She Said: Episode 4.21 "Chuck vs the Wedding Planner"
It all started out with the first of many flashbacks to Idaho in 1988, where young Sarah is living with her grandmother (not sure which one) and spending time with her dad, giving Girl Scouts everywhere a bad name. As the episode progressed and we got more details about what young Sarah’s life was like, it’s no wonder that it took so much time (and Chuck) to bring her out of her shell. Unlike Chuck and Ellie who had each other and lost both parents but could move on to some extent, Sarah apparently had to face her dad walking into and out of her life without warning for years. These scenes foreshadowed the fact that Sarah was to fall for Daphne Peralta’s con and served to remind the audience how far she has come since Chuck entered her life.Well my friends,
A lot of fan wishes were fulfilled this week. We not only got another big chunk of Sarah back story and the return of Gary Cole, but as an added bonus, I thought it was one of the funniest episodes of the season. After last week’s tension and mythology-heavy episode, this week’s episode was a welcome return to the lighter side. I would also be remiss if I didn’t note for all the guys who love Sarah and all the gals that want to be her, that she looked really HOT this week. [Yep, I'll admit to being a wee bit envious...]
There’s no doubt that Sarah has become more trusting since meeting Chuck and it’s sad here to see the goodness in both of them get taken advantage of, especially since it’s related to the wedding, which had been a point of tension between them for quite a while. For the second time in just a few episodes, we get to see what happens when Sarah feels like she’s been wronged. While Chuck seems somewhat willing to just let it go, Sarah, as she showed in Chuck vs The A Team, is not going to back down. Also for the second time in so many episodes, we see Sarah and Chuck switch roles, with Chuck being the cool, logical one and Sarah taking on the Chuck role of accepting bad advice from friends/family and convincing Chuck to go along with the plan with disastrous results. Even though we saw a not dissimilar character reversal last week with the prenup, I still enjoyed the way it played out in this episode.
It wasn’t a surprise to anyone but maybe Sarah and Chuck when their [rather lame] attempt to convince Beckman that Daphne Peralta was a national security interest snowballed out of control. But that it did, leading to the one of the most hilarious scene of the show this season. Whichever writer came up with the whole idea of the Super Shuttle scene really has a twisted mind, and my heartfelt thanks. I loved watching poor Chuck get onto the shuttle, handcuff Daphne and think he’s got it all under control. But of course Daphne has no intention of giving up so easily. The next thing Chuck knows the whole shuttle thinks he’s a stalker pervert and his insistence that he actually works for the government convinces no one. To make matters worse (i.e. funnier) the shuttle driver won’t stop until Chuck really does pretend to be a crazy pervert and Sarah is listening to the whole thing via Chuck’s earpiece while Casey and the swat team close in. Yes, it was a bit ludicrous, but it was also hysterical, and knowing Chuck Bartowski, it was just about believable. Another great example of entertaining product placement, Chuck-style.
After the wedding con was a success (spy high five!), I was disappointed that Jack didn’t stay for dinner to say goodbye, especially after his speech to the father of the bride in the parking garage. (Maybe he got wind of the fact that Chuck was making chicken pepperoni ?) Some of my disappointment was allayed when Sarah found her piggy bank and the note from Jack on her bed. I had assumed that he’d spent the money, but it was great to see that not only had he not spent it, but he’d actually been saving more for her. Although I would have preferred that Chuck and Sarah would have gotten their own money back from Daphne, it did make for a sweet ending and showed us that Sarah’s dad really does love her, even if he shows it in strange ways. Nothing says “I love you and I’m sorry I’ve been a bad father” quite like a ceramic pig full of stolen money!
Meanwhile, in this week’s more sedate, but no less heartfelt B plot, we see Kathleen finally find out the truth about Casey. I was really worried when Kathleen first confronted Casey at the hotel that she was going to go on thinking that he is lying to her and Alex for a few more episodes, especially when Casey’s early concern that she would think that he left her for a dead end job at the Buy More proved true. I was pleasantly surprised when it was revealed that she’d watched the whole altercation in the parking garage and realized that Casey really is everything that Alex thinks he is. It will be interesting to see what happens with their relationship in the next few episodes.
I hope you all enjoyed this episode as much as I did! I’m going to go teach my stuffed animals how the shell game works while you guys leave your comments.
Quotes and other bits:
“…you went with Helvetica for the invitations and your wedding colors are red and black….together they scream socialism” – Morgan
“Sarah and I thought they were pretty nice.” – Chuck
“So did Chairman Mao” – Morgan
Sarah can decorate cakes?!
“I have a feeling that the less I know the better” – Beckman
“Con means confidence” – Sarah and her dad actually conned their way into living in the Georgia governor’s mansion for a month!
“Morgan the Magnet” strikes again
Sarah’s New Yawk accent
Morgan does Casey’s laundry