In his own apartment, Chuck asks his Dad if everything is OK. Steven wonders why Chuck would go on missions if he no longer had the Intersect in his head, if Chuck is just an ordinary
guy. Hurt that his father thinks he has no special skills on his own, Chuck insists that he is not ordinary, and that CIA thinks he's special. Steven quickly picks up a letter opener and throws it at Chuck's head. Chuck immediately flashes and catches the knife-like object before it hits him. "Dad! You threw a knife at my face!" Chuck exclaims. "I knew you downloaded the Intersect 2.0!" Steven replies. "Dad! Knife! Face! What if you were wrong?" Chuck asks. "I'm never wrong," Steven responds. He continues, telling Chuck that the Intersect can have negative effects on the brain. "You knew? And you didn't tell me?" Chuck inquires. Steven begins to say that he thought Chuck had removed the Intersect, but Chuck cuts him off. How would Steven know? "You left! You taught Ellie and me how to live without you, so that's what we're doing," Chuck tells his father. Hearing enough, Steven leaves. "I can't stay and watch you die." As he exits through the courtyard, Steven runs into Ellie. He says that he never found out why Ellie needed him. Ellie responds that she just wanted to make sure he is OK. Steven promises that the next time he sees her, it won't be so long of an absence. They embrace, and Steven leaves. Ellie immediately calls Justin and tells him that she planted the tracer bug on her father. "Good work," Justin tells her, "You've just guaranteed your father's protection."
Chuck reviews Shaw's files. Sarah enters and asks where Steven went. "He found out I'm the Intersect and left," Chuck ruefully informs her. Sarah explains that Steven loves Chuck. Chuck understands that, but his father doesn't know him. He doesn't know that Chuck can help people. "Did you tell him that?" Sarah asks. "No," Chuck responds. Meanwhile, Steven returns to his cabin and reveals his workstation. He takes apart his watch, and places the face and body into a slot in the workstation. As the computer analyzes the watch, he remarks "this is going to work." With the analysis complete, he removes the watch face and places it into another watch. Back in Burbank, Sarah tells Chuck that she knows where Steven lives. She stole his driver's license, and thought he address listed is fake, she was able to trace the only house in the license's issuing county with no gas, no cable, but tons of electricity use. Back at the cabin, Steven's computer lights up that there is a perimeter breach. A man dressed in fatigues places a call. The recipient of the call is Justin, who tells the soldier not to call back until they have "it." The soldier drops a flash bang grenade into the cabin, and his men enter to secure Steven.
Chuck and Sarah pull up. Chuck insists that he go in alone to talk to his dad, but if he's not out in twenty minutes, Sarah should come save him. Chuck knocks on the door, announcing that he's there alone. The soldier opens the door with gun drawn and pulls Chuck inside, as Chuck exclaims, "Oh, gimme a break!" The soldier cuts the line on a propane tank to start filling the cabin with the poisonous gas. They demand Steven hand over "The Governor." When Steven says he has no idea what he's talking about, the soldier goes to strike Steven. Steven instinctively protects his watch, so the soldier knows that hte watch must be the Governor. The soldiers leave Chuck and Steven to prepare their next move. Steven apologizes for getting Chuck into this mess. Chuck responds, "No. I came here to tell you why I downloaded the Intersect 2.0, but it looks like I'll have to show you." Chuck wills a kung fu flash to come. It does, with a dose of hand-held weapons skills thrown in. Chuck busts his chair and grabs chair legs to battle the soldiers. They can't shoot Chuck because of the propane filling the cabin, so hand-to-hand combat ensues. Sarah hears the commotion and runs for the door, grabbing an ax form outside. The head soldier grabs a knife that he throws at Chuck, but at that moment, Sarah sees this and throws the ax to, successfully, intercept the knife. One swift Sarah kick to the soldier's face, and the threat is eliminated. "Does she have the Intersect, too?" Steven asks his son. Smiling, Chuck replies, "No, dad. That's all her."
Chuck is at home in his bedroom when his father enters. Steven explains that he designed the Governor to regulate the effects of the Intersect. He explains that the Intersect, like any computer, can overheat. Every time Chuck flashes, electricity is output, the cumulative effect of which can fry Chuck's brain. The Governor acts like a pacemaker and regulates that electrical output. Further, he believes it will work with the Intersect 2.0. Steven will make one for Chuck because he recognizes that Chuck downloaded the Intersect for the same reason Steven invented it: to help people. He is going to help Chuck be the man he wants to be.
