4.21.2011

mxpw vs. Frea - Chuck vs the Wedding Planner


Chuck vs. the Wedding Planner
Season 4, Episode 21, Air-Date April 11, 2011

Chuck and Sarah call in her con-artist father, Jack Burton, to help recover the wedding funds they lost. Morgan talks Casey into meeting with Alex's mother.


The initial plan for this episode review was for me to pretend to be Frea and for her to pretend to be me. Seemed appropriate, you know? Us pulling a con in honor of an episode about cons. Unfortunately, after thinking about it for a few seconds and trying to figure out if she could be analytical and stay on topic and if I could be randomly crazy, we both realized that conning is a lot of hard work and we're too lazy for that. So instead we decided to just be us. Fun, right?

Fortunately, we got a hell of an episode to make up for our laziness. Wedding Planner marked the return of a much beloved character: Jack Burton. But was his return to the Chuckverse as awesome as his first visit?

The short answer: Yes.

Want to see the long answer? Then you'll have to read to find out.




mxpw
: So we need to do our review.

Frea: Yeah, I know. :-/

Frea: Do you want to do it now?

mxpw: Sure. I mean, if that's okay with you.

Frea: Do you think we should just stay ourselves?

mxpw: That would be so much easier. I don't think I could be a convincing you.

Frea: Okay. Wanna start?

mxpw: I'm not even sure how. Um...so that happened...

mxpw: My brain is all tapped out. How do you function on such little sleep?

Frea: Years of practice.

mxpw: Damn, I'm too lazy for that.

Frea: So the real con, readers, is that Frea is normally the sleep deprived one, but we've decided to switch roles and let Maximus take over that job. Which means that I, your benevolent overlord, should probably take the role of the analytical one, except....

Frea: I just can't. As Chris says, I'm not gonna front: I loved this episode.

mxpw: *yawn*

Frea: That works, too.

Frea: I mean, Sarah in glasses. Sarah with an accent. Tiny Sarah! Tiny ADORABLE Sarah! I mean, wow. I'm gonna call it: best episode since season two. And Daddy Jack's back!

mxpw: Yeah, I'm not gonna front either: I thought this was the best episode since Phase Three, and easily one of the best since Season Two.

Frea: Yay! No fronting about the episode with the cons!

mxpw: However...

Frea: Wait a second. What's this "however" crap?

Frea: The episode was perfect. I REFUSE TO BELIEVE ANYTHING ELSE.

mxpw: Well, I AM the analytical one, you know.

Frea: Lalalalalala, I can't hear you!

mxpw: Three things!

Frea: THREE?

Frea: ...

mxpw: YUP.

Frea: Very well. You may speak, minion.

mxpw: Thank you, MBO.

mxpw: Thing one: I was a little annoyed that this episode made the prenup plot from the previous episode completely pointless. I don't know, I really wanted something here to make up for the fact that Sarah never once explained why she did what she did in the last episode, but I suppose I should know better. Continuity between episodes barely exists anymore.

mxpw: Thing two: It was dumb that Chuck and Sarah didn't get their money back and that the government apparently let Daphne get away free with being a conwoman. I understand why they did it, so that the end could happen, but it was still stupid.

Frea: Yeah, I really think you should know better, sorry. I saw the prenup thing for exactly what it was: the same thing as Sarah's reluctance to move into the apartment in Role Models. Drama for the sake of drama without a good explanation.

Frea: Yeah, at the very least the case should have been passed to our buddies in the FBI.

mxpw: Thing three: This wasn't really anything that bothered me so much as made me scratch my head. I've watched this episode twice now and both times I wondered how Jack didn't know Sarah was engaged before he saw the wedding book. Am I supposed to believe Sarah had her engagement ring off the whole episode? I guess she must have.

Frea: See, now I have to go watch that scene where they're having dinner together in Miami. Hold, please.

mxpw: Haha

Frea: (I really am checking.)

mxpw: It's hard to miss the thing, her rock is frakking huge. So I can't believe Jack never noticed it if she was wearing it.

Frea: It would be one of the first things a conman looks for. Or, um, so I'm told.

mxpw: This isn't really meant as a criticism so much as something that I couldn't help but notice and be curious about.

