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This week's Chuck was all about our favorite grunter extraordinaire - one John Casey. Or, should I say, Alex Coburn? That's right, that name we heard a couple episodes back is Casey's real name, which it turns out he gave up back in 1989 when he was approached by a somewhat shady spy guru, Keller, played by the always great Robert Patrick. I kind of wanted Morgan to make some sort of terminator joke when he saw him, but unless I missed it, it didn't happen. Oh well!
Keller has re-commissioned Casey for another task, only now he works for the Ring, so when Casey steals a special drug called Laudanol (in development for use by soldiers to not feel any fear), he's really committing treason. Chuck accidentally rats him out thinking it was an inside job, so Casey is arrested. But Keller and his crew bust him out of the super top secret Level 15 lockdown of some kind of CIA headquarters.
Chuck and Sarah are convinced that Casey hasn't really changed sides and are determined to help him out. They're right, of course. They meet up with Casey and he tells them that when he was Alex Coburn, he had a fiance, and now Keller will kill her if Casey doesn't give him the Laudanol. They come up with a plan to set things right. Chuck will go and take care of Kathleen McCue, the former fiance, while Sarah will stow away with Casey while he goes to deliver the pill to Keller.
Casey and Sarah kick some ass against Keller and his crew, with Casey ultimately snapping Keller's neck! Whoa! That was pretty intense. My favorite part about that whole bit was how Casey indicated to Sarah how many men she was going to have to face - by lighting a cigar, then dropping the remaining matches on the ground with five sticking up, to indicated five guys. Clever!
Meanwhile, at Kathleen's, some of Keller's men show up. Chuck's in a panic and can't flash, so Casey (over the phone) tells him to take the Laudanol, which he had secretly stuck in Chuck's pocket. Sarah clearly doesn't want him to do this, as they had an earlier conversation about Chuck losing himself in the spy work, but Chuck takes it and kicks some butt. He almost kills a guy in exactly the same way that Casey killed Keller, but luckily Sarah shows up in time to stop him. Kathleen is safe. AND, she has a daughter. Named Alex! Casey's a father! He practically runs out of there when he sees her.
Back at Castle, Beckman has come to tell Casey that he'll get a second chance, but as a civilian. And that probably broke Casey's heart more than anything else could have, because I'm pretty sure I detected the trace of a tear in his eye. Later, Chuck tries to get him to go and meet his daughter and try that sort of life, but Casey tells Chuck he made his decision - love of his country over love. And now Chuck is going to have to make the same decision.
In our side story of the night, we've got the Devon and Ellie Doctors Without Borders dilemma, which becomes more complicated when Ellie is offered a position at USC doing something with neurology that she's always wanted. In the end, she is about to tell Devon that she'll go Doctors Without Borders, but he turns it around and tells her they can stay since this is what she's wanted for a long time. There was also a rather hilarious bit where Morgan and Devon figure out that they both know about Chuck in a roundabout way.
Overall, another solid episode. The twists and turns keep on coming! How is Casey going to become a part of the team again? Will Sarah really move on to another position in, possibly, Washington DC? How much longer can Chuck walk the line between his old life and his spy life without it feeling contrived? I guess we'll see!
Quotes:
Not a ton this week, it was a rather serious episode. I would've transcribed the whole interaction between Devon and Morgan, but you know what, just go watch it.
"Oh it's just you, Chuck. I thought you were KGB. Or maybe a ninja. Although in that case, your footsteps probably would've been quieter, wouldn't they?" - Morgan
"What is that, static?" - Chuck
"Carrots, actually." - Morgan
Chuck gives him a look
"I'm sorry, I get hungry on a stakeout." - Morgan
"Can I get a cool code name like Condor or Lady Fingers?" - Morgan
"I'm the gas company!" - Chuck
"He's the best choice I ever made." - Ellie, about Devon
Previous Episode -- Next Episode
- Chuck 4x15 "...vs. The Cat Squad"
With their engagement party looming ever so close on the horizon, Chuck wants to make sure that Sarah has some of her own friends there, and not just his. To do that, he gets in contact with the CAT Squad (Clandestine Attack Team) that Sarah used to run...
- Chuck 4x14 "...vs. The Seduction Impossible"
If anyone was actually doubting whether Sarah said yes to Chuck's proposal in the final scene of last week's episode, you can rest easy. Though I also question your sanity, because duh. Of course, now that everyone knows about the engagement,...
- ...set: Chuck 4x01 "chuck Vs. The Anniversary"
Welcome back to the spy life, Chuck fans! And, as it turns out, Chuck himself. What! Spoiler alert! In case you'd forgotten, which I actually had, Chuck had told Ellie that he was getting out of the spy life, right before finding out that his dad...
- ...set: Chuck 3x18 "chuck Versus The Subway"
After a few weeks of good-but-not-great episodes, this one really hit it out of the park. The next one, the second half of the finale, is sure to follow suit, but I'm writing this up before I watch that one, or else my brain might go mushy like Chuck's...
- ...set: Chuck 3x09 "chuck Versus The Beard"
For those who don't know, Zachary Levi, our erstwhile Chuck, made his directing debut with this episode. And what an episode to debut with! The show was running on all cylinders - lots of spy stuff, lots of Buy More stuff, and we even had some Ellie...
