Chuck and Sarah are in the thick of their wedding planning, which means paying a lady named Daphne to do basically everything and signing over one fat, $23,000 check for all of it. Unfortunately, though, she's pulling a con and makes off with their money, leaving Sarah only one choice: Go to her dad, the ultimate con man (whom she hasn't told about or invited the wedding, remember). She does, but he doesn't know Daphne, though he does give her the confidence to take matters into her own hands. She heads back to Castle and gets Chuck to fake-flash on Daphne so the CIA will target her. Unfortunately, Chuck's fake-flash is a little too effective and they end up getting every government agency on Daphne's tail. Still, Chuck and Sarah get to her first, but barely. When General Redhead finds out what they've done, they're suspended. At which moment, Chuck has a real flash on one of Daphne's clients' wedding guest lists: the brothers Klug and a weapon called the Zephyr. The CIA won't listen to them at this point, natch.
Fortunately, Sarah's dad has stolen her license and showed up to pay her a visit. He has a chat with Awesome, who almost spills the beans about the wedding until he realizes Sarah hasn't told her pops. When Sarah fills her dad in on what's going on with the CIA and the bad guys, he tells her they can just stage the wedding as a con and catch the Klugs. They do it, with Morgan's help, and ultimately Casey's (who shows up to stop them, but joins in the fun). When they get the Zephyr and the Klugs, General Redhead forgives Chuck and Sarah and their suspension's over. Good thing it didn't even last an episode. What on earth would they do suspended? Oh, right, they'd keep on catching bad guys off the grid, without CIA help. Sarah's dad leaves once again without saying goodbye (not his strong suit), but this time he leaves the piggy bank Sarah gave him so many years ago and a sweet note about how he's added to it and it should contain plenty of money to pay for their wedding. Awww.
Also, Alex and Morgan decide it's time for Casey to reveal himself as living to Alex's mom, but he chickens out. Too late, though, since she spots him at the Buy More. When she follows him to the fake wedding, she thinks he's just a part-time security guard and part-time Buy More associate. She's not impressed, and says he has to tell Alex the truth, since she seems to think he's some kind of hero. He says he'd like to tell everyone the truth. She leaves, but sits in the parking garage (thinking it all over, I guess) and ends up witnessing the takedown of the Klugs, with Casey flashing his NSA badge in the end. They have a heart-to-heart later about how Casey has everything he wants now. Except, we're guessing, for one thing...
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Before I get started, I want to apologize for the delay on this Chuck weecap. I have a cold, and have been lost in a fog of sickness and NyQuil. While I know it might seem like I often write in a foggy haze, I do prefer to be a bit more clear-headed. That said? Still sick and foggy, but writing anyway. If I write anything stupid, blame the cold (I'm not sure what to blame for all the stupid things I've written when I wasn't sick, but I'll think of something). And Chuck. Speaking of our dear Chuckles, there are a few things he wants us to know: Casey's former fiancee thinks he's dead, but he and his daughter Alex decide to tell her he's alive. Sarah's dad is Gary Cole, a con man.
Which brings us to now. Or, actually, the past, when a perfectly cast Young Sarah knocks on a door and gives the hard sell to the lady who answers. She sells her some sort of scout cookies that we know don't really exist, collects $84, and promises the cookies will be here in a month. Gary Cole's waiting in the car, and when Sarah tells him about her haul, he says they made over two grand today. He reminds her that once she knows all the cons... She finishes, "I'll never be a sucker." He's so proud of her work and her con knowledge that he gives her a hundred bucks. She doesn't know what to do with it, so he asks what she'd want if she could have anything. She'd like an adventure with him somewhere, so he tells her to save up and someday they'll do that. Then he drops her off at her grandma's house and they say their goodbyes: His is "See you later, alligator" and hers is "In a while, crocodile."
