Although last night was NBC's Chuck's 21st episode this season, three more outings remain: Chuck's longest season to date. Not many shows get 24 episodes anymore. In last night's, "Chuck Versus the Wedding Planner," Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) are swindled out of over $20,000 by their wedding planner. On advice from Sarah's con man father, Jack (Gary Cole), they use CIA resources to track down the woman, earning them both a suspension. But when Chuck flashes while looking at the planner's client list, General Beckman (Bonita Friedericy) doesn't believe him. So Chuck, Sarah, and Jack stage their own con to save the world and restore the two spies to duty.
It is an absolute delight to get Gary Cole on screen in any capacity. Since it doesn't look like he will be returning for Chuck and Sarah's upcoming nuptials, it is awfully kind of the writers to build him into such a nice story,
and provide a sweet moment for he and Sarah on the dance floor during a wedding reception. A con man with a heart of gold is still a con man, so he's just not that reliable. Plus, despite the fact that he so obviously loves his daughter, no one ever said Jack has a heart of gold.
In flashback, we see Sarah's childhood. Her grandmother tells her father to stay away, and he reluctantly agrees. Young Sarah is heartbroken, and gives her daddy all the money she saved from the schemes they pulled together, hoping he will take her with him. He does end up disappearing, with the money, and without Sarah. While these bits are not particularly important to the overall series plot, as we already know the type of relationship the two have, but they are so well put together, it's easy to just enjoy them and not worry if they are necessary. And the actress playing young Sarah is adorable! Also, Jack leaving Sarah her money, of which he spent not a dime over the years, is a nice bookend, and solves the problem of Sarah and Chuck being hoodwinked.
.jpg?t=20130517094513)
Article comments
1 - H. D.
This is a great review of one of the best episodes in the series in my mind. Too many bloggers/reviewers focus on the lack of reality or how this show is going down in the ratings, but I think this article did a great job of pointing out highlights.
I loved Sarah doing the flash face. ;D
I like that Sarah got conned because it shows that she is coming into Chuck's realm of a normal person with a non-normal job. To me, it is a great bit of writing to show how Sarah is changing from her background and it shows Chuck and Jack as her spectrum ends. It also shows that there is not necessarily a right or wrong.
I love this episode and it's episodes like this that make this show great. Hopefully we will have more seasons of the show to grow closer to the characters.
I don't know about anyone else, but I wrote a letter to NBC hoping that they could see a fan's viewpoint of the show.
Great article!
2 - darci
The whole party planning scene when Sarah pretended to be Daphne was great...I was cracking up as soon as I heard her accent/speech mannerisms (you can watch the scene here).
Also props to them for using Pigeon John's "The Bomb" during the scene, too. Chuck's music has always been awesome, but a little bit short on the hip hop and heavy on indie rock, so that was cool to see, too.