Classics: Early Edition 1:13 - Mob Wife

Plot Synopsis:

Chuck is none too happy when Gary goes out to save a mob boss's girl from getting gunned down in broad daylight -- but his attitude changes when said girl, Theresa Laparco, snags both Gary and Chuck and uses them for human shields in order to escape the man she no longer loves. Indeed, during the flight from Theresa's hotel to Gary's to the El to Union Station (where Theresa forces her pursuers onto the train headed to Milwaukee), Chuck develops a crush on Theresa and decides on the spur of forty-five minutes to leave town with her to help get her settled. Oh, Chuck!

But Chuck's big romantic plan is not to be. At the Blackstone, you see, Gary decides splitting up would be best, and while Chuck and Theresa head for the trains, Gary is picked up - to his consternation - by both the Feds and the mob boss, Frank Perrelli, in turn. Perrelli, for his part, demands that Gary return Theresa to him within twenty-four hours or else. At this point, one supposes, Gary gets an idea. Returning to McGinty's,  he finds Chuck and asks him where he has stashed Theresa. Starry-eyed Chuck is reluctant to spill the beans, but Gary finally forces him to admit that Theresa is in the men's room. When Chuck goes to get her, however, he discovers that Theresa is gone. After Chuck flies out the door to find her, Theresa emerges from her hiding place by the jukebox and tells Gary she intends to leave Chuck behind for his own protection. Gary agrees this is best and helps her escape out the back window.

Unfortunately, moments later, Theresa is picked up by Perrelli's limo -- and Chuck is inside. Perrelli takes the two of them to a restaurant, where he tries to convince Theresa to come back to him. Chuck, still smitten, digs his hole deeper by demanding that Perrelli just let Theresa go, and Perrelli, irritated, tells his goon to kill them both. Luckily, Gary rushes in before the deed is done. He gets Perrelli's attention by presenting tomorrow's horoscope (he discovered in their previous encounter that Perrelli is superstitious), and back in the kitchen, he manages to convince Perrelli to go for his plan, which is to fake Theresa's death so that Perrelli's associates won't go after her when she leaves. This mock hit goes off with only one hitch: Chuck sees a headline reporting Theresa's death in the paper and, assuming that Gary has screwed up big time, he runs out to try to save her. As a result, Chuck witnesses Theresa being "shot" and falling over the railing of a bridge.

Days later, at Theresa's "funeral," Gary approaches a heartbroken Chuck and asks him if he's alright. Here, Chuck reveals his conviction that Theresa's death was staged. His reason? He received a blank postcard in the mail with a tell-tale image on the front. Gary allows him to hold onto that hope without confirming or denying it. As they walk away and the camera pans out, we see Theresa, disguised as a nun, putting a flower on her own grave.

Overall: 8.3 - Chuck really shines in this episode.

Writing:8.5

SABR Matt should be pleased, as we're in the middle of a run of really good episodes for Chuck. Here, Chuck behaves with absolutely no circumspection. He foolishly attempts to intimidate Theresa's pursuers in the train station and has to be rescued by Theresa herself. He decides on an impulse to uproot his life to flee Chicago with Theresa to help her start a new life. And he has the audacity to tell a mob boss to his face what to do. It is all gobsmackingly adorable and crazy-brave - and incidentally demonstrates Chuck's capacity to think of others besides himself.

Fortunately, Chuck has a more sober friend in Gary -- otherwise, he may have gotten himself killed. Which brings up what makes this episode so interesting: Gary actually takes a big risk himself in dealing as he does with Perrelli. In arranging a staged "death" for Theresa, Gary certainly must have understood in the back of his mind that Chuck would see said "death" as the result of personal betrayal on Gary's part. It really makes you wonder what happened with their friendship between the night of the mock hit and the day Chuck received Theresa's anonymous postcard.

Key safety tip: if your script inspires thoughts of fanfiction, it is either fantastic or horrendous. Mob Wife falls in the former category.

Acting: 8.5

I can't say I was overly impressed with either Pauley Perrette or Leo Rossi, but Fisher is awesome here. Generally speaking, Fisher gets the slapstick moments or the cynical soundbites, which, generally speaking, he pulls off with perfect comic timing. In this episode however, Chuck gets pulled out of the funny zone for just a moment, and Fisher proves conclusively that he can cross that line. The scene on the bridge may in fact be one of his best scenes in his two-year-plus-a-few run on the series.

