Chuck episode 5X11 picspam/recap
Chuck Vs. the Bullet Train is the typical "game changer" episode. You know, one of those "and it'll never be the same" that one sees so much in comics (especially Marvel comics). Just that, in this case, it is true.
I want to congratulate Nicholas Wooton for this episode, because he wrote it all by himself and it's very funny (with a great use of Jeffster.) See? He got the hang of it just at the end.
Oh God... let's not talk about that.
Anyway... In the previous episode, Carmichael industries met Nicholas Quinn, King of Scotland, an evil guy, former CIA agent and the true candidate of the Intersect until Bryce and Chuck got in the middle (thanks for ruining my fanon theories, writers.) Quinn wanted to get Morgan's sunglasses, the ones that magically showed up out of nowhere. Chuck and Company defeated him but didn't follow him, which ended up being a very bad idea because he kidnapped Chuck. Quinn threatens to kill him if Sarah and Casey don't give him the sunglasses. But in a very dramatic turn of events, Sarah uses the glasses to download the intersect into her brain...
This new episode begins, with Queen Quinn and the kidnapped Chuck taking the Shinkansen (the Japanese Bullet Train.) Quinn thinks Casey and Sarah gave the sunglases to his men and that he will soon have them (he knows nothing.) He also thinks that he can leave Chuck alone while he's handcuffed.
Yes, you've seen it right. Chuck's wedding ring turns into a picklock.
Sarah's turns into Optimus Prime :-)
Chuck can't run away, though, because Quinn's hechmen catch him. Darn! Fortunately, Aphrodite A Sarah comes from the ceiling (for real.)
Yvonne, seriously, stop looking at his crotch at every opportunity you have ;-)
Then she beats the henchmen to a pulp. Kudos to the production staff again and the stunt, because it's difficult to express in images (with their budget) how good is Sarah with the Intersect. If without it she's amazing (I mean, do you remember the opening fight scene of Vs. the Baby?), with it she's like Wonder Woman.
That was some major ass whupping, honey. What, have you been taking Strip Kick?
I did upgrade my fighting technique
Get it? She got an upgrade! Yes, I know. It's not funny.
Good call back to episode 4X10, Vs. the Leftovers, by the way.
While Ellie does a checkup on Morgan to discover why he became a douchebag lost his memory (so nice of you to remember that plot point, writers), Sarah and Chuck meet Casey in a freight car that looks like a mixture of the cargo bay in Vs. First Class (episode 3X05) and Volkoff's boat. They meet Quinn too. With Intersect!Sarah he's no enemy and he ends up locked up in a coffin.
Time to get away. It's easier to say it than to do it. Only Sarah has the Intersect and Chuck and Casey can't do what she can.
I'm sorry, did you just say "flashed"? As in...?
Shh. Oh, Chuck, honey, [honey! That's a first] I, um, I have the Intersect. Surprise
Don't you love this surprise, Chuck? No? But you love surprises!
The opening credits of this episode are a surprise too. I like them.
So Sarah, explain to me please, uh, when, how and why you downloaded the you-know-what? [you-know-what, not you-know-who, that's a different thing.]
Okay, we'll talk about it in a minute, I promise. Train lands at Yamashiro in about an hour and a half.
[...]
Wait, you-you wouldn't have downloaded the same version of the that Morgan had, would you? [But that would be impossible, wouldn't it? His glasses were only for one use and these ones were supposedly different glasses. Why do they have the same virus?]
Okay, I did, yes, but we will talk about it in two seconds, okay?
In a typical "Sarah fashion" she really doesn't want to talk about it. She's scared and focused on the mission and the less she can think about what the Intersect can do to her brain the better.
Morgan is more annoyed and bored than scared. Ellie didn't find out why he lost his memory, but it seems to be a correlation between the moment he began using the Intersect and having flashes and his change of personality and memory loss.
In the Shinkansen, Sarah and Chuck have a moment to sit down and talk.
We were surrounded. And so there really was no choice.
No, no, of course. I-I get it. It's just, with what Morgan went through...
Ellie's working with him to head off any possible complications. [Remember, Chuck, she's the intelligent Bartowski.] And this will be gone in an hour and a half. [Stop uttering Destiny lines!] I promise. [That makes it worse.]
Okay, so I guess we just chill, then
[Awkward silence is awkward.]
It's the coolest thing in the world, isn't it?
The coolest ever.
Did you do any parkour?
Off a bridge, onto a moving truck, and then onto a car going the opposite direction. [I'm sure it's in a deleted scene. What do you mean it would be too expensive?]
