Ellie, in tears, calls Chuck via satellite phone. Getting his voicemail, she weepily tells him that Devon is doing great and that the people love him. They've even given him a Bantu name
that translates, roughly, into "Doctor Super Fantastic White Person." She, however, is very tired, and she doesn't think she made a good decision to come to Africa. She would just love to hear her brother's voice, and asks Chuck to call her back. Justin overhears the end of Ellie's call, and tells her that if she ever needs to talk, she can with him. She says thanks, but no thanks, until she breaks down. Ellie tells Justin that she just doesn't think she's built for this work. Justin reassures her that she is; he's seen her with patients, and she's a natural. Yes, the surroundings take some getting used to, but she is doing a lot of good work. Ellie smiles, and thanks him for his words.
The Turners are relaxing in their hotel room, enjoying the best Manhattan cherries in the world. Craig mentions how the naive young agents are obviously in love, but have no future in the CIA as a result. Laura asks if they are still in love if they've survived thirty years in the Agency. Craig insists they are, but Laura counters with his flirtations with the woman earlier at Otto's party. They bicker until there is a knock at the door. Craig peeks his head out into the hallway and sees a Manhattan with a note card. While the Turners are distracted by the door, a pair of Converse sneaks in through the room's sliding balcony door. Craig reads the card, "Compliments of the Bartowskis." He returns to the room, asking Laura who the Bartowskis are. His answer stands in front of him: With her gun drawn, Sarah and Chuck have found the Turners.
It is time for Morgan's next spy test: the firing range. Casey hands Morgan a pistol, for which Morgan quickly lists the specifications. Casey is impressed by Morgan's knowledge of firearms. Morgan explains he learned everything from first-person shooter video games like Call of Duty. Morgan readies himself to fire at the target. He pulls the trigger, and the gun flips over his head and into Casey's hands. Obviously failing the test, Morgan slumps into a chair. Casey tells him that he just doesn't think this is going well. Morgan knows he's being fired, that he blew his once chance to be a spy. Casey says not to worry; like how Morgan was there for him when Casey was relieved of his spy duties, so too is Casey there for Morgan. His spirits buoyed, Morgan asks if Casey is his friend. Casey admits that he is, but that Morgan has to keep that information on the down low.
Chuck and Sarah bring the Turners back to their apartment to question them. Craig tries to explain that they haven't actually committed treason yet as they haven't sold the software. This leads to more bickering between the veteran agents. Chuck tells them that they were supposed to teach Sarah and him how to be a spy couple. Craig replies, "Yeah, the CIA has a way of breaking young idealists." There is a knock at the door. Thinking that it agents arriving to transport the Turners to jail, Chuck heads for the door. He looks out the peephole, and doesn't see agents, but rather Otto, some goons and his "pussy cat." How did Otto know where to find them, Chuck wonders. Sarah looks at the collar, and sees that they missed the tracking device on it. Laura asks where their guns are. Haven't they heard of the Thirty Foot Rule, Craig asks. Chuck heads to the couch, but finds no guns. Where are the guns, he asks of Sarah. She explains, that per Chuck's request, she removed them all. This leads them bickering just like the Turners. Sarah decides to handcuff the Turners to the bathtub, and upon her return, she and Chuck answer the door.
Otto and his tiger enter the apartment. Sarah tried to explain that Chuck just likes to crash big parties, and apologizes. Otto, cutting through the deception, says he knows the two of them are CIA agents. When asked why he believes this, Otto explains that the apartment is a CIA safe house and that he knows the Turners are there. He points his gun at the two of them and begins to count down -- they have three seconds to give up the Turners, or he will kill them. Chuck asks for a sidebar with his girlfriend. The sidebar granted, Chuck asks Sarah if they should just hand over the Turners, as that is who Otto really wants. Sarah says she can't do that, because then they would be no better than the Turners. "Well, maybe they're right,a nd we;ll end up just like them: traitors," Chuck says. Sarah looks at Chuck. "Do you really believe that?" she asks. Chuck pauses, looks into her eyes and smile smiles, "No." Chuck informs Otto that they can't help him. Otto prepares to kill them, but his tiger begins to paw at the bathroom door. Otto's goon busts down the door, but the handcuffs are empty and the window is open. The Turners have escaped.
Casey and Morgan enter the courtyard after their training sessions. Morgan contemplates what he will if he is no longer a spy. Perhaps the competitive eating circuit. Casey isn't listening though, as he spies a down agent. Inside the apartment, Otto and his men have their guns on Chuck and Sarah again. Chuck explains they all have a need to get the Turners back, so perhaps they should team up to get the double-crossers. The Turners enter through the back of the apartment, Laura with her gun drawn, and ask for Chuck and Sarah's release. Back outside, Casey and Morgan see the tiger prowling around the courtyard. They hide behind the courtyard fountain. Morgan decides to take action to lure the tiger away. Casey tries to stop him, but Morgan explains that the country needs Casey. Morgan jumps out from behind the fountain and calls toward the tiger. When the tiger turns toward him, Morgan breaks for Ellie and Devon's apartment. He unlocks the door (why, exactly does Morgan have the keys to their apartment?) and rushes in, with the tiger in hot pursuit. He runs up the stairs and, grabbing a hold of the curtains, jumps out the window. Fortunately, Casey is there to grab his sidekick. Otto hears the commotion outside and lowers his guard for a second. This is all Chuck needs to flash his Chuck Fu. Chuck takes out Otto, while Sarah takes out his goon. Grabbing their foes' guns, Chuck and Sarah end up in a standoff with the Turners. Laura asks Chuck and Sarah to let them go, but Sarah is unrelenting. Chuck, however, lowers his gun, explaining what a shame it is that they got away, without the software. Hearing this, Craig lowers Laura's gun. It's over, they can't run. The Turners will face the consequences.
