Chuck Versus the Colonel
Encyclopedia
"Chuck Versus the Colonel" is the 21st episode of Chuck's
second season, and the 34th episode overall. It aired on April 20, 2009. Chuck
and Sarah
go on the run in an effort to locate Chuck's father
. At the Buy More, Morgan
becomes a pariah among his coworkers after Big Mike's demotion.
. Chuck and Sarah head to the coordinates of Black Rock that Chuck flashed on, but arrive only to find an abandoned drive-in theater. At Castle, Beckman promotes Casey
to Colonel and orders him to bring Chuck and Sarah in dead or alive. Meanwhile, Ted demands Stephen finish the Intersect by the next morning, or else he'll kill his family.
Unable to return home because they are AWOL, Chuck and Sarah stop to spend the night at a motel. Unknown to them, Vincent has tracked their location. Roark asks him to wait until the morning when the Intersect should be finished before dealing with them. After being interrupted by Ellie
and Devon
while searching Chuck's room for clues as to where he and Sarah might have gone, Casey tracks a call placed by Chuck to the same motel. The next morning, Chuck and Sarah wake up in each other's arms and begin kissing, but are prevented from moving on to sex when Chuck discovers Morgan took his last condom. Chuck leaves to get one and is apprehended by Casey, but Sarah disables him and cuffs him to a radiator in the motel room. As they prepare to leave, several Fulcrum operatives arrive and Chuck convinces Sarah to go back for Casey, who has already freed himself by tearing out the radiator and confronts Chuck at the car. Sarah is captured by Fulcrum but Chuck rescues her by running them down with the car. Casey takes them back into custody.
Stephen is tracking them and as they pass the drive-in again, he leaves Chuck a message (Tron
12AM) on a billboard, but Casey refuses to turn back and returns them to Castle where they are placed in lockdown. Casey informs Beckman of the message, and she agrees to look into it. Casey's home alarm is tripped by Devon, and he hurries back to deal with him. Meanwhile, Chuck and Sarah are about to kiss again when a short blackout (see below) disables the security and allows them to escape. They see Devon trapped in Casey's apartment on one of the monitors when power is restored and rush back home as well.
Chuck and Sarah stop Casey from killing Devon and leave him tied up, while they return to the drive-in to rescue Stephen. Beckman advises Casey that there's not enough time to rescue Stephen, so she has instead decided to order an air strike to destroy the facility to prevent Fulcrum from gaining the Intersect. Casey escapes and goes after the rest of his team. He joins Sarah in freeing Stephen before the air strike arrives, however they are captured by Vincent. Chuck was told to stay in the car, but when a large group of Fulcrum agents arrive he realizes that Roark is going to use the completed Intersect to build an army, so he leaves to stop it. He encounters Roark, who brings all the prisoners into the projection booth. Chuck warns Sarah and Casey to close their eyes, but Stephen tells Chuck to leave his open. He does as his father instructs as Stephen had reprogrammed the Intersect to remove the Intersect data, not implant it.
Before they can be killed, Air Force F-16s arrive and begin attack runs on the base. The Fulcrum agents scatter and the team escapes, taking the Intersect with them. Back at Castle, Beckman commends Casey on rescuing Stephen, recovering the Intersect, and destroying Fulcrum's operation, but he deflects her praise and covers for Sarah by saying it was her idea to pretend going rogue to flush out Fulcrum. Beckman clears Sarah of wrongdoing, and announces their operation is over and Chuck is free to live out his life. Chuck tries to thank her but she cuts the transmission.
The episode ends with a battered Ted Roark hitching a ride on a semi, headed for Ellie's wedding.
