Chuck Versus the Fan - Chuck Versus the Helicopter: Part 1
Well, this is getting posted much later than I intended. Between life and work, things got a little crazy (some good crazy - CHUCKfest2, some bad crazy - family junk and Black Friday) but to make up for it, I'll have Tango up on Wednesday :] I also plan on catching up with the show by the time the hiatus is over.
In case you missed it, here's my review for the pilot, along with a description of why I've decided to do this crazy thing. Which means it's time for...
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Chuck vs. the Helicopter: Part 1
We open on Chuck’s shoes and pan up to see that he’s standing in the Buy More parking lot, looking around for something. He tells us that he is, in fact, Charles Bartowski. But you can call him
These are his shoes.
This is his life.
Funny, it looks like a recap of the pilot to me
Oh, and he works at the Buy More. Jeff here (aka, Creepy Winky Guy) doesn’t seem to realize that though, as he’s just put out a display using a Large Mart…blanket…? Yeah, let’s go with blanket. Harry Tang (aka Short Bald Asian Man) is not happy. I mean could you imagine the shame if some Large Mart fiend or Costco stooge put out a display on their Buy More green?
Not to worry! Morgan is here to save the day. Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to be amazed by the “Magic of Morgan.” And as Morgan pulls on that Large Mart cloth, I immediately see where this is going (though, I know that’s the point) and I can’t help but shake my head and smile.
In case we’ve forgotten (or missed the pilot), Chuck informs us that the bearded wonder is his best friend, Morgan. Also. He is not a magician.
And the entire display comes crashing down. I don’t see why it’s such a big, huge deal. Sure, it’s a display, but they’re just CDs. I love Morgan’s “OILA!” as he tries out his trick, as well as everyone’s reactions. Judging by Chuck’s, he’s pretty used to stunts like this from his little friend.
Cut back to Chuck running for dear life as he continues to tell us things we already (should) know. He tells us all about Bryce, the CIA, the scary, nasty, get-killed-for-havin’-em- secrets in his brain, and his life being in danger every moment. And I laugh as he runs straight into the hood of a car driving by.
We see that’s he running after Casey (or, at the very least, behind him) as he explains who he is, as well. Okay, I get it. They have to put all this in just in case this is someone’s first time tuning in, especially seeing as the plot is a little complicated and the cast of characters is a decent size. Part of me wants to just fast-forward through all this, seeing as I did sit through the pilot. But, believe it or not, Chuck’s narration (thanks to both the writing and Zac Levi’s delivery), the editing, and the music (love me some Iggy, I do) are keeping it fairly fresh and interesting. Plus, it helps that they’re inter-cutting this with current action.
So, now Chuck must defend the country from assassins (Casey is sprinting through the lot and Chuck jumps over a woman’s shopping cart to catch up XD), terrorists (we see the perp Casey is chasing, now by running on top of cars)
And making leaps of awesomeness
And… shoplifters. And I’m now on the floor, doubled over laughing.
Just like the pilot, Helicopter gives us another fake-out opening that brilliantly displays the balance the show intends to keep with the real world/spy world hijinks and tone. We think we’re seeing a glimpse of some serious spy action that’s somehow going down at the Buy More, given Chuck’s mad sprint across the parking lot and Casey’s involvement. But really we’re just being shown how seriously Casey takes every job he has, cover or otherwise. Poor Chuck, the Buy More is about to get extremely complicated.
That poor man, clinging to that game for dear life as Casey raises his fist is just too funny. And Chuck’s panicked voice as he grabs said fist, pleading and reasoning with Casey to not pummel Poor Shoplifter just makes it all the better. Morgan catches up to the pair and is immediately shocked at how seriously Casey is taking this job after one day (nice timeline info, writers).
And how out of breath Chuck is. I guess Morgan walked over there, huh?
But even accusations of insanity can’t sway Casey from performing his duty (even if doing that in real life at Best Buy would get you fired. Yes, I work at Best Buy…don’t start XD). And so, he brings Poor Shoplifter back to the store, Morgan in tow. I love how Morgan is all tough with the guy now that Casey has him by the arms. Sadly, I only half mean that. Morgan is just kind of grating to me; he’s just too much of a jester at this point. Oh, well. On with the story!
Chuck, rather understandably, does not follow his handler and friend back to the store but instead just sort of stands there, perhaps wondering how in the hell his life took this unimaginable and cracked out turn.
Or maybe he’s just trying to catch his breath (Underpants, etc. XD)
His thoughts are put on hold as he looks to the Wienerlicious (a hot dog place in the mall) and spots their newest employee cleaning up some tables outside. But who is this mystery woman? If only she’d turn around so we could all finally figure it out!
Sur-prise.
Sarah turns around in all her slow-mo, wind-blown glory, much to Chuck’s surprise. He’s so surprised that he’s gone to back to voice-overring (yes, that is a word). She’s the CIA’s top agent, yada yada yada (I love how they wave and smile at each other. Chuck is so endearing). But! Most importantly… she’s got a past. Just like any woman. Um…call me a crazy feminist bitch but…. what exactly is that supposed to mean? I get it in terms of Sarah, sure (and just in case anyone forgot we get to revisit Chuck’s file on her killing those men), but “just like any woman”? Okay then.
Chuck lets us know that she’s posing as his girlfriend as he walks into the Wienerlicious (I just love typing that word). Oh, those hijinks. Now they’re smelling like forced will-they/won’t-they tension. And I’m just noticing now that we’re not going to get any opening credits with this episode, seeing as the cast and crew’s names are appearing on the bottom of my screen.
Like so (yes, this needed capping)
Sarah seems extremely flustered as Chuck approaches her; well, more like interrogates her given his tone. Though, that could be because he’s still out of breath. She informs him that she works here now as he surveys the store with wide eyes. Poor girl, another wiener batch burnt. I guess they don’t care much for cooking classes at the CIA training facilities, huh? Besides, I doubt anyone’s going to care about the quality of the food.
Ehem.
Sarah tells Chuck that she can monitor the Buy More from there while Chuck works. He looks less than comfortable (and slightly confused) with that news but Sarah reassures him that it’s just a cover. Chuck gets all babbly and asks her if there’s some sort of plan for their little team (especially, you know, him). I love how he stutters and stumbles over his words, even going back and correcting himself, when he talks, even more so when he’s nervous.
Sarah assures him that they have a plan (by the way, his hair is looking so much better than it did in the last episode. ‘Cause, ya’ know, that’s extremely important). They’ve found someone who may be able to help, though how exactly Sarah doesn’t say. But she will say tonight if Chuck would like to go on a second date. She can pick him up at 8 (ah, Sarah, such a poet). Chuck’s face as he mulls that over is priceless.
Though he may just be wondering who John Fleck is That guy from Star Trek, Chuck
He babbles out something resembling a “yes”, though he doesn’t get a single full word out (seriously, I don’t think I’ve fallen in love with a character so quickly before ♥ ), and heads out. As soon as he’s out of the restaurant, Sarah opens a folder on the counter and we see it contains information on one Jonas Zarnow, aka Star Trek Guy. Sarah calls, I’m assuming, Langley from her cell and tells them “Chuck is in, send the doctor.” And I write out “the Doctor” the first time I type that sentence. Doctor Who aside, the Trek fan in me sort of wishes they would’ve gone 100% nerd and cast Robert Picardo as Zarnow. But, alas.
Meanwhile, Chuck is trying to pick out a shirt for their date and asks Ellie for some advice. She’s super stoked and bubbly and cheerful (and is reminding me of the Chipmunks from Chuck’s birthday bash…) as she holds up different shirts for him. And apparently she got a haircut that day (yes, I will be pointing out all the differences from the pilot because I am a snarky ass).
Chuck tells her it’s nothing big and a disembodied voice sounds from the background. And I groan rather loudly.
Morgan pops up from his spot on the bed and goes on about how hot Sarah is much to Ellie’s horror and disappointment. And Morgan recommends unseen shirt number one ‘cause, you know, it goes better with Chuck’s skin tone. Wait, wait, wait, Morgan has met this girl and Ellie hasn’t?! What kind of world are we living in?! Chuck just sort of stares blankly. But Morgan reminds Ms. Neurosis that Chuck confides in him, which Ellie could too, by the way (while staring at her chest, I might add...). I chuckle at her retort, “Here’s one - I loathe you” and Chuck’s reply, “That’s not a secret.” Oh, Morgan.
Ellie demands, albeit in a perky tone, that she meets Sarah, tomorrow night at the apartment for dinner. Just as I was starting to feel bad about the nickname…
Hang on - Robert Duncan McNeill is a producer?
This guy?
Well, damn! Good for him! And I mean that sincerely.
Anyway, Morgan butts in, saying that it’s a little soon for Sarah to be seeing the TRON poster. But Ellie looks at him as though she’s about to head butt him so, naturally, he backs off and agrees that dinner is good. And he’s clearing his schedule. Ugh. Ellie happily leaves the room and I begin to wonder why Chuck is the only person on the show who has three dimensions as opposed to two.
Cut to the Directorate of National Intelligence and some redheaded woman and Graham (CIA Dad agent) are talking about the idiot all their secrets have been sent to. Oh, wait! That’s the NSA lady, Sister Mary Robert! Dang, she got a hell of a plastic surgery job and a great recovery time, to boot (for what it’s worth, I think Bonita does a great job as Beckman, I just have to be snarky. Also, she looks and sounds exactly like my Aunt Maddy. Really, it's freaky). Anyways, while I don’t think Chuck is an idiot, the footage of him and Morgan from that morning certainly doesn’t do him any favors.
But it makes me love both of them a little bit more
Graham tells Beckman (yay name tags) that Sarah will deliver Chuck to Zarnow tonight. Good thing too, he’s the NSA’s top scientist.
Cut to Chuck standing outside as Sarah pulls up in that amazing car of hers. She’s looking mighty fine, as is her car, and Chuck looks surprisingly like he did on their first date. I guess he really likes that combination of shirt styles. If it ain’t broke, right? He quips about her car and gets in, asking what she has planned for the evening (holy crap, RDM directed the episode too! That explains Trek Guy’s appearance).
Shockingly enough, they end up at the Buy More.
I know, who ever would have guessed? Nice shot, by the way, Dunc.
Chuck continues to make snarky jokes but Sarah quickly informs him of the true nature of their “date” and Chuck immediately gets anxious about this supposed examination that Zarnow will be performing (needles and probing of some kind are not things he’s looking forward to). Sarah merely tells him that Zarnow is their best shot at helping him. So, don’t answer his question then. And I laugh when Chuck notices that as well.
Cut to Chuck sitting in the home theater room with a snazzy headset/microphone combo atop his head. He’s adjusting his shirt for some reason and sits back, making himself a little more comfortable. Sarah explains that they’ve rewired the room to accommodate the test and closes the curtains so no one can see in or out. All Chuck has to do is say what he sees when the images appear on the screen. Pretty easy, right? But Casey is pretty confident Chuck will find someway to screw it up. Sarcastic, mean, and deadpan. Gee, wasn’t expecting that. But it makes me laugh (and, at this point, at least he has a personality, unlike Chuck’s other handler…).
