- Casey goes undercover to protect his daughter from The Ring, Big Mike receives some shocking news regarding the Buy More, and Chuck's father becomes the team's only chance of survival against The Ring.
- Continued from Chuck Versus the Subway (2010)
As Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) pursues the van holding Chuck (Zachary Levi), Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski), and Casey (Adam Baldwin), we see a flashback from Ellie's and Chuck's past.
ENCINO, CA - 1991
A young Chuck is running away from a rather upset and determined Ellie. He pounds on the door ("She's gonna hurt me!") But their father was too busy with work. Chuck broke Mom's favorite necklace, the same one Chuck would give Sarah as a charm bracelet 16 years later. Stephen (Scott Bakula) gives them some fatherly advice.
STEPHEN: There's nothing in this whole world that you two can't fix...if you work together. El, I know it's hard, but your brother...has a knack for getting into trouble. But you're going to have to protect him. Because you're his big sister.
It's time for Big Sis to do her Big Sis thing, but she lost the truck.
In the truck, Chuck is blaming himself for everything that happened, particularly his father's death, since he chose to download Intersect 2.0. Casey still thinks they'll get out of this.
CHUCK: Who even knows we're here?
Who? How about a bearded little troll, a freakish bubble of handsomeness, and a sister we all really want to have sex with! Devon (Ryan McPartlin) and Morgan (Joshua Gomez) don't exactly have a plan, but that never stopped Morgan before. The van stops. Devon thinks they need a plan to face a bunch of murderers, but what can Morgan do...just open up the glove box? Of Casey's car? And now, they are armed. And there are two buttons they start playing with in the glove box, which aren't marked. Given what happens next, one button presumably means "aim" and the other means "fire" A missile fires out of the headlights, James Bond-style, and overturns the van. Shaw (Brandon Routh) is thrown from the van, and Devon recovers everybody. They get away as Shaw opens fire. Chuck and Ellie are reunited.
STEPHEN: Be there for Chuck, no matter what. Because you're his big sister. Can you do that for me?
She promised. In fact, she refuses to go quietly off the grid, even though everybody else thinks that's what should happen. Ellie lives on Planet Earth, and she wants to do what regular people do. Chuck leaps into her car before she takes off.
At the Buy More (and one MASSIVE promotion for Subway's Egg Muffin Melt Sandwich later), Big Mike (Mark Christopher Lawrence) gets a call on the phone. No, THE phone. The big boss, Moses, warns Big Mike if Buy More's numbers don't pick up, the store will shut down. Jeff (Scott Krinsky) and Lester (Vik Sahay) have an idea: tell the truth to the customers. If the store is going out of business, have a "Going Out of Business Sale" to bring up sales. Big Mike thinks there IS a brain under that mop on Lester's head. Jeff's? Not so much.
Chuck and Ellie have the ultimate brother-sister talk. Chuck tells her about the Intersect and that their father was not crazy. He was a hero. Chuck felt guilt for years because he thought breaking his mother's necklace was the reason she left, but Ellie knew better and always hated her for leaving. And their Dad wasn't perfect, but at least they now knew why. And Chuck wants to take on the people responsible for kiling Stephen: Shaw and The Ring. Ellie agrees...if Chuck leaves the spy business when he's done. She doesn't know how to protect him otherwise. She makes him promise, and he does. She goes away for safety.
The team's first order of business is to contact Beckman (Bonita Friedericy) in one of the holding cells. Beckman tells them about a conference she was supposed to attend which was a front for a spies' convention at the Grand Ambassador. Shaw's plan was to discredit her and take her place. Shaw is organizing a coup d'etat of the CIA and NSA. The five Elders of The Ring will be there, and Chuck flashes on an organizational chart of The Ring, with the Five Elders blanked out. However, without his Governor, he is in pain from his flash. The video feed is cut off. Obviously, the Five Elders would be protected by scores of agents. It's a suicide mission, and only the best spies in the world could attempt such a capture.
MORGAN: Chuck, stop. You're embarrassing me.
Chuck and Sarah go to the convention in disguise , while Morgan and Casey access the server room. ("Wait, why do I get Morgan for this mission?") Sarah reminds Chuck to act as if he's a stranger to Shaw. Chuck...that is, Yuri Sheshenko...must make eye contact and shake hands with Shaw as he slips a device in Shaw's coat. And a piece of paper falls out of Morgan's as he finds the server room for Chuck and Sarah. The little slip of paper is Alex's (Mekenna Melvin) phone number. Morgan was the one to get Alex hidden, but try telling that to Casey.
Chuck and Sarah make it upstairs...and run right into Justin (Scott Holroyd). He told Chuck Shaw thinks his accent could use a little work. Chuck is none too happy about the way Justin manipulated his sister and flashes on some kung-fu. Except it doesn't work properly. Fortunately, Sarah doesn't need to flash and takes out Justin and his assistant. Chuck finally confesses to her the flashes are worse. But Chuck insists she go help Morgan and Casey, and he'll be fine.
Back at the Buy More, Jeffster! has their first music DVD! And there's a line of stay-at-home moms ready for the sale. They ask Big Mike to run their video in the store. He agrees to screen it late in the day, just so the customers aren't scared away.
