Chuck, never learning from his past, chooses to tell Morgan, but not Sarah, about his dream that Shaw's alive. Lucky for him (and us), Morgan can't keep a secret and tells Sarah almost immediately. She wonders why he didn't tell her and they start their search for Shaw, which leads them to the penthouse that Sarah's all too familiar with. Meanwhile, Bakula shows up after getting coded messages in classified ads from Ellie (hey, something has to keep newspapers in business, right?), and suspects that Chuck's still working as a spy. Chuck lies, and then admits he's just a part-time CIA analyst, and then Bakula follows him to Shaw's penthouse and ends up saving him from Justin, who broke in to steal what was in Shaw's safe. While Justin was busy trying to kill Chuck, he also was standing up Chuck's sister, who was meeting with him to discuss her father, since she'd lured him to Burbank inadvertently.
Justin ultimately gives Ellie a spy mission, which is to plant a tracer on her dad (she does) just before he heads back to his Ted Kaczynski cabin in the woods. The bad guys get there after Bakula runs some mysterious tests. They ask him for the Governor, and then Chuck shows up and gets held hostage, too. Ultimately, though, he flashes and saves his dad (with a little help from Sarah, no Intersect required). Then his dad tells him about the Governor: It's a watch he wears to regulate the Intersect and keep it from killing his brain, basically. He's going to make one for Chuck, too. When Casey's tasked by Chuck to keep an eye on Ellie, she understandably gets more suspicious of him, and when she finds him in her apartment, she can't use the gun Justin gave her and instead knocks him out with a frying pan. She runs off with Justin, who locks her in his office at what she thinks is CIA headquarters (it's not). And then, in the end, after everyone thought Chuck was wrong about Shaw being alive, we see Shaw download the Intersect into his own head. That's interesting how the Ring had the Intersect this entire time, but wasn't using it. How very conveniently stupid.
Also: Some stuff happens about Jeffster! and their music, and Big Mike becomes their mentor. But it's stupid and doesn't matter all that much, so I'll save it for the weecap.
There are a few things Chuck would like us to know: Read the recaps, because basically the entire season matters. We open on a cabin in the woods, as Bakula sharpens a knife when there's a knock at the door. It's just his newspaper (which, two things: It's delivered all the way out there? And: it knocks?). He notices an ad for a 1978 Chevelle in the classifieds, and translates whatever it says into: "Dad, I really need to see you. Please send me your address. Love, Ellie." He smiles and then we see her interpreting her own classified, which says: "I'll be in touch. Miss you, Dad." Awesome's making a smoothie in the kitchen, so Ellie uses the opportunity of his blending to call Justin and set up a meet in a few minutes.
Chuck calls Morgan and tells him about his dream that Shaw's alive. He says he hasn't told Sarah, and he knows relationships are important, but he just needs Morgan to meet him in ten minutes. Sarah comes in and asks what relationship. Chuck lies badly that it was about Morgan and Anna and how torn-up he is. Chuck changes the subject to how good Sarah looks and smells. Then he leaves. In Morgan's "office," Chuck says he saw Shaw die, and Morgan asks if he checked his pulse. Chuck says he fell into a river, and Morgan's like, "Of course he's alive! Haven't you ever seen a John Carpenter movie?" He is the best nerd ever. Morgan says that if Shaw's alive, he knows all about Sarah, Chuck, and ... Morgan. He starts to worry, and asks Chuck if he'll let him into Castle, where he left something. Chuck makes him swear this is their secret and also tells him not to touch anything.
