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Agent Superman does his review of Team Bartowski and determines the problem is... Casey and Sarah, who have been coddling Chuck and keeping him from being a real spy. Agent Superman's solution is to send Chuck on his first solo mission to Paris. Chuck's ready for it, but Sarah and Casey? Not so much. Once he's on his seat, in first class to one Kristin Kreuk (light-years less annoying here than she was as Lana Lang), he learns his mission's on the plane. It's to get a key from the luggage of a Ring operative named Hugo played by Stone Cold Steve Austin. Chuck uses a tranq pen from Agent Superman to knock Hugo out and finds the key, but then Hugo finds him. Chuck fights and ultimately wins, and heads back for more flirting with Kristin. Until he's poisoned by Hugo and the flight attendant, and they all head back to the cargo hold for more fighting. With the help of Sarah (flying the plane from Castle), Chuck wins again. But he doesn't get to use his nunchucks. Then he tells Kristin she can have a job at the Buy More if she ever needs one. He doesn't expect her to show up, but she does as Chuck mopes at the end, of course.
Back at the Buy More, Morgan's getting no respect, especially from Lester, who won't even speak to him. They're playing practical jokes like laxative-ing his coffee and gluing him to a chair. Morgan realizes Casey's a total badass and enlists his help to get respect. Casey just has to growl and most everyone decides they're on Team Morgan. When Casey puts out a cigar in his hand, everyone still on Team Lester leaves, other than Jeffster! (mostly just Lester, though; Jeff's just sticking for moral support). That night, Casey goes all Clockwork Orange on Lester, and the day he tells Jeff what a kind, warm person Morgan is. And Morgan gives Casey a raise, as if he's relying on the Buy More money. Still, the male bonding is sort of cute.
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Want more? The full recap starts right below!Buy More. Morgan shows up in his assistant manager vest as Otis Redding sings "Respect". He walks to the backroom, and we soon realize he's not getting respect, because someone's tried the heated doorknob trick, Lester's giving him the silent treatment, and Jeff gives him laxative coffee. Morgan's too smart for that and won't drink it, then orders Lester to get out of his seat. We then see that Lester's been hovering (very convincingly) over the chair instead of sitting. When he moves, Morgan sits right down in the glue they've put on the seat. Uh-oh. Respect kicks back up as everyone clears out and Morgan hollers for someone to send Chuck back.
But Chuck's busy grilling Casey on Agent Superman while Casey seems to be doing actual work at the Buy More (at least that makes one of them). Casey says to go ahead and ask Agent Superman himself, since he's been living at Castle. Chuck wonders if he's really in charge, and Casey says he is, and right now, he's questioning Sarah. Chuck wonders what they're talking about, and we cut to Agent Superman asking Sarah if Chuck's a real spy. She says he is, even though he's been at it much less time than most. Agent Superman says he's read everything about Chuck, and "sometimes he's like Bond; sometimes it's like a Jerry Lewis movie." Perfect description, actually. I heart Agent Superman. He asks if Chuck's a liability, and we cut back to Chuck, all, "The review's about me?! Shouldn't he ask me about me?" Morgan interrupts them by sliding in on his chair, and Chuck asks if he's glued to it. Morgan says he is, and that everyone's teamed up against him. Morgan says he needs help. Casey mutters, "You give me five minutes running this Popsicle stand and we'd be ready." Morgan: "Ready for what?" Chuck: "The Russians." Casey gets a page, and Chuck follows him away from Morgan, asks if that's Agent Superman and says that his voice should be heard. Casey: "Your prepubescent little girl screams are going to be duly noted," because Agent Superman wants them both in Castle now.
