Chuck's having crazy dreams involving Shaw getting shot, but also in which he predicts the future. They're barely coherent, as dreams can be, but Chuck gets them and wakes up the whole gang to report what's going to happen. No one believes him, and General Redhead makes him see a therapist, played by Christopher Lloyd, whom Chuck awesomely calls "Doc." He tells Doc that Sarah hasn't said she loves him, which is obviously upsetting, and the Doc ultimately finds him to be too crazy to stay in the field. Chuck doesn't tell Sarah and instead goes to work (with Morgan) to prove himself right. This involves going to the symphony to protect the president of a fictional country called Zamibia. Sarah and Casey figure it out and show up, and Chuck ends up looking even crazier. So they put him in a nuthouse. It's very One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, only all the crazies are former spies. Which doesn't bode well for Chuck. Sarah still believes in him, so when the bad guys from the symphony show up to kill him, she shows up (with Doc and Casey), too, and saves his life, proving him right in the process. In the end, she tells him she loves him, so he doesn't tell her that Doc says the dreams are really predicting the future, but they also show that the Intersect will likely cause mental deterioration. They go to sleep and Chuck dreams that Shaw's alive. I can almost hear the forum posters groaning from here.
Elsewhere, Anna's back to give a box of stuff to Morgan (he left it behind in Hawaii and she brought it all the way across the ocean in a beat-up cardboard box), and because he's busy running off with Casey or after Chuck, she thinks he's changed and decides she wants him back. But he tells her if it took that for her to want him, he doesn't want her. Jeffster! would be happy to have the leftovers, though. Also, the bad guy Justin from the Congo follows Ellie back to Burbank and tells her he's with the CIA and is trying to protect her father from bad guys. He tells her that her brother and husband would think she's crazy if she told them, but that Casey's a bad guy trying to infiltrate the family. She sees Casey's guns and tells Awesome, but he tells her it sounds crazy. So she goes back to Justin and says she'll help him, and she does know how to contact her father. Which can only mean one thing: Bakula!
A few things Chuck thinks we need to know: Ellie and Awesome went to the Congo, then a Ring guy named Justin made Awesome seem sick so they'd go back home. Chuck and Sarah moved in together. Now: Chuck and Sarah are watching TV, and not liking it. Chuck says Monday nights are a bit of a wasteland. Ah, self-deprecation. The news says the president of Zamibia will be in town, then Chuck turns on Spies Like Us, which means Chevy Chase exists in the Chuck universe even though he also played Ted Roark in it. Ouch, my head hurts. Chuck teases her about how much she could learn from these spies, and she gets offended, but he tells her it was a joke. "Remember? Jokes?" Then he tells her he loves her and she doesn't respond. Instead, she just rubs his face, and he looks sad.
He turns back to the TV, then falls asleep. The credits are rolling when he wakes up and she tells him she loves him. He's so glad to finally hear her say that, but then things get weird. First we get a flash of "The terrible troll raises his sword," which was the code to Bryce's email in the pilot. Then Chuck sees General redhead outside the window clanging cymbals together. Then a picture of Beethoven flashes quickly by. Doorbell rings, and Sarah says she's so glad they found a place that delivers Zamibian food. She turns into the news anchor a little as she says it. Chuck goes to the door, and it's Shaw with Zamibian food. Chuck freaks out and pulls out guns to shoot him again, now and in flashback. Shaw falls into the fountain in the apartment courtyard, which is when Chuck wakes up. Sarah asks if he had another bad dream, and he says it was about Beethoven and Zamibia. She tells us that he has a nightmare every time he falls asleep, but he says this one's trying to tell him something.
They're at Casey's, talking to General Redhead, who's in her pajamas. Casey's in his bathrobe. When Chuck says that someone is going to try to kill the president of Namibia at the Beethoven concert tomorrow night, Casey's like, "Tomorrow night?" He likes his sleep, like a princess, so why'd Chuck have to wake him up and do this now? Chuck apologizes to both him and the General, who has a man behind her on her video, which appears to be in her kitchen. When Chuck finally says he knows this will happen because of a dream, and he explains it, Casey asks for permission to slap Chuck for having a bad dream. Sarah tries to stick up for Chuck, but General stops her and says Chuck's assignment is to see a CIA therapist about these dreams, which are getting in the way of his work and everyone's sleep.
