502 replies to this topic

[captain sam]

I really love the setup for this character. She's Chuck's protector, Casey's equal, and a bit of a mystery. But it depends on where they take her during the season--I hope they never write an episode where Chuck goes on a real date with a random girl, thus causing Sarah to get jealous, etc. I also hope she (and Casey) don't get too caught up in a repeating plotline wherein Chuck has to save himself/them/the day.

Also, Yvonne Strzechowski has a bit of a lisp, and I find that mega adorable.

Edited by captain sam, Oct 1, 2007 @ 9:18 PM.

[krishnaa]

I loved all the teenage boys coming in to watch her make the wieners (ha ha) and take pictures of her ("let's put this on the internet!") and basically worship her altogether (a squeaked "I love you!").

Yvonne is very adorable. And smokin sexy. And smart too...apparently she's written some plays.

[Aunty Mib]

Sarah is too nice and that's coming across as fake.

Chuck dropped several lines about their pretend relationship that she ignored then she had the audacity to be huffy when he didn't trust her.

[arc]

Chuck dropped several lines about their pretend relationship that she ignored then she had the audacity to be huffy when he didn't trust her.

But what is there to say? It is a fake relationship and she'd be lying if she said otherwise.

[Lu Bu]

But it depends on where they take her during the season--I hope they never write an episode where Chuck goes on a real date with a random girl, thus causing Sarah to get jealous, etc.

... and the episode where they have to pretend that they are married -- that's a tried and true "unresolved sexual tension" storyline.

[Aunty Mib]

But what is there to say? It is a fake relationship and she'd be lying if she said otherwise.

True, but she doesn't get to pull the "I'm hurt that you don't trust me". He shouldn't.

[Ebongreen]

... she doesn't get to pull the "I'm hurt that you don't trust me". He shouldn't.

Sure she can. On the one hand, it's purely professional - not "I'm hurt that you don't trust me", more of an "Your a$$ is grass if you don't trust me". And she's right - he's a relatively clueless spy-n00b, and it's her job to gain and keep his trust through whatever means necessary, be they carrot- or stick-based. He should be glad she didn't deck him on the spot - Casey would have, and she saved him from that by making him feel two feet tall in front of Casey.

On the other hand, Sarah likes Chuck, maybe more than likes Chuck, and doesn't want to see him abducted, hurt, tortured, or killed. There's the underlying personal layer of "You knucklehead, I'd rather die than see you hurt." The fact that it's her job to die instead of seeing him hurt only reinforces the point.

Did she go off on him too hard? Yeah, and she apologized the next day. Dual relationships are generally discouraged among mental health professionals for all these reasons and more; they are crazy-making and create crappy boundaries between the professional and the personal. Of course, the crazy-making is also what makes for interesting television. :-)

Personally, I thought that was a nice bit of writing and acting. YMMV.

[Aunty Mib]

Sure she can. On the one hand, it's purely professional - not "I'm hurt that you don't trust me", more of an "Your a$$ is grass if you don't trust me". And she's right - he's a relatively clueless spy-n00b, and it's her job to gain and keep his trust through whatever means necessary, be they carrot- or stick-based. He should be glad she didn't deck him on the spot - Casey would have, and she saved him from that by making him feel two feet tall in front of Casey.

IF she were saying, "Don't question my competence" it would be valid. But he wasn't questioning her skill set, he questioned whether he could trust her not to have hidden agendas or to be working against his interests. That's a big difference.

He knows that she's an assassin who pretends to like him for the sake of her cover. She's good enough to make his sister think that she actually does like him. But Chuck has asked obliquely "Do you like me at all?" and she has answered "not in the slightest, the minute the assignment is done I'm out of here." [/PARAPHRASE]

"The punishment for a liar is that even when he tells the truth, he is not believed."
--Talmud

[Ebongreen]

... he wasn't questioning her skill set, he questioned whether he could trust her not to have hidden agendas or to be working against his interests. That's a big difference.

Well, first let me say that I watched the episode last night at a point when I probably should have been sleeping, so your memory may be better than mine as to what happened. :-)

That being said, she's a spy. Hidden agendas are her stock-in-trade; no answer she can supply will ever give him security. Either he has faith in her, or he doesn't. As you said, it's her business to lie and make it believable; it's up to him to decide how much he trusts her, regardless of what she says.

He knows that she's an assassin who pretends to like him for the sake of her cover.