The scene is, of course, him touching everything. He's putting on a bullet-proof vest when Sarah finds him and asks if Chuck's up to something. He tells her he wouldn't know, but she sees through it and gets a little threatening with him. Chuck's back at the Buy More looking at a picture of Shaw on his phone. Casey comes up behind him and asks if he's reviewing pictures of people he killed. "I do that too from time to time." Morgan comes up in a big, puffy winter coat and confesses to Chuck that he told Sarah, because she's very persuasive. Chuck asks if that's a bullet-proof vest and Morgan asks if Chuck's tie is bullet-proof. But Morgan's saved not by his brilliant avoidance, but because Chuck sees his dad come into the store. He freaks out, and tells Morgan his dad still thinks he quit the CIA the night of Ellie's wedding and doesn't know about Intersect 2.0 in his brain. He didn't want to tell him after his dad spent so much time getting the first Intersect out of his head. Bakula greets him, and Chuck acts awkward and asks him what he's doing here. Bakula says he was checking to see if everything's okay because he got a message from Ellie. Then he sees Casey and points out that he wouldn't work here if the Intersect project was disbanded. Sarah comes up behind him, and Bakula asks Chuck why his handler's here. Chuck says they're boyfriend-girlfriend now. Bakula asks him to tell him he's no longer in the CIA. Chuck says the Intersect's out of his head and he's no longer a spy. He turns over the iPhone with Shaw's picture on it, and says, "You know me. I wouldn't lie." He looks way more comfortable doing so than Sarah does listening to it. Cake opening credits.
Justin's leading Ellie into a supposed CIA building, which she says looks just like a regular office building. He says that's sort of the point with the "CIA": Nothing's what it seems. He takes her into a room and asks if she contacted her dad. He says she did, with a coded classified message. She shows it to him, and Justin says that's perfect because they can protect him as soon as they know where he lives. Ellie wonders what about John Casey, the double agent. Justin tells her not to worry, since he hasn't been dangerous so far, but he gives her a speaker to protect her. But it's not just a speaker, he says: It also blocks Casey's audio and visual reads on the courtyard. Oh, and he can call her. He trusts her, right? She says she does.
Speaking of trust, Sarah's lecturing Chuck at Castle for not trusting her with the information about his Shaw dream. She reminds him (or new and forgetful viewers) that Doc said his dreams can be as real as his flashes. Casey comes in and says he's not letting Chuck go to General Redhead until they know for sure. Casey ran a scan and there's no use of any known aliases, so he thinks Sarah is their best chance of finding them, since she has an intimate knowledge of him. Chuck's not sure "intimate" is the right word, but Casey continues that Chuck and Sarah can go to the places they went together, and maybe he'll flash on something. Chuck pretends he's totally okay with that, but shakes and twitches and protests through all the discussions about where to go to see if he flashes. When Sarah finally mentions Shaw's penthouse at the Hoth Building, Chuck flashes on a safe Shaw had the CIA construct in said penthouse. So, that's where they'll go.
Jeffster!, in front of the Buy More, sing "Love Hurts." They apparently suck, though ... of course. So Big Mike offers to help them, because he knows a thing or two about management. He says they're too good to be playing outside. If he were their manager, they might be playing inside. Lester says they've already played the Buy More so don't need him, but Jeff's listening, since a manager helps you get taken seriously. Lester leaves the band and lets Jeff go solo, although he basically begs him to ask him not to leave. He tells him he's taking something with him that he can never have back: The "-ster" as in "Jeffster!"
When Ellie gets home, her dad's cooking her dinner. She wonders why he's there, since she wanted to go to him. He says of course he's going to come to his daughter; it's safer. And he thought she'd be happy. She lies that she is, but says she's surprised in a good way. Chuck and Casey are arriving in the courtyard. Chuck's worried Shaw will come after Ellie, so he asks Casey to look after her and make sure she's okay. Casey agrees to shadow her. Bakula and his kids have dinner, and Bakula's enjoying it. He wonders what they'll do tonight, but Chuck says he has a last-minute date night with Sarah. Bakula says he and Ellie will discuss whatever it is she wanted to talk about then. She nods, but gets a call from Justin and pretends it's the hospital. She says she has to go tie up loose ends from the Africa trip. Bakula asks about her going to Africa. Outside, she tells Justin her dad surprised her by showing up. She sees Casey looking at her out the window, and tells Justin. He tells her to meet him at a park in ten minutes and they'll figure out what to do with Bakula.
