Chuck episode 5X12 picspam/recap
I can't believe it's almost a year since the last time I wrote a recap. I don't even know why I'm still doing it, frankly, but I promised and I'll keep writing them until the last episode. And I hope I can write the last one, because the more I reach the ending the more I suffer an illness/accident/bad news. I think this thing is cursed or something. But I don't care, I promised and a promise is a promise!
I hope you'll appreciate my sacrifice :-)
Anyway, let's begin this before I have a heart attack.
Last episode ended with Quinn kidnapping and brainwashing Sarah, while Chuck & Co. searched for her. This episode begins with Chuck & Co. still searching for Sarah. But Chuck is already thinking ahead. Since Quinn wants a pristine Intersect and the Intersect is being built or held in a secret location, let's find that location, which probably means we'll meet Quinn. Well, I can see holes in that reasoning, but Morgan and Casey are with Chuck, and there they go, to find Sarah.
But, oh, that won't be necessary.
Sarah?
I'm... I'm sorry it took me so long to come home
Sarah comes back home. Convenient Suspicious That's great!
So... How did she get there?
His name is Chuck Bartowski. Everything's in here. Strengths, [hacking; being adorable] weaknesses, [Sarah Walker] profiles of the people closest to him. [Awesome's is a Greek profile.] Memorize it. Any questions?
Yeah. Yeah, just one, um... [Where is the bathroom?] Why the hell should I believe you?
Nice to know that the amnesia didn't change Sarah's default behavior towards unknown situations: first throw a punch, ask questions later.
You know what that means, right?
SARAH: I'm back, bitches!
SAM: (hands and legs tied) It's curious, I have the feeling that this should be different.
SARAH: Shut up.
SAM: That I should have more power, more control of the body.
SARAH: Don't be ridiculous. As if we would let you.
JENNY: Hear, hear.
So Quinn is dead and everything is all right, isn't that so? Please, tell me everything has ended. Please.
And Quinn?
He's dead. [Perfect.] And the Intersect is out of my head. [Convenient.] So, it's all over. [At 2:20 min. in, I doubt it.]
Well, thankfully, these cuts look pretty minor
We should let you get some rest
(Somebody is talking to Sarah through a comm. It's Quinn) Eleanor Bartowski. The sister. [You aren't dead! Why aren't you dead?] Goes by Ellie
Thank you, Ellie
And you remember her husband's name
And thank you, Devon.[Goes by Awesome.] Thank you, all of you. I'm-I'm really glad to be home
Why do you do this to me, show?
Sarah is at the hands of an abusive handler. Again. What does she have with this harmful paternal figures? Does she attract them or something?
So, at the risk of getting angry at Quinn's douchebaggery, how could this happen?
Today is September 24, 2007, Day One. Today, I made contact with the Intersect, Charles Irving Bartowski, or rather, Chuck. My mission is simple: find out what he knows, gain his trust and monitor his actions until the agency can decide what to do with him.[So... stealing his computer was something you chose to do by yourself?]
Well, the Agency has made a decision, Agent Walker. Chuck Bartowski has proven to be a major threat to... national security
Well, then put Director Graham on the phone. [Smart girl.] He gives me my orders
He's dead, Sarah
Well, what about my partner, Bryce? Where is he?
I'm sorry, Sarah
The writers have retconned him!
Curious how Sarah had close contact with just two people: Graham and Bryce. Nobody else. Which makes me realize Graham's death at the beginning of season 2 had to have been a hard blow for Sarah. Worse than what the show... showed us. I mean, Graham was the man that recruited her and Sarah was known for being Graham's Wild Card. That's big. Bryce was also important to her and knowing about his dead again, as if it was the first time, affects her deeply. The only thing she remembers is that he was her boyfriend (or that's what everybody told us in season 1) and now he's dead. Bryce's dead already shook her when it happened in the end of season 2 (in fact, that's my theory of why she was so eager to leave with Chuck at the beginning of season 3), so we have to assume that Sarah is working under a big pressure and sadness (plus the fact that she lost five years of her life.)
I'm so glad you're okay. I love you
I love you, too. [LIAR!]
Mommyyyyy... She's super scary again, like in episode 4X09 (Vs. Phase Three). I think Rebecca (AKA psycho!Sarah) is in control.
JENNY: OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod... make her stop!
For me this explains why Sarah was so reluctant to say "I love you" when she began a real relationship with Chuck. It's because she can lie and say it without meaning it effortlessly. For Sarah words are meaningless, actions are everything. This also explain why it was so hard for her to believe Chuck.
And I tell you something: this is how Sarah was before meeting Chuck, and this Sarah is a complete bitch and freaks me out.
She freaks Chuck too. Her ruthless treatment to a harmless chicken scares him so much that he must leave her. Moment that she takes to search around the house for the Intersect glasses (I guess that the software was defective and not the hardware.) And I will take this moment too to highlight something in the house's decoration:
I swear, I think that at this point, the props department does this on purpose. And by the way, I don't know why these pictures make Sarah so uneasy. It's as if she sensed they were photographs of a real couple, which is ridiculous, because all of them are false (they are from the time they were a fake couple.)
Meanwhile, Sarah's behavior has provoked a regression in Chuck that takes him to what he was before season 5, and he does what he always did when he had any issue with Sarah. Talking with Morgan.
Different how?
I don't know, Morgan; that's what I'm trying to tell you. I can't put my finger on it. Sarah just seems different
Look, of course she's not acting like herself. Okay, she was kidnapped by some homicidal maniac on a Japanese bullet train, and then in order to escape, she had to kill the dude and walk home from his secret base barefoot! Wow, she really is incredible, huh?
Yes. But I don't know why this explains why she's different. That's an everyday in the office for her. Personally, I think the ending of season 3 was more stressful for her.
After Morgan has calmed him, Chuck has a plan to have sex make Sarah comfortable.
Hey, honey, uh, you want to meet me in the bedroom? I have a surprise for you
Okay
Sarah holding that big Darth Vader helmet cracks me up.
Of course, distrustful!Sarah fears some kind of trap and her entrance gives us one of the funniest moments in the episode:
I would say "poor thing, all jumpy and afraid", except that she has a knife in her apron's pocket.
Welcome to the Bartowski Inn and Spa Resort where all of your worries melt away. You have to use a little imagination, [and when he says "a little", he means "a lot"] but picture, if you will, outside those windows the gorgeous Ojai Valley. And what may look like a normal, five-year-old mattress is, in actuality, [a five year old mattress] a luxurious massage table. Huh? Huh? A sheet has been provided for your discretion. [And I wonder why. I mean, you two are married.]
Oh. Great
Sarah is looking at the bed most of the time. It's a double bed and it's the only bed, so she is sleeping with him. And I think that hits her as weird, because one thing is being undercover very deep, and even marrying the guy, but it's a very different thing to fulfill all the requirements of the marriage. Sarah is a spy, not a prostitute, she would have developed a plan to prevent that as much as possible (like asking for separate beds in separate rooms because he snored and she couldn't sleep.) Except if she suspects he forced her, which is kind of terrifying.
But I think that she feels something doesn't add up. Sarah has always trust her guts, after all, and I'm sure there is something inside her that is telling her she wouldn't be so cozy with this Chuck guy. Even if she makes sure he isn't into something to kill her. You know, just in case.
And for some reason, Quinn convinces her to allow a massage from Chuck (a little voyeur that.)
See? Yes, better already. Breathe. Yeah... Baby, your muscles are so tight, they're hurting my hands. [Attention, please, Sarah's muscles can hurt your hands. Not even Chuck Norris, guys.] A lot of lactic acid buildup, huh? [Well, something is building up, but I don't know if it's lactic acid.] Why don't, why don't I crack your neck? [Are you qualified to do that?]
No!
What? What did I, what did I do? What did I say? You love it when I crack your neck. [Censor!]
Don't blow your cover, Walker. Talk to him! [I could make such a cheap joke with the verb "blow" and the need to calm Chuck...]
