Two Moments of Goodness from Chuck, “Chuck Versus the Business Trip” 

“Chuck Versus the Business Trip” is my favorite Chuck of the final season so far because: 1) It showcased everyone in the cast; and 2) The intersect was removed from Morgan. I love the goofy guy but I must confess I didn’t love the storyline of him having ownership of the intersect. I was happy he could do things he’d never been able to do before but I didn’t like how it affected him. I know that ultimately, it was a trojan virus that caused Morgan to act like a pompous jerk, but it was still way too much in-your-face Morgan for me. So, yes, I’m ecstatic he’s no longer keeper of the intersect. My two Moments of Goodness, however, come from the end of the episode.

This is as Normal as it Gets

Early in “Chuck Versus the Business Trip,” Chuck and Sarah talked about wanting to be a normal couple. They went undercover at a Buy More convention to try to lure an assassin hired to kill Morgan out of hiding and they got a taste of what it’s like to be normal. Sarah even made a friend or so she thought. Of course, it turned out to be The Viper, the assassin they were hoping to catch. Later, at Chuck and Sarah’s party, things were nice. The whole spy thing was out in the open. Chuck and Sarah could talk about their spy stuff and no one freaked out. It was so refreshing, it had to be a Moment of Goodness. And that’s what it was. Everyone was smiling and laughing and talking about their day, regardless of whether it was parenting issues or spy issues or romantic issues. It was normal. As normal as this group is going to get.

We also found out (again) just how awesome Captain Awesome is. He made a sacrifice for his wife. Ellie had regrets about going back to work. She wanted to stay home and spend time with her child. And even though Awesome was well…awesome at being a stay-at-home dad, when a lucid and suddenly intuitive Jeff sussed out Ellie’s problem, Devon knew what he had to do. Now he’s the one going back to work. The guy’s amazing in every way. Well, every way except lying, of course. No wonder he was the perfect spokesperson for Buy More (I still can’t get over that slow-mo shot from “Chuck Versus the Bearded Bandit” when he walked into the Buy More and Big Mike knew he had the perfect guy to help bring in more customers to the store).

Casey: Badass and in Trouble

This season I have been happy with Casey’s story. I really enjoyed his spy rivalry/romance with Gertrude Verbanski (played by Carrie Anne-Moss). Their twisted flirtation and Casey’s nervousness over turning it into more was highly entertaining. But in “Chuck Versus the Business Trip,” he showed us just how badass he can be. It was never in doubt but it’s always nice to get a reminder. Casey overheard The Viper’s conversation with Decker saying she was going to kill everyone who knew her true identity. This meant Chuck, Sarah, Morgan, Casey and Casey’s daughter, Alex. Big mistake. When one of The Viper’s henchman got the drop on Casey he took care of it immediately and permanently.

When the super secret assassin lady and the rest of her gang threatened Casey with their guns, he offed every single one of them. In one fell swoop. I bow down to the man for his amazing skills even though he’s in a world of trouble now. At the end of the episode, Decker showed up during Chuck and Sarah’s nice little get together and said Casey was wanted for murder. To me it was self-defense but we’ll see how everything plays out. I thought it was interesting how Casey went from killing several people in such a badass way to showing up at Chuck and Sarah’s with a bottle of wine almost as if nothing had happened. You could tell it was weighing on him, don’t you think? Poor Casey.

All in all, the last five minutes of Chuck were especially good and I’m interested to see where things go next. One question: When is the intersect going to come back into play? Inquiring minds want to know.

Chuck is in its final season and airs Fridays on NBC at 8/7c.