Casey would like to continue the discussion with Morgan about his daughter...and by discussion, we mean choking the bearded troll...but Sarah thankfully interrupts because Chuck called Shaw while he was onstage to tell him he knew about his room and that the Elders were in the audience. Shaw texts the Elders to leave, and Sarah and Casey are fully-armed...and so is Morgan. Shaw goes to meet Chuck and demands to know what Chuck is doing. Chuck doesn't want to make the classic villian mistake of revealing his plans, but since Shaw warned the Elders to leave...thus pointing them out...Shaw did the NSA's work for them. Sarah, Casey, and Morgan easily capture the Five Elders, although they'd rather surrender than hear Morgan quote half of Cobra (1986) to them. Sarah goes to help Chuck. But Shaw is confident no authority would help a bunch of fugitives. Shaw proudly admits killing Stephen Bartowski to Chuck...and to the video cameras which broadcast the confession live to everyone. Chuck demands the Governor, and Shaw wants to throw down. Chuck flashes, and he is in pain. Shaw is happy and is more than willing to throw Chuck out the window. But Sarah has arrived. Shaw leaps out the window, swings on the American flag (very Superman of him, don't you think?) and escapes to the floor below. Chuck, however, is overcome by his flashes.
Sarah brings Chuck back to Castle to deal with his pain, although the fact the Buy More really was closing and Big Mike didn't tell anybody might be a problem. Buy More corporate and the goons from the Beverly Hills Buy More ("Proud to help you spend your parents' money!") are there to take the merchandise, but the customers are taking it first. Chuck confesses to Sarah he promised Ellie to leave once he became a spy, but now he was more upset he may die and tick off Ellie. Sarah swears to find Shaw and get the Governor, but she won't have to go far. Shaw slips into the Buy More and starts planting C-4 all over the place. He calls Sarah and demands Chuck in order not to blow up the buiding. She radios the emergency signal to Casey and goes into the store. Morgan is tied up in the back by Shaw but manages to call Casey and give him the full details. Casey tells him to break his thumbs to free himself and call a "Pineapple." And Morgan does it! He goes to the alarm. Only Big Mike and Jeffster! do it first to avoid the Beverly Hills Buy Morons. He's in pain, and Sarah goes face-to-face with Shaw. Shaw captures her in the confusion, and Chuck sees all of it on the monitor from Castle. Sarah tells Shaw Chuck is unable to come to the Buy More, but that won't stop Chuck whatsoever. He walks in, and they point guns at each other.
CHUCK: A gunfight? Is that what you really want?
SHAW: Do you have one good flash left?
CHUCK: Saved the best for last.
Chuck and Shaw do their flashes, and it is on, except Chuck's flash gives him pain. So much pain, he accidentally pushes the Jeffster! DVD into the player and starts it throughout the store. The video is a classic "Cowboy vs. Indian" video to Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory," only REALLY, REALLY bad. Chuck and Shaw have a battle to make the Neo/Smith fight from The Matrix look like a slap-fight, only Chuck's bad Intersect is stopping him. A hard punch by Shaw, and Chuck lands on the ground near the handcuffed Sarah. He flashes back in his dream to his childhood, where Chuck sees some of his father's equipment. He sneaks in and starts the computer by mistake. Chuck DOWNLOADED THE INTERSECT WHEN HE WAS 11! He downloaded a large amount of information and survived. His dad tells him he's special, just like he did when he died in Chuck's arms. Chuck gets up and cricks his neck.
CHUCK: Sorry, just had to reboot.
And that's pretty much it for Shaw. Chuck goes to town on him, knocking his gun out, blocking every shot, and he gets his hand on Shaw's throat. Shaw tells him Chuck has to kill him, but Chuck refuses.
SHAW: That's what makes you weak.
SARAH: (takes out Shaw with a board) No. That's what makes you great.
She puts the Governor back on Chuck's wrist.
Outside of the Buy More, Big Mike laments that he'll be fired tomorrow. But Jeff and Lester have a way to save their jobs and be heroes: burn down the Buy More. Big Mike has heard enough.
BIG MIKE: I have had it with you two! You have brought me nothing but pain and misery. You (Jeff) answering phones that aren't ringing, and your voice (Lester's) is a vocal felony! And on that, good night and goodbye!
Inside the Buy More, as CIA-agents disguised as firefighters look for the detonator, Chuck confesses he promised Ellie he would quit being a spy after this and intends to keep it.
CHUCK: You think you can love a regular guy?
SARAH: Well, I fell in love with a regular guy.
Thankfully Morgan found the detonator, but can't hang on to it without his thumbs while boasting about his contributions. Uh-oh... and Warner Brothers just gave us a Season 4 cost-saving move.
LESTER: Did we do that?
JEFF: I don't know.
LESTER: Start the van.
Jeff and Lester are now on the run when Big Mike rats on them. Back at home, everyone toasts Stephen Bartowski.
CHUCK: He wasn't the greatest family man, but we know that there was nothing more important to him than family.
And now there is more family, Alex McHugh joins the group, and hugs her Dad. A bit awkwardly, but no less awkward than Morgan trying to get cozy with her.
ELLIE: So, are you done? For real?
CHUCK: Well, I save Beckman's job and various government agencies, so she accepted my resignation.
But there's a message for Chuck. The computer tells him to press Enter, and it's a message from Stephen, which he programmed to send if he died. He apologized to Chuck and told him how much he loved Chuck and Ellie. He needs Chuck to do him a favor. He kept something from Chuck, something about being Orion. Something under the house in Encino where they grew up.
STEPHEN: I've been a spy for the last 20 years, working for myself. Doing things governments are afraid to do. Maybe being a spy is...in our blood. And maybe I should have told you all of this long ago. But Chuck, your story, it's only just beginning. It's time you know the truth about my work, and the people who tried to destroy me. Because if I'm gone, then you're not safe from them anymore, and neither is Ellie. These people, they're ruthless, they're cunning, and it's time you learned about your family. Because...I did it all for her.
The her? Mary Elizabeth Bartowski. Chuck and Ellie's mother. Status: Missing.
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