Morgan is ordered to fire them, which he tries to stop by asking the two to apologize, which they refuse to do. Anna confronts Morgan why he takes their abuse, and chides him about not having any dreams outside the Buy More. Morgan admits he wants to be a Benihana
chef. Emmett continues to pressure Morgan to fire Jeff and Lester, until finally Morgan decides to do the honorable thing. He comes to Big Mike and asks him to take care of his mother, then in full view of everyone strips off his assistant manager's shirt and quits. He asks Anna to come with him to Hawaii while he follows his dream to train as a chef.
He and Anna leave the store to thunderous applause of all his coworkers.
and other disturbing equipment. Jeff expresses professional admiration for Casey as a stalker.
Growing more concerned, Devon uses Casey's keys to break into his apartment, where he sees Casey's surveillance equipment, including the camera in Chuck's room. He tries to access Casey's computer but trips an alarm which locks him in. Casey, alerted to his intrusion, returns to his apartment. Devon confronts him about his intrusion into Chuck's privacy, and defends himself when Casey tries to kill him. Casey gets back to his feet, but before he can finish Devon off is ambushed by Sarah and Chuck. Devon insists on calling the police, but now that he's seen so much, Chuck reluctantly tells him the truth that he is a high-profile government asset, and Sarah and Casey are his handlers. Chuck asks for Devon to "be awesome" and cover for him with Ellie. Devon is stunned, but agrees to help.
Later, when Ellie comes home and asks him about Chuck, Devon begins to panic. Ellie mistakes this as wedding jitters and orders him to remain focused. He eventually calms down as they prepare to leave for their rehearsal dinner, and assures her that Chuck loves her and was just shaken up by their father leaving again. He asks her to trust Chuck, who finally returns home and apologizes, then brings Stephen in as their wedding present.
As they all head out for the dinner, Chuck stops by Casey's apartment and asks him to come with them. Casey initially refuses, saying his mission is over, but Chuck tells him he's asking as a friend. Casey closes the door, but as Chuck turns to leave he comes back out with several cigars in-hand. Sarah then arrives as well and Casey leaves them to talk. Chuck is unable to believe that it is real, but Sarah assures him it is as she takes him by the hand.
The most significant development was the removal of the Intersect from Chuck's head, which dates to the beginning of the first season.
scored the episode a 9.5 out of 10, a series high alongside "Chuck Versus Santa Claus
", Season 3
's "Chuck Versus the Beard
" and "Chuck Versus the Subway
", and Season 4
's "Chuck Versus the Cliffhanger
". Goldman cited as the episode's only flaw the ease with which Casey went back on his refusal to help Chuck and Sarah and then cover for Sarah's desertion at the end of the episode. TV Squad praised the balance of the episode's action, humor, pop culture references and romantic subplots, and particularly cited the use of the drive-in theater as a secret base. Alan Sepinwall cited the episode as all the reasons he enjoys watching Chuck.
Chuck (TV series)
Chuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central...
second season, and the 34th episode overall. It aired on April 20, 2009. Chuck
Chuck Bartowski
Charles Irving "Chuck" Bartowski is the main and titular character of the American fiction television show Chuck on NBC. He is portrayed by Zachary Levi.-Character profile:...
and Sarah
Sarah Walker (Chuck)
Sarah Lisa Bartowski is the alias of one of the main characters of the fictional television show Chuck on NBC. She is portrayed by Yvonne Strahovski and is one of two agents assigned by the NSA and CIA to protect Chuck Bartowski after he unwittingly downloads the secret government computer known...
go on the run in an effort to locate Chuck's father
Stephen J. Bartowski
Stephen J. Bartowski is a recurring character on the television series Chuck portrayed by actor Scott Bakula. Stephen is the estranged father of Chuck and Ellie Bartowski, and under the government codename "Orion" was the chief designer of the Intersect....
. At the Buy More, Morgan
Morgan Grimes
Morgan Guillermo Grimes is a major character on the television series Chuck. He is portrayed by actor Joshua Gomez, and is the best friend of Chuck Bartowski....
becomes a pariah among his coworkers after Big Mike's demotion.
