I write this review with a tinge of sadness. At this point, it is unclear when we might see more Chuck, and in turn more Yvonne Strahovski. The month long hiatus was bad enough.

Nonetheless, I’m here to review Episode 1.13, Chuck Versus the Marlin.

While the last episode didn’t give us much Strahovski, this episode had quite a bit of her. The relationship with Chuck and Sarah was touched on a little bit more, which I know is a fan favorite.

The real special newcomer in my opinion is Pita Girl. I’m sad that she got arrested.

I’d love to see her back in a future episode even if she did totally kick Sarah’s butt at the Wienerlicious. I briefly thought about making her a fansite, but decided that would be premature.

I feel like the show had to have been picked up between Episodes 1.11 and 1.12. Before 1.12, the show seemed tentative and cautious. There wasn’t much about Casey or Morgan, and especially not Ellie and Awesome.

Then magically it seems that the writers felt they needed to invest more into these characters and we get two great episodes where we really see more of who these people are and what they mean to the world of Chuck.

The plot involving Chuck and how important Devon/Ellie are to him were well-played this time and didn’t just feel like extra baggage like it has in the past.

And then there’s lovely Yvonne. Once again, she gets to exercise her emotional chops by conveying everything she needs to in a smile, or a tear. She really plays emotion very well, and this is another great example of that.

But then she can turn around and give us amazing fight scenes. It’s every guy’s dream!

I’m sad to see Chuck go, but at least it gave us a couple of episodes to make us fall in love all over again and anxiously await its return.

Screen captures for Undercover Lover should be up tonight. Marlin likely won’t come until Saturday, though. Until then, hit up our forums and chat away!

After what seems like an eternity, I’m excited to be back reviewing episodes of Chuck!

Tonight we get two episodes, but I’ll take this time to boycott The Apprentice and review Episode 1.12, Chuck Versus the Undercover Lover.

Quite simply, this episode was amazing. It seems like a bucket of money fell into the production phase of this episode. It was so much more high quality (technically speaking) than other episodes.

Explosions were richer, the picture was crisper, and the story was perfectly edited together with the A plot and the B plot.

Though there wasn’t much to see in the way of Yvonne Strahovski, focusing on Casey for an episode was extremely refreshing. He’s too long been a shadowy figure on the outskirts of the world of Chuck.

Perhaps its the long hiatus that made me love this episode so much, but I think it’s also just a little bit of man crush on Adam Baldwin. He’ll always be Jayne Cobb to me, but he owns John Casey just as well.

I was also really happy to see Captain Awesome and Ellie fleshed out a little more. Though Awesome has always been … awesome … both he and Ellie have always been bit characters to the larger plot.

This episode sees them come to the forefront and really take on their own plotline.

If you go back and read my early reviews, I really ragged on Sarah Lancaster for not fitting into the show and being comfortable in her character. That’s all a thing of the past. She fits into Chuck as well as anyone now.

This episode didn’t have much in the way of Sarah Walker, but the promos during the commercials treated us to some Yvonne Strahovski hottie Australian accent. That was a treat all by itself.

Only one hour until Episode 1.13! The review for that will be up later and screen captures of both will follow this weekend.

Welcome back!

Episode 1.11 already, “Chuck Versus the Crown Vic!”  My, how time flies.

This episode is full of Yvonne Strahovski with bare shoulders, and boy are they cold.  It seems that the mix-up with Bryce has left Sarah chilly towards Chuck, her job, and life.

This episode was a nice episode for Adam Baldwin who got a lot of screen time torturing Chuck about his non-relationship with Sarah.  He’s a fun character, and it was nice to finally see him get a little bit more attention.

Morgan was a train wreck in every scene he was in, but it’s starting to become at least slightly endearing.  At least Anna is cute.

Yvonne did a remarkable job as always playing off her emotions with a steely disposition, and breaking only when no one was looking.  She manages to amaze every week with her superb acting skills.

All that being said, this episode was a dip from the previous few.  It didn’t really deal with the bigger plot much, and there seemed to be an inordinate amount of bad editing.

In one scene, you can actually see Casey talking with no words coming from his mouth.  The entire section with Sarah and Casey talking about Chuck is awkward and strangely edited.

The plot would have yielded a bigger pay off if the Crown Vic had made an appearance in previous episodes.  This episode feels like it was written to be isolated, and then edited to fit the bigger serial plot as an afterthought.

Nonetheless, you can’t expect a home run with every single episode and this one at least gets to second base.  That’s more than most television shows can say.

