Corpvandolay here with a recap of this week’s episode of Chuck. First off, I apologize for the delay in getting this recap up. It’s funny how life has a habit of getting in the way. And, I’m not talking about the television show there (though it is a very good show — watch it). But, I am back on track and should be getting these updates done in a nice, timely manner. In fact, I just purchased a new laptop that should help with that. But enough of that, on with the show…
What Does TV Guide , er…DirecTV Say?
Chuck finds the creator of the Intersect; a conflict breaks out between the Burbank Buy More and the Beverly Hills branch.
Who Stars This Week?
Who Guest Stars?
Oh, yes. He is back. He is here. He is…The Mummy! Yes, this week’s marquee guest star is Arnold Vosloo. Personally, I like him. He’s a cool, cocky villain. And, while he will forever be The Mummy to me, in this episode, he is very much in Agent Cody Banks mode. Plus, just like Michael Rosenbaum, someone needs to tell him that he looks best bald.
What’s The Episode Really About?
It is evening as Chuck, Casey and Sarah are trudging back from a mission. They are disguised as plumbers and covered in funk. But, good news — they were able to retrieve the intel they were after. Casey goes off to shower up, leaving Sarah and Chuck in the courtyard. Sarah asks Chuck if he needs to clean up at Casey’s before going home to Ellie and Awesome. Nope — it seems that they are away right now on wedding business (Nooooo! No Awesome in this episode?! Ugh!) Chuck asks Sarah if there is any news on the search for Orion, the creator of the Intersect. It is very important to him to get this stuff out of his head. Sarah reassures him that the General knows how he feels and is working to find Orion. They part ways and Chuck goes inside.
It’s now 4:13 in the morning and Chuck is working on his Life (check it out, Wednesdays at 9, 8 central) chart. Chuck notices his web cam clicking on. He gets up and goes over to it, trying to figure out why. Cut to a room in Hong Kong where a shadowy fella is sitting at a computer, typing away, Chuck’s webcam image on his screen. We hear a commotion out in the hall of the apartment. The showman shuts off his laptop, stands up and begins to type into his space-age wrist gauntlet. The door busts open and a swat team rushes in, but the room is empty! The team moves around the room, and there leader comes into the room. It is….The Mummy! Yes, Arnold Vosloo is back and as a FULCRUM agent. It seems that they just missed Orion. The pc screen comes to life, displaying a warning message (hey, just like Wargames!) and…BOOM!
Cut to being inside of the Buy More, where it looks like a bomb went off. A toilet paper bomb. Yes, the entire store is covered in TP. Jeff, Lester,
Chuck — the whole gang is here, surveying the damage. It seems that the Beverly Hills Buy More store is responsible. They come by the store to gloat, like any good rivalry (anyone remember Cheers?). It seems that they are upset that the Burbank Buy More (our guys) are getting the new Work Instruments computer first. Yes, they are getting the next-gen gaming machine in the store soon. Nirvana! Big Mike lets everyone at the store know that there will be no rivalry. They are above such tactics. Chuck goes to the Nerd Herd desk to clean up and do some work. As he sits down, we get more ‘Wargames’messages, as his machine there is taken over. It is Orion trying to communicate with Chuck! Orion is going to send Chuck a secure pc so that they can safely communicate. The screen goes back to normal just as Sarah walks up.
HQ. Chuck tells Sarah, Casey and the General that Orion contacted him. What? Why? They have been looking for Orion for years. Well, as Chuck says, it is probably due to his private search for him. Orion knows that Chuck is the Intersect and he is sending a secure pc to Chuck so that they can communicate. The General orders them to get that pc before anyone else. Orion’s laptops are next-gen, capable of overriding military security. It cannot fall into the wrong hands.
At the Buy More a delivery guy walks up to the Nerd Herd desk. He has a delivery, some kind of electronics, for Chuck. Lester thinks it is the next-gen gaming console and signs for it, saying he is Chuck. A short time later, Chuck and Sarah rush up to the now empty Nerd Herd desk. They check the log — no deliveries yet. Sarah then asks Chuck why he didn’t tell her about his covert search for Orion. Chuck responds that he doesn’t think that the CIA or NSA want the Intersect out of his head (good thinking there!)