Frea: It doesn't look like she's wearing the engagement ring, though she is playing with her ring finger.

Frea: Which, if that was intentional, brava, Miss Strahovski, excellent little character moment there.

mxpw: Heh. That reminds me of that interview she did where she said she sometimes freaks out off-set because she notices her ring is gone. And then has to remind herself it's not really her ring.

Frea: So those were your major beefs, then?

mxpw: Well, I wouldn't say major beefs so much as just beefs. Though the lack of continuity with the previous episode still bothers me, I don't care how many times you tell me that it shouldn't. But yeah, that's about it.

Frea: Hey, telling each other what we should like and what we shouldn't is a major no-no. Though, you know, fool me once...

mxpw: Oh I didn't mean it like that. I guess I should have used the word "remind" instead of "tell."

mxpw: Okay. So now that I got what little negative stuff there was out of the way, we can just get right into the good stuff. Which was like everything else. Starting with super adorable little Sarah! That little girl they got to be Sarah was perfect. I really liked the opening scene and how it established not only Sarah's childhood but her relationship with Jack. That was well done.

Frea: I don't remember selling Girl Scout cookies quite like that...

mxpw: I was impressed by little Sarah's ability to count exactly how much money the woman had just from the brief little flash she got and modify her plan seamlessly like she did.

Frea: Well, she's a Girl Scout. I can't remember those thirteen years of my life very well, but I'm pretty sure there's a badge for that. Oh, right, the entrepreneurship badge! I maaaaay have earned that when I was the top-seller of cookies for two or three years in a row (see? I can be adorable, too!).

mxpw: Hehe

Frea: But yeah, not anywhere near as adorable as Girl Scout Sarah because seriously? That was adorable. That beat out the Puppy Bowl on the Adorable Scales, folks. Yes, crime CAN be cute!

mxpw: Though that wasn't even the most adorable little Sarah scene, which was the stuffed animals part, but we'll get back to that in a little while.

mxpw: So we had a great establishing scene and then we open up on Chuck and Sarah pulling the trigger on their wedding plans. Am I the only one who was amused that after the last episode with the prenup, we see that Chuck and Sarah apparently have a joint checking account already?

Frea: Prenup? There was a prenup?

mxpw: Heh, yeah.

Frea: Was this an important detail I overlooked?

mxpw: How silly of me. That never happened.

Frea: Okay, good. I was worried. Moving on. So yeah, they've got a joint checking account already. And just to be me (aka ornery), whatever happened to all of that debt Morgan and Chuck racked up in the premiere?

mxpw: HA! I was just going to ask where all of Sarah's money has gone?

Frea: Prenup category? Prenup category.

Frea: Mannnnn we're nitpicky. But whatevs. So yeah, they pull the trigger and discover they're holding one of those little cartoon guns, the ones that shoot out the sign that says, "BAM!"

Frea: Sarah's less thrilled about this than Chuck is, for obvious reasons.

mxpw: I mean, seriously, this is a woman who probably makes around 70K a year and until she moved in with Chuck, probably had next to no living expenses thanks to the government, so I couldn't help but wonder how losing $26K, while a nice junk of change, apparently wiped the two of them out. But as you say, whatevs.

Frea: Whatevs! I like this attitude.

mxpw: Also, shhhh! about the guns that go BAM! With this show, you know they'd think that was actually a good idea.

Frea: ...Wow, I just saw the parallels between Sarah and Jessica Rabbit.

mxpw: Both super hot chicks married to goofy men? But I don't think Chuck has yet to suggest they play patty cake.

Frea: No, that's Morgan and Alex. Anyway, moving on. I personally loved Daphne Peralta and her accent. I giggled through the whole scene. That accent was a thing of BEAUTY.

mxpw: Yeah, she was pretty good for the role she played. And then I have to admit, Morgan comparing Chuck and Sarah's wedding colors and font to socialist propaganda was very amusing to me. I liked that scene between him and Chuck. Also, Sarah looked hot in her sexy work clothes again. And her outrage at being conned was funny.

Frea: "But she came highly recommended! By the internet!"

mxpw: That was a good line.

mxpw: And that leads to Sarah tracking down Jack. I'm not sure how she did it so easily, especially since in CAT Squad she said she had no idea where he was, but I'm going to assume she used government resources to do it. That's not important, though, because Gary Cole!!!

