Chuck Versus The Beard: The Sound of Liberty

So much goodness, and yet there was an oddness to this episode of Chuck.

It's surprising that Schwartz and Fedak would choose to let star Zach Levi have an important episode as this as his directoral debut, but that's what they did. That messed up the tone a bit, and also made for a few too many unnatural feeling scenes. But aside from that, well worth the hype as far as being one of the two yearly game-changing episodes.

The inevitable is finally upon us. Morgan is now into the fold, and the way they handled his entry into the circle of truth was perfect. While facing certain death, he was nonetheless enthusiastic about the reveal: "My best friend is a spy? This is unbelievable. This is the best news I've ever heard!" Between that, and the return of Jeffster, it was a hard episode to screw up too badly (maybe that's why they gave Levi the reins?).

There were so many cultural references, including the obvious Iwo Jima flag raising (Buy Moreia) and the end of WWII kiss from Times Square. My favorite was the more subtle Office Space reference, with efficiency experts (ala the two Bobs) interviewing Chuck, espcially considering it featured Diedrich Bader (who played neighbor Lawrence in OS,) and the repeated line "good egg" post-interview.

Other favorite lines:
"I'd just got my awesome back." - Devin
"So that's the sound of liberty." - Ring leader (Diedrich Bader) listening to Jeffster's rendition of "Fortunate Son."

Playlist: Chuck - Episode 3.09
1. "Bululu" - Jesus Alejandro "El Nino"
2. "Dancing with Myself" - Generation X
3. "Bedside Manner" - Dawes
4. "Arroz Con Pollo" - Martin Padilla
5. "Fortunate Son" (CCR) - Jeffster"

Previously: Chuck, Lost, Obama and the Culture of 'Now'