Main plot
The episode begins the morning after the previous episodeChuck Versus the First Kill
"Chuck Versus the First Kill" aired on April 13, 2009, the 20th episode of the second season, and 33rd overall. Chuck strikes a deal with his ex-girlfriend Jill to have her released from prison if she cooperates with his search for his father...
. Chuck and Sarah head to the coordinates of Black Rock that Chuck flashed on, but arrive only to find an abandoned drive-in theater. At Castle, Beckman promotes Casey
John Casey (Chuck)
Colonel John Casey is portrayed by actor Adam Baldwin on the television show Chuck on NBC. Prior to the episode "Chuck Versus the Tic Tac," he was partnered with CIA agent Sarah Walker to protect Chuck Bartowski....
to Colonel and orders him to bring Chuck and Sarah in dead or alive. Meanwhile, Ted demands Stephen finish the Intersect by the next morning, or else he'll kill his family.
Unable to return home because they are AWOL, Chuck and Sarah stop to spend the night at a motel. Unknown to them, Vincent has tracked their location. Roark asks him to wait until the morning when the Intersect should be finished before dealing with them. After being interrupted by Ellie
Ellie Bartowski
Eleanor Faye "Ellie" Bartowski Woodcomb, M.D., Ph.D., is the older sister of title character Chuck Bartowski on the television series Chuck. She is portrayed by actress Sarah Lancaster.-Biography:...
and Devon
Captain Awesome
Devon Christian Woodcomb, M.D., often referred to as Captain Awesome or simply Awesome, is a character on the TV series Chuck, and is portrayed by the actor Ryan McPartlin. The character's nickname comes from Chuck's assertion that "everything he does is awesome," and his frequent use of the word...
while searching Chuck's room for clues as to where he and Sarah might have gone, Casey tracks a call placed by Chuck to the same motel. The next morning, Chuck and Sarah wake up in each other's arms and begin kissing, but are prevented from moving on to sex when Chuck discovers Morgan took his last condom. Chuck leaves to get one and is apprehended by Casey, but Sarah disables him and cuffs him to a radiator in the motel room. As they prepare to leave, several Fulcrum operatives arrive and Chuck convinces Sarah to go back for Casey, who has already freed himself by tearing out the radiator and confronts Chuck at the car. Sarah is captured by Fulcrum but Chuck rescues her by running them down with the car. Casey takes them back into custody.
Stephen is tracking them and as they pass the drive-in again, he leaves Chuck a message (Tron
Tron (film)
Tron is a 1982 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Lisberger, and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It stars Jeff Bridges as the protagonist Kevin Flynn; Bruce Boxleitner in a dual role as security program Tron and Tron's "User", computer programmer Alan Bradley; Cindy...
12AM) on a billboard, but Casey refuses to turn back and returns them to Castle where they are placed in lockdown. Casey informs Beckman of the message, and she agrees to look into it. Casey's home alarm is tripped by Devon, and he hurries back to deal with him. Meanwhile, Chuck and Sarah are about to kiss again when a short blackout (see below) disables the security and allows them to escape. They see Devon trapped in Casey's apartment on one of the monitors when power is restored and rush back home as well.
Chuck and Sarah stop Casey from killing Devon and leave him tied up, while they return to the drive-in to rescue Stephen. Beckman advises Casey that there's not enough time to rescue Stephen, so she has instead decided to order an air strike to destroy the facility to prevent Fulcrum from gaining the Intersect. Casey escapes and goes after the rest of his team. He joins Sarah in freeing Stephen before the air strike arrives, however they are captured by Vincent. Chuck was told to stay in the car, but when a large group of Fulcrum agents arrive he realizes that Roark is going to use the completed Intersect to build an army, so he leaves to stop it. He encounters Roark, who brings all the prisoners into the projection booth. Chuck warns Sarah and Casey to close their eyes, but Stephen tells Chuck to leave his open. He does as his father instructs as Stephen had reprogrammed the Intersect to remove the Intersect data, not implant it.
