Review: “Chuck vs. the Sand Worm” Part 2, are you a tucker?

This week sees us reversing categories from the last installment and once again commenting on those card-areas that we do not review ourselves. With that simple introduction out of the way lets jump straight to the episode, the classically named “Sand Worm”.  Breaking the tradition of the past couple of weeks we are treated to another all around excellent episode with nice plot activity, character development, comedy and cultural references.

Review: “Chuck vs. the Sizzling Shrimp”, Part 2: did you bring a sweater or light jacket?

Part 2 because this week my fellow blogger and I have split the ranking category duty. You can see his thoughts on the Comedy and Story/Suspense categories in the Part 1 post, while following the break I’ll be laying out my review of the Action/Scenery/Special Effects and Romance categories. As an additional step this week we will both be commenting on the other’s post to help fill in thoughts on the categories we did not review, so feel free to jump in with us. We’re seeing a trend developing after the well rounded “vs. The Tango” episode with both subsequent episodes choosing to focus on particular aspects of the show more fully: the spy life in “Wookie” and family and friends here in “Shrimp”.  While I was a little more lukewarm on last weeks version, I was quite happy with the results from this week’s entry.  To the breakdown.

Review: “Chuck vs. the Wookie”, are you a Fett to someone’s Solo?

For the 4th episode of season 1 we’re continuing our ever-changing blog format, this time choosing one Ace worthy moment from each of our traditional categories and expanding upon it, instead of speaking of all the elements in the episode.  In hindsight I really wish we had chosen this format for “vs. the Tango”, which easily delivered Ace moments throughout.  While “vs. The Wookie” was a good episode it didn’t match the range of quality that “vs. The Tango” delivered and remained focused on spy life developments, with a strong “Star Wars” motif running through the entire episode. With that being said, here are my Aces for the week. 

Review: “Chuck vs. the Tango”, are you shaken AND stirred?

In keeping with our new format, which has us changing our blog structure with each new episode, “Chuck vs. the Tango” will present a shift in the way we use our card ranking system. Instead of ranking categories of the show (comedy, action, etc..) with the cards, we will instead present four categories, A,K,Q,9, and put within each category aspects of the show that we deem to fit there. Ergo, everything that was totally awesome will be placed in the A category, and on down the line. With that out of the way, lets talk about the undeniably entertaining third episode of “Chuck”. 

Review: “Chuck vs. the Helicopter”, do you have to be asked to be a hero?

Episode two will feature my rankings up front followed by my thoughts about the different categories in a free flowing format.  

Review: “Chuck vs. The Intersect”, Are you in the group hug?

As Crown Vic outlined in his first post back from our hiatus (here) we just couldn’t stay away from this amazing television show, and so we’re starting at the beginning.  Everybody should be involved in the group hug that “Chuck” provides its viewers.  And what a beginning it is, right?  This is what a pilot episode should be, front to finish. But before I break it down in my review I will echo my partner in letting you, our faithful readers, know that while our review of the pilot episode will follow the format we established in our Season 5 reviews, subsequent reviews will follow an ever-changing format as we seek variety and entertainment, so stay aware as we modify our structure weekly.

Review: “Chuck vs. the Goodbye”, But it’s our story, don’t you want to hear it?

I just finished watching this episode for the second time, and I can’t begin to describe the emotional state it generated. This episode, this finale in total, is amazing. I was correct that the second viewing brought it into better perspective, and heightened the emotional impact as it did so. It’s an amazing payoff to five years of watching this show. I. Love. It.

Absolutely I want to hear this story, and I want to hear it again and again, and that’s the beauty of this finale. It wasn’t designed as a climax to the season storyline, it was designed as a legacy for the entire show, and in that regard it was an unbelievable success. Years from now I will care so much less how Chuck managed to defeat Shaw, or the Ring, or Fulcrum, but I will remember, and care, about the emotional payoff this finale delivered and will keep delivering upon repeated viewings.

Review: “Chuck vs. Sarah”, Did you change in the past five years?

Thus does it end. As the second of us to post on the finale (and substantially later than my co-blogger) I felt these last thoughts were deserving of separate posts. 

Once again I have the advantage of time on my side, writing this review after a second viewing much later than the air date. As has happened before, taking time between viewings made the second go-round much more enjoyable. My suspicion is that doing so allows the brain to process plot elements, and once I know what is going to happen I can sit back and enjoy what is happening much more than when I’m unsure of where the story will end. Perhaps it is a flaw of mine, but I’m a sucker for knowing what’s going to happen in the story and tend to over-focus on those elements when watching an episode or movie for the first time. 

 I think this episode, as the first part of the series finale, was great. I mean, really great.  The plot wasn’t necessarily the best, and there are problems with Intersect mythology most likely, but that’s not the point. And that’s my realization about the end of this, and other, great shows. The point is that they make you care, they get you invested, they tell a story that becomes part of your life. And this episode delivered that, because I cared about these characters and it left me in a heightened state of emotion at its conclusion, possibly more so than after watching it the first time. The “plot” for Chuck’s finale was not mechanics and storyline devices, it was about the characters. And that was so much easier for me to see on the second viewing.