Perhaps the worst news of all, however, is that this was the last episode of the year!  This news caught me totally by surprise.  I thought there was one more left before the hiatus.  The ending was brutal — waiting until the new year is going to be extremely painful.

We’ll be here, though, full of Yvonne Strahovski goodness to fill the void.  Stick with us!

As always, high res screen caps should be up tomorrow afternoon.  There are lots of nice shots of Yvonne to be excited about.  Until then, talk about the episode here or on the forums.

Here we are with Episode 1.10 behind us, “Chuck Versus the Nemesis.”

It marks the return of Bryce Larkin, the further complication of our favorite relationship, and the most action-erific episode of the season.

If you’re one of those people that think Chuck is heavy on humor and too light on action, then this episode is for you. There are more guns, kicks, and stand-offs than you can shake a stick at. Ms. Yvonne Strahovski kicks major butt in this episode.

At the same time, this storyline is completely heart-wrenching. It’s everything you remember about high school love, and everything you hated about it at the same time. But it’s wonderful.

We’re not really left with any more of an answer than we had the week before, but it doesn’t matter.

For once, Morgan is actually tons of fun this episode. His triangle with Ana and Ellie is a delight to watch. And we always have Captain Awesome, who’s … amazing … as always.

Yvonne was particularly wonderful this episode. She managed to look ’stressed’ the entire episode, while remaining beautiful and convincing.

You could actually see the agony of her situation weighing on her in every seen, hidden behind whatever emotion she needed to convey.

I’ve said it before, but this girl is no fly-by-night tv beauty. She’s one of the best actresses to hit television in years.

Although last week’s cliffhanger was pretty awesome, this one may just tug at your heart strings a little bit more and make you eager to see next week’s episode.

As always, you can expect HD screen captures from the episode tomorrow afternoon. Until then, discuss the episode here or in more detail on the forums!

Note: The word ‘Nemeses’ is the plural of ‘Nemesis’ and is not a typo.

Did I say last week was the best episode? So soon, but THIS week was the best episode, Episode 1.09 - Chuck Versus the Imported Hard Salami.

When Chuck was pitched to NBC so many months ago, this storyline must have been the pitch. The show has hit fullstride. It has pulled itself up from charming with potential to be the absolute best new show this season.

Mark my words, the viewership will go up. The story is so angst-ridden, so honest, so fun, and so engaging. It is what television is all about.

In this episode, we find out that Chuck’s new gal Lou is friendly with a pretty important smuggler. That smuggler is bringing in some pretty hot goods, and our team has to figure out what it is. I’ll leave that part to the viewer.

It is rare that a television show can make the viewer feel so much, and this is all thanks to a remarkable cast of characters.

Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski have enough chemistry to carry the show alone. Every emotion comes across in their faces. We don’t need words with actors like these.

I said last week that the most important thing for the show to do was to keep Sarah and Chuck apart, and the way in which they’ve done so is heart-breaking. They can’t be together now. It’s so complicated and so delightful at the same time.

Knowing that the characters really love each other is a common plot device; knowing that they know is even better.

This show is billed as a comedy, plays like an action, and at its core is a romance.

We may have been fans of Yvonne Strahovski here for a long time, and even Chuck. But now Chuck has finally arrived.

Last week I hoped Chuck would be huge. This week I know it will be.

As always, screen captures will be up soon. Until then, check out our forums and talk about the episode!

We all know that I like Chuck. I’ve liked it since the pilot.

If you go back and read my first review I pointed out that what it really had going for it was potential. It hadn’t started firing on all cylinders. It hadn’t yet clicked into place.

That all changed last night with Episode 1.08 - Chuck Versus the Truth.

Last night’s episode was the best episode of the series thus far for so many reasons.

The whole thing almost felt like it was the first episode they had produced since the show had aired. It was as if they were able to take all of the fan feedback and cram it into one yummy episode.

The most impressive feat for this episode was the writing. Rather than having two disjoint plotlines (usually one at Buy More and one with Chuck & Company), we get a tightly integrated plotline that explores all aspects of Chuck’s not-so-ordinary life.

Getting rid of Harry Tang made me shout for joy. Captain Awesome was awesome (is he ever not?) and Ellie finally fell into her character. I can’t fairly say she’s a bad actress anymore. It would seem that she just needed some time to grow.

Everything finally clicked together this episode. Sarah and Casey have finally accepted their relationship as partners. Chuck and Sarah have finally accepted their star-crossed love for each other. Now the show can move on.

As heartbreaking as it was, the show took the perfect direction with Chuck and Sarah staying apart. Unlike so many shows before it, Chuck has to resist the temptation to let the love work out. The longing is what makes the show work and it’s good that they realize that.

