When Chuck first aired, it was a show about misfits. All of the characters were lost on some level, not knowing their true place in the world. Chuck was struggling with who he wanted to be, Ellie was the mother hen, trying to keep everyone together, Sarah and Casey were spies on the go, seemingly without any ties in the world. The nerd herd, well — outside of Morgan — I don’t think they fit in this equation. Morgan and Chuck had each other, and they kept each other grounded. Everyone seemed to be floundering in life. And then Chuck bumped into Neal McCaffrey (OK, wrong show, but given his current role, do you really expect me to remember his name?) and they were all brought together. Some were excited, some were scared, some were pissed to pulled into the situation at all.
But, in “Coup d’Etat,” everything is different. Chuck and Sarah are in love. It’s not an easy love and they have a hard time talking to each other about intimacies, given the many life and death situations they have faced together. Ellie is having a baby. She’ll be an actual mother, instead of mothering those who no longer need it. Casey and Morgan have formed an uneasy friendship, sort of like a dirty little secret they aren’t ready to reveal. Casey has a daughter, and is really making a go of being her father. Now that Casey trusts Morgan, I think he will really allow Morgan and Alex to give it a go. Casey knows, even though I’m sure he’ll play it off otherwise just to keep us entertained, that Morgan would take care of his girl. They are family.
All of this came to light against a backdrop of a marriage in trouble. That of General and Mrs. Goyo from Costa Gravas, to be exact. The same Costa Gravas that is now more stable than ever, and filled with Subway sandwich shops (nice shout out to the fans’ dedication). When General Goyo invites Captain Awesome and Ellie as special guests in is country, Awesome is fearsome. He’s having a hard time finding Ellie behind all that baby. But Ellie really wants a “babymoon;” the time before the baby, which could be their last hurrah as the couple they are now.
After a giant statue of Awesome is bestowed in his honor, we find out that all is not what it seems. Mrs. Goyo is pissed. Seems the General hasn’t been paying enough attention to his love as he brings capitalism to his country. Spy business ensues as she takes over Costa Gravas. The only person Goyo can think of to be his protector in this troubled time is John Casey. I didn’t see that one coming, but more so I didn’t see Goyo going to such great length to protect Casey, putting his own life on the line. Mumbling something about his blood flowing in Casey’s veins. Daddy? If that doesn’t make our entire cast a bit more cozy than we thought, what will? I have no idea what it means, but I thought it was a great, if subtle, reveal. Anyone else?
Ellie got to see Chuck in action, and she’s not quite as afraid of the thought of him being a spy as she once thought. I think after the baby is born she’ll finally be more solidly in the circle of trust. In true form, Sarah admitted to Chuck she would marry him. She thought he was sleeping, but Chuck is the great pretender. What this episode did was bring everyone on the map a little closer than they were just a week ago. As a constant bubble show, I am glad they are pushing more our way. If nothing else, I hope at least the fans will be satisfied when the show eventually comes to an end.
Clacked by Carissa Pavlica 
on Oct 12, 2010 @ 13:07 EST5EDT
I think you have it reversed, Casey’s blood is flowing through the Generalissimo’s veins from the transfusion at the end of “Angel de la Muerte,” hence the new “Angel of Life” nickname
And this, my friend, is why we need comments! :-) I didn’t watch then, so I was not familiar with the episode. Sooo….Casey donated blood to save Goyo?
Yes back in the days of the cold war, Casey was sent to kill Goyo a million times and became known as the Angel of Death in his country. With the cold war over Goyo came to the US to start a program of liberzalization, Chuck and the gang had to protect him. It led to Goyo getting shot, and being saved by Awesome via a blood transfusion from Casey. That’s why Awesome was invited to the party.
There were things I really liked about this episode (Awesome statue, return of the affable Generalissimo), but the way the villain and his henchmen acted in the climax just made me roll my eyes rather painfully. Chuck made sudden moves several times, attacked their boss in a crowded room, and the Costa Gravan goons were told to shoot him – all while they were inches away with machine guns trained on him – and nobody shot the dumb bastard. His actions in that situation, also, were clear signs of idiocy. That, combined with the poor choice of actress for the Generalissimo’s wife (I was supposed to believe that accent/delivery?), stretched my suspension of disbelief past its breaking point. /rant
I love watching all the characters slowly form into a close knit family. Though no matter how close everyone becomes Casey would still kill Morgan for dating his daughter. I highly doubt he is the type of guy Casey wants his daughter with, no matter how much they have bonded since Morgan joined the spy circle.