Frea: Gary Cole!!!

Frea: I would use government resources to track down Gary Cole. Um, provided I were, um, a stalker.

mxpw: And I gotta say, I really appreciated that he was apparently pulling the same con he did in Delorean. That was a nice touch.

Frea: I freaking love Gary Cole. His role on The Good Wife is one of my favorite guest spots ever.

mxpw: As I've not seen that show before, I'll just say, and he was awesome in Office Space!

Frea: Lumberg!

mxpw: I did like the first scene between Jack and Sarah, though I can't help but be amused that Sarah flew all the way across the country and then back for like a five minute conversation. Heh. She probably just used the Castle slide.

Frea: I think she did. And the Green Screen of Awesome to put her in the same parking lot as Jack, apparently.

mxpw: Heh. I noticed the green screen too.

Frea: I had to say something.

mxpw: At least it wasn't as bad as the bit in FOD.

Frea: Or Masquerade or the matte painting in Balcony. Ah, show. I adore you.

mxpw: Hehe

mxpw: So Jack gives Sarah the brilliant advice of faking it until you make it, which to me, sounded more than a little dirty.

Frea: There were a couple of times where I was like, "Hmm" about things in this episode. That time, and when Jack is snooping through the windows and sees the fact that the apartment is just completely Chuck and very little Sarah (except for the shot of Sarah in the titanium bikini), I was kind of cringing.

mxpw: Well, it's pretty understandable. Sarah has no hobbies or outside interests, like she's going to have decorating perspectives? Pffft!

mxpw: However, the faking it until you make it did lead to one of this episode's best and hilarious scenes.

Frea: Yeah, I know. That's why I was cringing.

Frea: But yeah, we got to see Yvonne and Zac's take on their characters attempting to act, which is always a hilarious, hilarious gambit.

mxpw: Sarah's flash face was hysterical. I love Yvonne and her willingness to be goofy and her version of the Chuck's flash face was just SO perfect. I had to rewind and watch it over and over again. Then I had to find a gif of Sarah's flash. Chuck's reaction to her face was pretty funny too, and then Sarah's reaction to Chuck's reaction was even funnier. Her being all curious about whether or not he liked her version. That scene was the best of the first half, I think.

Frea: I would agree. The scene with Beckman had me wanting to hide under the desk, but that's because awkward scenes make me feel awkward even as I'm trying not to scare the entire computer lab with my cackling.

mxpw: That scene with Beckman made me facepalm, but it was so funny. I was like, "Wow, brilliant plan, guys! I see you've thought this through really well!" Hahaha. It made me really appreciate the irony of Sarah making Chuck fake a flash after she got so angry at him for thinking he had done that in Crown Vic. I do think Sarah's slowly growing horror at how things were spinning out of control really helped that scene.

Frea: It really did.

mxpw: So after the great flash faker scene, there was the only real questionable part of the episode for me: the SuperShuttle scene. It could have worked in theory, but in execution was just a little too silly. Chuck was acting too goofy and I don't understand why he couldn't have just flashed some ID, since we know both Sarah and Casey have government ID. Plus, it went on too long. Though I have to say that the weird chick that was describing everything that was going on was kinda funny, especially since she was acting like she wasn't all that turned off by Chuck "exposing" himself. Ah, Los Angeles, how I miss you.

Frea: That's who she reminded me of! I was getting Parks and Recreation flashbacks to April. Got it. Thanks, brain, for finally putting that together. But basically, you summed up my entire opinion of that scene, save one thing: THE BEARD! Heeeeee. It was almost as bad as the Spy Daddy beard from Alias.

Frea: But, but, but, that scene does lead to the all-important sight-gag of Daphne Peralta being taken down with a net-gun.

Frea: And Beckman being pissed as hell at Chuck and Sarah, for which I will say they completely deserved it. I think that's part of the problem I had with the characters this episode, that they were using government resources all willy-nilly against somebody they should have gone to the police about. When the episode became about taking down the Klug brothers and fixing their mess, I felt a lot better about the characters, but until then, I just sort of had to shake my head about what awful people they were.

mxpw: Hahaha, yeah. I completely agree with you. The net gun was fantastic. And Beckman tearing into Chuck and Sarah was awesome. Though letting Daphne go was stupid.

mxpw: And I really appreciated that finally we had a mission that had next to no connection to Chuck and Sarah's personal lives. They were just doing their normal jobs for once. That's why the second half was better this episode. And a major reason why it had a S2 feel, I think.

