30 greatest Thanksgiving episodes of all time

13. Chuck

Episode: Season 1, Episode 10, “Chuck Versus the Nemesis”

What’s on the menu: If Ellie had any say in the matter, national security issues wouldn’t interfere with her Thanksgiving dinner, but she doesn’t have a say. Luckily, what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her. Chuck’s first Thanksgiving as the CIA’s security weapon isn’t perhaps the easiest, but what has been easy since Chuck’s brain was downloaded with all of the government’s secrets? In “Chuck Versus the Nemesis,” Chuck comes face to face with the man who made him the unfortunate and unwilling recipient of this top-secret information.

Bryce Larkin (guest star Matt Bomer) washes up alive, despite being presumed dead earlier in the season, and answers a ton of questions left lingering from the pilot episode and kick starts a new story arc that will be explored throughout the second season. Without spoiling the episode, Bryce isn’t exactly who he says he is, and Sarah might know more about him than she’s letting on to Chuck. Once again, Thanksgiving is but a backdrop for the drama and a reminder that Chuck’s life has been divided into two precarious halves.

Why we’re thankful for it: There’s a reason fans wouldn’t let Chuck die, and it’s because it’s the rare marriage of comedy and action. But it’s also even more than those two things, and somehow it all works unimaginably well together. “Chuck Versus the Nemesis” isn’t just a Thanksgiving episode, it’s a standout episode proving what magic the series is capable of. The Buy More subplot, the Thanksgiving dinner, and the Bryce Larkin return? Expert level. Not to mention, Chuck’s one of the few TV shows that acknowledges Black Friday.