CHUCK 3.5 - "Chuck Versus First Class"

WRITER: Chris Fedak
DIRECTOR: Fred Toye
GUEST CAST: Brandon Routh, Kristin Kreuk, Steve Austin & Josie Davi

[SPOILERS] The storyline may have been coincidentally similar to Human Target's "Rewind" (both involved espionage aboard a commercial passenger jet, with a data-stick MacGuffin), but "Chuck Versus First Class" didn't suffer too badly in comparison. Human Target's episode was definitely more inventive with its action, but it doesn't yet have the emotional depth to its characters that Chuck has. This fifth episode of the third season felt like a notable turning point for the series, too...

Chuck (Zachary Levi) finally got to go on a solo mission, thanks to the trust placed in him by CIA Special Agent Shaw (Brandon Routh), who believes that Casey (Adam Baldwin) and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) have mollycoddled Chuck these past few years and haven't allowed him to reach his full potential as a prospective spy. So, Chuck's booked on a First Class flight from L.A to Paris as part of a special mission, unaware that his assignment is actually aboard the plane itself once airborne, where he must steal an encryption data-stick from a burly Ring operative called Hugo Panzer (WWE wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin) who's delivering the gizmo to colleagues in France. While up in the air at 35,000 feet, Chuck meets a beautiful passenger called Hannah (Kristin Kreuk), who appears to take a shine to Chuck's wide-eyed wonder of his environment, seeing straight through his "cover" as a globe-trotting businessman.

Elsewhere, I was glad this week's Buy More subplot wasn't a total dud, even if it reprised the overused idea of the Buy More staff acting like imbeciles and striving to find ways to humiliate their immediate superior. We've had this storyline fed to at least six times already, so it's outstayed its welcome on many levels, but Chris Fedak's script just about made it tolerable because the target of abuse was Morgan (Joshua Gomez) -- who knows most of their tricks.

And, while Morgan can thus avoid a few "old favourites" (including an electrified door handle!) he's eventually forced to seek help from Casey to defeat chief "insurgent" Lester (Vik Sahay). And yes, it was admittedly rather fun to see Casey become the willing Darth Vader to Morgan's Emperor (in one scene they even echoed that Star Wars relationship with Casey standing to Morgan's side, arms folded, and briefly impersonating Vader's iconic breathing while he sucked on a cigar.) The story even threw in a rather bizarre moment when Casey resorted to abducting Lester from his bed and brainwashing him late at night in front of the TV, Mancunian Candidate-style, to ensure total compliance with Morgan the next morning.

Second of Strahotness: I won't make the obvious "joystick" gag

But the real delights of the admittedly slim story was to be found in Chuck's aerial mission, where he got to play James Bond all by himself (well, for the most part); squirting tranquilizer fluid into Hugo's mouth, hiding in a casket with a corpse to avoid detection, and managing to "flash" in order to download some fencing skills and win a swordfight in the cargo hold. All very entertaining moments, played with the usual assured charm by Levi. I could even swallow the later silliness that took hold of the episode, as Shaw's team had a fortuitous high-tech satellite that allowed them to take control of Chuck's plane, meaning Sarah could help from afar by forcing the Boeing into a sudden dive. You don't really expect realism from Chuck, I guess – with most of the passengers melting into the background throughout this episode, and the reaction of the pilots when their plane stopped responded never made known to us.

If there was one disappointment it's that Hannah's character didn't get much to do beyond look adorable, although Kreuk (best known as Lana Lang on Smallville) acquitted herself nicely. I haven't seen enough of Smallville to assess her fully as an actress (although I hear she was often rather underwhelming on that show compared to the likes of Alison Mack), but I thought she felt relaxed and charming on-screen.

Anyway, I'd be more upset about the story wasting Hannah if I didn't know she's actually going to stay around for a major plot arc this season, making her this year's sexy brunette for Chuck to chase and make Sarah jealous. Yes, again. But I'm hoping there'll be more to her than that, without resorting to making her too similar to last year's Jordan Brewster character than she already feels. But I'm certain the writers wouldn't be that predictable or stupid to pull the same trick twice, so I look forward to seeing what Hannah's role will actually be, as this episode ended with her taking up Chuck's offer to return to California and get a job at his Buy More. I assume a position will be granted by Morgan as a favour to Chuck, so maybe her presence will help make the Buy More storylines more interesting? Lord knows they need to do something about that facet of the show.

Overall, "Chuck Versus First Class" was, well, first class, only let down by some storytelling weakness and repetitiveness at the Buy More. It was especially good to see Shaw get some development (we learn his wife Evelyn was killed by Ring agents while retrieving intelligence that the data-stick can access), and while Brandon Routh's delivery sometimes feels rather flat, there's also an indefinable streak of intrigue and decency to his performance. Right now, I'm not sure if that's partly down to the fact I associate him with Superman -– but perhaps that's why the producers cast him, to make us like Shaw all the quicker. Or maybe they're planning a twist and will reveal Shaw to be a double-agent who killed his wife, tricking everyone who bought into his Man Of Steel association? We'll have to see. But so far, Shaw seems on the level, and his character feels like an amalgamation of Chuck and Sarah's personalities in many ways, which is fun to see.

25 JANUARY 2010: NBC, 8/7c