Casey let's them know that the doctor has arrived. But Chuck can’t meet him. It’s important that the doctor doesn’t see him; he’s "too valuable". I love the casual way Sarah says this, like it’s a completely normal thing to tell someone. And I love Chuck’s deadpan reply, “Thanks. I’m flattered and totally freaked out.” Remember last episode, I kept saying everyone’s performances were very real? They still are this week, no change there, but everyone is just that little bit more snarky. Must be where I’m getting it from, then.
Enter Zarnow. He greets both agents (and says “Walker” like it has an “h” at the beginning), and they thank him for meeting them at a neutral site. But he’s keen to begin. And he’s keen on meeting, whom Sarah calls, “Patient X” but they’re keeping his identity a secret for protection purposes. Zarnow questions if Patient X works at Buy More and Casey quickly dismisses that as ridiculous. Apparently that’s enough to convince Zarnow, as he begins the test.
It starts off simply enough. Chuck goes through a few images, naming what they are, no problems or secrets appearing yet.
And he looks pretty damn comfy, to boot.
Then Zarnow sends him an image of a flower and things start to get interesting. Chuck sees something Intersect-y and immediately recites the information he’s just learned. This continues for a bit and we can hear that Chuck now knows some pretty heavy stuff (Russian spies’ locations in the White House; who orchestrated the plot to assassinate President Carter; my personal favorite - who was responsible for shooting down Oceanic Flight 815). The montage speeds up and soon we can’t even make out what Chuck is saying or seeing.
But we do see that Zac Levi is having some fun, if nothing else
Just as I’m about to compliment the continuity of the images used, we get a little too much continuity. Some of the close ups of Chuck as he sees the images are directly lifted from the pilot when he downloaded the Intersect. Oh, well; budget, time, I understand that sometimes corners have to be cut. Finally, the last image appears and Chuck seems to be pretty comfortable with this test by now, judging by his delivery of, “Okay, well, that’s just a picture of a turtle” complete with “*Scoff*, c’mon” arm gesture.
Zarnow is amazed. They never imagined one person seeing all the Intersect images, having all their secrets in one mind. The editing for these past few minutes has been making Sarah look kinda’ shady… she keeps looking around and just looking sort of like she's twirling an imaginary mustache of evil. While Sarah twirls away, Casey gets down to business and asks if Zarnow can remove the images from Chuck’s brain. Zarnow thinks that he can.
Well, let’s not all celebrate at once, people
Sarah drops Chuck off at home, telling him he did great on the test and that Zarnow is hopeful that he can “fix” Chuck, as our titular Nerd put it. Chuck almost forgets to invite Sarah to dinner tomorrow night but does so just before getting out of the car (and, again, calls Ellie’s boyfriend “Captain Awesome.” Come on writers, what is that man’s name?!). I mean, after all, it would be kind of a big step. Well, if their relationship were remotely real.
Chuck asks Sarah if she’ll leave once he’s back to normal. She just nods and says she will, yeah. Sarah is very direct, isn’t she? Also, a little wooden but I guess that’s beside the point, seeing as she’s hot *rolls eyes*. Just before he finally walks away, Chuck leans down in the window to tell Sarah that it was probably the best only-second date he’d been on in years. Which is really kind of sad, considering that the date consisted of him locked up in a room divulging government secrets while some creepy old man recorded everything. But each to his own, I guess.
Plus that smile could make the Grinch’s heart swell to the size of a watermelon
But apparently not Sarah’s, as she just sits there and barely smiles back, completely mute. Chuck gets the hint and finally walks away, leaving Sarah to look pensively into the distance.
Meanwhile, Zarnow is speeding his way outta’ town, looking rather serious and slightly menacing. His phone, on the back seat of his car, starts ringing and it cuts to a wide shot of the car driving around a corner, behind a hill. And about two seconds later, the car blows up, illuminating the sky and crumbling into a contorted ball of fiery metal. So, I’m guessing Zarnow didn’t survive that. But wait! That means someone killed him!
The next day, Chuck is getting ready for work when Ellie comes in to show him the morning paper. The story she shows him is about a bank executive that was killed in a robbery. That bank executive was none other than...
I thought he was from Connecticut. Why would a paper in Burbank be covering that? Was his cover in Burbank? Hmmm.
Chuck pretends that he didn’t know but doesn’t really react all that much, prompting Ellie to ask if he’s okay. He is. Even though he spent so much time hating Bryce for getting him kicked out of Stanford (yay exposition!), it’s hard to be mad at him now. Well, yeah, Chuck, he’s kinda’ dead. I’m kidding; I know what Chuck means. Ellie gives him her condolences and lets him finish getting ready. Chuck glances once more at the paper as we hear Casey on the phone. Cut to his location, the site where Zarnow blew up.
Unfortunately for the NSA agent, there’s no sign of Zarnow’s body at the scene as it was “probably vaporized.” All I can say is my reaction to that statement looked something like this
But I mean... seriously? Vaporized? That’s some bomb.
Looks like those secrets are staying in Chuck’s head. While he talks, Casey steals a glance over at his favorite CIA skirt. Sarah is literally kicking around the crime scene, lifting a hubcap with her foot to uncover something. Gasp! It’s the phone-bomb! She starts up her shifty-eye routine and snatches it off the ground, quickly pocketing it as she tells Casey she hasn’t found anything. They exchange some banter about getting back to their shitty covers before parting. Smell that? That’s the distinct aroma of “They Don’t Trust Each Other” hijinks now wafting in the breeze.
As Sarah gets in her car, she pulls out the phone and bags it before tossing it onto that morning’s paper. If the picture of Bryce on the cover wasn’t enough for us, the sad piano melody begins to sound from the world’s smallest piano. But that piano is trampled by suspicious-hijinks-tension music! Casey is on the phone with Beckman; this feels like a CIA job to him. Beckman orders him to keep an eye on Sarah and to make sure to keep Chuck safe - he could be next.
Cut to the Buy More and Chuck are Morgan are talking video games. Those darn strum bars, getting’ sticky. Maybe recalibrating would - but there’s no time for nerd-talk! Casey interrupts the dynamic duo (and the song from earlier in the episode begins to play again. But I’m fine with it, I like Spoon) and tells Chuck that he can’t trust Sarah. In those exact words. Mr. Tact, Casey is.
Spoken like him, I just have
Before Chuck can do more than look at Casey like he’s speaking Cantonese, Big Mike (aka the manager) appears, danish in hand, wondering how Casey’s training is going. It’s going super, according to the head Nerd. That’s music to Big Mike’s ears; the better his employees are, the less he has to work. After imparting those inspiring words (a regular call to arms, if you ask me Casey) on the trio, Big Mike sends Chuck off to continue training Casey, as a way to show him that he’s assistant manager material. And he’s got a nap in an hour.
Chuck, adorably, begins to show Casey the ropes as Big Mike watches. He shows him a handheld scanner, saying it’s an expensive piece of equipment. Casey gets all sarcastic and brags about the big, awesome toys you get to play with when you’re an NSA agent. Chuck just moves right along and demonstrates how to use the scanner. Casey behaves for about one second longer (until Big Mike walks away) before saying some very creepy shit (“If [the barcode] screamed out loud, I’d be right at home”) and taking the scanner from Chuck. The second its in his bear claws, he shoves it under Chuck’s chin and threatens him to stop having private meetings with Sarah. He even pulls the little trigger to top it all off.
Chuck sidesteps this disturbing interaction when he receives an IM from Sarah, telling him to get to the Wienerlicious (it never gets old) ASAP. He does so by shoving Casey onto Morgan, aka his Johnny-on-the-spot, for a little new employee role playing (sadly, a real occurrence at the ol’ BB). Or perhaps more appropriately, he shoves Morgan onto Casey. Casey automatically looks suspicious but Chuck moves so fast that neither Casey nor Morgan has time to get a word in before he’s off to “talk to Big Mike.” While that damned song blares away in the background (I’m beginning to hate Spoon now. Thanks, Dunc), Casey looks at Morgan in very much the same way he’s looked upon many a foe before striking them down. At least, that’s my guess.
"And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger, those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers."
Chuck practically runs out of the store and we cut to the Wienerlicious. A group of teenage boys are sipping their drinks and, from the looks of it, watching some amazing porn.
Close enough.
Sarah gives them their food, seemingly oblivious to their staring (and I’m assuming she’s not going to look anywhere below their cups…) as Chuck walks in. Before Chuck can fully make it to the counter, Sarah tells him he is no longer allowed to meet privately with Casey. Déjà vu or what? Chuck asks what’s up with our mismatched handlers and Sarah immediately gets all snarky (it’s the word of the episode, apparently) and defensive. Chuck astutely picks up on some bad vibes and Sarah lets him on the fact the Zarnow was murdered last night. Chuck’s reaction is pretty a calm one, given the bombshell that was just dropped (no pun intended. Well, slightly intended) but he’s still pretty upset.
Sarah grabs the phone from underneath the counter and places it in front of Chuck, asking him what it is, in the hopes of getting some information from the Intersect (they still haven’t said “flash”! First time here!). Chuck picks it up and begins to just describe it as he sees it, “A nasty…” but then the Intersect kicks in (and I laugh at Chuck's face just before he sees the information - his eyes slightly roll back and his mouth just sort of drops open), “NSA incinerator. Special issue, designed to eliminate all biological traces.”
Seriously though, look at his face (the "flash face" is born! Not that I'd know that, as it's my first time watching)
I still don’t quite understand the nature of the Intersect. Sometimes Chuck sees the information and just sort of keeps going about his business, though he has this newly acquired knowledge. Yet other times, he just blurts it out with this monotone tinge to his voice, almost like he can’t help what’s coming out of his mouth. I know it’s only two episodes in, so they’re still figuring it out, I’m just curious, is all.
Anyways, he cleverly deduces that the phone is what killed Zarnow. Sarah reminds him that their very own Casey works for the NSA. But Chuck can’t understand why Casey would do such a thing (and, happily for me, his nervous/scared acting from the pilot from no fluke). He gets half a mildly-panicked sentence out when Sarah explains that Casey is a killer; it’s what he does for a living. She reminds him how he tried to kill them (complete with exposition-style flashbacking to match her exposition) once and he’ll probably try again. Maybe Casey killed Zarnow because of orders, maybe he just didn’t like the way he looked at him.
Chuck feels so much better now, so thanks for that Sarah. He looks pretty freaked out as he asks what he’s supposed to do. Sarah yells at him to go back in there and pretends like he knows nothing. Damn, I said it a few times and I’ll say it again, this cast is just so talented. They are put in these over-the-top scenarios and conversations but they make sure to keep them grounded in the real world through their reactions and deliveries. Although, Chuck’s face after Sarah yells is pretty funny.
She opts for a more soft approach, much like how she was in the pilot, and reassures her asset that he can do it. Chuck reassures himself by repeating out loud that he knows nothing. He sounds about as confident as he looks.
Meanwhile, Morgan is trying to do some role playing with the NSA agent, asking him if he’s got any Ramones CDs. Casey remains completely silent and just kind of taps his fingers against the display he’s leaning on. Morgan keeps going though, not taking “no” for an answer, silent or not. He tries again, this time as a stereotypically Californian sounding customer, complete with a “dude.” Now he looks as annoyed as Casey. Oh, Morgan, if only you knew. Chuck, now standing behind the pair, tells Casey that the correct response is to offer to order the product. Morgan continues to stay in character. So, naturally, Casey grabs him by the face and shoves him onto the floor.