I confess that when they fell silent I thought that they were thinking about sex. But no, that was me.
It was nice to see the two of them sharing what is to have the Intersect. It makes Sarah understand what Chuck went through better. It's a little sad for Chuck, of course. Even if he doesn't need the Intersect and he's aware they have to get rid of it to have the life he always wanted, the Intersect gave him abilities akin to superpowers and gave him an adrenaline rush that he won't experience again. In some sense, Chuck is like a recovering drug addict.
Just when I thought that it was going to be all and that sex was something I'd have to imagine for them...
I don't want to live my life in danger anymore. [Destiny line.] I'm ready to retire and start a family. [Destiny line.] Our future is exciting enough. [You find funny to tempt Fate, don't you?]
Hm. You know, uh, we still have a good bit of time before we get to Yamashiro. And starting a family's not something you can just, you know, jump right into. [It depends.]
Yeah, no, uh... we need some practice. [Jumping into families? Oh! You mean sex!]
Lots and lots of... [And lots and lots of] practice... Allow me to set the mood, my lady
Ah, the sex after an adrenaline rush. Quite logical. Not that I know that from experience... *whistling*
Besides, think that if my theory is right and the Intersect has the Kamasutra incorporated, they have to take advantage of it.
Domo arigato, Mrs. Bartowski
I'm going to become a five years old child for a moment but... BOOBIES!
Also, also, Chuck and Sarah have sex. It's canon. And you can't argue with canon.
By the way, I don't know much about the Shinkansen, or the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in this case, but I would swear that they don't have a cabin with bed because it doesn't take that long to cover the entire route. But of course, my knowledge is limited since it comes from manga and animes (and some movies and books.)
Meanwhile, in Burbank, the recently aware of everything Jeff and a reticent Lester are witnesses of how some bad guys kidnap Alex. They're Quinn's men. Now he has something to blackmail Casey.
But that's not nearly as intersting as our couple in their afterglow.
And now the picket fence. See? I haven't forgotten anything. [Chuck's funny ears in the picture are also your idea?]
Mm-hmm. And perhaps... this little man. [Little Bryce! Oh, wait, they retconned him.] Or wo-man... [But I'm sure it will be a boy] someday
Someday. [Who interrupts them when they're about to make out again?] It's a text from Casey. He needs a break
This is gonna be so good
And this is how the episode ends.
What do you mean it isn't? It is. They meet Casey, save Alex, beat Quinn and Chuck and Sarah go home and live happily ever after.
They do! Nothing bad happens.
Shut up!
All right, all right... I'll go on with the recap. I'll throw myself from a window once I'm done.
So Chuck and Sarah meet Casey in the cargo bay. They meet him and his gun, pointing at them.
Hey, Casey, what is going on? Where's Quinn?
His men have Alex
Quinn, you evil, evil man, you kidnap Alex, blackmail Casey and interrupt Chara sexytime. You will die for that.
Fortunately, Chuck can text Morgan about Alex. Then again, he's not the only one who knows about Alex. Jeffster are watching the van where she is held as a hostage. And they sugar their gas tank. Who would think that their crepy knowledge would come in handy?
At least, Chuck and Sarah seem hopeful.
We don't really know what's around that corner.
But we can handle it, right?
Of course. It's just...
The end is so near, you can taste it? [STOP WITH THE DESTINY LINES! Just... STOP!]
I want that house and dog and baby, Sarah
Me, too
Do you know what I want? Six seasons and a movie, but you know, you don't always get what you want. Especially if you don't stop uttering Destiny lines!
Our team meets Quinn. What does he want? Easy: a pristine Intersect. If he doesn't get it, he won't call his men and they'll kill poor Alex. And we don't have much of Angus MacFadyen playing Quinn, but I like how he plays deceptively affable evil guy. He seems in the brink of losing it all the time.
And you know who else loses it? Exatly. Sarah. She can't control the Intersect (which makes Chuck really unique, because Sarah is good and have a lot of self control, but not even her could control the Intersect.)
Walker, pull up!
Sarah, we might need to trade him for Alex!
No! [Bye, bye, Quinn.]
Maybe he hit that station, the one you were talking about. Maybe... [Chuck, always the optimist.]
I don't know what happened. I just couldn't stop. Ahhhhhh! God!
Sarah!
Wow, she looked really in pain. Just looking at her made me crave for an aspirine.
It's funny (just that it isn't really) how the more advanced the Intersect is, the worse it is for people's minds. Papa B downloaded it and yes, it affected his mind, but it was in a long period of time. It affected Chuck sooner (in 3 years). For Morgan it was a few months and now Sarah is affected after just a couple of days.
