Chuck, 2x09, “Chuck vs. the Sensei”

Episode Title: Chuck vs. the Sensei
Writer: Anne Cofell Saunders
Director: Jonas Pate
Originally Aired: 12/01/2008
Grade: B+

I have to say, this felt like a pretty meh filler episode, which is a bit disappointing considering that it’s the first ep after the Jill arc. It doesn’t help that I’m not that interested in Casey’s backstory. Not that I don’t love him and his interactions with Chuck and Sarah and the Buy More crew, but I just like him better in small doses.

There were a few bright spots here, though. All the Chuck/Sarah interaction was cute, and it was nice to see Sarah spending time with Chuck’s family without him (I would’ve liked to have seen more of those scenes, actually). Chuck in the OrangeOrange getting his phone and figuring out how to break the cuffs showcased Levi’s knack for physical comedy, and we even got a MacGyver joke out of it! And lastly, this episode introduced a new story element—the search for Ellie and Chuck’s father, who is apparently not dead, or at least not to their knowledge.

Side-note about this episode’s writer: She wrote some pretty good episodes of Battlestar Galactica (and a couple of not-so-good ones, but 4/6 of her eps were pretty good). Oddly enough, though, both of her Chuck episodes—this one and “vs. the Alma Mater”—are among of my least favorites.