The Buy More bathroom. Lester is taking Morgan into ‘Jeff’s Office.’Yes, the last stall is Jeff’s office, and my is it ever tricked out! This thing is nicer than many apartments. Yes, small cramped apartments, but still. They have the new laptop in there, looking to test it out. They turn it on, and it asks them to identify themselves. They say they can’t, which Orion takes to mean that Chuck is in trouble. Orion displays that he is sending air support. Hey, it’s a simulator game! Orion asks for the address, and they enter the Buy More. The screen shows the camera view from a predator drone as it races towards Buy More.
Down at HQ, Chuck, Sarah and Casey see that a predator drone has been hijacked and is headed for the Buy More. Who would want to blow up the Buy More? Chuck knows — Morgan and the guys found the laptop! There is a mad dash to find Morgan and the pc, so that everyone doesn’t die in a fiery explosion. Chuck finally gets a hold of Morgan on his phone, and screams at him to turn the machine off. Morgan acquiesces, just in the nick of time. Disaster averted. Chuck and Casey get the machine and walk out into the Buy More with the, only to run into Big Mike. What are they doing with the new Work Instruments machine? To safeguard it, he locks the machine in his office safe, and tells Emmett to guard the machine all night. Jeff and Lester see this through one of Mike’s windows, and plot breaking in to steal the machine. On the other side, Chuck, Casey & Sarah also see this and know what their mission is: break into the Buy More tonight. I sense a problem here…
Cut to a dark room, straight out of the Twilight Zone. What is going on? Where are we? Oh, there is The Mummy, so we must be in FULCRUM’s brain trust center. Man, they must be hurting for cash, as they have not paid that electric bill in a while. The Mummy picked up a signal matching Orion’s coming from a Buy More in Burbank. The Mummy is going to go there tonight to find Orion.
That night, Emmett is stalking the Buy More, flashlight in hand, mind stuck in an old spaghetti western. Chuck, Sarah and Casey sneak in via their dedicated HQ tunnel. Since Chuck lost the machine, it’s his mission to get it back. Being in charge, Chuck tells Casey and Sarah there will be no guns, no tranqing or chopping of Emmett. Now that we are on the same page, Chuck will sneak into Mike’s office and get the combination to the safe out of Mike’s desk — Casey and Sarah just provide look-out. On the other side of the store, Jeff and Lester have snuck in. Oddly enough, they are dressed in black and look an awfully lot like Casey and Sarah. Hmm…They split up and move around the store. Eventually, Jeff finds Sarah, but mistakes her for Lester, and Lester finds Casey, thinking it is Jeff. The ski masks make this confusion possible. Meanwhile, in the office, Chuck gets the pc out of the safe, just as The Mummy drops in from the ceiling. The problem here — the Mummy brought his gun. Chuck flashes on him and knows he is FULCRUM. He laughs and plays it off — what are the chances of two burglars robbing the same store at the same time? In the store, Jeff sees Sarah’s blonde hair peeking out of her ski-mask and knows it isn’t Lester — he goes off and finds Lester. When Lester sees there are three of them, he and Jeff panic and run. Emmett sees them and douses them with pepper spray as they flee. He is proud of his bravery, turns around and is cold cocked by Casey. The Mummy comes out into the store with Chuck as a hostage. He orders Casey and Sarah to get rid of their weapons, but Chuck informs him how they have no guns. This is odd, but he still has to shoot them. Before he can pull the trigger, Casey pulls a gun and fires, hitting him in the shoulder. Casey, it seems, is ALWAYS packing. They rush to The Mummy, but he has taken some poison and his mouth foams up as he dies.
Over at Morgan’s house, a traumatized Morgan is in bed, listening to Big Mike and his mom making out through the very thin walls. Big Mike’s phone rings — there is trouble at the Buy More. He knocks on the wall and tells Morgan there is trouble and they need to go to the store.