I love you right now, Casey
Chuck tries to help Morgan up but Casey grabs him by the tie and demands to know what just went down between him and Sarah. Chuck plays dumb, just like Sarah instructed. Well, more like just gapes at Casey all wide-eyed and looking completely guilty. Casey knows Chuck went to see her; it’s what he does, being a spy and all. But Chuck doesn’t say a word, literally, leaving Casey to find out for himself. As Chuck recovers, we hear Morgan (still on the floor), “Oh, wait. No, here it is, on the bottom shelf - The Ramones.” And I laugh.
Casey storms over to the Wienerlicious and waits in the doorway while a fanboy runs out, having received his order (and yelling out “I love you” as he exits XD). He enters the store, but keeps a distance from the counter as he and Sarah stare he each other down. He asks what she told Chuck. She told him Casey’s a cold-blooded killer (to which Casey agrees XD). See, the way he figures, he and Sarah are the only two people who knew about Zarnow. And since he didn’t kill him, Sarah is under arrest. Too bad for Casey, Sarah grabbed some skewers from the behind the counter. As he pulls his gun out from behind his back, she strikes, managing to get him right in the hand.
She rolls over the counter as the Asian-inspired fight music begins to sound and gets ready for another shot. Casey blocks himself with a tray as Sarah kicks away his gun. Soon, they’re engaged in hand-to-hand combat and it’s a pretty even fight. Never mind the fact that Adam Baldwin could probably brake Yvonne Strahovski in half in real life.
So, they duke it out, Casey arming himself with a fork; Sarah, a busted mop handle, and I’m mildly into the fight sequence. It’s not that it’s boring or anything, it’s just not as exciting as anything they did in the pilot (and Sarah’s “AH! YAH!” cries as she fights make me feel like I’m playing one of the Dead or Alive games). And, in my humble opinion, the editing doesn’t really showcase the action properly. It feels a bit stiff and staged (I know it's staged, like any fight sequence, but we're not supposed to feel that when watching it). But, Yvonne Strahovski does look like she’s doing a fair amount of the work, as does Adam Baldwin, so they get points there.
Casey ends up behind the counter and Sarah gets in a kick to his face while atop the counter, knocking him to the ground. Before she can apprehend him, a group of pre-pubescent boys come in, video camera in hand and take a picture of her, gawking at how hot she is. Sarah’s expression as they interrupt her is priceless. They run out, saying how they’re gonna’ put the picture on the internet. Geez, it’s like there hasn’t been an attractive woman in Burbank in decades.
Sarah looks behind the counter to find that Casey has escaped (surprise). I thought it was during that bizarre encounter, but the doors to the back room swing back and forth like something out of a cartoon (complete with a slight “whoosh!” sound effect and scurrying footsteps). So…he literally moved too fast for her to see, then?
I know how you feel, honey
Chuck is busy staring off into space when he’s interrupted by one of his creepy coworkers, Lester (thank you, Chuck). They’ve got a Code Zebra, aka a LINUX install for those out of the loop. He just dumps it on Chuck and prepares to walk away. Chuck wants to know why Lester or Jeff can’t go and Lester literally laughs in his face. See, they’re Mac guys. They’re IT artists. Chuck doesn’t feel like arguing so he agrees to go, Lester just needs to tell Casey that Chuck has his cell with him if he needs him. Lester scoffs and mumbles that Chuck can tell him (he’s not his servant) thinking he couldn’t hear him. Chuck immediately turns around and Lester panics. He’ll tell him, he just didn’t mean…in general…it was….he-he-he…(now he’s sitting and Chuck is standing over him)…absolutely…he’s going to…right now, should he tell him…?
Aaaaand Chuck just walks away. And I wipe away tears of laughter.
Chuck stops at a red light, in his Nerd Herd car, and looks at his map, trying to figure out where this address is. He’s pulled away from his thoughts, however, when a large, black, SUV bumps the back of his car. Chuck glances at his rear view mirror just before picking up his phone; it’s Casey. In the car behind him and on the phone with him. He barks at Chuck to pull over but Chuck can’t, he’s got a home install. He begins reciting the address but Casey finished for him. Guess who called that in? Chuck freaks out; Casey killed the doctor, now he’s going to kill him! He speeds away from Casey and drives like a maniac as he tries to outrun him. I love how sadistic Casey is; he’s laughing while he chases the poor panicked Nerd.
Casey gets sick of this, despite his fiendish grins, and rams the back of Chuck’s car, causing him to spin off the road. Chuck immediately jumps out of the car and screams at Casey and I crack up. Two seconds ago he was terrified of him and now he’s yelling at him like he’s a kid (or Morgan, I’d imagine). Casey takes two steps towards him and Chuck jumps so far back that he’s on the other side of the car (and I continue to crack up). He notices that Casey looks a little worse for the wear and asks what happened.
Chuck’s girlfriend happened, Casey tells him. She’s rogue; she killed Zarnow and she tried to kill him. Upon hearing this, Chuck asks if Sarah is okay. Bwahaha, oh, Chuck…I don’t know whether I find that endearing or just plain retarded. Casey is clearly offended, as any sane person would be. But Chuck ain’t buying it! He saw the bomb, it’s NSA; that means it was Casey. Too bad it’s readily available on the black market.
Casey seems to be getting through to Chuck so he continues. What does Chuck really know about Sarah? She’s CIA. She worked with Bryce. He was rogue so maybe she is too. And now Sarah gets the same pilot-flashback treatment Casey did earlier in the episode as he explains her dastardly plan. She found Chuck in LA but she couldn’t grab him because Casey was there. She had to bide her time but Zarnow messed all that up - if he could remove the secrets from Chuck’s head, Sarah would lose the Intersect.
His spiel is interrupted by none other than the very woman in the question. Chuck’s face as he looks to Casey says it all: he believes him. Casey snatches the phone and turns it off. He takes Chuck to his Goon Mobile but as they get in, they hear a phone ringing. Casey barks at Chuck that he thought his phone was off. But it’s not Chuck’s, is it Casey’s? Nope. But that must mean…NSA INCINERATOR, RUN! And the two jump out of the car and sprint, Chuck screaming “CASEY!” in a surprisingly high-pitch as he does so. They stop as they both realize that nothing happened and just sort of stare at the car, then each other.
Just as Chuck breathes a sigh of relief, BOOM! And they hit the ground.
We come back from a commercial break and that FRIGGIN’ SONG IS PLAYING AGAIN! Jesus Christ, Mother of God Almighty, WHY? Why do you only have the rights to play ONE FRIGGIN’ SONG?! Ehem. Anyway.
Ellie is frantically preparing dinner while Captain Awesome (can someone say his real name already?) just sort of stands around munching on a green bean. He notices her anxious demeanor and tells her to relax, albeit all nice and relaxed-like. Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak answer my prayers as Ellie tells Devon (huh, wasn’t expecting that but it, oddly, fits) that the dinner has to go well. Devon says it’s gonna’ go awesome. But! He doesn’t know Chuck that well; Chuck freaks out when he likes a girl. I guess Ellie and Devon started dating after Chuck got kicked out of Stanford? So, she sets the table while some help from her boy toy when Morgan suddenly appears in the kitchen.
Are those “A”s on her butt?
Ellie wants to know how in the hell he got into the apartment and I’m not surprised to hear this creepy new development. He got in through Chuck’s window or, as he likes to call it, “The Morgan Door.” I’m praying that Chuck is well aware of The Morgan Door but you never know with the Bearded Wonder. Ellie promptly goes and locks Chuck’s window as Morgan and Devon stand around munching on food. As she walks away, she mumbles something about wondering where her brother is.
Currently, he’s lying on the ground, staring at the inferno that once was Casey’s Goon Mobile. As Chuck wonders aloud why Sarah would do such a thing, Casey tells him she’s cleaning the operation, eliminating everyone she’s come in contact with thus far. He asks Chuck if he knows where she is. Luckily for our titular Nerd, he does. Unluckily for our titular Nerd she is currently with…
That is a really unfortunate picture of her (but the only clear one from that part)
Chuck demands they get back to his house; she’s having dinner with her family that night. But Casey refuses. Chuck has to get on the next plane to Washington. Chuck protests, “But my sister!” (and I frown when Chuck’s voice cracks D:) Casey empathetically reminds Chuck that his sister doesn’t have a supercomputer in her brain; Chuck’s the priority. He then makes a phone call, trying to reach Beckman.
The second he turns around, Chuck makes a mad dash for his car and manages to get in and speed away before Casey can catch him. And we have a new song playing the background! Finally! Chuck runs through the courtyard and bursts into the apartment like a bat outta’ hell. He immediately stops in the doorway to find everyone sitting together, waiting for Chuck. Except for Sarah who, conveniently is sitting much closer to the door. She approaches him all smiles, with a saccharine tone to her voice and asks him where’s he been. And I burst out laughing at her expression. She looks like a Barbie doll XD
I just love my fun accessories!
Chuck asks her why (and my eyebrow goes up again, seeing as she didn’t ask anything you’d respond with “why” to), is she surprised to see him? His tone matches the fakeness of hers but he doesn’t bother to put on a cheesy smile. Instead he looks at her like this
XD
Her smile immediately falters as she has no idea what he’s talking about. He merely bugs his eyes out in response. And that’s all she needed. She asks where Casey is, her smile now completely gone. Chuck plays dumb, saying he doesn’t know…but maybe he’s having some “car trouble” (I use quotes because he says it as though he’s air-quoting with his hands). Sarah looks mildly confused but more pissed off than anything and Chuck quickly approaches the group, asking if they’re okay. No one sees this as odd?
Morgan responds that he’s hungry ‘cause Chuck’s late. And a little dirty for Devon’s tastes. Not to mention that Sarah has been nothing but mean to Ellie, a ha ha ha! She laughed with a hint of sarcasm (“she” being me). Chuck doesn’t sound much more genuine than I did when he laughs, telling Ellie to look out for Sarah, though I think the means that last bit. Sarah merely watches the group but as soon as she has the chance, she jumps in, all smiles. Apparently Ellie is awesome. Devon, naturally, agrees with an enthusiastic, “Indeed!” with bro point.
Cha, dude
Chuck has a crazy idea! Why don’t they all go out! Ya’ know, for pizza or something! Some place…public! With lots and lots of people around! But everyone looks at him like he’s a mental person. Number one, Ellie has been cooking all day. Number two, she’s been cooking pot roast, which is Morgan’s favorite. That settles that, then. Chuck looks at Sarah with anxiety, defeat, and a little bit of a predatory vibe all in one (go, Zac). Sarah looks concerned, confused, and a little bit irritated (go, Yvonne). They all sit down to eat and I crack up as Chuck makes sure not to turn his back on his cover girlfriend as he makes his way to his seat, complete with a cheesy grin.
I love the way this little sequence of everyone getting ready to eat is shot. Chuck is sitting at the head of the table, staring straight ahead while everyone else chitchats and serves themselves. It has an oddly surreal feeling to, helping the viewer to feel how Chuck must be feeling. He doesn’t even move as Sarah begins to tell everyone the same story she told Chuck on their first date (minus “Bruce”, of course), that she moved recently from DC. This prompts Ellie and Morgan to talk about Chuck’s friend from DC, Bryce. So wait. Is he from Connecticut, Burbank, or DC? Make up your mind, writers!