Castle. Agent Superman's scribbling on some notes with glasses on -- an obvious Clark Kent shout-out, right? -- and Chuck tells him that he's sure things have been said about himself or his abilities, but... Agent Superman interrupts him and says this is his meeting. Then he stands up and says they can all agree Team Bartowski's been dysfunctional, and it's obvious what the problem is. He points to Casey and Sarah and says, "Them." They're like, "WTF?" And even Chuck's shocked. Agent Superman tells him he could be a great spy, but they won't let him evolve. Chuck: "Really? I mean, yes, really!" Sarah says Chuck's not ready, and Agent Superman tells her it's "duly noted, and ignored." Then he tells Chuck he's going on his first solo mission to Paris. Is Chuck ready? "Absolutely." Opening titles, followed by our latest "Journey to Vancouver" Honda commercial. This time, Morgan doesn't believe Awesome that the GPS knows its way anywhere, so they take detours to the giant Paul Bunyan and to Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone (we see snapshots). And Awesome does his GPS impersonation, which Morgan thinks is Australian, but Ellie says is actually his Irish accent. Funny, because when I was in Ireland, our GPS had an English accent.
Buy More. Agent Superman's presenting Chuck with "some basic spycraft." He pulls a pen out of his pocket and asks Chuck if he's ever used one of these. Chuck obviouses, "A pen? Yeah." But Agent Superman says it's a KGB tranq pen, and he wants Chuck to try it out on Jeff. Chuck doesn't want to, but Agent Superman assures him he's looked through everyone's file and Jeff Barnes will be just fine. So Chuck -- whose hair is driving me nuts this season; what's with all the fuzzy? Do they want him to look bad to Agent Superman? - approaches Jeff and asks if everything's okay, and Jeff is confused by the question, since Chuck never checks up on him. Chuck drops some tranquilizer out of the pen end into Jeff's coffee as he tells him he's just making sure he's feeling okay, just some "friendly human to human... oid interaction." Jeff seems satisfied with that response, and Agent Superman seems satisfied that Chuck managed to use the tranq pen successfully. Chuck asks him what's , and Agent Superman says he's ready. Chuck: "I'm ready after 20 seconds?" Agent Superman says it's actually two years, and Chuck's been on more missions than most spies in a lifetime. They leave and just miss seeing Morgan come up to drink Jeff's coffee, since he knows that will be laxative-free. He starts to say you've got to get up pretty early to trick ol' Morgan, but passes out before he gets to his name. It's as funny as any pratfall.
Castle. Casey and Sarah are like nervous parents sending their child off to college. It's adorable and annoying. Casey inspects Chuck's luggage and finds nunchucks. He wants to know what they are, and Casey says they know he doesn't like to carry guns (plus... it's a commercial flight), but he'd like an offensive weapon, and nunchucks are in the Intersect. Sarah pulls Chuck aside and tells him he's not ready yet, and Chuck says she wasn't supposed to see the nunchucks but he is ready and wants to prove himself to Agent Superman. She pleads with him not to go now; he needs more time. Chuck looks like she's convincing him, but Agent Superman breaks in to say that he's going, and General Redhead agrees. He gives Chuck his phone back and says he'll be able to call and text from the plane. Then he gives Chuck his plane ticket, and Chuck gets overly excited that it's first class. He leaves with an, "I'll see you later. I hope."
Chuck boards into the most amazing first class that's ever existed, with an actual bar where food and drinks are being mixed (and served). After a little confusion when his flight attendant offers to take his jacket, Chuck finds his seat to Kristin Kreuk (looking much more adorable with a fun, short 'do than she ever did on Smallville, with her long tresses of perfection and love). They flirt awkwardly about his pen and then have equally awkward introductions. Her name's Hannah. When the flight attendant offers drinks, Chuck tries to say no since he's on business, until Hannah says she is too, but she'll have one. So he'll have one, too. They guess at who their fellow passengers are: dignitaries and Yale fencing team included. Hannah asks what Chuck does, and he says "retail: high-end merchandise at a prestigious store."
Cut to the Buy More, where someone's stuffed a passed-out Morgan into the claw game. He wakes up and bangs on the glass, so Casey lets him out. Casey turns and growls at the other Buy More employees, who scatter. Morgan asks how Casey does that: commanding respect? Casey says he doesn't command it, he takes it.