HQ. How was FULCRUM involved? How did they know the pc was there? This was supposed to be an easy mission. Chuck is about to open the laptop to get some answers when the General comes on screen and orders him not to touch the machine. This whole thing was a FULCRUM trap. The general is coming personally to take over the operation (‘and she is not as forgiving as I.’Anyone? Anyone?) If they discover that Chuck’s identity is compromised, then he is leaving with her. What?!
Chuck is outside in the courtyard, rehearsing his speech to the General. Casey and Sarah come out — the General isn’t here to talk to Chuck. She 
is coming to get the machine. They tell Chuck to go and wait in his room for her to arrive. He leaves and soon after, the General shows up with her bodyguard team.
Inside the Buy More, Emmett has an ice pack and is describing how a team of 40 men broke in and took the laptop from him. Big Mike thinks that it is the Beverly Hills store that is responsible. A teary-eyed Jeff and Lester show up — they heard and came to help. Big Mike declares that it is time for payback! The gang get suited up and head off to the Beverly Hills store.
Chuck is laying on his bed, when his pc comes alive. Another Wargames message appears on the screen — it is Orion! Orion tells Chuck that he needs to get that computer back. Cut to Casey’s house, where the General, Casey and Sarah are all talking. The General knows that the laptop is Orion’s and that it isn’t a trap. She is amazed that Chuck found Orion when nobody else had, and she wants to get Orion back. Back in Chuck’s room, Orion is telling him how Chuck cannot trust his handlers. He activates the webcam in casey’s house, and Chuck hears the conversation between all of them. The General then drops the big bomb — Chuck is too important to National security; he cannot get rid of the Intersect. No! Orion then tells Chuck he has a 45 second window to escape, and shows him the path.
At HQ, Chuck sneaks in and finds Orion’s laptop. He turns it on and Orion comes onto the screen (nice old-school look!) As they talk, we see The Mummy’s bodybag begin to slowly unzip. Orion gives Chuck an address and instructions to meet him tonight. The address displays on screen and he logs off. Chuck then turns to see The Mummy with a gun on him! I mean, it’s The Mummy — didn’t you know he can’t stay dead?!
FULCRUM trains it’s agents to be resistant to certain poisons, such as the one he took. It simply put him into a near-death state, but he’s better now. Time to go meet Orion. As he gets up, Chuck pushes the computer screen so that the address displayed can be read by the security camera.
Over at Casey’s house, Sarah speaks up for Chuck to the General. Chuck has risked his life many times for this Nation. He won’t just sit in is room while Orion is out there. Wait a sec — where is Chuck? They pull up the computer screens and locate him — leaving HQ and with The Mummy! They rewind the tape to look for any clues and see the shot with the computer screen and address. That’s where they need to go!
Meanwhile, at the Beverly Hills Buy More, our gang breaks in using Big Mike’s code. Emmett marvels at how beautiful and clean the store is. Jeff, of course, thinks less of it all. Big Mike pulls out an aluminum bat, ready to wreck some payback! Morgan jumps up and cautions Mike against doing it. Maybe he should have someone else do the actual damage — how about Emmett? Emmett takes it with relish and settles on destroying a cardboard cut-out of out main rival. Whack! The cutout it hit, but sets off a chain reaction, destroying most all of the shelves and computers on the first floor. Ooops! It’s time to run!
Over at the hotel where Chuck is to meet Orion, Chuck and The Mummy are in one of the rooms. The Mummy asks who Chuck is, and he shares that he is Agent Carmichael. Ah, yes, The Mummy has heard of him. Orion then contacts Chuck, and The Mummy tells him to let Orion know it is safe. Chuck does this, and we watch out the window. On the street corner is Orion. He approaches the building when a number of FULCRUM agents surround him. There is a brief scuffle before they subdue Orion and carry him off. The Mummy tells his agents to take Orion to the roof where they’ll transport him away.
