Yea, youre right, Sarah has to do the chasing, or else theyre stuck in a stalemate. But how are people so confident that she will do the chasing. I hope Im wrong, but I just dont see that happening.

We've seen chuck do all of the chasing up to this point,he's been shut down with Sarah's inability to deal with relationships her inability to cope with the kiss and of course inability to cope being around chuck, its only fair and logical to say that things between them will be ok as long as they stay friends, but due to the nature of their "cover" that's just impossible. It would be a HUGE step backwards in the progression of the show and invalidate all of Sarah's speech to Casey about having a normal life. If she were to chase chuck it would have to be MORE subtle than what we've seen (outside the club after Lou leaves chuck, her staring at him when he pleads with her to give up something real, the look of annoyance on her face when chuck can't admit to Lou that Sarah is is girlfriend), to add to the subtlety she would have to be a lot more vulnerable around chuck, which thankfully we are starting to see.

Since her feelings of a normal life are tired to chuck, it would be quite a shocker if she didn't chase, and the show would lose some of it's luster. Having them do missions together is great and all, but 1/2 the fun of watching the missions is watching chuck get all bent out of shape when she does something a "girlfriend" wouldn't do. they could spin it around this time and have Sarah watch missions where chuck goes to do recon on a really seductive and sexy drug smuggler, only to have her express concern about him over his approach ala:

Sarah : "chuck, I want to talk about your reconn mission. I hope you know that was just reconn, you are to do what is necessary to secure intel, not what you'd think I'd do."

The way it stands there is a lot more story lines to follow, which allows for a greater tension than before, They both know they suck at relationships, and they both know they are friends, Chuck made the mistake of thinking their "cover" could be real. She made the mistake of kissing him when she thought they were going to die. The next mistake they make together, breaking their friendship to become a couple. That is going to take some time, to build the tension for that could take a while, but it will be SO worth it when it happens.

Does Sarah really have to be more subtle in her chasing of Chuck? From what we've seen, Chuck isn't that good at reading Sarah. Remember, Ellie had to tell him that Sarah likes him and then Karina told him the same thing. So if anything, Sarah has to do MORE in order to get Chuck's attention.

I like the idea of Chuck doing recon and pretending to be a ladies man with Sarah nearby steaming. Then Sarah would be passive aggressive towards him and Chuck clueless to why. Just add in a little bit of Casey sniping "I hate this mission" and viola.

yea i can see it now....

Casey: you ok walker?
Sarah: yea I'm fine. I just don't want chuck to blow his cover.
Casey: agent walker relax, we won't lose track of your boyfriend. Although the last time we sent him in you ruined any chance he had of gettin laid with the sandwich girl. care to try again?

Exactly, thats why I dont see it happening, because she has to go out of her way to express her feelings to Chuck. And if she has trouble expressing her feelings subtlely, then theres no way no way she can do it in a manner that Chuck can read.

I see what you mean, but I think Sarah (as well as Casey) have been affected by their time with Chuck. She did just have a breakthrough and openly told Chuck that she's really bad with relationships and actually named Bryce. I don't think I remember a time where Sarah said it out loud that she was in a relationship with Bryce. Just like how Chuck has to change in order to deal with his new life, so does Sarah and we'll see her be more honest with herself about her feelings.

I just don't think Sarah would have to 'chase' at all. For instance, I would love to see a scene where Chuck does reconn, and has to get close to a seductive woman, and then when Sarah bugs Chuck about it, he says, "It's my job." Now, I've explained before why I think 'friends' means diddly squat, but if Chuck starts to get the perception that Sarah is jealous; how would he react?

Personally, I don't see him doing anything to make Sarah jealous, especially if he's conscious of it. Chuck's not that type of person. He dated Lou for himself. Remember, the kiss is what told him Sarah had feelings for him, and as soon as that happened, bye bye Lou. If Chuck is trying to be friends to protect Sarah, and himself, I just don't see him intentionally making Sarah jealous. Heck, I don't even see him dating anyone. Chuck couldn't have forgotten about that kiss, and the feelings he read thru it. I mean, the last episode helped Chuck confirm that the kiss was from the heart; he asked Sarah if it happened because they were going to die and his lips were closest, or if it was because of him, and she couldn't answer; she stormed out. That had to be comfirmation of some sort for Chuck; and because of that, I think he was able to offer to be friends with her, because he knows that she feels for him, but right now, she couldn't be with him. He has to wait for her, and I don't think it will take long at all.