Back at the apartment, Bakula's grilling Chuck on his date, assuming of course that it's spy work. Bakula says he's trying to figure it out because he sees this: Casey works at the Buy More. Sarah lives with Chuck. There's a surveillance wire behind the TV. And Chuck's computer is tapped into the CIA mainframe. He asks Chuck to tell him again that he's not a spy. Chuck admits that ... he occasionally does some analysis work for the CIA. He says he just sits behind a desk and does some paperwork a couple times a month. And this thing tonight with Sarah really is just a date. "I'm just an analyst." Cut to Sarah and Chuck climbing the side of a building with suction thingies. He asks if her ears just popped. Casey watches Ellie sitting on a park bench and when she picks up her phone to make a call, he listens in on his super-spy-phone. She leaves Justin a message about how she needs to see him and Devin thinks she's at work. It's getting harder to lie.
Chuck and Sarah climb in the window of Shaw's penthouse and dig around. Chuck finds a Kama Sutra book, but Sarah finds the safe behind a painting. Chuck can see it, too, when she gives him X-ray glasses. She figures out how to open the picture, but the safe's password-protected. Before she can even attempt to open it, someone's keys jangle at the door and they see a man on the other side of the door (with their X-ray specs). She says it's Shaw and they hide in the closet. They watch the guy open the safe and take what's in it, then almost open the closet when Chuck's shoe squeaks. But he shoots into it instead. Then Chuck and Sarah chase him out of the room and onto the roof. He jumps to the building, dropping the case he took from the safe. Sarah goes after it, and Chuck flashes to jump to the building after him. The flashing is apparently not that great, though, because he barely catches the other building and then is hanging by a cord of some type when the guy comes forward and ... it's Justin. He says Shaw's dead and asks if Chuck cares to join him. Sarah shoots from below and Chuck asks her to check his pulse but to help him first, please, since the cord he's hanging onto is slipping. Luckily for Chuck, Bakula followed him and is on top of the building. He helps Chuck up, with a snarky, "Just an analyst, huh?"
Castle. Chuck shows his dad his office, and Bakula wonders why he wasn't here on a computer instead of dangling from a rooftop. He asks why Chuck's still lying. Chuck pretends the government sees potential, so he's an analyst who does the occasional field mission. He excuses himself to talk to Casey and Sarah about the guy on the roof. They don't know who it was, but they got what he was after. A lockbox just like the one Shaw's wife had. It's a spy's last will and testament, a record of the information they kept. For Shaw, it's all the information he has on the Ring, so the Ring likely wants it back. Sarah says that Shaw must be dead, then reads the exact sentiment from Shaw's letter. Chuck says he was wrong, and Bakula comes in then and asks what Chuck was wrong about. Bakula knows the name Daniel Shaw, and that he's a Ring expert. He guesses the lockbox must mean something happened to him, and tells Chuck that the reason spies need that box is because they could die anytime. "This is a bad business. I don't want my family any part of it." I have to congratulate the show on the timeline here, because Ellie's meeting with Justin while Casey's at Castle with Team Bartowski. Justin tells her they've devised a plan to get to her dad without alerting double-agent Casey, but it's going to require some real spy work on her part. She says she's up for it.
Jeff's singing with a keyboard under a Jeffster! sign that has the "ster" part covered up with a giant "?". He sounds all over-produced, coached by Big Mike, as Lester watches sadly and everyone else must be fleeing the sound in the store. Casey finds Lester and asks if he's seen Grimes. Lester uses it as an opportunity to talk about losing his friend, so Casey growls and leaves while he's talking. Casey finds Morgan in his "office," who's freaked and tells Casey that Shaw's alive and he's scared. Casey tells him Chuck was wrong, and Morgan's relieved since he's had to pee for four hours. But that's not why Casey's here. He asks Morgan if Ellie would cheat on Awesome for any reason. Morgan's response: "John Casey, if I had the height and the willpower, I would slap you across the face right now." That's a no. He says Ellie's not a cheater, and would only step out with someone who's like a childhood friend, perhaps. Casey plays the message for Morgan, who puts on the coat and tells Casey he's done well. Morgan says he'll speak to "the husband," and it's not going to be fun.