Cut to Chuck lying on a therapist's couch rambling at Christopher Lloyd, who's acting every part the therapist, answering all of Chuck's questions with questions. His father comes up briefly, but Chuck says he doesn't want to talk about anything. Then he gives in, and starts in about Sarah being the best part of his life, but she's a little distant and doesn't say she loves him back. He knows she loves him, but... Christopher Lloyd asks, "Do you?" Then he tells Chuck his dreams are the unconscious interacting with the Intersect. Chuck can't believe he knows about the Intersect, but Christopher Lloyd says he knows everything about him, and has known for awhile the Intersect could have side effects. Chuck wonders if dry scalp might be one, because he has that. Christopher Lloyd says the end result of the Intersect's power could be to overwhelm his mind into something like insanity. Chuck freaks out and says, "Doc, I'm not insane." It's very awesome he's calling Christopher Lloyd "Doc," obviously. Chuck wants to stop President Kuti from getting killed at the symphony, but instead Doc removes him from field duty. Cake opening credits.
Awesome's going to town on a hand gripper and reading an adventure magazine on his couch when Morgan comes to visit. He tells him, malaria aside, he looks awesome. Awesome says he feels great, too, and he realized that you can die just as easily from a mosquito in Africa as a spy in Burbank, so he's not going to live scared anymore. Morgan tries to use another gripper, but he can't squeeze it, so he says it must be broken. Hee. Outside, Ellie's arriving home when Casey stops her and tells her he had malaria four or five times. The medicine she's bringing him won't help, though; he needs African snake herbs. Casey might have some back at his place. Ellie tells him she'll keep that in mind, then turns and mutters "Crazy" as she walks away.
Chuck's in his bathroom telling himself he's not crazy, and "Don't freak out." Sarah wants to come in, so she does, and he lies that everything was fine with the doctor. She can tell he's hiding something, so tells him that she knows she's his partner, but she's also his girlfriend and he can tell her everything. He says he's totally "right as rain," which he doesn't understand, because rain is kind of all over the place. She buys it, oddly, kisses him and says she's glad he's okay.
Buy More. Chuck's watching the news, where all they're talking about is the Zamibian president's visit. He pauses it when Morgan wonders why he's watching so much TV. It pauses on a picture of President Kuti, and Chuck says he's been having dreams about him. Morgan gets it; he's sort of attractive. But Chuck fills him in on the dream, and says he knows he's right but no one believes him. Morgan asks if Sarah believes him, and Chuck says he's trying not to involve her right now. Morgan says if the dreams might be right, it would be wrong not to help the "president of Zamifiria-buh." He tries again, and Chuck finally helps: "Zamibia." Hey, in Morgan's defense, it's not a real country, so it's a little confusing. Morgan says he's going to help him, then asks Chuck his pants size.
Jeffster! are at the Nerd Herd counter, talking about how they need a woman; they have needs. Lester's hitting on the hotties in electronics, DVDs, and around the entrances and exits. Jeff seems disappointed that he's being left in home appliances, which is "full of lumpy housewives." But then he adds, "My favorite." We get a slow-mo shot of a woman's legs and lower body as Flo Rida starts in. It's Anna, looking for Morgan. Lester tells her she looks like she's lost two or three grams in Hawaii. She's already completely annoyed and just wonders where Morgan is. They play dumb. Only I guess that's not playing, really.
In the backroom, Morgan presents Chuck with their tuxedoes and tickets to the symphony. Chuck says he'll head around the back and meet him at the Nerd Herder. Jeffster! tells Anna that Morgan's changed and is focused, responsible, and driven now. She thinks he can't have changed that much. Ke$ha's part of the Flo Rida song kicks up as Morgan walks out in slow-mo in his tux. Anna approaches him and says she's here to see him, but he says he can't right now. He's sort of busy. She follows him and says it can't be that important and why's he in a tux? He says he's going to the symphony with Chuck, and he'll catch up with her tomorrow or something. Oh, and by the way, she looks good. He leaves her standing there, saying "Wow." At the symphony, they spot Kuti in the president's box, and Chuck tells Morgan to remember his code name is "Charles Carmichael." Morgan's all, yeah, duh. "And mine's Cobra." Chuck thinks maybe he is going a little crazy.
