NEED A MOMENT GOSH>


Tweet: Stabbings like clockwork. #Chuck412

Addendum: Stabbings are scheduled for 4:32PM every evening. Maulings take place at 1:19PM. Headbutts are every hour on the hour. If all you need is a really good slap across the face, Fernando gives those out at 10AM. GET THERE EARLY YOU DONT WANT TO MISS IT. ALSO IT GOES GREAT WITH THE CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST.


Tweet: Morgan. #WorstHypeManEver #Chuck412

Addendum: FLAVER FLAV>


Tweet: Hahahahaha. #MissingFingersAreHilarious #Chuck412

Addendum: Seriously what's not funny about missing fingers aside from everything.


Tweet: EVERYONE LOVES CAKE. #Cake #Chuck412

Addendum: Oh, sky cake. Why are you so delicious? Name the reference for another ten points!


Tweet: Sarah has really perfected that "holding on to moving vehicles forever" trick. #Chuck412

Addendum: This is a trick not used often enough in fanfic. Someone, write that fic now.


Reply Tweet, from tropetweeter: Hasn't she?

Addendum: TROPETWEETER I CHOOSE YOU> #Pokemon


Tweet: I seriously cannot get over Leather Sarah. #RidiculouslyHot #Chuck412

Addendum: I will probably be talking about/thinking about/dreaming about this for, like, at least 1029750195 months.


Tweet: Some of my favorite Chuck scenes are set to the National. #ThisSongIsAmazing #Chuck412

Addendum: There's that scene in Season 1 where they set a scene to "Slow Show" and it is THE BEST SCENE. Okay not the best but it's really good.


Reply Tweet, from DWNACrumb: Hoping for "Runaway"!

Addendum: Well my preference from High Violet has always been "Terrible Love," but if you read my blog Racecar Brown you already know that. OH HEY LOOK A LINK.


Tweet: Okay Volkoff is the best thing ever. #Chuck412

Addendum: "So my job is basically just to do the thing that nobody expects me to do, right?" Next thing you know he's just going to shoot Mary in the FACE. Oh God I just gave Schwedak some Joss Whedon ideas.


Tweet: This season just needs Timothy Dalton in every scene. #Chuck412

Addendum: Everyone just steps there game up for the man.


Reply Tweet, from ladycat713: Crazy doesn't mean stupid. My mother and grandmother are proof of that.

Addendum: So am I! Seriously I am not okay in the head.


Tweet: The fact this episode is astounding only makes it mind-boggling how ho-hum the last episode was. #Chuck412

Addendum: This is Chuck vs. the Balcony: "Oh hey I already knew everything that's happening in this episode since the Pilot. But this is going on for forty minutes. Oh hey that ending was vaguely sorta interesting" And this is Chuck vs. the Gobbler: "HOLY CRAP SARAH JUST PUNCHED CASEY AND SHE HAS BLACK HAIR> OH MY GOD DID VOLKOFF REALLY JUST SHOOT THAT GUY? HES FRAKKING CRAZY> CASEY JUST FELL OFF A GORRAM BUILDING AND BROKE HIS F'ING NECK>"


Reply Tweet, from katsumaro: I know, right? And Timothy Dalton's Volkoff.. "CLEANUP!"

Reply Tweet, from Frea_O: Word. And another word: WORD>

Tweet: @Frea_O #Word

Addendum: Word.


Tweet: Saddest game of Risk ever. #Chuck412

Addendum: Even sadder than that one Napolean played against the Russians. Oh wait that was real life. #HistoricalFunny


Reply Tweet, from katsumaro: "Oh..it's my turn."

Addendum: Dude if he touches that game board without the other players there he is getting drawn up by his Underoos. You do not mess with the Risk game board under PENALTY OF DEATH. #THIS #IS #SPARTA


Tweet: OHMANTHATWASAWESOME> #Chuck412

Addendum: DID YOU GUYS SEE THAT IT WAS SO CRAZY> DID YOU? DID YOU?