Anyway, they go on to talk about what a dead, girlfriend-stealing jerk Chuck’s former friend was. Chuck and Sarah exchange extremely awkward looks as the conversation goes on but luckily it’s cut short by the doorbell. Gee, I wonder who this could be.
Ta-da
Apparently I’m the only one who saw that coming, as everyone looks shocked to see him there. Which is understandable for everyone other than Chuck and Sarah. Casey introduces himself, saying he just moved in upstairs and figured he’d bring something over. Hang on. That’s a two-story apartment complex? Looked like a one-sy to me. At least, it looked like there wasn’t anything above the Bartowski residence. Oh well.
I love Morgan’s reaction to seeing Casey. Especially when he hears that it wasn’t a surprise visit; Chuck invited his new “friend” from work over. As Chuck babbles out his cover story, Sarah postures and keeps an eye on Casey while Morgan just looks confused and hurt as he shakes his head over and over again. Just as Chuck finishes his little spiel (the more the merrier!), Casey leans in and tells him if he ever pulls a stunt like that again, he’ll kill him before Sarah can.
Chuck looks terrified for about a split second before he bursts out in one of the most fake laughs I’ve ever heard. Chuck, once again, is pretty good at coping under pressure and thinking on his feet. Casey goes along with the ruse and chuckles, well, as much as he’s capable of without bursting a blood vessel. Ellie tells Chuck they’ll be needing one more chair and he jumps on the chance to leave the tense situation. But Casey soon follows, needing to speak with his asset in private. Everyone, especially Morgan, looks beyond weirded out. Sarah, of course, looks suspicious as all hell.
Just as Chuck grabs a chair, Casey slams the door to his bedroom shut and tells Chuck that the NSA ran a check on Sarah, to see what they had on her. Two years ago, she posed as a French diplomat and infiltrated the inner circle of an arms deal. She killed the entire circle. Chuck’s eyes bug out of their sockets as he listens. The only thing the NSA couldn’t find is how she killed them. Casey tells Chuck the alias she was using (Elana Truffaut, for those interested) in the hopes of bringing up some information in the Intersect. Lucky for him, it works. Sadly for me, no funny face from Zac this time.
We see footage of Sarah, excuse me, Elana pouring some dressing over one of the men’s salads and then the footage gets all shaky and spazzy, and the next thing we see is everyone at the table laying dead on their plates.
As Chuck blinks off the last image, he tells Casey that she poisoned them at dinner. Well, he tells the camera they were poisoned and tells Casey it was at dinner. Which is just wonderful for them. Ellie comes in because, let’s face it, they’re taking an awfully long time getting that chair. Casey leaves, chair in hand, and Ellie begins to gush about Sarah to her younger brother. Chuck just sort of looks like a frightened rabbit (badum chhh!) and says that Sarah is unpredictable. Ellie, being more of a mother to Chuck than a sister, starts to go into parent mode and tells him that he has no reason to be nervous; he has a great girl out there. I mean, she even made dessert!
Only she could make both those faces in the span of a few seconds
Chuck’s face immediately falls (no, really, it kind of does, just watch his ears sink down) but before he can really freak out, Ellie returns to the table. Chuck tells himself not to freak out and I grin like an idiot. I’m a sucker for catchphrases. He flies into the living/dining room area (metaphorically, though literally would have been awesome) just as Devon is about to sink his fork into that soufflé. You know, before eating dinner. Why is it even on the table? Oh, that’s right, plot convience.
Chuck yells for him to stop and everyone freezes. Literally. Devon’s fork is dangling over the soufflé, Sarah is in the middle of grabbing a mini quiche, and Morgan is just sort of staring at Chuck. Chuck awkwardly breathes out that they didn’t do a toast…yet. Everyone still looks like Chuck has lost his mind, which in their defense (Casey and Sarah aside, obviously), I’d be thinking the same thing in their shoes. Chuck decides that he’ll do the toast. Right then. Morgan now had the plate of quiches and from the looks of it, he just kind of took it out of Sarah’s hand.
So, Chuck begins his toast, first to Ellie and a meal that looks so great; to Devon, who’s also great; and Sarah for a great dessert (he squints at her and she sort of curls her lip in response. It’s more awesome of an exchange than it sounds like. No, really.)
See
Casey eyes the dessert briefly as Chuck toasts him next. And also his mini quiches, which are equally as great (I chuckle as Morgan agrees, chowing down on them). Chuck just sort of eyes Casey in silence for a moment but Morgan brings him back to the moment, asking about him. Ugh. Ellie echoes my feelings and I laugh. But Chuck toasts Morgan and his great comic timing, which Morgan appreciates. And that concludes the most awkward toast I think the world has ever seen. Casey and Chuck just sort of smell their wine while everyone else drinks it, Sarah included. So I guess it’s the soufflé, then?
As if on cue, Ellie gushes about how amazing the soufflé looks, topped off by Devon who can’t even resist having a bite. So, naturally, he just goes at it with his fork. Before dinner. With his fork. Isn’t everyone going to be eating that soufflé? Kind of gross, dude, you should know better. Chuck screams for him to wait and, again, I chuckle at the pitch his voice reaches. Casey and Sarah’s expressions are priceless.
Chuck then bursts out, “Who likes magic?” and Morgan, oh, Morgan, looks like a friggin’ five-year old (seriously, his eyes light up and he bounces in his chair) as he yells, “I do!” Good thing, ‘cause Chuck knows a trick. Sarah looks as though she wants to strangle that little neck of his but he grabs the tablecloth, causing Ellie to gasp and everyone else to jump back in the seats. Chuck waits a moment and then yanks on the cloth, capping it with a “VOILA!” very much like Morgan had done the day before. But the “v” is not the only difference, my friends. No, while the result of Morgan’s magic trick was a pile of CDs on the floor, Chuck’s looks a little different.
I wonder if they did that practically or with some kind of CG…
Chuck’s reaction is amazing, “*Amazingly high pitch* How did…?”
Again, I love when a gag is repeated but ends up serving the plot the second time around. That's two awesome executions of such a gag (the first being in the pilot) for Chuck!
Devon is pretty impressed while Morgan knew that Chuck could do it! Casey sees that candlestick in the middle of the table is swaying slightly and decides to give it the push it needs with a swift knee to the table. Lucky for him, the candle falls onto the soufflé, setting it ablaze.
Flambé!
Chuck begins to panic and yell as he grabs the flaming dessert. Everyone follows him down the hall and into the bathroom, although Casey is moving a bit slower than everyone else. Chuck puts the soufflé in the bathtub and douses the flame by running the water. And stomping on it. Man, that is one amazing soufflé, it doesn’t fall in the slightest, even after all that.
Everyone follows him into the bathroom and Ellie yells at him that is never okay to murder a woman’s soufflé, no matter how stressed you are. H’okay, then… Sarah quickly pushes her way through to the front of the small crowd. Chuck, still standing in the bathtub, just sort of gapes at her like a fish. Sarah then politely tells everyone that she’ll talk to him. Ellie and company takes the hint and leave, save Casey, of course. I love how drastically Sarah’s expression changes as soon as everyone is facing away from her; she knows she can drop her cover. When Casey is the only one left, Chuck immediately heads for the door but Sarah slams it. And then slams Chuck into it. Also, she holds him by his cheeks.
Like so.
She demands to know exactly what Casey said to him. But Chuck insists that everything is okay. Sarah pulls him forward and slams him into the door again. Devon, of course, thinks they’re having make-up sex. Nice. Since slamming him into a door over-and-over again isn’t working, Sarah opts for a new strategy. She grabs her asset by the arm and shoves him away from the door. She demands to know what Casey told him. Chuck, being the awesome spy that he is, doesn’t back down. Oh, wait. No, my bad, he tells her everything. She twists his arm behind his back and pulls him towards her. She’s shocked to her that she’s being blamed for Zarnow’s death; nothing about the diplomats though. Chuck lets her know that if she plans on hurting him, even to prove a point, she should know that he has a very low threshold for pain. Oh, Chuck. Why are you so God damned endearing?
So, naturally, Sarah twists his arm even harder, asking if he believes Casey. He sinks to the floor as he asks about the French diplomats in between pained breaths. Sarah fills him in on the truth: they were French assassins and they were after her but she got to them first. She then asks Chuck if he thinks her real name is Sarah, though rhetorically, of course. She never asked him to believe her, she asked him to trust her. Okay, I get what she’s saying, really, I do, but that wording is just poor. I mean, isn’t trust founded on believing what someone tells you about themselves and about others? At least one aspect of it is. But, anyway.
Sarah thinks out loud, wondering who Zarnow’s killer could be if it wasn’t Casey. Then it hits her (and she lets go of Chuck). She grabs her phone and leaves the bathroom. She rushes past the dinner table, company included, saying that she had a wonderful time but she has to go. Everyone looks at her like she’s got a pig on her head. A second later, Chuck briskly walks by and says, much less emotionally than his handler, “Got to go, be back.” If the situation couldn’t get any more bizarre, Casey immediately stands up and says that he has to leave, as well. Ellie gets up from the table and says bye to everyone but she is clearly not okay with what just went down. Morgan, ever the comedian, says he thinks it went well. And he’s making a doggie bag for himself before heading out the Morgan Door. Ellie’s expression just about sums it all up.
Outside, Sarah is heading to her car when Chuck and Casey catch up. But Sarah barks at Chuck to stay inside, telling him to do what she says. No need to be bitchy, Walker. Chuck asks Casey if they were wrong as a car pulls up in front of Sarah, now away from the pair. She looks stunned and then immediately calls out to Casey. We hear her cry off-camera as Chuck and Casey do as well. We also hear a tranq gun being fired and the world’s worst, “Ah!” I have ever heard anywhere. Ever. Seriously, it’s like she didn’t even try to sound remotely scared or like she was in any kind of danger. We then see Sarah getting shoved into a trunk.
The Wonder Twins of Height run out of the courtyard and to the curb, Casey with his gun at the ready. He points it at Sarah’s assailant and it’s none other than…
GASP! SHOCK! EGADS! Yeah, I’m not surprised at all, in case you couldn’t tell.
Chuck and Casey sure are though. So much so, apparently, that Casey lowers his weapon, giving Zarnow the perfect opportunity to tranq him too. I’m guessing Zarnow isn’t much of a killer, then? He doesn’t need both of them after all. And why not tranq Chuck too? For all Zarnow knows, Chuck’s an agent as well. But then, that would inconvenience the plot and we can’t have that, now can we? Chuck just stares at Casey with shock and horror as Zarnow speeds away. Casey falls over, still conscious, but Chuck catches him, barely keeping him upright. And we cut to a commercial.
Well; where to begin. Clearly, there were things that I loved during that sequence of events: Sarah and Chuck’s greeting, Chuck and Casey’s interaction, the magic trick… but Morgan is still grating to me, Devon is a caricature (albeit an entertaining one), and Ellie is just annoying. Sarah is bland and has whatever personality the scene requires and the reveal of the “real killer” just fell flat. It doesn’t help that it was so damn predictable and that his entire plot is way too elaborate to be within the realm of realistic thought. I know I sound harsh but the pilot was just so damn good! This episode is a step down in quality so far. But, it’s not over yet, so it may just pick up. But, so far? I’m disappointed.