First class. Hannah and Chuck are sitting at the first class bar, and Hannah assumes Chuck doesn't fly first class often. He pretends he does it all the time, all "L.A. to Paris, Paris to L.A." He asks about her, and she says she works for a private investor, doing "terribly boring" work fixing computers, mainframes, etc. Chuck's interest is obviously piqued since she's a nerd, too. She says it's boring and stressful, but she gets to travel and live in Paris with a view of the Eiffel Tower. Chuck's in awe, so she asks if he's been there, and he's like, "Yeah, so many times I can't even count." Hannah sees Stone Cold Steve Austin, and asks Chuck who she thinks that guy might be: a professional wrestler? Chuck turns to him and flashes that he's a Ring operative. He excuses himself to use the bathroom and calls Castle. Agent Superman answers by asking if Chuck's flashed yet; when Chuck wonders how he knew that would happen, Agent Superman says, "Because your mission's not in Paris. It's on the plane." Commercials.
After the commercial break, Chuck and Sarah are equally confused about the mission being on the plane. Agent Superman explains that Stone Cold Steve Austin is Hugo Panzer, a Ring operative moving a crypto key to Paris. Chuck needs to get Hugo's luggage claim ticket, go to the cargo hold, and get the key. Chuck says that's not going to be such an easy task since Hugo's fairly ginormous. Agent Superman reminds him about the tranq pen, and Chuck says that's perfect; he'll have the key before the lobster's served. Oh, and he's looking quite forward to that by the way. Sarah and Agent Superman hang up, and she yells at him for putting Chuck into this position without telling her. He says this is why he didn't, and now they'll find out if Chuck is a real spy. Sarah wonders who he is anyway, since neither she nor Casey has heard of him, and he says he does like his secrets, but so does she, with a con man for a father. She says he really must read everyone's files, and he says, "Of course. And I have a few questions for you." He asks about her going off-grid for three days while Chuck was in Prague, and shows her a surveillance photo of herself at a hotel in Lisbon. He asks why she ran, and she says it's not what he thinks. He doesn't know what to think, though, and wonders if she's a double agent, a Ring operative, or if this is about Chuck.
Speaking of, back in first class, Chuck's approaching Hugo's seat. He tells him the woman he's sitting to is a bit of a nuisance who will not shut up, so can he can sit to Hugo? Surprisingly, Hugo lets him. As soon as Chuck sits to him, he keeps dissing Hannah. Hugo, clearly annoyed, puts his headphones in and lays his head back. Chuck puts up some sort of divider thing between him and the aisle and peers over it at Hannah. Then he pretends to do the crossword so he can pull out the tranq pen, but it doesn't work. Hugo sees him clicking it and says it's the air pressure. He offers to help, and Chuck ends up squirting him in the face with it. When Hugo realizes it's not ink, he chokes Chuck, who says, "Sir, this is first class," but then squirts Hugo in the mouth with the tranq ink while he's asking Chuck who he is. It does the trick, so Chuck kisses the KGB pen, then grabs Hugo's claim ticket.
Buy More. Casey calls Sarah to ask if there are any updates on Chuck. She lies that everything's fine. Morgan comes over to Casey, who hangs up the phone, and tells him he needs a favor. Casey's not interested. Morgan hates to pull rank, but he is Casey's superior. Instead of growling or responding that Morgan's most definitely not his superior, Casey asks what Morgan wants. Morgan pleads him to help with Mute Lester and his gang, because they're not following any rules anymore. Casey: "Insurgents? I hate insurgents." Morgan thinks this will work out then.
Airplane. Chuck finds a magic elevator to the cargo hold (like first class bars, those don't exist, right?) and is on his phone with Castle when he gets there. He tells them it's friggin' freezing in here, and Agent Superman tells him good job, find the matching ticket, find the key, and get back to his seat. They hang up, and Agent Superman tells Sarah he's right about Sarah and Chuck and wants to know about Lisbon. He says he was right about this mission, and he's right about Sarah. She reminds him Chuck isn't home free yet, which is a perfect opportunity to cut to Hugo, who has a device on his wrist that kicks into action when his blood pressure drops below a certain level, waking him up. And he looks mad, especially when he notices his missing claim ticket. Chuck finds the matching ticket, but it's on a casket. He calls to tell Agent Superman, who thinks the Ring was smart to know Customs wouldn't check the body. He tells Chuck to open it and find the key. Chuck: "That's kinda disgusting." Agent Superman tells him to get it done, and hangs up. Chuck opens the casket and tells the body he's sorry about this, then find the key on one of the palms, and peels it off. Chuck hears Hugo come in, and hides to the casket and tries to call Castle, but Agent Superman won't answer, since all he has to do is find the key. Sarah wonders what if Chuck's in trouble, and Agent Superman tells her to go ahead and answer, but if she does, he'll never a real spy, which will get him killed. Chuck gives up on calling and crawls inside the casket with the body, whispering, "Sorry, old man." Once inside, it's "Don't freak out!" Commercials.