Uh, I'm-I'm-I'm sorry, Chuck. I really appreciate everything that you are trying to do. It's just that it's been a long couple days, and, um, you know, maybe it's just best if we go to bed
Yeah. Yeah, sure, sure, sure. [To sleep, Chuck.]
Yvonne is amazing, she's acting as if she could jump and kill Chuck at any moment. You believe that this trained assassin is trying very hard to mantain her cool, instead of, you know, releasing a world of pain.
This highlights a particular trait in Chuck that in the end of the episode will end up being crucial: Chuck doesn't force Sarah when she tells him to leave her alone. He's respectful and nice. He even apologized to her in dreams in episode 2X12 (Vs. the Third Dimension), for Pete's shake. He respects her space and he's one of those guys that I can't imagine comitting sexual assault (in any circumstances.)
So our babies go to bed. Meanwhile, Morgan and Casey talk about how all this time have changed them (although the Colonel not so much, he was called Sugar Bear once, after all.) In the other apartment, Awesome and Ellie receive a job offer in Chicago, and I must confess that I thought it was a trap or something. I'm more distrustful than Sarah sometimes.
Speaking of the Leggy Blonde Valkyirie, she's obviously not sleeping, which gives us another hilarious bit:
She's like a lioness lying in wait :-)
This is her oportunity. To kill Chuck? No. Well, maybe later. But to find the glasses. They are, of course, in the closet, because it contains everything, including a pocket universe and a passageway to Narnia.
Does she kill Chuck then? No, because... he wakes up and... it's unethical to kill him awake? Sarah is a coward? I don't even know what's the reason?
Sarah?
Was the director of this Quentin Tarantino? What's up with this show and its feet fetish?
But this last weird behavior saddens Chuck even more and he goes to the person he always does when he needs a real, conforting and mature opinion: Ellie Bartowski (-Woodcomb.) She's the mother figure and she'll always be. Sarah follows him, because, you know, they might be celebrating an evil cabal. She follows him... in her pajamas. So, let me understand it, good!Sarah doesn't wear pajamas ever, but evil!Sarah does? Are the writers pulling my leg or something? Although, I admit, it makes sense. This Sarah doesn't know Chuck, so it's only natural to choose to wear something that covers most part of her skin while she's in the bed with him.
Anyway, Sarah spies the Bartoski siblings.
I don't know. I guess, it's, uh, the little things that are different. Like, her feet get cold at night, so I always put mine on top of hers to keep them warm. [Am I the only one that thinks this is quite sweet?] And I know it sounds stupid, but tonight she... pulled her feet away from mine, and she never pulled them away like that. [It's not stupid, Chuck, it means you really know her. You're better than Peter Bishop.]
Walker, where are you?
Ellie's apartment. They're talking
Chuck, it's her first night back. I can't imagine what Sarah's been through. [Seriously, she's a trained assassin. She was kidnapped and abused by an "ex-boyfriend" in Christmas this same season and after that she was just fine and dandy.]
She's involved in this, too. What are they talking about?
About me
I think a part of Sarah was touched, or at least confused about Chuck's behavior. The same way she knew he wasn't a bad apple in the pilot, she now senses there's something odd with Quinn's assigment. It's something, bugging her, in the deepest of her mind.
SAM: it's me, you idiot! Wake up and realize how wonderful this Chuck guy is!
SARAH: Shut up or I'll make you.
SAM: We could have had it aaaall... Rolling in the deeeeeeeep...
SARAH: I don't even know what you're doing now.
Unfortunately, Chuck breaks the spell when he begins to speak about destroying the One Ring Intersect once and for all. I share the sentiment, I really do, but I don't know what Beckman and all the intelligence agencies in US and even the President, would say when they discover what he's done.
So Sarah has a new plan: instead of killing Chuck, go with him to the Intersect headquarters, download a version of the computer and... yes, then kill Chuck.
Chuck?
Yeah?
I'm cold
Wow, I didn't miss manipulative!Sarah in the last seasons. I didn't miss her a bit.
We have been told that Sarah was a quite disgusting persona before meeting Chuck, we've seen glimpses here and there, but this is the first time that we have a lasting picture of how ruthless she could be. I seriously despise this woman.
Anyway... Team Chuck has a new plan: infiltrate DARPA headquarters and once in the white room, plant a virus in the Intersect computer. Easy, right?
If this is what you want, Chuck, I'm in
Stop being such a manipulative bitch, Sarah! You're freaking me out.
Five seasons, but at last Chuck realized his father was right: the Intersect is bad news. He doesn't want it, he doesn't need it, and the risks are too high. The macguffin must disappear. Fortunately, five seasons have gone by, so Chuck can see his glasses in Sarah's backpack and deduce something is very rotten with her wife. Isn't that great? He's not that naïve character who usually was holding the idiot ball.
So there they go, to the DARPA headquarters, or, as everybody calls them affectionately: Q's laboratory. The place is full of guards, of course. And suddenly Sarah is possessed by Bryce Larkin's spirit.
I always find funny how Sarah's boots' heels vanish in thin air when she must perform difficult fight moves. They must be retractable.
Thanks to Sarah being awesome even without the Intersect (or heels), they reach the laboratory (where Morgan can play at being Harry Potter) and, at last, the white room opens before them.
And this is the moment when everything goes to hell.
Drop the gun.
Sarah? Sarah, what are you doing? [What does it look she's doing?]
Drop the gun. Now, I have the Intersect, and you can't destroy it, and you can't hurt anybody else with it. [I hate to demolish your logical argument here, but if he destroyed it, he couldn't be able to hurt anybody with it.]
Baby, what are you talking about?
Quinn told me the truth. [He told me you killed my father.]
Quinn's not dead? [Welcome to the party, Morgan.]
I know about you. I know what you've done, all of you. I know everything. [You know nothing, Jon Snow.]
I don't know what's happening right now, but whatever he told you is a lie. The Intersect is-is... It's damaged your memory or something, [but you already knew that. Remember the last episode?] because the Sarah that I know would never do something like this. Baby, please. It's me. It's your Chuck
Turn on the waterworks.
How can you be so cruel, writers? This is a sure way to bring us to the breaking point, and you know it. You know it.
And see? See? There is something unconscious in her that makes her doubt. Whatever Chuck is saying, we know Sarah could kill all of them without batting an eyelid. But she can't. She can't because part of her unconscious mind, or her lizard brain or whatever it is, is holding her back. I don't know, maybe is his cologne. If it wasn't because Quinn snaps her out of it, I'm sure she'd have given in.
Unfortunately, Chuck decides to use that moment of weakness to steal the glasses from her, which turn out to be a horrible idea. Because Sarah was very mad at Quinn for bombing the CIA headquarters. She's always been a professional, and those were CIA agents, so that was completely unnecessary for her (even evil!Sarah has standards.) This could have been the moment where Sarah began to definitively mistrust Quinn, but nooooo... Chuck had gotten the glasses from her, making her look stupid and a compete n00b. And if there is something we know can infuriate Sarah is the notion that she's not good at her job.
Chuck is a dead man.
Quinn turned her. We have to consider the fact that maybe she's gone. [Casey, always the optimistic.]
How can you say that? She's your friend! [calm down, Padmé Amidala.] And she's not gone. Not completely anyway
Oh, yeah? Did his memory come magically back after the Intersect? You know it didn't
All I have to do is remind her of who she really is. [A spy? Somebody deadly?] You know, look, look, I have, I have the glasses. Even if she doesn't remember me, I know that she wanted these. [Yeah, that'll work. I'm sure she isn't pissed off or anything.]
She tried to kill us, Chuck. Can't pretend that everything is as it was. [Why not? You tried to kill him in season 2 and everything is all right.] Otherwise, she's gonna succeed next time. And I'm not gonna lose you both
Oh, Casey... My Sugar Bear... He's so emotional. It's unbelievable how much Casey has changed through the show. From barely tolerating his partner and the nerd, to be frantic because the best partner he's ever had has been turned and he can't stand the possibility of losing Chuck too. This is really touching.
