11.14.2011

mxpw vs. Frea - Chuck vs. the Frosted Tips


Chuck vs. the Frosted Tips
Season 5, Episode 03, Original Air-date November 11, 2011


Chuck has some fears about Morgan having the intersect and it going to his head. Elsewhere Sarah helps Casey navigate his relationship with Gertrude Verbanski. And in the meantime Devon is spending his paternity leave with baby Clara at home but quickly finds it unexciting and that leads him to the Buy More where he makes a startling revelation about Jeff and Lester.

So far, Max and I have managed to stay chipper in the face of a show that constantly puts our least favorite character, a character that has inspired Castle Inanity's very first safe-word, in the spotlight. We've enjoyed two episodes in a row where it seemed like Chuck has found his spine (it wasn't in Sarah's purse) and Sarah has been pretty cool (on top of the fact that she's Sarah Frakking Walker) and even Casey has been hilarious (your CASEY unit now has a mate: Gertrude!).

But when the episode turns Morgan into such a douchebag that he even frosts his tips, can Max and I keep our streak up, or is this going to be a special pessimist vs. pessimist edition of mxpw vs. Frea?

Check the break to find out.


mxpw: *rubs hands together* Yes, mxpw vs. Frea.

mxpw: Dibs on pessimist!

Frea: ...DANG IT.

Frea: I wanted to be the pessimist!!

mxpw: Too bad. I called dibs first. Neener neener.

Frea: Fine. Dibs on Sarah!

mxpw: Whaaaaaat?

mxpw: You can't do that!

Frea: You've never called dibs, dude. I called dibs first. Neener Neener.

mxpw: Fine! Be that way!

Frea: Neener.

mxpw: Wanna trade?

Frea: Nope. I've got Sarah, I'm walking on sunshine, optimism whitens my smile and brightens the twinkle in my eyes.

mxpw: Alright. Then I call dibs on Chuck and his shoulders. :P

Frea: Take him. He was kind of lame this week.

mxpw: You're lame.

mxpw: Ahem.

Frea: I know.

mxpw: I don't think we're going to review anything today.

Frea: I want candy corn.

mxpw: We're just going to argue back and forth and exchange playground taunts, like "Your mother was a hamster!"

Frea: And YOUR father smelt of elderberries, but you don't see me bringing that up in polite conversation, do you?

mxpw: Who said we were having polite conversation?

Frea: So this episode seemed to be pretty well-liked by a lot of people. And I'm one of those people. I enjoyed this episode. I thought parts of it were great and I laughed harder than I have for awhile, but I think it suffered from a lot of the same things last week suffered from, oddly enough.

Frea: Which is the snowball effect, also known as the KISS method: Keep it Subtle, Stupid!

FREA: Yes, readers, I know it's supposed to be "simple." But this is Chuck. Simple is implied. Subtle, however, is not.

mxpw: Oh snap.

Frea: I've stopped pulling the "Chuck burn" during Fringe podcasts. But the vitriol has to come out somewhere.

mxpw: I agree with you, I think. I don't know if I liked this episode more than last week. It's really hard to say. I thought this episode was funnier and Sarah was incredibly awesome (perhaps too awesome?), but yes, this episode suffered from the same faults as last week's did. Suffered from the same faults this arc in general has had.

Frea: Main fault: Morgan.

mxpw: Well, isn't that always the thing?

Frea: Look, I know he's supposed to be annoying because he downloaded the Douchersect (tm me), but there's an inherent flaw in their reasoning here. Their reasoning, by the way, is, "Well, the fans don't like it. Fine, we'll give them extra reasons not to like it and then they have to cheer for Morgan." Yeahhh, see the problem is, even when your character is supposed to be unlikable: he's unlikable. And when you don't have a lot more than Yvonne Strahovski and Zachary Levi's chemistry going for you, you need to not keep elements like that.

Frea: You need to be firing on all pistons, and I think the piston named Morgan Grimes has been flooded by engine grease.

Frea: Aka, there's too much of him, and has been since "Anniversary." I put up with the EMS for the first couple of episodes because I kind of figured this one was coming, but it finally got to me.

mxpw: Well, I think the issue is that Morgan is a polarizing figure. I think the casual fans tend to like him more than the hardcore fans do. And so basing an entire arc to start off the season around such a polarizing figure, is going to cause some angst in the fanbase.

