Chuck: "Chuck Versus Sarah" Review

Note: This is my review of the first of the two Chuck episodes that aired the night of the finale. Click Here for my review of the second and final episode, "Chuck Versus The Goodbye."

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Full Spoilers follow!

Yeesh, the penultimate Chuck certainly was not a happy one, was it?

I'm writing this review before I've watched the very last hour of Chuck (the screener NBC sent out had the two episodes split up completely), and yes, I'm confident that Chuck and Sarah will end the series back together. But "Chuck Versus Sarah" proved that the road to reconnecting for these two was not going to be an easy one.

There were some issues I had at the top of the episode with how quickly the characters accepted a lot of things. Yes, it was good to see Sarah did not just instantly trust Quinn, not knowing who the hell he was, but she ultimately did believe him. Even though he mixed in fact with fiction (we got some nice mentions of Graham and Bryce here), wouldn't she want to get some extra confirmation that what he was telling her was true? Wouldn't contacting someone else at the CIA be in order? Similarly, Chuck accepting Sarah telling him she no longer had the Intersect, with no additional info on how that occurred beyond her killing Quinn, was a bit convenient.

That being said, what followed was a very dramatic, very involving episode. It, by its nature, was one of the least comical episodes of Chuck ever, but it was another reminder about how invested in these characters we've become through the years.

Among such darkness, occasional moments of levity were appreciated. "If you would use a plate when you eat taquitos, I wouldn't have to scrub the floors!" was a very funny Casey moment, as our favorite NSA agent tried to deny he'd been, well, domesticated a bit. And I also enjoyed Morgan's line, "I'm really glad we're having this third last mission, seeing as I wasn't part of the other two," which echoed the "never say 'one final mission'" decree everyone told Sarah this season.

I also loved Sarah's solo, "the hell with a plan" attack on the men guarding the Intersect, which included a great stunt, as she slid under a table, kicking the chairs out from it and into an unsuspecting guard. [Nicely done, those in the comments who noted this whole sequence was a nod to Bryce doing similar moves in the pilot!]

But back to the focal point of the episode… Sarah threatening both Chuck and Ellie's life was just wrong! Not in the writing, but in how upsetting it was to see play out. "If you try anything, I'm going to put a bullet through your sister's eyes" is not a line we'd ever expect to hear from Sarah. It was also great to see Ellie really step up when she had to, crashing her car to stop Sarah – because, as she pointed out to Sarah, normally, they'd both do whatever they could to save Chuck's life.

Yvonne Strahovski did terrific work as this much colder, scarier incarnation of Sarah – who still had her moments of doubt. And Zachary Levi really went the extra mile, showing Chuck's mixture of despair and determination, as he tried to process what had happened to Sarah (and I'm glad he noticed something was wrong almost immediately) and help her.

Two scenes in particular stood out – the first, when Chuck reminded Sarah of some of their most important memories – seen via flashbacks – called for him to be very openly raw and emotional. The other, when Sarah, having seen her own video logs, told him she now believed him, but still didn't feel their connection, was more subtle – but wow, did Levi sell Chuck holding it together just barely, clearly holding back just losing it.

Obviously, logically, I knew Sarah wasn't going to actually kill Chuck. But that makes it even more impressive when you have a scene like the one where Sarah actually physically attacks Chuck in that house and he refuses to fight back – because it still felt tense and dangerous. This scene ended with a bit of a cheesy moment: Chuck's slow-mo leap in front of Sarah, "Nooo!" included, to save her from Quinn, was very cliche. But overall, this was a powerhouse episode of the show and a reminder that as much as Chuck is primarily comedic, it can really hit home dramatically after five years, because of how well defined the characters are.

The fact that it would be Casey to give Sarah those videos to remind her of what she once felt for Chuck was a very sweet touch – With his, "I guess Bartowski's made us both soft" line said in about as loving way as a guy like Casey could. The videos didn't quite do the trick, of course, but at least they opened the door for the true Sarah to return…. And that's what the finale's for, right? Eric Goldman is Executive Editor of IGN TV. You can follow him on Twitter at @EricIGN.

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