“Chuck versus the Wookiee”; Are You Pulling The 4-Leaf Clovers Out Of The Rotation?

This week, we’re taking a look at the 4^th episode of Season 1 of “Chuck”, “Chuck versus the Wookie”. In keeping with our recent trend, this week’s review is going to be different in format than previous ones. Specifically, we’re going to identify one thing from each element of the show we review (comedy, action/special effects/scenery, story/suspense, and romance) that we felt stood out from everything else and discuss why we felt it was so outstanding. In keeping with our playing card theme, the moments we select are automatically given an ace ranking, so you can think of this as “aces week” for the blog. With that said, let’s get to the standout moments from this episode.

Comedy

 

While the goal of this week’s review format is to hone in on very specific elements of the show that were outstanding, I’m going to be fairly broad in my assessment of what I thought was the comedic high point of “Chuck versus the Wookie”. In this case, I’m referring to the showcasing of Adam Baldwin’s comedic talent throughout this episode. At this point in the series (and for much of show going forward) Casey has been the straight man in a variety of comedic situations, both in and out of the Buy More. This episode was a rare chance for him to be the comedic focal point in a number of scenes. I thought the results were tremendous for two reasons: (1) The scenes themselves are laugh out loud funny and (2) John Casey is used sparingly enough as a comedic fulcrum (see what I did there?) that even little moments in which he shows his humorous side wind up being outrageously funny simply because they are so infrequent. I originally was planning on just focusing on Casey’s interaction with Peyman’s goon that centered on smoking. Casey’s line in response to the goon asking for a light has always struck me as some of the most offbeat, yet funniest dialogue that was ever written for him. There’s just something funny about the idea of Casey being vociferously anti-smoking and that coupled with his blatant sarcasm (“pick up a paper…….from the sixties”) always gets a laugh from me. Likewise, the callbacks to that moment with the goon blowing smoke in Casey’s face and Casey giving him his comeuppance and then reminding him that smoking is hazardous was top notch stuff.

As I said, though, those were hardly the only excellent comedic moments the writers gave Adam Baldwin to work with. Casey’s interactions with Karina also provided great laughs at several points throughout the episode. Again, I think the key to the humor is that we see a different side of Casey, in this a case a vulnerable one, each time in these moments. That vulnerability is so out of character for what we’ve seen of him so far that it’s hard not to laugh. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the scenes themselves are hilarious in their own right. Sarah walking in on a handcuffed Casey in his boxers is a fantastic moment of visual comedy. Normally, that would probably be the top visual gag in any episode of “Chuck”, but we later get an even better moment as Casey takes the elevator handcuffed to a broken piece of a headboard in his boxer shorts to the shock and dismay of a mother and her child. The uncomfortable glances from the mother, Casey’s best efforts at putting on a happy face during what is clearly an embarrassing moment, and the awkward conversational silence all set to some delightfully corny elevator “muzak” together makes for one the best comedic moments from Season 1, if not the whole series.

Action/Special Effects/Scenery

This episode was not particularly long on special effects or scenery, so I’m going to focus my attention on the action side of this category. Thankfully, we had some great action sequences throughout. For me, it’s a toss-up between the initial theft of the diamond at Peyman’s compound on the beach or the frantic final fight scene between Peyman’s men, Sarah, and Karina, as Chuck runs away with the diamond. For this review, though, I’m going to go with the initial theft of the diamond, simply because it was a more well-rounded scene overall. We got a flash from Chuck to get the ball rolling, Karina’s notorious improvising really ratcheted up the tension, and a great action/chase/escape sequence capped the whole thing off nicely. These kinds of chase sequences are something the show did very well in its early seasons and I think the ability to have these sorts of moments was a big advantage of pre-Intersect 2.0 Charles Bartowski. There’s just a great element of danger throughout because not only do Sarah and Karina have to fight off all of Peyman’s men (who they’re outnumbered, if not outmatched, by), they also have to ensure Chuck and the diamond’s safety because at this time Chuck is still a civilian with no combat skills. Throw in some quintessentially Chuck moments, like using a plate as a thrown weapon and Chuck remaking on someone’s tan as he runs for his life, and you’ve got a full aces action sequence.

Story

As with my review of this episode’s comedy, I’m going to be broad in my approach to this element. The reason for that is that the Carina Miller character simply adds so much to every scene of this episode that she’s in. From her initial appearance in which she and Sarah fight it out, only to have a fallen goldfish interrupt the proceedings, to her final interactions with Chuck (more on that in a bit), she really intensifies every element of this episode. While subsequent appearances of the character would result in ever-diminishing returns, her initial appearance makes her one of the best recurring minor characters since Bryce Larkin. In truth, a lot of the credit goes to writer Allison Adler for giving Karina several redeeming moments so that we don’t hate her by the end of the episode for her misdeeds. Saving the fish, explaining to Morgan why their relationship wouldn’t work, giving the diamond back to Chuck, and returning to save Sarah are all small moments, but they go a long way toward shaping the perception of the character in a more positive way. Of course, the reason those moments are necessary is that Karina injects a lot of tension into this episode and between all the spy characters in the show. Her constant attempts at manipulation and moments of “improvisation” take the episode on a lot of crazy twists and turns and her presence takes an otherwise relatively mundane plot (by Chuck standards anyway) and makes it very much a roller coaster ride from start to finish. I think what’s most remarkable about the writing for Karina (and Mini Anden’s performance) is that Karina influences every aspect of the show that she comes into contact with. She’s crucial to the comedic moments with John Casey mentioned above, she initially causes a major rift in Chuck and Sarah’s relationship (which she later helps mend), she has a lasting effect on Morgan, and she moves the diamond story forward in a big way through her decision to steal it on the reconnaissance mission. It’s very much exemplary writing for a guest character. The fact that Mini Anden also happens to be an incredibly beautiful Swedish model only adds to awesomeness.

Romance

I think the obvious choice here is Chuck and Sarah’s moment at the end of the episode in which she reveals her middle name. I’m not going to go with that, however, as I actually didn’t particularly care for that interaction. Sarah’s coyness and reticence to let Chuck into her life make sense in the context of the story up to this point, but the interactions are very frustrating and agonizing to sit through at times. Instead, my romantic moment of choice is Karina’s final interaction with Chuck in which she reveals she’s after Chuck to some extent because he’s kind of cute, but mainly because she wants to take what Sarah wants. It’s a great little moment that illustrates what I said above Karina’s driving influence on every aspect of this episode. More importantly, though, it’s another moment where Chuck gets to consider the possibility that the impossible dream of landing an incredible girl like Sarah could happen. Like last week’s moment in which Ellie tells Chuck it’s obvious Sarah likes him, there’s a great sense of optimism that comes from these brief interactions with people outside the relationship. They also provide a nice counterpoint to Sarah’s aforementioned distant personality that she often uses in dealing with Chuck in these early episodes. That disconnect between her actions and others’ perception of her feelings creates a nice level of uncertainty that we, like Chuck, can ponder but remain optimistic about.

Overall

I think the quality of this episode is best illustrated by the fact that for two of the categories here, I had to choose broad elements simply because there was so much that I liked. This episode, like the best “Chuck” episodes, delivered a wonderful mix of action, comedy, drama, and excitement. That coupled with one of the best minor characters the show has ever introduced (who, again, just happens to be a beautiful Swedish model), makes for another standout episode in a season that’s filled with them.