Chuck versus the Colonel - Awesome and Awesomer

As we were warned, Chuck held nothing back for the penultimate episode of the season (and quite possibly the series). We keep saying "game changer" over and over, but it's true for the recent run of Chuck episodes, and especially this one. Not only is the Chuck/handler dynamic forever changed, but every Chuck universe changed in a big way. Besides Chuck getting the intersect out of his head, Morgan finally took hold of his dream and quit, and Awesome was pulled into the circle of trust. Of course, Chuck can always get the intersect back in his head and Morgan can always come back, but Captain Awesome has eaten from the apple and there's no turning back for him.

Plenty of fun cultural references throughout, including a continuation of the Godfather II, with Big Mike now 'Michael,' holding court in the A/V room like Michael Corleone's Las Vegas office. Later, Rorke (Chevy Chase) invokes Cyrus from The Warriors with his repeated question to the Fulcrum recruits, "Can You Dig It?" And finally, Morgan's exit from the Buy More was right out of An Officer and a Gentleman, complete with the requisite slow clap.

Music-wise, just how many goose bumps did we get from the use of Bon Iver's "Creature Fear" during both the Chuck/Sarah makeout session(!) and the reprise at the end? The other song that got lost in the shuffle was Malbeck's "The Answering Machine" that played for Morgan's triumphant exit, which also felt right. I'm so glad they resisted the urge to use "Up Where We Belong."

Before I pass out from exhaustion, here's some of the many lines that struck my fancy:
"Do all your friends give your mothers urinary tract infections?" - Emmett
"You can't kill me with that radiator. It is far too confined in this car for you to get the appropriate torque." - Chuck
"Ass man, we are under siege... shoot to kill!" - Emmett
"So sorry, Colonel. But congratulations on that chicken franchise you always wanted." - Chuck
I need you to be awesome. Can you... be awesome?" Chuck, then later Ellie, to Devon
"Mr. Bartowski, you are free to return to... whatever it is you do." - General Backman

Music: Chuck - Episode 2.21
1. "Creature Fear" - Bon Iver
2. "The Answering Machine" - Malbeck



Previously: Chuck versus the First Kill - Trust, Trust, Trust (Episode 2.20)