Excellent point, but a slight wrinkle:

Sarah killing the clock in the first place is her trying to stop time, because she cannot allow herself to move forward. Chuck giving her a clock symbolizes the two of them able to move forward again.

Honestly I don't see how things could work out if Sarah does the chasing, though of course the writers are very creative and can make all sorts of things happen. If she is direct and takes initiative she risks "compromising the intersect" and being removed from the mission. What I do think will happen is she will be more open and warm towards Chuck, especially when they are alone, and leave more openings for him to inch closer towards a romantic relationship. I also think we will see her start to reveal more of who she really is to Chuck, both factwise and feelings. Don't be surprised if at some point in the next few episodes she comes up to him out of the blue at some point and says something like her hometown, or the like, and when he looks confused, tells him now he knows one real thing about her. Dont expect wild passion and long embraces for a while, probably more like lots of standing a little too close to each other and long looks that say volumes to each other.

Of course, Chuck and Sarah could end up hunted and on the run from the NSA in a few episodes in which case almost anything could happen.

Exactly. That would totally change everything, so it's hard to predict what will happen now.

I don't think the question is whether Sarah needs to be more subtle. At this point, she just needs to do SOMETHING. Chuck's carried the load for a while and Sarah kept rebuffing him (with the exception of the one kiss, and she spent the last two episodes pretending never happened). She needs to reciprocate in some form.

Things were moving along fairly nicely until she started denying her feelings and putting her job first. Remove that (which Sarah did at the end of the last episode), and things will start moving along nicely again. Until the next hurdle the writers throw at them.



I'm not sure I agree with that.

Sarah has been keeping her shield intact. It has been her default mode, but only lately.

We've seen her express emotions that Chuck can easily read. Think of the date in the pilot episode, and some of the conversations in the courtyard. The problem isn't that Sarah cannot express emotions in a form Chuck can recognize: it's that she hasn't allowed herself to.

I don't understand why Sarah can't chase Chuck. Mind you, theres a difference in a Chuck chase and in a Sarah chase. Sarah, like you said, would probably be more open and warm to him. We'll probably see more of Sarah fixing his clothes, combing his hair, and holding his hand. And we'll see her actually tell him some real stuff about her nonchalantly since she'll be more comfortable around him.

I also thought it was noteworthy that for the first time, Casey went against his "orders" and joined Sarah and Chuck at the boat when Morgan and Anna were on it. He was "benched" and normally would follow orders but must have felt that this was the better course to follow. Maybe signs of more deviation from the "orders" by Casey to come......even possibly not "taking care of Bartowski".

Anyone else find Sarah's reaction odd when Chuck pushed her hands away when she was going to adjust his tie? She really didn't seem to care. This simple moment I think spurred a lot of opinions that Bryce was on her mind and she was giving our hero the cold shoulder. There has been much debate as to reason for her personality in the first half of the episode. I kind of expected a little surprise on her part when Chuck pushed her hands away, but she really didn't seem to care.

Really? I thought she acted a bit shocked when he did that and she did stutter a bit afterwards.

I too think that Sarah acted a little shocked when Chuck pushed her hand away. What I found real interesting was the way she was acting around Chuck at the party. This was the 1st time that they were alone together after she told Casey that she was going to talk to Chuck and if they couldn't she would ask to be re-asigned. To me the only way that she could make it plainer to Chuck that she would like to get together with him would be to wear a sign around her neck that said "kiss me"!

I agree. I thought she was trying to make amends for the icy comment, and was a bit hurt / angry with herself when Chuck pushed her hands away.

As I've posted elsewhere:

Technically, nobody violated orders. Their orders were to stay away from Kirk, not Roshon. They only went after Kirk when they saw the GPS device on the boat and the corresponding rocket launcher on Kirk's boat. (Good thing they were loading the launcher in plain sight of the three people huddling in conversation 50 feet away after putting the GPS device on Roshon's boat. Lucky break.)

