Episode Report Card DeAnn Welker: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Flip-Floppers
By DeAnn Welker | Season 4 | Episode 17 | Aired on 02.28.2011
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.That lit-up room Vivian was staring into at the end of last episode actually turns out to be a safe with a clear plastic card. She grabs it, setting off an alarm that alerts her father's lawyer. He tries to force her at gunpoint to take over Volkoff Industries, but she stabs him with a letter opener and goes back to Castle. She fills them in, and Chuck flashes on the clear card. It's to a Bank of Macau account, so they figure it's all of Volkoff's money and send her (along with Chuck and Sarah) in to see. She passes the bank's crazy-high security, but finds only a bunch of pictures of herself. Seeing that her father was watching her whole life makes her want to meet him, which Chuck arranges if she'll go back in and get some data for the CIA on some stolen servers. The lawyer finds her in the vault while she's there and tells her the CIA isn't going to let her see her dad, but he can tell her all about him when she's ready. Turns out he's right, because General Redhead reneges on the deal, and Chuck has to break the news to Vivian. She's devastated and ends up in a car with the lawyer, ready to find out everything about Alexei Volkoff.
While that's happening, Ellie's trying to get Sarah to choose flowers, or a cake, or anything. Sarah's so not into it, though. Until Ellie hits on the idea to find the dress first. Sarah uses the CIA's makeover machine to find one she loves, and it works: She's all of a sudden so into the wedding, she's planning to order a hundred dozen lilies, fly a cake in from Europe, and rent a private island for the ceremony. Ellie apologizes to Chuck for creating a monster that's going to bankrupt them. And Morgan's trying to find a place to live, like, yesterday. See, he's at his mom's and cannot take the loud, frequent sex she has with Big Mike. Jeffster! offers him the extra room in their apartment-slash-van, but he's not interested. When he stumbles upon Casey's secret lair (no Robin Givens in site; apparently, Casey's taken the thing over), he blackmails Casey into letting him move into his apartment, thus getting all our main cast back into the same apartment complex. Is this a workplace show, or an apartment show? It's hard to tell sometimes.
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Want more? The full recap starts right below!Before we get started on this episode, I must take a moment to point out -- as if anyone reading this doesn't know -- that Zachary Levi was at the Oscars. Not only that, he sang at the Oscars. With Mandy Moore. How very weird. And how much does this have me thinking, "Musical episode?" A lot. I know, I know. It's been done before, and before that, of course. But still. Let's do it, Schwartz. Anyway, now for the episode. But first, here's some stuff Chuck wants us to know: Vivian showed up; she's Volkoff's daughter. She's not bad, though. Yet. She did user her necklace key to open... something. Oh, and she's Bella from Supernatural, looking even cuter than ever with an adorable, layered sort-of bob.
We pick up right at the end of last week's, with Vivian staring at that blue light in her father's office. We see what she's looking at: A clear card the size and shape of a credit card with a string of numbers on it (4815162342, for those keeping track at home). She pulls the card out of its stand, triggering some sort of alarm, judging by the flashing red light on the back. Which explains why, as she sits there staring at the card, the Devil walks in. Okay, it's Ray Wise, but he once played the Devil and is coming close again here. Anyway, he's Volkoff's lawyer, Riley, with a letter for Vivian. Riley starts to read it in a weird impersonation of Volkoff until she stops him and asks that he please not do that. The letter says Volkoff would give up everything to spend more time with Vivian. She's not buying it, and firmly replies "no" when he tells her she's to take over Volkoff Industries. So Riley pulls a gun on her, which is perhaps a test, which she seems to pass by grabbing Riley's hand and stabbing a letter opener through it. She grabs the clear credit card and runs out. Okay, Vivian is officially badass.