I'd phrase this a little differently. He knows she's capable of killing - that doesn't make her an assassin. (That's Casey's job, both in show-reality and as her foil.) She's told him that he's under her protection. He knows her cover is that she's his girlfriend. The depths or lack thereof of her feelings for him are a mystery - they could be a lie, and they could be real. Were he a realist instead of a romantic dork :-), he'd also realize that even if she actually cares about his welfare or wants to be in a relationship with him, her life as a globe-trotting agent doesn't exactly make them "relationship material". To say nothing of the shadow of Bryce on Sarah's view of mixing romance and espionage...

At least twice when Chuck has alluded to the un-real nature of their relationship, she has carefully and wisely said nothing at all with her voice. Even if she likes him - which (we're supposed to think) she does - professionally speaking, that doesn't matter. I think the writing and Yvonne's acting are displaying her dilemma marvelously - the personal and the professional are clashing, and there's not much she really CAN say to Chuck outside of her roles and covers. There's an appealing silence there, a finessed space where she can only look at him and reveal her true nature through her face.

Whether Chuck sees that nature and believes her is another matter.

(Yes, I'm dorky romantic too. Stop laughing. ;-) )

[redrobin27]

Aunty Mib, I agree with you. She bugged me with her rant, because 1) Chuck didn't ask for this any more than she did, and 2) he's the one that doesn't understand what the hell is going on half the time. So, her getting pissy about him not trusting her just rang false. They haven't spent enough time together, IMO, for that conversation to happen just yet.

I could do without the gratuitous half-naked (premiere eppy) or ogling shots of her, as it really adds nothing to her character or the story. Especially since I don't get to see Adam Baldwin with his shirt off. Tit for tat, writers.

Edited by redrobin27, Oct 2, 2007 @ 11:25 AM.

[mrhooks]

Tit for tat, writers.

Or as Dwight Schrute would say, "Tit for tit." More ogling shots for all, I say!

I don't think the pigtails are doing Yvonne Strzechowski any favors, although I can't stand pigtails, so maybe that's not entirely fair.

I agree that Sarah doesn't really get to be pissy at Chuck, but I also agree that it was an understandable outburst after the stress of capture and torture and almost losing Chuck. In her mind, she is not being deceitful, so it's a little difficult to accept not being trusted. She apologized later, which suggests she would not have said those things in a normal situation.

[MoreRidonkulous]

The character demands a mix of moral ambiguity, manipulativeness and genuine concern. The trick is they have to balance those.

There have to be layers.

Layer 1: To Chuck, she needs to be tough, yet seemingly a confidant. Sweet, without (at least intentionally) getting too close.

Layer 2: To her bosses, she needs to be stone cold. She can't seem to care about Chuck at all.

Layer 3: To herself, we have to see her struggling between genuinely liking the guy (and part of that is expecting his trust, even if she knows she doesn't deserve it) and fear of defying her bosses.

[Gyn]

mrhooks:

I don't think the pigtails are doing Yvonne Strzechowski any favors, although I can't stand pigtails, so maybe that's not entirely fair.

To quote Dr. Stanley Goodspeed:

The pigtails are naughty

[Aunty Mib]

When I first saw her in that outfit with the pigtails I thought that Chuck was having an adolescent erotic fantasy.

I think the actress is doing a wonderful job of keeping the character plausible.

[RetroGamer]

So far, I'm curious if every episode is going to showcase her underwear.

Not that I'm complaining, mind you.

[cutecouple]

When I first saw her in that outfit with the pigtails I thought that Chuck was having an adolescent erotic fantasy.

I was thinking Cameron Diaz in Charlie's Angels.

[arc]

I was thinking Cameron Diaz in Charlie's Angels.

So, in other words, an adolescent erotic fantasy... brought to you by McG.

[A Big Potato]

So far, I'm curious if every episode is going to showcase her underwear.

I was wondering the same thing (also not complaining).

I think I smell the beginning of a drinking game here...

[captain sam]

I saw her outburst as

1) coming after a pretty stressful and trying evening in which everything she'd worked so hard to protect nearly blew himself up in a helicopter

and

2) Chuck accidentally treading on a very sensitive topic.

She's probably gotten a lot of flak for Bryce turning out to be a traitor and her not even knowing, so she bit Chuck's head off about it even though he didn't quite deserve it. When people don't trust her it probably brings back everything that happened with Bryce and even though she just has to give Chuck time, her first reaction was that she was being judged again.

