'Chuck' Breaks Hearts

Photo: NBC

Sometimes, bad things happen to good shows (and conversely, good things happen to bad shows). This week's heavy-handed "48B" was a bad case of the former. We all knew that Sarah wasn't going to be replaced by the chick from Battlestar Galactica, so pretending like she was served as a minor distraction and a major annoyance. And why would a general at the NSA who was dead-set on separating Sarah and Chuck (even though just last week, everything seemed fine and dandy) change her mind with little more than a shoulder shrug and a simple "OK, you're right" after Chuck pointed out the relationship he has with Sarah made her better suited for her role as his protector? It just seemed way too simple even for this show. I can't say I'm complaining about the outcome, though; just the method in which we got there this week.

One thing is certain -- someone at Team Chuck better make things right between Devon and Ellie, STAT! He did nothing wrong at that bachelor party (in fact, he did everything right), but thanks to a bad run-in with a tranq gun and Lester's bachelor party virgin mishap with the camera, Ellie thinks differently. I haven't quite decided how they can fix this one, but that's why I don't get paid the big bucks. I just hope they write themselves out of this one ASAP and this doesn't turn into some sort of long, drawn-out Ellie/Awesome drama. Not cool.

And then there's the little matter of Chuck's dad. Obviously, something is about to go down there (and you didn't need the ohso revealing preview to tell you that). Poor Chuck -- he can't catch a break!

If you missed this week's episode ("Chuck Versus the Broken Heart"), you can watch it for free at Hulu.com.