As for Yvonne Strahovski, she did a fabulous job as always. Not only did we get to see her with a brown-haired wig, but we also got to see her in purple lingerie. All without breaking character for a second as she walked that line between being just a vulnerable girl-in-love and being a super-secret spy.

She got her chance to do what she does so well when she tells Chuck that she has no feelings for him. Chuck may have believed her but the fans never do, because Ms. Strahovski does a remarkable job of barely suppressing the angst she has about the situation.

All of this is accentuated by a helping of genuine laughs and some nice action scenes. The truth serum made for some excellent quotes (Who’s there? NSA, CIA, and me. It’s complicated.).

If there was any doubt whether Chuck could find its footing and really bring it all together, this episode proved that it could do it. It was the best episode of the season and it was the fulfillment of the promise that Chuck made when the season started to be one of the best new shows on television.

As always, screen captures should be up this afternoon full of yummy goodness.

This week’s episode was titled “Chuck Versus the Alma Mater” and boy was it a lot of fun. I was sad to see that Yvonne got another episode without a lot of focus, but I quickly forgot as the plot clipped along and we found out about Chuck’s sordid past.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again — Captain Awesome is awesome. I guess that doesn’t even need to be said since it’s in his name, but whatever.

That guy makes me laugh everytime he’s on screen. In this episode, we get to see him in his element surrounded by frat guys, throwing footballs at Chuck’s… manly parts.

I like how Casey is coming along as well. He seems to be getting more screen time.

I do wonder, however, why Chuck would go to Casey everytime he has problem rather than the smoking hot chick who’s in charge of ‘handling’ him. As awesome as Adam Baldwin is, I’d pick the hot chick everytime.

I really expected there to be a little bit more Sarah subplot for Yvonne Strahovski this week, given that the bulk of the plot centered around Bryce Larkin.

Sadly, she was relegated to the back burner while Chuck focused on his own issues with his ex-roommate.

Nonetheless, Yvonne did get into some pretty fun firefights this go ’round and that scene at the end where she watches the video with Chuck was extremely well acted.

When she walked out of the room with tears in her eyes, she makes the viewer believe that she was barely holding it together in there. That’s hard to do convincingly, and Strahovski did a fabulous job.

Next week is “Chuck Versus the Truth” and promises to be a riot, with a new girl eyeing Chuck. This week may be have been green week on NBC, but next week may be as well as Sarah gets jealous of Chuck’s new romantic interest.

Screen captures for “Chuck Versus the Alma Mater” should be up this afternoon.

Another week gone and another Episode of Chuck behind us. This week was Episode 1.06 - “Chuck Versus the Sandworm.”

This was actually one of my favorite episodes of the season. Not only did we get to see Yvonne in a Princess Leia outfit, but we also got to see some awesome gadgets. Gadgets are fun.

This episode also gets marks for minimizing Ellie and maximizing Captain Awesome. That guy makes me want to start a fansite about him. But that would be weird, so…

Oh yes, you came here to read about Yvonne Strahovski didn’t you?

There was some good times for her in this episode. Anytime you can get any woman into a Princess Leia costume, you’re doing well. Make that person Yvonne Strahovski and you’re in geek heaven.

The only bad thing you can say is that the costume part was far too short.

Screen captures should be up soon for the episode.

On my personal blog over at Lykaon’s Lair, I have a habit of reviewing the tv shows I watch every week. But since it makes sense, I’m going to start writing my Chuck reviews here on Strahotski.com so that all of you Yvonne Strahovski fans can more easily find them.

Last night we were graced with “Episode 1.05 - Chuck Versus the Sizzling Shrimp. ”

As with any ensemble cast, every episode has a spotlight character and this week was mainly about Chuck and his relationship with his sister and troll of a friend.

Unfortunately, that means not as much Yvonne as last week but that doesn’t mean the episode wasn’t worth watching.

It turns out that there’s a Chinese spy working at Chuck and Morgan’s favorite Chinese restaurant and that gets Casey and Sarah in a tizzy.

We come to find out that although she is an International spy, she’s not in America on official business. Instead, she’s here to rescue her brother. Hijinks ensue.

Overall, this was a pretty good episode. There were some good gunfights and some funny moments.

I’ve said this in my previous reviews and I’ll say it again — Chuck’s sister simply isn’t the best actress on the planet. After taking screenshots of the first 4 episodes I at least came to appreciate that she’s pretty, though.

All in all, the ‘Sizzling Shrimp’ was a welcome foray into the season even if it was Strahovski light. Screen captures should be up shortly.