Edited by captain sam, Oct 2, 2007 @ 3:46 PM.

[BigPaul25]

Doesn't anybody think that Sarah's Weinerlicious uniform looks more appropriate for a Mexican resta..what am I saying? Well done, McG! Oh, if only I didn't spend senior year dating a girl who worked at Hot Dog on A Stick.

Edited by BigPaul25, Oct 2, 2007 @ 4:00 PM.

[mrhooks]

I thought it was supposed to be one of those Bavarian, St. Pauli's Girl-type beer wench outfits, although the coloration didn't seem quite right. Either way, I approve.

[Tanker]

I'm now picturing Sarah in her Wienerlicious outfit and Chuch and Casey in lederhosen. My brain is scary at 3 am.

I'm trying to think of something insightful to say about Sarah, but I keep getting stuck on "super-mega-HAWT."

[captain sam]

While that move with the handcuffs was hot, Yvonne Strahovski is not quite selling me on the fights. Her movement seems a little gawky and not smooth--which also why I partially believe her TV Guide interview that she does most of her stunts. A stunt double would probably flow better with the moves. I think with time and more stunt training, YS will move better in fights. But for now...well, she kind of fights like a girl.

Edited by captain sam, Oct 10, 2007 @ 9:16 PM.

[krishnaa]

While that move with the handcuffs was hot, Yvonne Strahovski is not quite selling me on the fights. Her movement seems a little gawky and not smooth--which also why I partially believe her TV Guide interview that she does most of her stunts. A stunt double would probably flow better with the moves. I think with time and more stunt training, YS will move better in fights. But for now...well, she kind of fights like a girl.

I think the editing was a little off too. It was hard to see her skills.

[Tanker]

Yeah, that rooftop fight scene was a little rough. They should have done it more in slo-mo. In the rain. With "Brick House" playing on the soundtrack.

*splashes* It's so fun here in the shallow end! *splash*

[Gyn]

Tanker:

Yeah, that rooftop fight scene was a little rough. They should have done it more in slo-mo. In the rain. With "Brick House" playing on the soundtrack.

*splashes* It's so fun here in the shallow end! *splash*

You're hired! Could you please write such scenes for the show?? Pretty please?

Edited by Gyn, Oct 11, 2007 @ 8:15 AM.

[MoreRidonkulous]

I'm trying to think of something insightful to say about Sarah, but I keep getting stuck on "super-mega-HAWT."

The thing is I kind of agree with the general consensus that somehow she comes off as "real girl hot" versus "airbrushed hot".

When we first see her when she walks into the BuyMore, she almost glows she's so attractive, but in later scenes you can see she's got minor imperfections. It actually helps the character.

[mrhooks]

I think the editing was a little off too. It was hard to see her skills.

As a trained dancer, she most likely has the flexibility and all that, but just seeing her in a defensive stance, not moving, it's obvious she isn't a trained fighter (and not just because she sometimes makes a fist with her thumb on top). Although she's demonstrating/faking a completely different (and IMHO much more graceful) fighting style, Zhang ZiYi (another dancer who doesn't/didn't know much martial arts) looks more believable in her movies.

I caught some of the Australian shows Yvonne has guest starred on. Man, it's weird hearing her speak with an Australian accent.

[krishnaa]

As a trained dancer, she most likely has the flexibility and all that, but just seeing her in a defensive stance, not moving, it's obvious she isn't a trained fighter (and not just because she sometimes makes a fist with her thumb on top). Although she's demonstrating/faking a completely different (and IMHO much more graceful) fighting style, Zhang ZiYi (another dancer who doesn't/didn't know much martial arts) looks more believable in her movies.

Didn't Ziya Zhang get training? Or is she really that amazing in real life? O_O

Yeah, when she kicks Casey over the counter and all those boys come into Weinerlicious, her stance looks so fake. Her fists are turned inward, when they should actually be with the pinky going away from her.

[arc]

Zhang ZiYi (another dancer who doesn't/didn't know much martial arts) looks more believable in her movies.

But those fight sequences are (mostly) choreographed and (co?-)directed by Yuen Woo Ping, a top-notch master of the craft. Even the others still benefit from being done for movies with their longer shooting time, not weekly TV.

The chick fight wasn't awesome, but -- especially for TV -- the one against Casey in Weinerlicious was.