Before they can be killed, Air Force F-16s arrive and begin attack runs on the base. The Fulcrum agents scatter and the team escapes, taking the Intersect with them. Back at Castle, Beckman commends Casey on rescuing Stephen, recovering the Intersect, and destroying Fulcrum's operation, but he deflects her praise and covers for Sarah by saying it was her idea to pretend going rogue to flush out Fulcrum. Beckman clears Sarah of wrongdoing, and announces their operation is over and Chuck is free to live out his life. Chuck tries to thank her but she cuts the transmission.
The episode ends with a battered Ted Roark hitching a ride on a semi, headed for Ellie's wedding.
Buy More
Morgan is on the outs with the rest of his coworkers after Big Mike was removed as store manager by Emmett, who wants to make Morgan his assistant manager. Morgan initially refuses and tries to make things up to Big Mike. Eventually he accepts the promotion from Emmett and tries to use it to control Emmett's power plays by protecting Big Mike and the rest of the employees, however Emmett continues to force Mike into doing menial tasks around the store. After he's ordered to install new registers, Jeff and Lester set off a bomb they found in Casey's locker inside a generator outside the store, which causes a temporary blackout throughout Burbank.Morgan is ordered to fire them, which he tries to stop by asking the two to apologize, which they refuse to do. Anna confronts Morgan why he takes their abuse, and chides him about not having any dreams outside the Buy More. Morgan admits he wants to be a Benihana
Benihana
Benihana can refer to:*Benihana, Benihana's Hibachi Restaurant*Benihana * Benihana, the Japanese word for safflower...
chef. Emmett continues to pressure Morgan to fire Jeff and Lester, until finally Morgan decides to do the honorable thing. He comes to Big Mike and asks him to take care of his mother, then in full view of everyone strips off his assistant manager's shirt and quits. He asks Anna to come with him to Hawaii while he follows his dream to train as a chef.
He and Anna leave the store to thunderous applause of all his coworkers.
Family
Devon interrupts Casey's search of Chuck's room, (see above) but grows suspicious about his behavior and Chuck's disappearance. He heads to the Buy More to ask Jeff and Lester if they've seen Chuck, and about Casey. The two break into Casey's locker and reveal that Casey has keys to Chuck's house and keeps logs of his doings at the store, as well as chloroformChloroform
Chloroform is an organic compound with formula CHCl3. It is one of the four chloromethanes. The colorless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid is a trihalomethane, and is considered somewhat hazardous...
and other disturbing equipment. Jeff expresses professional admiration for Casey as a stalker.
Growing more concerned, Devon uses Casey's keys to break into his apartment, where he sees Casey's surveillance equipment, including the camera in Chuck's room. He tries to access Casey's computer but trips an alarm which locks him in. Casey, alerted to his intrusion, returns to his apartment. Devon confronts him about his intrusion into Chuck's privacy, and defends himself when Casey tries to kill him. Casey gets back to his feet, but before he can finish Devon off is ambushed by Sarah and Chuck. Devon insists on calling the police, but now that he's seen so much, Chuck reluctantly tells him the truth that he is a high-profile government asset, and Sarah and Casey are his handlers. Chuck asks for Devon to "be awesome" and cover for him with Ellie. Devon is stunned, but agrees to help.
Later, when Ellie comes home and asks him about Chuck, Devon begins to panic. Ellie mistakes this as wedding jitters and orders him to remain focused. He eventually calms down as they prepare to leave for their rehearsal dinner, and assures her that Chuck loves her and was just shaken up by their father leaving again. He asks her to trust Chuck, who finally returns home and apologizes, then brings Stephen in as their wedding present.
As they all head out for the dinner, Chuck stops by Casey's apartment and asks him to come with them. Casey initially refuses, saying his mission is over, but Chuck tells him he's asking as a friend. Casey closes the door, but as Chuck turns to leave he comes back out with several cigars in-hand. Sarah then arrives as well and Casey leaves them to talk. Chuck is unable to believe that it is real, but Sarah assures him it is as she takes him by the hand.