In the present, Sarah and Chuck are meeting with their snooty wedding planner, who asks about her father. Sarah ignores her, then tells her the invite list looks great without him on it, thanks. The planner asks Chuck and Sarah if they're ready to pull the trigger, or do they need a little more time. They're ready, so they write her a check for $26,230. My, what a precise number. Later, Chuck presents Morgan with a wedding-plan booklet that's full of fancy engagement pictures and information about the wedding. Morgan thinks the red and white are going to make Casey decline, since it screams "socialist." Sarah walks up then and he asks her if their wedding colors remind her of socialism. Sarah: "In a good way?" Chuck: "Is there a good way?" They decide to call their wedding planner, Daphne, to see what she thinks. Unfortunately, though, her number's been disconnected. And her office doesn't exist. Their check's been cashed and their account is emptied. Sarah's understandably angry at herself at being a sucker. She growls that Daphne Peralta chose the wrong couple to con. Cake opening.
Castle. Sarah and Chuck are using CIA computers to find Daphne, but they can't find anything on her. Chuck suggests asking General Redhead for help, but Sarah doesn't think that will go over well. Chuck tells Sarah she's taking this pretty hard, and Chuck says of course; she was raised by a con man and now she got taken. Which gives her an idea. Cut to sunny Miami, where Gary Cole's selling some guys a parking lot when Sarah interrupts his latest con. Gary Cole can't believe his daughter got conned, and also can't believe she's still with Chuck (whom he calls "the Schnook"), though she lies that they were "throwing a party." Oh, and he knows she's in the CIA, because she stole her wallet and saw her federal ID. He's surprised and a little proud. She says she can't get any further since he doesn't know who Daphne is. He reminds her that "con" means "confidence" and she should "fake it till you make it." She gets up to leave, but he wants to know what's happened to make her go from con to mark. But she leaves him with an "In a while, crocodile."
Buy More. Morgan and Alex accost Casey, because they're ready for Alex's mom to find out he's still alive. He protests, saying it's not that he's not ready, but he doesn't want her to come in here and see him working at the Buy More. They agree, and head out, but her mom's on the way in. They lead her quickly away, but not before she sees Casey on her way out the door.
Castle. Sarah's decided Chuck needs to fake a flash on Daphne so General Redhead will give them permission to search for her. He doesn't like it, but agrees, then fake-flashes. Sarah tells him that's not what it looks like (and it really isn't), so she does an example, which looks as ridiculous as Chuck's actual flashes, so he pouts off. She follows after him, saying she thought that was good.
Gary Cole's snooping around Sarah and Chuck's apartment with the license he took from her wallet, apparently. He looks in and realizes she lives with "the Schnook." Awesome stops him and says he's in Neighborhood Watch territory here. Gary Cole introduces himself as Sarah's dad. Since she's not here, he decides to hang out with Awesome, who's on baby duty.
Castle. Chuck and Sarah do a very scripted fake-flash moment, but General Redhead is somehow dumb enough to fall for it. Chuck fakes connections to "dangerous people." He comes up with a name of someone they just took down, then sees a name in the newspaper -- Artur Nobokov -- so he says it. General Redhead brings a bunch of other generals in on the call, since Nobokov bombed three embassies last week. So she wants Daphne to be the priority, and she wants her captured. Dead or alive. Uh-oh. After the generals are gone, Sarah can't believe Chuck doesn't know who Artur Nobokov is, considering he works for the CIA. Chuck says it's not his fault, since he's been planning a wedding. Sarah says it won't be long until this hunt for Daphne connects back to them. Chuck tells her the good news: They now have access to all government databases. They sit down to search for Daphne.
Gary Cole's hanging out with Awesome and Clara, when Awesome asks if he's here for the big day. Gary Cole asks what big day, and Awesome lies (not well; this is Awesome, after all) that every day is a big day to him, since he's kind of a go-getter. They make small talk about their daughters, and Gary Cole notices the wedding planning book on the table. He doesn't tell Awesome, but asks if he can stick around. Awesome texts Chuck, who asks Sarah if it would surprise her to find out her dad's at Ellie and Awesome's? She's a little surprised, but still doesn't want to tell him and wants to focus on Daphne instead.
