You know after re-watching this episode I realized that the Clock counting down on the Mysterious Object in the shipping crate wasn't just telling us the audience that there was imminent danger on the horizon but that before this episode was over something big was going to happen. When the clock was nearing zero, Chuck and Sarah thought it was the end, that this sucker was nuclear and they only had a few brief seconds left on earth. Chuck closes his eyes and Sarah grabs him and plants a whopping kiss on him and then they continue to kiss and wait...they're alive! That thing wasn't a bomb at all, it is something else. When the counter reached zero, Chuck and Sarah kissed. Indeed something BIG did happen.
Poor Chuck, when the episode began he had moved on from his fantasy that there was something more between him and Sarah, he ran to the welcoming arms of the Sandwich girl, Lou. He knew that Lou did like him, she said as much. Everything is great, it's a shame that her ex is a smuggler that Chuck flashes on. After Chuck and Sarah kiss he now knows that Sarah does indeed have feelings for him and he promptly calls her to ask her out on a real date, no bugs, no supervision, just the two of them. At the same exact time Sarah and Casey are at the site of the once-thought-to-be-a-bomb, and once it opens it contains Bryce Larkin -- And he's ALIVE!
Things just got more complicated.
What a great episode, it had everything, Funny situations with Lester asking Sarah out, Morgan hitting on Anna Wu, Sarah's jealousy at the new Chuck and Lou dynamic and great one-liners by John Casey. Oh and one more thing, that Guitar Pin that Chuck wore as a bug for Casey and Sarah to listen in on Stavros -- looks awesome! I'm going to order one on Amazon!
One of the strongest elements of this series is the music, not just the songs that are featured every episode by different artists but also by composer Tim Jones. Right now you can Order the Chuck Original Soundtrack, Fans of Chuck have been waiting for this for a long, long time and I can't wait to get my hands on it! Speaking of Music, here are the two songs that are featured in this episode: My Absent Will -- Meredith Bragg and Let's Get It Crackin' -- Deetown Allstars.
Listen to the podcast episode: S1Ep9 Vs The Imported Hard Salami
Here is the link to Alan Sepinwall's take on Salami and it's interesting to read that NBC totally spoiled not only that Chuck and Sarah kiss but that Bryce was alive (although I didn't see that in the promo), wow what a bunch of jerks. I wonder if it was spoiled for me as well as I watched the episode when it first aired. I can't remember that far back but like Sepinwall, I believe that the episode is so good that it doesn't even matter if it was spoiled as the way it plays out is still very effective. I do hate spoilers though. Also here is Eric Goldman's take on Salami where he thought with this episode that Chuck was hitting its stride.
That's it for this week, I can't wait to dive into Chuck versus The Nemesis next week. I am trying to stick to the weekly format and not bite off more than I can chew again trying not to think about how many episodes there are to cover. I must savor each one on their own and try not to look too far ahead. I hope that you guys are digging the show and the blog and I hope that you get a chance to rate the show and review it on iTunes, it's much appreciated.
Until Then,
The Jastrom
I loved your podcast about this episode. It was fun to listen to, but one thing to think about we have a very real Sarah Walker entering the Buymore.
ReplyDeleteThose tears she displayed were real tears. Its when the cover became a cover for her feelings. Sarah the girlfriend had to use Agent WAlker to cover how much she hated Chuck with Lou
another thing to note was in the briefing scene Yvonne's acting was tremendous as Sarah was annoyed with Chuck using the words Girlfriend in reference to another woman while trying not to get alarm bells from Beckman
Funny sequence when Morgan tells Chuck he shouldn’t break up with Sarah but then, as the loyal first mate to Chuck, adopts Chuck’s position when talking with Jeff and Lester.
ReplyDeleteThe Lester hitting on Sarah scene is hilarious (and, although brief, a great scene by Vic and Yvonne). For anyone who has season one on disc, they should watch the “declassified scene” for this as it is a longer version of the scene. Even funnier and Vic Sahay’s comedic delivery is excellent.
Great understated comedy from Adam in the van, first chuckling about Chuck’s chicken neck and then preemptively telling Sarah he’s not interested in her.
"Hey, lover boy, hasn't that mirror suffered enough? . . . Just the right to bear arms." One of my favorite funny scenes of the entire series. Casey rocks. :-)
I read all of the reviews that you link to that were contemporaneous with the episode when it aired. I continue to be surprised by the reader comments on the Sepinwall reviews that think little of Yvonne’s acting abilities. Sepinwall talks about her in his review for this episode. He’s positive about her without much enthusiasm I would say. Probably because I’m not fully objective and because I watched the series in a compressed amount of time and saw what she does later without having to wait much, but I think she’s exceptionally strong on screen and handles very well the few comedic moments she gets later in the series. Also, the show is powered by the electric chemistry between her and Zach and I don’t think that likely happens with a different female lead.
As I noted in my comments for the prior episode, that and this episode worked together to solidify my commitment to the show. The scene with the timer countdown on the supposed bomb, the tense exchange of words between Sarah and Chuck, the last words by Chuck and then the kiss are wonderfully acted and filmed. At this point I had to see how the relationship between Chuck and Sarah was going to play out. I try to convince people trying the show to get through this episode. If, after the kiss and monkey wrench that is the return of Bryce, a viewer doesn't find himself/herself interested in what will happen between C+S, well, then I think the show isn’t for them since the spy/espionage stuff is generally good but not, on its own, consistently great (except for how it works to let the various relationships be explored) and there isn’t enough Buy More humor to watch just for that. Also, anyone not interested in the C+S relationship by this point is a heartless monster who I want nothing to do with. :-)
-- LetsGoRed