Big Mike has Lester in his office. He wants to help Lester be the man he wants to be. Lester insists that he'll never bow down to The Man and go corporate with his music. Big Mike explains that he was a man with dreams, too. For a short period in the 80's, Earth, Wind and Fire, was Earth, Wind, Fire and Rain, and he was Rain. Big Mike can't wear his costume anymore, but Lester has the hips of a six year old girl, so he would like Lester to have it. "Where do I sign?" Lester tearily responds. Elsewhere in the store, Morgan tells Casey that he spoke with Devon and that if there's a problem, it's with Ellie. So, Casey heads over to Ellie's apartment to investigate. With no one inside, he enters to search for clues, and bugs her home phone. When Casey heads upstairs, Ellie returns home, on her cell phone with Justin. She hears a creak upstairs and tells Justin that someone is in the house. Justin instructs her to go to the speaker box he gave her, and open it. Inside, she finds a gun. Hearing Ellie, Casey starts to come downstairs. He inches toward the kitchen, where Ellie is hidden behind a wall. With Casey about to reach her, Ellie jumps out....and hits him twice with a frying pan, knocking the colonel unconscious, and fleeing from the apartment. Back in their apartment, Sarah asks Chuck to sit on the bed next to her. Explaining that what they do for a living is not safe, she hands Chuck a red box: her spy will. Chuck says that nothing is going to happen to her, that she's not going anywhere, and neither is he. Meanwhile, Ellie heads over to Justin's office. She asks him if her father is going to be OK. Justin promises that everyone is safe. She's done everything he's asked of her; this will all be over soon. Justin leaves her in his office, and exits, locking the door behind him.
Chuck sits down at the computer to write out his spy will. He recites it via voiceover. Chuck chose to be a spy, and knows that there are consequences that come with that decision (Casey comes to on Ellie's floor). "Maybe emotions will do me in (Sarah is sleeping)." "Or maybe I slip up trying to protect my friends (Morgan is sleeping)." "Or maybe my family (Ellie is in Justin's office)." Justin places a phone call and says that "this" needs to happen now. The recipient of the call stands with his back to the camera in a white room with a podium. He places his hand on the podium and it whirs to life. Reading his palm-print, the computer recognizes Daniel Shaw! The computer brings the room to life as videos are projected on the walls. Shaw is downloading the Intersect! "Or maybe it's the thing I never saw coming. But I know it's coming," Chuck concludes.
Commentary
I thought this was a great episode of Chuck, for the most part. What didn't work for me is a shorter list, so let's get that out of the way. The whole Jeffster! plot was completely ancillary to the whole episode. Usually, the Buy More B- or C-story is eventually integrated into the A-story by the episode's end. In this episode, the Buy More stuff stood completely apart from what was going on with Chuck. Now, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, if the Buy More plot is really funny. The problem was, the Jeffster! stuff wasn't that funny. To be honest, I think there's been too much Jeffster! this season. If they appear four or five times in 19 episodes, that's too many, and it makes the gag become routine. But this was really my only concern with "Chuck vs. the Living Dead."
On the positive side, bringing back Papa Bartowski is always fun because I enjoy the bit of "mad scientist" Scott Bakula brings to the role. Further, I thought it was a great plot point to introduce the Governor so we don't have to worry about Chuck's impending brain meltdown due to the Intersect that was introduced in last week's episode, "Chuck vs. the Tooth." I enjoyed the Ellie story as she is getting deeper and deeper into the spy business. This has been a very nice showcase for Sarah Lancaster, one that she hasn't really received in the series before. She's a very strong actress so the more opportunity she gets to perform, the better. We also received a small dose of the Casey/Morgan team, but not so much that it seems like the creators are leaning on the pair too hard. Chuck and Sarah's relationship wasn't the center of the A-plot, so that's always good. What I mean is that we have spent so many of the last few episodes concentrating solely on how Chuck and Sarah will manage being a spy couple, that to see them just be a couple without the agita of being a "spy couple." Yes, there was the "spy will" bit, but that is the kind of conversation that goes on between couples of all stripes, not just spies. If Chuck and Sarah were both lawyers or garbage collectors or teachers, they would have had the exact same conversation. Next, I really enjoyed the idea that Chuck has begin to have the ability to summon the flashes. At the beginning of the season, a lot of time was spent on the fact that Chuck can't flash when his emotions aren't in check. Now, Chuck has become proficient enough, (and in such a good place with Sarah), that he can now harness the Intersect as needed. It's an interesting development that I hope they continue to explore. Lastly, I'm all for Shaw coming back. It will probably only last for through the season finale, but one final battle with Daniel Shaw sounds like fun to me.
Alright, what did you think of the episode? Did you enjoy "Chuck vs. the Living Dead?" Are you tired of Jeffster! too? What about the introduction of the Governor? Is it too convenient? Are you excited for another Chuck/Shaw showdown? Please leave your thoughts, questions and comments below. Check in with TVOvermind for all of the latest TV news regarding the new fall season schedules, and come back next week for a recap of the two-hour Chuck season finale. Until then, I'm off to Tiffany...to browse, not buy.
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I thought the episode was awesome but I also think the promo for next week's 2 hour season finale blew this episode out of the water. Great commentary!
I have mixed feelings about Shaw coming back. it seems kinda repetivitve bringing him back just like they did with Bryce Larkin and i dont see how Shaw could have a more epic death then when Chuck killed him on the bridge. other than that i thought the episode was really good.
Totally not digging the whole Jeffster thing either.Loved the episode, cringed when I saw that Shaw was really back (HATE!!), and wooHOO's when I saw the promo for the finale…didn't realize it was a 2 hr episode. It's going to be fantastic…especially if Shaw gets dead again ;)Great recap, Micheal.
Great commentary! I have got to recommend this site to my friends!