Casey had an even easier out: his first priority is to protect the Intersect, so he is following orders by being there once Chuck is there.

Now, would their bosses see it that way? That's a fair question. But they at least have an argument, especially if they capture the bad guys.

I still want to know what happened with Kirk, Roshon, the counterfeit plates, etc. How do you leave that part out?

I guess it's all open to interpretation. I actually prefer what you thought happened because it would show she has feelings for Chuck, but I just saw no reaction on her part (as opposed to when Casey asked her if she compromised herself. She looked like she was holding back tears!).

You really think she wanted Chuck to kiss her? I saw complete confusion on her part. She wants to be with Chuck but she doesn't want to compromise herself -- again (the kiss was a complete release and breakdown of her guard because they thought they were going to die). I saw her trying to say she is a screwup when it comes to romance -- her way of apologizing without apologizing.

Does anyone else think the general's call to Casey about the intersect computer being ready soon might've been in reaction to the "bad" flash Chuck was accused of having? The computer wasn't ready when she called so why did she call at that time? The bad raid on the yacht angered both superiors, and Chuck prompted the raid. Perhaps, I'm simply reading too much into this. Thoughts?

After Kirk fired the missile, they had a shot of the missile flying through the air, and then they cut back for a short time to the cabin Kirk was in. It showed the cabin was full of smoke and Kirk was laying on the deck. I think the "back blast" from the launcher killed him. You really shouldn't fire something like that from a closed room or if there is a wall right behind you.

its really just a technicality. They found a loophole in the orders and took advantage of it. i would assume that their bosses weren't happy with it, but we see sarah and casey at the end of the episode and they don't seem to have been reprimanded.

It kinda fits though if you think back to the scene where Chuck and Sarah were in the courtyard and he was telling her that he thought she would be with Bryce. She replied that she's on a mission. Chuck picked up on the fact that she was trying to cut him off and hide in her cover. She did that again in her place when he said that it should be fun, only for her to say back "its work." Chuck responded the right way and went into his persona as well, where he batted her hands away as if to tell her she can't have it both ways.

Great catch! That didn't occur to me but it makes sense that Chuck would be tell her she can't have it both ways.

How appropriate was the little speech Morgan gave comparing his vulnerability to a puppy. That speech was not by accident, nor about him alone.

Yeah the whole scene with Chuck and Morgan can also be viewed as a talk between Chuck and Sarah.

I agree. A quality Chuck is to be honest, if he tells friends, it's just friends or at least try. It will be interesting to see how it reacts Sarah against other players seduzcan to Chuck, it proved to be jealous and would see him more interesting in that it tries to hide it, that Chuck usually straightforward.

One thing I noticed on my third viewing:

When Chuck goes to Casey and tells him about the plates being on the other ship, Casey is unphased when Chuck mentions that Morgan and Anna are on the ship. Casey obeys orders, and isn't conflicted with emotions.

Chuck then goes to Sarah and says more or less the same thing. As soon as he mentions Morgan, Sarah jumps over the counter. Sarah is willing to give Chuck the benefit of the doubt, even though at this point she still is suspicious that he might have fake-flashed, because a friend is in trouble.

But that would be great to watch; Chuck just acting normal around women and Sarah getting jealous because (according to her) he's a reasonably charming guy.

The way I saw it, actually, was Morgan was sharing with Chuck, just as Sarah was sharing with Casey; and thematically, Sarah is that puppy, unable to be vulnerable to Chuck, who seems ready to be that very puppy with her.

I think the parallel of the Morgan speech to Chuck about being a helpless little puppy to Anna was Sarah's confession of wanting a normal life to Casey. That's something Sarah should say to Chuck, but if she does then it's over and there won't be any more hiding of her desire to be build a life with him. The chasing would be over at that point.

I would be so screwed if I wasn't able to play the shows over and over in order to catch some of the facial expressions, not only what was said but how it was said, and lots of other little things.

I'm pretty sure the parallel for Morgan not wanting to be a sick puppy told Chuck that he shouldn't be sick puppy for Sarah.

Interesting episode. Now that I've watched it a couple times and I'm not sleeping 18 hours a day (PROTIP: Don't get the flu.) I can actually post something...