From inside the casket, Chuck calls Casey, who's a little confused about the mission being on the plane, but then tells Chuck that his only solution, since he picked the dumbest place to hide and is going to get caught, is to "act like your little girlish self" and scream like a banshee so Hugo doesn't think he's a threat. Then find a weapon and flash. Chuck wonders what if he doesn't flash, and Casey says then he's dead, so flash. Hugo pulls the lid off the casket and Chuck screams like a girl. Casey calls Sarah and tells her the Ring operative has Chuck. Agent Superman opens a line to Chuck's phone. Meanwhile, Chuck tells Hugo he certainly hopes that's not his father in the casket. Hugo tells him about the watch he was wearing, since his employer demands a certain heart rate on the job. He tells Chuck he has a little present for him and digs for a weapon. But Chuck finds the Yale athletics bag and learns he was right about the fencing team. So he gets his own weapon, and flashes on fencing. He starts actually fencing, with the "en garde" and "pointe" and all, with Hugo and his massive knife. Chuck wins, by knocking the knife out of Hugo's hand and then knocking all the luggage onto him. Chuck tells Agent Superman and Sarah he's alive and his first solo mission was a success as he finds something to tie Hugo up with.
Buy More. Morgan has the employees gathered, and tells them Casey's his new "lieutenant assistant manager" (I bet Casey chose the word "lieutenant"), so life's not going to be pleasant for them unless they'll abandon the plot to sabotage Morgan. Casey just stands there looking evil, so almost everyone leaves. Casey pulls out a cigar as Jeff tells him this is a no-smoking store. Morgan says he can smoke it if he wants, or he can put it out. Casey puts the cigar out on his hand, and Morgan asks if anyone else wants to leave. Everyone remaining does, except Jeffster! (although Jeff looks at Lester to see, since Jeff clearly wants to). Morgan asks if they have anything to say, and Jeff says, "Lester says this isn't over." They get up and leave.
At the first class bar, Chuck's regaling Hannah (who lives with the Eiffel Tower in her view) with a story about the engineering feat that is the Eiffel Tower, with a tiny Eiffel Tower statue. He realizes he's being boring, but she says it was an amazing story, and she loves his model. He says that's from his dad. Hannah asks if she can ask him a personal question, and he says sure. She asks if he's ever been to Paris. He laughs all, "Of course." Then admits he hasn't. She says he talked about it with such wonder, and no one in first class ever wants to do anything that badly, so he sort of stands out. He says he just wanted to fit in, and she wonders why. She asks what his secret is, and he admits he works at the Buy More in L.A. and is flying on a customer's ticket, because he liked his L.A. install so much he wanted him to do the same thing in his home in Paris. Chuck says he doesn't belong in first class, and she says that's not true. She asks if Chuck wants to know her secret. He asks if it's scary, and they both laugh. But it's just that she just got fired from her job, so she's officially flying to Paris to empty out her office. He says he's sorry, and she says it's okay; meeting him almost makes it worth it.
Lester's asleep in bed when someone chloroforms him (after his first waking reaction, which is, "Mama?"). Then we cut to his footy pajamas as the camera pans up, until we see he's strapped into a chair in front of the giant screen in the Buy More's display room -- a la Alex in A Clockwork Orange. He wakes from his chloroform stupor and Casey whispers that Lester's not here, he's still sleeping, and to just watch the red dot on the screen. Then Casey repeats "Morgan is your boss" over and over and eventually Morgan's face is also on the red-hued screen. Casey: "You're happy that Morgan's your boss." In the air, Hannah can't believe that Morgan is real or that the store Chuck works in actually exists. Chuck says he's often wondered if the Buy More was an insane asylum, but that yes, it's real. He takes a drink of his martini, but as he's drinking it, he says he doesn't remember ordering that; it appeared out of nowhere. Hannah's like, "And you drank it?" She asks if he's okay, and he says it tasted funny. She says he looks like he's been poisoned, which he says is crazy. But then he looks over and sees Hugo back in his seat, grinning at him. Commercials.
