Chuck (Season 1)

Chuck was a pretty great show, especially when it was at its prime. With five drastically different seasons of varying quality, I have a lot to say about all of them, so let's start with Season 1, the most middle-of-the-road season of Chuck.

Chuck is a show about the titular average guy who ends up accidentally getting government secrets embedded in his brain thanks to an old friend, Bryce Larkin, who also happens to be a spy. Now with two handlers named Sarah Walker and John Casey, Chuck basically has to learn to become a spy while obviously keeping all of his secrets hidden from his friends, family, and co-workers. Forcing an average person into a life of spies is always a great concept for a storyline (of course, I say this as someone who unironically enjoys Cars 2), so I really enjoyed what Chuck was going for right from the get-go. It's light and breezy, with fun action and likable characters. However, as far as story beyond its central premise goes, Season 1 of Chuck doesn't have too much to offer. There's a compelling mystery about Bryce Larkin's motives that make up the best parts of the season, as well as a meh subplot for Sarah where she fears she'll lose Chuck at some point, but outside of that, this is the only season of Chuck without a villain. As you might have expected, this is because of the Writer's Strike, which once again cut the season shorter than it was supposed to be. We end up being left with a season that feels a bit unfocused, with a finale that is climactic but doesn't really resolve anything in the grand scheme of things.

Thankfully, while the plot is a bit weak, everything else about Chuck is pretty fantastic. The acting is fantastic, especially Zachary Levi as Chuck. I'm glad he found even more success as Shazam lately because he really is great at playing charmingly goofy and lovable characters. Yvonne Strahovski is also great as Sarah, and she's been in a whole bunch of other stuff like Dexter and 24. Beyond the actors, though, I really love the cast of Chuck. Obviously the central trio of Chuck, Sarah, and Casey is the heart of the show, and they have great chemistry, but even the side characters have their great elements. Chuck's sister Ellie is a nice grounding force for the character, and her boyfriend Devon (also known as "Captain Awesome") is probably the textbook definition of the word 'himbo'. A lot of this series takes place in Chuck's workplace, essentially a Walmart clone called the Buy More, but all of his coworkers are so fun to watch that I love these scenes just as much as the crazy spy action. Speaking of which, the action in Chuck is pretty great too! Especially in the first episode, they got McG of all people to direct the show's pilot and, while I normally find his style trashy, he did a really good job with the action here. Believe it or not, I would've loved to see McG do some more episodes, though even without him, the action is impressively well-done and cinematic for a TV show, especially in Seasons 1-3.

Highlights: 

Chuck Vs The Alma Mater: As mentioned above, the best parts of Season 1 are the ones that focused around Bryce Larkin, so Chuck having to return to Stanford (where Bryce had him expelled) felt super climactic and impactful. We end up learning that Bryce had Chuck expelled to protect him, a great reveal that sets the stage for their reunion in a few episodes.

Chuck Vs The Nemesis: Speaking of which, Chuck Vs The Nemesis is essentially the climax of the season in a lot of ways. Chuck reunites with Bryce and gets to confront him on why he sent over the Intersect, we get a bunch of lore including the introduction of major antagonist FULCRUM, there's a fun Black Friday subplot that leads to a crazy shootout inside the Buy More, and the episode even ends on a cliffhanger where Sarah has to choose between Chuck and Bryce. 

Chuck Vs The Marlin: While this wasn't a very satisfying finale, I did still think it was a pretty solid and tense episode. There's this sense of dread throughout the season that Chuck is expendable, and eventually he'll have to be separated from his handlers and everyone he cares about. In Chuck Vs The Marlin, this becomes very close to happening, to the point where I almost thought Chuck was going to be transferred and that would the season's cliffhanger. Instead, we get Ellie and Captain Awesome getting engaged, which is nice too.

Overall, Season 1 of Chuck is a pretty good start to the series. It effectively establishes its premise, introduces a likable cast of characters, and boasts some pretty great action. However, most likely due to the writer's strike, this season is also lacking in a cohesive storyline or villain, making it feel more like a prologue to the series and not much more.

3/5 Stars