I've read several people now who have referred to Chuck being the weakling in the relationship, always doing the chasing. I just don't see how he's been a pathetic weakling. Chuck to me has been strong in that he's known what he wants: Sarah. When he realized that she wasn't going to be able to be what he wanted, he "dumped" her.

When Sarah showed him that she did in fact love him via The Kiss, he had second thoughts. Sarah then goes cold on him, and then tries to go back to something similar to what they were before, symbolized by fiddling with his tie. Chuck stops her in her tracks. He's not letting her have it both ways. Either they're just professional, or it's something else, but Sarah has to make some kind of real commitment to him. Chuck's stood up for himself pretty well, I think.

I was suprised about Sarah's revelation to Casey. Certainly not the content of the revelation, because as I had posted before (and others have said something similar as well), the choice between Bryce and Chuck was a pretty fundamental one about what kind of life Sarah wanted to live. Either she was going to be a fulltime, no-going-back super spy, or she wanted to have some sort of normal life with real friends, family, and someone who genuinely loved and cared for her. I was suprised that she revealed that to Casey of all people.

Others have posted she had to tell someone, and Casey was the only one left. I think that's right. But still, she pretty much said to Casey, "I'm in love with Chuck." That's a heck of a revelation! Especially to Casey!

But even after all this and more during the episode, Sarah still walks in to the Buy More Christmas Holiday Party and says to Chuck, "I'm not good at relationships." That's a Texas-sized opening for Chuck to take it if he wants it. And what's Chuck do? He pulls a Casey Thanksgiving: he passes.

Chuck and Sarah being "friends" does give them some place to start from in building a relationship where they're on equal footing, at least. I don't buy for a second that either of them think they are "just friends" to each other. Not after that opening Sarah gave Chuck, not after he gave her the alarm clock, not after the way they looked at each other, not after the handshake that lingered too long to be just a peace-treaty, and not after how clearly happy they were to just be together at the end of the episode.

My prediction for the future: Sarah and Chuck to decide, albeit unintentionally at first, to in essence live their cover. They're supposed to be boyfriend/girlfriend, so they could be together just by doing what they're supposed to be doing as professionals. They can act as a couple in public, maintaining the illusion for those their supposed to fool, be "professional" for the CIA/NSA bosses and Casey that the bf/gf game is all just an act, and when they're alone actually be the real couple they want to be (provided they debug Chuck's room or hang out at Sarah's all the time).

How long will that last? Right up until Casey stops playing dumb, I bet...

Hi everyone! Long-time lurker, first-time poster.

I actually had a different take on Chuck giving Sarah a replacement alarm clock. Until now, Sarah has gotten up every morning to the sound of the alarm clock to be with Team Chuck (reporting to Wienerlicious or to make the meeting with General Beckman, et al., if they had a mission). In other words, the alarm clock was what got her up in the morning to be with Chuck. But in the emotional turmoil of having to choose between Bryce and Chuck, she skewers the alarm clock. It's as though she is saying she doesn't want to be with Chuck. By giving Sarah a replacement clock, I feel Chuck is welcoming her back to the Team. By receiving his gift, Sarah is saying, "I'm back with you, Chuck!"

I'm wondering why people can't see why Sarah told Casey that bombshell statement. If I'm remember correctly, Casey actually called her out and told her she fell for Chuck just like she did with Bryce. So if you keep that in mind, Sarah wasn't just blindly telling someone who didn't suspect in the first place, she told someone who already knew something was going on. Casey could have told their superiors anytime before then, but didn't. So telling him this new info didn't really place Sarah in any more danger.

I totally agree. Not only that, Sarah has come a long way in her estimation of Casey, from a "cold-school" (I love that comment!) burn-out NSA terminator to a partner who has not only been under fire together with her but actually saved her life. I think this newfound camaraderie goes a long way... in fact, I'm betting that this partnership will be what keeps Casey from killing Chuck if and when the order comes down.

But after going so much emotional turmoil, a persons ability to perceive is greatly reduced. Even if Sarah sends Chuck signals, he'll constantly second guess him self. Theres no bigger sign than the kiss she gave him, and yet she told him it was a mistake. So its going to be hard for Chuck to pick up on anything if she does start sending out signals.