Lists
...Set: Chuck 3x10 "Chuck versus the Tic Tac"
This week's Chuck was all about our favorite grunter extraordinaire - one John Casey. Or, should I say, Alex Coburn? That's right, that name we heard a couple episodes back is Casey's real name, which it turns out he gave up back in 1989 when he was approached by a somewhat shady spy guru, Keller, played by the always great Robert Patrick. I kind of wanted Morgan to make some sort of terminator joke when he saw him, but unless I missed it, it didn't happen. Oh well!
Keller has re-commissioned Casey for another task, only now he works for the Ring, so when Casey steals a special drug called Laudanol (in development for use by soldiers to not feel any fear), he's really committing treason. Chuck accidentally rats him out thinking it was an inside job, so Casey is arrested. But Keller and his crew bust him out of the super top secret Level 15 lockdown of some kind of CIA headquarters.
Chuck and Sarah are convinced that Casey hasn't really changed sides and are determined to help him out. They're right, of course. They meet up with Casey and he tells them that when he was Alex Coburn, he had a fiance, and now Keller will kill her if Casey doesn't give him the Laudanol. They come up with a plan to set things right. Chuck will go and take care of Kathleen McCue, the former fiance, while Sarah will stow away with Casey while he goes to deliver the pill to Keller.Casey and Sarah kick some ass against Keller and his crew, with Casey ultimately snapping Keller's neck! Whoa! That was pretty intense. My favorite part about that whole bit was how Casey indicated to Sarah how many men she was going to have to face - by lighting a cigar, then dropping the remaining matches on the ground with five sticking up, to indicated five guys. Clever!
Meanwhile, at Kathleen's, some of Keller's men show up. Chuck's in a panic and can't flash, so Casey (over the phone) tells him to take the Laudanol, which he had secretly stuck in Chuck's pocket. Sarah clearly doesn't want him to do this, as they had an earlier conversation about Chuck losing himself in the spy work, but Chuck takes it and kicks some butt. He almost kills a guy in exactly the same way that Casey killed Keller, but luckily Sarah shows up in time to stop him. Kathleen is safe. AND, she has a daughter. Named Alex! Casey's a father! He practically runs out of there when he sees her.
Back at Castle, Beckman has come to tell Casey that he'll get a second chance, but as a civilian. And that probably broke Casey's heart more than anything else could have, because I'm pretty sure I detected the trace of a tear in his eye. Later, Chuck tries to get him to go and meet his daughter and try that sort of life, but Casey tells Chuck he made his decision - love of his country over love. And now Chuck is going to have to make the same decision.
In our side story of the night, we've got the Devon and Ellie Doctors Without Borders dilemma, which becomes more complicated when Ellie is offered a position at USC doing something with neurology that she's always wanted. In the end, she is about to tell Devon that she'll go Doctors Without Borders, but he turns it around and tells her they can stay since this is what she's wanted for a long time. There was also a rather hilarious bit where Morgan and Devon figure out that they both know about Chuck in a roundabout way.
Overall, another solid episode. The twists and turns keep on coming! How is Casey going to become a part of the team again? Will Sarah really move on to another position in, possibly, Washington DC? How much longer can Chuck walk the line between his old life and his spy life without it feeling contrived? I guess we'll see!
Quotes:
Not a ton this week, it was a rather serious episode. I would've transcribed the whole interaction between Devon and Morgan, but you know what, just go watch it.
"Oh it's just you, Chuck. I thought you were KGB. Or maybe a ninja. Although in that case, your footsteps probably would've been quieter, wouldn't they?" - Morgan
"What is that, static?" - Chuck
"Carrots, actually." - Morgan
Chuck gives him a look
"I'm sorry, I get hungry on a stakeout." - Morgan
"Can I get a cool code name like Condor or Lady Fingers?" - Morgan
"I'm the gas company!" - Chuck
"He's the best choice I ever made." - Ellie, about Devon
Previous Episode -- Next Episode
- Chuck 4x15 "...vs. The Cat Squad"
With their engagement party looming ever so close on the horizon, Chuck wants to make sure that Sarah has some of her own friends there, and not just his. To do that, he gets in contact with the CAT Squad (Clandestine Attack Team) that Sarah used to run...
- Chuck 4x14 "...vs. The Seduction Impossible"
If anyone was actually doubting whether Sarah said yes to Chuck's proposal in the final scene of last week's episode, you can rest easy. Though I also question your sanity, because duh. Of course, now that everyone knows about the engagement,...
- ...set: Chuck 4x01 "chuck Vs. The Anniversary"
Welcome back to the spy life, Chuck fans! And, as it turns out, Chuck himself. What! Spoiler alert! In case you'd forgotten, which I actually had, Chuck had told Ellie that he was getting out of the spy life, right before finding out that his dad...
- ...set: Chuck 3x18 "chuck Versus The Subway"
After a few weeks of good-but-not-great episodes, this one really hit it out of the park. The next one, the second half of the finale, is sure to follow suit, but I'm writing this up before I watch that one, or else my brain might go mushy like Chuck's...
- ...set: Chuck 3x09 "chuck Versus The Beard"
For those who don't know, Zachary Levi, our erstwhile Chuck, made his directing debut with this episode. And what an episode to debut with! The show was running on all cylinders - lots of spy stuff, lots of Buy More stuff, and we even had some Ellie...