They find her boarding their latest product placement: a Super Shuttle. Chuck even tells Sarah it's "reliable airport transport." They reroute the shuttle to pick up a disguised Chuck. Sarah darkens the satellites so the other government types can't find her and gives Chuck a little time to get her out of that shuttle. Casey and his men are armed and ready to find her, so General Redhead tells him they're getting their satellites back up. In the shuttle, Chuck handcuffs himself to Daphne and tells her he's with the CIA. She starts shrieking that he's her ex, a stalker, and he exposed himself to her. Everyone freaks out, but the driver stays calm, and asks who's flying Southwest. With the satellites back up, General Redhead finds Daphne somehow. Casey thinks Super Shuttle was a good cover; he never would have considered it. Back in the shuttle, Chuck wants the driver to stop, but he says he has to get everyone to the airport on time. Chuck threatens to expose himself to everyone in the vehicle, so the driver lets them out.
Sarah catches them on the side of the road. She says the CIA's on the way and they have to move fast. Daphne says she's calling their bluff on their little "government con." Which is when Casey's team shows up and nets her. Chuck: "We're in really big trouble." Sarah agrees. Back at Castle, General Redhead -- who's been fully informed by this point -- lectures Chuck and Sarah about what they've done. Sarah takes full responsibility, but General Redhead says they're both to blame, and she's just thankful Daphne isn't going to press charges. Chuck shows her Daphne's wedding-planning book, with all the people she's conned. Then he flashes on some names on one of the wedding guest lists. But, like the boy who cried wolf, Chuck's word isn't so good anymore. He tells her that they're Hungarians with a bunch of intel on a portable device called the Zephyr. But Chuck and Sarah are suspended and General Redhead says they have to earn back the trust of the U.S. government, which might take awhile. But we know this show, so it obviously won't.
Back in the past, Young Sarah is playing a shell game with her stuffed animals. She tells them that the secret is to keep the ball in your pocket. Because "once you know all the cons, you'll never be a sucker." Then she overhears her grandma arguing with her dad, telling him to go away because Sarah deserves better. She won't even let him say goodbye. So, as he gets in his car to leave, Sarah jumps in with him and says she doesn't want to live with Grandma anymore, plus she wants him to have the money she's been saving in her piggy bank. She tells him they don't need that money to have an adventure together, and he agrees: "All we need is you and me." They drive away together. In the present, Sarah's sitting sadly on the couch at her place, and her dad's pouring her a drink. He asks her what's wrong, and she says she shouldn't discuss work with him, but then she does anyway. She explains that the Klug brothers are never in one place at the same time and they always carry this device, the Zephyr, and they're supposed to be at a wedding reception but now Sarah's suspended and can't play, boo! Plus, she says, there won't be a wedding reception, because it was one of Daphne's cons. He asks if they can make the reception happen, which she thinks will be difficult without CIA resources. But he's confident: "Darlin', you got me." Aw.
Later, Gary Cole's set up a screen for Chuck, Morgan, and Sarah in Chuck and Sarah's apartment. He tells them he knows they're used to high-tech resources, but he learned everything he knows in the '80s, when VCRs and roller-blades were cutting edge. Morgan thanks them for including him on this, since he's always wanted to pull a con. Gary Cole says the ballroom was booked months in advance for a bat mitzvah, but the reception is an hour and a half earlier. Cut to Sarah pretending to be Daphne, bat mitzvah organizer. She tells the ballroom folks that she was promised this reception hall for two hours before the event to get it ready for the Hungarian-wedding-themed bat mitzvah. They cheaply put the whole reception together (fake cake with real frosting, etc.). What I wonder, though, is how the wedding will actually occur in order to get folks to the reception, which occurs after it. I guess that doesn't matter to this show. Anyway, Casey shows up right as they're finishing, and tries to stop them from this. But Sarah convinces him the Klugs and the Zephyr device are very real, so he asks what he can do to help. Gary Cole tells "Cop Face" that he has a job for him.