Morgan's at Awesome and Ellie's, where Awesome's in the kitchen. He gets them both a beer and Morgan asks if Ellie's happy in their marriage. Awesome's pretty confident she is, and asks if she said something to Morgan. Morgan says no, but he feels pretty confident that if anything's wrong, it's Awesome's fault, so ... he needs Awesome to take him through an average day so he can find the problem. Awesome wakes up early in the morning to put a towel in the dryer so it's warm for Ellie. Then he makes Belgian waffles or a goat-cheese omelet for her. Cut ahead. After Ellie's daily foot rub, they bike the farmers market and pick up whatever berries are in season. He then makes her a smoothie with organic milk and flaxseed to give her a mid-day kick-start. Jump ahead to once they're in bed "post-lavender bath, I spend about twenty minutes just watching her sleep. She looks so peaceful, it's like, 'What's she dreaming about?' You know?" that's his day. Morgan's totally enamored.
Chuck comes home to find his dad stressing out. He says he keeps wondering why they'd let Chuck go on missions without the Intersect since he's such an ordinary guy. Chuck says he's not, and the CIA thinks he's special. They believe in him. Bakula agrees that Chuck's special and throws a knife at his face. Chuck flashes and catches it before it hits him. Bakula's all, "I was right!" And then stresses about how he worked so hard to get the first Intersect out. Chuck's like, "Dad, knife. Face. What if you were wrong?!" Bakula says he's never wrong. Which, you know, I totally believe. Bakula tells him that the Intersect can have a negative effect on the brain, which he didn't tell him since he didn't know he'd downloaded the new one. Chuck tells him he left, again, and he's living without him, just like he taught them to do. Bakula leaves, saying he can't stay and watch his son die. In the courtyard, Ellie asks him if he's leaving without saying goodbye. She says she just missed him and wanted to make sure he's okay. He tells her not worry and he won't be gone as long this time. They hug and she plants something on him. He leaves, and she calls Justin. "I did it. I planted the tracer." He tells her it's nice work and it guarantees her father's protection.
Bakula's already at his cabin (so he's close), where he pulls out a hidden giant computer and goes to work. Chuck's looking up his dad on the CIA computer at home when Sarah comes in and asks where he is. She thinks he must have had a better reason than finding out Chuck's the Intersect, since he loves Chuck. Chuck says he knows his dad loves him, but he doesn't know him or understand that for the first time, his life means something. Bakula keeps working on his giant computer, which also involves taking apart his watch an inserting a piece of it into the computer. Sarah asks if Chuck told his dad that, but he didn't, of course, and he doesn't know where he lives. Luckily for Chuck, Sarah figured it out, being an amazing spy and all. Bakula keeps on working on his project. He says something worked. Then, at some point, his computer's tell him there's a perimeter breach. He puts the watch back together and hides the computer as guys in military suits approach. Justin tells one of them, via telephone, not to leave until they have "it." Whatever it is.
Chuck and Sarah show up, and he says he's going in there to talk, but doesn't need her. Though, if he doesn't come back in twenty minutes, she should come save him. Seriously? Who leaves their significant other in the car for twenty minutes. Inside, the military guys are threatening Bakula when Chuck knocks. They pull him inside too, and he's like, "Give me a break." Sarah sits happily outside, as the bad guys release gas in the cabin so it will look like an accident. Military guys asks Bakula where "the Governor" is, and then figure out it's his watch. Bakula apologizes to Chuck, since he didn't want to drag him into anything. Chuck tells him he came her to show him he's special, but he thinks he'll just have to show him. He flashes and unties himself from the chair they had him tied into and starts kicking some ass. The bad guys can't fire guns because of the gas. Bakula somehow gets free, too, and joins the fighting. Sarah hears the commotion and gets out of the car. Fighting continues, and when a knife's headed toward Chuck's face, Sarah shows up to throw an ax and block it. Then she knocks out another guy, and Bakula asks if she has the Intersect too. Chuck: "No, Dad. That's all her." Then, to Sarah: "Hi, honey." Okay, they're adorable.
Back at home, in his bedroom (which looks exactly like his room at Ellie and Awesome's, don't you think?), Chuck's reading when Bakula interrupts. He says he doesn't know how the Ring found him, but he does know what they wanted. He closes the blinds and fills Chuck in: The Governor watch governs the Intersect, basically protecting the brain from the electrical energy of it, which can lead to dementia or even death if not controlled. Bakula shows Chuck the inside of his watch, and says it governs his neural network, sort of like a pacemaker. He says he had to go back to his cabin to make sure one would work for the 2.0, and it will so he's going to make him one. He says Chuck's his son, and he downloaded it for the same reason he created the original: to help people. He wants to help Chuck be the man he wants to be. Chuck thanks him and they hug.