I didn't want to flash a second time, Chuck. I don't have control of it anymore. [Chuck understands it, more than anybody. Although Chuck's control always failed in the sense of not allowing him to flash kung-fu in a certain moment, but he's never been more violent than he should. Except when he took the laudanol.]
(The telephone rings, it's Ellie.)
Sis, talk to me
The amount that Sarah's been flashing is directly compromising her motor control, causing the migraine, which could be cranial pressure, [that sounds horrible] so we don't want it exacerbated at all.
Is that what caused Morgan's memory loss?
I'm pretty certain. He barely flashed for a month, and then when he started going on missions, the numbers jumped.
How many times before he started feeling the effects?
Well, he didn't have a specific amount, [say 42] but it was a few times a day. What about Sarah?
Baby, how many times have you flashed?
40 times. [See? Almost.]
In two days?
That intensity level in such a short period has to be the cause. Okay, okay, the fix for now until she can stop flashing: She has to get to me or General Beckman so we can suppress the Intersect, get her an MRI
Listen, Ellie, Sarah said that she can't control when she flashes
Okay, that's a problem
No shit, Sherlock!
Isn't it funny? Chuck, who doesn't know many self defense techniques, always needed the Intersect less than Sarah, who can fight without the computer in her head. I think this is because Chuck doesn't think of how to solve a situation fighting, he is more creative. He tries to avoid fighting, while Sarah has been trained for combat.
I want to point out that they never say why exactly is the Intersect affecting Sarah's memory. There is some mumbo jumbo that sounds like medical jargon, but it never explains why. I mean, cranial pressure isn't exactly an explanation. Does the Intersect activity overexcite or short circuit the hippocampus and temporal lobes or something? Although this is better than the explanation they gave for the Thorium and the radioactive poisoning.
While Casey tells Morgan and Awesome to engage in firefight, Ellie tries to fix things.
First thing that you have to do is, you have to blindfold Sarah. She can't react to what she can't see. [This is something I've never trully understood of the Intersect. It only reacts to visual or hearing stimulus to make you flash the data in your memory, but if you try to visualize or imagine a face it doesn't react? Yes if I see something, no if I just imagine seeing something?]
Then, Chuck, I think that there might be a way for you to build a suppression device. It's a real long shot. [But doesn't the blindfold supress the Intersect?]
I'm in the mood for a long shot. [Of whisky.]
General Beckman delivered me the program for the suppressor. Maybe I can download it, e-mail it to you. If I did, could you build something and deliver it to Sarah?
Not exactly
What if, one last time, we just flashed...? [Why don't you slit your wrists?]
No way! Absolutely not! Baby, what if that's the one that does the real damage or kills you? Look, all I need is a laptop, a PSP and some virtual reality glasses. [Oh, so what was in your father's basement that supressed your Intersect was a PSP.]
Thanks God you're in a Japanese train, which apparently gives you access to virtual glasses. Whatever they are.
This scene explains why Sarah used the Intersect so many times. You don't know exactly how to build a supressor? Let's flash to find a solution! Sarah is very reckless sometimes.
Everybody works at speed time now, Chuck to save Sarah, and Casey to save his daughter.
You're gonna be all right, Sarah. Chuck, I didn't want to say anything before, but... but this whole time you've been talking about Alex and how she's in danger?
Yeah? Why?
I don't, um... I don't remember anybody named Alex
[Chuck shows her the wishful picture.] Do you remember this?
Yeah. I wouldn't forget that
I'mnotgonnacry, I'mnotgonnacry, I'mnotgonnacry....
And it's official: Alex is the weakest link. You didn't make a big impact in Sarah's memory, honey. I'm sure she always thought Alex would be just a temporary thing, because she couldn't last with Morgan or something.
Things look gloomy and they look even more so when Morgan and Awesome are captured, which leaves Jeffster as our only hope.
Lester? Lester Patel?!
Maybeeee...
This was hilarious. Vik Sahay's comedy timing is always perfect.
Hey, Morgan was taken. Jeff and Lester are my only option
Look, I know this sounds crazy, but I've worked with those guys for years. They may seem like botulism victims, but they're loyal. They can do it
You're right, Chuck. You do sound crazy.
But, Casey convinces Lester to fight for US Canada and save Alex. And Lester (with Jeff) gathers all his courage to do so.
