5.2 Chuck Versus the Bearded Bandit Before we got to that twist, this wasn’t a great episode, and was generally hard work to watch. That’s mostly because the writers seem to have hit some immovable objects with their characters, which they seem unable or unwilling to navigate. Where Jeff and Lester were once the highlight of this show, they’re now relegated to a somewhat obtuse gag that’s generally not that funny. Where are Alex and Ellie, and why do they often give such lame things to Big Mike? I’m bored of Chuck’s relentless self-doubt, and I really wanted this show to move to a higher gear, given that it’s already announced that it’s the final season, and it’s not trying to get renewed. Surely, if there is a time for the show runners to let loose it’s now, because they’ve effectively got half a season to go crazy, and the network backing to make it happen. As a keen viewer and reviewer, if they make season five the limpest Chuck yet, I will be merciless here, irrespective of how I’ve generally enjoyed it so far. If the intention is to make Chuck and Morgan a version of Austin Powers and Dr Evil, that could be very funny. The extra dimension is that it appears there isn’t room in Morgan’s head for the Intersect and all the other geek junk, so he’s starting to forget really important stuff, like Star Wars. Can this pull the show out of what appeared to be a creative power dive? I really hope so. I’ve reviewed this show from the outset, and it’s swung rather wildly from being pure comic genius to mildly amusing, and I’d rather it went out on the better side of that equation. The next story is entitled Chuck Versus The Frosted Tips which, on current form, sounds so much more interesting than we’re likely to experience, but we must remain optimistic. You can read our review of Chuck season five episode one here. Follow Den Of Geek on Twitter right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