At Castle, General Beckman thanks Chuck and Sarah for their work in securing the software and apprehending the Turners. Chuck begins to tell the General how she should be lenient on the Turners, but Sarah interrupts him. She explains to the General how the Turners were actually running a triple-cross to root out Otto. General Beckman says she expected nothing less of the CIA's greatest agents. She hopes that Chuck and Sarah have learned something from the veterans. Chuck admits "working with the Turners was enlightening." Thankful that they aren't going to be arrested, Craig announces that after thirty years in the spy game, they are retiring. The General is bewildered. Who could possibly take their place? The Turners simply look at Chuck and Sarah. Grateful, the young agents say thank you.
Upstairs in the Buy More, Morgan finds Casey and asks if he is going to have to be sent off to boot camp. Casey tells him, no, Morgan has passed his tests. When Morgan gives him a quizzical look, Casey explains that, yes, Morgan is probably the worst agent ever, and makes Chuck look like a seasoned pro, but Morgan's got balls. How many marines would face down a tiger? Not many. Morgan will be OK. That night, Morgan and Chuck enter Ellie and Devon's destroyed apartment; it seems that the tiger did quite a number on it. They are about to start cleaning it when Sarah shows up in the doorway. She says she'll help clean, but she's going to start with "our apartment." "Our?" Chuck asks. Sarah apologizes for flipping out earlier about moving in with Chuck, but she's never been taught how to have a "normal" life. Chuck says they will likely never have a normal life, but Sarah doesn't mind as long as she has Chuck.
Back in Africa, Ellie is looking for Devon. She enters their tent to find him shivering under a blanket. He has a raging fever and must be evacuated immediately. As Devon is loaded onto the back of a truck, Justin tells Ellie that he has made some calls and has cleared customs for the couple. There is a plane waiting to take them back to the States immediately. Ellie thanks him as the truck pulls out. With them gone, Justin turns and retrieves a Ring phone! He makes a call, telling the person on the other end that everything is in place. He made Devon's illness look like malaria. "The wife doesn't suspect a thing."
Commentary
Alright, well that was a pleasant episode of Chuck. After the excellence of the last couple episodes, I am not surprised to see a....I don't know how to describe it....simpler episode. Until the last few seconds when Justin was revealed to be a Ring agent, the episode was mostly just filler, which is fine. Not every episode has to be a mythology-bending one. There were some great moments, especially with Casey training Morgan, and it's always nice to see Fred Willard and Swoozie Kurtz on screen, but there wasn't much therethere in this episode. If anything, I may have been a little disappointed in the episode from nearly the beginning (after the awesome Hart to Hart-style dream sequence), when Sarah was acting rather bitchy. It was a totally new note for Yvonne Strahovski to play, and not that she did it poorly, but it was so jarring coming off of last week's love-fest. Personally, I didn't really want to see Chuck and Sarah, finally together after all these years, sniping so much with each other so quickly. It felt very manufactured, and a bit clumsy. I mean, I understand why they did it, and I was glad to see the characters realize that they don't want to end up like the bickering Turners, but it was still rang a bit dissonant to me. Again, even a not-as-good episode of Chuck is still better than most of the stuff out there, but I didn't think this was one of their best installments.
What did you think about "Chuck vs. the Role Models"? Were you slightly disappointed like me, or was this another of the great episodes of the series? What game do you think the Ring is playing with Ellie and Devon? Do you think the Ring knows Chuck is officially a spy now (have we ever had confirmation that they know this for a fact?)? Please leave your comments, questions and theories below. Please be sure to check out TVOvermind for all the latest TV news, especially with pilot pick-up season heating up. I'll be back next week with a recap of "Chuck vs. the Tooth." Until then, I'm off to get under my black, velour tiger blanket.
Follow: twitter.com/tvovermind
Follow: twitter.com/MikeNJD
It doesn't matter how good a television show is, if Fred Willard is in an episode, it automatically gets 714% more awesome.
[...] Recap – Chuck 3.15 “Chuck vs. the Role Models” « TVOvermind [...]
You might also enjoy this May 20, 2010 Mr. Media interview with ‘Chuck’ co-star Vik Sahay, who plays Buy More employee ‘Lester Patel’ on the popular NBC romantic comedy and spy show. He talks about the season finale, the future of the band “Jeffster,” Yvonne Strahovski, and the new movie he’s filming, ‘Afghan Luke and the Burgundy of Hash,’ in which he plays a New York Times reporter covering the war in Afghanistan! http://www.mrmedia.com/2010/05/chuck-season-fin…..