Wow.  Absolutely wow.  This has to be the best episode of Chuck to date.  Not only was it funny, but it also puts our girl Yvonne front and center for some backstory on her character, Sarah Walker.

Not only that, but we were treated with not just one, but two guest stars in Nicole Richie and Ben Savage.  I realize some people may consider Mr. Savage a bit player, but I was a total “Boy Meets World” fan in my younger years.

Who would have thought that Sarah was such a nerd in high school?  I was impressed with their ability to take someone as beautiful as Yvonne Strahovski and make her so awkward.  No doubt, Yvonne’s acting chops kicked in on that one as well.

So much of the mystery and intrigue of Yvonne is finally melting away.  From a previous episode we learned that her middle name was Lisa.  So there we have her full name, right? Jennifer Lisa Burton.

But no! So close.  Had me fooled right up til the end.

Nicole Richie actually did an admirable job much to the relief of many a Chuck fan, I’m sure.  Hopefully her appearance has brought in a few viewers to up the ratings.  It seemed pretty clear she was a bad guy from the beginning, but that didn’t make the reveal any less fun.

I also applaud the writers for getting away from the Chuck/Sarah relationship for an episode to really delve into something entirely different.  I can only hope that we get similar backstory on Casey, Awesome, and a few others in the gang (I still secretly hope we’ll find out that Awesome is an undercover secret agent; so deep that not even the Intersect knows of him).

Oh and one more tiny little thing.  Yvonne Strahovski.  Shower.  Fight scene.  I thought a fight with Michael Clarke Duncan would be the best of the season, but I’m in love all over again.

Screen captures should be up tomorrow afternoon.  Until then, hang out on our forums or talk about this episode by commenting on this post.  I know I could talk about it for ages.

Go Cougars!