Frea: Yeah, it's nice when there's this whole world outside of their bubble, isn't it?

mxpw: It really is.

Frea: So can I just say, I loved that they brought Papa Burton into the spy world to pull off the wedding con? I've made no bones about the fact that I adore heist movies like nothing else, so there's that, but I love montages where characters are doing setup, and this episode had that in spades! Sarah's a Cake Boss! Chuck's a DJ (though, man, if they had made Morgan the DJ, I would have flipped out; they already had Sarah being somewhat-originally from Idaho), Jack being the slick shyster we all love, and Morgan being enthusiastic to be included in the team. So. Much. Awesome!

mxpw: Agreed, agreed, and agreed.

mxpw: I thought this episode had the perfect amount of Morgan, in Morgan-appropriate roles. I thought Sarah's new accent was just perfect and I can still hardly believe that was Yvonne doing it. Plus, Sarah in glasses! (Excuse me while I swoon for a second.) And Jack masterminding the whole thing was awesome. Methinks he'd have a future doing government work if he ever wanted to go "legit."

mxpw: Oh!

mxpw: And the shell game scene. Little Sarah was so adorable in that scene with her stuffed animals I couldn't help but go "Awww!" through the whole thing. That was an excellent way to further develop Sarah's hero worship of her father, the theme of a life of adventure, her family problems, and the piggy bank.

Frea: I did love the shell game scene. Well, I completely forgot it existed until you mentioned it just now, but I blame that on my constant daze of sleep deprivation and confusion. Anyway, that was an adorably awesome scene. Almost as awesome as that accent. If Yvonne ever did a charity auction where she offered to record somebody's voicemail in that accent, I am 95% sure there went my life savings.

mxpw: Hahaha. Which is funny, because I'd want her to just use her natural accent.

mxpw: But yeah, so they manage to pull off this wedding, which was great, and I enjoyed seeing everybody working as a team to take down the Klug brothers. There was some truly excellent team work in this episode. I loved Sarah whacking all the brothers with that platter. And then doing a "Spy High-five" with Morgan was excellent.

Frea: Hee, that part made me laugh because Yvonne nearly ended up flat on her face when she whacked the second guy.

mxpw: I did like seeing the camaraderie that exists between Morgan and Sarah.

Frea: That was rather excellent. And they all looked so nice, all cleaned up and stuff.

mxpw: Yup. Sarah looked good in her dress and glasses. Even Casey got all dressed up.

mxpw: And then there was that great father-daughter dance. I just enjoy the interplay between Sarah and Jack so much. And Chuck's look of happiness as he watched them dance was sweet. Now it's those moments like that when I can believe they love each other.

Frea: I'm about to be a curmudgeon!

mxpw: Yay! It's been a while.

Frea: But I really, really dislike that song.

mxpw: You dislike "At Last?"

Frea: Which has nothing to do with the show. I just lived with this girl for a summer who had that song as the ringtone for her boyfriend. Which wouldn't be a problem. EXCEPT that said boyfriend called, and I'm totally not exaggerating here, at least 30-40 times a day.

mxpw: Haha. That's pretty impressive.

Frea: so 30-40 times a day, I'd hear "AAAAAAAT LAAAAAAASTTTTTTT"

mxpw: That's a shame, because it's a really good song.

Frea: She was pretty quick about answering, so after the first few seconds of the song, I don't mind it so much.

mxpw: Well, song choice aside, did you like that scene?

Frea: I did. I feel bad for Sarah that her dad just isn't cool enough to deserve her, though.

mxpw: I don't know, Jack Burton is pretty cool. Especially cool under pressure.

mxpw: Cool.

Frea: Man, our readers are drunk.

Frea: That's cool, I think.

mxpw: I also think it's cool.

Frea: The question is, who DOESN'T think it's cool?

mxpw: But speaking of cool, that scene in the parking garage was pretty cool. It was a nice callback to the end of Delorean.

