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If this show didn't already remind you of Alias, it will now, because we meet Casey's mentor and he's none other than Sydney Bristow's own mentor of sorts, Marcus Dixon. Only he's turned eeeeeevil since that show went off the air. Cancellation will do that to you, I guess. Anyway, this week, he is the villain of the episode, even though he has very little to do with any sort of actual major storyline development. Basically, he's bad and he's recruiting the people he's trained. And Casey is not susceptible to this because he's a patriot. But it pisses him off and he wants revenge. Sarah and Agent Redhead decide to lock him in the OOSSL, but he weasels his way out by sweet-talking Chuck (who gave Chuck all of this access, anyway?), and then he goes after his sensei. Sarah and Chuck quickly follow, though, and Chuck saves his life. And then Casey even musters a small bit of humanity by thanking Chuck. It's really cute, although Chuck draws way too much attention to it, making it fairly certain Casey will never do that again.
In what feels like the secondary plot, but actually ends up being the most important thing in the episode, the Awesomes come to visit Ellie and Captain Awesome. They have wedding planning to do, only they sort of take over and go crazy, making Ellie want to kill herself. She puts up with it, though, because she loves Awesome. Until Father Awesome crosses a line and volunteers to walk her down the aisle. She basically tells them to butt out, and she later confides in Chuck that she always thought their dad would walk her down the aisle. He promises to find their dad. And we have a new ongoing plot line, and it's a good one.
Some stuff also happens at the Buy More, but it's most irrelevant and boring. Something about an Employee of the Month contest and then a counter-contest to be the worst employee of the month. But if you win that one, you really lose, with a weekend of working Saturdays and no big-screen TV prize.
Is Chuck really a nerd? Find out. Come back Wednesday for the full weecap.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!No previouslies, but don't worry because this episode basically stands on its own. Instead, we get Yvonne in one of those NBC promos they've done this season with people saying funny things at a microphone. She says, "I have three little words to say to you, "Chuck, Heroes, My Own Worst Enemy... Okay, that was six. Who wrote this?!"
The episode starts with title cards telling us it's a "Top Secret Location, 1994" and we see two people doing karate outside -- a black guy in a black karate suit and a white guy in a white karate suit. We zoom in and see that it's Casey with a really bad wig and Marcus Dixon. Dixon, it turns out, is Casey's sensei and he has a really bad, unidentifiable accent. He keeps beating the crap out of Casey, and tells him the reason is that he has too much conflict in his center, and must instead fill it with calm. Until he finds his calm center he will never beat his sensei.
In the present, Buster Bluth is testing Casey's calm by trying to get him to smile more. He's in Casey's face and is so annoying that I don't know if anyone could find their calm center, but Casey finds it and musters a half-smile and tells Buster "You bet!" and walks off. Chuck and Morgan walk by just then and Morgan tells Chuck how much Casey scares him. Chuck says that's because Casey keeps his feelings all bottled up to the point he's a "seething mass of pain." Morgan asks about Jill (this is what we get in lieu of previouslies, apparently), and Chuck says that's over and he's back with Sarah again. She calls right then.
Then we're in the Orange Orange's Super Secret Lair, where Sarah's asking Chuck if the Global Launch Agency, or GLA, means anything to him. Chuck has heard of them, because they've sent probes to every planet except Pluto. But Pluto's not a planet anymore, anyway, which really bums Chuck out. Casey's like, "That's true. Space camp is where all the cool kids go." I really don't have to say anything funny to make fun of Chuck ever, because Casey pretty much always does that for me. I love him for that. Agent Redhead explains that GLA also develops weapons and other top-secret things for the NSA. She wants Chuck to survey the GLA headquarters and see if he flashes on anything. Chuck doesn't know why he has to start up again right now, after just finding out Jill's Fulcrum. Casey's an ass about it, but Sarah is positive and peppy, telling him a new mission might be just what he needs.