Frea: Do we even have casual fans anymore? I mean, the ratings...

mxpw: I think your point that it doesn't matter if Morgan is supposed to be annoying or not, he's still ultimately annoying, is a good one. And for a character that already rubs a lot of people the wrong way, that can be too much.

mxpw: To be honest, I actually found Morgan more annoying last week than this week. He was just so over the top and unsubtle this week that I just kind of rolled my eyes and went with it.

Frea: Which was how I dealt with it last week as opposed to this week.

mxpw: I mean, seriously, frosted tips? REALLY, show? I know they were going for douchebag, but do even douchebags still do that?

Frea: Just the douchebaggiest ones of them all, Max. Just the douchebaggiest ones of them all.

Frea: Barney had frosted tips on Raising Hope this week. He pulled it off better than Morgan.

mxpw: I guess.

Frea: Okay, so that's Morgan out of the way, right? We can ignore him for the rest of the review?

mxpw: Morgan did have some funny lines this week, I thought. The scene in the parking garage with Beckman made me chuckle (as did her response), calling Fernando "Cabbage patch", and the lines about his assistant amused me.

mxpw: Sadly, we cannot, there's still a lot more to say about Morgan.

Frea: Dang it. Fine.

Frea: Bring it on.

mxpw: We should just get this out of the way: The resolution to the Morgansect was awful.

mxpw: Absolutely lame.

Frea: Oh, my GOD, yes. Completely.

Frea: It was like being told Vesuvius was going to erupt.

Frea: And then getting a little patter of ash and maybe one fiery spurt of lava for, like, a split-second. I mean, I'm sure the people of Pompeii wouldn't have minded, but geeeeeez.

FREA: I came for the carnage.

mxpw: Far be it from me to bring up S3, but this arc with Morgan suffered from the same thing almost all the arcs of the show have suffered from since that season. No commitment. No follow through.

Frea: It's hard to buy into anything they're telling us as it won't matter past the end of the arc.

mxpw: It's like 13 episodes of lame misery for 30 seconds of payoff in Other Guy. Or an entire season of Chuck hiding being a spy from Ellie in S4 paid off with a 30 second conversation with no drama or impact. And now we get three episodes where everything is solved with one lame conversation.

Frea: And everything shouldn't have been solved.

mxpw: I know Chuck has some kind of weird superpower where he can talk douchebags and bad guys into submission, but come on!

Frea: I mean, yes, Morgan having the Intersect should be clouding his mind if it was tampered with, but he should struggle a lot more than he's going to. One little memory from the seventh grade is not going to make everything okay. Junior high is just not that powerful.

mxpw: I think that was my main problem with the resolution, actually. If all it took to get through to Morgan was one conversation where they reminisced about their past, then I find it really hard to believe that the Intersect is the main reason why Morgan acted like such a douche. I mean, how messed up could it have made him if it was that easy? That means it was really just Morgan being an ass with a little push from the Intersect and not the other way around. Which means everybody forgiving him was completely ridiculous.

Frea: Yes, but that's the nature of this show. They forgive far too easily.

mxpw: It was basically the equivalent of "I'm sorry I was such a jerk, the Devil made me do it!" I mean, I’ll give the show a few points for actually having a resolution, but lame.

Frea: Yeah. I'm glad Casey kicked him out. Seriously. Even though a) it means Morgan is back to staying with Chuck and Sarah and b) it's implausible in the first place. There's no way you can get me to believe that Casey didn't turn Morgan into a grease stain on the concrete after the "DUMP'D" stunt he pulled with Alex.

mxpw: For serious. Perhaps the most unrealistic part of the episode, there. Haha.

Frea: Also, Alex, honey. You are a beautiful young woman with a good education and your entire life ahead of you. YOU CAN DO SO MUCH BETTER. So much better than a manchild who will be forever embroiled in the spy world so that he'll constantly lie to you and demean you.

mxpw: Yeah, I agree. I mean, Alex is hot. She'll recover. Though I do have to say that was a really nice scene between her and Casey. We don't often get to see Casey play the comforter, and while he was awkward, I could tell he was really trying. Good stuff from Adam Baldwin.

Frea:: Very true. But she can do better. But then, we've thought that from the start, that's nothing new.

Frea: Speaking of Casey, let's talk about Gertrude!

mxpw: Some really funny stuff!

