Chuck -2x17 -"Chuck vs. The Predator"-Discuss/Grade <SPOILERS>

[the Dagman]

^For sure! In this situation it is a case of "who needs who", and it is now pretty clear that Chuck has them over a barrel. They NEED him. Chuck would not even be in danger were it not for Casey and Sarah dragging him along on missions. They call him an asset, but order him around like an agent. And then they don't even make it worth his while aside from pulling the strings to get his last few credits for his college degree. It's time for the government to grease the squeaky wheel or for Chuck to go on strike.

 

[Skywalker]

Definitely. What are they gonna do? Kill him and destroy the Intersect?

 

[TheSeeker]

.......

I'd love to but it's not available in Romania...

HotSpotShield might help.

Will that help its ratings?

 

[Checkmate]

Having his relationship with Sarah actually go somewhere is what would help the ratings.

I only started watching the show at the beginning of the second season and, at first, I thought the relationship was cute. But now, it's just tedious and I hate watching the last few minutes of every episode because it's all the same: "Boohoo we can't be together." "I know, but there's still hope." "Yes, but not really." <e-tear>

Every. Single. Week.

It's a really bad sign when something goes from being beloved to loathed in less than a single season.

 

[TheSeeker]

^I have to admit I'm getting a little tired of that too. Then need to either move forward with this or cut their losses at the end of this season. Maybe they should introduce a new love interest for Chuck.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

It's time for the government to grease the squeaky wheel or for Chuck to go on strike.

Of course they could play their trump card and lock Chuck up in a dungeon forever if he gets too difficult. And because that's always going to be a looming threat, Chuck needs to get a lawyer, get the media involved, and just blow the whistle on the whole operation. It's the only way he can protect himself. He'll also need some serious bodyguards but that multi-million-dollar book deal with movie rights that he can swiftly negotiate for himself will pay all the bills.

But he'll never do that as long as Sarah is part of the operation because he'll risk the dungeon to stay with her. Which is why the gubmint had better keep her around...don't they realize she's Chuck's motivation to cooperate?

Getting rid of Sarah would actually be a total game-changer, because then Chuck just runs for it - he'd have to be a total fool to stick around after she's gone.

 

[RoJoHen]

^I have to admit I'm getting a little tired of that too. Then need to either move forward with this or cut their losses at the end of this season. Maybe they should introduce a new love interest for Chuck.

They need to bring back Rachel Bilson! The sandwich girl was perfect!

 

[Thrall]

^I have to admit I'm getting a little tired of that too. Then need to either move forward with this or cut their losses at the end of this season. Maybe they should introduce a new love interest for Chuck.

They need to bring back Rachel Bilson! The sandwich girl was perfect!

Sandwich Girl was awesome. I was so sad they didn't keep her around longer.

The problem with getting a new love interest is that they really can't. Sarah's cover is that of his girlfriend. If he starts dating someone else, he'd constantly be having to explain why he's always hanging out with his ex. And no girl is dumb enough or trusting enough to think he's not cheating on her with his ex. So Chuck and Sarah are pretty much stuck together, for better or worse.

Not to mention that Sarah always gets crazy jealous to the point of stalking him when ever he gets a new girl. It's not like Smallville or Buffy, where they can get new love interests whenever they need to because the premise isn't about the love interests. Temis pointed out correctly once that the premise of Chuck is "Chuck Loves Sarah". You get rid of that, you get rid of the premise.

A large part of the fans are really getting annoyed at the lack of evolution for the series, and you see it in the ratings. They've written themselves into a corner. They get them together, the angst is gone. You keep them apart forever, and people lose interest(which is what is happening). I think they should watch Revenge of The Sith and take some influence from that. You could have them get married in secret and basically be a real couple pretending to be fake couple pretending to be a real couple and have them do everything they can to hide it. Eventually they get found out and Sarah goes on the run and has no choice but to join Fulcrum. And she and Chuck spend the rest of the season as mortal enemies who happen to hang out alot on their downtime. Something like that anyway.

Becuase they've got to evolve it and quickly before it really is too late. Josh Swchartz has promised the end of the season will be a "game changer" that will "make the missions more interesting". We'll see.

 

[RoJoHen]

All right, I'm finally caught up! I just watched the last 3 episodes that I had missed.

I thought they were great, though I agree that the Chuck/Sarah love/trust angst is getting a little old, which is a shame because it was one of my favorite aspects from Season 1. That said, I'm very glad we're getting closer and closer to the truth behind The Intersect.

He wasn't in this last episode, but I hope that Cole Barker (the MI6 agent) returns at some point. And Tricia Helfer next episode...awesome. Also, I was very upset when they killed Robert Picardo. They really do get some excellent guest stars on this show, but none of them survive!

Hopefully Tricia Helfer's character gets to have a recurring role. Of course, I say that having not seen her character yet, but I'm just very happy she's getting work!

I have a feeling that whenever this show does eventually end, we're going to get a huge battle featuring most of the guest stars that have shown up. And it will be amazing.

 

[TheSeeker]

I think they should watch Revenge of The Sith and take some influence from that. You could have them get married in secret and basically be a real couple pretending to be fake couple pretending to be a real couple and have them do everything they can to hide it.