Frea: It really was. There were a lot of great callbacks to Delorean throughout this whole episode, the same con in a new city, the parking garage... Now the question becomes: what did you think of the Kathleen storyline?

mxpw: Well, that's a bit complicated. I am a bit uncomfortable with the notion that the show seems to be trying to put Casey and her back together mainly because of what Casey did to her. But I am pleased that so far, Casey seems to be keeping himself at a distance and not actively pursuing her. I thought that AB did some really good acting, good non-verbal acting, especially in the scene where Kathleen confronts him about being a liar. I think it's a storyline that needs a wait-and-see approach. So far the show has handled the whole storyline pretty well, so I actually have hope they won't blow it.

Frea: Yeah, I definitely hope this isn't the show putting them together. Because honestly, I think Kathleen needed to kick him a few times. As much as I like the way they're handling the storyline, I kind of hate the fact that it exists at all, that Casey faked his death as Alex and that, in addition, there was a child involved. It's one of those things that sours Casey in my book, but the way he's handling it now does make up for those things. If Casey and Kathleen start getting romantic again, though, all bets off the table, and I will make my scorn evident (imagine that, Frea being scornful! What a leap of imagination that will require).

Frea: For the record, yes, I know Casey didn't know about Alex. Doesn't make it any less distasteful that he would do that to some poor woman, though.

mxpw: See, I appreciated Kathleen's line about Casey getting everything he ever wanted, because I felt like there was definitely an air of intentional bitterness and irony attached to it. Which I think illustrated, at least at that moment, that Kathleen wasn't really sure what to think and wasn't about to just declare her love for Casey again.

mxpw: But then with this show and its lack of continuity between episodes... You never know what you're gonna get.

Frea: It's the ultimate box of chocolates, that's for sure.

Frea: With this fandom, however, talking about chocolates means we're talking about Chuck's eyes. Have you noticed how many fanfictions call his eyes "chocolate?" Personally, I find nothing delectable about eyeballs.

mxpw: Really? They're like olives, but crunchier.

Frea: See, like the great Sarah Walker, I hate olives.

mxpw: Heh, speaking of which, gotta give a nod to the props department for that great picture of a crossed out olive on the picture of one of Chuck's CDs.

Frea: Yay, KentuckySoCal! You're awesome.

Frea: Oh, speaking of Awesome, what'd you think about his scene with Jack?

mxpw: I definitely believe he could chase Jack down because of his superior form.

mxpw: It was nice to see Awesome back to being awesome again. And he was a good contrast to Jack, in terms of being a father. Still a terrible liar/spy, though.

Frea: That's okay. He makes up for it in other splendid ways.

mxpw: Yeah. I mean, it's a good thing he sucks as a spy.

mxpw: So we should talk about the end and then wrap this up, yeah? What did you think of the final bit of Jack we will probably ever see?

Frea: I was a little surprised he gave the piggy bank back.

mxpw: I don't think I was.

Frea: Now, I was also not surprised at all, which speaks for the general undercurrent of optimism that always runs throughout this show, with a notable exception being most of s3.1.

Frea: But I don't know, I don't think giving her back the piggy bank ever really matched everything they outright told us about Jack. So on the one hand, I was a little like, "Hmm" but mostly, it was nice to see that they kept Jack's layers in place.

mxpw: Hmm...I think it was in character for Jack. He's the archetypal lovable rogue. He was a bad father, an irresponsible father, but he's always been presented as really likable and as somebody who loves his daughter, even if he doesn't know how to really show it. And I think the piggy bank really symbolized that dichotomy in Jack's character. I guess we are kinda saying the same thing. They kept his layers, and I loved that. He was a bad father and he always disappointed her, but I don't know, seeing how emotional Sarah got at the end and the smile she had, made it worth it. Heh. That scene made me emotional too. That's what this show used to be able to do on a regular basis. It made me inordinately happy to see them do it again.

Frea: Yep, that pretty much sums it up, the whole episode, I think.

mxpw: Awesome, so do you have any final thoughts about this fantastic episode?

Frea: It was nice to leave an episode smiling?

Frea: Tiny Sarah makes me want to write a series of stories about the Adventures of Tiny Sarah?

mxpw: Heee, I would read that series, FYI.

