Dan and I had mixed feelings about the ending of this week’s Chuck. We know that Casey’s expulsion from the team does not mean he’s leaving the show, just that he’s no longer on the inside. Although, this development makes our prediction that Morgan & Casey will need to team up to save Chuck and Sarah in a later episode. Dan likes Casey losing his position on the team because it keeps the show from getting stuck in a rut and becoming stale. In reality, from the previews of next week’s episode, Chuck himself may not be a member of the team for much longer if he doesn’t kill the guy that the CIA orders him to kill. The Chuck I know won’t kill anyone and that could lead to him going back to being “just Chuck.” Dan and I speculate that Team Bartowski may strike out on their own to make a difference. Dan thinks that the show may change to a Buy More vs. a high tech, criminal enterprise (currently The Ring, previously Fulcrum) … in a sense the Nerds vs. Spies.


I really enjoy when a show dives into the back story of a favorite character and shed some light on what has led them to become the character they are today. Last season we saw the episode with Sarah and her Dad and Chuck and his Dad. Well this week we had another insight into John Casey’s back-story. Understanding the life and love that Casey gave up for his love of country made his comment at the end of the episode to Chuck about Walker being a good woman and that it was not too late for Chuck to let her know how he feels, but he needs to do so before it becomes too late. Throughout the series, Casey has acted as mentor on numerous occasions, but this was the first time Casey overtly gave Chuck any personal advice. I liked it.



Finally, Shaw has got to go! I am going to be a broken record about this until he is gone. Unfortunately, my estimation is that Shaw will be around until the season finale, but mercifully that should be the end of the Shaw character. Dan and I both think the Shaw character was only created because Matthew Bomer who played Bryce Larkin left the show to become Neal Caffrey on White Collar. The Sarah and Bryce relationship would make much more sense this season than this Sarah-Shaw crap we have to deal with right now. It was nice to see Sarah and Chuck working together again. It was huge that when Chuck took the drug to flash and was out of control, nearly killing the guy, that Sarah was the only one that could get through to him and save him from going over the edge. Sarah has always been his compass, and now she seems to be the only one who keeps him grounded and prevents him from losing himself to the intersect.



Some good news is that Chuck is currently the second highest ranking scripted show on NBC only behind The Office. In my mind that should secure Chuck’s place on the schedule for next year, but we are talking about NBC and their record for not being stupid is questionable at best. We won’t know for sure until May 17th when NBC will make the official announcement of which shows will be on the schedule next season and which ones are canceled.

Castle:
Next week’s episode looks awesome. We are looking forward to it like it is a premiere. Beckett won’t be killed of course, but we may think she is for a while. Dan thinks we might see a darker side of Castle in this episode, I think we may see his true feelings for Beckett. The Superfan killer is trying to outwit the Master (Castle), which is a classic theme for a nemesis or super villain. For this reason, I believe that he could be a recurring evil character/nemesis of Castle and Beckett for the remainder of the season or could be the killer from her mother’s case, though I think this less likely. I am thinking that when Castle thinks that Beckett is dead, that his emotions will betray his true feeling for her and when he finally realizes she is OK, there may be a moment where things get physical.




Dan wants to see some drama with Castle’s character, needs to be pushed and challenged. Nathan Fillion is such a great actor that he can definitely handle it. I wouldn’t mind seeing him put in some new situations, but I also like the way the show is heading, so I hope they don’t change the show too much. Well, since this post was delayed by a crashing computer until Monday and TV is about to start, I’m going to cut this short and we’ll pick up the Castle talk next week.

Keep checking the Twitter, email your comments, and start leaving some voice-mails. See you next week. Also watch Castle Mondays at 10/9c on ABC and Chuck Mondays at 8/7c on NBC because it still really needs viewer support to ensure a 4th season.