TV Review: CHUCK Season 5 “Vs. the Kept Man”

By ANNE LOUISE BANNON / Contributing Writer

Posted: January 7th, 2012 / 04:38 PM

Stars: Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua Gomez, Adam Baldwin, Vik Sahay, Scott Krinsky, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Ryan McPartlin
Network: NBC, Friday nights, 8 p.m.
Original Telecast: January 7, 2011

I have to say that in spite of a rocky start, this season of CHUCK is building up nicely to its finale in a few weeks. With Casey (Adam Baldwin) and Gertrude Verbanski (Carrie-Anne Moss) dancing around matters of the heart – well, we all know Casey has one even if he doesn’t – this episode, “Chuck vs. the Kept Man,” makes it seem like most of the main cast members are going to get matched up in one way or another.

The episode starts with Chuck (Zachary Levi) trying to figure out how his private security firm, Carmichael Industries, can get itself on the map and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) unusually nauseous for first thing in the morning. In the meantime, Verbanski walks in on Casey and tries to convince him to come to South Beach with her. Except Casey has to work. Uh-huh.

Frankly, I don’t see how the gift of a nice cashmere sweater makes Casey a kept man, but apparently everyone else does. And Verbanski does have this way of pushing her way into getting what she wants. So if Casey won’t come on vacation, she’ll hire Carmichael Industries to help her with an arms purchase. Which, of course, goes wrong and Chuck, Sarah and Casey have to come to Verbanski’s rescue.

Meanwhile, Jeff (Scott Krinsky), with his now cleared-up brain, has begun to figure out that there is something up with the Buy More, and enlists Lester (Vic Sahay) to help him find out what. So Morgan (Josh Gomez) fingers Dr. Awesome Devon (Ryan McPartland) as the spy – maybe. It does lead to a hysterical montage with McPartland pulling off the whole James Bond thing with Jeff and Lester following him.

The episode is all about caring – after all, that’s Chuck’s new marketing strategy: agents who care. The problem is Chuck isn’t paying any attention to Sarah’s signals – what, no martinis? But when it comes down to the end, Casey and Verbanski do figure it out – no spoiler there when you think about it.

As for Jeff and Lester, well, that’s going to be a lot trickier and that is left as a mini-cliffhanger. Ultimately, however, there is the sense that the writers are leading us to a very specific happily-ever-after ending. Not only can you see that with the current match ups happening, you can see each of the characters developing in interesting ways.

Last week was Sarah’s turn, this week it’s Casey. Morgan has had a few moments to become something more. And, of course, Chuck is growing up wonderfully, both as a spy and a human being, not to mention the relationship between him and Sarah, which is delightful.

With three more episodes left, this one may be the calm before all you-know-what breaks loose for the grand finale.

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