Hello all. If you missed last week's crunchy and cheesy episode of Chuck, "Chuck vs. Nacho Sampler," please click here.
Tonight's episode, "Chuck vs. the Mask," begins with a mysterious man in black (no, not this one), descending on a zip line a la Ethan Hunt, and trying to retrieve a golden mask in the center of the room. The man seems to be too heavy for the beam holding him up, as a screw comes loose and falls to the floor below. This immediately sets off the vault's sensors and seals the man inside, dangling from the ceiling. To make matters worse, the oxygen in the room is quickly depleting. The man removes his mask to reveal an exasperated Agent Shaw! "Is the Intersect busy?" Shaw inquires of Casey. "Busy for you? Never," Chuck responds...to Hannah. Hannah has asked Chuck to teach her the ways of the Nerd Herd, and to go on Chuck's next install. Chuck isn't sure Hannah is ready for that, but when she wonders whether he'd rather be crammed in to a Nerdmobile with Jeff or her, Chuck sees her point and relents. Just as the two share their flirty moment, Sarah runs into the store to find Chuck. She informs him that Shaw is trapped in a museum vault and is quickly running out of air. Hannah asks Morgan who Chuck is talking to, and he explains that the blonde is Chuck's ex who constantly comes into the Buy More to toy with Chuck's heart. Chuck tells Hannah that he has to run to a "Nerd Herd Emergency." Seeing her chance to get some much needed Nerd Herd experience, Hannah grabs her stuff and follows Chuck.
At the museum, Chuck needs to reboot the vault's computer system so the security system can be disengaged and the doors opened. While Chuck is making his attempt. Casey and Sarah are preparing entry the old-fashioned way: explosives. With the museum curator yapping in Chuck's ear, Hannah, much to Chuck's surprise, arrives in the control room. With virtually no time (or air!) left for Shaw, Chuck asks Hannah to help. Shaw asks Casey just to blow up the hatch. "Don't do that!" Chuck screams, having heard Shaw's command in his hidden earpiece. When the curator and Hannah look quizzically at Chuck, he begins to pet his computer screen, explaining that he was just reprimanding the computer for not functioning properly. Chuck and Hannah are able to reboot the system, and Shaw is saved. Hannah celebrates by throwing her arms around Chuck. "Not bad for your first 'mission,'" Chuck jokes. Having preserved the mask successfully, the curator asks Chuck and Hannah to return that evening for the mask's unveiling. Chuck is very impressed by the invitation. Oh no, they aren't invited as guests. Rather, the curator wants them to monitor the computers to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. As the team needs to secure the mask, Chuck dutifully accepts the "date" with is "new partner," Hannah.
In Castle, Shaw brings Sarah a cup of coffee, along with a swizzle-stick, noting that Sarah likes to chew on them when she's nervous. Sarah deliberately takes the stick and throws it in the garbage. Having been rebuffed, Shaw tells the team that the mask and other art pieces are being used by The Ring to smuggle weapons and other contraband into the country. Their mission is to replace the real mask with a replica. Shaw and Sarah will pose as guests at the gala unveiling of the mask, Casey will conduct surveillance from the van outside, and Chuck will take Hannah along per the curator's request. Sarah voices concern over bringing a civilian along for the mission. "I have some new tranq darts I want to try out," Casey (aka Tranqenstein) hopes. Chuck assures him that tranqs will not be needed. Chuck will keep Hannah safe: she'll work on the computers and he'll be ready if the team needs the "big guns." "That would be me," Chuck tells the unimpressed team.
With a rather elaborate knock, Morgan appears at Ellie's door. Their own Operation Bartowski is under way, but has so far yielded no fruit. Morgan notes that Chuck is never at the Buy More. Instead, he's always going out on weird Nerd Herd calls. Ellie presses for some more info (unsurprisingly, Jeff and Lester have turned up nothing), but Morgan thinks he knows what is going on with Chuck. Chuck is protecting them from a "dark place." The same dark place Chuck went to when Jill dumped him years ago. The same dark place that resulted in Chuck playing Goldeneye for three months straight (let me jump in here to say I know exactly what Chuck was going through at that time. Goldeneye was more addictive than most substances available then. Well, except maybe Mario Kart 64). Now that he has broken up with Sarah, he has gone downhill again. Ellie is very concerned, so Morgan will continue snooping to find out for sure.