Reply Tweet, from crystalelements: DUDE IKNORITE I WAS LIKE "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

Addendum: ME TOO OH MY GOD>


Tweet: Best Ellie episode ever. #HandsDown Also kind of glad they balanced such a lighthearted story with this drama. #Chuck412

Addendum: Because seriously I could not take that all in one chunk I am pretty sure my head would have exploded.


Reply Tweet, from katsumaro: Agreed. Finally she was smart again!

Addendum: As opposed to being all "I AM SO FRAZZLED DO YOU SEE HOW FRAZZLED I AM LOOK AT MY BABY BUMP AND ALSO MY HAIR"


Tweet: That tone text read: "WTF!?" #Chuck412

Addendum: Or maybe it was "Sext with me?" Either way.


Tweet: G.O.A.T.? #CallingIt #Chuck412

Addendum: For those not aware, G.O.A.T. stands for "Greatest of All Time." And yes, I am calling it in favor of Chuck vs. the Gobbler.


Final Thoughts: Gobbler wasn't perfect but, as I said to someone before, the idea of a "perfect" Chuck episode is a fallacy. This isn't The Sopranos or Boardwalk Empire or Mad Men, shows that are really developed to be enjoyed in sequential fashion, delicately building up and tearing apart their characters over extended story arcs. Chuck is popcorn television that strives to mix together action, emotion, romance, and comedy into a cacophonous blend. It's difficult, but Gobbler nailed all of those aspects almost pitch-perfect in my opinion. It has officially become my favorite Chuck episode ever, a huge win for a show that had me bored to tears last week.

16 comments:

  1. Ayefah24.1.11

    Holy moly, I didn't love it nearly that much. For some reason I felt "outside" of this episode - it really put me in the mood to note the stupid that was out in abundance more strongly than I appreciated the good stuff, like the birthday party and the EYEBALL OH GOD WHY, which isn't the kind of territory Chuck usually goes to but was just right as a new frontier of crazy for Volkoff to effortlessly conquer.

    I don't know. The whole "Sarah undercover" thing and Chuck's doubts felt so freaking rushed - I can't draw the parallels between Sarah and Mary when the former has only been with Volkoff for a few days, you know? Yes, this was way better than last week, but that's an awful standard to hold the show to. Maybe I'm just not feeling this because I'm not feeling the Mary Bartowski/Volkoff storyline in general. :( It isn't adding up for me the way an arc should.

    But Grunka was just genius, plain and simple. Ellie, be my fictional girlfriend.

    ReplyDelete
  2. First, I must say that I am honored you have turned my name into an adjective. Honored at the highest level! And no, I am not being sarcastic. Thank you, Chris! Also, I laughed, so there is that.

    Second, my lord, in terms of SWP, this might be the best episode ever. I was just telling Crystal that there were times where I literally had to rewind because Sarah was distracting me too much and I missed dialogue. I'm being completely serious. That leather catsuit... Yowza! Don't understand at all why she was wearing it, but I am NOT complaining.

    Third, I'm with Ayefah. This was a fair to middling episode for me. But I think it's mostly because this episode just made me realize how much I dislike the Sarah/Mary/Volkoff arc. It just doesn't do anything for me and in fact, can even sour things for me. So while I am happy you loved this episode, Chris, I think I will definitely be the pessimist during mxpw vs. Frea this week.

    But, great tweets as usual!

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  3. You're both so wrong it actually hurts my brain.

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  4. Make it three. A middling episode.

    Too much story crammed into one episode muted the necessary time to build up for the Sarah Double Agent and Chuck/Sarah separation storylines to have the proper emotional buy in. This episode jammed 3/4 episodes worth of emotional journey into the first 15 minutes.

    Plus the Frost 20 year absence story not making any sense is starting to display the cracks that many feared would show up. Not to mention that the PSP/laptop business also seems destined to be swept under the rug.

    Biggest issue with the episode, the B and C story lines were more engaging than the central one. Not good.

    And the whole prison sequence may have been fun but story wise was nonsensical.

    On the plus side, Volkoff continues to shine.

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  5. Chris, your review is like a sugar rush. I knew putting it off to read first thing in the morning would start my day off right, so thank you.