Miraculously, Jeffster wins. Their prize? A guided tour through Castle. Poor Morgan, he has to stop Jeff and Lester from taking any fire arms, which is ironic, since he reacted exactly like them the first time he was in the secret basement.
Crisis one averted...
Crisis two...
Internet went down. [Very perceptive of you, Casey. It's written on the scree.]
Well, maybe it's nothing, but if there's one thing I know, it's how to fix an Internet connection. The control panel is between the last passenger car and the dining car. I remember that from my prep flash. [Your what now?]
But things couldn't be that easy, could they? Oh, no. Quinn had to be alive and fight with Chuck. Of course. Although I'm glad that after 5 years, Chuck can defend himself (as he proved in episode 5X07.) Am I the only one that imagines Sarah training him hard for this? Without the Intersect it was even more needed.
That doesn't mean that Sarah doesn't worry anymore.
I can hear you pacing
Bartowski's really taking his time
What are you thinking?
Nothing. He's probably just goofing off. [He's never just "goofing off."]
You check on him, or I will
Nice to see that Casey and Sarah's professional connection is Intersect resistant. The Casey And Sarah Can-- You know what? I'm too depressed for this one.
But it's noteworthy that they immediately feel something is wrong. They don't deny it (Casey makes a very weak attempt) and Sarah trusts Casey enough to let him go after Chuck when we know how such a control freak she is.
Chuck is still fighting. He can't beat Quinn, but he keeps him in line enough for Casey to come and point a gun at him. Unfortunately, Quinn takes a hostage and manages to run away. Chuck and Casey run after him. And this is the moment Sarah decides to enter in action.
Reckless, reckless woman.
Step away from the console, Quinn
Sarah! Focus on your... on your fighting abilities, okay? Keep your emotions even. [This coming from you is very ironic, Chuck.] Do not flash!
I'll try, Chuck. You won't survive this one, Quinn. This is over. For good
Sarah!
Is it?
Go to Hell, Quinn.
This scene is so, so frustrating. Every scene where characters are just witnesses of what's happening as you, the viewer are, increases the frustration. Because when characters are proactive, you can't do anything because you're just watching, but they seem as if they can. But when they become as impotent as you, the frustration goes high. That's precisely what happens [spoilers for Downton Abbey] in a very specific scene of episode 3X05.
And so, Quinn kidnaps Sarah.
No more screwups, no more left turns. The Intersect in your head is rotten. We're going to remove it with a suppression device. And then I'm sending you on a new mission to retrieve a pristine version of the program
I'm not working for you.
You are. Until I get what I want, you're my soldier. Now... I know you lose memories when you flash. These, for want of a better term, are flash cards. [No, flash cards are those you use for the Nintendo DS, to play games you download from the Internet.] They may look like random images to someone who doesn't have the Intersect, [in fact, they look very 90s fashion] but to you, they're... stimulants
This didn't happen, this didn't happen, this didn't happen...
On the other hand, how did Quin know that this was going to work? How did he know that if she flashed enough she would lose part of her memory but not all of her memory (the one who learnt how to kick ass)? And is it erasing her memory the supression device or that's something else apart? Because Ellie said Beckman sent them a supression device. I don't think it would erase Sarah's memory.
At least, Sarah can turn on a beacon for her team.
Hey, bro. Please... please try to eat something, okay?
I'll eat when I know Sarah's all right. Quinn said he needed Sarah to steal Intersect technology from a government facility. I need to figure out which one.
I get it. I know. Hey, it's going to happen, Chuck. All of it. I promise. [No, don't make empty promises! They hurt. Hurt.]
So close I can taste it
Yes, Chuck, your wife has a very annoying tendency of uttering Destiny lines. In fact, if we had a drinking game for every time she says one, especially in this episode, we'd end up with alcohol poisoning.
Casey announces that he's located Sarah's emergency beacon. But of course, since the writers of this show are sadists, they arrive too late.
(your princess is in another castle.)
Sarah isn't there anymore. She's in the pilot episode, apparently.
What are my orders?
Your orders are to kill Chuck Bartowski
I don't know you, but when I saw her in her old hotel room and with that blue underwear, I thought that Sarah had forgotten the last five years and she thought she was in the morning just before meeting Chuck. That she remebered being ordered to capture him after Bryce stole the Intersect.
But no.
What attracts attention (to me) is the detail of how Sarah is all suspicious until the moment Quinn asks her if she's fit for duty, then she changes and she's the perfect soldier (or spy, if you want.) Professionalism is ingraines in her. Damn.
I'm just writing things to avoid the fact that yes, Sarah has amnesia, she's been ordered to kill Chuck, and there are only two episodes left.