In fact, this surprises Chuck so much that he stops and listens to Casey and Morgan (who are actually making very logical and compelling arguments). When he calls Awesome to confirm that he and Ellie are all right and that Sarah didn't begin to orbit the Moral Event Horizon, Devon informs him that his wife is putting into practice the Bechdel Test.
I'm glad we're doing this. You've been through so much lately
Why do you do this to me, writers? Where there was a heart before, now there is just a hole.
Chuck calls Ellie, and Sarah --playing the good wife-- picks up the phone and freaks everybody out.
Hey, sweetie. [Pet names, that means evil!Sarah.] So, I see you that you switched out the Intersect glasses. That was a nice move. [He learned that from you, hah!] Should've known I couldn't trust you. [You... didn't.] I have some moves of my own. [Censor!] We're at the Bergamot Café off Gower. Bring the glasses; come alone. You have 15 minutes. [Have you taken into account LA's traffic?]
This is crazy, Sarah. Please
Oh, Bartowski, if you try anything...
Sarah, what are you doing? [Does it look like she's showing a gun to you in a menacing way? Because that's what she's doing.]
I'm gonna put a bullet between your sister's eyes
Gosh you're disgusting, evil!Sarah!
But don't worry, Beckman is here to develop a plan to kill Sarah neutralize Sarah and rescue Ellie. Not killing involved. Nuh-huh. Except if Sarah is her usual obtuse self.
So yeah, Chuck is kind of worried the CIA will end up shooting Sarah. And prevent your wife from killing Ellie at the same time. No pressure,man.
Sarah, I think that the Intersect may have damaged... [your common sense?]
Stop talking. I know you're involved. [Yes, don't try to convince her with logical arguments. Logic doesn't work with her.]
(Chuck shows up.)
You okay?
You got the glasses?
I don't have them with me. [Sarah doesn't like these news.] Wait-wait-wait-wait-wait! Just wait a second, okay? Whatever you think I've done, she didn't do anything. [Weeeell... she hit Casey with a pan once.] She's innocent. So I will lead you to the glasses, but just you and me, okay? Please, just let her go
I'll follow you in a separate car. She'll come with me
Of course Ellie goes with Sarah. What did you think she was? Stupid? It's her life insurance.
This shows that Chuck never got convinced that this Sarah wasn't "his Sarah," that the Sarah who existed before meeting him was kind of a repulsive person, and that Sarah was just too enraged and stressed and scared because she just lost five years of her life, plus Graham and Bryce.
Then again, Chuck isn't the only one who tries to reason with Sarah.
You were in my wedding. [And vice versa.] You were at the hospital when my baby was born. We're family
No, we're not. ["Family" doesn't have good connotations for her.] This was always a mission for me, and today I'm gonna finish it
It's interesting how stubborn Sarah is. The more they tell her she had a "family" and something resembling a "normal life," the more she digs in her heels. She has absolutely no idea of what happened in those five years she can't remember, yet she can believe she was in deep undercover (even marrying a suspected evil doer and murderer) before even considering the possibility of having found a good place for her. I don't think this is Sarah's father's fault, it's more the result of her spy training and the horrible acts she has seen in her line of work. It's as if Sarah didn't believe she deserved happiness before meeting Chuck.
Be aware that only Chuck's resolution and love made her open up and consider the possibility of having a normal family of her own. Chuck changed everything. Chuck has the gift of changing everyone around him. Even people like Casey.
She's not in there anymore. Sarah's gone
This is heartbreaking. The little pause Casey does after he says "she's not in there anymore," because it hurts him too much. Sarah is her partner, as family as Alex is to him. The Casey And Sarah Can Hug Because They're like Siblings Campaign is pleased and weeping.
Chuck, however, is immune to discouragement so he has a plan to try to save Sarah and lead her and his sister away from Beckman's rendevouz point.
And here is when we have a brick joke. Remember that there is always this running joke with Chuck asking Sarah to fasten the belt or her mentioning it? Yeah, it pays off.
If you could remember, if you were still you, [instead of you from the past but not the recent past but the more ancient past you] you would want me to do anything I could to save Chuck. You would want this
I don't think she would want a head trauma. That's... that's a bit extreme, Ellie.
Always bet on Ellie to be the ruthless one if we are talking about protecting the family. She loves Sarah and of course she would do anything for her, but even Ellie's trust and faith have a limit.
The only one who still thinks Sarah can be saved is Chuck.
What were you thinking?
I was thinking about protecting you. Chuck, Sarah's trying to kill you. There's something seriously wrong with her, Chuck. [You think?]
That's why I'm taking her somewhere that'll help her remember. [Paris?]
[...]
What if she doesn't remember? [Doomsayer!] She's further gone than Morgan ever was, Chuck. You need to call the CIA. You need to turn her in
Listen, everyone keeps telling me that Sarah's gone, but she's not. She's right here
Chuck...
What if it was Devon?
Cheap shot!
Besides, I think that if it were Devon and he put Chuck's life in danger, she would turn Devon in. For real.
So Chuck, unable to listen to anyone except to his own heart, carries Sarah to the only place he thinks is going to do the charm: their dreamed house (which, as you know, was vandalized by Sarah.) Apparently Chuck still had the keys.
And I'm sorry, but I'll have to transcript the entire Monologue of Desperation (tm).
Our relationship was a cover, Bartowski. [So that you remember] Always has been. You're just an assignment
No, I was an assignment, and then you fell in love with me. And I know that sounds crazy, and if I didn't know any better, I-I'd say it's crazy, too. [Great selfsteem there, Chuck.] But the fact remains, you fell for me, Sarah, you did. [That's better.]
My job is too make you think that I feel something. [Technically your job is to gather information, Sarah. I hope you see this "prostitution" part as merely optional.] That's what I do best; I lie
Actually, you're not as good a liar as you think you are. [BUUUUURN! Also, true.] It's true, okay? Our first kiss, not our, not our
first cover kiss, [you french kissed as a cover before that? Why didn't we see it?] but our first, our first real kiss... was when we were trying to defuse a bomb [telling it like that it sounds super weird] and we we thought we were gonna die, and I closed my eyes and... [she must be thinking "so I had to do all the job by myself?] I felt you grab me and kiss me. You kissed me. And then there was a lot of pretending that it didn't happen [we call it season 1] and awkward back-and-forth [also known as season 2] and even dating other people, [you more than her, Chuck, but we'll think you're talking about the first part of season 3] but one day, one day when I was sure... that you could never love a nerd like me, [which shows how dense you can be, because Sarah was in love with you since the pilot] you came over... and I asked you if you loved me. [In your underwear!] And you, Sarah Walker... said yes. And when I asked you to marry me, you didn't even have to say yes, because we both knew, we both knew that we'd spend the rest of our lives together. So, please remember this house and the red door and the white picket fence and the family that we were going to raise together [superheroes with minicapes!] and remember me. [Run, you clever boy, and remember me. Sorry, wrong show.] Because if you remember me... then you'd remember... that a nerdy guy like me who works at the Buy More... could make you happy
Josh-Oi-Squirol
19xx-2012
Killed by Zachary Levi's tears
Yeah, I'm writing this as a ghost. Spooky, isn't it? :-)
This is, I think, the most emotional I've seen Zachary Levi in the entire run of the show. Usually we see Chuck dejected, but he always tries to hide it to himself. This time he cries openly.
It's interesting the last line of his monologue; even if he begins saying Sarah fell in love with him, he later begs her to remember because a nerdy guy like him could make her happy. I think Chuck's nasty subconscious was beginning to work against him. I didn't miss that.
Anyway... After this speech Sarah should be moved, right? Right?
This is real. You really love me?
With all of my heart. [Yeah, play it cool, Chuck.]
I'm sorry, I did my job too well
Is evil!Sarah a spawn from Hell? Discuss.