I like this idea. It could make for some interesting moments.

Eventually they get found out and Sarah goes on the run and has no choice but to join Fulcrum. And she and Chuck spend the rest of the season as mortal enemies who happen to hang out alot on their downtime. Something like that anyway.

I can't say I'm as crazy about this part unless it's part of a larger plan to infiltrate Fulcrum.

Becuase they've got to evolve it and quickly before it really is too late. Josh Swchartz has promised the end of the season will be a "game changer" that will "make the missions more interesting". We'll see.

Maybe Chuck will download another update to the intersect that gives him super spy skills ala Matrix!

 

[RoJoHen]

Becuase they've got to evolve it and quickly before it really is too late. Josh Swchartz has promised the end of the season will be a "game changer" that will "make the missions more interesting". We'll see.

Maybe Chuck will download another update to the intersect that gives him super spy skills ala Matrix!

I'm hoping some family and/or friends will discover Chuck's secret. That would certainly allow him to worry less about everything.

 

[BigFoot]

Yeah, shows like Buffy and Reaper have shown us that having a couple of friends know your secret can work really well.

 

[TheSeeker]

Well that would sure make his sister feel better about his direction in life.

 

[RoJoHen]

I'm still hoping Anna somehow becomes a spy. I'd love Casey's throwaway line from a while back to actually turn into something!

(also, I almost called him Jayne).

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Temis pointed out correctly once that the premise of Chuck is "Chuck Loves Sarah". You get rid of that, you get rid of the premise.

You also get rid of Chuck's motive to play nice with the CIA/NSA. He can't be so dense that he doesn't see he's in continual danger from them. Better to lawyer up, get money from a tell-all book/movie deal, and use it build his own private army to protect him from the fallout of blowing the whistle (to mix some metaphors rather badly). Losing Sarah for good is the only reason why he wouldn't do that now.

Well that would sure make his sister feel better about his direction in life.

Ellie would freak completely out; she certainly is smart enough to understand the danger Chuck is in. She'd do everything in her power to screw up the whole deal just to remove the threat to Chuck's life, including exposing it all publicly, and there goes the show's premise (unless the writers are going for a huge game-changer).

The fact that it would cause him to lose Sarah wouldn't matter to Ellie; at that point, Sarah would be another creep who's holding Chuck more or less hostage and causing his life to be at risk.

There's one friend in the mix I suspect will find out the truth, and can find out without upsetting the premise, and since it may be more of a spoiler than speculation (can't recall how I got wind of it), I'll code it:

Spoiler: who learns the truth first?

Captain Awesome finds out. Which would be a great idea; unlike Ellie, he isn't the mother hen type who would try to expose the operation. He'd respect Chuck's wishes to willingly remain in a dangerous situation, and be a fun co-conspirator for Chuck. It's doubtful that he could resist the temptation to horn in on the spy game for long.

 

[BigFoot]

^ Yeah, I've been thinking about who should find out and I thought of the exact same person.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

^ Yeah, I've been thinking about who should find out and I thought of the exact same person.

Maybe I got that "spoiler" from you. Wouldn't be the first time I was sure I knew a spoiler that turned out to be a mirage...

Here's some hopeful speculation about the chance of a renewal.

NBC is going to be pretty reluctant to get rid of “Chuck.” They like the show, critics like the show, fans like the show. Its numbers have been weak recently, but to some extent you have to blame the ratings tide being out at NBC. This isn’t numbers-based answer I’m giving, it’s more just a sense that if NBC can find any way to make “Chuck” work, they will.

 

[BigFoot]

^ Yeah, I've been thinking about who should find out and I thought of the exact same person.

Maybe I got that "spoiler" from you. Wouldn't be the first time I was sure I knew a spoiler that turned out to be a mirage...

Here's some hopeful speculation about the chance of a renewal.

NBC is going to be pretty reluctant to get rid of “Chuck.” They like the show, critics like the show, fans like the show. Its numbers have been weak recently, but to some extent you have to blame the ratings tide being out at NBC. This isn’t numbers-based answer I’m giving, it’s more just a sense that if NBC can find any way to make “Chuck” work, they will.

Nope, you didn't get the "spoiler" from me. While I've been tossing it around my head for a while now, I've never actually posted about it online.

And hopefully NBC will renew the show.

 

[Checkmate]

I don't think the premise is "Chuck loves Sarah" at all. That's more of a complication than the premise. It's also a reason for Chuck working with the government, but they can introduce any number of other reasons. Including Chuck accepting what happened to him. If anything, Sarah is the obstacle to that happening; he's far more interested in getting that information out of his head because he thinks that will let him be with her.

The show needs to evolve. This stagnant return to the status quo every episode is getting tiresome, and that's coming from someone who's only been watching it since this season. I'd probably have given up on the show if it's been like this since the first one. Sure, returning is a mainstay in most sitcoms, but Chuck tries to be more of a serial than an episodic show. It would be nice if they went full-on with that instead of pussyfooting around.

 

[Kelso]

The show needs to evolve.

Exactly right. This used to be one of my must-watch shows.

The writers need to watch Reaper and take notes. That is a similar show that still manages to shake things up and add new elements to the formula.

Chuck has turned into a fucking bore.