Frea: I'll start: she loses points for not firing Morgan right away, but I still can't help but like her. She's hilarious.

mxpw: I agree. She's also the first woman on the show that I could believe could keep up with John Casey. They are a match made in very disturbing heaven.

mxpw: I loved that their first date was at a shooting range. I liked the incredible awkwardness of their meeting at the beginning of the episode (and for the record, no street in Los Angeles looks like that street did).

Frea: Yes. Yes, they are. She can fight Sarah Walker in constricting skirts, get one-up on Casey (she disarmed him in Minsk in 1995, did you know that?), she keeps a picture of Reagan in her office and the kind of cigars Casey likes.

Frea: Like a soundstage?

mxpw: Yes.

Frea: Or rather, set piece?

mxpw: It was very East Coastish.

Frea: I'm still holding out for that awkward double-date, Maximus.

mxpw: So fake looking.

Frea: Also, Sarah? When she was trying to help Casey land Gertrude? I don't think I've ever laughed that hard at this show.

mxpw: Hahaha

Frea: I had to stop the recording, I was laughing too hard to hear her.

mxpw: I loved her facial expressions. I thought Yvonne was absolutely fabulous in that scene.

Frea: She was so earnest! She wants Casey to be happy!

Frea: "That's a weird move."

mxpw: And I thought Sarah giving Casey dating advice was hysterical.

mxpw: Yes, I really liked that. She really wanted Casey to have success. And her bemusement during the whole thing was perfect.

Frea: It was like the blind, deaf, and mute leading the blind.

mxpw: My how Sarah has grown! I knew after the beginning that it was going to be a pretty good episode.

mxpw: Since we're on the topic of Sarah...

Frea: Yes?

mxpw: We should talk about her, no? She was kind of the main actor in this episode (and by actor, I mean, the character that drove the action).

Frea: She was the emcee, yeah

mxpw: Okay, I guess I'll start then. Heh.

mxpw: First, great beginning, as we said. I approve of her pajamas, as well. However, and I know this may be an unpopular opinion, but I just had a hard time buying Sarah as the one who continued to have faith in Morgan and believe that he was not at fault. It just...I mean, I know Sarah has grown somewhat over the years, but that was just hard for me to swallow.

Frea: Oh, you weren't alone there. I liked that Sarah was the one leading the charge in believing that Morgan was all-good and all-faithful or whatever, but man, did that come across to me like wish-fulfillment.

Frea: I guess it could be hand-waved off as some part of her heard Morgan's speech in Cliffhanger and believes him to be the genuine Gary Stu good guy?

FREA: They also could have bonded through dancing.

FREA: A good dance solves a lot of problems on this show. Take, for instance, Gertrude and Casey.

Frea: Sarah and Chuck's brief set-back in First Fight was really cemented when they fought in tandem, which is like dancing.

mxpw: I suppose it's possible, but to me seems unlikely. I mean, in the past, Sarah has always reacted fairly irrationally when confronted with what she sees as a personal betrayal, so for her to not even waver in her belief was hard to swallow. Plus, the disbelief and like chastising she did to Chuck and Casey whenever they said they wanted to deal with Morgan was even worse for me, somehow. I mean, did she forget how she reacted just a few months ago when Zondra was in town? Maybe if there had been a line about her learning from her own mistakes, but... Yeah, it was like wish-fulfillment.

Frea: Ah, Klemmer. You never disappoint!

Frea: It was kind of like he heard complaints about A-Team and then was like, "Well, I'll do the exact opposite, then! See how you like it now, suckers!"

mxpw: I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not like I hated how Sarah reacted. I just don't see it as growth, because there's not really been all that much buildup for her to act that way. It just felt like writing her character to suit the plot.

Frea: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back that trolley up!

Frea: How dare you suggest they've changed Sarah to suit the plot!

mxpw: And I've given Klemmer a lot of crap over the years for how he writes Sarah, so I'll be fair and say that despite the whole Morgan stuff, I thought this was the best he's written her since S2. Her stuff with Casey was great, and he actually did a pretty great job with the Chuck and Sarah stuff. Sarah was supportive, understanding, and awesome. Oh, and that kiss on the helipad was awesome.

