Chuck episode 5X06 picspam/recap
This episode is, scene wise, less abound in Chara-ness, but the importance of such scenes for the relationship is the same.
Let's dig into Chuck Vs. the Curse.
But first, some details:
- Mistique herself, Rebecca Romjin, playing an agent called Robyn Cunnings (because, you know, she's cunning.) My life is complete. (By the way, an Obsever was working for Robyn.)
- I already miss Gertrude!
- Mekenna, my heart.
- Ellie borrowed one of Sarah's dresses. It's a pity we didn't see the moment, but still, awesome.
- Sarah Lancaster isn't showing. Or maybe I got used to see her.
- P.A.N.T.S
- When Ellie talked about Agent Provocateur I thought she was talking about Sarah in code. So when she says that underwear was optional and she opted for no I was like "Did you tell her that? WTF?"
- Ellie is still the most intelligent of the Bartowski siblings.
- The most ridiculous excuse for fanservice in the entire series goes to Awesome. Of course he takes off his shirt, he needs it to insulate his hands.
- So Robyn knew Casey and Sarah and they seemed to know her too. I want a prequel!
- Beckman's "It was a bit like old times" sounded British or it was just me?
Let's focus on Chuck and Sarah now, shall we?
And we begin with...
You all right? You ready to go?
Yeah
But he's obviously not right and not ready to go. She, on the other hand, is a happy camper.
Because this entire episode centers around how these two people react when something is threatening their family and how incompatible their first responses are. She hides to prepare the best plan and he, on the other hand, finds his new vocation for a "meat shield."
So I know we're gonna fix this and all, but do you think they're gonna bring Ellie in for questioning? Man, I wish I could call her
I know, I know, but they could've tapped her phone, and we don't want her implicated
We're not staying at this cabin, right? I mean, this thing's gonna blow over. I'm not disappearing on my sister, am I?
Of course not, why would you say that?
You know, us, wanted by the CIA, my family history. I'm just saying
Chuck, we're not gonna disappear like your parents. We're just hiding out for a little while, okay? Everyone's gonna be fine
I don't know if she's delusional or she has a gut feeling that tells her this will be temporary, but it's strange that she's promising him this when she doesn't know. She's prone to soften everything for him, but she's also a pragmatic ad she knows this could be complicated. Right now she's too busy thinking about her next step to consider his obsession with the past.
He's in panic mode right now and when that happens he tends to think that he can't control his life. That's why it takes more time for him to react and make plans, comparing to Sarah. Also, this is familiar territory for her, so it doesn't scare her so much. Because Chuck is with her. If he wasn't, then everything would be different.
Man, I'm glad we're not on the lam forever because I got to tell you, standing here, I'm feeling a little bit like I'm becoming my father. I can only imagine this is what he felt like the first day he had to leave us behind. You know, all alone in exile
That's not gonna happen, not if I've got anything to do with it. [Sarah is proactive, just the opposite to Chuck.]
It's like it's my family's thing or something, you know? The Bartowski Curse
The what?
Every Bartowski has put their family in danger, then had to leave them in order to protect them. [That happened to more people than your father? Also, does that mean that Ellie will leave her family?] And I'm next
Chuck, there is no such thing as the Bartowski Curse. You're not going to be like your father, okay? [For starters, you're not... as mentally damaged as he was.] You know why? Because you've got me
I think that it's in this moment when she snaps out of it and focuses on Chuck. It's funny how Chuck's stupidity makes her do that every time. But also, this explains why she's so calm. Chuck is with her. He's her partner and he's with her. That's the only thing that matters.
She doesn't believe in curses because knowing her past (and everything we don't know and I'm dying to), that would mean she was destined to be a criminal, and she doesn't want to. She fought hard to be something different, to be something worthy, and only she makes her own destiny.
But of course, everything takes a turn for the worse (doesn't it always?)
They've confirmed they have a I.D. on the target. It says they found us. [Well, you're in your father's cabin, which the CIA knows about, so it isn't so strange.]
If they're closing in on us, then we've got to get out of here. We have to run, for real this time.
Sarah, this is exactly what I was afraid of.
I'm sorry, Chuck. I know that... that you're not ready for this, but nobody's ever ready for something like this. [you two seemed super ready in Vs. the Honeymooners.] We've got to go.
Well, how long are we talking here?
I don't know. But I know what you're thinking, and this has nothing to do with your parents. It has to do with us. You have to trust me. I've been on the run my entire life. [? Strange wording.] And the only way this is going to work is if we stick together, okay?
Okay. Okay, fine. But there's one thing I can't leave without
What?
My pants
Your pants?
Private Artifacts Never to Share, silly. Never heard of them?