Moments later, Casey and Sarah pull up in the SUV. They get out and head to the Hotel. Casey sees Chuck in the window a few floors up. Chuck backs up, and The Mummy comes into view, holding a gun on Chuck. Inside, The Mummy is about to shoot Chuck when the window shatters — Casey shot it with his shotgun. The Mummy is injured, but alive. Chuck grabs Orion’s computer. He, Casey and Sarah all head to the roof to get Orion. When they get to the roof, there is a helicopter taking off. Chuck sets the pc down and opens it up — it shows that the predator is operational and en route to their location. Orion is trying to take himself out! Chuck tried to hack in and override the predator’s controls, but it is too late. The predator launches a missile and the helicopter is vaporized is a big ball of flame.
Back at HQ we are being debriefed. The General says that it is better Orion died than fall into FULCRUM hands. She also confesses to Chuck that she doesn’t want the Intersect out of his head. It is too valuable to the war that is happening. IN fact, what she needs is for Chuck to become a real spy.
Over at the Buy More, our group is celebrating there victory in the cross-town rivalry. In the middle, the Beverly Hills gang comes in, saying how the Burbank branch went too far this time. They disapprove of the methods Big Mike and the gang use, threatening to go to the cops. Big Mike says they won’t go to the cops, since it is the Buy More way to settle things in-house. The Beverly Hills gang leaves and our group is triumphant.
Chuck at home, lays down on his bed. He puts his head on the pillow and we hear a crunch, much like pastic underneath. Chuck lifts his pillow and finds a package from Orion. Chuck pops the cd into his machine and Orion shows up on the screen (his ASCII self anyhow). Orion lets Chuck know that it is possible to get the Intersect out of his head. However, he is going to have to study the enclosed charts & note cards that show the schematics of FULCRUM’s Intersect. He needs to keep these plans secret from everyone else. Study them and know these well, if he wants the Intersect out of his head. The message ends just as Sarah climbs in through the window. She is checking on Chuck, making sure he is okay and that he knows they make a good team. He trusts her, right? Chuck agrees as he hides the cards/schematics from her sight.
Over at Casey’s house, the General is leaving. However, she wants all the information Casey has on Chuck and Sarah, even his unedited reports. Casey asks the General ‘don’t you trust me?’to which she replies that she trusts nobody.
Chuck is now alone in his room, laying on his bed, reading a comic book (Ex Machina). His webcam is on showing this (as he is always being watched). However, as we switch to Chuck’s point of view, we see that he has taped all of the note cards to the inside of his comic book. Sneaky! I bet he’s going to be reading that book a whole lot!
What are Casey and Sarah’s Covers?
The episode opens with them coming back from a mission, where all three were disguised as plumbers. Judging by the funk that covered them, I think we should count ourselves lucky for not having seen this mission.
Is Awesome in This Episode?
There is a photo of him and Ellie. Does that count? Unfortunately, no, he is nowhere to be found.
Is Sarah Undressed?
We see her in a wife-beater, plumber’s outfit in the beginning. Otherwise, she is in normal, everyday clothing.
Does Casey get shot, poisoned, or otherwise injured?
The effects of Agent Barker must still be lingering, because Casey comes through this episode unscathed (besides his ego, perhaps).
What’s the state of the Chuck / Sarah romance?
Heart-breaking. Sarah is continuing in her colder mode right now, concentrating on following orders and being a good soldier. While it is obvious to us that she likes Chuck, he finds this behavior very annoying and hurtful.
Where is FULCRUM?
As we move to the end of the season, I believe FULCRUM is going to be more prominent. Just like the last few episodes, they are front and center as the main villains. And, as an added bonus, we have not glimpsed there Master Control room. Obviously, they haven’t paid the electric bill, or we just caught them during a rolling blackout.
And the status of a new Intersect?
The CIA’s is not mentioned. However, The General indicated that she wants to keep Chuck around for a while (good, right?) The more interesting news: FULCRUM has there own Intersect room.
Quote of the Week
‘Wake up, Casey. The 80’s are over.’- General Beckman
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