Although, I think this is just an act. When she says "this is real" she seems... ashamed. As if she didn't want to hurt him that way. Then her cocky, professional, "I am the best spy" side emerges and she kind of gloats. But even then, there is a part of her not very proud of her deeds.
Chuck, for his part, suddenly realizes this woman in front of him is not his Sarah at all.
And so begins the fight for the glasses and one very awkward scene. This is the kind of scenes that wouldn't be shot with the genders reversed. I cringed at this scene, and I know I'm not the only one.
See this as an example:
Sarah, you're my wife!
He falls from a staircase! He could have been seriously injured. In fact, he is pretty badly hurt. It's easy to forget, but Sarah is stronger than Chuck (even more if he doesn't have the Intersect) and she's beating him down hard.
In the positive side, he doesn't fight back. Not because being defenceless is great (it isn't), but because he still clutches at straws. OK, it doesn't sound that good. I mean that he keeps seeing her as his wife, not an alien entity that has possessed his wife's body.
Of course, Chuck has no options against Sarah.
I wrote that
Yeah, you did
Surprise, motherf*cker!
Yes, Sarah, you kind of made a tiny, microscopical mistake. Everything he said was true! *sigh* I don't know how you could survive for so long with your chronic denseness.
A bit off topic: Sarah remembers carving their initials. Her memory flashes seem to come or be related to things she did. Not feel or said, but done. Almost as if it was body memory or implicit memory or something like that.
To the topic again... Quinn shows up to rub it in Sarah's face her mistake.
You've lied to her! You used her!
You're right. He's right, I'm not CIA. [I think she realized it by now.] And, uh, I suppose I could explain it all to you, but honestly, you're not worth the time. Good-bye, Sarah
Sorry, man, even if Sarah is very flabbergasted with the notion that all what she thought was true isn't, Chuck is there to stop a bullet for her! OK, Chuck, your cajones are bigger than Morgan's.
Even notsoevil!Sarah can appreciate your sacrifice.
Oh, my God, are you okay?
I'm wearing a vest. [That doesn't exactly answer her question.] They're coming for you, Sarah. Run
lessevilbythemoment!Sarah falters.Then the Jenny personality takes control and she flights because that what she always did when she was young (wait until she finds out her father knows about her being a CIA spy.)
Chuck is rescued by Casey and Ellie (and a bunch of armed agents) and he comes back home dejected, injured and hurt in every sense. And who takes care of him? Ellie.
I lost her, Ellie. For a split second, it felt like she was starting to remember, but she's gone
See? His insecurities are kicking in. Sarah did remember something from the last five years and she genuinely worried for Chuck when he got shot, but he can't see it anymore. He's exhausted. He's defeated. This will have consequences in the end.
Meanwhile, in Sarah's version of Prison Break...
Figured I'd find you here. [I hope the rest of the CIA and NSA did too, it's just that they didn't want to arrest her. I hope.] You can put the knife down; I'm not here to fight. What do you remember about me?
Your reputation, mostly. Unfriendly, unforgiving and... unquestioning about your orders
That's funny. [It is?] When we met, people said the same thing about you. [Wait, wasn't unpredictable her most distinct feature?] Probably why we never got along, huh?
Well, if we didn't get along, then why are you here?
I guess Bartowski's made us both a little soft. [Excuses!] Beckman's got a new job for me, but... these past five years, we changed, you know. We became friends. [*Sniff*] Take care of yourself, Walker
The Casey And Sarah Can Hug Because They're like Siblings Campaign would say something, but all the members are crying in a corner.
It's nice to know that Chuck isn't the only idealist who still thinks there is a chance to change Sarah.
By the way, who had that DVD he gives to Sarah? I mean, is it an official log that Sarah's superiors had to see and evaluate? Did someone else see that log? I hope not, seeing how personal it is.
Day 21. Chuck came over to my hotel room today and brought me a pizza. Vegetarian, no olives. I think he's making it his mission to get to know me. It's sweet. [Nothing about how you whispered your middle name? Nothing? Hah! You lie even to yourself, Sarah.] Day 49. Chuck broke up with me today. Well, uh, Fake... Fake broke up with me, technically. [Yeah, yeah, it was mutual, yes. It stings, doesn't it?] Day 56. Chuck and I were defusing a bomb today, and there was a moment where we were sure we were going to die. He closed his eyes, and... I kissed him. I... kissed him. [Seriously, I hope nobody else saw this DVD.] Day 564. Things are calm for once. No missions, nothing... nothing really to report, except I still find myself sitting here, talking to myself, [therapy is your friend] because... because I love him. I love Chuck Bartowski, and I don't know what to do about it
I'm already dead, so this doesn't affect me at all XD
Everybody and their mother did this before me, but let's make a timeline:
Day 21 is episode 1X04, Chuck Vs. the Wookie.
Day 49 is episode 1X08, Chuck Vs. The Truth.
Day 56 is episode 1x09, Chuck Vs. The Imported Hard Salami. But here is the funny thing: according to the episode it seems as if after Chuck and Sarah didn't die and Chuck went home, Sarah and Casey opened the "no bomb" and discovered Bryce. This video seems to recon that and put Bryce's discovery after Sarah went to her hotel room, because otherwise we have to think that Sarah recorded this and she was all like "I kissed Chuck! AGSFFRHSJK... Oh, and we discovered Bryce was alive. No biggie."
Day 564. This is tricky. In the beginning I thought it was before season 2 began, but since she mentions things are calm, it must be set between episodes 2X10 and 2X11, Vs. the DeLorean and Vs. Santa Claus. It also fits because Chuck had met her father and instead despising her for her past and her conman father, he still cared for her, which for Sarah was huge.
So now Sarah knows everything she experienced in those five years. Or at least, everything until she left the CIA, because I don't know why she would record a log when she wasn't a spy anymore.
Which, of course, leads us to depression to the Last Scene of the Episode (tm)
I-I just wanted to tell you that I believe you. I believe everything that you told me about us. But... the truth is, Chuck, I... I don't feel it. Everything that you told me about us and our story-- I just... I don't feel it. [My heart, my freaking heart.]
Right. Right, of course, I... I don't know what I was expecting, you know? [A miracle?] So, what are you doing here, then?
Well, I wanted to say sorry for everything that happened today. But, uh, most of all, I wanted to say good-bye.
Where are you going?
Quinn took away my life, and I have to... [Kill him] Well, I have to go find him. [She's going to kill him.] Bye
Bye
I know that we aren't playing the drinking game, but you can take the bottle of something soft, like, I don't know, ethanol, and drink it all. It'll subdue the pain. It will also lead you to hospital, but you won't remember the emotional pain.
This is one of those instances where I think I'm watching a different show from everybody else. And I don't mean it in the bad sense. It's just that everybody I know thought it was impossible that Chuck left Sarah go without fighting and I saw it completely logical. He didn't fight for her because he had already done it. Remember all the fight in the house? That's him fighting for her. He tried, he failed. He's injured and hurt and exhausted, he can't fight more. There is a limit for everything.
Besides, there is Chuck's unconscious telling him that he was always right, that Sarah would have never fallen in love with him if it wasn't for the Intersect. You know how insecure he is.
And also, what is he going to do? Force her to stay? As I said above, Chuck is very respectful towards everybody, but above all, towards women. He can't force her. She has the right to go away and find Quinn. Quinn stole five years of her life, five very important years and Chuck loves and understands Sarah enough to know she must do this alone. She wouldn't want him around when she kills him. Because we all know she wants to find him to kill him.
The point is... I think Sarah would have liked and maybe reconsidered it a little if Chuck actually asked her to stay. The Sarah of five years ago needed to be needed and thought that if somebody loved her, that person would act for it (remember, words were never much for her). It's this little communication thing between Chuck and Sarah, it usually doesn't work right. Because I think she feels something for him at this point. She doesn't feel what she felt, that's impossible. Memory is more than a bunch of pictures. But I do think that she began to fall for him the same way she fell for him in the pilot. It's just... this Sarah didn't live through all what "our Sarah" did. The emotional growth didn't happen.