Frea: Well, apparently, it's kind of Greater.

mxpw: Haha, yeah, I can see it.

mxpw: So do you have anything else?

Frea: You know what the only thing this episode was missing, Max?

mxpw: SWP, obviously.

Frea: CASTLE SLIDE!

mxpw: Always the same answers from both of us.

Frea: Always. It's good we're consistent. See you next week for another new episode of Chuck?

mxpw: Yeah. I just want to say I loved this episode. I watched it twice. The last time I did that was Seduction Impossible and before that Phase Three. This was better than the former by a wide margin and as good as the latter. It felt like a Season 2 episode to me and it cemented my love for Jack Burton. It was just so much damn fun! Thank you, show, for being fun again.

Frea: Word.

mxpw: So episode ratings?

Frea: 9 Castles Slides out of 10

mxpw: I'll give it Five Joisey Sarah Wearing Glasses out of Five.





So, your thoughts? Did you love it? Hate it? And did you expect us to say "cool" during this review? I bet you never thought we'd bring that up again.

We'd love to hear your thoughts!

6 comments:

  1. The thing that's been nagging me since I watched this episode... Why when we were first introduced to Kathleen did she not recognize Casey, but now she all of the sudden does? I thought they said something during the Kathleen backstory ep about Casey having surgery to change his appearance, or maybe I'm just imagining that.

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  2. Re: prenup - they do have one - Chuck's. I think either Chuck's learned his lesson not to pressure Sarah for an explanation, or Sarah's explanation was off camera because frankly it would be boring

    Re: Chuck and Sarah not getting their money back. Welcome to the American legal system, where burglars who get hurt can sue the owners of the house they broke in to. Considering the violence of her arrest, a couple million dollar payout would be likely with the right jury. It's stupid, but it was unfortunately one of the most realistic things about the episode.

    Re: joint account. Daphene might have washed the check and increased the amount (a la Catch Me If You Can). Or maybe that was the whole amount in the joint account. Just because they have a joint account doesn't mean that is their only account. Sarah's "dad bailout" account would likely just be in her name. Keep in mind at the beginning of S4, Chuck and Morgan have $45K of debt (which the government should, but probably wouldn't pay off).

    All of this does reenforce my thinking that Sarah's Porsche and Lotus are CIA vehicles, not hers. Anyone who can afford a Lotus probably has a lot more than $26K in multiple investment accounts. It makes more sense that the CIA would provide fast cars for emergencies and expensive cars for cover at the parties spies always go to. (Unless you're Casey, it which case they arm your car with a missile launcher.)

    Re: Kathleen. I saw an interview in which Baldwin said a romantic interest for Casey would be appropriate for a 10pm show, not a 8pm show.

    Only two details bugged me. First was the mixed CDs. At first I thought they were really cute. Then I realized Chuck would just use a laptop or iPod with "wedding mix" playlists, not CDs. CDs are so last decade.

    Second was the wedding cake. I'm not an expert but I think the flowers and other icing details would take way too long. The last wedding I when to had a multi-layer square cake with a simple white icing pattern and no flowers. I thought it was strange, but someone told me that's the new style. (Nothing was cheep at this wedding, so that wasn't it.) But at least we now know Sarah has a back-up career as a wedding cake designer. Maybe that's her outside interest.

    @JohnClark: In TicTac, she had a head injury and didn't get a good look. In Wedding Planner, the iPad case switch made it clear to Kathleen that Alex and Morgan were hiding something from her, so she was looking for something out of place. I don't remember surgery being mentioned.

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  3. Anonymous22.4.11

    I wanted to like this episode. Really. Unlike, it seems, the rest of the fandom I've like most of the episodes this season. But while I liked Gary Cole's scenes, the wedding con and even the Kathleen storyline, I spent so much of the first part of the episode cringing I can't say I enjoyed it. While having actors pretend they can't act worked on the first season of Buffy, both Chuck and Sarah's job is to act and we’ve already seen repeatedly that they’re good at it, so the awkwardness with Beckman was odd to say the least. The shuttle scene was especially cringe worthy to me, and pretty much the whole story line was like watching a ugly train wreck happening slowly.