Message: 8.0

Ladies - don't go for the dangerous men! Have at least a little self respect and go for the exuberant stockbroker (*cough* or the graduate student in meteorology *cough*) who will do what he can - up to and including risking his life - to keep you safe and comfortable.

The Benevolent Hand:

In this case, circumstances provide Gary with an opportunity to learn Perrelli's psychology, which gives Gary enough persuasive umph to save Theresa's life and grant her her liberty. Thus, this episode once again proves that the paper - or God, rather - will not put Gary (or his friends) in harm's way without eventually giving him an out. That's something vital to keep in mind as we head into next week's much darker feature.       

Highlights:

CHUCK: Gar, these are serious boys! What is the matter with you?
GARY: Look, this doesn't have to be a big deal, alright? I find her, I tell her what's gonna happen, I'm outta there. Two seconds.
CHUCK: Alright, and what if she doesn't believe you? Then it turns into four seconds, then the wise guys show up, and then you know what you've got? A very big deal.
GARY: I gotta do something. Someone's about to die!
CHUCK: Not just any someone, but the mob someone. (He grabs Gary to stop him.) Gar, buddy, look - you're gonna have to draw the line somewhere. What if tomorrow the newspaper says that a meteor is headed for Evanston? Or that nuclear terrorists are hiding weapons in Hyland Park? Then what are you gonna do?
GARY: Great. Compared to that, this will be a snap.
CHUCK: Okay, that was a very bad example.
GARY: Bah. (Waving his hand, he walks off.)
CHUCK: No bah! Gar, please, just stop for one second!
GARY: Believe me, I'm not thrilled about this.
CHUCK: Alright, you know what? That's what I'm gonna chisel on your headstone.

CHUCK: Frankie? Frank Perrelli? That's who's trying to kill you? Gary and I just got in Frank Perrelli's way?
THERESA: Welcome to the big leagues, boys.
CHUCK: (to Gary) When that meteor heads for Evanston, I don't know you.

THERESA: All the ugly stuff? I thought I could change him, but I was wrong.
CHUCK: You know what you need? You need somebody stable. Legit. Somebody like a -- a stockbroker.
THERESA: Oh, right. I could just die of boredom.
CHUCK: What's wrong with a stockbroker?
THERESA: Oh, don't tell me -- you?
CHUCK: I can be exciting. Not as exciting as a gangster, but -- at least when I break up with you, you're not gonna have to fear for your life.

CHUCK: You know, you and I, we make a very good team. And I think it would be a very big mistake to split up. I could go with you -- help you get settled.
THERESA: You can't make a spur of the moment decision like that.
CHUCK: Spur of the moment? I've been thinking about this for forty-five minutes.

CHUCK: I just tried to call ya. You're not gonna believe what's going on out there.
GARY: What, had a rough day, did ya?
CHUCK: In fact, things are going a lot better than I expected.
GARY: I just spent the last hour with the Feds. Before that, an hour with Frank Perrelli. Before that, an hour with the Feds.
CHUCK: What'd you tell 'em?
GARY: Well, I told them everything I know: nothing. Speaking of which, where is she?
CHUCK: Gar, you're not gonna believe what's happened --
GARY: Chuck, where is Theresa?
CHUCK: It's finally happened to me. I'm in love!
GARY: Yeah, great. Listen, Frank Perrelli personally gave me twenty-four hours to find her and bring her back. If I don't -- what'd you just say?
CHUCK: That's why things have completely changed, Gar. We can't give her back.
GARY: You picked a fine time to fall in love!

FRANK: Tell me -- why doesn't she love me?
CHUCK: You really wanna know?
FRANK: Yeah.
CHUCK: You don't understand her, Frank. Theresa's like -- she's like a butterfly. A beautiful butterfly. She needs to be free. She needs to flap her wings and fly away. You? You just wanna keep her under a glass case. She'll just dry up and crumble!
FRANK: What the hell's he talking about?
THERESA: This is what I'm trying to tell you. Don't listen to him. There's something wrong with him --
CHUCK: I'm not crazy, Frank. I'm in love, just like you. And when you love something, you gotta let it go.