Chuck- Filling Out a Pair of Slacks

John Casey- "Shaw's not some geek who likes to talk about his feelings all day long. He's a real spy."

Now I'm not going to go as far as Larry, who said that "Last night's Chuck was better than any episode of LOST this season," because I have the ability to enjoy its nuance, but this week's Chuck vs. the American Hero was a fantastic hour of television that gave us the Chuck Triple Threat at its best.

At the heart of what was supposed to be the penultimate episode of the season, was Chuck's final plea to get Sarah to go away with him for good. And all of that, combined with the action, was great, but the highlight last night was the ensemble effort by Casey, Morgan and Awesome to attempt to help Chuck pull this achievement off.

Why would getting Sarah to fall for Chuck again be so hard? Because she saw him kill somebody and thought that he wasn't the same person she used to have feelings for? Well yeah that's one part of it, but also because she was currently involved with the stallion of a real spy that is Daniel Shaw.

The chemistry between Casey, Morgan and Awesome while staking out Shaw and Sarah's date was unbelievable. Every time one of them added a comment about how great or good looking Shaw was, I lost it. The best was when Morgan called up Shaw and used the voice alterer and goes, "We know what you look like. Six foot two. 220 pounds. Raven Black hair. Extremely good looking." Well either that or Morgan reiterating Jeff's comment about how Shaw really can fill out a pair of slacks.

Now don't get me wrong, of course all of the Sarah/Chuck stuff got me going because I'm a complete sap. He spills his heart to her for the final time hoping that she'll go away with him, but she is still hesitant because she saw him kill that dude last week. Who has to come in and save the day again? Colonel John Casey. He does it with his gun and he does it with his words. The Colonel sacrifices his freedom to help these two crazy kids make things work. After Casey admits that he was the one that killed the dude, Sarah is all smiles. She looked like CJ after a trip to the Cramptons.

Oh what's this? Another pit stop on the way to happy town? Yes of course there is another ridiculous obstacle. Shaw's suicide mission fell apart because Chuck saved him from The Ring, but it wasn't before the Real Spy was shown footage of his wife's murder...by Sarah...Dun, Dun, Dun. Shaw steals Sarah away and for all we know is ready to throw her off a cliff. This ep is setting up what would've been an awesome season finale, but instead we'll get six more episodes this spring.

Chuck- Casey Wants to Chat

Morgan- "You went on missions?"
Awesome- "You haven't?"
Morgan- "What? Of course...dude...I...never saw you out there."

Since the Olympics ended, Chuck has had a few landmark events occur in a row. First it was the whole Chuck/Hanna and Sara/Shaw, then it was Morgan finding out about Chucky's spy life and this week we got what may be a short-lived firing of John Casey.

Before tonight we didn't know much about the growling one's background. Tonight we found out that he had a fiancé and child before being turned into one the best black operatives this country has ever seen. Although Casey has been as hard as they come over the three seasons we've been watching him, you could always tell there was a softer side to the Colonel. In this week's ep he proved it with his explanation to Chuckles near the end of the ep.

After the crew defeats Casey's old boss and saves his ex-fiancé, Miss McCue simply asks the man formerly known as Alex Coburn, "Do I know you?" Casey walks away from the love of his life and what seems to be his daughter. Once Casey is relieved of his duty and suffering through civilian life on his first night out, Chuck pleads with him to give his fiancé another try. The Colonel tells the Intersect boy that he made his decision for love of country over love a long time ago and it is too late to go back now. We can all see how much this saddens him, but his advice to Chucky is that Walker is a great girl and it is not too late for him yet. Great stuff John!

Cut to Sarah in D.C. saying she wants to move there. Ouchtown, population Chuck!

Other Points

- Another Morgan quote of the night, "I thought you were KGB...or maybe a ninja."

- How would doing back flips down that corridor help at all?

- Somebody explain to me how Chuck would actually believe John Casey was an actual member of The Ring?

- I don't like the Chuck that comes out when he takes this pill. I don't want two stone cold killers. We already have Casey for that.

- I actually thought we might be losing Ellie and Awesome to Doctors Without Borders for the rest of the season. Thank God!

Poolies Watch- Frank Pembleton Award

This is a tough category to judge at this point...best lead character in an action series. The big guns, Lost, Chuck and 24, won't start until mid-season. My vote is always gonna be for Sawyer in this category, but with the transfer of House to action, there is a solid Big Four of characters behind him that are the focal point of their respective shows.

Main Men
Chuck Bartowski- Chuck
Greg House- House
Jack Bauer- 24
James 'Sawyer' Ford- Lost
Patrick Jane- The Mentalist

So far in this season of Heroes, Sylar has taken a bit of a back seat, so I moved him to the supporting category for now. The next five spots are really open for the taking. I see both of the Chuck characters, Casey and Morgan, holding spots. Also whoever takes a main role in Lost's final season will probably get a nod (Hurley, Linus, Locke, etc.)

In for Now
Hugo Reyes- Lost
John Casey- Chuck
John Locke- Lost
Morgan Grimes- Chuck
Noah Bennett- Heroes

Who will challenge for the final spots? Which characters from Flash Forward have been good so far? Who do the Fringe Boys like these days? Peter? That bald headed dude? Any other Losties gonna make a run? We shall see...

Outside Looking In
Demetri Noh- Flash Forward
Hiro Nakamura- Heroes
Jason Stackhouse- True Blood
Mark Benford- Flash Forward
Sayid Jarrah- Lost

Who else is out there?

Caseys

As much as I wish this post was mainly to showcase Connor Casey, I sadly admit that it is not. Connor is absolutely one of the best of all time and his 18 points in eighth grade to beat Lake Region will never be forgotten. Another interesting tidbit that this photo brings up is how Connor used to be extremely jealous of the beard I could grow when we were sophomores in high school...look at his glorious beard now.

The reason I wanted to post this picture is...get a load of the man, the myth, the legend....classic John Casey in the background with the pink shirt. I only wish he had one foot up on a bench and had his hand up in the air to say "hey danny" while turning his head the other way. Anyway, all of those who know the Caseys, enjoy.