Sarah knows what they have to do. She's an expert at this. They have to run. Chuck is her partner and they must be together like good partners, like she and her father were (Electra, you say? I don't know any Electra complex.) This is important because that's the reason why she will be so mad later. But the way she expresses it: "I've been on the run my entire life." OK, is she exaggerating again or this has another meaning? Her maternal family are part of the Russian mob for real? Because being the partner of a conman isn't exactly being "on the run."
Even if it seemed impossible, things go even worse. The CIA didn't find them, they had targeted Ellie and Awesome. And this is when Chuck officially loses it. Run away leaving his loved ones? OK. Running away when they had captured his family? Nope. And it doesn't help that once again Beckman does it wrong, even when she's trying to help! I think the General is the one who has a curse.
Anyway, Chuck and Sarah meet the General and they discuss what they're going to do. But any discussion goes down the toilet when Robyn calls Chuck and tells him that she has his family (but not Morgan and Casey's daughter, because who would want them? No blackmail chances there.)
We have three hours to deliver the Omen... or they kill Ellie and Awesome
Mm, they're bluffing
We need to start making a fake to deliver right away. [Of course, in two minutes. A piece of cake.]
No. A fake? What if they figure out it's a fake?
I know you're scared, Chuck, but we just can't hand over a weapon
It's bigger than us, Bartowski. It's national security
Look, I promise that we will take every precaution. I will not let them do anything to your sister.
You guys are the pros. [But of course you're lying.]
Chuck tries to find Sarah's support and he doesn't find it, not in the way he wanted. The point is that Sarah is much more cerebral than Chuck in these cases and since she's always been in a chain of command, it's much more difficult for her to rebel against the General (remember, when Chuck was kidnapped, she didn't go for herself immediately, she followed orders for a couple of days and it was Chuck the kidnapped.)
This is important: he takes the Omen before he got out of the room (or even before he and Sarah meet the General.) His mind was already made. It's a no win scenario, and since he thinks this is his curse, his responsability, he doesn't want anybody else to come with him and get hurt.
Sarah knows he's not happy and as always, she tries to talk with him (because she doesn't know he already has a plan.)
Hey. Look, I know you're concerned. Talk to me. [So season 2.]
I'm scared, Sarah. This is a mistake, this whole plan is a mistake. Giving them a fake virus is a mistake. Ellie and Awesome are in danger, and we need to give them the real virus in order to get them back. And I-I think I have to do it alone. [Well, we can't say he didn't give her hints.]
No, you don't have to do it alone. There are people here who are with you. I'm with you, and I happen to think you're right.
This is my curse, Sarah. Don't you understand? The people I love are in danger, it's my fault, I need to fix it
Forget about the curse. [Sarah, slap him. I think it's the only way to make him understand.] I'm gonna go out there, I'm gonna talk to Casey and Beckman, convince them that your plan is the right thing to do, and then we'll go together
You heard them. Th-They're never gonna be on board with this
Trust me. I will talk to them
And what if they say no? [Yeah, what about it?]
It's gonna take some time, okay?
Okay, fine
I'll rewrite what I said in other place: I didn’t think there was nothing wrong in Chuck’s decision. It was logical for him.
For starters, Sarah would need time to convince Casey and the General, if she could achieve it. And then there is the little detail of his obsession with his curse and how he wanted to protect her from it. Which is understandable. Chuck has always fought with the notion that he doesn’t control his life. This is because the fact that marked his life and created his abandonment issues happened in his childhood, when he didn’t have any control of it. He believes that forces beyond of his control rule his life, because that’s what happened. The fact that he controls his life and he chooses what he can do with it is something he’s still learning (that’s his hero’s journey.)
That contrasts with Sarah’s vision of life. She chose her father, she chose the travelling life (as far as we know), so she believes you make your life through your choices, good and bad. Whatever happens is her fault.
In any other season, she could be trying to appease Chuck to easy him and prevent him from doing something stupid, but if something is clear in season 5 is that since she's married to him, she's honest and straightforward with him, completely commited to him and their relationship. It's almost scary.
What happens is that she's practical here: together with Beckman and her resources they have more chances to survive than alone. So she's going to try to convince Casey and her (because it's also her family. Yeah!), which she achieves, only to discover that Chuck had his own plans.
I can't believe he'd do the drop on his own, without me. He thinks it's the Bartowski Curse, that he can somehow protect meby leaving me behind and instead, he's walking into a trap
In the traditional Chuck fashion, the writer here tells you exactly the characters' motivations, just in case (or because she doesn't trust our brains.)
