Chuck, 2x01, “Chuck vs. the First Date”

Episode Title: Chuck vs. the First Date
Writers: Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak
Director: Jason Ensler
Originally Aired: 09/29/2008
Grade: A-

Truth be told, I was slightly underwhelmed by this episode. Not that I didn’t enjoy it—that’s actually never happened to me with this show, and I hope it never will—it’s just that something about the episode plot felt off to me. This is probably partly because of the in media res opening, because when a show uses that gimmick, I then expect the writer to go back and fill in the missing pieces, which is what I thought was happening for the next 15-20 minutes of the episode. You could argue that I wasn’t paying close enough attention, but really, since when do you have to pay close attention to this show to understand the episode plots?

Aside from that nitpick, I enjoyed the episode quite a bit. I loved seeing Casey not only struggle with his order to kill Chuck, but even try to argue Chuck’s usefulness to his superiors. Also, his “Somebody order drive-thru?” line was appallingly bad, but Chuck calling him on it a few seconds later completely saved it and was hilarious.

That was one ridiculous fantasy sequence of Sarah for the Orange Orange intro, but I think these sequences serve a purpose on the show for now. They’re a titillating bit of symbolism to express the fact that Sarah is largely a fantasy for Chuck. The thing is, at some point, Sarah should stop being a fantasy for him, which means the porny sequences should also stop. (Sadly, I’m not sure if the show-runners have it in them to actually give up the Sarah porn.)

As far as Sarah’s feelings for Chuck, she agreed to go on a date with him, refused to bring her gun, and almost kissed him. There’s just no arguing that the woman is into him. Unless, of course, you are Chuck. Chuck would totally argue, because he’s insecure.

I thought it was great that Sarah made Chuck tell her explicitly why he likes her. An easy gut reaction would be to resent her for making Chuck tell her what she already knows, but honestly, in her line of work, she probably hasn’t heard much of that sort of thing from people she actually cares about.

As for Chuck, I was actually a little worried that Levi was going to tweak Chuck's character a bit, either intentionally or unintentionally. I've seen it happen before, where a really likable character/actor comes back after hiatus, and it's just not quite the same—they're more arrogant, or abrasive, or something else unpleasant. But no, he seems to be exactly the same adorkable sweetheart that he was last season. I do think Chuck's confidence has grown somewhat, but it's still within very healthy, likable bounds, and was in fact much-needed. Nice to see that Levi could portray that growth without turning it into something irritating. I am relieved, and very, very pleased.

Other Thoughts

-I really like the slightly re-worked opening credits, because a) they’ve added Captain Awesome and some of the Buy More employees, and b) the credits for this show are just fabulous anyway.

-I have to mention that Anna looked particularly beautiful because of the oddly understated (for her!) makeup she had in this episode. Her lips were actually a fairly natural nude shade for the early scenes, and later on, she had a sheer pink gloss on. It made her look much younger and fresher than the usual pancake makeup they put on her. I understand that the overdone makeup is part of the character and I don’t mind it, it was just nice to see her looking so naturally pretty here.