Season 4 episode 1

Original air date September 20, 2010

Synopsis

Flashback to Encino, CA 1994

Mary Bartowski is reading a story to her son, Chuck, about the Frost Queen. She finishes the story and says goodnight. She tells Chuck that she will be back soon when he asks is she is going away.

Back to present day, 2010. Chuck is in the basement of his childhood house that he found at the end of the previous episode. He is reading the research his father gathered about his mother. Chuck asks Morgan to help him find his mother and keep their mission a secret so Casey and Sarah don’t try to stop him.

In their apartment, Sarah is getting ready to go on a mission with Casey and without Chuck. After they leave, Chuck and Morgan start their own mission to find his mom. Their around the world path leads them back to a safe house where Mary received her information for her missions. They find nothing but an old menu for a chinese restaurant called Imperial Dragon. While they discuss their next step, they are being watched by Mary via a secret camera. She is concerned and sympathetic.

When Chuck and Morgan walk back to their car they are stopped by a repo man who holds a gun on them to take the car. Chuck discovers they are deeply in debt due to the expenses of all their travel.

Sarah and Casey are on a mission in Hong Kong, collecting an EMP device and escaping by parachuting off a building with the device while being pursued by Alexei Volkoff’s men. Sarah and Casey discuss how the mission would be easier if Chuck were there and Sarah tells Casey she misses Chuck too.

Chuck awakes in his bedroom in Burbank with Morgan taking photos of him in bed. Morgan volunteers to help Chuck learn sexting to help his relationship with Sarah. Chuck adamantly refuses and readies for his job interviews. During the interviews, Chuck sees many weird events befall the interviewers and finally is dragged out of the last interview after the guy gets a phone call. Chuck and Morgan ride the bus back home but see the new Buy More and check it out.

In desperation, Chuck asks an employee named Greta about a job and she escorts him to the manager, General Diane Beckman.

The Buy More was rebuilt by the CIA/NSA as a cover and Beckman tells Chuck she has changed her mind about allowing him to be a civilian, she wants him back in the CIA because the President made him a priority. Even though he refuses, she uses a trap door to send him down into Castle after telling him she sabotaged his job interviews. Casey grabs him and shows him the EMP generator to get him to flash.

Chuck gives Casey the information he sees and then Casey tells him about Volkoff. Chuck and Sarah talks and she asks him about the shirtless photo she received, he tells her it was Morgan. While they are discussing the EMP device, Chuck sees the same logo that was on the menu he and Morgan found in his mom’s hideaway.

Morgan arrives via the same trap door after getting a tour of the Buy More from Greta. She acknowledged she knew he and Chuck were spies. 

Chuck and Morgan go find their car in the repo lot to retrieve the menu and fight off the repo man again as he wants the menu. Back at Orion’s base, Chuck and Morgan go thru the menu and find items that are not menu items but Chuck flashes and they discover they items are military equipment. He call the phone number on an encrypted phone and pretends to be part of the “New Ring” to make an appointment in Moscow.

Sarah and Casey take a plan to Venezuela for a mission and Sarah takes some sexy photos for Chuck while Casey is in the bathroom. The plane is hijacked by Marco and they are kidnapped to Russia. Chuck and Morgan also arrive in Moscow and escape security, finding a room where Chuck flashes so that he can find information on his mom.

Sarah and Casey are being held by Marco while Chuck is hacking a computer in the same building. Sarah tries to text Chuck on her phone with her toe while Morgan thinks she is sexting and doesn’t understand they need help.

Finally, Chuck starts downloading the info he needs and Morgan realizes Casey and Sarah are there and in trouble. Marco is also interrogating them about the identities of the two “master spies” who have been evading capture. It is Chuck and Morgan but Sarah and Casey deny knowing who they are.

Chuck and Morgan race to rescue Sarah and Casey but are stopped by Volkoff’s men. Marco orders them killed and we see Sarah and Casey’s faces as shots ring out. Sarah has tears down her face and Casey threatens to kill Marco. Then Chuck’s voice tells Marco he will come and do to him what he did to his men. When Marco and his men leave to find Chuck, he drops into the room from above and unties them. They go back to the computer room to retrieve the information he wanted but are attacked by Volkoff’s men. Chuck has to use an EMP to shut down the facility, which also shuts down the computer before he gets the information he needs. He tells Sarah that they are more important than the information. They shoot their way out of the building and escape using a bus.

Chuck and Sarah celebrate their 6 month/9 month anniversary and return to Burbank. Chuck tells Sarah and Casey about his search for him mom, apologizes for shutting them out and asks for their help. They agree while insisting Chuck has to rejoin the CIA but they won’t tell Beckman about his mom.

Chuck tries to tell Ellie what he is doing but she shares that she is pregnant and he doesn’t follow through. She thinks he was just trying to tell her he is back at the Buy More.

Marco goes to Mary to tell her that her family is looking for her but he hasn’t told Volkoff. Mary then kills everyone in the room to protect her family.

Points of Interest

• Bonita Friedericy is a cast member starting with this episode. She had been a recurring guest star the first three seasons.
• First appearance of the new Buy More employee, Greta. Always a CIA/NSA agent in training.
• Mary Bartowski actually left her children in 1991, not 1994.
• We see Casey’s continued attachment to the people in his life when he has an emotional response to Chuck’s supposed death.
• The 6/9 month anniversary refers to Sarah and Chuck being together for 9 months but living together for 6 months.
• No secrets, no lies pledge continues to be a joke for these characters. No one ever stops lying or keeping secrets.
• This episode is a reunion of the pilot creators. Chris Fedak wrote the script and Robert Duncan McNeill directed.

References

•  I Spy- Opening credits showing shadow silhouettes
• The Avengers- Morgan’s use of the umbrella.
• Indiana Jones- the red lined map of their adventures.
• Rocky IV- “I must break you” and “If you die, you die”- Ivan Drago; Dolph Lundgren’s character.
• Harry Dean Stanton plays the repo man. Starred in the Repo Man in 1984.

Music

Howlin’ For You- Black Keys: Sexting scenes

We’re Here to Save the Day- The Constellations: Chuck and Morgan go to the new Buy More.

In Response- Peter Wolf Crier: Volkoff building shootout.

Generator- Freelance Whales: Chuck tells Casey and Sarah about his mom and talks to Ellie about his job.