Frea: I'll agree with you. Begrudgingly because I'm annoyed Sarah and Gertrude were kind of relegated to damsels in distress when Sarah didn't jump over the fire to help out her team.

mxpw: I know a lot of people will disagree with us, but I just don't buy Sarah acting that way. All previous history points to the contrary, actually.

Frea: Yeah, agreed.

Frea: Let's see...

Frea: Oh!!!

Frea: HISTORIC MOMENT, GUYS!

mxpw: Yeah, I know, I was a little disappointed that Sarah didn't help, but they wanted the bromance to have its moment and to have that kiss (which was great).

Frea: Ellie and Sarah had a conversation.

Frea: And it wasn't about how in love Sarah and Chuck are!!!!

mxpw: Yes, but I still maintain it fails the Bechdel test.

Frea: OMG. Do you know how many times this has happened on the show? Once before now. We are in our FIFTH season.

mxpw: Yeah, but, you're talking about a pool of like six instances. Haha.

Frea: So?

mxpw: I'm just saying.

Frea: It kind of fails the Bechdel test by strident rules.

Frea: However, to me, it passes because they talked about the Intersect and kind of indicated they have lives and a history.

Frea: And it led to a phone call between Sarah and Beckman. I adore Sarah and Beckman having a conversation.

mxpw: Yeah, that was a nice moment.

mxpw: Can we talk about Becky for a second here?

Frea: Yes. Also, for future reference, the name being used in Fates 51 was a complete coincidence.

mxpw: Has the show just completely given up on her being Director of the NSA? I mean, they do realize that the CIA and NSA are not the same thing, right?

Frea: When shot from low, her legs are really long.

Frea: Wait, wait, wait.

Frea: You mean, the show is going to add any sort of realism to this premise, the one where a civilian worked for the government in indentured servitude for two years whilst guarded by an NSA Operative (a job that doesn't exist) and a CIA Officer (who has never been called an officer) WHILE ON AMERICAN SOIL?

Frea: I bet you think the government doesn't run a wiretap on your phone, too. And that Burt and Ernie really were platonic.

mxpw: I mean, I realize they probably don't have the money to hire somebody to play a CIA representative and hand out missions that have to do with the CIA, but why don't they have Becky hire CI to do missions for the NSA? Why are they having her hire them to do stuff for the CIA?

Frea: Dude. Carmichael Industries and Castle Inanity have the same initials?!

mxpw: *facepalm*

mxpw: Do you guys see what I have to put up with?

Frea: Does that make me Chuck Bartowski? And you Sarah Walker? And Chris John Casey? And...Shoe, BDaddy, one of you has to be Morgan Grimes. I'm sorry.

mxpw: They can flip a coin for it.

mxpw: Loser (winner) can be the new and improved Jeff.

Frea: OMG. The new and improved Jeff!!!

Frea: I love that all it took for him to clean up and start eating quinoa salads was for him to stop sleeping in his van!

Frea: But on the other hand, can you imagine Scott Krinsky's reaction? "Man, I have to comb my hair today? Lame. That was my favorite job perk."

mxpw: I thought it was totally unrealistic he only needed to detox for a day. Haha.

mxpw: I figured Jeff was like Mr. Burns.

mxpw: Mr. Burns was so riddled full of diseases and physiological problems that they created a special balance in him that made him mostly impervious to death. I figured Jeff was the same way, but with drugs.

Frea: Yes, that sounds about right.

mxpw: I think that's about all I have to say. The episode was pretty awesome and funny and entertaining.

Frea: Ditto. Free Bryce Larkin!

mxpw: Oh! Wait! I did want to talk about the stuff at Verbanski Corp. I thought it was pretty funny that Verbanski runs this huge private security company and three people can break into it with practically no trouble at all. Sometimes you just gotta love the lack of production values on this show.

mxpw: And Chuck fighting Morgan was surprising. I didn’t know he had that in him. That felt a little like story convenience to me, but it was interesting to see.

Frea: I am completely, 100% down with the idea of Chuck being at least able to defend himself now. I’m taking this as a total shout-out that Sarah Walker is finally whipping her man into shape.

mxpw: Hear hear.

Frea: Also, one little thing. FLASH DRIVE. Or THUMB DRIVE. MEMORY STICK. TINY LITTLE EHD. ORION (okay, maybe that one’s what I named my own thumb drive). But “Zip Drive?” Really, show? Really?