Sarah is fuming because if she understands something, that's partnership. For most part of her childhood she was her father's partner in crime. And according to her there are rules: you don't leave your partner behind. Never. You don't leave him and you don't betray him. Those are rules that are ingrained in her. What Chuck did (even with his best intentions) is the worst of the sins for Sarah.
No surprise that she's still angry when they rescue Chuck.
Don't worry. I'm fine, too. Really. I love you... so much. [The "I love you" card isn't going to work here.] You're upset. I can see you're upset
This isn't over
Yeah, she's very angry and her threat seems hard, but then again she loves Chuck and she decides that she doesn't want to stay angry at him for long.
So... no living on the lam, running from the law. Sounded a little romantic, didn't it? [No, it didn't. Shut up.] You're still mad.
You left without me.
I'm sorry, Sarah. I'm sorry. Okay? It was stupid. [Yes!] But I didn't want to take you down with me and my family's curse. [That's the stupid part!]
There is no curse. You're not your father, Chuck. You're not fated to be alone or to hurt anybody. Those things happen because
of the choices that people make. That you make. [And you chose poorly this time.]
You're right. I'll never do it again, [you're like a broken record] leave without you. The Bartowski Family Curse ends here, and-and-and not with me; with us
She should have stayed angry longer? Maybe. Then again I'm sure she's going to keep this betrayal in case she needs to remind him how much she hated it. Because the next time she won't be that forgiving. In fact, she won't be forgiving at all. Because it's not so much that she forgives him as she decides to stop being angry at him. It's not the same. As we saw, she still talks to her father, that doesn't mean she isn't disappointed at him and tells this little fact to anybody who wants to hear her. She's passive-agressive that way.
But just in case it wasn't clear before, she makes it clear now.
If you ever go out alone again, just remember, I'm a trained assassin
Noted
Good
You wouldn't shoot me, would you?
Threatening to use violence against your partner is a big no-no, but in this case we forgive Sarah because she wasn't serious. I think. I want to think.
So now that she's not angry anymore, that means make up sex, yes? Yes?
*eye twitch* A computer virus cockblocks them? That's unbelievable.
A virus that apparently will release a very dangerous prisoner. Who? Thanks to the promo people, we know it!
Miss me?
Not even for a second! But on the other hand... I'm so excited he's in the show again. He's the best villain. Everybody hates him. The sexual undertones in the next episode worry me a little, but I'm completely in for the trip.
An last, but not least:
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
I hope you all have a great time.
Let's dig into Chuck Vs. the Curse.
But first, some details:
- Mistique herself, Rebecca Romjin, playing an agent called Robyn Cunnings (because, you know, she's cunning.) My life is complete. (By the way, an Obsever was working for Robyn.)
- I already miss Gertrude!
- Mekenna, my heart.
- Ellie borrowed one of Sarah's dresses. It's a pity we didn't see the moment, but still, awesome.
- Sarah Lancaster isn't showing. Or maybe I got used to see her.
- P.A.N.T.S
- When Ellie talked about Agent Provocateur I thought she was talking about Sarah in code. So when she says that underwear was optional and she opted for no I was like "Did you tell her that? WTF?"
- Ellie is still the most intelligent of the Bartowski siblings.
- The most ridiculous excuse for fanservice in the entire series goes to Awesome. Of course he takes off his shirt, he needs it to insulate his hands.
- So Robyn knew Casey and Sarah and they seemed to know her too. I want a prequel!
- Beckman's "It was a bit like old times" sounded British or it was just me?
Let's focus on Chuck and Sarah now, shall we?
And we begin with...
You all right? You ready to go?
Yeah
But he's obviously not right and not ready to go. She, on the other hand, is a happy camper.
Because this entire episode centers around how these two people react when something is threatening their family and how incompatible their first responses are. She hides to prepare the best plan and he, on the other hand, finds his new vocation for a "meat shield."
So I know we're gonna fix this and all, but do you think they're gonna bring Ellie in for questioning? Man, I wish I could call her
I know, I know, but they could've tapped her phone, and we don't want her implicated
We're not staying at this cabin, right? I mean, this thing's gonna blow over. I'm not disappearing on my sister, am I?
Of course not, why would you say that?
You know, us, wanted by the CIA, my family history. I'm just saying
Chuck, we're not gonna disappear like your parents. We're just hiding out for a little while, okay? Everyone's gonna be fine
I don't know if she's delusional or she has a gut feeling that tells her this will be temporary, but it's strange that she's promising him this when she doesn't know. She's prone to soften everything for him, but she's also a pragmatic ad she knows this could be complicated. Right now she's too busy thinking about her next step to consider his obsession with the past.