Chuck & Hannah and Shaw & Sarah simultaneously gather the equipment needed for their mission (screwdrivers for the Nerd Herders, repelling ropes for the agents). Shaw wants to make sure Sarah and he are on the same page, so he asks her how long they've been dating. Sarah is put off by this questioning, and becomes even more so when Shaw asks if they have slept together. The answers to these questions are important, Shaw tells her, to establish how they react to each other at the unveiling. "No. We have not slept together," Sarah tells Shaw. This response, however, will not deter Shaw from portraying a convincing couple. At the museum, he puts his arm around Sarah's waist, despite her retort that they are not at some middle school dance. Then, under the excuse that he is surreptitiously scanning for security cameras (and clearly enjoying pushing Sarah's buttons), Shaw begins to kiss Sarah's neck. This goes unnoticed by Chuck and Hannah in the museum's control room, where, although they have a view of all the security cameras, Chuck is reading a museum pamphlet on the empire of Alexander the Great. Pulling Chuck's gaze away from his reading, though, is Hannah's question, "Can you keep a secret, Chuck?" "Yeah, it's kinda my forte," the accidental spy replies. "Do you want to know the real reason why I took this job?" "The snazzy outfits? The barely livable wage?" Chuck jokes. "You," Hannah softly tells him. "I hope this isn't too forward," she says, as she leans into kiss Chuck. She kisses him, and he kisses her back. It is a very sweet moment...until Hannah sees Sarah on the security camera monitor. Hannah wants to know why Chuck's ex is there, other than to make him "jealous with a ridiculously good-looking date." Chuck bristles at the idea Shaw is good looking, you know, unless one is into the strong Superman(!) type. As he stares at the screen, indeed jealous at the sight of Shaw and Sarah together, Chuck sees another man, and flashes. The man is Vasili, a Ring operative and trafficker in black market goods. Chuck rushes out to warn Shaw and Sarah, leaving a perturbed Hannah in the control room. Upon learning this information, Shaw informs Chuck, Sarah and Casey that he has a history with Vasili, and that it's probably best if he exit the museum so as to not blow their cover. Chuck assures them that he will handle retrieving the mask with Sarah. "Whaddya say partner?" Chuck asks Sarah. Her beaming smile shows her excitement to work with Chuck again. This smile, and the sight of Chuck and Sarah running off together, angers Hannah as well.
To occupy Hannah and the museum, Chuck crashes the museum's computer system. At the ceiling hatch, Chuck prepares to lower Sarah into the vault, but can't help his jealousy and remarks that Sarah and Shaw seem to be having fun this evening. They make a really cute couple. Sarah, unamused by the insinuation, notes that they are just playing their cover. Shaw, now in the van with Casey, is very intent on hearing exactly what Sarah has to say about their "cover," but Casey does Chuck a solid by turning off their mics. When Shaw wonders what happened to the sound feed, Casey explains that when Chuck and Sarah work together, they "gab like little schoolgirls." It's just better to not listen. Chuck finds Sarah's explanation ridiculous. Shaw can't keep his hands off of her, and he brings her coffee every morning. Of course, Shaw's into her! How could Sarah not see it? Sarah has had enough of the accusations: what about Chuck and Hannah? They are just as cute together as Sarah and Shaw. Chuck recoils at the suggestion. He and Hannah are just trying to be professional. "Does 'professional' mean her perfume lathered all over you?" Sarah snipes. Chuck sniffs his collar. Does he really smell like her perfume?
Vasili gathers his men to make their own attempt at retrieving the mask. Above the vault, Chuck begins to lower Sarah, but is discovered by one of Vasili's men. The henchman kicks Chuck into the hole, which causes Sarah to fly skyward. Back above the vault, Sarah takes out the henchman and uses him as an anchor for Chuck's repelling wires. A second goon jumps out and strangles Sarah with a cord. While they fight, and Chuck dangles midair in the vault, Hannah cracks the computer bug and the vault begins to open. With Chuck about to be discovered, Shaw is able to crash the computer again. He and Hannah battle via computer for control of the vault door, resulting in it opening and closing comically. Sarah finally gains the upper hand against her assailant and dispatches him. She throws Chuck the replica mask, he makes the switch, and is raised back up into the ceiling just before the vault doors open to the public. Their mission accomplished, Chuck runs back to the control room to get Hannah. Upon his arrival, Hannah asks how Chuck could have abandoned her. She saw him run off with Sarah. Chuck tries to assuage her fears, telling her that it's not what she thinks. He and Sarah just have a very "unique relationship." Hannah replies that she is an ass, she shouldn't have kissed Chuck. Chuck tries to take the blame, "No, I'm the ass." Hannah wants nothing more to do with this evening. She tells Chuck they'll just keep their relationship professional. Hannah departs, "See you at work. Weirdo."
The next morning, Morgan is eating breakfast when he hears a knock (albeit a not very complicated one) at the door. It's Ellie. Although she couldn't remember the whole secret knock(much to Morgan's chagrin), he lets her in. Morgan tells her that he got an angry call from the museum. Chuck abandoned his partner on their job, and was out to all hours. Morgan has had an epiphany though. "What's that?" Ellie asks. "It's a sudden intuitive realization..." "I know what an epiphany is, Morgan! I'm asking what epiphany you had," Ellie retorts. He thinks they should just sit down Chuck and have an intervention. When Chuck emerges from his bedroom with Rock Band guitar in hand, Ellie encourages Morgan to speak up. He doesn't, and Chuck leaves for work. "Coward!" Ellie chides Morgan. The intervention will have to wait.