It's fortunate that the next episode in TV was right after this, because otherwise I think I would have combusted.
You, sadly, will have to wait for the last installment. I hope I get to finish it.
Wish me luck.
And by the way...
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
I hope you'll appreciate my sacrifice :-)
Anyway, let's begin this before I have a heart attack.
Last episode ended with Quinn kidnapping and brainwashing Sarah, while Chuck & Co. searched for her. This episode begins with Chuck & Co. still searching for Sarah. But Chuck is already thinking ahead. Since Quinn wants a pristine Intersect and the Intersect is being built or held in a secret location, let's find that location, which probably means we'll meet Quinn. Well, I can see holes in that reasoning, but Morgan and Casey are with Chuck, and there they go, to find Sarah.
But, oh, that won't be necessary.
Sarah?
I'm... I'm sorry it took me so long to come home
Sarah comes back home. Convenient Suspicious That's great!
So... How did she get there?
His name is Chuck Bartowski. Everything's in here. Strengths, [hacking; being adorable] weaknesses, [Sarah Walker] profiles of the people closest to him. [Awesome's is a Greek profile.] Memorize it. Any questions?
Yeah. Yeah, just one, um... [Where is the bathroom?] Why the hell should I believe you?
Nice to know that the amnesia didn't change Sarah's default behavior towards unknown situations: first throw a punch, ask questions later.
You know what that means, right?
SARAH: I'm back, bitches!
SAM: (hands and legs tied) It's curious, I have the feeling that this should be different.
SARAH: Shut up.
SAM: That I should have more power, more control of the body.
SARAH: Don't be ridiculous. As if we would let you.
JENNY: Hear, hear.
So Quinn is dead and everything is all right, isn't that so? Please, tell me everything has ended. Please.
And Quinn?
He's dead. [Perfect.] And the Intersect is out of my head. [Convenient.] So, it's all over. [At 2:20 min. in, I doubt it.]
Well, thankfully, these cuts look pretty minor
We should let you get some rest
(Somebody is talking to Sarah through a comm. It's Quinn) Eleanor Bartowski. The sister. [You aren't dead! Why aren't you dead?] Goes by Ellie
Thank you, Ellie
And you remember her husband's name
And thank you, Devon.[Goes by Awesome.] Thank you, all of you. I'm-I'm really glad to be home
Why do you do this to me, show?
Sarah is at the hands of an abusive handler. Again. What does she have with this harmful paternal figures? Does she attract them or something?
So, at the risk of getting angry at Quinn's douchebaggery, how could this happen?
Today is September 24, 2007, Day One. Today, I made contact with the Intersect, Charles Irving Bartowski, or rather, Chuck. My mission is simple: find out what he knows, gain his trust and monitor his actions until the agency can decide what to do with him.[So... stealing his computer was something you chose to do by yourself?]
Well, the Agency has made a decision, Agent Walker. Chuck Bartowski has proven to be a major threat to... national security
Well, then put Director Graham on the phone. [Smart girl.] He gives me my orders
He's dead, Sarah
Well, what about my partner, Bryce? Where is he?
I'm sorry, Sarah
The writers have retconned him!
Curious how Sarah had close contact with just two people: Graham and Bryce. Nobody else. Which makes me realize Graham's death at the beginning of season 2 had to have been a hard blow for Sarah. Worse than what the show... showed us. I mean, Graham was the man that recruited her and Sarah was known for being Graham's Wild Card. That's big. Bryce was also important to her and knowing about his dead again, as if it was the first time, affects her deeply. The only thing she remembers is that he was her boyfriend (or that's what everybody told us in season 1) and now he's dead. Bryce's dead already shook her when it happened in the end of season 2 (in fact, that's my theory of why she was so eager to leave with Chuck at the beginning of season 3), so we have to assume that Sarah is working under a big pressure and sadness (plus the fact that she lost five years of her life.)
I'm so glad you're okay. I love you
I love you, too. [LIAR!]
Mommyyyyy... She's super scary again, like in episode 4X09 (Vs. Phase Three). I think Rebecca (AKA psycho!Sarah) is in control.
JENNY: OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod... make her stop!
For me this explains why Sarah was so reluctant to say "I love you" when she began a real relationship with Chuck. It's because she can lie and say it without meaning it effortlessly. For Sarah words are meaningless, actions are everything. This also explain why it was so hard for her to believe Chuck.
And I tell you something: this is how Sarah was before meeting Chuck, and this Sarah is a complete bitch and freaks me out.
She freaks Chuck too. Her ruthless treatment to a harmless chicken scares him so much that he must leave her. Moment that she takes to search around the house for the Intersect glasses (I guess that the software was defective and not the hardware.) And I will take this moment too to highlight something in the house's decoration:
I swear, I think that at this point, the props department does this on purpose. And by the way, I don't know why these pictures make Sarah so uneasy. It's as if she sensed they were photographs of a real couple, which is ridiculous, because all of them are false (they are from the time they were a fake couple.)
Meanwhile, Sarah's behavior has provoked a regression in Chuck that takes him to what he was before season 5, and he does what he always did when he had any issue with Sarah. Talking with Morgan.
Different how?
I don't know, Morgan; that's what I'm trying to tell you. I can't put my finger on it. Sarah just seems different
Look, of course she's not acting like herself. Okay, she was kidnapped by some homicidal maniac on a Japanese bullet train, and then in order to escape, she had to kill the dude and walk home from his secret base barefoot! Wow, she really is incredible, huh?
Yes. But I don't know why this explains why she's different. That's an everyday in the office for her. Personally, I think the ending of season 3 was more stressful for her.
After Morgan has calmed him, Chuck has a plan to have sex make Sarah comfortable.
Hey, honey, uh, you want to meet me in the bedroom? I have a surprise for you
Okay
Sarah holding that big Darth Vader helmet cracks me up.
Of course, distrustful!Sarah fears some kind of trap and her entrance gives us one of the funniest moments in the episode:
I would say "poor thing, all jumpy and afraid", except that she has a knife in her apron's pocket.
Welcome to the Bartowski Inn and Spa Resort where all of your worries melt away. You have to use a little imagination, [and when he says "a little", he means "a lot"] but picture, if you will, outside those windows the gorgeous Ojai Valley. And what may look like a normal, five-year-old mattress is, in actuality, [a five year old mattress] a luxurious massage table. Huh? Huh? A sheet has been provided for your discretion. [And I wonder why. I mean, you two are married.]
Oh. Great
Sarah is looking at the bed most of the time. It's a double bed and it's the only bed, so she is sleeping with him. And I think that hits her as weird, because one thing is being undercover very deep, and even marrying the guy, but it's a very different thing to fulfill all the requirements of the marriage. Sarah is a spy, not a prostitute, she would have developed a plan to prevent that as much as possible (like asking for separate beds in separate rooms because he snored and she couldn't sleep.) Except if she suspects he forced her, which is kind of terrifying.
But I think that she feels something doesn't add up. Sarah has always trust her guts, after all, and I'm sure there is something inside her that is telling her she wouldn't be so cozy with this Chuck guy. Even if she makes sure he isn't into something to kill her. You know, just in case.
And for some reason, Quinn convinces her to allow a massage from Chuck (a little voyeur that.)
See? Yes, better already. Breathe. Yeah... Baby, your muscles are so tight, they're hurting my hands. [Attention, please, Sarah's muscles can hurt your hands. Not even Chuck Norris, guys.] A lot of lactic acid buildup, huh? [Well, something is building up, but I don't know if it's lactic acid.] Why don't, why don't I crack your neck? [Are you qualified to do that?]
No!
What? What did I, what did I do? What did I say? You love it when I crack your neck. [Censor!]
Don't blow your cover, Walker. Talk to him! [I could make such a cheap joke with the verb "blow" and the need to calm Chuck...]
Uh, I'm-I'm-I'm sorry, Chuck. I really appreciate everything that you are trying to do. It's just that it's been a long couple days, and, um, you know, maybe it's just best if we go to bed
Yeah. Yeah, sure, sure, sure. [To sleep, Chuck.]
