Then I watched last night's CHUCK episode. There was the difference between night and day in last night's show and Sunday night's double feature. Entertaining and completely non-irritating. All the things I despised about Sunday's shows (the silly BuyMore characters, Chuck's preoccupation over his love for Sarah to the detriment of the mission) were missing and it made for a terrific episode.
The ending was a shock, but then the previews put that to right.
spoiler - - - -
If they had killed off Captain Awesome and retained those idiotic BuyMore guys in the cast, this was going to be the LAST episode of the show I ever watched. Now that Chuck has a kindred spirit who knows what he's up to, the show is IMMEASURABLY better with someone he can talk over his troubles with and explain his absences: in other words, someone who has his back on the home front. That's the BEST innovation they've added to the new season.