This is harder than I thought.
We'll see if I survive the next installment :-)
I want to congratulate Nicholas Wooton for this episode, because he wrote it all by himself and it's very funny (with a great use of Jeffster.) See? He got the hang of it just at the end.
Oh God... let's not talk about that.
Anyway... In the previous episode, Carmichael industries met Nicholas Quinn, King of Scotland, an evil guy, former CIA agent and the true candidate of the Intersect until Bryce and Chuck got in the middle (thanks for ruining my fanon theories, writers.) Quinn wanted to get Morgan's sunglasses, the ones that magically showed up out of nowhere. Chuck and Company defeated him but didn't follow him, which ended up being a very bad idea because he kidnapped Chuck. Quinn threatens to kill him if Sarah and Casey don't give him the sunglasses. But in a very dramatic turn of events, Sarah uses the glasses to download the intersect into her brain...
This new episode begins, with Queen Quinn and the kidnapped Chuck taking the Shinkansen (the Japanese Bullet Train.) Quinn thinks Casey and Sarah gave the sunglases to his men and that he will soon have them (he knows nothing.) He also thinks that he can leave Chuck alone while he's handcuffed.
Yes, you've seen it right. Chuck's wedding ring turns into a picklock.
Sarah's turns into Optimus Prime :-)
Chuck can't run away, though, because Quinn's hechmen catch him. Darn! Fortunately, Aphrodite A Sarah comes from the ceiling (for real.)
Yvonne, seriously, stop looking at his crotch at every opportunity you have ;-)
Then she beats the henchmen to a pulp. Kudos to the production staff again and the stunt, because it's difficult to express in images (with their budget) how good is Sarah with the Intersect. If without it she's amazing (I mean, do you remember the opening fight scene of Vs. the Baby?), with it she's like Wonder Woman.
That was some major ass whupping, honey. What, have you been taking Strip Kick?
I did upgrade my fighting technique
Get it? She got an upgrade! Yes, I know. It's not funny.
Good call back to episode 4X10, Vs. the Leftovers, by the way.
While Ellie does a checkup on Morgan to discover why he became a douchebag lost his memory (so nice of you to remember that plot point, writers), Sarah and Chuck meet Casey in a freight car that looks like a mixture of the cargo bay in Vs. First Class (episode 3X05) and Volkoff's boat. They meet Quinn too. With Intersect!Sarah he's no enemy and he ends up locked up in a coffin.
Time to get away. It's easier to say it than to do it. Only Sarah has the Intersect and Chuck and Casey can't do what she can.
I'm sorry, did you just say "flashed"? As in...?
Shh. Oh, Chuck, honey, [honey! That's a first] I, um, I have the Intersect. Surprise
Don't you love this surprise, Chuck? No? But you love surprises!
The opening credits of this episode are a surprise too. I like them.
So Sarah, explain to me please, uh, when, how and why you downloaded the you-know-what? [you-know-what, not you-know-who, that's a different thing.]
Okay, we'll talk about it in a minute, I promise. Train lands at Yamashiro in about an hour and a half.
[...]
Wait, you-you wouldn't have downloaded the same version of the that Morgan had, would you? [But that would be impossible, wouldn't it? His glasses were only for one use and these ones were supposedly different glasses. Why do they have the same virus?]
Okay, I did, yes, but we will talk about it in two seconds, okay?
In a typical "Sarah fashion" she really doesn't want to talk about it. She's scared and focused on the mission and the less she can think about what the Intersect can do to her brain the better.
Morgan is more annoyed and bored than scared. Ellie didn't find out why he lost his memory, but it seems to be a correlation between the moment he began using the Intersect and having flashes and his change of personality and memory loss.
In the Shinkansen, Sarah and Chuck have a moment to sit down and talk.
We were surrounded. And so there really was no choice.
No, no, of course. I-I get it. It's just, with what Morgan went through...
Ellie's working with him to head off any possible complications. [Remember, Chuck, she's the intelligent Bartowski.] And this will be gone in an hour and a half. [Stop uttering Destiny lines!] I promise. [That makes it worse.]
Okay, so I guess we just chill, then
[Awkward silence is awkward.]
It's the coolest thing in the world, isn't it?
The coolest ever.
Did you do any parkour?
Off a bridge, onto a moving truck, and then onto a car going the opposite direction. [I'm sure it's in a deleted scene. What do you mean it would be too expensive?]
I confess that when they fell silent I thought that they were thinking about sex. But no, that was me.
