
If you were thinking the Christmas installment of
Chuck would be goofy and funny and light, you probably had another think coming by about the halfway point of this week's episode. When a car crashes into the Buy More, it first appears that the Nerd Herders — and last-minute shoppers like Ellie and Awesome — are just being held hostage by a rather incompetent criminal. But the whole incident soon takes a more sinister turn, so if you're ready to talk about it, just .

Ever since we got our first glimpse of young Sarah Walker (or, I guess, then
young Jenny Burton) earlier in this season of
Chuck, I've been curious to know more about what it was like to grow up in the shadow of a con man. Well, this episode takes care of that, as Sarah's dad shows up to run a heist and wreak havoc, just like the old days. Chuck gets thrust into the middle of it, of course, as Jack's visit brings some of his own daddy issues to the surface.

After all the romance, betrayal, and drama of the Jill episodes, it was a bit of a letdown to watch what felt more like a regular ol' episode of
Chuck this week. Not that I didn't still laugh out loud (a lot) — I just wished for more of an ongoing case or something to help focus my attention. Luckily, by the end of the episode we've learned a bit about Chuck's next mission, and boy, is it a doozy.

Revenge can be sweet, can't it? On this week's
Chuck, we find out what happens to you when you break a guy's heart, sleep with his best friend, turn up later to profess your love, and wind up being a government spy. (Short answer: nothing good.) But revenge isn't easy, as Chuck's feelings and general naivete get in the way time and again.

The
last time we saw Chuck Bartowski, he was in a fancy convertible, wind in his hair, heading down a Southern California freeway with his once and future girlfriend by his side. Sweet, right? Yeah .

On this week's
Chuck, people start to get a little suspicious of our secret agent nerd. Jill's jealous of his dalliances with Sarah and can't believe Chuck has no feelings for a woman who goes to work in a tight red dress with fishnet stockings; Emmett wonders where Chuck actually goes all day; and Morgan begins to doubt that Chuck is being completely honest with him. But Chuck's secrets don't even turn out to be the most interesting ones in this episode.

On this week's
Chuck, we finally meet Jill, the ex-girlfriend who toyed with Chuck's heart and ultimately left him for Bryce Larkin (a not-uncommon theme in Chuck's life). She's gorgeous, she's smart — you can tell by the glasses — and she's eager to catch up with Chuck. She's also tied up in this week's mission, which adds some urgency to their unexpected reunion.

If there's one thing we've known from the very first moments of NBC's
Chuck, it's that Chuck's ex-girlfriend seriously screwed up his life. In the pilot episode, he's mooning over her so much, he can't even talk to the other girls at his birthday party. The list of things making Chuck's life miserable back then probably would have gone something like: Stanford, Bryce Larkin, and Jill.

Wow, this week's episode of
Chuck was one geek-iriffic hour. At one point, I asked my boyfriend, "Is
Missile Command a real game?" He responded by burying his head in his hands (and bringing up a Wikipedia entry about
kill screens).