He's in panic mode right now and when that happens he tends to think that he can't control his life. That's why it takes more time for him to react and make plans, comparing to Sarah. Also, this is familiar territory for her, so it doesn't scare her so much. Because Chuck is with her. If he wasn't, then everything would be different.
Man, I'm glad we're not on the lam forever because I got to tell you, standing here, I'm feeling a little bit like I'm becoming my father. I can only imagine this is what he felt like the first day he had to leave us behind. You know, all alone in exile
That's not gonna happen, not if I've got anything to do with it. [Sarah is proactive, just the opposite to Chuck.]
It's like it's my family's thing or something, you know? The Bartowski Curse
The what?
Every Bartowski has put their family in danger, then had to leave them in order to protect them. [That happened to more people than your father? Also, does that mean that Ellie will leave her family?] And I'm next
Chuck, there is no such thing as the Bartowski Curse. You're not going to be like your father, okay? [For starters, you're not... as mentally damaged as he was.] You know why? Because you've got me
I think that it's in this moment when she snaps out of it and focuses on Chuck. It's funny how Chuck's stupidity makes her do that every time. But also, this explains why she's so calm. Chuck is with her. He's her partner and he's with her. That's the only thing that matters.
She doesn't believe in curses because knowing her past (and everything we don't know and I'm dying to), that would mean she was destined to be a criminal, and she doesn't want to. She fought hard to be something different, to be something worthy, and only she makes her own destiny.
But of course, everything takes a turn for the worse (doesn't it always?)
They've confirmed they have a I.D. on the target. It says they found us. [Well, you're in your father's cabin, which the CIA knows about, so it isn't so strange.]
If they're closing in on us, then we've got to get out of here. We have to run, for real this time.
Sarah, this is exactly what I was afraid of.
I'm sorry, Chuck. I know that... that you're not ready for this, but nobody's ever ready for something like this. [you two seemed super ready in Vs. the Honeymooners.] We've got to go.
Well, how long are we talking here?
I don't know. But I know what you're thinking, and this has nothing to do with your parents. It has to do with us. You have to trust me. I've been on the run my entire life. [? Strange wording.] And the only way this is going to work is if we stick together, okay?
Okay. Okay, fine. But there's one thing I can't leave without
What?
My pants
Your pants?
Private Artifacts Never to Share, silly. Never heard of them?
Sarah knows what they have to do. She's an expert at this. They have to run. Chuck is her partner and they must be together like good partners, like she and her father were (Electra, you say? I don't know any Electra complex.) This is important because that's the reason why she will be so mad later. But the way she expresses it: "I've been on the run my entire life." OK, is she exaggerating again or this has another meaning? Her maternal family are part of the Russian mob for real? Because being the partner of a conman isn't exactly being "on the run."
Even if it seemed impossible, things go even worse. The CIA didn't find them, they had targeted Ellie and Awesome. And this is when Chuck officially loses it. Run away leaving his loved ones? OK. Running away when they had captured his family? Nope. And it doesn't help that once again Beckman does it wrong, even when she's trying to help! I think the General is the one who has a curse.
Anyway, Chuck and Sarah meet the General and they discuss what they're going to do. But any discussion goes down the toilet when Robyn calls Chuck and tells him that she has his family (but not Morgan and Casey's daughter, because who would want them? No blackmail chances there.)
We have three hours to deliver the Omen... or they kill Ellie and Awesome
Mm, they're bluffing
We need to start making a fake to deliver right away. [Of course, in two minutes. A piece of cake.]
No. A fake? What if they figure out it's a fake?
I know you're scared, Chuck, but we just can't hand over a weapon
It's bigger than us, Bartowski. It's national security
Look, I promise that we will take every precaution. I will not let them do anything to your sister.
You guys are the pros. [But of course you're lying.]
Chuck tries to find Sarah's support and he doesn't find it, not in the way he wanted. The point is that Sarah is much more cerebral than Chuck in these cases and since she's always been in a chain of command, it's much more difficult for her to rebel against the General (remember, when Chuck was kidnapped, she didn't go for herself immediately, she followed orders for a couple of days and it was Chuck the kidnapped.)
This is important: he takes the Omen before he got out of the room (or even before he and Sarah meet the General.) His mind was already made. It's a no win scenario, and since he thinks this is his curse, his responsability, he doesn't want anybody else to come with him and get hurt.
Sarah knows he's not happy and as always, she tries to talk with him (because she doesn't know he already has a plan.)
Hey. Look, I know you're concerned. Talk to me. [So season 2.]
I'm scared, Sarah. This is a mistake, this whole plan is a mistake. Giving them a fake virus is a mistake. Ellie and Awesome are in danger, and we need to give them the real virus in order to get them back. And I-I think I have to do it alone. [Well, we can't say he didn't give her hints.]