It was nice to see the two of them sharing what is to have the Intersect. It makes Sarah understand what Chuck went through better. It's a little sad for Chuck, of course. Even if he doesn't need the Intersect and he's aware they have to get rid of it to have the life he always wanted, the Intersect gave him abilities akin to superpowers and gave him an adrenaline rush that he won't experience again. In some sense, Chuck is like a recovering drug addict.
Just when I thought that it was going to be all and that sex was something I'd have to imagine for them...
I don't want to live my life in danger anymore. [Destiny line.] I'm ready to retire and start a family. [Destiny line.] Our future is exciting enough. [You find funny to tempt Fate, don't you?]
Hm. You know, uh, we still have a good bit of time before we get to Yamashiro. And starting a family's not something you can just, you know, jump right into. [It depends.]
Yeah, no, uh... we need some practice. [Jumping into families? Oh! You mean sex!]
Lots and lots of... [And lots and lots of] practice... Allow me to set the mood, my lady
Ah, the sex after an adrenaline rush. Quite logical. Not that I know that from experience... *whistling*
Besides, think that if my theory is right and the Intersect has the Kamasutra incorporated, they have to take advantage of it.
Domo arigato, Mrs. Bartowski
I'm going to become a five years old child for a moment but... BOOBIES!
Also, also, Chuck and Sarah have sex. It's canon. And you can't argue with canon.
By the way, I don't know much about the Shinkansen, or the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in this case, but I would swear that they don't have a cabin with bed because it doesn't take that long to cover the entire route. But of course, my knowledge is limited since it comes from manga and animes (and some movies and books.)
Meanwhile, in Burbank, the recently aware of everything Jeff and a reticent Lester are witnesses of how some bad guys kidnap Alex. They're Quinn's men. Now he has something to blackmail Casey.
But that's not nearly as intersting as our couple in their afterglow.
And now the picket fence. See? I haven't forgotten anything. [Chuck's funny ears in the picture are also your idea?]
Mm-hmm. And perhaps... this little man. [Little Bryce! Oh, wait, they retconned him.] Or wo-man... [But I'm sure it will be a boy] someday
Someday. [Who interrupts them when they're about to make out again?] It's a text from Casey. He needs a break
This is gonna be so good
And this is how the episode ends.
What do you mean it isn't? It is. They meet Casey, save Alex, beat Quinn and Chuck and Sarah go home and live happily ever after.
They do! Nothing bad happens.
Shut up!
All right, all right... I'll go on with the recap. I'll throw myself from a window once I'm done.
So Chuck and Sarah meet Casey in the cargo bay. They meet him and his gun, pointing at them.
Hey, Casey, what is going on? Where's Quinn?
His men have Alex
Quinn, you evil, evil man, you kidnap Alex, blackmail Casey and interrupt Chara sexytime. You will die for that.
Fortunately, Chuck can text Morgan about Alex. Then again, he's not the only one who knows about Alex. Jeffster are watching the van where she is held as a hostage. And they sugar their gas tank. Who would think that their crepy knowledge would come in handy?
At least, Chuck and Sarah seem hopeful.
We don't really know what's around that corner.
But we can handle it, right?
Of course. It's just...
The end is so near, you can taste it? [STOP WITH THE DESTINY LINES! Just... STOP!]
I want that house and dog and baby, Sarah
Me, too
Do you know what I want? Six seasons and a movie, but you know, you don't always get what you want. Especially if you don't stop uttering Destiny lines!
Our team meets Quinn. What does he want? Easy: a pristine Intersect. If he doesn't get it, he won't call his men and they'll kill poor Alex. And we don't have much of Angus MacFadyen playing Quinn, but I like how he plays deceptively affable evil guy. He seems in the brink of losing it all the time.
And you know who else loses it? Exatly. Sarah. She can't control the Intersect (which makes Chuck really unique, because Sarah is good and have a lot of self control, but not even her could control the Intersect.)
Walker, pull up!
Sarah, we might need to trade him for Alex!
No! [Bye, bye, Quinn.]
Maybe he hit that station, the one you were talking about. Maybe... [Chuck, always the optimist.]
I don't know what happened. I just couldn't stop. Ahhhhhh! God!
Sarah!
Wow, she looked really in pain. Just looking at her made me crave for an aspirine.
It's funny (just that it isn't really) how the more advanced the Intersect is, the worse it is for people's minds. Papa B downloaded it and yes, it affected his mind, but it was in a long period of time. It affected Chuck sooner (in 3 years). For Morgan it was a few months and now Sarah is affected after just a couple of days.