Now for (the much, much shorter) Part 2!
In case you missed it, here's my review for the pilot, along with a description of why I've decided to do this crazy thing. Which means it's time for...
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Chuck vs. the Helicopter: Part 1
We open on Chuck’s shoes and pan up to see that he’s standing in the Buy More parking lot, looking around for something. He tells us that he is, in fact, Charles Bartowski. But you can call him
These are his shoes.
This is his life.
Funny, it looks like a recap of the pilot to me
Oh, and he works at the Buy More. Jeff here (aka, Creepy Winky Guy) doesn’t seem to realize that though, as he’s just put out a display using a Large Mart…blanket…? Yeah, let’s go with blanket. Harry Tang (aka Short Bald Asian Man) is not happy. I mean could you imagine the shame if some Large Mart fiend or Costco stooge put out a display on their Buy More green?
Not to worry! Morgan is here to save the day. Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to be amazed by the “Magic of Morgan.” And as Morgan pulls on that Large Mart cloth, I immediately see where this is going (though, I know that’s the point) and I can’t help but shake my head and smile.
In case we’ve forgotten (or missed the pilot), Chuck informs us that the bearded wonder is his best friend, Morgan. Also. He is not a magician.
And the entire display comes crashing down. I don’t see why it’s such a big, huge deal. Sure, it’s a display, but they’re just CDs. I love Morgan’s “OILA!” as he tries out his trick, as well as everyone’s reactions. Judging by Chuck’s, he’s pretty used to stunts like this from his little friend.
Cut back to Chuck running for dear life as he continues to tell us things we already (should) know. He tells us all about Bryce, the CIA, the scary, nasty, get-killed-for-havin’-em- secrets in his brain, and his life being in danger every moment. And I laugh as he runs straight into the hood of a car driving by.
We see that’s he running after Casey (or, at the very least, behind him) as he explains who he is, as well. Okay, I get it. They have to put all this in just in case this is someone’s first time tuning in, especially seeing as the plot is a little complicated and the cast of characters is a decent size. Part of me wants to just fast-forward through all this, seeing as I did sit through the pilot. But, believe it or not, Chuck’s narration (thanks to both the writing and Zac Levi’s delivery), the editing, and the music (love me some Iggy, I do) are keeping it fairly fresh and interesting. Plus, it helps that they’re inter-cutting this with current action.
So, now Chuck must defend the country from assassins (Casey is sprinting through the lot and Chuck jumps over a woman’s shopping cart to catch up XD), terrorists (we see the perp Casey is chasing, now by running on top of cars)
And making leaps of awesomeness
And… shoplifters. And I’m now on the floor, doubled over laughing.
Just like the pilot, Helicopter gives us another fake-out opening that brilliantly displays the balance the show intends to keep with the real world/spy world hijinks and tone. We think we’re seeing a glimpse of some serious spy action that’s somehow going down at the Buy More, given Chuck’s mad sprint across the parking lot and Casey’s involvement. But really we’re just being shown how seriously Casey takes every job he has, cover or otherwise. Poor Chuck, the Buy More is about to get extremely complicated.
That poor man, clinging to that game for dear life as Casey raises his fist is just too funny. And Chuck’s panicked voice as he grabs said fist, pleading and reasoning with Casey to not pummel Poor Shoplifter just makes it all the better. Morgan catches up to the pair and is immediately shocked at how seriously Casey is taking this job after one day (nice timeline info, writers).
And how out of breath Chuck is. I guess Morgan walked over there, huh?
But even accusations of insanity can’t sway Casey from performing his duty (even if doing that in real life at Best Buy would get you fired. Yes, I work at Best Buy…don’t start XD). And so, he brings Poor Shoplifter back to the store, Morgan in tow. I love how Morgan is all tough with the guy now that Casey has him by the arms. Sadly, I only half mean that. Morgan is just kind of grating to me; he’s just too much of a jester at this point. Oh, well. On with the story!
Chuck, rather understandably, does not follow his handler and friend back to the store but instead just sort of stands there, perhaps wondering how in the hell his life took this unimaginable and cracked out turn.
Or maybe he’s just trying to catch his breath (Underpants, etc. XD)
His thoughts are put on hold as he looks to the Wienerlicious (a hot dog place in the mall) and spots their newest employee cleaning up some tables outside. But who is this mystery woman? If only she’d turn around so we could all finally figure it out!
Sur-prise.
Sarah turns around in all her slow-mo, wind-blown glory, much to Chuck’s surprise. He’s so surprised that he’s gone to back to voice-overring (yes, that is a word). She’s the CIA’s top agent, yada yada yada (I love how they wave and smile at each other. Chuck is so endearing). But! Most importantly… she’s got a past. Just like any woman. Um…call me a crazy feminist bitch but…. what exactly is that supposed to mean? I get it in terms of Sarah, sure (and just in case anyone forgot we get to revisit Chuck’s file on her killing those men), but “just like any woman”? Okay then.
Chuck lets us know that she’s posing as his girlfriend as he walks into the Wienerlicious (I just love typing that word). Oh, those hijinks. Now they’re smelling like forced will-they/won’t-they tension. And I’m just noticing now that we’re not going to get any opening credits with this episode, seeing as the cast and crew’s names are appearing on the bottom of my screen.
Like so (yes, this needed capping)
Sarah seems extremely flustered as Chuck approaches her; well, more like interrogates her given his tone. Though, that could be because he’s still out of breath. She informs him that she works here now as he surveys the store with wide eyes. Poor girl, another wiener batch burnt. I guess they don’t care much for cooking classes at the CIA training facilities, huh? Besides, I doubt anyone’s going to care about the quality of the food.
Ehem.
Sarah tells Chuck that she can monitor the Buy More from there while Chuck works. He looks less than comfortable (and slightly confused) with that news but Sarah reassures him that it’s just a cover. Chuck gets all babbly and asks her if there’s some sort of plan for their little team (especially, you know, him). I love how he stutters and stumbles over his words, even going back and correcting himself, when he talks, even more so when he’s nervous.
Sarah assures him that they have a plan (by the way, his hair is looking so much better than it did in the last episode. ‘Cause, ya’ know, that’s extremely important). They’ve found someone who may be able to help, though how exactly Sarah doesn’t say. But she will say tonight if Chuck would like to go on a second date. She can pick him up at 8 (ah, Sarah, such a poet). Chuck’s face as he mulls that over is priceless.
Though he may just be wondering who John Fleck is That guy from Star Trek, Chuck
He babbles out something resembling a “yes”, though he doesn’t get a single full word out (seriously, I don’t think I’ve fallen in love with a character so quickly before ♥ ), and heads out. As soon as he’s out of the restaurant, Sarah opens a folder on the counter and we see it contains information on one Jonas Zarnow, aka Star Trek Guy. Sarah calls, I’m assuming, Langley from her cell and tells them “Chuck is in, send the doctor.” And I write out “the Doctor” the first time I type that sentence. Doctor Who aside, the Trek fan in me sort of wishes they would’ve gone 100% nerd and cast Robert Picardo as Zarnow. But, alas.
Meanwhile, Chuck is trying to pick out a shirt for their date and asks Ellie for some advice. She’s super stoked and bubbly and cheerful (and is reminding me of the Chipmunks from Chuck’s birthday bash…) as she holds up different shirts for him. And apparently she got a haircut that day (yes, I will be pointing out all the differences from the pilot because I am a snarky ass).
Chuck tells her it’s nothing big and a disembodied voice sounds from the background. And I groan rather loudly.
Morgan pops up from his spot on the bed and goes on about how hot Sarah is much to Ellie’s horror and disappointment. And Morgan recommends unseen shirt number one ‘cause, you know, it goes better with Chuck’s skin tone. Wait, wait, wait, Morgan has met this girl and Ellie hasn’t?! What kind of world are we living in?! Chuck just sort of stares blankly. But Morgan reminds Ms. Neurosis that Chuck confides in him, which Ellie could too, by the way (while staring at her chest, I might add...). I chuckle at her retort, “Here’s one - I loathe you” and Chuck’s reply, “That’s not a secret.” Oh, Morgan.
Ellie demands, albeit in a perky tone, that she meets Sarah, tomorrow night at the apartment for dinner. Just as I was starting to feel bad about the nickname…
Hang on - Robert Duncan McNeill is a producer?
This guy?
Well, damn! Good for him! And I mean that sincerely.
Anyway, Morgan butts in, saying that it’s a little soon for Sarah to be seeing the TRON poster. But Ellie looks at him as though she’s about to head butt him so, naturally, he backs off and agrees that dinner is good. And he’s clearing his schedule. Ugh. Ellie happily leaves the room and I begin to wonder why Chuck is the only person on the show who has three dimensions as opposed to two.
Cut to the Directorate of National Intelligence and some redheaded woman and Graham (CIA Dad agent) are talking about the idiot all their secrets have been sent to. Oh, wait! That’s the NSA lady, Sister Mary Robert! Dang, she got a hell of a plastic surgery job and a great recovery time, to boot (for what it’s worth, I think Bonita does a great job as Beckman, I just have to be snarky. Also, she looks and sounds exactly like my Aunt Maddy. Really, it's freaky). Anyways, while I don’t think Chuck is an idiot, the footage of him and Morgan from that morning certainly doesn’t do him any favors.
But it makes me love both of them a little bit more
Graham tells Beckman (yay name tags) that Sarah will deliver Chuck to Zarnow tonight. Good thing too, he’s the NSA’s top scientist.
Cut to Chuck standing outside as Sarah pulls up in that amazing car of hers. She’s looking mighty fine, as is her car, and Chuck looks surprisingly like he did on their first date. I guess he really likes that combination of shirt styles. If it ain’t broke, right? He quips about her car and gets in, asking what she has planned for the evening (holy crap, RDM directed the episode too! That explains Trek Guy’s appearance).
Shockingly enough, they end up at the Buy More.
I know, who ever would have guessed? Nice shot, by the way, Dunc.
Chuck continues to make snarky jokes but Sarah quickly informs him of the true nature of their “date” and Chuck immediately gets anxious about this supposed examination that Zarnow will be performing (needles and probing of some kind are not things he’s looking forward to). Sarah merely tells him that Zarnow is their best shot at helping him. So, don’t answer his question then. And I laugh when Chuck notices that as well.
Cut to Chuck sitting in the home theater room with a snazzy headset/microphone combo atop his head. He’s adjusting his shirt for some reason and sits back, making himself a little more comfortable. Sarah explains that they’ve rewired the room to accommodate the test and closes the curtains so no one can see in or out. All Chuck has to do is say what he sees when the images appear on the screen. Pretty easy, right? But Casey is pretty confident Chuck will find someway to screw it up. Sarcastic, mean, and deadpan. Gee, wasn’t expecting that. But it makes me laugh (and, at this point, at least he has a personality, unlike Chuck’s other handler…).
Casey let's them know that the doctor has arrived. But Chuck can’t meet him. It’s important that the doctor doesn’t see him; he’s "too valuable". I love the casual way Sarah says this, like it’s a completely normal thing to tell someone. And I love Chuck’s deadpan reply, “Thanks. I’m flattered and totally freaked out.” Remember last episode, I kept saying everyone’s performances were very real? They still are this week, no change there, but everyone is just that little bit more snarky. Must be where I’m getting it from, then.
