Season 1 of Chuck was good, but Season 2 was f*cking AWESOME (pun intended). They only scratched the surface in the previous season, but in this one, they really go for broke in estabhlishing the mythology of the show. It would have been easy for them to just do a bunch of random missions that never moved the characters anywhere beyond "another job well done" scenario. But having the Intersect play a huge role in the series makes us want to see what happens next. But the mythology of Chuck isn't the only thing that always made watching the series a blast each year. One thing that is synonymous with Chuck are the star guest spots and this one has a host of them ranging from Scott Bakula, Chevy Chase, Jordana Brewster, Tricia Helfer, Matthew Bomer, Arnold Vosloo and Tony Hale.

Tony Hale was a welcome addition to the cast. He was and still is awesome. But it was Bakula as Orion, Chuck's father and creator of the intersect that really solidified this season as one of the best seasons for the series. What I really liked is that at the end of the Season Finale, they basically reset the entire series by giving Chuck the decision to re-upload the New Intersect into his brain. What is great is that it comes with perks missing in the first Intersect. Having it so that Chuck can basically fight his way out of any situation was a nice change (although some would say it actually jumped the shark by making him no different than Sarah or Casey thus making them obsolete). But that's a topic for another day....

Beside the various state of undress that Yvonne liked to exhibit this season as well as the series, probably the single greatest scene ever involved Casey (Adam Baldwin) having to hit a High C note to open a lock box. It still cracks me up just thinking about it. For you Die Hard fans, the cameo by Al Powell was a nice touch as Big Mike's Brother. Same set up....same joyous ending. And the fact that it takes place during Xmas gets bonus points as well.

While watching this season, I kept asking myself why this show works so well...at least for me anyway and what I realized is that it has two big factors working in it's favor. 1. All 'double life' series like Breaking Bad, Alias and Dexter succeed because we the viewer anxiously await the big moment when their significant other, family members or friends find out exactly what they are doing in their other lives. That's a big deal on BB and Dexter and in this one, we wait to see how Ellie is gonna react to finding out that Chuck is a spy. 2. In the case of this season, it's Devon that learns his secret. Also successful shows have the 'Will they or won't they' angle working in their favor. We spend a great majority of the time wondering if Chuck and Sarah will ever get together, which served X-Files and Fringe very well.

Also making this season a must-watch is the arrival of Jeffster. Their first episode was in fact one of the things I was looking forward to when I started this DVD marathon. I will never be able to listen to Toto's Africa the same way again and that's a good thing by the way. Anyway, I love this season and recommend this as a Buy. Buy More that is. 

I remember the hair standing up on my arms when I first watched his episode when he said "Oh Boy". It made me want to watch Quantum Leap then and it makes me want to watch it NOW!