Ellie's at the Buy More buying Awesome all fifteen seasons of ER>, even while she tells him on the phone that buying the complete set is a little nutty. Justin is lurking around incognito, and then finally approaches her. She's surprised he's here, but he tells her they're here to see her. He asks if they can go somewhere private to talk. She looks a little freaked, which you might if someone you barely know follows you back from the Congo. Commercials.
Symphony. Morgan's sort of nodding along to the music, but soon enough he and Chuck start jabbering, about whether Morgan should take Anna back. The woman to them shushes them. Morgan reminds him they're on a mission so they can talk about Anna later, but the lady shushes them. Morgan says they always talk about Sarah, and the lady shushes them again. On a bench somewhere, Justin's presenting Sarah with a CIA badge, and says he wanted to talk to her in Africa, but Awesome got sick before they could fully brief her. He wants to talk to her about her father, whose work in the world of computers has been brilliant. He tells her there are some very bad people looking for Stephen J. Bartowski (also known as Bakula) because of his brilliant work, including an NSA double agent named John Casey, who he tells her has been monitoring them for another organization. She says Casey works with her brother, so Justin tells him just to keep an eye on Casey. He cautions her against telling anyone, even Chuck or Awesome, who will tell her she's as crazy as he thinks Justin is right now. He tells her they came to her because they need her. "Your father needs you."
Castle. Sarah walks in, and Casey says he thought she was on a fancy date with Chuck, since he left the store in his tux. She's like, "He's in a tux?" They quickly roll back the surveillance tape and see that he and Morgan have tuxes and symphony tickets. Sarah says he must want to prove them wrong about Kuti, but Casey says he's going to kill them both. At the concert, Chuck's fallen asleep. Morgan nudges him and asks why he's on stage. Chuck says he isn't, but then he is, only the room's empty, except one seat, where Shaw's there and tells Chuck he shot him. Shaw says this dream isn't about him, it's about a scientist, Dr. Kowambe. Chuck sees him hold a knife to Kuti's throat. Chuck wakes up and sees the scientists sitting to the president. The lady shushes them again, and Chuck tells her to put a sock in it. He tells Morgan to stay put, but first gives him his backup tranq gun, only to be used in life or death situations.
Casey and Sarah show up, and see Chuck heading away from Morgan. Sarah goes after Chuck, who tells her the guy who's going to kill Kuti is in the box with him now. She tells him he should have told her and she could have helped. He says he wanted proof first, but he loves her and needs her to believe in him. She says, "Let's get into that box." Back inside, Casey sits to Morgan and tells him to stand up and walk out quietly or he'll kill him and drag him out. Morgan's eyes go big and he reaches into his coat. Casey asks what he's reaching for, and Morgan tells him he's been authorized to use this tranq gun, though he doesn't want to. Casey just reaches in and pulls the trigger, so it tranqs Morgan. Then they cuddle. Chuck and Sarah pretend it's a routine CIA sweep in the box, and Chuck frisks the scientist. There are no weapons on him, but Chuck flashes on the Ring intel in his teeth. He punches him and a tooth flies out. Chuck says he was wrong; it's Ring intel in his mouth. He gets down on all fours searching for the tooth. Sarah clearly thinks he's lost it, as does President Kuti. His guards carry Chuck out, which cuts directly to two orderlies at a mental hospital carrying him away from Casey and Sarah as Chuck protests, "Guys! I'm not crazy!"
Castle. General Redhead scolds Casey and Sarah for letting Chuck and Morgan elude them and cause an international incident that the president of the U.S. had to apologize for, in Zamibian! She tells them that Doc believes Chuck's condition is worse than diagnosed and that the Intersect is overwhelming Chuck's brain. She says mental deterioration is unavoidable, but that they should know they'll do everything they can for him. "I care about him too." Awww. General Redhead cares. Casey tells Sarah they'll go see him this afternoon, because nothing will make him feel better than seeing her. But you can see that Casey really wants to see him for himself. He's a softie.
Mental hospital, just like the one in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Doc tells him to come to terms with being here, and then introduces him to the other people here, with serious psychiatric issues. Namely Louis, who likes to be called Merlin. He asks Chuck if he's in for something sexual, and Chuck's like, "No, it is not." He says it's dreams, and Merlin assumes those are sexual. Chuck asks if his team's contacted Doc, and Merlin says he's been waiting for his team since '93. Doc says this is a CIA facility and everyone here used to be a spy, which is a stressful job. Chuck looks around at all the crazy and marvels that everyone there was a spy like him.