Yvonne is amazing, she's acting as if she could jump and kill Chuck at any moment. You believe that this trained assassin is trying very hard to mantain her cool, instead of, you know, releasing a world of pain.
This highlights a particular trait in Chuck that in the end of the episode will end up being crucial: Chuck doesn't force Sarah when she tells him to leave her alone. He's respectful and nice. He even apologized to her in dreams in episode 2X12 (Vs. the Third Dimension), for Pete's shake. He respects her space and he's one of those guys that I can't imagine comitting sexual assault (in any circumstances.)
So our babies go to bed. Meanwhile, Morgan and Casey talk about how all this time have changed them (although the Colonel not so much, he was called Sugar Bear once, after all.) In the other apartment, Awesome and Ellie receive a job offer in Chicago, and I must confess that I thought it was a trap or something. I'm more distrustful than Sarah sometimes.
Speaking of the Leggy Blonde Valkyirie, she's obviously not sleeping, which gives us another hilarious bit:
She's like a lioness lying in wait :-)
This is her oportunity. To kill Chuck? No. Well, maybe later. But to find the glasses. They are, of course, in the closet, because it contains everything, including a pocket universe and a passageway to Narnia.
Does she kill Chuck then? No, because... he wakes up and... it's unethical to kill him awake? Sarah is a coward? I don't even know what's the reason?
Sarah?
Was the director of this Quentin Tarantino? What's up with this show and its feet fetish?
But this last weird behavior saddens Chuck even more and he goes to the person he always does when he needs a real, conforting and mature opinion: Ellie Bartowski (-Woodcomb.) She's the mother figure and she'll always be. Sarah follows him, because, you know, they might be celebrating an evil cabal. She follows him... in her pajamas. So, let me understand it, good!Sarah doesn't wear pajamas ever, but evil!Sarah does? Are the writers pulling my leg or something? Although, I admit, it makes sense. This Sarah doesn't know Chuck, so it's only natural to choose to wear something that covers most part of her skin while she's in the bed with him.
Anyway, Sarah spies the Bartoski siblings.
I don't know. I guess, it's, uh, the little things that are different. Like, her feet get cold at night, so I always put mine on top of hers to keep them warm. [Am I the only one that thinks this is quite sweet?] And I know it sounds stupid, but tonight she... pulled her feet away from mine, and she never pulled them away like that. [It's not stupid, Chuck, it means you really know her. You're better than Peter Bishop.]
Walker, where are you?
Ellie's apartment. They're talking
Chuck, it's her first night back. I can't imagine what Sarah's been through. [Seriously, she's a trained assassin. She was kidnapped and abused by an "ex-boyfriend" in Christmas this same season and after that she was just fine and dandy.]
She's involved in this, too. What are they talking about?
About me
I think a part of Sarah was touched, or at least confused about Chuck's behavior. The same way she knew he wasn't a bad apple in the pilot, she now senses there's something odd with Quinn's assigment. It's something, bugging her, in the deepest of her mind.
SAM: it's me, you idiot! Wake up and realize how wonderful this Chuck guy is!
SARAH: Shut up or I'll make you.
SAM: We could have had it aaaall... Rolling in the deeeeeeeep...
SARAH: I don't even know what you're doing now.
Unfortunately, Chuck breaks the spell when he begins to speak about destroying the One Ring Intersect once and for all. I share the sentiment, I really do, but I don't know what Beckman and all the intelligence agencies in US and even the President, would say when they discover what he's done.
So Sarah has a new plan: instead of killing Chuck, go with him to the Intersect headquarters, download a version of the computer and... yes, then kill Chuck.
Chuck?
Yeah?
I'm cold
Wow, I didn't miss manipulative!Sarah in the last seasons. I didn't miss her a bit.
We have been told that Sarah was a quite disgusting persona before meeting Chuck, we've seen glimpses here and there, but this is the first time that we have a lasting picture of how ruthless she could be. I seriously despise this woman.
Anyway... Team Chuck has a new plan: infiltrate DARPA headquarters and once in the white room, plant a virus in the Intersect computer. Easy, right?
If this is what you want, Chuck, I'm in
Stop being such a manipulative bitch, Sarah! You're freaking me out.
Five seasons, but at last Chuck realized his father was right: the Intersect is bad news. He doesn't want it, he doesn't need it, and the risks are too high. The macguffin must disappear. Fortunately, five seasons have gone by, so Chuck can see his glasses in Sarah's backpack and deduce something is very rotten with her wife. Isn't that great? He's not that naïve character who usually was holding the idiot ball.
So there they go, to the DARPA headquarters, or, as everybody calls them affectionately: Q's laboratory. The place is full of guards, of course. And suddenly Sarah is possessed by Bryce Larkin's spirit.
I always find funny how Sarah's boots' heels vanish in thin air when she must perform difficult fight moves. They must be retractable.
Thanks to Sarah being awesome even without the Intersect (or heels), they reach the laboratory (where Morgan can play at being Harry Potter) and, at last, the white room opens before them.
And this is the moment when everything goes to hell.
Drop the gun.
Sarah? Sarah, what are you doing? [What does it look she's doing?]
Drop the gun. Now, I have the Intersect, and you can't destroy it, and you can't hurt anybody else with it. [I hate to demolish your logical argument here, but if he destroyed it, he couldn't be able to hurt anybody with it.]
Baby, what are you talking about?
Quinn told me the truth. [He told me you killed my father.]
Quinn's not dead? [Welcome to the party, Morgan.]
I know about you. I know what you've done, all of you. I know everything. [You know nothing, Jon Snow.]
I don't know what's happening right now, but whatever he told you is a lie. The Intersect is-is... It's damaged your memory or something, [but you already knew that. Remember the last episode?] because the Sarah that I know would never do something like this. Baby, please. It's me. It's your Chuck
Turn on the waterworks.
How can you be so cruel, writers? This is a sure way to bring us to the breaking point, and you know it. You know it.
And see? See? There is something unconscious in her that makes her doubt. Whatever Chuck is saying, we know Sarah could kill all of them without batting an eyelid. But she can't. She can't because part of her unconscious mind, or her lizard brain or whatever it is, is holding her back. I don't know, maybe is his cologne. If it wasn't because Quinn snaps her out of it, I'm sure she'd have given in.
Unfortunately, Chuck decides to use that moment of weakness to steal the glasses from her, which turn out to be a horrible idea. Because Sarah was very mad at Quinn for bombing the CIA headquarters. She's always been a professional, and those were CIA agents, so that was completely unnecessary for her (even evil!Sarah has standards.) This could have been the moment where Sarah began to definitively mistrust Quinn, but nooooo... Chuck had gotten the glasses from her, making her look stupid and a compete n00b. And if there is something we know can infuriate Sarah is the notion that she's not good at her job.
Chuck is a dead man.
Quinn turned her. We have to consider the fact that maybe she's gone. [Casey, always the optimistic.]
How can you say that? She's your friend! [calm down, Padmé Amidala.] And she's not gone. Not completely anyway
Oh, yeah? Did his memory come magically back after the Intersect? You know it didn't
All I have to do is remind her of who she really is. [A spy? Somebody deadly?] You know, look, look, I have, I have the glasses. Even if she doesn't remember me, I know that she wanted these. [Yeah, that'll work. I'm sure she isn't pissed off or anything.]
She tried to kill us, Chuck. Can't pretend that everything is as it was. [Why not? You tried to kill him in season 2 and everything is all right.] Otherwise, she's gonna succeed next time. And I'm not gonna lose you both
Oh, Casey... My Sugar Bear... He's so emotional. It's unbelievable how much Casey has changed through the show. From barely tolerating his partner and the nerd, to be frantic because the best partner he's ever had has been turned and he can't stand the possibility of losing Chuck too. This is really touching.
