Episode Report Card DeAnn Welker: A+ | 2 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT Out With a Bang
By DeAnn Welker | Season 2 | Episode 11 | Aired on 12.15.2008
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.It's a very special Chuck Christmas episode, unlike any Christmas episode of anything you've ever seen. No, really. The whole gang comes together at the Buy More on Christmas Eve (most of them working; Sarah comes through the Orange Orange Super Secret Lair; and Ellie and Awesome come to shop), and then a car crashes through the front of the store, and the driver, Ned, takes everyone inside hostage. He pretends he's nice, and Chuck's buying it. When a negotiator comes in and helps Ned decide to send Casey and Sarah out, though, we know we're in trouble, as the tension keeps on ratcheting up.
With Chuck on the inside, Sarah and Casey quickly head to the OOSSL to figure out what's up with Ned. They learn, just after Chuck does, that the negotiator who came inside is a Fulcrum agent. And when he threatens Ellie's life, Chuck quickly confessed that he's the Intersect. Just as Sarah and Casey are heading back in to rescue Chuck, they see on TV that he's the next hostage to be released. And he's climbing into an ambulance with the Fulcrum agent. They head out to try to stop him, and they shoot the ambulance tires out (they're both good shots, incidentally). Then Casey somehow disappears and Sarah tells Chuck to run back to OOSSL. He says he can't leave her there, but she insists his safety is more important. Then he starts to leave, but changes his mind. And she gets pretty beat up by the agent, until she finally makes a comeback and gets the upperhand. In the form of a gun. But the agent won't shut up about how now that he knows Chuck's the Intersect, it's only a matter of time until everyone knows. No matter where the CIA locks him up, someone will find him, he says, and Chuck's pathetic life will be over. He offers himself up for arrest. And Chuck walks up about then, hiding behind a tree (it sounds funny, but the whole thing takes place in a Christmas tree sale lot, so it's really not), and sees the agent in the submissive, hand-up position. And Sarah, full of emotion at the thought of what this jerk could do to Chuck, shoots him dead. It's awesome, and sad. And Chuck's sort of horrified. But only because he doesn't know the whole story. Otherwise, he'd totally love her as much as we do for this.
Back at the Buy More, everyone's safe and sound, too, thanks to a very brave rescue attempt by Awesome, Big Mike, Morgan, Jeff, and Lester. The big moves come from Morgan and Awesome, but Ellie and Anna are too busy paying attention to an already injured Lester to notice. Morgan's forlorn that Anna doesn't notice his bravery, since she sort of hates him right now. And then, as she's standing next to Lester on a stretcher, Lester leans up and forcefully kisses her. Morgan sees the kiss, but doesn't realize that a) It's all Lester pulling her into it, and b) she finds it disgusting. Sarah comes in and greets Chuck. She tells him she "arrested" the agent, but he knows she's lying, and he's even more disappointed. So he walks over to sad Morgan, and they end the episode as they always used to be: two sad lonely best friends sitting together, wallowing. They're both confused and horrified at the terrible things they just saw their girlfriends do. Whatever will happen? Bad news: We won't find out until February.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!We open on warm L.A. decorated for Christmas, and the opening of "Jingle Bell Rock." Then we're in the Buy More parking lot, where Big Mike and Buster Bluth are parking next to each other in the exact same car. They make small talk about how much they love Christmas Eve because of desperate last-minute shoppers. Big Mike asks Buster if he jacked the prices up ten percent, and Buster says, "Fifteen. You snooze you lose." And ... Merry Christmas!
The music softens, but continues but now we're in the Orange Orange where Sarah's actually doing yogurt shop work: arranging cups, etc. She sees a sign, that has a family all dressed in white and off-white (um, that is a fashion faux-pas, I think), with the words: "family holiday spirit" and "introducing eggnog yogurt" written on it. She looks sad. Probably because she loves eggnog yogurt, but is lactose intolerant. Man, that must suck! Right then Chuck walks in and asks her if the bad guys are taking a holiday, too, what with all the quiet. Then he tells her they have a cover date on Christmas: "Christmas at the Bartowskis!" She appreciates it, but she doesn't do Christmas. He doesn't buy it, because Christmas couldn't have been that weird for her, but she tells him growing up it always meant the annual Salvation Army con job. He gives her "weird," but says the Bartowski Christmas is different. It's eggnog (Chuck! You'll just make her sad talking about the eggnog), pajamas, and a fake gas fireplace. Oh, and best of all, Twilight Zone marathons. He tells her he's not taking no for an answer, so she might as well prepare to be heartwarmed.
Chuck arrives at the Buy More, and Morgan (dressed in the best elf suit ever) is thankful to see him, because he has girl troubles: Anna won't speak to him ever since he balked at the whole moving in thing. (Wait. But then he got the money from selling the DeLorean, which meant they could move in. Are we supposed to assume he balked again because of the General Lee?) Chuck asks if she thinks he's immature and afraid to grow up. Morgan says yeah, and thinks that's ridiculous. He asks if he doesn't look like an adult to Chuck. And remember the elf suit? So ... not so much. Chuck just walks off.
Over at the TV wall, Jeff, Lester, and Anna are watching a high-speed car chase on the news, and placing bets on what will happen. Chuck's glad to see they're all in the Christmas spirit. Speaking of, Big Mike (in a Santa suit) yells for Chuck to round up "the freaks" and meet him at Santa's Village since they open in hour.