Original air date November 4, 2007
Season 1 episode 7
Synopsis
A Stanford professor escapes an assassin by using a trapdoor located in his office.
Harry Tang is ruling over the Buy More staff. New rules and regulations are motivating an uprising.
Chuck, Sarah and Casey gather in the Theater Room- where Beckman and Graham assign them to find George Fleming, a CIA scientist, and the professor seen fleeing in the open. He is also Chuck’s former professor at Stanford. Chuck is reluctant to be involved as Fleming was the professor who got him kicked out of school.
Arriving back at the apartment, Chuck refuses an invite to the UCLA vs Stanford football game with Ellie, Devon and Devon’s college buddies. In his bedroom, Chuck goes through his box of Stanford memorabilia and remembers his expulsion and that Bryce was responsible. He throws the box in the trash but flashes on his school ID; he is in the Intersect.
This development motivates Chuck to investigate and now he is willing to find Fleming. When Casey brings Chuck a road camera shot of Fleming that indicates he is local, Chuck recalls the day Fleming confronted him with stolen test answers, leading to his expulsion.
Buy More staff plays Fingers of Fury that Tang interrupts with his Master Remote.
Sarah and Casey leave Chuck in the car when they arrive at Fleming’s house for the extraction. Fleming arrives on foot and Chuck meets him outside the house. Fleming realizes Chuck is CIA and teaches him the code phrase for calling for help in a dangerous situation before he is shot with an arrow. Fleming gives Chuck a paper with a code for Bryce Larkin before he loses consciousness. The assassin takes the paper before leaving.
Sarah and Casey debrief Chuck in his bedroom. After talking with Ellie about Stanford, Chuck remembers using the library for a game of ‘Gotcha’ with Bryce, which he loses when Bryce distracts him with his secret stash spot in the library. Chuck tells Casey about the secret stash and admits he has to go to Stanford to find it.
Casey, Sarah and Chuck infiltrate the library at Stanford and Chuck finds the secret stash. It contains a disc but they run when the assassin finds them. After being cornered in a classroom and sending Chuck out to keep him safe, Casey and Sarah run low on ammunition. Chuck opens the disc and finds the names of the students in the CIA and uses the code phrase to call for help. The students arrive to save them.
Anna Wu seduces Tang to acquire his locker key so the staff can get control of the Master Controller. He thwarts their plan and Morgan calls Chuck for the code to the Master Controller so they can disable it. They then blackmail Tang into relinquishing the controller.
Back home, Chuck convinces Sarah to let him read the disc. He discovers that Bryce decided to protect him by getting him expelled. He retrieves his box from the trash to save the photo of him and Bryce. The photo brings him back to when he first met Bryce on the Stanford campus.
Points of Interest
Chuck was being recruited for the Omaha project, a military operation looking for recruits that could process subliminal information, in which Chuck tested highly.
Bryce was recruited in 2002, the year before they were recruiting Chuck.
The information on Chuck’s CIA flash included his birthday (9/18/1981), his address while in college (1566 Youngston Avenue, Santa Clara, CA), his college ID# and many of his personality traits.
In the Pilot, Chuck tells the story of meeting Jill by accident. In his flashback, he meets Jill through Bryce.
In a deleted scene on the DVD, Morgan tells Chuck that being expelled from Stanford “ruined your life, man. It started you on the whole self-loathing, celibate downward spiral thingie.” Chuck replies that now the seal has been broken, he is ready to face the demons.
In 2003, Bryce Larkin decided Chuck could not handle being in the CIA. He is too nice a guy and it would destroy him. After his expulsion, Bryce steals Chuck’s girlfriend. In 2007, Bryce sets his email up to send the Intersect information to Chuck, which will launch him directly into the danger Bryce was supposed to be protecting him from four years earlier.
The custom version of Zork that Bryce programmed into his email to Chuck is discussed in the flashback to their freshman year, when they met.
References
Fingers of Fury: the shows they hit are The Dukes of Hazard, One Tree Hill, Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, Smallville, Cold Case, Animaniacs, The O.C., Pinky and the Brain and Kung Fu: The Movie. All Warner Bros productions.
OU8 12#: OU8 12: Van Halen album
Cool Hand Luke: “I need fresh bodies in the hole.” Tang to Morgan
Lord of the Rings: Tang is the Dark Lord, Morgan and Chuck are Frodo and Sam. Tang’s Master Remote is the One Ring.
Music
Chelsea Dagger: The Fratellis- Devon invites Chuck to the UCLA vs Stanford football game.
Maneater: Hall and Oates– Anna seduces Tang to get his locker key.
Don’t Look Back in Anger: Oasis- Chuck and Bryce meet at Stanford.
Drama Queen: Switches– Pre game festivities.
Trendsetter: Goose– Chuck a