I didn't want to flash a second time, Chuck. I don't have control of it anymore. [Chuck understands it, more than anybody. Although Chuck's control always failed in the sense of not allowing him to flash kung-fu in a certain moment, but he's never been more violent than he should. Except when he took the laudanol.]
(The telephone rings, it's Ellie.)
Sis, talk to me
The amount that Sarah's been flashing is directly compromising her motor control, causing the migraine, which could be cranial pressure, [that sounds horrible] so we don't want it exacerbated at all.
Is that what caused Morgan's memory loss?
I'm pretty certain. He barely flashed for a month, and then when he started going on missions, the numbers jumped.
How many times before he started feeling the effects?
Well, he didn't have a specific amount, [say 42] but it was a few times a day. What about Sarah?
Baby, how many times have you flashed?
40 times. [See? Almost.]
In two days?
That intensity level in such a short period has to be the cause. Okay, okay, the fix for now until she can stop flashing: She has to get to me or General Beckman so we can suppress the Intersect, get her an MRI
Listen, Ellie, Sarah said that she can't control when she flashes
Okay, that's a problem
No shit, Sherlock!
Isn't it funny? Chuck, who doesn't know many self defense techniques, always needed the Intersect less than Sarah, who can fight without the computer in her head. I think this is because Chuck doesn't think of how to solve a situation fighting, he is more creative. He tries to avoid fighting, while Sarah has been trained for combat.
I want to point out that they never say why exactly is the Intersect affecting Sarah's memory. There is some mumbo jumbo that sounds like medical jargon, but it never explains why. I mean, cranial pressure isn't exactly an explanation. Does the Intersect activity overexcite or short circuit the hippocampus and temporal lobes or something? Although this is better than the explanation they gave for the Thorium and the radioactive poisoning.
While Casey tells Morgan and Awesome to engage in firefight, Ellie tries to fix things.
First thing that you have to do is, you have to blindfold Sarah. She can't react to what she can't see. [This is something I've never trully understood of the Intersect. It only reacts to visual or hearing stimulus to make you flash the data in your memory, but if you try to visualize or imagine a face it doesn't react? Yes if I see something, no if I just imagine seeing something?]
Then, Chuck, I think that there might be a way for you to build a suppression device. It's a real long shot. [But doesn't the blindfold supress the Intersect?]
I'm in the mood for a long shot. [Of whisky.]
General Beckman delivered me the program for the suppressor. Maybe I can download it, e-mail it to you. If I did, could you build something and deliver it to Sarah?
Not exactly
What if, one last time, we just flashed...? [Why don't you slit your wrists?]
No way! Absolutely not! Baby, what if that's the one that does the real damage or kills you? Look, all I need is a laptop, a PSP and some virtual reality glasses. [Oh, so what was in your father's basement that supressed your Intersect was a PSP.]
Thanks God you're in a Japanese train, which apparently gives you access to virtual glasses. Whatever they are.
This scene explains why Sarah used the Intersect so many times. You don't know exactly how to build a supressor? Let's flash to find a solution! Sarah is very reckless sometimes.
Everybody works at speed time now, Chuck to save Sarah, and Casey to save his daughter.
You're gonna be all right, Sarah. Chuck, I didn't want to say anything before, but... but this whole time you've been talking about Alex and how she's in danger?
Yeah? Why?
I don't, um... I don't remember anybody named Alex
[Chuck shows her the wishful picture.] Do you remember this?
Yeah. I wouldn't forget that
I'mnotgonnacry, I'mnotgonnacry, I'mnotgonnacry....
And it's official: Alex is the weakest link. You didn't make a big impact in Sarah's memory, honey. I'm sure she always thought Alex would be just a temporary thing, because she couldn't last with Morgan or something.
Things look gloomy and they look even more so when Morgan and Awesome are captured, which leaves Jeffster as our only hope.
Lester? Lester Patel?!
Maybeeee...
This was hilarious. Vik Sahay's comedy timing is always perfect.
Hey, Morgan was taken. Jeff and Lester are my only option
Look, I know this sounds crazy, but I've worked with those guys for years. They may seem like botulism victims, but they're loyal. They can do it
You're right, Chuck. You do sound crazy.
But, Casey convinces Lester to fight for US Canada and save Alex. And Lester (with Jeff) gathers all his courage to do so.
Miraculously, Jeffster wins. Their prize? A guided tour through Castle. Poor Morgan, he has to stop Jeff and Lester from taking any fire arms, which is ironic, since he reacted exactly like them the first time he was in the secret basement.