Frea: So…rating?

mxpw: I would give it 4 Sarahs in pajamas out of 5.

Frea: I’ll undercut you and go 7.5 Castle Slides…out of 11.

19 comments:

  1. Anonymous14.11.11

    I'm one of those horrible lurkers who always reads but never posts. But dear heavens...what a great piece. Captured the spirit (?)of the episode. More so, wonderfully creative. Chuck's spine not in Sarah's purse. Bert & Ernie platonic. Dump on Klemmer. Too much stuff great stuff not to give you high 5. Thanks for brightening my Monday.

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  2. Yay! A lurker! I love lurkers! Hi, lurkers!

    Okay, the exclamation points were getting a little bit too much for me, especially on a Monday. But I'm glad we brightened yours. Poor Maximus had to put up with "slightly more ADD than usual" Frea to get this review done. Isn't he awesome?

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  3. You know, sometimes I wonder why I stick around and read what you guys have written. Then I remember, I have no life and nothing better to do, so I might as well!! Plus, it's ALWAYS great to see what other Chuck fans think about certain episodes. And it's ALWAYS AWESOME to see that I am NOT the only Chuck fan out there (despite the popular belief within my immediate family. They seem to think I'm a little obsessed with the show, but I digress...). Anyway, you two crack me up with your pessimism! But I do have to say, you make some very good points. This 4th season, I mean 5th, I keep forgetting season 3 even exists because, well, I think it may have possibly traumatized me!! It seems that the writers this season have decided to throw caution out the window and just destroy any sort of plot development. Everything is happening too quickly!!! Though, I have to say, I'm really looking forward to the Sarah-centric episode that is coming up after Christmas!!

    Frosted Tips, to me, just didn't seem to fit into the mythology of the show. It's already been shown that the Intersect doesn't work in anyone's head but Chuck's, and even without Decker adding something to the programming, I think that Morgan would have been having issues anyway. I also believe that Chuck would have been able to fight the programming if he had the Intersect... Which I personally think he needs to get back. That's been the whole premise of the show for the last 4 years!!!

    This comment probably makes no sense, but that's okay, you can just laugh at all my ramblings!!!

    Now to decide whether I should read the Chuck fanfiction e-books I downloaded or Crime and Punishment for Honors Lit...

    Later
    ~Madje Knotts

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  4. Anonymous14.11.11

    Regarding the fire, what would have been the point of Sarah going in too? Chuck went for Morgan and Casey went for Gertrude. It would have been one extra person just pointlessly risking themselves since there was no one else to rescue. Plus Yvonne might not have the strength to actually carry either actor.

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  5. Anonymous14.11.11

    Can someone explain to me how Morgan and Gertrude managed to get knocked down/out on the helipad anyways? Last time I checked, gasoline catching on fire didn't cause people to go flying through the air.

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  6. *I* thought they made Beckman Director of National Intelligence when Graham died, but since she's suddenly taking orders from clown shoes, I guess not.

    Also, a bullet won't catch gasoline on fire. It just bugged the heck out of me.

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  7. It wasn't the bullet, it was gas hitting the bottom of the light and shorting it out.

    Glad it never rains in L.A., huh?

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  8. Nervert14.11.11

    Hey now, there are some hardcore fans, like me, that like Morgan. Oh ... wait ... does that mean I'm really a casual fan and didn't know it? Anyway, though I actually enjoyed the doucheMorgan I have to completely agree that the writers have to back off on the number of things they want to pack into an episode and actually RESOLVE THE ARCS. For one thing, no one takes an arc seriously if there are never any consequences and for another, drama is annoying if there isn't a worthwhile payoff. I'm just stating the obvious now, aren't I? My wife gives me a hard time about that.

    Alright, now I'm self conscious as hell. I don't think I've written a single conversation between female characters that passes the Bechdel test. Gah! Not exactly the way I want to be among the company of Hollywood writers.

    Re: the lack of realism in the intelligence aspect of the show, you can add that spying appears to involve a lot more combat and a lot less actual intelligence. You'd think Casey and Sarah were special forces operators instead of intelligence officers. Also, Bekcman keeps mentioning things being above her pay grade. How many superiors does she actually have? She's the director of the NSA for frakssake.

    Anyway, at least they don't delve too deeply into biology or medical terms so I don't have to deal with "I analyzed The DNA Strand ..." or someone looking through a microscope to see proteins.

