Chuck (Season 2)

While Season 1 of Chuck suffered a bit from being made during the writer's strike, Season 2 of Chuck not only generally improves the series' quality but also shows what its truly capable of, in particular a surprising willingness to completely destroy the status quo.

Season 2 of Chuck is about the main trio of Chuck, Sarah, and Casey facing off with Fulcrum, that villainous organization that was brought up a bunch of times in Season 1 but rarely getting much of a focus. Chuck finally having an antagonist he needs to fight really helps the series, especially since Season 2 doesn't bother dragging anything out. The show was always in danger of being cancelled so every season was written like it could be the last, but I think this structure benefitted Season 2 the most. Season 2 of Chuck is incredibly briskly-paced and never stops moving, Fulcrum becomes more and more of a threat throughout the course of the season, and by the time we get to the last few episodes, the show is willing to completely demolish the status quo. Since this was meant to be the final season, we also get a lot more lore about the Intersect and Chuck's family that ties into the Fulcrum storyline fairly neatly and adds a personal element to the overall conflict. There's also a decent number of subplots like an annoying new worker at the Buy More and Ellie and Captain Awesome preparing for their wedding, so it really feels like everyone is getting something to do.

In addition to the seasonal storyline, though, Season 2 of Chuck also does a great job at upping the ante in terms of creative premises for its episodes. There are homages to other films, episodes that pair up characters in strange ways, and then just flat-out weird episodes like the gimmicky 3D episode Chuck Vs The Third Dimension. As far as the standalone stuff goes, I still wouldn't call this the high point of the series. There are still a few episodes I found a bit generic, and several experimental stuff like Chuck Vs The Sensei and the aforementioned 3D episode that fell a bit flat for me. Chuck's episodic fare is at its best when it's focused around character development, so episodes like Chuck Vs Santa Claus, Chuck Vs The Cougars, and Chuck Vs The Best Friend really stuck out to me. Otherwise, though, this show's best episodes still tend to be the ones that focus on progressing the overall plot.

Highlights: 

Chuck Vs The Gravitron: Season 2 starts off with a pretty solid storyline about Chuck getting back together with his ex-girlfriend Jill, who ends up being revealed to be a FULCRUM agent. It's a cute and memorable little storyline, and Chuck Vs The Graviton is essentially the final battle between the two. But despite the episode being about Jill, the highlight here is actually Chuck fighting a mook in the titular gravitron, easily one of the most memorable fights in the series.

Chuck Vs Santa Claus: You've probably seen me rave about this on in the Christmas blog post, so I don't want to repeat myself too much. It's a fun riff on Die Hard that ends on one of the most crushing moments of the series as Chuck sees Sarah kill someone in cold blood. Easily one of the high points of Chuck.

Chuck Vs The Best Friend/Predator: It's always a fun time when the folks at the Buy More gets affected by one of Chuck's missions, and these two episodes are probably the best examples of that this season. The Best Friend explores Chuck's relationship with Morgan, as the latter comes the closest to discovering Chuck's true identity so far in a pretty tense and fun episode. The Predator starts off with a hilarious "Buy More war" subplot that eventually collides with Chuck being sent a Predator drone in similarly hilarious fashion.

Chuck Vs The Colonel: Season 2's last few episodes are so freaking good, and Chuck Vs The Colonel is the best of the bunch. It's a massive penultimate episode that covers a ridiculous amount of the ground, between Chuck and Sarah going AWOL, Devon learning that Chuck is a spy, Chuck getting the Intersect removed, FULCRUM gets a major base blown up, and Emmett taking over the Buy More as manager. This is one hell of an eventful episode that completely blows up the show's status quo and then some.

Chuck Vs The Ring: While not as much of a panic-inducing thrill ride as Vs The Colonel, this is a fantastic ending to the season with a stellar final act. There are really two amazing scenes in this one. There's the Mr Roboto sequence at Ellie and Captain Awesome's wedding, and there's the entire final few minutes, where The Ring reveals themselves, Bryce is killed, and Chuck downloads a new Intersect and learns to fight. That's right, Chuck can fight now, and it opens up the series immensely...

Overall, Season 2 of Chuck is really everything you'd want from a second season of a show. Not forcedly shortened, this season is able to have a great central plot with a strong antagonist, diversify the episodes a bit, and develop the cast a lot more. It could still be a bit more consistent, but that's what Season 3 is for.

4/5 Stars