At the Buy More, Big Mike finds pouting Lester and tells him he wants to help him be the man he ought to be. Lester says it's too late, because Jeff's going to be big here and then big in Japan, and then it's over. Big Mike asks him if he didn't see the banner Jeff made that said, "Jeff?" as if it were a question. Lester says he won't bow down to the man, but Mike says he's not "the man," just "a man," who once had a dream too. He says that, for a short time, in 1988, he was the Rain in Earth, Wind, Fire, and Rain. He gives Lester a shiny gold outfit that he can't wear anymore. He tells Lester that he has the hips of a six-year-old girl. "Use them." Lester takes it and asks where he signs.
Morgan grabs Casey in the Buy More and tells him he talked to Awesome and, if Awesome would have him, he'd let him. In other words: It pains him to say it, but if there's a problem here, it's on Ellie's side. Morgan asks why he's doing this, and Casey says he gave Chuck his word Ellie would be safe. Uh, actually, you promised to shadow her, which you're not doing so great at. Morgan tells Casey that Ellie's at work and Awesome's volunteering at the animal shelter (but of course he is), so the apartment's empty. Casey heads over to check it out. He goes upstairs and then Ellie comes home, on the phone with Justin. She tells him he can come there because Awesome won't be home so it's totally safe. Justin's on his way, but Ellie hears footsteps upstairs. She asks how close he is, and Justin tells her to go to the speaker and open it. She pulls out a gun, but says she can't. Justin tells her that someone's in her house and could hurt her or her family. She puts down the phone and holds the gun as Casey sneaks down the stairs. Ellie's hiding behind a column in the room when Casey comes up. She bashes him over the head with a frying pan, then runs out, into Justin's arms. He tells her she's safe and to come with him. Casey's knocked out on the floor.
When Chuck gets ready for bed, he sees Sarah sitting seriously on the end of the bed and asks what's wrong. She tells him she's been thinking about what his dad said about the life they've chosen not being safe and he's right. So she's giving him her spy will. He asks why, and she says it's her, everything she knows, so if anything happens to her she wants him to have it. He says nothing's going to happen to her; she's not going anywhere; and neither is he. Ellie, however, might be a different story, because Justin tells her everything's good and she's saved and protected everyone and has been brave. He tells her he'll be back soon, and then leaves and locks her in the room. She doesn't know it yet, though.
Chuck's on a computer, writing his own spy will. "My name is Chuck Bartowski, and if you're reading this, that means I'm already dead. I don't know what will end up killing me. But I've chosen to be a spy and there are consequences to that." Casey wakes up on the floor and touches his face, which must be in some serious pain. "It may be my emotions that end up doing me in." Sarah sleeps in Chuck's bed. "Or a slip-up trying to protect my friends." Morgan's asleep in his own bed. "Or my family." Ellie's still sitting and waiting for Justin. "Who never wanted me to be a part of this." Bakula's working on the Governor. Justin makes a call, saying "This needs to happen now. No more waiting." Because his team was captured. In an Intersect room, we see the back of someone as he hangs up and puts his hand on the Intersect pad. It lights up and does that thing that made Chuck the Intersect, as the guy holds his hand there. We never see his face, but when it finishes up, we see the handprint monitor, which says the download was confirmed to Daniel Shaw. I'm guessing we only saw him from behind because they couldn't get him for this episode, only the one, but it seems really weird. "Or it could be the thing I never saw coming. But I know. It's coming."
week: Finale! A lot's happened this season, and now everyone's secrets are coming out. Chuck says the guy he killed is back from the dead. Someone has to choose who to protect. Casey tells Alex he's her father. The Buy More burns. And it's two hours. Oh, this is going to be good.
DeAnn, a writer and editor in Portland, Oregon, probably needs a will, even though she's not a spy. You can contact her at twopmodmars@gmail.com.
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