Jill Roberts

Dr. Jill Roberts is a recurring character on the action/comedy series Chuck on NBC. She is a prominent figure in the series' mythology, though did not appear until the middle of the second season. Jill is Chuck's ex-girlfriend from Stanford, and is portrayed by Jordana Brewster. Jill has made the most recurring appearances among Fulcrum agents in the series (with four appearances), surpassing Ted Roark and Vincent, who have each made three appearances.

Biography

Most of what is known about Jill in the series has been revealed by Chuck, and prior to Sarah Walker, Jill was the love of his life. It was revealed in "Chuck Versus the Alma Mater" they met through their mutual friend Bryce Larkin (Matthew Bomer) at Stanford in 1999, and after growing closer as friends, eventually began to date. In 2003, Chuck was expelled after being framed for stealing the answer keys to tests for one of his classes by Larkin.^[1] A flashback in "Chuck Versus the Ex" shows he returned to Stanford briefly in an effort to explain the situation, but Jill told Chuck it was over between them. She also didn't contradict her roommate when the latter said Jill had begun seeing Bryce.

She graduated from Stanford with high grades, and her school performance attracted Fulcrum's attention while she was still attending school. They began exerting pressure on her, until it was too late for her to escape from their influence. According to Chris Fedak, Jill was recruited into Fulcrum by her Uncle Bernie.^[2] In "Chuck Versus the First Kill", Bernie is revealed to be her father's best friend. After Chuck was expelled through the actions of Larkin, she was ordered by Fulcrum to break off her relationship with Chuck. The best way she knew how was to tell him she had started seeing Bryce. During the course of her recruitment, she also received espionage and firearms training.

Series

In "Chuck Versus the Ex", set six years after Chuck's expulsion, he and Jill unexpectedly reunite while he was providing technical support for a scientific conference that Jill was attending with her boss, Dr. Guy LaFleur. Chuck was ordered to use his connection with Jill to learn more about LaFleur, who was suspected of developing a biological weapon. After LaFleur was killed by a Fulcrum agent, Jill revealed that he actually uncovered the plot and was attempting to stop it. Chuck later identified himself as a government operative to obtain her assistance once the bioweapon was unleashed in a scientific conference. After this, she and Chuck began dating again in secret while Chuck continued to maintain his cover relationship with Sarah, which both women found uncomfortable as they were both jealous of each other. In "Chuck Versus the Fat Lady", Jill aided the team when they began to search for a list of Fulcrum agents that LaFleur had stolen and had intended to turn over to the CIA. As Jill was familiar with the puzzles LaFleur used to protect his valuables, she was able to assist the team with recovering the data. As Chuck and Jill decided to embark on a romantic getaway, Casey and Sarah were reviewing the list and matching it with a list of government agents. It was then revealed Jill was in fact a Fulcrum agent.

Jill's Fulcrum handler was a man known only by the code-name Leader. Her own Fulcrum callsign was "Sandstorm", which Casey and Sarah told to Chuck to trigger a flash and confirm their warnings. Chuck agreed to help bring Jill into custody, however Jill was already setting Leader's plan to infiltrate Castle in motion. She played on Chuck's trust and feelings for her to lead him to believe she wanted to escape Fulcrum, manipulating a lie-detector test in order to convince him that they could really be together. She and Leader both underestimated Chuck's computer skills, which he used to lock down Castle, engineer his own escape, and release Casey to deal with Leader. Jill attempted to kill Sarah, but Chuck tricked her into getting into the Nerd Herd vehicle and used its built-in detainment system to place her under arrest.

Jill returned in "Chuck Versus the First Kill". She agreed to help the team rescue Stephen Bartowski in exchange for being released into witness protection, although Chuck was unauthorized to make such a deal. Jill attempted to escape during a firefight between Sarah and a Fulcrum team while infiltrating a Fulcrum office fronting for a recruiting center, but changed her mind and returned to help Chuck. After overhearing where Stephen was being taken, she told Chuck and in return he honored his promise by letting Jill escape.

As of the end of Season 2, Jill is still at large. It is unknown whether she has returned to Fulcrum or has turned rogue.

Development

On July 13, 2008, Jordana Brewster was officially announced as joining the cast of Chuck in the role of his ex-girlfriend from college, Jill Roberts.^[3] Although Jill had been referenced numerous times throughout the first and second seasons, she had yet to actually appear in an episode. Most details about her up until her appearance were revealed by Chuck in dialogue. The most significant information about their relationship was in "Chuck Versus the Alma Mater", where it was first revealed that Jill was a friend of Bryce Larkin's. Bryce introduced them not long after he and Chuck first met, referring back to the pilot episode when Chuck spaces out while remembering how close the three of them were in Stanford.

In March 2009, Jordana Brewster stated in interviews that she would be returning to play Jill in "Chuck Versus the First Kill".^[4] She was released from prison after being arrested at the end of "Chuck Versus the Gravitron" to assist the team in locating Chuck's captured father. The episode focused heavily on trust, particularly how much Chuck could trust Jill in reference to her several betrayals in "Chuck Versus the Gravitron".

Personality

Jill is highly intelligent, graduating from Stanford with a degree in Molecular Biology.^[5] She is an expert in biomedical engineering. She was good friends with Bryce Larkin at Stanford, and it was Bryce who first introduced her to Chuck. In "Chuck Versus the Gravitron", it was revealed in a flashback leading into the episode that although Chuck was interested in dating Jill for a while, he was too shy and uncomfortable to tell her how he felt so she was forced to take the lead. Jill shared many of the same interests as Chuck and Bryce, and was an avid EverQuest fan.^[1]

It was Jill's intelligence that first attracted Fulcrum's attention, and in "Chuck Versus the Gravitron" she claimed to have been pressured into joining. In the same episode it was revealed that Jill was highly deceptive, and was able to carefully manipulate a lie detector to convince Chuck of her intentions to turn and help them, setting up Fulcrum's attempt to take control of Castle. Jill also claims that she didn't actually cheat on Chuck with Bryce after his expulsion from Stanford and that she was ordered to tell him this by Fulcrum appears to have been validated by the lie detector.^[5]

In "Chuck Versus the First Kill", she expresses a great deal of regret over how Fulcrum changed her, and warns Chuck to not allow the CIA and NSA to do the same with him. She was also grateful that Chuck's operation allowed her a chance to see her family one last time, and she didn't blame him for being sent back to prison despite the deal they struck to secure her assistance in locating Stephen Bartowski. Jill first attempted to escape when Sarah was pinned down in a firefight, but she changed her mind and chose to return to help Chuck after first overhearing where Fulcrum was taking his father. Instead of allowing her to be arrested again, Chuck released her to hold up his end of their deal and show her that he wasn't letting his job change him.

NBC.com suggests that Jill is believed to have a sizable amount of knowledge on the Intersect computer, as well as Fulcrum's plans for it. Jill's relationships with both Chuck and Bryce made her a dangerous liability to both.^[6]

References