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- TV Series: Chuck
- Episode: Chuck Vs. the Tic Tac
- Starring: Zachary Levi, Sarah Lancaster, Adam Baldwin, Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua Gomez
- Written By: Scott Roseenbaum
- Directed By: Zachary Levi
- Network: NBC
- Series:
Chuck: Chuck Vs the Tic Tac Review
The General Has Legs! By
Stephen Lackey
March 16, 2010
Zachary Levi as Chuck in NBC's hit show
© NBC/Bob Trate
It’s about time we get some background on Casey outside of the fact that he has an alias. Having an alias is no big deal considering his line of work. He’s been a mysterious sort of figure that is often so stereotypical that much of his past can be assumed. What got revealed in this week’s episode doesn’t necessarily stray from what seemed to be obvious about Casey, but it was cool to see it played out. There are more dimensions to Casey than he lets anyone see. Learning who Casey is just makes Chuck’s evolution into full spy scarier. Casey and Chuck couldn’t seem more opposite but the truth is that Casey’s job may be more responsible for who he currently is than simply his personality.
The episode begins with Chuck, Sarah, and Casey being given the mission of infiltrating a government facility in order to give the security system an evaluation. Sarah and Chuck didn’t know that Casey was visited by a onetime commander and mentor and asked to do an additional job while in the facility. He was tasked to steal a sample of a drug that makes soldiers emotionless, including fear. Casey’s level of determination to complete this task was really surprising. He’s willing to shove a gun in Chuck and Sarah’s faces in order to succeed. The real shocker in the episode came when Chuck revealed to Casey that his old boss is part of the Ring and Casey responds with “I know.” The assumption was that Casey had decided to go rogue and destroy the Ring from the inside on his own. The truth was something much deeper and more fascinating, and something that will cause ripples in Casey’s character for the rest of the series.
This week’s episode was all about decisions. Casey finally realizes that he made a wrong decision all those years ago and he advises Chuck not to make the same decision, a rare moment of humanity for the character. Of course, Sarah appeared to be making a decision that would be counterintuitive to the one that Chuck was advised to make. This whole debate between Awesome and Ellie about the doctors without borders opportunity came to an end with their final decision just as it was starting to get annoying. Casey’s decision, forced or otherwise, to work with his old commander cost him everything, from his past and now from his future too.
Robert Patrick was good in his role as Casey’s ex-leader and now villain. Playing a soldier, good or bad, has become a mainstay of Patrick’s career lately. He was most recently a decorated soldier with questionable moral values in The Unit during that show’s short run. While the Buy More got almost no screen time this week, there were still some humorous moments including one involving Planet of the Apes and another referencing Mork & Mindy. Normally, the show seems like a puzzle with a piece missing when there’s absolutely no Lester and Jeff but this week, Casey’s story was so interesting that they just didn’t seem necessary. The new Casey should make for fairly humorous stuff over the next few episodes. Oh, the general made an appearance in person this week so yes: she does actually have legs. Hopefully, Morgan doesn’t get involved in too many missions, either on purpose or accidentally. He’s much more fun making mischief in the Buy More. He’s a perfect bridge between Chuck’s two lives and he should help Chuck by covering for him at the day job.
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Good episode. I'm really curious as to what they are going to do with Casey's character. I mean if he's not a spy, what the hell is he going to do with himself. Is he still going to work at the Buy More?