Chuck: "Chuck Versus The Curse" Review

Note: Full spoilers for this episode follow.

I wanted to like this episode more than I did. On paper, it had plenty of things to enjoy after all. I really like it when Awesome and Ellie become involved in Chuck's spy world. And what's wrong with Rebecca Romijn in a tank top, being evil? Nothing!

However, I just felt like the energy was somehow off this week – that all the components didn't really add up. Little things bugged me that perhaps wouldn't have if everything else was really working. Like how Chuck – who is as well versed in pop-culture and spy movies as those of us watching Chuck – was so slow to figure out Beckman was sending a signal to Casey and Sarah, when it was pretty obvious… and that was after Casey and Sarah had zoomed in on her finger tapping!

It also felt really forced to have Chuck harp on and on about the "Bartowski curse." I get him bringing up the fact that his parents had to abandon he and Ellie because of their spy life and his fear of having to do the same thing. But his specific (and repeated) terminology with the "curse" term felt too specific, considering he'd never said it like that before. It felt like something bigger – like we should think his grandparents and their parents also had to abandon their families due to being secret spies.

I like Morgan and Alex, and am rooting for them, but their scenes this week kind of dragged. And on top of that, I was happy to see that Casey being a fugitive was being reinforced in a big way, but then everything was completely resolved (on that front) by the end of the hour. It would have been interesting to see at least a couple of more episodes of Chuck and company working "off the grid", with Beckman as a secret accomplice. Though it was fun to see Casey and Beckman meet up at a place Casey said was reserved for "our darkest hours," which, of course, included, "the Clinton years."

And it's not that the episode didn't have other bright spots. I'm glad to see The Omen turning out to be a major factor over multiple episodes – as we head towards the end, it makes sense to not just have everything be a one-off weapon of the week, but rather something that truly has an ongoing impact. And the mysterious nature of whoever is truly trying to get Chuck is intriguing.

Also, there were some fun moments with Awesome and Ellie, even though I wish there was a bit more too it. Their panicked safety word/"Martini!" cry, when they realized they were actually in a spy situation, was very funny. And having Rebecca Romijn's Robin strip down to that aforementioned tank top (the better to get her torture on) almost simultaneously with Captain Awesome taking off his shirt was an amusing bit of self-aware "Here's the eye candy for everyone watching" sequence. Oh, and I have to note that in the Chuck universe, CIA agents look like Yvonne Strahovski, Tricia Helfer and Rebecca Romijn. It's like they have a special section for stunning, Amazonian blonds… To which I say, nice work, fictional CIA!

As for that cell opening at the end, as The Omen began to be activated… Well, I don't want to spoil it for those who don't watch the previews (and I hope people in the comments can try to be good too), but I'm very excited for next week's villain.

Lastly, I have to mention the Open Table product placement/integration. Chuck has had some extremely awkward examples of product integration in the past couple of years that brought me out of the show. But I am giving them a huge pass for the multiple mentions of Open Table here, for one reason: My wife has an Open Table account and she does exactly what Chuck does! She has her family, including her sister, make reservations under her account because, yes, she loves the points.