Chuck vs. the Cubic Z: Thoughts from a Ho

This past Chuck episode is once again in the middle of a fan battle with some people loving it and others… well not so much.   This week we got our first taste of new blood with Nicholas Wootton.  To give dear ol’ Nick some props I didn’t think the writing was bad and actually thought he wrote our two leads very well.  In fact I actually really enjoyed a lot of this episode.  However, there was a cancer this week and it can be stated in two words: Buy More.

Let’s get the bad, or rather awfully horrendous, out of the way first.  To say the Buy More plotline was subpar would be kind.  The Buy More is usually a favorite (or least not such a dead weight) among fans so what went so wrong this week?  The first issue for me would be that the plotline was just not fresh.  We may not have seen this plot specifically but we’ve seen variations of it, and better.  The second problem, which was the lack of humor from the Buy More gang, is an extension of that.  It is hard for something to be funny if you’ve heard, or seen, the joke before.   However, here I’ll knock the writer a bit since despite the bad plot, we still could’ve had some good lines.  Jeffster usually has great subtle one-liners but they were nowhere to be found in this episode.  Morgan, who is also usually funny, was too stressed out about the lack of games issue to really be classic Morgan (although I did like the small bromance scene).  And this brings me to my biggest issue with the plotline.   It just didn’t make sense.  Sure I’ll look beyond the fact there are no games available even though the Buy More is run by the CIA and should therefore be able to avoid this potholes.  However, what I can’t get over is the fact that a riot by the angry mob of customers occurred.  It is the freaking CIA! They should be able to handle civilians.  Sure Morgan had the slackers rehired but when a simple button in the Buy More can cause us to go to DEFCON 1, I’d think there’d be a little more control.  For all we know, half of the United States could have been blown up from the loads of craps that was trampled over.   I repeat: it just didn’t make sense.  More so, because the CIA runs the Buy More there was potential for a plot that was new and funny.  Customers, expecting to show the store a piece of their mind, could have been arrested, gassed, put into order, etc. leaving them dumbfounded.  I wanted a “What would Casey do with a fan riot?” not a reprise of the Buy More a la Season 2.

Okay, now that I got that out of the way I can move onto the other aspects of the episode specifically Nicole Richie.  No offense to Steve Austin, but he was mostly there for physical humor and his bulging muscles.  Maybe I’m bias since “Cougars” is one of my favorites episodes of all times, but damn I love Heather Chandler.  I personally thought Nicole Richie was superb and delivered her lines perfectly.  I love the Heather/Sarah banter and the way she can just get under Sarah’s skin.  Additionally, I thought Nicole held her own against Yvonne (who is a giant compared to her) in their scenes.  Nicole is no seasoned actress but on all accounts she delivered for me so kudos.

Some other thoughts:

• Casey vs. the voice recognition software was hysterical to me.   Round 1: Casey

• I actually liked how they handled Sarah’s character and what seems to be the theme of having relationship progression each episode.  Where in past episodes Sarah’s fears and issues seem to be forced, this episode seemed to have the issue of kids/moving too fast in the spotlight without forcing it. 

• I was not a huge fan of the “cliffhanger” if you’d even call it that.  One, I thought the “Ready or Not Ready” conversation was super adorable and didn’t call for more.  Two, it wasn’t much of anything since we know there is no real engagement.  It wasn’t a cliffhanger moment like when we thought Awesome could be dead nor was one of those emotional moments we love.  It seemed awkward (like the ring would really fall there!) and forced, and put in there just to be cutsie.  Take note show runners – I want a legitimate engagement.

• I still don’t get the point of Greta.  I could have sworn I read that whoever was in the role would teach Chuck and Morgan how to be a spy.  Either way,  the Greta seems a waste of a good guest star.  I mean Stacy Keibler look hot in the Nerd Herd Outfit but let the girl do more than get punched in the face.

• I miss Alex.

All in all, I’m still loving the season.  However, there might be only 10 episodes left this season and they seem to have a lot to pack into the storyline.  I hope the writers take a note from last season and learn to get to the Mama B story quickly so they can give it the proper attention it deserves.  I also hope for better Buy More scenes that are fresher and don’t seem as much of a burden.  Please Chuck writers, don’t make me use “time machine” on you.

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