I'd like that. I think Chuck may be a little reluctant to be a real couple by incident though; he will want Sarah to say to him that she chooses him, cause then he will know it's him over the mission.

Oh, and about this Chuck and Sarah back to square one thing, I don't think so. Their feelings are way to strong for each other to be at square one for more then the time it took them to shake each other's hands. It's impossible for them to be just friends.
[/quote]

Ya, they are not moving bacl, but taking a huge step forward. Like I said in a different forum, before Chuck and Sarah did not have a real relationship. They were just "professional partners". Now they have finally established a REAL relationship. They couldn't go right from now even being friends first to being lovers. I will use the same metaphor I used before too: you can't build a good house on dirt, you can only build a good house on a concrete foundation. Finally, they have that concrete foundation do develop their love relationship.

ha ha ha that's cute!

P.S. In the blerp above, the first paragraph is supposed to be a quote.



And, about Chuck having to "go out" with an evil, seductive, drugloard, I would find that hilarious! I can see Chuck's face when she rubbing herself all over him! He'll be so uncomfortable and nervous! His facial expressions alone may give away his cover!

Another one, right out of the park, and the set-up in the end tag just makes me want to see more right now to figure out what happens, and what Casey does. Kudos to the writers and producers. As always, good jorb.

but that's just the point. she told him she didn't have feelings for him then when she thought all was lost she shows her true feelings and had a major kiss with him.

if chuck was smart, he'd realize every negative thing she says to him is a lie. especially now that she admits to him she's bad at relationships, he should understand her by now. every lie she spits at him, he should see as denial.

I've said it a bunch, and I'll say it again: what Sarah says is never as important as what she does.

Perfect example: when she talks about relationships at the Xmas holiday party, the significance is not what she says about relationships: the real significance is that she brought up the subject to begin with.

Yea, but now that theyre "friends", Chuck is going to make an effort to believe everything she says and does.

Ya exactly!

This may have been brought up (regarding the quote "time to take care of Bartowski") but back in Chuck vs the alma mater during the video scene with the professor there was a mention of the CIA military project "Omaha" and how Chuck fit the profile as a candidate for the project. Could the CIA have been looking for candidates who would be able to store the intersect data and use it in the field and Chuck fit the profile...Another thought is that it was only General Beckman from the NSA who told Casey that the intersect was almost back up and running and the CIA head Graham wasn't there. Could the CIA have had plans "Omaha" for field operatives with the Intersect capabilities and they were being covert about it? Bryce even made reference to Omaha to Sarah at the end of Chuck vs the Nemesis. This would probably mean that we could see a rift between the NSA and the CIA in the coming episodes regarding the main "intersect" and the field operatives with "intersect" capabilities. Thoughts....?

Its a possiblity and it could make for a great story line as we could possibly see a series of later episode down the road where General Beckman and the other dude come to a point where they don't trust each other. Better yet, have an episode about those two characters themselves in which you find out more about them, what their true intentions are, and you also get to see the rift coming to fruition as Beckman wants Chuck taken care of while the other dude wants him kept safe. Essentially, it s a tug of war between Casey(NSA) getting his orders and Sarah(CIA) getting her orders with Chuck in the middle tring to figure out what to do and its all from the point of the view from the TPTB. Plus as much as I hate to say it, bring in Bryce to stir the pot by possibly kidnapping Chuck...endless possiblities.

Thats what Id like to see.

after watching the episode again i think it didn't do much to the big plot, but it added more depth to the characters
ex:
Chuck and Sarah are now friends
Lester is Jewish
Morgan really likes Anna (i can't say love cause its way too early for that)
Casey and Sarah talks about things other than the mission
Sarah feels alone (She has no one to trust but Chuck and sometimes Casey )
Casey is starting to like Chuck
Casey likes Crown Vic
Jeff loves his eggnog
Sarah opens up for the first time to Chuck
Chuck has feelings for Sarah
Anna is embarased on how she acts around her parents

in my opinion it adds this whole new look into them which really makes me anticipated for the next episode. It makes me feel and relay to them better cause these tiny details make them feel more human.