Enter Zarnow. He greets both agents (and says “Walker” like it has an “h” at the beginning), and they thank him for meeting them at a neutral site. But he’s keen to begin. And he’s keen on meeting, whom Sarah calls, “Patient X” but they’re keeping his identity a secret for protection purposes. Zarnow questions if Patient X works at Buy More and Casey quickly dismisses that as ridiculous. Apparently that’s enough to convince Zarnow, as he begins the test.
It starts off simply enough. Chuck goes through a few images, naming what they are, no problems or secrets appearing yet.
And he looks pretty damn comfy, to boot.
Then Zarnow sends him an image of a flower and things start to get interesting. Chuck sees something Intersect-y and immediately recites the information he’s just learned. This continues for a bit and we can hear that Chuck now knows some pretty heavy stuff (Russian spies’ locations in the White House; who orchestrated the plot to assassinate President Carter; my personal favorite - who was responsible for shooting down Oceanic Flight 815). The montage speeds up and soon we can’t even make out what Chuck is saying or seeing.
But we do see that Zac Levi is having some fun, if nothing else
Just as I’m about to compliment the continuity of the images used, we get a little too much continuity. Some of the close ups of Chuck as he sees the images are directly lifted from the pilot when he downloaded the Intersect. Oh, well; budget, time, I understand that sometimes corners have to be cut. Finally, the last image appears and Chuck seems to be pretty comfortable with this test by now, judging by his delivery of, “Okay, well, that’s just a picture of a turtle” complete with “*Scoff*, c’mon” arm gesture.
Zarnow is amazed. They never imagined one person seeing all the Intersect images, having all their secrets in one mind. The editing for these past few minutes has been making Sarah look kinda’ shady… she keeps looking around and just looking sort of like she's twirling an imaginary mustache of evil. While Sarah twirls away, Casey gets down to business and asks if Zarnow can remove the images from Chuck’s brain. Zarnow thinks that he can.
Well, let’s not all celebrate at once, people
Sarah drops Chuck off at home, telling him he did great on the test and that Zarnow is hopeful that he can “fix” Chuck, as our titular Nerd put it. Chuck almost forgets to invite Sarah to dinner tomorrow night but does so just before getting out of the car (and, again, calls Ellie’s boyfriend “Captain Awesome.” Come on writers, what is that man’s name?!). I mean, after all, it would be kind of a big step. Well, if their relationship were remotely real.
Chuck asks Sarah if she’ll leave once he’s back to normal. She just nods and says she will, yeah. Sarah is very direct, isn’t she? Also, a little wooden but I guess that’s beside the point, seeing as she’s hot *rolls eyes*. Just before he finally walks away, Chuck leans down in the window to tell Sarah that it was probably the best only-second date he’d been on in years. Which is really kind of sad, considering that the date consisted of him locked up in a room divulging government secrets while some creepy old man recorded everything. But each to his own, I guess.
Plus that smile could make the Grinch’s heart swell to the size of a watermelon
But apparently not Sarah’s, as she just sits there and barely smiles back, completely mute. Chuck gets the hint and finally walks away, leaving Sarah to look pensively into the distance.
Meanwhile, Zarnow is speeding his way outta’ town, looking rather serious and slightly menacing. His phone, on the back seat of his car, starts ringing and it cuts to a wide shot of the car driving around a corner, behind a hill. And about two seconds later, the car blows up, illuminating the sky and crumbling into a contorted ball of fiery metal. So, I’m guessing Zarnow didn’t survive that. But wait! That means someone killed him!
The next day, Chuck is getting ready for work when Ellie comes in to show him the morning paper. The story she shows him is about a bank executive that was killed in a robbery. That bank executive was none other than...
I thought he was from Connecticut. Why would a paper in Burbank be covering that? Was his cover in Burbank? Hmmm.
Chuck pretends that he didn’t know but doesn’t really react all that much, prompting Ellie to ask if he’s okay. He is. Even though he spent so much time hating Bryce for getting him kicked out of Stanford (yay exposition!), it’s hard to be mad at him now. Well, yeah, Chuck, he’s kinda’ dead. I’m kidding; I know what Chuck means. Ellie gives him her condolences and lets him finish getting ready. Chuck glances once more at the paper as we hear Casey on the phone. Cut to his location, the site where Zarnow blew up.
Unfortunately for the NSA agent, there’s no sign of Zarnow’s body at the scene as it was “probably vaporized.” All I can say is my reaction to that statement looked something like this
But I mean... seriously? Vaporized? That’s some bomb.
Looks like those secrets are staying in Chuck’s head. While he talks, Casey steals a glance over at his favorite CIA skirt. Sarah is literally kicking around the crime scene, lifting a hubcap with her foot to uncover something. Gasp! It’s the phone-bomb! She starts up her shifty-eye routine and snatches it off the ground, quickly pocketing it as she tells Casey she hasn’t found anything. They exchange some banter about getting back to their shitty covers before parting. Smell that? That’s the distinct aroma of “They Don’t Trust Each Other” hijinks now wafting in the breeze.
As Sarah gets in her car, she pulls out the phone and bags it before tossing it onto that morning’s paper. If the picture of Bryce on the cover wasn’t enough for us, the sad piano melody begins to sound from the world’s smallest piano. But that piano is trampled by suspicious-hijinks-tension music! Casey is on the phone with Beckman; this feels like a CIA job to him. Beckman orders him to keep an eye on Sarah and to make sure to keep Chuck safe - he could be next.
Cut to the Buy More and Chuck are Morgan are talking video games. Those darn strum bars, getting’ sticky. Maybe recalibrating would - but there’s no time for nerd-talk! Casey interrupts the dynamic duo (and the song from earlier in the episode begins to play again. But I’m fine with it, I like Spoon) and tells Chuck that he can’t trust Sarah. In those exact words. Mr. Tact, Casey is.
Spoken like him, I just have
Before Chuck can do more than look at Casey like he’s speaking Cantonese, Big Mike (aka the manager) appears, danish in hand, wondering how Casey’s training is going. It’s going super, according to the head Nerd. That’s music to Big Mike’s ears; the better his employees are, the less he has to work. After imparting those inspiring words (a regular call to arms, if you ask me Casey) on the trio, Big Mike sends Chuck off to continue training Casey, as a way to show him that he’s assistant manager material. And he’s got a nap in an hour.
Chuck, adorably, begins to show Casey the ropes as Big Mike watches. He shows him a handheld scanner, saying it’s an expensive piece of equipment. Casey gets all sarcastic and brags about the big, awesome toys you get to play with when you’re an NSA agent. Chuck just moves right along and demonstrates how to use the scanner. Casey behaves for about one second longer (until Big Mike walks away) before saying some very creepy shit (“If [the barcode] screamed out loud, I’d be right at home”) and taking the scanner from Chuck. The second its in his bear claws, he shoves it under Chuck’s chin and threatens him to stop having private meetings with Sarah. He even pulls the little trigger to top it all off.
Chuck sidesteps this disturbing interaction when he receives an IM from Sarah, telling him to get to the Wienerlicious (it never gets old) ASAP. He does so by shoving Casey onto Morgan, aka his Johnny-on-the-spot, for a little new employee role playing (sadly, a real occurrence at the ol’ BB). Or perhaps more appropriately, he shoves Morgan onto Casey. Casey automatically looks suspicious but Chuck moves so fast that neither Casey nor Morgan has time to get a word in before he’s off to “talk to Big Mike.” While that damned song blares away in the background (I’m beginning to hate Spoon now. Thanks, Dunc), Casey looks at Morgan in very much the same way he’s looked upon many a foe before striking them down. At least, that’s my guess.
"And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger, those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers."
Chuck practically runs out of the store and we cut to the Wienerlicious. A group of teenage boys are sipping their drinks and, from the looks of it, watching some amazing porn.
Close enough.
Sarah gives them their food, seemingly oblivious to their staring (and I’m assuming she’s not going to look anywhere below their cups…) as Chuck walks in. Before Chuck can fully make it to the counter, Sarah tells him he is no longer allowed to meet privately with Casey. Déjà vu or what? Chuck asks what’s up with our mismatched handlers and Sarah immediately gets all snarky (it’s the word of the episode, apparently) and defensive. Chuck astutely picks up on some bad vibes and Sarah lets him on the fact the Zarnow was murdered last night. Chuck’s reaction is pretty a calm one, given the bombshell that was just dropped (no pun intended. Well, slightly intended) but he’s still pretty upset.
Sarah grabs the phone from underneath the counter and places it in front of Chuck, asking him what it is, in the hopes of getting some information from the Intersect (they still haven’t said “flash”! First time here!). Chuck picks it up and begins to just describe it as he sees it, “A nasty…” but then the Intersect kicks in (and I laugh at Chuck's face just before he sees the information - his eyes slightly roll back and his mouth just sort of drops open), “NSA incinerator. Special issue, designed to eliminate all biological traces.”
Seriously though, look at his face (the "flash face" is born! Not that I'd know that, as it's my first time watching)
I still don’t quite understand the nature of the Intersect. Sometimes Chuck sees the information and just sort of keeps going about his business, though he has this newly acquired knowledge. Yet other times, he just blurts it out with this monotone tinge to his voice, almost like he can’t help what’s coming out of his mouth. I know it’s only two episodes in, so they’re still figuring it out, I’m just curious, is all.
Anyways, he cleverly deduces that the phone is what killed Zarnow. Sarah reminds him that their very own Casey works for the NSA. But Chuck can’t understand why Casey would do such a thing (and, happily for me, his nervous/scared acting from the pilot from no fluke). He gets half a mildly-panicked sentence out when Sarah explains that Casey is a killer; it’s what he does for a living. She reminds him how he tried to kill them (complete with exposition-style flashbacking to match her exposition) once and he’ll probably try again. Maybe Casey killed Zarnow because of orders, maybe he just didn’t like the way he looked at him.
Chuck feels so much better now, so thanks for that Sarah. He looks pretty freaked out as he asks what he’s supposed to do. Sarah yells at him to go back in there and pretends like he knows nothing. Damn, I said it a few times and I’ll say it again, this cast is just so talented. They are put in these over-the-top scenarios and conversations but they make sure to keep them grounded in the real world through their reactions and deliveries. Although, Chuck’s face after Sarah yells is pretty funny.
She opts for a more soft approach, much like how she was in the pilot, and reassures her asset that he can do it. Chuck reassures himself by repeating out loud that he knows nothing. He sounds about as confident as he looks.
Meanwhile, Morgan is trying to do some role playing with the NSA agent, asking him if he’s got any Ramones CDs. Casey remains completely silent and just kind of taps his fingers against the display he’s leaning on. Morgan keeps going though, not taking “no” for an answer, silent or not. He tries again, this time as a stereotypically Californian sounding customer, complete with a “dude.” Now he looks as annoyed as Casey. Oh, Morgan, if only you knew. Chuck, now standing behind the pair, tells Casey that the correct response is to offer to order the product. Morgan continues to stay in character. So, naturally, Casey grabs him by the face and shoves him onto the floor.