He apparently is convinced because thing we know he's sitting in a van with a headset on, complaining to himself about being stuck in a surveillance van. Sarah reminds him he's on an open mike, so they can hear him, and he gets all business-like, saying he has all the exits and entrances covered with the van's surveillance stuff. Then we see Sarah walking down a hall with a long blond ponytail and glasses that apparently have a camera so Chuck can possibly flash on something. Casey says security's tight wherever he is too, but just then we see someone covered in white from head to toe sneak in by coming down a rope from somewhere. Said intruder is in the same room of Casey, but he quickly knocks Casey down and steals a hubcap. The way Casey gives chase means it's probably not actually a hubcap, but that's what it looks like. Casey yells for Chuck to close the "West lab doors." Chuck's trying, and Casey's yelling, and Chuck eventually closes the doors, but he also happens to lock Casey in, leaving Sarah alone to try to catch the intruder. Doors open, though, and Casey takes off running. He catches up to the intruder on the lawn, stabs him with a Buy More pen and rips his hood off. It's his sensei, who gets in a Hummer and then drives past Chuck, who flashes on him, seeing Casey.
Casey and Chuck come out of the building and he asks if he got a good look at him. He says he knows who it is. Chuck tries to tell them about his flash, but Casey says it's Ty Bennett, his sensei, and that he taught Casey everything he knows. Which means he's heartless and bad-ass, and now apparently evil. Beware!
Ellie's waking Chuck up (the day, maybe?) by freaking out, telling him there's an emergency. He panics, but she says it's just that Awesome's parents, the Doctors Awesome, have decided to visit. She needs to pick up because these are perfect parents who raised perfect boys. She says the Awesome apple doesn't fall far from the Awesome tree, so they will not be sleeping in either, which doesn't give them any time. Chuck and Ellie then greet the Doctors Awesome in the living room. They are Morgan Fairchild and Bruce Boxleitner, and they're all fit and shiny and "awake," as Chuck puts it. He also calls them the "Doctors Woodcomb," which means we now know Awesome's name. We didn't know his last name before, did we? Mrs. Doctor Awesome tells Ellie she can't wait to start planning their wedding, and she shows Ellie a book of all of the planning she's already done. Ellie pretends to think this is cool, but clearly doesn't. Oh, and Awesome is standing there shirtless (and hot) this whole time, in nothing but running shorts -- shiny and fit and awake, just like his parents. Mrs. Doctor Awesome says the caterer is bringing a sample menu over tonight, and she invites Chuck and Sarah. Then Mrs. Doctor Awesome leaves and Mr. Doctor Awesome tells Ellie how happy they are to welcome her to the family. Then he tells Chuck he's stuck with them now, too. Chuck's less than thrilled. Luckily, Awesome and his dad decide to go do abs, and then Ellie says to herself that she's just going to go kill herself.
In the OOSSL, Agent Redhead is explaining how much of a bad-ass Casey's sensei is, but Casey insists he's not his sensei now that he's a traitor. Sarah didn't know Casey had trained with the legendary Bennett, and Casey says that's because it was classified information. And he's still not interested in sharing. He asks Agent Redhead why he wasn't told his sensei went rogue, and she says it's because he was recruiting his former students, turning agents. He and his team have been stealing weapons and selling them. The hubcap he stole from the GLA was actually an "advanced inertial guidance system," which Chuck points out isn't a weapon. Casey snots that it is when you attach it to a missile, and then he says that Bennett only got away because of Chuck's ineptitude, but Chuck utters my favorite line of the episode, "Technically I only have to sit in the van and flash!" He says it in a very 10-year-old, "Neener, neener" way that I love. Casey and Chuck act like kid brothers, don't they? I never noticed that until now. Agent Redhead tells them they need to go to the deal site where the hubcap weapon's being sold and get the hubcap back, but Casey suggest Chuck sit this one out and Agent Redhead agrees. Chuck thinks they might need him to flash, but Casey says the country's been fine without an Intersect for a long time.
At the Buy More, Buster introduces the concept of Employee of the Month, which he's reinstating as motivation. You'll get your picture on the wall to the company CEO Moses Finkelstein, plus a mystery bonus prize. And the whole thing will be based on customer comment cards. Morgan asks Chuck how they feel about the contest, and Chuck says he doesn't care. So Morgan doesn't care either. But Chuck only said that because he saw Sarah walk in (and also because he doesn't care). She's there to ask how he's doing and to tell him she doesn't agree with what Casey did. She explains that Casey feels betrayed by his sensei, so this really isn't about him thinking Chuck's not competent. She asks Chuck to cut Casey some slack.
