The Chuck Series Companion: Chuck Versus The Broken Heart

On November 1st, 2013 I wrote my first real post on the blog, it was all about sharing my love of the television series Chuck because it had just appeared on Netflix, people now had a place to watch Chuck all over again not to mention the many people who would discover Chuck for the first time and be able to binge the entire series. I had the idea of doing this podcast, to cover every single episode of the show and give people a place to go after they watched each episode of Chuck. I remember having this wanting feeling for a place to share my love for this series, a series that had brought me so much joy. With this show I can share how each and every episode of Chuck makes me feel. It may not be for everybody but for anyone out there that is looking for a place to mutually appreciate Chuck, you are in the right place.

Now cut to yesterday, it's November 2016 and Netflix and Warner's deal for Chuck has expired and the show is no longer on Netflix *Update* - Chuck is now available to stream on Amazon Prime! It's a real bummer. Yes, I own all five seasons on Blu Ray but now I'm spoiled, I had access to every episode on my phone and on my tablet and on my Xbox, I had access to Chuck whenever I was craving it because let's face it, Chuck is that friend we need when we are feeling down, when we are under the weather and when maybe the world is just too ugly and we want to escape it for a spell. I need Chuck whenever and wherever I can have it so I decided to digitally purchase seasons 1-3 on Amazon Streaming using a gift card I received for my birthday (I'll purchase seasons 4-5 soon). Believe me it was worth it. It may not be right for you, perhaps copies on DVD and Blu Ray would be better, in fact you get many cool extras with those and they are well worth the money spent. But for those of you out there that can't afford that right now just know that the Chuck Series Companion podcast isn't going anywhere. I will continue to cover each and every episode of Chuck until I have covered all 91 episodes. With this episode Chuck Versus the Broken Heart (How Apropos btw with the series vanishing from Netflix) it is my 31st episode of the series, so you know what that means? 60 episodes to go! So let's get cracking!

On the previous episode of Chuck, General Beckman couldn't help but notice Agent Sarah Walker's rebellious nature when it comes to Chuck's well being. At the end she ordered Casey to hand over everything he had on the two under surveillance. Well it seems what she saw has warranted a 49b! Special Agent Alex Forrest (Tricia Helfer) arrives to watch Sarah in action as Chuck's handler and report back to Beckman if she's doing a decent job. We'll get back to that later.

We all know that Ellie and Devon are getting married soon, it's been there in the background of the season slowly building, we've been introduced to Awesome's parents, we know that Chuck has been searching for their Father to walk Ellie down the aisle to no avail but now it's time for Awesome's Bachelor Party! When the episode begins in what looks like an abduction, Chuck is bound and gagged by Jeff, Lester and Morgan. Seriously they are so lucky that Casey didn't shoot them although I'm not sure Casey would have felt that bad about it. It turns out the guys have never been to a bachelor party. "A bachelor party is a mythical place where booze and women are free -- it's Xanadu!" So says Jeff but Chuck just wants to go to his room and study up on the schematics for Fulcrum's Intersect. So back to that 49b, General Beckman shows Chuck a quick montage of his feelings for Sarah and soon we're introduced to Alex Forrest which is a reference to the Glen Close character from Fatal Attraction which I didn't pick up on until after I had finished recording the episode. D'oh!

The Team's new mission is to gain access to a heart that will be implanted in a bad guy that is usually hiding in an Afghani cave, he's here in California for a heart procedure and Beckman wants the team to implant a bug so that they can track him back to bad guy central. Sounds simple enough but the procedure is taking place at Ellie and Devon's Hospital and Devon has a key card to get Casey into the room where they keep the heart transplant. Schew! Just how are they going to get a hold of that key card when Chuck won't let Agent Forrest tranq Awesome? That's right, bachelor party in the Buy More!