    I also, I picture something from "Laverne and Shirley" as your theme song. What? They looked adorable in turtlenecks.

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  6. Alaster25.1.11

    I agree with Chris on this one. I loved this episode. Whether it was the A B C or whatever story, I found it excellent. Great job from all the actors this episode.

    Awesome tweets Chris.

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  7. tally25.1.11

    I agree with Mr. Chris for he is an awesome fellow. As for Morgan being the only good guy with a beard, well...there was Walker Texas Ranger

    ReplyDelete
  8. ladycat71325.1.11

    The Cheetos and Fritos mention probably have to do with corporate sponsorship. I think both are owned by Frito Lay(I could be wrong though).

    Morgan has definitely grown up. Our little bearded man has found the one. And as for bearded good guys- add Grizzly Adams to the list.

    One has to wonder how has Mary been undercover this long and took Volkoff doing something right in front of her for her to find out what Hydra was . It strains her credibility more than a bit.

    Did she just kind of give up at some point and coast along still gathering info but not really trying?

    If she did it could be because of an inherited tendancy towards depression (that Chuck inherited).

    Though how neat was it that Casey joined in playing board games with Chuck and Morgan once he recognized one of the signs of a Chuck depression that Morgan had warned him about.

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  9. Ayefah25.1.11

    Mary's credibility has been in the toilet pretty much from the beginning. Either she's a turncoat or she's truly shitty at her job. The only way she might come out of this not looking incompetent is if it turns out she did betray the CIA, but decided to turn back again when it became clear Volkoff would endanger her children.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous25.1.11

    Yeah, a real call back to the original trilogy...with Chuck (Luke stand in) bringing Mary (Vader stand in) back to the side of the Angels. I too would have liked another episode of Evil Sarah's general bad assery and her separation from Chuck as well as no secret special CIA code text for Sarah to ignore. Just leaving Chuck to think that he has now lost his girlfriend to Volkoff as well as his mother. Lots more emotional impact and reason for him to switch to a real gun from his normal tranq gun in the scenes from next week's episode!

    Though I still enjoyed this episode despite the nit picks I noted above.

    -JS Fan

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  11. Ayefah25.1.11

    I hope Chuck hasn't really lost faith, because with a timeline this compressed that would just be silly.

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  12. Anonymous25.1.11

    Didn't Chuck leave tranq guns behind last season when he shot Shaw? I can only think of three episodes where he even bothered with guns this season, but each time they were real. I agree with the sentiment, though. It looks as if the kid gloves are (finally) off.

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  13. Anonymous25.1.11

    Ayefah, I agree it would be silly but I would still love to see Sarah be the one who has to work on convincing Chuck that the wedding should happen sooner rather then a possible mythical 5th season. Sort of like when Rachel had to try and win Ross over in friends. It would just be a nice change of pace, especially if Sarah could enlist the help of Mama B and Ellie for the convincing.

    -JS Fan

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  14. Ayefah25.1.11

    Is it bad that I honestly don't give a flying monkey whether Chuck and Sarah get married or not? They're together in a committed relationship; as far as their story goes, that's all I really need. And if there was a wedding storyline everything would become about the stupid wedding storyline and urgh, I want a show that's about silly spying and friendships and family with soap strictly on the side. Must it take over as the main course? That's what fanfic is for.

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  15. Okay..I really enjoyed the episode... but I keep feeling that I saw something that may not have been intentionally there. Namely, HYDRA. Now through the episode it was just a system for Volkoff's assets to communicate... but if you go back to check out the end of season 3... Chuck's dad had another identity in the basement. HYDRA. Go back and take a look. So I am now left wondering exactly how is that going to get tied into a larger scheme. The meta-arcs that seem to be developing over the series into more and more intricate devices. I'm hoping that the trend won't disappoint.

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  16. Ayefah26.1.11

    Every time HYDRA got mentioned in the episode my friend and I couldn't stop snickering. "Hail HYDRA! Immortal HYDRA! Cut off two limbs and two more shall take its place!"

    ReplyDelete

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