Morgan goes into the backroom and tells everyone that their official position about the contest is that they don't care because Employee of the Month is a scam. He says doing a good job will just help the company and Buster, and it's not worth it for the picture on the wall and some "stooge prize." Morgan says this will lead to Buster being promoted, possibly even to Big Mike's position some day. Morgan initiates a new contest in which they'll try to get the lowest comment card scores. Lester says, "From now on, customers can go service themselves." And then quickly explains he means that strictly in the retail sense.
Casey's getting several guns ready for his mission. On his way out the door, he sees his bonsai tree and considers watering it, but instead pushes it off the dresser. He still salutes Reagan on his way out, though. A little later, he and Sarah are watching the supposed drop site. Sarah wants him to send Chuck images to see if he flashes on anything, so he calls Chuck and sends him a picture of a license plate. Chuck says he has bad reception, and Casey's mean to him, so Chuck hangs up on him. He laughs nervously, surprised at his own bravery. But then he quickly realizes Casey and Sarah might actually needs his help, so he calls back. He pretends the bad connection cut them off. He looks at the picture, but doesn't flash. My TV decided to go all pixilated right here, so all I can make out is that Sarah and Casey run in to what they think is the deal, but it's actually a trap because a car explodes near them.
Back at the Buy More, the sensei approaches Chuck and holds up the pen. He asks where he can find John Casey. Chuck tells him he'll go check and see if Casey's in the back. As he walks away, he calls Casey, but gets his voicemail. He leaves a "Code Red" message, telling him his sensei is there. He turns and the sensei's gone. Because he's moved on to Morgan, whom he's now asking about Casey. Morgan, competing for worst customer service, replies by demanding, "What do I look like, an information desk?" The sensei doesn't like this. Morgan waves him off and then asks him to fill out a customer comment card. The sensei crushes Morgan's soda can and recites a platitude about respecting strangers in case they're enemies. Which doesn't really make sense. Chuck comes up and tells the sensei Casey's out until Tuesday. The sensei walks off, and Morgan tells Chuck how awesome he is for being able to crush that can.
Chuck's calling Casey again, as he's tailing the sensei into the Large Mart parking lot. Casey tells him he shouldn't be doing that, and just then the sensei comes up and puts Chuck in the trunk.
Ellie, Awesome, and the Doctors Awesome are registering for everything Mrs. Doctor Awesome wants Ellie to have at the Buy More (where she, not Ellie, wants them to register). Mrs. Doctor is pushing the vacuum sealer, and Ellie goes ahead with it. Then she moves on to "camcorder," and Mr. Doctor Awesome says, "First for the honeymoon, then the grandkids." And ... ew. Who says that about their kid and his fiancée? Even Awesome says his dad is crossing the line, but then he tells Ellie they're coming on strong because they know her parents aren't around and they want to help. She says it's fine, but after Awesome walks off, she points the inventory gun at her head and pulls the trigger. So now she's registered for herself. Well, at least it's something she'll like.
Awesome's off looking for Chuck. He asks Lester, who is cleaning his ears and picking his teeth and otherwise not being helpful. He tells Awesome it would be fulfilling for him to find Chuck himself. Awesome raises an eyebrow, and that's all it takes to get Lester to help him, but he asks Awesome to please not say anything nice on the comment card.
In the parking garage, Sarah's tracking Chuck's GPS watch. She says they're getting close as Casey drives like a maniac and ends up face to face with his sensei. They decide to make a game of chicken out of it. Sarah realizes the signal from Chuck's watch is in the car, but Casey plays the game of Chicken anyway. Sarah screams to get him to stop and he swerves at the last minute. Sensei crashes into a parked car, and takes off with Casey right behind him. Sarah gets Chuck out of the trunk, which he says is actually more spacious than you might think. Casey follows his sensei to the roof, and the sensei tries to get Casey on his side by calling on his loyalty and how excellent his training was. Casey doesn't hesitate for a second in telling him no, he's not a traitor. The sensei grabs a rope and jumps off the building.
