Strahovski and Wedding Planners
I know I’m still behind from having missed last week. I haven’t written a review, but I did manage to get it under my belt so I’m properly educated for this week’s episode.
I’m not sure I’ll really need the Volkoff stuff for this week, though. It looks like a nice standalone episode with the awesomely funny Gary Cole back as Mr. Sarah’s Dad.
Less talk, more review. It’s time for the review of Episode 4.21 – Chuck Versus the Wedding Planner.
This episode was awesome. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Chuck works best when its plots are standalone with nothing but character arcs. When it gets weighed down with big story arcs, it can’t afford to be as light-hearted as an episode like this one.
Chuck is a comedy first in my opinion. This episodes proves it and then some. It took our characters and put them in a silly situation then let us watch as they wiggled their way out of it. In the meantime, we get some serious character development from Sarah and her dad.
Though it was mostly comedy, it was really great getting some backstory on Sarah. It’s so rare that Sarah gets to be the center of an episode. The little actress who played a young Sarah also did a pretty good job and looked believably like Yvonne Strahovski.
Yvonne Strahovski had some legendary moments in this episode. I loved Sarah’s “flash face.” Every time I think we’ve seen Sarah Walker at her silliest, she comes back with something even funnier. Yvonne Strahovski must have had a great time trying to make that face.
Then she wows us with her accent when she takes over the ballroom. But not to be outdone by herself, Sarah Walker establishes herself as a master cake decorator. Oh the things you learn in the CIA.
Jack is one of the best guest characters that has ever been written into the show. Not only that, but Gary Cole also delivers the character to maximum effect. I love the complex relationship he has with his daughter, and they both play off of each other well. I also love the continuity with Jack calling Casey “copface” again.
Never before have we seen so deep into the Sarah Walker mythos, and never has her character been advanced so well. It’s a feat of writing that has been four seasons in the making. It’s well overdue.
And somehow, the writers managed to squeeze in some really great development on the Casey front. It was a great reunion with his old wife; touching amidst the inanity of the wedding and hunt for the Zephyr.
I also liked Morgan in this episode. He’s the sidekick; he should be playing a support role and he did so in this episode without being too much of a screen (or joke) hog. I also liked him apologizing to Casey there at the end. It’s a subtle nod to the deep relationship that has formed between the two.
I know a lot of people like the spy stuff and the action, but I much prefer it as the MacGuffin to further the Bartowski universe and develop its characters. I don’t care about the Zephyr. It just doesn’t matter. What matters is that Sarah and her dad had some moments, Casey is on the road to recovery with his former wife, and Chuck & Sarah are still the solid couple they were to start with.
It was an excellent episode that should serve as a template for more episodes. It’s the sort of episode that has the capacity to really draw in new viewers who are flipping through the channels. There’s no confusion or necessary prerequisites to enjoy the heart and comedy.
Also. Long live Chicken Pepperoni! What did you guys think?