No, you don't have to do it alone. There are people here who are with you. I'm with you, and I happen to think you're right.
This is my curse, Sarah. Don't you understand? The people I love are in danger, it's my fault, I need to fix it
Forget about the curse. [Sarah, slap him. I think it's the only way to make him understand.] I'm gonna go out there, I'm gonna talk to Casey and Beckman, convince them that your plan is the right thing to do, and then we'll go together
You heard them. Th-They're never gonna be on board with this
Trust me. I will talk to them
And what if they say no? [Yeah, what about it?]
It's gonna take some time, okay?
Okay, fine
I'll rewrite what I said in other place: I didn’t think there was nothing wrong in Chuck’s decision. It was logical for him.
For starters, Sarah would need time to convince Casey and the General, if she could achieve it. And then there is the little detail of his obsession with his curse and how he wanted to protect her from it. Which is understandable. Chuck has always fought with the notion that he doesn’t control his life. This is because the fact that marked his life and created his abandonment issues happened in his childhood, when he didn’t have any control of it. He believes that forces beyond of his control rule his life, because that’s what happened. The fact that he controls his life and he chooses what he can do with it is something he’s still learning (that’s his hero’s journey.)
That contrasts with Sarah’s vision of life. She chose her father, she chose the travelling life (as far as we know), so she believes you make your life through your choices, good and bad. Whatever happens is her fault.
In any other season, she could be trying to appease Chuck to easy him and prevent him from doing something stupid, but if something is clear in season 5 is that since she's married to him, she's honest and straightforward with him, completely commited to him and their relationship. It's almost scary.
What happens is that she's practical here: together with Beckman and her resources they have more chances to survive than alone. So she's going to try to convince Casey and her (because it's also her family. Yeah!), which she achieves, only to discover that Chuck had his own plans.
I can't believe he'd do the drop on his own, without me. He thinks it's the Bartowski Curse, that he can somehow protect meby leaving me behind and instead, he's walking into a trap
In the traditional Chuck fashion, the writer here tells you exactly the characters' motivations, just in case (or because she doesn't trust our brains.)
Sarah is fuming because if she understands something, that's partnership. For most part of her childhood she was her father's partner in crime. And according to her there are rules: you don't leave your partner behind. Never. You don't leave him and you don't betray him. Those are rules that are ingrained in her. What Chuck did (even with his best intentions) is the worst of the sins for Sarah.
No surprise that she's still angry when they rescue Chuck.
Don't worry. I'm fine, too. Really. I love you... so much. [The "I love you" card isn't going to work here.] You're upset. I can see you're upset
This isn't over
Yeah, she's very angry and her threat seems hard, but then again she loves Chuck and she decides that she doesn't want to stay angry at him for long.
So... no living on the lam, running from the law. Sounded a little romantic, didn't it? [No, it didn't. Shut up.] You're still mad.
You left without me.
I'm sorry, Sarah. I'm sorry. Okay? It was stupid. [Yes!] But I didn't want to take you down with me and my family's curse. [That's the stupid part!]
There is no curse. You're not your father, Chuck. You're not fated to be alone or to hurt anybody. Those things happen because
of the choices that people make. That you make. [And you chose poorly this time.]
You're right. I'll never do it again, [you're like a broken record] leave without you. The Bartowski Family Curse ends here, and-and-and not with me; with us
She should have stayed angry longer? Maybe. Then again I'm sure she's going to keep this betrayal in case she needs to remind him how much she hated it. Because the next time she won't be that forgiving. In fact, she won't be forgiving at all. Because it's not so much that she forgives him as she decides to stop being angry at him. It's not the same. As we saw, she still talks to her father, that doesn't mean she isn't disappointed at him and tells this little fact to anybody who wants to hear her. She's passive-agressive that way.
But just in case it wasn't clear before, she makes it clear now.
If you ever go out alone again, just remember, I'm a trained assassin
Noted
Good
You wouldn't shoot me, would you?
Threatening to use violence against your partner is a big no-no, but in this case we forgive Sarah because she wasn't serious. I think. I want to think.
So now that she's not angry anymore, that means make up sex, yes? Yes?
*eye twitch* A computer virus cockblocks them? That's unbelievable.
A virus that apparently will release a very dangerous prisoner. Who? Thanks to the promo people, we know it!
Miss me?
Not even for a second! But on the other hand... I'm so excited he's in the show again. He's the best villain. Everybody hates him. The sexual undertones in the next episode worry me a little, but I'm completely in for the trip.
An last, but not least:
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
I hope you all have a great time.