Back at the OOSSL, they're telling Agent Redhead what happened. She pulls Casey off the case because she thinks he's making it personal about his sensei, forgetting his primary objective is to protect Chuck. She's bringing in another team, and says that Casey will remain at the OOSSL until the mission is completed. After commercials, Chuck's gone from the OOSSL, and Sarah's telling Casey she agrees with Agent Redhead's decision, because he's too involved. Casey replies, "This from the agent who can't keep her chocolate out of Bartowski's peanut butter." Which is a great line, except that all they've done is kiss a couple times. I don't think that qualifies as chocolate and peanut butter. Also, I will never be able to look at a Reese's peanut butter cup the same way. She tells him that whatever her feelings might be, she never let them cloud her judgment. But she won't admit she has feelings for Chuck, just that she has feelings. Casey tells her what he's learned is that people always let you down.
Sarah leaves and finds Chuck sitting in the OOSSL, feeling bad about Casey being mad at him, and going through all of this. Sarah tells him he's sweet, but that he shouldn't apologize to Casey, who is combat-ready at all times and doesn't have feelings. She tells him she'll meet him at the catering dinner, and asks him to please not go downstairs.
Buster is meeting with Jeff, Lester, and Morgan in the backroom to tell them how bad their scores are (the worst in Buy More history). Their combined scores are 1. Buster decides to make the employee with the lowest scores close the store on Saturday nights for a month. They try to come up with excuses not to work Saturdays, but Buster says raising their scores is their only solution. we get a montage of them being good to customers: Lester's giving one his employee discount card. Morgan's carrying ridiculously large packages out alone. Jeff's spying over a customer's shoulder as he fills out the card. He grabs it and yells, "Four stars?! I just kissed your ass for four stars?!" I'm thinking he's going to end up working Saturday nights.
Casey's trying to get out of the OOSSL, but his entry and exit access has been denied. He's completely trapped, so he calls Chuck. He asks Chuck to come over there, but he won't because Sarah told him not to. So Casey has a fake heart-to-heart with him about how hard this has all been for him. Chuck is sucked right in, and Casey keeps going until he builds to a high point and says "I can't talk about this over the phone." Chuck says he'll be right there. When he walks in, talking about Casey's problems, Casey puts him in a headlock and uses his finger to turn on the computers. Chuck flashes on a tattoo on the surveillance footage and tells Casey to go to a martial arts studio that's a front for the sensei's weapons business. Casey uses Chuck's eye to exit the OOSSL, then he handcuffs Chuck to a bar in the yogurt shop. He tells Chuck that if he tells anyone where he's going, a bullet he's holding in his hands is Chuck's. Like, for keeps? That's so generous. Oh ... right. His, from the end of a gun. Right, Casey, like you could ever hurt Chuck.
Chuck can't reach his phone, which Casey put on a table at OOSSL. He tries the Force, but still nothing. At Ellie and Awesome's, Mrs. Doctor Awesome wonders if it's really okay to start without Chuck, and Ellie and Awesome say it is because he's always late. Sarah says it doesn't bother her, because she's used to it and Chuck has a good excuse always. Mrs. Doctor Awesome likes the trout but not the beef au jus. And she assumes that means everyone likes it. She also chooses the cake, without even hearing Ellie's opinion. The Doctors Awesome offer all sorts of "helpful" suggestions about her hair and her dress and the men's ties. And then Mr. Doctor Awesome offers to walk her down the aisle since she's not in contact with her dad. Ellie's had enough and tells them that she said yes to everything, but now she's saying no. She apologizes to Awesome and leaves the table. He gets up to follow her. The Doctors Awesome and Sarah sit awkwardly at the table. Mr. Doctor Awesome asks about "the yogurt game."
Speaking of yogurt, Chuck's somehow managed to tape or otherwise stick a bunch of yogurt spoons together and finally gets his phone. He calls Ellie's phone, and Sarah answers. He tells her that Casey threatened his life so he can't tell her anything. She quickly guesses where he is and then guesses what else happened. Chuck tells her where Casey went to find the sensei, and then she tells Chuck to stay there, handcuffed, and she hangs up. Chuck is not pleased.