When we're back, Chuck's in the bathroom, telling Agent Superman and Sarah that he's just been poisoned, and that Hugo escaped. Sarah asks what it tasted like, and Chuck says, "It had a very strong nose, with hints of apple, and then a sour finish." Agent Superman: "He's right. It's poison." Sarah tells him to throw up, but he says that's disgusting. Then someone knocks on the bathroom door, and Chuck tells them it's Hugo coming to get him. But it's the flight attendant asking him if he's okay. So he opens the door and tells her he had bad Mexican food and she doesn't want to come in here. She pulls a gun on him, and tells him if he screams, he's dead. Chuck puts down his phone and says he is so writing a letter to the airline about this. She tells him to shut up, that she has the only antidote to the poison, and she'll give it to him in exchange for the key. He's like, "What key?" She hits him and he's like, "Oh. The key." He admits he has it, but not on him. He hid it in the cargo hold. Of course he did.
Cargo hold. Chuck's getting all sweaty from the poison when she pushes him in there. He sees Hugo, who punches him in the gut. Chuck asks if poisoning him isn't enough. The flight attendant holds up the antidote and asks where the key is. Chuck says, "Antidote first," and she asks if this is his first mission. His response, "Maybe." Back at Castle, Agent Superman puts on his glasses and becomes Agent Clark Kent again as Sarah lectures him for leading her agent into a mission with two Ring operatives. Dude, if he knew they were both there, maybe he could have at least told Chuck that much so he didn't let his guard down and drink the free drink on the plane. Just saying... Agent Superman tells Sarah that Chuck's going to make it, because they're going to take control of the plane using a satellite they launched to take control of enemy fighters. Videogamey plane controls pop up out of the counter, and he tells Sarah to call Chuck.
Back in the cargo hold, Chuck tells them he works for the CIA, and the ringing phone is his boss. He says he can't give up the key without his authorization, so she tells Chuck to answer it, on speaker. He answers and says, "Hi guys. If you're wondering, I'm doing just dandy... other than being poisoned, captured, and repeatedly socked in the gut!" The flight attendant tells Agent Superman to order Chuck to give her the key. He asks who she is, and she says she works for a third party, and is in a rush, so if Chuck doesn't give him the key, she'll kill him now. Agent Superman says, "Okay," shocking the flight attendant and Chuck. But Agent Superman would first like to know what kind of poison, and she says it's a cyanide hybrid. He says she's used it before, in Berlin, and he calls her Serena, and knows she works for the Ring and that she used that poison to take out the Syrian ambassador. She asks who he is, but he just says if she lets Chuck go, he'll let her and her gorilla slide on this one. She says she can't; he knows her employer. She says his agent's alone and is going to die. Agent Superman: "No. My people are never alone." Then he says, "Now," and Sarah starts flying the plane, causing major turbulence. She talks about what she's doing while she does it. Chuck makes his way toward the antidote. Back in the plane, the pilot tells everyone to make their way to their seats. The flight attendant manages to stand up and shoots at Chuck. Chuck: "You shot a gun on a plane?! Are you crazy?!" I believe that's been firmly established, Chuck. He hides among the cargo, takes the antidote, and spots his own bag, which you'll remember has his secret weapon inside. He pulls out the nunchucks and flashes. He asks Sarah to level off the plane now (and how exactly does he know Sarah's flying?). She does, and Chuck stands up and practices his nunchucking with his back to the agents. We watch bags fall on both of them while he's practicing, so they're already out when he turns around. He calls Castle and says he's alive and has the key, but "unfortunately, he did not get to use his nunchucks." I have to admit that would have been pretty cool.
