'Chuck' Will Never Forget Paris

Forget everything I've said about Chuck this season.  This show freakin' rocks!!!!  Seriously, did someone slip something into the water in Hollywood recently because it seems like every single show is experiencing a creative rebirth of awesomeness.  First Lost, then Cold Case, then Parenthood came out of the gate already awesome and now Chuck.  It's allowing me to forget that the fall part of this TV season ever happened (which, trust me, is a very good thing).  There was so much goodness in this week's episode of Chuck that I once again find myself in that paralyzing position where I'm afraid to do a write-up because anything I write will not do it justice (as was the case with the recent Cold Case two-parter).  This one was solid from the start, so I guess it's only fitting to start there.  And then we can progress to the rest that included so many "pinch me, I must be dreaming" moments that it's going to be a struggle just to try to remember them all.


Chuck thought Sarah was in trouble.  He thought Shaw was working with the Ring and that he had kidnapped Sarah because he learned that she was the agent who killed his wife.  He thought Shaw was going to kill Sarah to avenge his wife's death.  He was wrong.  Or rather, he was right before he was wrong which was before he was right again.  After an embarrassing rescue attempt in which he called in the calvary (and the stealth bombers and the tanks) to save Sarah only to find that she and Shaw were sharing a tender moment in which Shaw explained that it wasn't her fault that she killed his wife, Chuck seemed to be going down the very wrong path.  Then, the threesome went on a mission to capture the director of the Ring.  There were so many red herrings about Shaw that I started to believe that I was wrong about him.  Maybe he really was a good spy.  It certainly seemed that way until he "shot" the director (and a few other Ring members).  I knew it!  I knew it!  Shaw is playing for the wrong team!  It felt good to be vindicated, but the happiness was short-lived because Sarah was suddenly on her way to Paris with Shaw and everyone thought that Chuck was wrong.

Before they got to the kidnapping in the elevator, something happened between Chuck and Sarah back at the house.  Something big.  Very BIG!  Just when I thought things were never going to work out for these crazy kids, everything changed.  Chuck was busy wallowing with a bottle of whiskey and a fake Guitar Hero guitar.  As he lay there in his underwear with Morgan tied up on the floor, Sarah entered.  He wasn't exactly in tip-top shape, but he decided to ask a question anyway.  A BIG question.  He wanted, nay, needed to know if Sarah loved him.  She hesitated -- that's not good.  Then suddenly, she told him yes.  And then they finally kissed for real (as in, under no pretense of spyhood).  It was short-lived, though, because they had to meet Shaw for that kidnap-the-director plan.  Before everything went crazy in the elevator, there were two HILARIOUS scenes: 1) When Chuck thought Shaw was shooting at them because he knew about Chuck and Sarah and, 2) When Sarah and Chuck kept pulling more Ring members into the elevator with them and the director.  HI-LARIOUS!!

So, Sarah was in Paris with Shaw and Chuck was close behind (with Casey).  Shaw trapped Sarah and with the help from his new buddies in the Ring, he disabled her central nervous system with a toxin.  He explained that he joined the Ring because they promised to show him who had killed his wife and now he had to kill her.  He was going to take her to the river and end her life while she stood by defenselessly.  And then it happened... a waiter entered behind Shaw.  But it wasn't a waiter -- it was Chuck!!  Chuck made it!  He and Shaw fought, but Shaw got away with Sarah.  Chuck followed and he gave Shaw every chance he could to surrender.  He didn't want to kill Shaw, but it was either that or let Shaw kill Sarah.  He chose the former and as Shaw's body fell over the wall of the bridge, his hand grabbed Sarah's and began to pull her in with him.  Chuck raced to the wall and grabbed Sarah right before Shaw pulled her paralyzed body into the river with him.

It was such an amazing tribute to how much Chuck loves Sarah and what lengths he'll go to in order to save her life.  I know she didn't want him to change, but I knew she'd forgive this shooting because Chuck had no other choice: he was defending the most important person in his life.  In the end, Sarah was fine with Chuck's decision and the two decided to spend a little extra time in Paris together.  Looks like Chuck finally got to see that Eiffel Tower in person.  Oh yeah, and he also got to be with Sarah -- for real this time.

Could there be a more perfect episode of Chuck?  I think not, but we'll find out when the show returns in 3 weeks (3 way too long weeks).  Chuck airs Monday nights on NBC.  If you missed this week's episode, you can MUST watch it for free at Hulu.com.