In fact, this surprises Chuck so much that he stops and listens to Casey and Morgan (who are actually making very logical and compelling arguments). When he calls Awesome to confirm that he and Ellie are all right and that Sarah didn't begin to orbit the Moral Event Horizon, Devon informs him that his wife is putting into practice the Bechdel Test.
I'm glad we're doing this. You've been through so much lately
Why do you do this to me, writers? Where there was a heart before, now there is just a hole.
Chuck calls Ellie, and Sarah --playing the good wife-- picks up the phone and freaks everybody out.
Hey, sweetie. [Pet names, that means evil!Sarah.] So, I see you that you switched out the Intersect glasses. That was a nice move. [He learned that from you, hah!] Should've known I couldn't trust you. [You... didn't.] I have some moves of my own. [Censor!] We're at the Bergamot Café off Gower. Bring the glasses; come alone. You have 15 minutes. [Have you taken into account LA's traffic?]
This is crazy, Sarah. Please
Oh, Bartowski, if you try anything...
Sarah, what are you doing? [Does it look like she's showing a gun to you in a menacing way? Because that's what she's doing.]
I'm gonna put a bullet between your sister's eyes
Gosh you're disgusting, evil!Sarah!
But don't worry, Beckman is here to develop a plan to kill Sarah neutralize Sarah and rescue Ellie. Not killing involved. Nuh-huh. Except if Sarah is her usual obtuse self.
So yeah, Chuck is kind of worried the CIA will end up shooting Sarah. And prevent your wife from killing Ellie at the same time. No pressure,man.
Sarah, I think that the Intersect may have damaged... [your common sense?]
Stop talking. I know you're involved. [Yes, don't try to convince her with logical arguments. Logic doesn't work with her.]
(Chuck shows up.)
You okay?
You got the glasses?
I don't have them with me. [Sarah doesn't like these news.] Wait-wait-wait-wait-wait! Just wait a second, okay? Whatever you think I've done, she didn't do anything. [Weeeell... she hit Casey with a pan once.] She's innocent. So I will lead you to the glasses, but just you and me, okay? Please, just let her go
I'll follow you in a separate car. She'll come with me
Of course Ellie goes with Sarah. What did you think she was? Stupid? It's her life insurance.
This shows that Chuck never got convinced that this Sarah wasn't "his Sarah," that the Sarah who existed before meeting him was kind of a repulsive person, and that Sarah was just too enraged and stressed and scared because she just lost five years of her life, plus Graham and Bryce.
Then again, Chuck isn't the only one who tries to reason with Sarah.
You were in my wedding. [And vice versa.] You were at the hospital when my baby was born. We're family
No, we're not. ["Family" doesn't have good connotations for her.] This was always a mission for me, and today I'm gonna finish it
It's interesting how stubborn Sarah is. The more they tell her she had a "family" and something resembling a "normal life," the more she digs in her heels. She has absolutely no idea of what happened in those five years she can't remember, yet she can believe she was in deep undercover (even marrying a suspected evil doer and murderer) before even considering the possibility of having found a good place for her. I don't think this is Sarah's father's fault, it's more the result of her spy training and the horrible acts she has seen in her line of work. It's as if Sarah didn't believe she deserved happiness before meeting Chuck.
Be aware that only Chuck's resolution and love made her open up and consider the possibility of having a normal family of her own. Chuck changed everything. Chuck has the gift of changing everyone around him. Even people like Casey.
She's not in there anymore. Sarah's gone
This is heartbreaking. The little pause Casey does after he says "she's not in there anymore," because it hurts him too much. Sarah is her partner, as family as Alex is to him. The Casey And Sarah Can Hug Because They're like Siblings Campaign is pleased and weeping.
Chuck, however, is immune to discouragement so he has a plan to try to save Sarah and lead her and his sister away from Beckman's rendevouz point.
And here is when we have a brick joke. Remember that there is always this running joke with Chuck asking Sarah to fasten the belt or her mentioning it? Yeah, it pays off.
If you could remember, if you were still you, [instead of you from the past but not the recent past but the more ancient past you] you would want me to do anything I could to save Chuck. You would want this
I don't think she would want a head trauma. That's... that's a bit extreme, Ellie.
Always bet on Ellie to be the ruthless one if we are talking about protecting the family. She loves Sarah and of course she would do anything for her, but even Ellie's trust and faith have a limit.
The only one who still thinks Sarah can be saved is Chuck.
What were you thinking?
I was thinking about protecting you. Chuck, Sarah's trying to kill you. There's something seriously wrong with her, Chuck. [You think?]
That's why I'm taking her somewhere that'll help her remember. [Paris?]
[...]
What if she doesn't remember? [Doomsayer!] She's further gone than Morgan ever was, Chuck. You need to call the CIA. You need to turn her in
Listen, everyone keeps telling me that Sarah's gone, but she's not. She's right here
Chuck...
What if it was Devon?
Cheap shot!
Besides, I think that if it were Devon and he put Chuck's life in danger, she would turn Devon in. For real.
So Chuck, unable to listen to anyone except to his own heart, carries Sarah to the only place he thinks is going to do the charm: their dreamed house (which, as you know, was vandalized by Sarah.) Apparently Chuck still had the keys.
And I'm sorry, but I'll have to transcript the entire Monologue of Desperation (tm).
Our relationship was a cover, Bartowski. [So that you remember] Always has been. You're just an assignment
No, I was an assignment, and then you fell in love with me. And I know that sounds crazy, and if I didn't know any better, I-I'd say it's crazy, too. [Great selfsteem there, Chuck.] But the fact remains, you fell for me, Sarah, you did. [That's better.]
My job is too make you think that I feel something. [Technically your job is to gather information, Sarah. I hope you see this "prostitution" part as merely optional.] That's what I do best; I lie
Actually, you're not as good a liar as you think you are. [BUUUUURN! Also, true.] It's true, okay? Our first kiss, not our, not our
first cover kiss, [you french kissed as a cover before that? Why didn't we see it?] but our first, our first real kiss... was when we were trying to defuse a bomb [telling it like that it sounds super weird] and we we thought we were gonna die, and I closed my eyes and... [she must be thinking "so I had to do all the job by myself?] I felt you grab me and kiss me. You kissed me. And then there was a lot of pretending that it didn't happen [we call it season 1] and awkward back-and-forth [also known as season 2] and even dating other people, [you more than her, Chuck, but we'll think you're talking about the first part of season 3] but one day, one day when I was sure... that you could never love a nerd like me, [which shows how dense you can be, because Sarah was in love with you since the pilot] you came over... and I asked you if you loved me. [In your underwear!] And you, Sarah Walker... said yes. And when I asked you to marry me, you didn't even have to say yes, because we both knew, we both knew that we'd spend the rest of our lives together. So, please remember this house and the red door and the white picket fence and the family that we were going to raise together [superheroes with minicapes!] and remember me. [Run, you clever boy, and remember me. Sorry, wrong show.] Because if you remember me... then you'd remember... that a nerdy guy like me who works at the Buy More... could make you happy
Josh-Oi-Squirol
19xx-2012
Killed by Zachary Levi's tears
Yeah, I'm writing this as a ghost. Spooky, isn't it? :-)
This is, I think, the most emotional I've seen Zachary Levi in the entire run of the show. Usually we see Chuck dejected, but he always tries to hide it to himself. This time he cries openly.
It's interesting the last line of his monologue; even if he begins saying Sarah fell in love with him, he later begs her to remember because a nerdy guy like him could make her happy. I think Chuck's nasty subconscious was beginning to work against him. I didn't miss that.
Anyway... After this speech Sarah should be moved, right? Right?
This is real. You really love me?
With all of my heart. [Yeah, play it cool, Chuck.]
I'm sorry, I did my job too well
Is evil!Sarah a spawn from Hell? Discuss.
Although, I think this is just an act. When she says "this is real" she seems... ashamed. As if she didn't want to hurt him that way. Then her cocky, professional, "I am the best spy" side emerges and she kind of gloats. But even then, there is a part of her not very proud of her deeds.
Chuck, for his part, suddenly realizes this woman in front of him is not his Sarah at all.