Production
"Chuck Versus the Colonel" addresses several major and minor subplots that have progressed throughout the second season. The season's main arc concerning the Fulcrum Intersect was resolved with the team successfully rescuing Stephen Bartowski and capturing the new Intersect computer. Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz had previously indicated the episode would be a turning point in Chuck and Sarah's relationship, furthered by dialog throughout the episode following them nearly having sex in the first part of the episode. Devon also discovered the truth of Chuck's secret life, first hinted at by comments made by Ryan McPartlin.The most significant development was the removal of the Intersect from Chuck's head, which dates to the beginning of the first season.
Production details
- Several references are made to previous episodes. Casey shooting Chuck's picture in his "rogues gallery" is in reference to "Chuck Versus the First Date" (in which he missed), and Chuck telling Devon not to freak out before revealing his role in government work is a reference to the pilotChuck Versus the Intersect"Chuck Versus the Intersect" is the pilot episode of the American action-comedy television series Chuck. The episode was directed by McG and written by series co-creators Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak...
. - This is the first appearance of the Herder since it was destroyed in "Chuck Versus the Best Friend." The episode did not establish if this car shared the same government modifications, or if it was one of the store's other vehicles.
- Stephen Bartowski says "Aces, Charles," when Chuck tracks him to the drive-in, referencing the quote from "Chuck Versus the Intersect."
- Tron once again appears as a recurring theme, when Stephen uses this as a code to attract Chuck's attention.
Reception
"Chuck Versus the Colonel" has met with overwhelmingly positive reviews. Eric Goldman of IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
scored the episode a 9.5 out of 10, a series high alongside "Chuck Versus Santa Claus
Chuck Versus Santa Claus
"Chuck Versus Santa Claus" is the eleventh episode of the second season of Chuck, and the 24th overall episode of the series. The episode was directed by Robert Duncan McNeill and written by Scott Rosenbaum. It originally aired December 15, 2008....
", Season 3
Chuck (season 3)
The third season of Chuck was announced on May 17, 2009 with 13 episodes, with NBC reserving the option of nine more episodes. Production for the third season began on August 6, 2009. On October 28, 2009, NBC added 6 more episodes to the third season which brings the season total to 19...
's "Chuck Versus the Beard
Chuck Versus the Beard
"Chuck Versus the Beard" is a third season episode of the television series Chuck. It originally aired March 8, 2010, and was the television directorial debut of series star Zachary Levi...
" and "Chuck Versus the Subway
Chuck Versus the Subway
"Chuck Versus the Subway" is the 18th episode of the third season of Chuck. It originally aired on May 24, 2010 in a special two-hour block with "Chuck Versus the Ring: Part II." As the Intersect continues to malfunction Stephen hurries to complete the Governor for his son...
", and Season 4
Chuck (season 4)
The fourth season of Chuck was announced on May 13, 2010. Having initially ordered 13 episodes, NBC ordered an additional 11 on October 19, 2010 for a total of 24 episodes....
's "Chuck Versus the Cliffhanger
Chuck Versus the Cliffhanger
"Chuck Versus the Cliffhanger" is the fourth season finale of the American NBC action-comedy television series Chuck. Aired on May 16, 2011, it is the season's 24th episode, and the 78th overall episode of the series. The episode was directed by Robert Duncan McNeill and written by series...
". Goldman cited as the episode's only flaw the ease with which Casey went back on his refusal to help Chuck and Sarah and then cover for Sarah's desertion at the end of the episode. TV Squad praised the balance of the episode's action, humor, pop culture references and romantic subplots, and particularly cited the use of the drive-in theater as a secret base. Alan Sepinwall cited the episode as all the reasons he enjoys watching Chuck.