Casey arrives at the martial arts studio and knocks out the guard at the door. Back at the Orange Orange, Chuck uses some sort of crazy cooling (or heating?) machine to freeze his handcuff chain, then uses an ice cream scoop to break it in half. He congratulates himself on his MacGyver skills. Back at the studio, Sarah puts a knife to Casey's throat, telling him he's not supposed to be here. He says she'll have to kill him to stop him. She says he's not going in without her, and he's okay with that solution. Just then Chuck pulls up in a Nerd Herd car. And an armed guard greets him with a gun. By the time Sarah and Casey make it inside, Chuck's being held by the bad guys. He swears he was waiting in the car.
Now Chuck, Sarah, and Casey are all being held by the sensei's team. The sensei greets them, saying this is unfortunate. Casey threatens him, despite clearly not having the upper hand. The sensei's going to shoot Casey, but Casey says the sensei should be able to defeat him without the gun, with honor. The sensei agrees and they start to battle. Chuck tries to pep Casey up with "Eye of the Tiger, baby," but Casey tells him to shut up. Then the sensei proceeds to knock Casey around, bloody his nose, and damage his pride. This goes on until the sensei mentions Casey's calm center and Chuck has an epiphany. He calls Casey over, says all the right things to piss him off (that Chuck knows Casey loves him, ultimately; it's hilarious), and then directs Casey's anger at the sensei. Chuck explains to Sarah that Casey doesn't have a calm center, but an angry one. Casey beats the crap out of his sensei with his angry center. Casey asks the sensei's team who's . No one volunteers, and a bunch of FBI agents run in. Casey realizes Chuck told not only Sarah, but also Agent Redhead. Chuck says it's not his fault, because Agent Redhead guessed. He's so adorably predictable. Please let this show not get canceled, since it's one of the few truly enjoyable shows left.
At the Buy More, Buster's announcing employee of the month. It goes to Skip Johnson, a guy we barely know. He apologizes, saying he tried to be a jerk. Then we see what the prize is, as Skip gets a 65-inch high-definition TV. He says it's a one-time only bonus gift. Jeff and Lester are pissed that they listened to Morgan.
Casey and Chuck walk into the apartment complex, and Chuck has both ends of a conversation with Casey in which Casey thanks him for saving him and says he's his friend. And just as he's given up on Casey ever saying anything nice, Casey turns after entering his apartment and says, "Thank you." Chuck totally freaks out, "You said something! You said something!" and runs to Casey's door. Casey shuts it in his face, and will probably never do anything like that again since Chuck can't restrain himself from a reaction that would totally embarrass a non-affectionate type.
Chuck enters the apartment, where Ellie's lying on the couch. He apologizes for missing the dinner, saying he got stuck at work (literally). She says Sarah told her. Then she tells him she's never been one of those wedding dreamer girls. She never imagined what she'd wear or who she'd marry or any of that, but one thing was always clear: their dad would walk her down the aisle. She says she knows it won't happen, but it's really hard to let go of it, and she cries on Chuck's shoulder. He goes to his room and digs a birthday card out of a box. It has a phone number for their dad, but when Chuck calls he finds out that number's not in service. He goes back to the kitchen and tells Ellie that their dad is going to walk her down the aisle. She says he can't say that, since they haven't heard from him in a long time. He says he'll find him, because he's smart and he can do that. He guarantees her their dad will make it. I was confused by this, because I couldn't remember what happened to their dad; I was thinking their parents died or something, but looking at Couch Baron's weecap of the Mother's Day episode from last season, I remembered that their mom left on the day they now call "Mother's Day," and their dad was there, but not really there. I think that's all we know as of now, so I'm excited to see where this goes. I like that Ellie's being brought in to one of the ongoing storylines. And I can't wait to see who they cast as the Bartowski dad.
week: Someone's dad shows up, but it's not Chuck and Ellie's. It's Sarah's. You know: The con man! And even better: He's played by Gary Cole. He's still conning, and Sarah's stressed out.
DeAnn is a writer and editor in Portland, Oregon. You can contact her at
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