The party's in full swing later, with Casey as security guard, Chuck on stage acting as DJ, and Sarah and Gary Cole guests at the party. Chuck hasn't seen the Klugs yet, so Sarah tells him to keep stalling. To Chuck that means play a slow song. When it starts, Gary Cole invites Sarah to dance. He tells her it might be his only chance to dance with her at a wedding. She looks at Chuck, who obviously set this up on purpose, and then tells her dad she and Chuck are getting married. He knows, of course. She apologizes for not inviting him, but he says it's okay since he's never been good at sticking around. He does wonder, though, if settling down is what she wants, since he thought she'd always want adventure. She says she thought she wanted that, too, but she found a home here, and she's happy. With that conversation all wrapped up, the Klug's walk in. Casey spots them first and lets everyone else know.
Sarah's up with the first Klug, who's at the bar. She approaches him and pretends to be Daphne again, and thanks him for sponsoring the open bar. He tells her this is a mistake, so she asks him to come to the back to sort this out. He does, and she knocks him out. Morgan leads the second Klug, with wine spilled on his chest, back with promises of getting the stain out. He sees his knocked-out brother and draws a gun on Morgan, but Sarah knocks him out, too, from behind. Casey's on the third Klug until he sees... Alex's mom? He asks for someone to cover for him and he tries to leave. Gary Cole takes over, but Alex's mom finds Casey in the hall. She calls him "Alex," and he calls her "Kath," and says he didn't want it to happen this way. She says she followed him from the Buy More, and wonders how he's alive since they had his funeral. She asks if he just left her for the Buy More and a part-time security guard gig. Gary Cole pretends to know the third Klug and invites him to drink a toast. Chuck radios to Casey that they've neutralized the Klugs and need to get out of here. Casey says he can't talk to Kath about this right now, and she needs to leave. Kath says she talked to Alex, who already knew he was alive, but thinks he's some kind of hero or something working for the government. She says Alex really wanted to believe, and she guesses she did, too. Chuck radios into Casey's ear again, hurrying him up, so Casey tells Kath she should go. She tearily asks him to tell Alex the truth, which he owes her. He says he doesn't want to lie to anyone. "Then don't." She walks away.
The father of the bride approaches Morgan, still serving appetizers on the dance floor for some reason, and asks where the DJ went. Morgan radios to the gang in the back that people are getting antsy, and the father of the bride wants to cut the cake. But, in the back, they can't find the Zephyr. Chuck's confused, since one of them keeps it on him at all times. Gary Cole a-ha's: "It's a shell game!" Sarah agrees that the Klugs are just distractions, which they didn't know because they'd never been in the same place at the same time. But someone else here must have the Zephyr, because the ball's always close in the shell game. And, you know, bad guys totally follow a con's rules of "shell game."
Back at the reception, Morgan cringes as the groom cuts the cake. The father of the bride asks him what's going on, since Morgan clearly knew they were about to cut into a Styrofoam cake. He asks who he works for, and Morgan lies, "Daphne Peralta." Father of the bride pulls a gun on him discreetly, because you always carry a gun to your daughter's wedding, of course, in case the wedding planner is a fraud. Morgan speaks loudly into his mic or whatever dispatches back to the gang in the back, alerting them to the gun and the "father of the bride." Chuck asks Morgan where he's taking him, and Morgan manages, "Oh! What a lovely parking garage!" Morgan tells the father of the bride he's nobody, so there's no consequence for letting him go. The father of the bride says the same should go for killing him. Chuck, Sarah and Casey come in with guns and tell the father of the bride he's under arrest. Father of the bride puts the gun on Morgan's neck and doesn't let him go. Morgan and Casey say hi to each other, and Morgan apologizes. The father of the bride says Casey won't risk his partner's life by pulling the trigger.