I love you right now, Casey
Chuck tries to help Morgan up but Casey grabs him by the tie and demands to know what just went down between him and Sarah. Chuck plays dumb, just like Sarah instructed. Well, more like just gapes at Casey all wide-eyed and looking completely guilty. Casey knows Chuck went to see her; it’s what he does, being a spy and all. But Chuck doesn’t say a word, literally, leaving Casey to find out for himself. As Chuck recovers, we hear Morgan (still on the floor), “Oh, wait. No, here it is, on the bottom shelf - The Ramones.” And I laugh.
Casey storms over to the Wienerlicious and waits in the doorway while a fanboy runs out, having received his order (and yelling out “I love you” as he exits XD). He enters the store, but keeps a distance from the counter as he and Sarah stare he each other down. He asks what she told Chuck. She told him Casey’s a cold-blooded killer (to which Casey agrees XD). See, the way he figures, he and Sarah are the only two people who knew about Zarnow. And since he didn’t kill him, Sarah is under arrest. Too bad for Casey, Sarah grabbed some skewers from the behind the counter. As he pulls his gun out from behind his back, she strikes, managing to get him right in the hand.
She rolls over the counter as the Asian-inspired fight music begins to sound and gets ready for another shot. Casey blocks himself with a tray as Sarah kicks away his gun. Soon, they’re engaged in hand-to-hand combat and it’s a pretty even fight. Never mind the fact that Adam Baldwin could probably brake Yvonne Strahovski in half in real life.
So, they duke it out, Casey arming himself with a fork; Sarah, a busted mop handle, and I’m mildly into the fight sequence. It’s not that it’s boring or anything, it’s just not as exciting as anything they did in the pilot (and Sarah’s “AH! YAH!” cries as she fights make me feel like I’m playing one of the Dead or Alive games). And, in my humble opinion, the editing doesn’t really showcase the action properly. It feels a bit stiff and staged (I know it's staged, like any fight sequence, but we're not supposed to feel that when watching it). But, Yvonne Strahovski does look like she’s doing a fair amount of the work, as does Adam Baldwin, so they get points there.
Casey ends up behind the counter and Sarah gets in a kick to his face while atop the counter, knocking him to the ground. Before she can apprehend him, a group of pre-pubescent boys come in, video camera in hand and take a picture of her, gawking at how hot she is. Sarah’s expression as they interrupt her is priceless. They run out, saying how they’re gonna’ put the picture on the internet. Geez, it’s like there hasn’t been an attractive woman in Burbank in decades.
Sarah looks behind the counter to find that Casey has escaped (surprise). I thought it was during that bizarre encounter, but the doors to the back room swing back and forth like something out of a cartoon (complete with a slight “whoosh!” sound effect and scurrying footsteps). So…he literally moved too fast for her to see, then?
I know how you feel, honey
Chuck is busy staring off into space when he’s interrupted by one of his creepy coworkers, Lester (thank you, Chuck). They’ve got a Code Zebra, aka a LINUX install for those out of the loop. He just dumps it on Chuck and prepares to walk away. Chuck wants to know why Lester or Jeff can’t go and Lester literally laughs in his face. See, they’re Mac guys. They’re IT artists. Chuck doesn’t feel like arguing so he agrees to go, Lester just needs to tell Casey that Chuck has his cell with him if he needs him. Lester scoffs and mumbles that Chuck can tell him (he’s not his servant) thinking he couldn’t hear him. Chuck immediately turns around and Lester panics. He’ll tell him, he just didn’t mean…in general…it was….he-he-he…(now he’s sitting and Chuck is standing over him)…absolutely…he’s going to…right now, should he tell him…?
Aaaaand Chuck just walks away. And I wipe away tears of laughter.
Chuck stops at a red light, in his Nerd Herd car, and looks at his map, trying to figure out where this address is. He’s pulled away from his thoughts, however, when a large, black, SUV bumps the back of his car. Chuck glances at his rear view mirror just before picking up his phone; it’s Casey. In the car behind him and on the phone with him. He barks at Chuck to pull over but Chuck can’t, he’s got a home install. He begins reciting the address but Casey finished for him. Guess who called that in? Chuck freaks out; Casey killed the doctor, now he’s going to kill him! He speeds away from Casey and drives like a maniac as he tries to outrun him. I love how sadistic Casey is; he’s laughing while he chases the poor panicked Nerd.
Casey gets sick of this, despite his fiendish grins, and rams the back of Chuck’s car, causing him to spin off the road. Chuck immediately jumps out of the car and screams at Casey and I crack up. Two seconds ago he was terrified of him and now he’s yelling at him like he’s a kid (or Morgan, I’d imagine). Casey takes two steps towards him and Chuck jumps so far back that he’s on the other side of the car (and I continue to crack up). He notices that Casey looks a little worse for the wear and asks what happened.
Chuck’s girlfriend happened, Casey tells him. She’s rogue; she killed Zarnow and she tried to kill him. Upon hearing this, Chuck asks if Sarah is okay. Bwahaha, oh, Chuck…I don’t know whether I find that endearing or just plain retarded. Casey is clearly offended, as any sane person would be. But Chuck ain’t buying it! He saw the bomb, it’s NSA; that means it was Casey. Too bad it’s readily available on the black market.
Casey seems to be getting through to Chuck so he continues. What does Chuck really know about Sarah? She’s CIA. She worked with Bryce. He was rogue so maybe she is too. And now Sarah gets the same pilot-flashback treatment Casey did earlier in the episode as he explains her dastardly plan. She found Chuck in LA but she couldn’t grab him because Casey was there. She had to bide her time but Zarnow messed all that up - if he could remove the secrets from Chuck’s head, Sarah would lose the Intersect.
His spiel is interrupted by none other than the very woman in the question. Chuck’s face as he looks to Casey says it all: he believes him. Casey snatches the phone and turns it off. He takes Chuck to his Goon Mobile but as they get in, they hear a phone ringing. Casey barks at Chuck that he thought his phone was off. But it’s not Chuck’s, is it Casey’s? Nope. But that must mean…NSA INCINERATOR, RUN! And the two jump out of the car and sprint, Chuck screaming “CASEY!” in a surprisingly high-pitch as he does so. They stop as they both realize that nothing happened and just sort of stare at the car, then each other.
Just as Chuck breathes a sigh of relief, BOOM! And they hit the ground.
We come back from a commercial break and that FRIGGIN’ SONG IS PLAYING AGAIN! Jesus Christ, Mother of God Almighty, WHY? Why do you only have the rights to play ONE FRIGGIN’ SONG?! Ehem. Anyway.
Ellie is frantically preparing dinner while Captain Awesome (can someone say his real name already?) just sort of stands around munching on a green bean. He notices her anxious demeanor and tells her to relax, albeit all nice and relaxed-like. Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak answer my prayers as Ellie tells Devon (huh, wasn’t expecting that but it, oddly, fits) that the dinner has to go well. Devon says it’s gonna’ go awesome. But! He doesn’t know Chuck that well; Chuck freaks out when he likes a girl. I guess Ellie and Devon started dating after Chuck got kicked out of Stanford? So, she sets the table while some help from her boy toy when Morgan suddenly appears in the kitchen.
Are those “A”s on her butt?
Ellie wants to know how in the hell he got into the apartment and I’m not surprised to hear this creepy new development. He got in through Chuck’s window or, as he likes to call it, “The Morgan Door.” I’m praying that Chuck is well aware of The Morgan Door but you never know with the Bearded Wonder. Ellie promptly goes and locks Chuck’s window as Morgan and Devon stand around munching on food. As she walks away, she mumbles something about wondering where her brother is.
Currently, he’s lying on the ground, staring at the inferno that once was Casey’s Goon Mobile. As Chuck wonders aloud why Sarah would do such a thing, Casey tells him she’s cleaning the operation, eliminating everyone she’s come in contact with thus far. He asks Chuck if he knows where she is. Luckily for our titular Nerd, he does. Unluckily for our titular Nerd she is currently with…
That is a really unfortunate picture of her (but the only clear one from that part)
Chuck demands they get back to his house; she’s having dinner with her family that night. But Casey refuses. Chuck has to get on the next plane to Washington. Chuck protests, “But my sister!” (and I frown when Chuck’s voice cracks D:) Casey empathetically reminds Chuck that his sister doesn’t have a supercomputer in her brain; Chuck’s the priority. He then makes a phone call, trying to reach Beckman.
The second he turns around, Chuck makes a mad dash for his car and manages to get in and speed away before Casey can catch him. And we have a new song playing the background! Finally! Chuck runs through the courtyard and bursts into the apartment like a bat outta’ hell. He immediately stops in the doorway to find everyone sitting together, waiting for Chuck. Except for Sarah who, conveniently is sitting much closer to the door. She approaches him all smiles, with a saccharine tone to her voice and asks him where’s he been. And I burst out laughing at her expression. She looks like a Barbie doll XD
I just love my fun accessories!
Chuck asks her why (and my eyebrow goes up again, seeing as she didn’t ask anything you’d respond with “why” to), is she surprised to see him? His tone matches the fakeness of hers but he doesn’t bother to put on a cheesy smile. Instead he looks at her like this
XD
Her smile immediately falters as she has no idea what he’s talking about. He merely bugs his eyes out in response. And that’s all she needed. She asks where Casey is, her smile now completely gone. Chuck plays dumb, saying he doesn’t know…but maybe he’s having some “car trouble” (I use quotes because he says it as though he’s air-quoting with his hands). Sarah looks mildly confused but more pissed off than anything and Chuck quickly approaches the group, asking if they’re okay. No one sees this as odd?
Morgan responds that he’s hungry ‘cause Chuck’s late. And a little dirty for Devon’s tastes. Not to mention that Sarah has been nothing but mean to Ellie, a ha ha ha! She laughed with a hint of sarcasm (“she” being me). Chuck doesn’t sound much more genuine than I did when he laughs, telling Ellie to look out for Sarah, though I think the means that last bit. Sarah merely watches the group but as soon as she has the chance, she jumps in, all smiles. Apparently Ellie is awesome. Devon, naturally, agrees with an enthusiastic, “Indeed!” with bro point.
Cha, dude
Chuck has a crazy idea! Why don’t they all go out! Ya’ know, for pizza or something! Some place…public! With lots and lots of people around! But everyone looks at him like he’s a mental person. Number one, Ellie has been cooking all day. Number two, she’s been cooking pot roast, which is Morgan’s favorite. That settles that, then. Chuck looks at Sarah with anxiety, defeat, and a little bit of a predatory vibe all in one (go, Zac). Sarah looks concerned, confused, and a little bit irritated (go, Yvonne). They all sit down to eat and I crack up as Chuck makes sure not to turn his back on his cover girlfriend as he makes his way to his seat, complete with a cheesy grin.
I love the way this little sequence of everyone getting ready to eat is shot. Chuck is sitting at the head of the table, staring straight ahead while everyone else chitchats and serves themselves. It has an oddly surreal feeling to, helping the viewer to feel how Chuck must be feeling. He doesn’t even move as Sarah begins to tell everyone the same story she told Chuck on their first date (minus “Bruce”, of course), that she moved recently from DC. This prompts Ellie and Morgan to talk about Chuck’s friend from DC, Bryce. So wait. Is he from Connecticut, Burbank, or DC? Make up your mind, writers!