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  9. Tenks711714.11.11

    Overall I enjoyed the episode but liked "the Bearded Bandit" more. I think one of the main disadvantages this week’s episode had for me is that I was already aware of the twist where it was revealed that Decker had sabotaged the glasses. I tend to avoid most of the spoilers and previews for the show but BigKev67 threw out that theory a week or two ago and it made enough sense to me to stick. So when it was revealed in the episode, I didn't think anything of it and was expecting it to be what was wrong with Morgan. The twist would have been more shocking for me if there was a different reason for his personality shift.

    I agree with you that the writers shouldn’t be intentionally including things that they know the viewers are going to dislike but I really haven’t minded Morgan this season. Yes, he is completely over-the-top and grates on your nerves but he was the same way in Season 1 and I didn’t hate him then either. I doubt I will ever really enjoy him as a character but I have long since accepted he is going to be annoying and learned to deal with it. He just happens to have a bigger role in the show now. /shrugs

    Chuck on the other hand drove me crazy during this episode because I expect more from him. I understand that he was trying to act professional and not let his anger and hurt feelings over Morgan’s betrayal affect his actions, but his complete acceptance that his best friend was a jerk is a bit much for me to buy. He seemed to readily accept that Morgan’s betrayals and attitude were just a part of who Morgan was and couldn’t have possibly been the result of the super computer that he had recently downloaded into his brain – the same one that nearly fried Chuck's brain in Season 3. And not only that, but that a suitable course of action to correct the issue would be to embarrass Morgan so that he would be put in his place and then accept him back as a friend when he came crawling back.

    But that’s ok. I could have overlooked the way Chuck handled the situation if he would have listened to his wife – a person he supposedly trusts and respects – when she told him that she thought it was time to admit that it was more than just an ego problem and that Morgan might need their help. Instead, Chuck stubbornly stuck with his theory that since Morgan acted that way once 15+ years ago, it must be the same reason for his behavior today and that he couldn’t help someone that said they weren’t his friend anymore. And Morgan is the one with the ego problem?

    As far as Sarah goes, I thought she was once again amazing in the episode. You’re right that it was a bit odd that only Sarah kept her faith in Morgan throughout everything but I’m somewhat willing to overlook it since they appear to have bonded at some point. I mean, they had that adorable handshake thing that they did in “the Zoom” so they must have begun to spend more time around each other after the awkward moment with the Chewy and Han Solo dolls last season. Plus, it led to her conversation with Ellie and Beckman which were great. Also, her scenes with Casey have been fantastic so far this season.

    Speaking of Casey, I’m enjoying his bumbling around Gertrude but I just can’t care about the two of them getting together. I think it is probably due to the way that love interests for Casey have been handled in the past - specifically with Casey referring to Ilsa as “the most beautiful thing that I’d ever seen” - but also with Kathleen. So even though I like the way Casey is around Gertrude, and think Carrie-Anne Moss is doing a great job so far, I can’t become invested in them together because I feel like we would see another love interest from Casey’s past resurface if there was a 6th, 7th, 8th, etc season of the show. There have just been too many “long lost loves” from Casey’s history for me to care anymore.

    Overall I’d give the episode a 6 or 7 out of 10. Certainly not terrible but a far cry from great.

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  10. Nervert15.11.11

    Tenks, I could see Chuck taking Morgan's betrayal personally enough that he would be irrational, however, I think you are right; at some point he would recognize the Intersect might be involved.

    Also, I agree that it wasn't so out of character for her to have stood up for Morgan, though my reasoning is because they hadn't bonded that much. The way I saw it was that she didn't take the betrayal so personally, and could therefore keep perspective, because Morgan wasn't as much a friend to her as opposed to Chuck or Casey.

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  11. I never said all hardcore fans didn't like Morgan. I only said that, in general, he appears to be less popular with the hardcore fans than he is with everyone else.

    Honestly, I think the Sarah/Morgan friendliness this season is more a result of Yvonne and Josh being friendly in real life than it actually has anything to do with the characters.

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  12. Nervert15.11.11

    Yeah, sorry, I wasn't being too serious, mxpw. I forgot to add one of these :D

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  13. Irrational or not I was happy seeing Chuck get angry. Good lord that's been a long time coming.