While the boys are busy kidnapping Awesome for his party, downstairs in Castle Agent Forrest has deemed that Sarah has gotten too involved with Chuck to be a proper Handler to the Asset and is immediately terminated by General Beckman. Noooooo! I love that before Sarah leaves she enters Chuck's Dad into the database to help Chuck find his Dad. During the hilarious bachelor party sequence Jeff and Lester bring Subway sandwiches and it turns out Jeff has hired his own sister and her friends for some exotic dancing. Yikes! Keep in mind that Lester is taking pictures of the entire party and we'll get back to that later. When Casey can't find the key card in Devon's wallet Agent Forrest decides to take matters into her own hands by posing as a Cop Stripper and cuffing him. When she can't seem to manipulate Devon she goes ahead and tranqs him to Chuck's horror. Agent Forrest has gone too far, it also painful here because Casey goes along with it, you just want him to side with Chuck and Sarah but he does the good soldier thing and pulls off the mission.

Naturally Chuck is extremely upset when he finds out Sarah has been given her walking papers because Sarah never would have tranq'd Devon but there's nothing to be done, the decision has been made. When Devon wakes up the next day with a massive headache and realizes his key card is gone, he's pretty upset but not as upset as Ellie wondering why he didn't have his shirt on and why he can't remember anything. It becomes much worse when she visits Morgan at the Buy More to get answers to discover Jeff and Lester admiring the photos of the party he took involving Devon passed out with Agent Forrest with her hands all over him. Uh oh.

Now with the key card in their possession they are able to implant the bug into the bad guys's heart but it's immediately detected by his henchman who decides it must've been the surgeon who performed the procedure a doctor Devon Woodcomb. Luckily Chuck is there to pose as Awesome and be abducted instead. See that? Chuck doesn't even think of his own well being here, his first instinct is to leave Devon out of danger.

When Sarah goes to deliver the information she found out about Chuck's Dad she realizes that he's been abducted where Casey and Alex Forrest hadn't noticed because they were too busy polishing their guns but they realize that something is amiss when the bug in the heart stops broadcasting. They track Chuck to a bank vault which is the only place that can block the bug that's in the guy's heart. I love this whole sequence as the bad guy is trying to kill Chuck but then forgets why he's angry at Chuck because of all of the laughing gas filling the room. It's also great the way that Chuck finds out the whereabouts of which cave the main baddie is hiding in and Sarah has shown Agent Forrest how to properly protect Chuck while also saving the day.

This episode has a ton of songs in it, first we hear Hearts and Minds by Matt Pond PA when Chuck wakes up for the day. Jump Around by House of Pain when the bachelor party is getting started, Love Game by Lady Gaga when the female entertainment arrives. Bottle Pop by The Pussycat Dolls when Agent Forrest arrives to arrest Awesome and Turnin Me On by Keri Hilson & Lil Wayne when she starts her seduction. Bite Hard by Franz Ferdinand when Sarah's driving and during the hilarious gun cleaning montage with Agent Forrest and Casey. Finally the episode wraps up with Blood Bank by Bon Iver.

Listen to the Podcast Episode: S2Ep18 Vs The Broken Heart

This episodes review by Alan Sepinwall clued me in on a reference to Spies Like Us that I didn't even pick up on while Eric Goldman's review praised the episode. And finally another AV Club review. I've said it before but the reason I include these links is because when I was originally re-watching Chuck I wanted a place to read other peoples opinions of each episode so I thought I would share them with you too.

I love the moment at the end when General Beckman is about to reprimand Sarah, Chuck speaks up for her but then she cuts him off and Casey interjects to let him speak. Sarah may care and may be too involved emotionally but Chuck's an emotional guy and that's why they work so well together, she indeed knows how to handle Chuck. Agent Forrest is like having two Caseys, that may work in a fight but it will screw up everything else, especially Chuck's life not to mention Ellie and Awesome's relationship. There will be residual damage after this, Ellie doesn't think she can trust Devon and that sucks because the guy loves her and he didn't do anything wrong. It's sad when she catches Chuck placing Devon's key card in his bag, it looks like he's helping out his boy, Bro Code and all that but in reality he's just trying to keep the spy life from damaging his family any further. Sarah is there to the rescue though, she takes Chuck to meet his Dad in a great moment, he knocks and then... We have to wait until the next episode to find out.