chuck's back!

It's the two hour premiere of Chuck tonight, and we finally see what our favorite reluctant spy is going to do with his fancy new powers. I'll be blogging a bit while I watch tonight, so bare with me while I try to contain my excitement. If this is your first time watching Chuck, welcome and enjoy!

Tonight's premiere is split into two parts:

"Chuck vs. the Pink Slip"
We jump right in with Chuck help captive by scary ambiguously Polish bad guys on which he practices some impressive fight skills under the guidance of The General in his ear piece. As I suspected...this is just a training session. But it seems that Chuck is living up to his potential as the new intersect agent, so The General is ending his training. Love seeing her offscreen, by the way.

Cut back six months, Casey instructs Chuck to tell Ellie that he want on a last minute trip to Europe. He will spend 6 months training to be the new intersect agent (a mission originally intended for Bryce). Sarah is not happy about Chuck becoming a real spy because he'll be in it for the rest of his life. She proposes running away together telling him to meet her in Prague where she will be waiting with fake IDs and train tickets. He accepts.

Now back from fake Europe trip/training facility, Chuck is in Ellie and Awesome's living room with no Sarah in sight. He tries calling her, and we see her in a pool in some exotic location with a mysterious man and no intention of taking Chuck's call. Hmm.

Product placement #1: Honda. Product placement #2: The Olympics on NBC.

Hold the phone. That was a commercial! I was totally fooled.

Anywho, Chuck is spending quite a bit of time on Awesome and Ellie's couch growing a very long beard. He still looks pretty though. During a failed incognito mission to Buy More to replenish his cheeseball supply, Chuck runs into Emmett and the boys. The boys inform him that Sarah has been back working at the yogurt shop. Trying to investigate, Chuck comes across Casey packing up his things in The Castle. Casey is on his way to join Sarah for a mission. Casey is curious about what happened between Chuck and Sarah...but no details are shared yet.

Chuck finds them on their mission and tries proves himself to The General by helping. We finally see Sarah - turns out that exotic pool location was part of a mission. Casey, and especially Sarah, are not accepting Chuck's offer to help. But of course, he's flashing away. The new kung fu flashes are super fun - and impressive. Even more impressive are his new intersect guitar skills!

Unfortunately, Chuck did more harm that good for the mission and quickly ends up on back on the couch. The laziness is interrupted by Morgan, recently canned from Benihanna (Anna took off with the prep chef), and Morgan brings Chuck to his current living space in the Buy More studio room.

EMMETT SHOT...in the eye! By the assassin that Chuck flashed on during the mission. I did not see that coming.

Sarah comes to the Buy More to say goodbye to Chuck...only to be met by the assassin and his men. Of course. Chuck is knocked out and later wakes up in some sort of cell with the assassin. After an ass beating, Chuck passes out and remembers what happened with Sarah six months prior. Turns out, they did meet on that train platform in Prague. Sarah brought the fake IDs and smooches for Chuck, but he chose to become the intersect agent instead. He didn't chose Sarah. It's a bummer, but I actually support the decision (I'm sure Chuck would appreciate that).

Alas, Sarah is locked in the adjoining cell. Chuck's turbo flash comes to good use, and he frees them both...turns out they're in Mexico. And it's Casey to the rescue! Nothing like seeing Casey brandishing a machine gun...from a helicopter no less. Sometimes I forget that this show has some of the best action scenes on television right now.

Back at The Castle, the trio meets with The General via videocast. She informs them that Operation Bartowski is back in action. Only Chuck is excited about this news.

So, Chuck and Casey (and Morgan!) are back at the Buy More. Ellie and Awesome are moving to the apartment across the courtyard, so Morgan moves in with Chuck. Sarah reminds Chuck that he needs to keep his feelings in check now more than ever (rejection). Casey begins training Chuck on the physical aspects of his new intersect. And all is right with the world.

Great music in this episode...topped off with a little "Eye of the Tiger"!

"Chuck vs. the Three Words"
And now... another hour of Chuck! Looks like this one will focus a bit more and just what's going on between Sarah and Chuck. Goodness.

Fatefully, Chuck and Sarah end up at the same club on their night off. Sarah with friend and colleague Karina, who we met last season. And Chuck with Morgan. (Incidentally, I'm slightly concerned about what Chuck's hair is doing this season. It's a lot of volume.)

Turns out, Karina is part of their new mission. She's pulling a fake engagement with an arms dealer, and they have to bring him down.

Back at Buy More, Big Mike is back in charge. I'm actually quite happy Emmett is gone (RIP). And poor Morgan is pining over Karina. Jeff and Lester dare Morgan to invite her to his housewarming party.

(While I myself have little need for the gratuitous underwear scene with Sarah and Karina, I hope it pulls in some good ratings among the 18-34 male audience.)

Back on the mission, the trio goes undercover for Karina's engagement party. Chuck gets to show off more of his fancy turbo flash skills dodging a complex laser light alarm system. All the while, trying to get Sarah to talk to him about their friendship/relationship...to explain that he didn't chose being a spy over her. Of course, she's hearing none of this since he's locked in an air tight closet while she's outside fighting bad guys. I hate when that happens. After nearly running out of air in the closet, Chuck falls into Sarah's arm telling her he loves her, then passing out. The guy cannot catch a break.

Back at The Castle, Chuck is recovering and Sarah is questioning whether Chuck will be safe given their emotional complications. Unfortunately (or fortunately), The General is not letting her quit. So, the two commence fight training. And Sarah isn't giving in and letting Chuck talk about his feelings. Girl is cold as ice.

Later that night, at Morgan's housewarming party, Karina shows up with her arms dealer fiance, who now knows she's a spy and promises to kill Chuck. Jeff and Lester unsuccessfully challenge the henchmen to a chugging contest...and pass out (drugged). It's the trio to the rescue, and we see Casey and Sarah starting to trust Chuck and his new flashes. Though Sarah still leads in the ass kissing, Chuck comes through in the clutch to appeal to the arms dealer's broken heart.

In the end, we realize the computer that the team recovered from the arms dealer has more significance than the realize. The General wants to tell them about it...but a higher power isn't letting her.

And we learn that not only does Morgan have a fancy way of displaying his sneaker collection, he also scored with Karina...on Star Wars sheets no less! Go Morgan.

Back at The Castle, Karina leaves Sarah with a flashdrive... a video of Chuck trapped in the air tight closet earlier confessing his reasons for leaving Sarah at the train station in Prague. He wanted to put aside this feelings to do something for the greater good to protect his friends and family...and because he loves her, since she's the one that taught him what being a spy is all about.

Aww.