Castle. Agent Superman calls his people and gives control of the plane back to the flight crew. He tells Sarah the flight crew will never know. Then he says he does everything he can to protect his people. He lost one spy, it was his fault, and he'll never let it happen again. He asks again why she was in Lisbon. She says she went to bury her partner, Bryce, who wanted his ashes there (so, if we are to believe Bryce was cremated, that means he really can't come back, doesn't it?). She says she wasn't supposed to leave, but she told him she'd take care of it, so she did. Is this true? This wasn't her getting ready to run away with Chuck or anything? [I think it is the Stealing Chuck trip, actually. But who knows? - Zach] She tells Agent Superman if he wants her out to just tell General Redhead, who will reassign her. He asks why he'd do that, since he needs her. He just had to be sure the Ring hadn't gotten to her. She asks if he believes her now, and he says, "Every word, Sarah."
Chuck's plane lands in Paris, and Hannah asks how he's feeling. He says he's okay and apologizes for the "air sickness" episode, which wasn't his finest hour. She says it's okay, then tells him she'll be here for a few days clearing things out, and would love to show off the Eiffel Tower to him. He thinks that would be amazing. Then his phone rings, and it's Agent Superman, telling him the Paris station is taking custody of the Ring operatives, so good work to Chuck. Oh, and another thing: Stay on the plane, since they need the key back in Burbank ASAP. Chuck looks at Hannah and says, "Really? I can't?" Agent Superman says the mission's over; it's time to come home. He hangs up and tells Hannah the install here in Paris has been canceled, so Buy More needs him back immediately. Hannah asks what about Paris, and he tells her it's no big deal; he'll get back here eventually. Then he tells her if she ever finds herself in Burbank without a job, his assistant manager owes him a million and a half favors. He says she'll be terribly overqualified for the job, then he gives her his Nerd Herd business card. She smiles and says it was great to meet him. As his plane leaves, he looks at the Eiffel Tower out the window.
Buy More backroom. Jeff asks a spaced-out Lester what they're going to about Morgan and his new goon. Lester asks, "Morgan?" And Jeff says yeah, how will they get back at them. Lester says, "Morgan Grimes is the kindest, warmest, most understanding human being I've ever known in my life." Morgan and Casey are watching through a window and Morgan asks how Casey did that. Casey tells him not to ask: "Plausible deniability." Morgan: "Plausible deniability? Yeah, of course." Castle. Agent Superman thanks Chuck, who says he'd be dead if it weren't for them. Agent Superman says it's time to see if the key works, and pulls out the "weapon" they got from Carina's fake fiance. Casey asks if it's a weapon, but Agent Superman says it's a lockbox from a dead spy, containing all the intel the agent had. He inserts the crypto key, and pulls out a bunch of discs. [If the lockbox was in California, and had been captured by the good guys, why was the key going to Paris? Why not destroy it, or launch a mission to get the box back? - Z] He gives them to Casey and Sarah and says that now they might stand a chance, and one of their best didn't die in vain. He picks up a little envelope from the lockbox and takes it to the room. Sarah follows him and asks what's in the envelope. He gives it to her, and she finds a woman's wedding ring. She looks at him, and he says, "She was killed by a Ring agent five years ago. Her name was Evelyn Shaw. Eve." He tells Sarah they both made the same mistakes: falling in love with spies. She sets down the ring and leaves.
French music as Chuck mopes at the Buy More, looking at his Eiffel Tower model. Casey and Morgan, standing to him, look at each other and Chuck asks what's with the looks. Casey says Morgan gave him a raise, and Morgan tells him when he goes away for a couple days, everything changes. But Chuck thinks everything just stays the same. Morgan asks what happened on the install, and Chuck says nothing. Casey: "Bored now." He and Morgan leave as the French music picks up and the camera focuses on the Eiffel Tower model. When the background comes into focus again, Hannah's there, waving sweetly at Chuck. Okay, I adore this new pairing and if she's bad, I will not be happy about it. I'm sick of all of Chuck's love interests being bad or dating people who are bad or whatever. Why not have a legitimate love interest so that he can really get to choose? [Eh, she'll be gone soon enough. - Z]
week: Hannah's in a Nerd Herd suit. Chuck gets another mission, which he says will be a piece of cake, but on the mission, Casey sends in Sarah in a half-shirt, saying, "I had to send in a closer." Fighting outside the Buy More. Just another day in Burbank.
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DeAnn, a writer and editor in Portland, Oregon, has flown first class and has never seen a bar there. You can contact her at twopmodmars@gmail.com.