- Chuck, Sarah and John protect a facility penetrated by John's old martial arts teacher/Sensei, who's now a rogue agent stealing and selling weapons. Who'll be Buy More's employee of the month?
- The team encounters a rogue agent, Casey's former Sensei. He's been recruiting former students and getting them to steal weapons and secrets. Ellie must face Awesome's parent who are overly enthusiastically planning the wedding. At the Buy More, everyone competes to be the Employee of the Month.—Jesse Sanchez
- While the team is charged with investigating the theft of a missile guidance system from a major Pentagon supplier, to Casey's shock his former sensei and general mentor is leading a rogue bunch of agents. Casey refuses to be suspended and enlists Chuck for his own input. Chuck thus can't assist at Ellie's when Devon Awesome's parents arrive and take over all wedding and honeymoon plans, not Morgan's boycott of Emmet's 'BuyMore employee of the month'.—KGF Vissers
- FLASHBACK: A top-secret location -- looking a lot like China -- in 1994. Casey (Adam Baldwin), wearing a goatee and long hair, trains with his sensei Ty Bennett (Carl Lumbly). "Until you find your calm center, you will never beat me," Bennett says to his downed student.
FLASH FORWARD. Emmett (Tony Hale) lectures Casey about sales at the Buy More. It takes all our super secret agent has not to break the twerp's neck. Morgan (Joshua Gomez), passing by with Chuck (Zachary Levi), comments "John Casey scares me." Chuck agrees and then heads for a secret meeting underneath the yogurt shop.
The general (Bonita Friedericy) explains this week's plot: Chuck/ Intersect will check out the Global Launch Agency for possible malfeasance. Chuck is agreeable enough, but regrets not having some "me time" after the departure of beautiful Jill (Jordana Brewster). "I guess I wouldn't mind some time to sort out of my feelings," he says. Casey is quick to make fun.
Later, Chuck sits in the van while Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) and Casey, disguised sexy and not-so-sexy lab techs, infiltrate the GLA. Just then, a masked villain repels from the ceiling, knocks Casey over and grabs a futuristic-looking device. Casey gives chase, tackling the agile man on the front lawn. Our grim agent rips off the man's mask to reveal Ty Bennett, a.k.a. sensei!
Cue opening credits! It's time for "Chuck Versus the Sensei."
Back from break, Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) awakens Chuck with an emergency: Awesome's parents are coming to town! In fact, they're already in the living room, having just returned for a brisk morning run. "I just can't wait to start planning your dream wedding!" Mama Awesome (Morgan Fairchild) coos. Chuck agrees to meet the whole gang for dinner.
Later, the general gives the run down on Bennett. Turns out he is a most-wanted rogue agent and all-around badass dude. "Any personal knowledge you have could be vital," the general tells Casey before giving the location of a construction site where Bennett plans to sell the stolen GLA device. At Casey's suggestion, the general tells Chuck he will sit this one out. Says Casey: "What? Did I hurt your feelings?" Yes, he has.
Back at the Buy More, Emmett reinstates the Employee of the Month program, which will be based on customer-comment cards. The winner gets his or her photo next to a picture of Moses Finkelstein, founder and CEO of Buy More. Morgan seems skeptical but Chuck is distracted by Sarah. The phony GF tells Chuck she doesn't agree with Casey's opinion he isn't ready for another mission. Chuck is thankful.
Meanwhile, Morgan is riling the troops up in the break room. His opinion: Hard-work is for suckers and higher sales will only benefit Emmett. "We'll have a side bet," Morgan says. "We see who can get the lowest score on their comment cards." Sounds like a plan.
Sarah and Casey, in the meantime, are scouting the construction site. Just then, the buyer pulls up in a black sedan. Casey and Sarah charge, guns drawn! They find a briefcase in the back seat. It beeps ... much like a time bomb! Casey and Sarah run and the car EXPLODES!
A few words from our sponsor later, Bennett shows up at the Buy More looking for Casey. Chuck frantically calls the team but doesn't get an answer. "Code Red!" Chuck tells the voice mail. "It's the reddest of all hues!" Morgan, meanwhile, treats the sensei like a low-level karate instructor in hopes of getting a bad customer review. Bennett is not amused (although we are).