And so begins the fight for the glasses and one very awkward scene. This is the kind of scenes that wouldn't be shot with the genders reversed. I cringed at this scene, and I know I'm not the only one.
See this as an example:
Sarah, you're my wife!
He falls from a staircase! He could have been seriously injured. In fact, he is pretty badly hurt. It's easy to forget, but Sarah is stronger than Chuck (even more if he doesn't have the Intersect) and she's beating him down hard.
In the positive side, he doesn't fight back. Not because being defenceless is great (it isn't), but because he still clutches at straws. OK, it doesn't sound that good. I mean that he keeps seeing her as his wife, not an alien entity that has possessed his wife's body.
Of course, Chuck has no options against Sarah.
I wrote that
Yeah, you did
Surprise, motherf*cker!
Yes, Sarah, you kind of made a tiny, microscopical mistake. Everything he said was true! *sigh* I don't know how you could survive for so long with your chronic denseness.
A bit off topic: Sarah remembers carving their initials. Her memory flashes seem to come or be related to things she did. Not feel or said, but done. Almost as if it was body memory or implicit memory or something like that.
To the topic again... Quinn shows up to rub it in Sarah's face her mistake.
You've lied to her! You used her!
You're right. He's right, I'm not CIA. [I think she realized it by now.] And, uh, I suppose I could explain it all to you, but honestly, you're not worth the time. Good-bye, Sarah
Sorry, man, even if Sarah is very flabbergasted with the notion that all what she thought was true isn't, Chuck is there to stop a bullet for her! OK, Chuck, your cajones are bigger than Morgan's.
Even notsoevil!Sarah can appreciate your sacrifice.
Oh, my God, are you okay?
I'm wearing a vest. [That doesn't exactly answer her question.] They're coming for you, Sarah. Run
lessevilbythemoment!Sarah falters.Then the Jenny personality takes control and she flights because that what she always did when she was young (wait until she finds out her father knows about her being a CIA spy.)
Chuck is rescued by Casey and Ellie (and a bunch of armed agents) and he comes back home dejected, injured and hurt in every sense. And who takes care of him? Ellie.
I lost her, Ellie. For a split second, it felt like she was starting to remember, but she's gone
See? His insecurities are kicking in. Sarah did remember something from the last five years and she genuinely worried for Chuck when he got shot, but he can't see it anymore. He's exhausted. He's defeated. This will have consequences in the end.
Meanwhile, in Sarah's version of Prison Break...
Figured I'd find you here. [I hope the rest of the CIA and NSA did too, it's just that they didn't want to arrest her. I hope.] You can put the knife down; I'm not here to fight. What do you remember about me?
Your reputation, mostly. Unfriendly, unforgiving and... unquestioning about your orders
That's funny. [It is?] When we met, people said the same thing about you. [Wait, wasn't unpredictable her most distinct feature?] Probably why we never got along, huh?
Well, if we didn't get along, then why are you here?
I guess Bartowski's made us both a little soft. [Excuses!] Beckman's got a new job for me, but... these past five years, we changed, you know. We became friends. [*Sniff*] Take care of yourself, Walker
The Casey And Sarah Can Hug Because They're like Siblings Campaign would say something, but all the members are crying in a corner.
It's nice to know that Chuck isn't the only idealist who still thinks there is a chance to change Sarah.
By the way, who had that DVD he gives to Sarah? I mean, is it an official log that Sarah's superiors had to see and evaluate? Did someone else see that log? I hope not, seeing how personal it is.
Day 21. Chuck came over to my hotel room today and brought me a pizza. Vegetarian, no olives. I think he's making it his mission to get to know me. It's sweet. [Nothing about how you whispered your middle name? Nothing? Hah! You lie even to yourself, Sarah.] Day 49. Chuck broke up with me today. Well, uh, Fake... Fake broke up with me, technically. [Yeah, yeah, it was mutual, yes. It stings, doesn't it?] Day 56. Chuck and I were defusing a bomb today, and there was a moment where we were sure we were going to die. He closed his eyes, and... I kissed him. I... kissed him. [Seriously, I hope nobody else saw this DVD.] Day 564. Things are calm for once. No missions, nothing... nothing really to report, except I still find myself sitting here, talking to myself, [therapy is your friend] because... because I love him. I love Chuck Bartowski, and I don't know what to do about it
I'm already dead, so this doesn't affect me at all XD
Everybody and their mother did this before me, but let's make a timeline:
Day 21 is episode 1X04, Chuck Vs. the Wookie.
Day 49 is episode 1X08, Chuck Vs. The Truth.
Day 56 is episode 1x09, Chuck Vs. The Imported Hard Salami. But here is the funny thing: according to the episode it seems as if after Chuck and Sarah didn't die and Chuck went home, Sarah and Casey opened the "no bomb" and discovered Bryce. This video seems to recon that and put Bryce's discovery after Sarah went to her hotel room, because otherwise we have to think that Sarah recorded this and she was all like "I kissed Chuck! AGSFFRHSJK... Oh, and we discovered Bryce was alive. No biggie."
Day 564. This is tricky. In the beginning I thought it was before season 2 began, but since she mentions things are calm, it must be set between episodes 2X10 and 2X11, Vs. the DeLorean and Vs. Santa Claus. It also fits because Chuck had met her father and instead despising her for her past and her conman father, he still cared for her, which for Sarah was huge.
So now Sarah knows everything she experienced in those five years. Or at least, everything until she left the CIA, because I don't know why she would record a log when she wasn't a spy anymore.
Which, of course, leads us to depression to the Last Scene of the Episode (tm)
I-I just wanted to tell you that I believe you. I believe everything that you told me about us. But... the truth is, Chuck, I... I don't feel it. Everything that you told me about us and our story-- I just... I don't feel it. [My heart, my freaking heart.]
Right. Right, of course, I... I don't know what I was expecting, you know? [A miracle?] So, what are you doing here, then?
Well, I wanted to say sorry for everything that happened today. But, uh, most of all, I wanted to say good-bye.
Where are you going?
Quinn took away my life, and I have to... [Kill him] Well, I have to go find him. [She's going to kill him.] Bye
Bye
I know that we aren't playing the drinking game, but you can take the bottle of something soft, like, I don't know, ethanol, and drink it all. It'll subdue the pain. It will also lead you to hospital, but you won't remember the emotional pain.
This is one of those instances where I think I'm watching a different show from everybody else. And I don't mean it in the bad sense. It's just that everybody I know thought it was impossible that Chuck left Sarah go without fighting and I saw it completely logical. He didn't fight for her because he had already done it. Remember all the fight in the house? That's him fighting for her. He tried, he failed. He's injured and hurt and exhausted, he can't fight more. There is a limit for everything.
Besides, there is Chuck's unconscious telling him that he was always right, that Sarah would have never fallen in love with him if it wasn't for the Intersect. You know how insecure he is.
And also, what is he going to do? Force her to stay? As I said above, Chuck is very respectful towards everybody, but above all, towards women. He can't force her. She has the right to go away and find Quinn. Quinn stole five years of her life, five very important years and Chuck loves and understands Sarah enough to know she must do this alone. She wouldn't want him around when she kills him. Because we all know she wants to find him to kill him.
The point is... I think Sarah would have liked and maybe reconsidered it a little if Chuck actually asked her to stay. The Sarah of five years ago needed to be needed and thought that if somebody loved her, that person would act for it (remember, words were never much for her). It's this little communication thing between Chuck and Sarah, it usually doesn't work right. Because I think she feels something for him at this point. She doesn't feel what she felt, that's impossible. Memory is more than a bunch of pictures. But I do think that she began to fall for him the same way she fell for him in the pilot. It's just... this Sarah didn't live through all what "our Sarah" did. The emotional growth didn't happen.
It's fortunate that the next episode in TV was right after this, because otherwise I think I would have combusted.
You, sadly, will have to wait for the last installment. I hope I get to finish it.
Wish me luck.
And by the way...
HAPPY HOLIDAYS