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  14. Tenks711715.11.11

    Nervert, what really confused me was that he seemed to recognize that it wasn't just an ego problem when they were talking at Verbanski Corp. since Chuck called him Gollum. After all, Smeagol didn't turn into Gollum because he developed an ego problem after finding the ring. He was corrupted into that by the rings power in the same way that the Intersect was corrupting Morgan.

    So, at least subconsciously, Chuck seemed to realize that there was more to Morgan's personality shift than just an overblown ego but was reluctant to admit it for whatever reason.

    Or maybe the Gollum comment was just a random pop culture reference they decided to throw in there and it didn't actually mean anything.

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  15. Nervert15.11.11

    Knowing the Chuck writers, I'd go with the latter, but, yeah, their lack of consistency makes it difficult to figure where Chuck's head was at.

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  16. Chuck's reaction made more sense to me than Sarah's did. He had previous history on his side, no matter how tenuous, he was hurt by Morgan's betrayal, and despite the joking Frea and I did previously about Season 3, the Intersect had never turned anyone into a giant douche before. So I could maybe see why he never thought it was the Intersect that was causing Morgan to act the way he was. It's a flimsy justification, sure. And I still maintain that if it was so easy for Chuck to break through what the Intersect was doing to Morgan, then the Intersect couldn't have been affecting him that much and it really was Morgan being a douche on his own.

    On the other hand, Sarah's reaction just felt like wish fulfillment.

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  17. Anonymous15.11.11

    Liked this review a lot. And your point about running this big a story at the beginning of your final season through a very divisive character is right on and the idea seems incredibly dumb IMO. It to me shows once again how little they seem to know about what the fans of this show see and react to in it. They still seem to think that the reason S3 was so poorly received is because they kept Chuck and Sarah apart and never focus on the real reason which was HOW they kept them apart. Same here as they seem to think everyone has the same view of Morgan and his part in the show as they do when that is clearly not the case. Now I know they shouldn't cater to what the fans want but they should be aware of it and when they write what they need give them a good story that makes them forget why they disliked the original concept.

    This is another episode where for me there is so much great stuff that gets overshadowed by this ridiculous Morgansect story. And then as this show has too much a tendency to do the resolution was simply awful.

    I suppose the best thing about this episode is that Morgansect is over soon. Hopefully never ever to return. Now we can get on to stories that I am interested in without this annoying distraction.

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  18. Tenks711715.11.11

    Which I understand but Chuck knows better than just about anyone that the Intersect isn't problem free. He saw what happened to the people Fulcrum was experimenting on in "the Suburbs" (some went insane, some just died) and had first hand experience when it was frying his brain in Season 3. It might not have turned anyone into a giant douche before but it has definitely altered people's brains so I found it a bit odd that he wasn't the least bit concerned about what it might be doing to his best friend.

    At the end of the day it doesn't really matter I guess. I just always have a hard time enjoying an episode when I can't understand where Chuck's head is in an episode. I expect Casey to not want to talk about what happened since he isn't a very emotionally open person but it feels weird when it is Chuck acting that way. He has always been about making sure his friends and family are safe, and to see him overlook a potential complication from the Intersect - even after Sarah brought it up - seemed out of place.

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  19. Anonymous16.11.11

    First of all, Frea: Congrats on dibsing Sarah. As delightful as pessimism is I'm afraid you got the short end of the stick on that one mxpw.
    Also, you two crack me up so thanks for doing this review, commentary, thingy. I'm glad I've finally found out about it.

    I loved this episode. All my depression caused by the season premiere has vanished and i'm back to enjoying Chuck. Sarah coaching Casey in love. Casey being creepy in love. Good gravey that dance/fight scene was terrifyingly hilarious.

    I actually bought Sarah's being the one to stand up for Morgan because it seemed much more about Chuck for her than about Morgan. Chuck kept dealing with the betrayal as against CI and not dealing with the friendship betrayal. It seemed like hopeful thinking on her part that chuck woudln't personally be betrayed by his best friend. (much like when she finally trusts Mary against all better judgement because Chuck can't stand the thought of mom betraying him. )

    What bugged the hell out of me though was how morgan didn't have to struggle against the interstects influence for the whole rest of the show after he found out that they put a mustache in a sandwich. Really? The intersect is fixed now?

    -Mobi Cobbult(from FF)

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