Review: 'Chuck' - 'Chuck vs. the Baby': The mother and child reunion

• Early in "Baby," Morgan reminds Chuck that virtually any time he's had a disagreement with Sarah on something, Sarah has been right. Well, in this case, she's not. She's too accustomed to flying solo, even after all these years as part of Operation Bartowski, and in many ways the climax to this episode isn't Sarah killing her old handler and reuniting with her mom and adopted sister, but Sarah simply acknowledging that she should have looped Chuck and Casey in sooner. Everything after is just confirmation of how Sarah has gone from being a loner to a person with roots, and friends and family who have her back whether she needs someone to punch out a few goons or someone to babysit little Molly. It's such a 180 from the person she was when she walked into the Buy More in the pilot that I didn't even mind the show again revisiting (as we did at the end of season 3's "Chuck vs. the Nacho Sampler") the time right before she had to go out to Burbank.(*) That's who Sarah was then, and this is who she is now, and she's much happier - and yet still capable of kicking ass, taking names and doing all the things that made her a spy in the first place. 

More:  hitfix

•  I was more than happy to see her in this episode. Not only that, but these scenes between the two (even the one over the phone) shows that Chuck wasn’t the one to completely change Sarah from the solo spy that she was, but the kinder side was always really a part of who she is. 

  cinemablend,

• A couple of plot holes prevented it from being quite as awesome as it might have been, butYvonne Strahovski anchored the show with a fantastic performance that was enough to paper over some of those nitpicks.

 zap2it

Also a review at ryanschwartz, starpulse, buddytv, tvfanatic, examiner, tvovermind, smallscreenscoop, buzzfocus, danowen, boomtron, examiner, yvonnedaily

screen caps of 5.07 The Santa Suit and a REVIEW

• A review by YvonneDaily

"Yvonne Strahovski once again proves that Sarah is the heart and soul of this series. Her range of emotions in this episode is astounding. She shows such simple joy when the episode opens being the secret weapon in Ellie’s Operation Santa, having gathered the decorations, and, then telling announcing the arrival of Mr Pippers, the preppy polar bear for Casey; seeing her hatred and loathing when Shaw appears; watching her try to convince Shaw that he can still be a good man, then begging for to stop his violent plan; the sheer surprise when Chuck tells her that Beckman kissed him; and, the icy stare as Shaw reveals his final plan. Yvonne creates such depth to the character. Of course, seeing her free herself with the knife she keeps in those platforms was pretty astounding too. And that Ellie has tapped her as the secret weapon in Operation Santa again proves that Sarah has come full circle into the normal life she never thought she could have. She even wore the charm bracelet!"

• and screen caps at YvonneDaily

Review of the first 3 episodes of season 5 of Chuck

Spoilers


About Yvonne: 

 Yvonne Strahovski has been able to do so much with just a look from Sarah all this time, that now to see her able to communicate freely, to stand up for what she wants and who she loves, and to just have fun is almost an embarrassment of riches.

and more about Sarah Walker:

 Sarah and Morgan have a several scenes together in the first episode, and two of them in particular are comedy gold. As Chuck’s significant other and best friend, respectively, they’ve reached a level of comfort and familiarity with each other that could not have happened until now. Casey and Sarah’s friendship has also improved dramatically compared to even two seasons ago, and we get to see it! Now that Sarah is married, happy, and feeling secure, there’s an openness about her that is a delight to see

Read all of the review HERE