Anyway, they go on to talk about what a dead, girlfriend-stealing jerk Chuck’s former friend was. Chuck and Sarah exchange extremely awkward looks as the conversation goes on but luckily it’s cut short by the doorbell. Gee, I wonder who this could be.
Ta-da
Apparently I’m the only one who saw that coming, as everyone looks shocked to see him there. Which is understandable for everyone other than Chuck and Sarah. Casey introduces himself, saying he just moved in upstairs and figured he’d bring something over. Hang on. That’s a two-story apartment complex? Looked like a one-sy to me. At least, it looked like there wasn’t anything above the Bartowski residence. Oh well.
I love Morgan’s reaction to seeing Casey. Especially when he hears that it wasn’t a surprise visit; Chuck invited his new “friend” from work over. As Chuck babbles out his cover story, Sarah postures and keeps an eye on Casey while Morgan just looks confused and hurt as he shakes his head over and over again. Just as Chuck finishes his little spiel (the more the merrier!), Casey leans in and tells him if he ever pulls a stunt like that again, he’ll kill him before Sarah can.
Chuck looks terrified for about a split second before he bursts out in one of the most fake laughs I’ve ever heard. Chuck, once again, is pretty good at coping under pressure and thinking on his feet. Casey goes along with the ruse and chuckles, well, as much as he’s capable of without bursting a blood vessel. Ellie tells Chuck they’ll be needing one more chair and he jumps on the chance to leave the tense situation. But Casey soon follows, needing to speak with his asset in private. Everyone, especially Morgan, looks beyond weirded out. Sarah, of course, looks suspicious as all hell.
Just as Chuck grabs a chair, Casey slams the door to his bedroom shut and tells Chuck that the NSA ran a check on Sarah, to see what they had on her. Two years ago, she posed as a French diplomat and infiltrated the inner circle of an arms deal. She killed the entire circle. Chuck’s eyes bug out of their sockets as he listens. The only thing the NSA couldn’t find is how she killed them. Casey tells Chuck the alias she was using (Elana Truffaut, for those interested) in the hopes of bringing up some information in the Intersect. Lucky for him, it works. Sadly for me, no funny face from Zac this time.
We see footage of Sarah, excuse me, Elana pouring some dressing over one of the men’s salads and then the footage gets all shaky and spazzy, and the next thing we see is everyone at the table laying dead on their plates.
As Chuck blinks off the last image, he tells Casey that she poisoned them at dinner. Well, he tells the camera they were poisoned and tells Casey it was at dinner. Which is just wonderful for them. Ellie comes in because, let’s face it, they’re taking an awfully long time getting that chair. Casey leaves, chair in hand, and Ellie begins to gush about Sarah to her younger brother. Chuck just sort of looks like a frightened rabbit (badum chhh!) and says that Sarah is unpredictable. Ellie, being more of a mother to Chuck than a sister, starts to go into parent mode and tells him that he has no reason to be nervous; he has a great girl out there. I mean, she even made dessert!
Only she could make both those faces in the span of a few seconds
Chuck’s face immediately falls (no, really, it kind of does, just watch his ears sink down) but before he can really freak out, Ellie returns to the table. Chuck tells himself not to freak out and I grin like an idiot. I’m a sucker for catchphrases. He flies into the living/dining room area (metaphorically, though literally would have been awesome) just as Devon is about to sink his fork into that soufflé. You know, before eating dinner. Why is it even on the table? Oh, that’s right, plot convience.
Chuck yells for him to stop and everyone freezes. Literally. Devon’s fork is dangling over the soufflé, Sarah is in the middle of grabbing a mini quiche, and Morgan is just sort of staring at Chuck. Chuck awkwardly breathes out that they didn’t do a toast…yet. Everyone still looks like Chuck has lost his mind, which in their defense (Casey and Sarah aside, obviously), I’d be thinking the same thing in their shoes. Chuck decides that he’ll do the toast. Right then. Morgan now had the plate of quiches and from the looks of it, he just kind of took it out of Sarah’s hand.
So, Chuck begins his toast, first to Ellie and a meal that looks so great; to Devon, who’s also great; and Sarah for a great dessert (he squints at her and she sort of curls her lip in response. It’s more awesome of an exchange than it sounds like. No, really.)
See
Casey eyes the dessert briefly as Chuck toasts him next. And also his mini quiches, which are equally as great (I chuckle as Morgan agrees, chowing down on them). Chuck just sort of eyes Casey in silence for a moment but Morgan brings him back to the moment, asking about him. Ugh. Ellie echoes my feelings and I laugh. But Chuck toasts Morgan and his great comic timing, which Morgan appreciates. And that concludes the most awkward toast I think the world has ever seen. Casey and Chuck just sort of smell their wine while everyone else drinks it, Sarah included. So I guess it’s the soufflé, then?
As if on cue, Ellie gushes about how amazing the soufflé looks, topped off by Devon who can’t even resist having a bite. So, naturally, he just goes at it with his fork. Before dinner. With his fork. Isn’t everyone going to be eating that soufflé? Kind of gross, dude, you should know better. Chuck screams for him to wait and, again, I chuckle at the pitch his voice reaches. Casey and Sarah’s expressions are priceless.
Chuck then bursts out, “Who likes magic?” and Morgan, oh, Morgan, looks like a friggin’ five-year old (seriously, his eyes light up and he bounces in his chair) as he yells, “I do!” Good thing, ‘cause Chuck knows a trick. Sarah looks as though she wants to strangle that little neck of his but he grabs the tablecloth, causing Ellie to gasp and everyone else to jump back in the seats. Chuck waits a moment and then yanks on the cloth, capping it with a “VOILA!” very much like Morgan had done the day before. But the “v” is not the only difference, my friends. No, while the result of Morgan’s magic trick was a pile of CDs on the floor, Chuck’s looks a little different.
I wonder if they did that practically or with some kind of CG…
Chuck’s reaction is amazing, “*Amazingly high pitch* How did…?”
Again, I love when a gag is repeated but ends up serving the plot the second time around. That's two awesome executions of such a gag (the first being in the pilot) for Chuck!
Devon is pretty impressed while Morgan knew that Chuck could do it! Casey sees that candlestick in the middle of the table is swaying slightly and decides to give it the push it needs with a swift knee to the table. Lucky for him, the candle falls onto the soufflé, setting it ablaze.
Flambé!
Chuck begins to panic and yell as he grabs the flaming dessert. Everyone follows him down the hall and into the bathroom, although Casey is moving a bit slower than everyone else. Chuck puts the soufflé in the bathtub and douses the flame by running the water. And stomping on it. Man, that is one amazing soufflé, it doesn’t fall in the slightest, even after all that.
Everyone follows him into the bathroom and Ellie yells at him that is never okay to murder a woman’s soufflé, no matter how stressed you are. H’okay, then… Sarah quickly pushes her way through to the front of the small crowd. Chuck, still standing in the bathtub, just sort of gapes at her like a fish. Sarah then politely tells everyone that she’ll talk to him. Ellie and company takes the hint and leave, save Casey, of course. I love how drastically Sarah’s expression changes as soon as everyone is facing away from her; she knows she can drop her cover. When Casey is the only one left, Chuck immediately heads for the door but Sarah slams it. And then slams Chuck into it. Also, she holds him by his cheeks.
Like so.
She demands to know exactly what Casey said to him. But Chuck insists that everything is okay. Sarah pulls him forward and slams him into the door again. Devon, of course, thinks they’re having make-up sex. Nice. Since slamming him into a door over-and-over again isn’t working, Sarah opts for a new strategy. She grabs her asset by the arm and shoves him away from the door. She demands to know what Casey told him. Chuck, being the awesome spy that he is, doesn’t back down. Oh, wait. No, my bad, he tells her everything. She twists his arm behind his back and pulls him towards her. She’s shocked to her that she’s being blamed for Zarnow’s death; nothing about the diplomats though. Chuck lets her know that if she plans on hurting him, even to prove a point, she should know that he has a very low threshold for pain. Oh, Chuck. Why are you so God damned endearing?
So, naturally, Sarah twists his arm even harder, asking if he believes Casey. He sinks to the floor as he asks about the French diplomats in between pained breaths. Sarah fills him in on the truth: they were French assassins and they were after her but she got to them first. She then asks Chuck if he thinks her real name is Sarah, though rhetorically, of course. She never asked him to believe her, she asked him to trust her. Okay, I get what she’s saying, really, I do, but that wording is just poor. I mean, isn’t trust founded on believing what someone tells you about themselves and about others? At least one aspect of it is. But, anyway.
Sarah thinks out loud, wondering who Zarnow’s killer could be if it wasn’t Casey. Then it hits her (and she lets go of Chuck). She grabs her phone and leaves the bathroom. She rushes past the dinner table, company included, saying that she had a wonderful time but she has to go. Everyone looks at her like she’s got a pig on her head. A second later, Chuck briskly walks by and says, much less emotionally than his handler, “Got to go, be back.” If the situation couldn’t get any more bizarre, Casey immediately stands up and says that he has to leave, as well. Ellie gets up from the table and says bye to everyone but she is clearly not okay with what just went down. Morgan, ever the comedian, says he thinks it went well. And he’s making a doggie bag for himself before heading out the Morgan Door. Ellie’s expression just about sums it all up.
Outside, Sarah is heading to her car when Chuck and Casey catch up. But Sarah barks at Chuck to stay inside, telling him to do what she says. No need to be bitchy, Walker. Chuck asks Casey if they were wrong as a car pulls up in front of Sarah, now away from the pair. She looks stunned and then immediately calls out to Casey. We hear her cry off-camera as Chuck and Casey do as well. We also hear a tranq gun being fired and the world’s worst, “Ah!” I have ever heard anywhere. Ever. Seriously, it’s like she didn’t even try to sound remotely scared or like she was in any kind of danger. We then see Sarah getting shoved into a trunk.
The Wonder Twins of Height run out of the courtyard and to the curb, Casey with his gun at the ready. He points it at Sarah’s assailant and it’s none other than…
GASP! SHOCK! EGADS! Yeah, I’m not surprised at all, in case you couldn’t tell.
Chuck and Casey sure are though. So much so, apparently, that Casey lowers his weapon, giving Zarnow the perfect opportunity to tranq him too. I’m guessing Zarnow isn’t much of a killer, then? He doesn’t need both of them after all. And why not tranq Chuck too? For all Zarnow knows, Chuck’s an agent as well. But then, that would inconvenience the plot and we can’t have that, now can we? Chuck just stares at Casey with shock and horror as Zarnow speeds away. Casey falls over, still conscious, but Chuck catches him, barely keeping him upright. And we cut to a commercial.
Well; where to begin. Clearly, there were things that I loved during that sequence of events: Sarah and Chuck’s greeting, Chuck and Casey’s interaction, the magic trick… but Morgan is still grating to me, Devon is a caricature (albeit an entertaining one), and Ellie is just annoying. Sarah is bland and has whatever personality the scene requires and the reveal of the “real killer” just fell flat. It doesn’t help that it was so damn predictable and that his entire plot is way too elaborate to be within the realm of realistic thought. I know I sound harsh but the pilot was just so damn good! This episode is a step down in quality so far. But, it’s not over yet, so it may just pick up. But, so far? I’m disappointed.
Now for (the much, much shorter) Part 2!