Chuck follows the sensei to the parking lot where our hero is ambushed and shoved in the trunk of a car. Sarah and Casey pick up the tracking signal embedded in Chuck's watch and arrive on scene. Casey attempts to ram his mentor's car -- even though he knows Chuck is trapped inside -- and sensei's ride crashes into a parked car. Sarah saves Chuck while Casey confronts Bennett. "Be my student again," Bennett says. "Take your training to the next level." Growls Casey: "I'm no traitor." Just then, the sensei grabs a handy crane and swings to safety a floor below.
Back at yogurt-shop HQ, the general is livid over Bennett's escape. She accuses Casey of being too close to the situation and dresses him down for putting the Intersect in danger. "I'm bringing in another team to clean up your mess," says the general, noting Casey's primary objective is to protect Chuck. This makes John very, very angry, as seen by his glower.
A series of advertisements and promos for local news later, Emmett confronts the Buy More boys with their customer service marks. "Combined, your high score is a one," the efficiency expert says. "From now on, the employee with the lowest score will close every Saturday night for a month ... You have one night to raise your scores." Cue a furious montage of the three amigos being nicer than nice to a host of customers.
Casey, meanwhile, attempts to hack into the security database to stay on the case, but doesn't have the skills to do it. He puts on a nice voice and calls Chuck. "I feel like my whole foundation has been undermined here," Casey says. "I can't talk about this over the phone." Now, what was that Sarah said about not going 'down there'? Hoodwinked, Chuck joins Casey and is immediately put in a headlock. Casey uses Chuck's thumb print to get into the system and forces our hero to watch video of the parking-garage throw down.
Sure enough, Chuck has an Intersect moment! He identifies a local dojo a cover for illegal activities. Casey handcuffs Chuck to the yogurt counter. "I have dinner with Ellie tonight," Chuck pleads. "We're tasting food for her wedding dinner and I can't miss it!" Casey could not care less. Like he said before, one shouldn't trust anybody else.
Commercials. More commercials. Yet more commercials. And we're back! Mama "Honey"Awesome and Papa "Woody"Awesome (Bruce Boxleitner) are dominating the wedding plans at dinner until poor Ellie's head begins to spin (not literally, of course). "I just can't say yes anymore!" she cries. "I'm sorry!" She storms from the table and Awesome (Ryan McPartlin) gives chase. Sarah gets a call from Chuck, who explains he is trapped at the yogurt shop and Casey is headed for the dojo. "Stay there!" Sarah tells her fake BF. Easy for her to say.
But when has Chuck ever been one to listen? He freezes his cuffs with the material used to cool yogurt and then breaks them with a serving scoop. "Those seven years of MacGyver finally paid off," he quips. Seconds later, Chuck pulls up to the dojo and immediately finds himself at the wrong end of a gun. Nicely played, Bartowski.
Meanwhile, Sarah has caught up to Casey at the dojo. "I'm your partner and you don't go anywhere without me" she says. The two break down the door to find a captured Chuck. "I was waiting in the car," he says. "I swear." Steams begins to come out of Casey's ears (not literally, of course). Just then, Bennett enters with a gun. "Surely you could defeat me without the gun," Casey taunts. The old master takes the bait and the two decide to fight hand-to-hand. A furious fight ensues. Casey, lying on the floor after a few particularly brutal blows, appears to be beaten. Ah! But we've all forgotten about corner-man Chuck!
"You're feeling betrayed by someone you really care about," says Chuck, recalling thoughts of Jill. "Underneath that extremely terrifying exterior is a man who deeply, deeply feels." This heartfelt speech makes Casey so angry he stands up and beats the living crap out of Bennett. "Truth is, Casey doesn't have a calm center," Chuck says. Exactly.
Back at the Buy More, Emmett announces the new Employee of the Month: Skip Johnson (Michael Kawczynski). "It's not my fault," Skip says. "I tried to be a jerk." Along with his name on a plague, Skip wins a bonus gift: a 65-inch flat-screen television. Morgan, Lester (Vik Sahay) and Jeff (Scott Krinsky) turn pale. Score one for the efficiency expert.
When Casey and Chuck go home, Casey mentions he 'probably should thank' Chuck for saving his life. Although Chuck tries to blow the nicety off by saying we're friends and that's what we do, Casey softly says thanks as he closes his front door.
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