Now, I'm sure by this point everyone I know is aware of my love of Chuck. Sure it's not the greatest show on TV, but I happen to like action comedies and spy shows, so Chuck really fits the bill for me. And while the show has it's problems at times (the title character sometimes seems a bit TOO incompetent) it's been a show I've liked since I started watching it at the beginning of Season 2.
Season 2 of Chuck ended in a bang, and by the end everything had changed in a big way. The end of Season 2 was all about growing up, finding out who you were, and living up to your dreams and expections. Chuck got the Intersect out of his head, decided to have a life with Sarah, quit the Buy More, and finally move on. Until at the end he decides to download Intersect 2.0 in his head and learn kung fu.
The way season 2 ended, it was hard to tell how Season 3 would start. Was the Buy More Gone? What could happen with Chuck and Sarah after where their relationship went? What would happen to most of the supporting cast?
To tell you the truth, I really had a hard time wrapping my head about where they could go without really changing the dynamic of the show, it's look, and its setting. And Season 3 answers this question by...simply reverting everything back to the status quo (minus Anna Wu).
In some ways it was almost painful to watch Chuck's regression. Sarah's anger and coldness. Even Morgan's failure was just annoying. By the end of the episode, Chuck was back at the buy more; the team was back together...but everything was reset except for a sense of anger and resentment in 'team bartowski' about being put back into the field after everything that had happened.
I have to admit, that really took me out of what was actually a fairly good episode that went a lot of places very fast. I ended up watching it again the second time, and now more prepared for it's contents, found the episode much more enjoyable in its second viewing. It's just jarring. It's like having sex with your girlfriend, almost climaxing, only to have your grandmother walk in the room on you in her underwear.
To me Chuck is always at its worse when the Chuck/Sarah relationship is on it's downside. And Season 3 makes a strong case that their relationship is really over this time. Sarah isn't just a little annoyed. She's coldly pissed off and feels betrayed; and seems to actively be trying to hurt him. And the reasons behind it, while they make sense, also seem to fly in the face of everything before it. Admittedly, it has been stated many times on the show that Sarah has a hard time with relationships and with her emotions; I guess in some ways it shows just how much Chuck got under her skin--Sarah cannot be coldly emotionless with him even when she is mad at him.
And, of course, by the end of the second episode, we get a better explanation for why Chuck didn't run away with Sarah that makes real sense (and Sarah even learns it for herself, though it doesn't seem to make any difference). So at least for now, Sarah and Chuck's on again/off again relationship is squarely on the 'off again'. I have a feeling it won't stay that way forever, but we'll see. Personally I think the writers risk damaing both characters if they draw this out much farther. They either need to get together; or break up for good. And considering the first two seasons, I just don't see them NOT together.
Apparently the first 5 episodes have been shown to reviewers and the general consensus seems to be that the show starts off well and consistantly gets better every episode from here own out. Having seen the first three, I have to mostly agree. Ep 1 is OK, but has all the problems I listed above. Ep 2 is better over all (even if Chuck is at his most incompetent and annoying...it's the first time I really just wanted to slap him through the TV). And Ep 3 was all around good and full of fun things.
Still, I'm glad that my favorite show on the air right now is back and I'm looking forward to a mostly full season of 19 episodes.
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