    Two things, however, really made this episode hard for me to like. One was some of Chuck's lines during the first half. Namely the "that's us, right honey?" line and the "I don't really mean a ghost" lines. While Chuck has always been a goof, he's never been stupid. Like his need for clarification that Sarah meant they would be having sex at the end of A-Team, this made him seem stupid.

    Finally there was Jack's speech. I know that there have been comments previously on this blog about how far a show can suspension disbelief, and for some reason, for me, the idea that the Dad would stop because of this speech (not to mention not shoot Jack the moment he showed up) pretty much stretched mine to the breaking point. Maybe it’s because of the repetition, maybe it’s because I simply am more forgiving when Chuck saves the day, but of the three times the show has done something similar, this one was the one I found hardest to believe.

    As for the mission itself --- it was okay. It was fun to see Sarah doing the cake and such (although I couldn’t help feel bad for Tammy the Bat Mitzvah Girl). But while it is true that this season (like the last part of the second season) did revolve a lot around Chuck’s family issues, the first part of this season had a lot of mission that were assigned to the team. This was a return to the “Chuck is the spy equivalent of a Hellmouth” set up of having mission fall into the team’s laps rather improbably. I didn’t really mind that, but I did kind of like the idea that Team Bartowski was the “clean-up crew” for other missions that went bad that had seemed to be developing.

    Finally, I do agree that Kathleen should have slapped Casey. Repeatedly.

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  4. Anonymous22.4.11

    JohnClark , she barely saw him after she was attacked by bad guys so she was still in shock. Her subconcious could have been working on the recognition plus she could have figured out something was going on with Alex and followed her and saw them together.

    And I hope that if they do get Kathlleen and Casey together that he has to do something that Sarah never really did with Chuck, put in the work to make things right. He owes her that.

    Have at least one scene where he says it was the biggest mistake he ever made and just because of Alex.

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  5. @Anonymous - Really? I thought this was the most realistic situation yet with the show doing one of these speech scenes. I'm not sure why you thought it was unrealistic. The guy was completely surrounded. He was not going to get away no matter what he did. He could shoot Morgan and be subsequently killed, he could have shot Jack and again be immediately killed, or he could have surrendered. Since they never presented him as the martyr or suicidal type, the most logical course of action was to surrender, which he did. So even if you don't think the speech would have persuaded him to give up, it made perfect sense that he would weigh his options and decide to give up.

    But contextually, it still made sense to me because it was his daughter's wedding day. This wasn't just some random day that he got caught on, it was an important family event. Obviously he cared enough about his daughter to put on a lavish wedding for her. I'm not sure why you think he would rather choose to die and permanently mar his daughter's wedding when there was no chance of escape no matter what he did, or give up and hope that he could, who knows, find some way to fight his arrest in the future. The theme of the episode was that just because you may be a bad person or do bad things doesn't necessarily mean you don't love your children. Jack just made the man realize that. And honestly, Jack's speech was not really all that different from things that Chuck has said to bad guys before, so sure, Chuck could have easily given the speech and gotten the same result, they just chose Jack because it was the best thematic choice.

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  6. Crumby23.4.11

    I pretty much agree with everything you guys said about the episode. It made me laugh A LOT, and Gary Cole and Yvonne were awesome. My only complaint about the episode was that the Super Shuttle stuff was too long.

    I wouldn’t say that this “episode made the prenup plot from the previous episode completely pointless.” I think Family Volkoff made the prenup plot pointless all by itself, and I actually liked how they avoided telling us anything about Sarah’s mom in Wedding Planner. I thought it was well played. The prenup thing was “just” an execution failure. If they had resolved it properly, it wouldn’t have needed to be brought up again I think. So even if I would have loved to see something about it, I decided not to hold against Wedding Planner that it didn’t repair the mess made by Family Volkoff. And Wedding Planner made it completely believable that Sarah would take her father’s side and stash some money in case he’d need help.

    I found the episode so entertaining that it managed to make me accept that Chuck and Sarah would use government resources to track their wedding planner, especially since in the second half they made it all about the Klugs and the Zephyr. Sarah was bumped because she wanted to stop them not because Chuck and her (she?) got suspended and lost their wedding money. Finally some “doing the right thing” motivation.

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