Which is when Gary Cole comes in and tells the father of the bride he couldn't be more wrong, "my friend. Can I call you friend?" Chuck asks Sarah what her father's doing, and she asks him to give him time. Gary Cole goes on that Casey will pull the trigger, and he won't miss. Then he says he has a daughter, too, and based on this situation he thinks the father of the bride probably isn't the best father in the world. "Join the club. I guess the only thing we can hope for is that someday our little girls might be happy despite us. And yours is. She's upstairs right now in her white dress. And here you are, about to take a bullet in the head. So, do one thing for her, friend. Put the gun down." Sarah's clearly touched, but still has her gun drawn. Father of the bride puts the gun down, and Casey starts to handcuff him. Sarah smiles at her dad, who gives her a knowing wink. And cop cars show up, obviously called by someone who saw or heard the commotion. Casey shows them his badge, and says "Colonel John Casey, NSA." Which is when we see that Kath's nearby in a car, watching him reveal himself as a hero. He notices her, too, and looks a little wistful and a little relieved, which is a lot of emotion for Casey to display.
Castle. General Redhead is lecturing Chuck and Sarah again about their unprofessional and unacceptable behavior regarding the wedding planner. They both apologize, and Chuck swears never to fake a flash again. She adds that her superiors are quite impressed, however, that they obtained the Zephyr device (which I guess was on the father of the bride). Though she does wonder how they accomplished that without any CIA resources. They start to explain, but she doesn't want to know. She welcomes them back, and then dismisses them. She shuts down, and they agree that went better than expected.
Later, Gary Cole's packing up at Chuck and Sarah's. Chuck asks if he's leaving already, and he is because he's going to pull a con on some Alabama company looking into orange futures. Chuck hopes he'll stay until Sarah's home, but Gary Cole says they've never been great at goodbyes. So Chuck tries again, saying he knows Sarah would never say it, but it would mean the world to her if he'd come to their wedding and walk her down the aisle. Gary Cole says Chuck should follow Sarah's lead, since she knows him very well. He says he wishes them both the best, but won't be able to make the wedding. Chuck asks what he means; he's her dad. Gary Cole says he's always been a better con man than a father, and he told himself he wouldn't make any promises to Sarah that he can't keep. "She's had her heart broken too many times by me. I just don't want to do it again." Chuck asks him to at least stay for dinner, and Gary Cole relents with a sigh.
Kath's at Casey's. He apologizes, and says this is all his fault. She says she just never thought she'd see him again. He's rubbing his second finger over his first, and Kath says Alex does that, too, when she's nervous. Casey says he never noticed. Then she says this will be easier for Alex, now that she knows. Casey says he didn't just do it for her. Kath breathes deeply and says, "Look at you. You're a soldier. You're a hero. You have everything you've ever wanted." Casey doesn't say anything, but we all know what he's thinking (and a lesser show would have gone ahead and said it, right?).
Sarah's in the kitchen, making a drink, when Chuck comes home with groceries. He tells her that a courthouse wedding sounds romantic, "or at least within our new budget." He says he got all the ingredients for dinner with her dad; where is he? Sarah says he's gone, so Chuck asks if he told Sarah. She says he didn't have to. This is what he does: He leaves. "Once you know all the cons, you can never be a sucker." They smile at each other sweetly and a little sadly, and hug. Which is when we cut back to the past, with Gary Cole returning Sarah to her grandma's. She's asleep in the car, and he picks her up and carries her inside and puts her to bed without waking her. He keeps the piggy bank, though. He gives her a "See you later, alligator."
Back in the present, Sarah goes into their bedroom to get a blanket, but notices the piggy bank -- which still has a worn sticky note on the side that says "Adventures with Dad" -- on their bed. She looks surprised and touched as she picks it up. Then she reads the letter lying to it, which says, "You gave this to me a long time ago, and I want you to know: I never spent a dime of it. I only ever added to it. It should more than cover the cost of your wedding to the Schnook. I hope now you can have all the adventures you ever wanted, with a man far better than me." She tearfully opens it and pulls out rolls and rolls of hundred-dollar bills. Then she lays down to the money and looks happily at the piggy bank. Okay, that was sweet, but I do actually want him to come to the wedding. I mean, we can't have Bakula there, so we should at least get Gary Cole. No new Chuck week. See you on May 2.
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DeAnn, a writer and editor in Portland, Oregon, doesn't know the cons and is often a sucker. You can contact her at twopmodmars@gmail.com.