Crisis one averted...
Crisis two...
Internet went down. [Very perceptive of you, Casey. It's written on the scree.]
Well, maybe it's nothing, but if there's one thing I know, it's how to fix an Internet connection. The control panel is between the last passenger car and the dining car. I remember that from my prep flash. [Your what now?]
But things couldn't be that easy, could they? Oh, no. Quinn had to be alive and fight with Chuck. Of course. Although I'm glad that after 5 years, Chuck can defend himself (as he proved in episode 5X07.) Am I the only one that imagines Sarah training him hard for this? Without the Intersect it was even more needed.
That doesn't mean that Sarah doesn't worry anymore.
I can hear you pacing
Bartowski's really taking his time
What are you thinking?
Nothing. He's probably just goofing off. [He's never just "goofing off."]
You check on him, or I will
Nice to see that Casey and Sarah's professional connection is Intersect resistant. The Casey And Sarah Can-- You know what? I'm too depressed for this one.
But it's noteworthy that they immediately feel something is wrong. They don't deny it (Casey makes a very weak attempt) and Sarah trusts Casey enough to let him go after Chuck when we know how such a control freak she is.
Chuck is still fighting. He can't beat Quinn, but he keeps him in line enough for Casey to come and point a gun at him. Unfortunately, Quinn takes a hostage and manages to run away. Chuck and Casey run after him. And this is the moment Sarah decides to enter in action.
Reckless, reckless woman.
Step away from the console, Quinn
Sarah! Focus on your... on your fighting abilities, okay? Keep your emotions even. [This coming from you is very ironic, Chuck.] Do not flash!
I'll try, Chuck. You won't survive this one, Quinn. This is over. For good
Sarah!
Is it?
Go to Hell, Quinn.
This scene is so, so frustrating. Every scene where characters are just witnesses of what's happening as you, the viewer are, increases the frustration. Because when characters are proactive, you can't do anything because you're just watching, but they seem as if they can. But when they become as impotent as you, the frustration goes high. That's precisely what happens [spoilers for Downton Abbey] in a very specific scene of episode 3X05.
And so, Quinn kidnaps Sarah.
No more screwups, no more left turns. The Intersect in your head is rotten. We're going to remove it with a suppression device. And then I'm sending you on a new mission to retrieve a pristine version of the program
I'm not working for you.
You are. Until I get what I want, you're my soldier. Now... I know you lose memories when you flash. These, for want of a better term, are flash cards. [No, flash cards are those you use for the Nintendo DS, to play games you download from the Internet.] They may look like random images to someone who doesn't have the Intersect, [in fact, they look very 90s fashion] but to you, they're... stimulants
This didn't happen, this didn't happen, this didn't happen...
On the other hand, how did Quin know that this was going to work? How did he know that if she flashed enough she would lose part of her memory but not all of her memory (the one who learnt how to kick ass)? And is it erasing her memory the supression device or that's something else apart? Because Ellie said Beckman sent them a supression device. I don't think it would erase Sarah's memory.
At least, Sarah can turn on a beacon for her team.
Hey, bro. Please... please try to eat something, okay?
I'll eat when I know Sarah's all right. Quinn said he needed Sarah to steal Intersect technology from a government facility. I need to figure out which one.
I get it. I know. Hey, it's going to happen, Chuck. All of it. I promise. [No, don't make empty promises! They hurt. Hurt.]
So close I can taste it
Yes, Chuck, your wife has a very annoying tendency of uttering Destiny lines. In fact, if we had a drinking game for every time she says one, especially in this episode, we'd end up with alcohol poisoning.
Casey announces that he's located Sarah's emergency beacon. But of course, since the writers of this show are sadists, they arrive too late.
(your princess is in another castle.)
Sarah isn't there anymore. She's in the pilot episode, apparently.
What are my orders?
Your orders are to kill Chuck Bartowski
I don't know you, but when I saw her in her old hotel room and with that blue underwear, I thought that Sarah had forgotten the last five years and she thought she was in the morning just before meeting Chuck. That she remebered being ordered to capture him after Bryce stole the Intersect.
But no.
What attracts attention (to me) is the detail of how Sarah is all suspicious until the moment Quinn asks her if she's fit for duty, then she changes and she's the perfect soldier (or spy, if you want.) Professionalism is ingraines in her. Damn.
I'm just writing things to avoid the fact that yes, Sarah has amnesia, she's been ordered to kill Chuck, and there are only two episodes left.
This is harder than I thought.
We'll see if I survive the next installment :-)