Unleashing The Morgan: Chuck Gets His First Kill and an Extra Helping of Betrayal on "Chuck"

Dear NBC,

I'm writing to you to beg you to come to your senses and renew the hilarious and gripping action comedy series Chuck for a third season.

Besides for continuing to support this fantastic series, truly unlike anything else on television right now, and encouraging others to watch this brilliant show, there's nothing more I can offer you except my promise that I'll watch Chuck every week, as long as you continue to order more episodes. (I'd offer to name my first-born after the series' main character but even I won't go that far.)

Last night's episode of Chuck ("Chuck Versus the First Kill"), written by Scott Rosenbaum, was a prime example of how the series manages to smash together a host of storytelling genres into one inspired package. Once again, the writers have managed to offer something for everyone: death-defying stunts (Chuck gripping a Fulcrum agent out of a fifteen story window), romantic entanglements (Chuck is forced to turn to ex-girlfriend/traitor Jill Roberts for help); unexpected twists (Ken Davitian's Uncle Bernie collapsing from a heart attack after Chuck unleashes The Morgan); and pop culture references galore (Big Mike laying homage to The Godfather after he's unwittingly betrayed by Morgan).

And, oh, Yvonne Strahovski manages to out act any actress in her age category by once again delivering more emotion with a shifting gaze or tilting head than many actors can with monologues. Her Sarah Walker remains the conflicted romantic center of the series, a tough-as-nails woman who is just as strong as the guys, just as feminine as any supermodel, but whose heart this week leads her to disobey the orders of her superior, hijack the chain of command, and go AWOL with our Chuck Bartowski. Can we please give her an Emmy nomination already?

This week's installment brilliantly set up what promises to be a fantastic run to the season finale. And, yes, I'm calling it a season finale as I hope, NBC, that you realize what many of Chuck's diverse and loyal group of viewers do: that this series deserves--nay, needs--a third season.

By the time the dust clears in two weeks, I have a feeling that relationships will be torn asunder, particularly those among the troika of spies we've been following for the last two seasons. With Sarah turning her back on the CIA/NSA, I find it hard to believe that John Casey is going to let her walk away with the Intersect without a major throwdown. If there's one thing that Casey is, it's that he's steadfastly loyal to the chain of command and his belief is that an order is just that: an order. By disobeying Beckman's instructions to betray Chuck and take him underground, Sarah has set herself up as Casey's enemy. And you don't want to make Major Casey mad.

I am, however, glad that Sarah did turn her back on her duty to her country to follow her heart. Over the last two seasons, we've seen her experience some mighty conflicted feelings for Chuck Bartowski and this episode played those to the hilt, demonstrating Sarah's unease at cooperating with Jill Roberts (guest star Jordana Brewster), who had previously broke Chuck's heart twice, her lack of surprise when Jill leaves her stranded in a firefight, and her decision to tell Chuck she had lied about the government having located his missing father. At the core of the series there's been a fantastic relationship--whether romantic or platonic--between these two and I would have been crushed if Sarah had knowingly mislead Chuck and betrayed him after everything they've been through together.

In fact, the entire episode was a deft look at the role of trust in various relationships, with Chuck's quest to work with his handlers (and Jill) to rescue his father from a Fulcrum facility posing as a leadership training seminar nicely mirroring that of Morgan's double-cross by the upwardly mobile Emmett Milbarge, who forces Morgan to betray Big Mike and walks away with the store manager position at the Buy More. Emmett had no intention of following through on his promise to help Morgan and his end game has always been the same: to watch out for himself and advance his own agenda. And Emmett rather adeptly manages to trick Morgan into thinking that the corporate assessor is there to observe him rather than Big Mike... who talks his way right out of a job when he presents Emmett in such a positive light and then takes off for an afternoon of fishing. For all of his good intentions, Morgan proved himself to be the perfect patsy and he manages to unseat Big Mike from the throne at the Buy More... and then gets the Kiss of Death from his Godfather.

Likewise, Beckman never had any intention on giving Jill any immunity for her help in locating Stephen Bartowski... nor on letting Chuck continue on his mission to find his father. At the end of the day, the human Intersect project has proven too erratic, too unpredictable, and too dangerous. Beckman didn't get to become a General by offering puppy dogs and jelly beans to her field agents; she's cool under pressure, collected, and has to have national security her first priority. Having Chuck attempt to maintain a real life was never part of the mission. It was a convenient cover but at the end of the day, he's an intelligence asset, one who knows all of the U.S. government's many secrets and there's no way they are going to leave him in the open now that his cover has been blown by Fulcrum.

So what's going to happen? I'm not entirely sure but I do think that the "game-changing" season finale that series creators Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak have promised will alter the structure of Chuck in ways that we can't even begin to predict. I'm hoping that the new story structure includes the gang at the Buy More, who have become a vital and interesting element of the series in their own right, and the trio of spies we've come to know and love.

Will Jill actually return the favor and save Chuck when he most needs her? After all, Chuck came clean about the fact that the intelligence services never meant to give her a deal in the first place, even if they were able to free Stephen Bartowski from Fulcrum. Plus, he freed her from the Castle (and a long prison sentence) and gave her the engagement ring that they had used as a prop in their sting operation with Jill's family to trap Uncle Bernie. He said that he always wanted to give her a ring, though he never imagined it would be under those circumstances. Does Jill, having betrayed Chuck on more than one occasion, have any conscience left? Could it be that she'll come to Chuck and Sarah's aid in their moment of need and that she hasn't turned her back on her former lover? That she is willing to trade in a life on the run for one in which she comes to Chuck's rescue?

I think my devotion to this sensational series is pretty clear, NBC. And I'm on the edge of my seat to see just where this season is going as Chuck and Sarah prepare to face off against the duplicitous Fulcrum. I only hope that the loyal viewers of Chuck get to see where the series will head next, after that fateful showdown in just two weeks' time. Do us all a favor and bring Chuck back for another season of action, comedy, romance, and workplace humor. We promise to even sit through the gratuitous Subway product placement if you do.

And if you're looking for a tagline, you'd do far worse than to do with the following. NBC's Chuck: it makes Mondays bearable.

Next week on Chuck ("Chuck Versus the Colonel"), Chuck and Sarah go AWOL to rescue Chuck's dad and discover that spending time together without any surveillance allows them to get closer; Casey manages to discover Chuck and Sarah's whereabouts; Morgan becomes the pariah of the Buy More after mistakenly getting Emmett promoted to store manager.