Casey's preparing weapons for his mission when Ellie shows up. He acts weird when he cracks the door. She asks for herbs for the malaria, and he says he'll check. When he leaves, a door in her view opens, and it's filled with guns. He gives her the herbs and tells her to make sure Awesome takes it with "some nice, warm goat milk." She runs back home and tells Devon not to freak out, but she has reason to believe Casey's a very bad man, and they have to get far away from him. Awesome tells her she has to get the story about him peeing himself out of her head; he was in a bad place, and it happens. She says no, she saw guns at his place. Awesome's like, "Okay, Casey has some serious guns." He says that's creepy, but not illegal. She asks if he believe her, and he says it sounds a little crazy. He offers to make her tea, and she says she's sure she sounds crazy; tea's great. Because she just realized Justin was right about everything.
Casey and Sarah are visiting Chuck in the hospital. He tells them he needs them to analyze some evidence for him, and then coughs up a tooth into Sarah's hand. Even she's obviously beginning to think he's a nutjob. Chuck tells them it's not a real tooth, but has information in it they need to analyze. He says the tooth is the key. "The truth is in the tooth." Casey's like, "Uh, yeah, okay, you get some rest there, buddy." Chuck tells Sarah not to give up on him, and she says she won't. They kiss and she watches him go sadly. But, back at Castle, she runs the tests. Casey's there, too, and they both want him to be right, but Casey's more realistic about it. And ... the analysis says it's a 100 percent human tooth. Sarah sadly says Chuck was wrong, and Casey tells her he's sorry.
Buy More. Morgan finds Casey and asks him where Chuck is. He begs a little, and Casey tells him he's locked down in a psychiatric facility because the Intersect's giving him a bit of a hard time. Morgan thinks it's crazy. Anna comes in again to try to talk to Morgan, but he wants to follow Casey and talk more, so he tells her he doesn't have time. She still looks good, though. She's left standing there, muttering, "Dissed twice by Morgan Grimes? I can't believe this." Chuck's playing games with the other nuts at the hospital when Sarah calls to tell him she ran every test possible, and it was just a tooth. She tells him to stay positive, that everything's going to be okay. He tells her thanks for trying, and sadly hangs up. Then, so the audience doesn't doubt Chuck for long, Kowambe and his men show up at the hospital and ask to see Charles Bartowski.
After commercials, Kowambe tranqs the guard and receptionist so he and his men can just break in to this CIA facility. It's really that easy (let alone them even knowing Chuck's name and where he is). Meanwhile, Sarah shows up at Doc's and tells him there has to be more to what's going on with Chuck, because he's not like other people; he's incredibly special. Doc answers her with questions, all "Why? Because you care about him?" and "Especially to you, I gather?" She wants to go to the hospital t
1 2 3 4
onight and talk to Chuck. She tells him she loves Chuck, and he wonders if she's ever told Chuck that. She begs him to let her go, and Doc says he's not the only one. He opens his door farther to reveal Casey's there, too. They smile at each other.At the hospital, Kowambe's guys have Chuck in an exam chair when Kowambe walks in. Chuck says he wasn't the doctor he expected to see. Kowambe asks him why he took his tooth and, moreover, why did he take the wrong tooth. Chuck's all gleeful about not being crazy, until Kowambe tells him that as soon as he reveals where he got his information, he will die. He pulls out a needle with colored liquid in it and says it's a truth serum. He injects it into Chuck and says he'll be extremely forthcoming in about ten minutes. Chuck fakes like Doc is there and gets up and runs into the hangout room or whatever it is. He asks for help, but all the other patients just sit there like mental patients.
Kowambe comes out, and Chuck flashes on kung-fu. But the drug's affecting him, because he does all his kung-fu moves onto the air instead of the bad guys. Merlin comes in and tells them to let Chuck go or suffer the wrath of Merlin. Merlin orders the spies to attack, and they all get ready for a fight, but Kowambe's men shoot them all with tranq guns. Merlin's like, "Damn!" Chuck tells him it was a good idea, though. Kowambe tells Chuck this is over. No one's coming. Which is, of course, the cue for Sarah and Casey to bust in and save his ass. Chuck's lying on the ground the whole time, motionless. When Kowambe falls in front of him, Sarah runs over and tells Chuck she'll always come back for him. Merlin creeps it up by sliding into the frame and saying, "So will Merlin, Chuck. So will Merlin." Doc tells Casey it's a good thing they came. Well, duh.
