As far as I’m aware, last week’s episode of ‘Chuck’ was not the season finale. I mean, there’s another new episode tonight, isn’t there? It wasn’t even Sweeps when the episode aired. (February Sweeps didn’t start until Thursday.) So why is it that ‘Chuck vs. the Push Mix’ feels so… climactic?
The episode opens with Casey (mostly) waking up from his coma. He gives Chuck the data chip from Yuri’s eye that Sarah slipped him in the previous episode. That leads Chuck to a scientist named Eimacher who, per his name, made the artificial eye. Chuck and Morgan do their best to interrogate him, and learn that Volkoff, Sarah, and Mary (Chuck’s mom, Linda Hamilton) are on their way to “the Contessa.” They assume that’s a person, but it turns out to be a cargo ship that Volkoff is using as his “floating fortress of fun.” Volkoff is nuts, after all.
Chuck gets it in his head that he can’t let Sarah’s undercover mission drag on for years. He needs to take down Volkoff and bring Sarah home right away. So he and Morgan stage a mission to infiltrate the Contessa. Morgan is confident that the moves he’s learned in the couple of yoga classes he’s taken will come in handy on the mission. He’s also excited to wear a wetsuit. “I’m like a SEAL who does yoga… Yoga SEAL!” he tells Chuck.
Of course, those moves do come in handy when Morgan gets locked in a corridor on the ship protected by a laser grid. He has to use his yoga flexibility to navigate through the lasers, much like that scene with Vincent Cassel in ‘Ocean’s Twelve‘. It’s cheesy, but very funny.
A subplot has Volkoff’s computer network allegedly hacked by Orion (Chuck’s dad), who we all know is dead. So does Volkoff, but he’s convinced anyway that Orion somehow escaped death. It’s pretty obvious from Minute One that Chuck is behind the computer hacking.
Mary transfers Volkoff’s Hyda database to the CIA, but the database is useless without Volkoff’s voice command to activate it. Upset at her betrayal, Volkoff takes Mary hostage. He also sends an assassin to smother Casey in his hospital bed. Then a message from Orion lures Volkoff to a remote cabin in the woods where Chuck tricks him into speaking the secret passphrase. This allows Chuck to launch a computer virus that takes down the Hydra network, upon which General Beckman and the army sweep in to arrest Volkoff. Naturally, Casey also makes easy work of the assassin.
Back in Burbank, Ellie goes into labor. Awesome freaks out big time when he loses the “Push Mix” CD that Chuck gave him to play in the hospital. He didn’t actually lose it, though. Jeff and Lester stole it, sensing an opportunity for their band Jeffster to land a gig. They barge into the hospital and stage an unwanted performance of Salt ‘N Pepa’s “Push It” in the waiting room and over the intercom system before being thrown out.
By episode’s end, Volkoff is captured, his criminal network is brought down, Sarah and Mary come home, everybody’s safe, Ellie gives birth, and Chuck finally proposes to Sarah. How is this not the season finale? What’s left for the show to do this year? I’ll guess we’ll find out soon.
HuskerGuy
It was the finale of the original 13 episode order. NBC ordered more episodes (9 more?) sometime after they completed filming on the first 7-9 episodes or so. Thus the writers had to modify this one a bit. Same thing happened last season.
HuskerGuy
You recapped it pretty well, but didn’t really give much of an opinion. I’m only curious as I appear to be one of the few who felt the first 30-40 minutes of the show came off as half-assed and forced. Every other forum post I’ve read (not just here) seems to be gushing about how awesome the episode was.
Josh Zyber
AuthorAh ha, I didn’t realize that this was the final episode of the network’s original order. That explains a lot.
I thought the episode was pretty good overall. I hear what you’re saying about some of it feeling half-assed and forced. I’ve written in previous recaps that this story arc has been very erratically plotted. One minute, Sarah and Chuck are about to get engaged, then she’s sent on a years-long deep cover assignment, and then suddenly it’s all wrapped up out of the blue. There was a very deus ex machina feel to this.
That robot spider thing at the beginning was also wicked cheesy.
HuskerGuy
Haha, yeah the spider bit was lame although I understand it’s a reference to an 80’s Tom Selleck movie or something like that.
I tend to agree that overall the plotting of this season has been very erratic, but I suppose the timing of the order for more episodes probably didn’t help.
I’m really looking forward to those episodes as I thought the ones from the second half of last season were fantastic.
Also, while I absolutely love this show (my favorite TV show in quite some time) I honestly hope they approach the final episode as a series finale.
HuskerGuy
Since I can’t edit, I meant to say I’m looking forward to the new episodes, as in the ones that were ordered from NBC mid-season. They turned out very well last year and I’m hopeful for these new ones.
Josh Zyber
AuthorI assume that the ’80s movie you’re thinking of was Runaway. To me, it looked more like the spider-bots in Minority Report crossed with the sentinels from The Matrix.