Chuck: The first 8 episodes of Season 2

It's been a while since I posted anything Chuck-related here. That doesn't mean that I've stopped watching this great show, though. :)

I've stated before that with the writer's guild strike over, the storyline should improve a great deal in season two. And whoa boy! Did they deliver it this time! Don't care what the critics say; there will always be people who will not like this show for some reason.

Anyway, just a recap of the last eight episodes:

The first three episodes shows Chuck and Sarah trying to make their cover relationship real when they learned that the replacement Intersect will be put in place; however, recent events like the new Intersect exploding at the conclusion of S02E01 Chuck versus the First Date, and Bryce showing up at the end of S02E02 Chuck versus the Seduction and the entire S02E03 Chuck versus the Breakup, put a stop to that. In S02E03, Chuck realized that life with Sarah would never be normal and have decided to just keep their cover relationship as is -- just a cover.

The next two episodes are some "filler" episodes featuring the past of Sarah, in S02E04 Chuck versus the Cougars, and Jeff, S02E05 Chuck versus TomSawyer -- yeah, that "Nerd Herd, serial-killer" Jeff.

The latest three episodes features the biggest storyline thus far; the return of Chuck's first love, Jill. In S02E06 Chuck versus the Ex, Chuck finds himself still in love with Jill and, at the conclusion, was forced to reveal to her that he is an agent of CIA. In S02E07 Chuck versus the Fat Lady, Jill becomes an indespensible part in solving Chuck's next mission -- much to the chagrin of Sarah. The plot twist at the end of the epsisode was, well, twisted: Jill is a rogue CIA agent!

The latest episode, S02E08 Chuck versus the Gravitron, Chuck finally learns this after he flashes on an SMS in Jill's phone and upon hearing her codename "Sand Storm". Anyway, long story short, Chuck, using among others his full nerd mastery of the Castle -- that's what they call the CIA facility under Orange, Orange; not sure if this was the first episode that revealed the name of this facility though -- is able to trap Jill in the Nerd Herder.

I like the direction of the story so far. After the Jill incident, Chuck and Sarah have regained each others trust and confidence, hopefully becoming a stronger team than before. And, being awarded the Couple That We Rooted for the Most award in IGN '07, we can only speculate if the producers and writers have finally decided to make the two a real couple in the next episodes.

We're not even halfway through the season yet; this season is supposed to consist of 22 full episodes, which only means there's soooo much room for more interesting developments, some hanging plotlines to pursue, and what-not.

I'm just hoping that there would be lesser episodes dealing with the past of, say, Lester, Big Mike or the others, unless it is somehow reallyy, really, really needed in the storyline. Sorry, not a big fan of the Tom Sawyer episode.