Casey's place. General Redhead apologizes to Chuck, who was right about Kowambe, who was scheduled to sell his research on organ harvesting and other bad deeds to a Ring operative. Chuck thinks that's fantastic! Well, you know, except for the organ harvesting and stuff. Chuck asks if he has a clean bill of health. General Redhead thinks it seems that way, but she can't actually clear him. Cut to Chuck chatting with Doc again, this time with much more confidence. He asks Doc if he's cleared for duty, and Doc says he was right: His dreams were caused by the Intersect. He's cleared for duty. BUT, and it's a big one, the dreams are also proof of the stress the Intersect's putting on his brain, which he believes will continue, likely leading to serious mental deterioration. Chuck asks what that means, and Doc says it's a new science, so time will tell. He tells Chuck he should discuss this with his partner, Agent Walker, and Chuck thanks him.
Buy More. Anna, standing there with a box, yells at Morgan that she refuses to be denied an audience, and she'll call corporate if he won't listen to her. Jeffster! says she might want him back or she might have an explosive device. It could go either way, really. Morgan tries to apologize, but she says all she wanted was to give him this box of stuff he left behind in Hawaii. And she brought it here even, all the way from Hawaii. He tells her he's okay without it, so she says he might have also forgotten this. She kisses him and says he really knows how to play his girl. She says that whole thing about not knowing you want something until you can't have it is true, because he's changed and she wants him back. He says that if it took him running from her to realize she wants him, she's not the person he wants. So, yeah, she's right, he has changed. He leaves her standing here again. Jeff creeps into the frame and tells her he doesn't mind leftovers.
When Chuck comes home to tell her his important information, she says she's going first. She tells him she loves him, and is sorry it took her so long to say it. She says she used to be able to only think about her mission, but now all she can think about is her future with him. She asks if he wanted to tell her something, about the doctor. "What did he say?" Chuck lies that Doc said he's fine. They hug and kiss, and she's happy. He is less so. Ellie meets Justin somewhere at night, and tells him he's right about everything: about Casey, and about not telling anyone because Awesome thinks she's nuts right now. He asks her if she knows how to contact her father. She says he's really paranoid and moves around a lot, but last time he left, he made sure she had a way to contact him. He thanks her and tells her to remember she's serving her country. This is such a better use of Ellie than moping around about how Awesome's acting weird, like she's done all season up to now.
Chuck and Sarah are in bed, and he's doing a lot of wiggling around, which can only mean one thing: Dream. He fake-wakes in a hospital bed, to see Shaw standing over him with a bloody shirt. When he pulls open the shirt, Chuck asks him what it means that he's not bleeding anymore. Shaw says it means he's still alive and then starts choking Chuck. Chuck wakes up and Sarah asks what's wrong. Chuck lies: "Nothing. Go back to sleep." Okay, I know the shippers don't want Shaw back, but now that he's bad and Chuck and Sarah are an item, I think it could be quite interesting. Especially if Shaw's shirtless, of course. That always helps his acting.
1 2 3 4
Only two episodes left! week: Chuck tells Morgan about Shaw being alive. Then Bakula shows up and doesn't want his family in this business. Justin turns Ellie into a spy. She bashes Casey in the face with a frying pan. Bakula tells Chuck he can't stay here and watch his son die. Ellie tells someone on the phone that she planted the tracer. Bad guys ask Bakula where the thing is that's keeping him alive (I'm guessing Chuck?). Bakula tells Chuck he didn't want to drag him into anything.
DeAnn, a writer and editor in Portland, Oregon, always knew Shaw was still alive. You can contact her at twopmodmars@gmail.com.
Get the scoop on Julia Link's return to Chuck in this episode.
Watch this episode here, discuss it in our forums, then see why we think the show should have ended sooner.
Want to immediately access TWoP content no matter where you are online? Download the free TWoP toolbar for your web browser. Already have a customized toolbar? Then just add our free toolbar app to get updated on our content as soon it's published.
1 2 3 4