Chuck vs the Couch Lock

Original air date October 18, 2010

Season 4 episode 5

Synopsis

Zargos Mountains, Iran. 1999

John Casey and three of his unit members are tasked with planting charges to seal a vault full of gold in the Iranian mountains. The three members of Casey’s unit go rogue and attempt to convince him to help them steal the gold. He refuses so they hold him at gun point and will kill him to get the gold. 

Casey overpowers them and seals the vault with his handprint as the only ID that will open it. 

Burbank, Castle under the Buy More in 2010. 

Casey is working in the Buy More where he is invited to join Jeff and Lester to hang out. Meanwhile, Alex comes to see Morgan but he is hesitant to embrace because he hasn’t told Casey about them yet. After she leaves, Chuck advises him to be careful telling Casey to avoid being killed. Morgan agrees to cover for Chuck while he works in Castle on the Goya files.

finishes the story by telling Chuck and Sarah that he took them back and turned them in where they were all court martialed. 

Chuck and Sarah are going through Premiere Goya’s files and come upon the photos of Casey’s old unit members and Chuck flashes, discovering Casey knows them. They go to Casey and he tells the story to Chuck and Sarah and that he then took them back and turned them in where they were all court martialed. 

They have since escaped and are mercenaries, even working for Volkoff. Chuck is searching for the code name “Frost” in the files.

They want to find these guys and Casey says the only way to draw them out would be to attend his funeral. Chuck gets an idea to stage a fake funeral for Casey to capture the men. Chuck is congratulated by Beckman for his plan and thinking like a real spy by being willing to put a teammate in danger.

Ellie and Devon tell Chuck that the baby is a girl and Ellie talks to Chuck and tells him she wants him to find their mom if he can.

Casey is given a drug to make him appear dead but is conscious and paralyzed. Chuck gives him an additional syringe to use in case it wears off.

Chuck and Sarah planted agents at Casey’s funeral. Morgan gives the eulogy and is trying to complement Casey when Mac, the first of his old team, arrives. He tests to see if Casey is really dead by piercing his hand with an American Flag pin. T.I. arrives next and puts his cigar out on the back of Casey’s hand. Packard then arrives and Sarah thinks he is crying but he is actually laughing and turns around while pulling a gun. The other two join him and they berate the room for thinking they could be fooled so easily. They then detonate an explosive, the coffin goes through the floor down to the basement and Casey is gone when the smoke clears.

The tracker that was on Casey is placed on a cat in an alley and he is taken to a warehouse where the three are going to cut off his hand for his handprint. A pizza delivery distracts them as Casey begins to be able to move. He slides off the table and tries to crawl but the three come back. He fights them and escapes out a window but drops his wallet and the extra drug, which one of them picks up and shoots him with. 

Casey realizes he will soon loose his muscle control and calls the Buy More before throwing himself in a dumpster. Jeff and Lester answer the call and know exactly the place Casey describes. They pick him up and tell Morgan they have the Colonel. Morgan tells them to drop him at Morgan’s apartment.

Chuck and Sarah find Casey’s phone at the dumpster and enter the building where he was held. Chuck triggers a laser sensor and is trapped, unable to move, with Sarah trying to disarm it. The sensors are connected to a bomb. 

At Morgan’s apartment he is trying to get Casey to respond when Alex arrives. He keeps her outside and tells her he never talked to Casey. He refuses to explain and she leaves upset.

The bomb is disarmed and Packard walks in with Mac and they kidnap Chuck and Sarah as bait for Casey.

Morgan is confronted at his apartment by T.I., who was watching Casey’s apartment, and tells him that they will kill Chuck and Sarah if Casey doesn’t meet them in Iran to unlock the vault.

Morgan gets Casey out of his couch lock by telling him he is dating Alex, with Casey in a rage and suspending Morgan in the air.

Morgan and Casey go to Iran to save Chuck and Sarah. They have a plan for Casey to appear to give himself up and Morgan will cut the power to the bunker so Casey can overpower them. At the signal word, Morgan fails to cut the power and Casey has to open the vault while being chained up with Chuck and Sarah. Chuck questions the men and they tell him “Frost” works with Volkoff, his his ‘right hand’ and Chuck now wonders if his mother needs rescuing.

After chaining Casey, Mack fires a shot through the door and wounds Morgan and he surrenders. Morgan sees the water and a severed power cable and tells Chuck, Sarah and Casey to lift their feet out of the water. He then electrocutes himself and the three criminals but Team Bartowski saves him with CPR and they go home.

Back at the Buy More, Morgan asks Casey if their relationship is good. Also tells him that he and Alex are done then invites him to his celebration of being alive.

Casey comes to the party and so does Alex, she talked to her Dad and he told her that he was responsible for Morgan’s dumping her and that Morgan stood up to him.

Chuck sits at the fountain outside their apartment and tells Sarah he is giving up the search for him mom. He doesn’t want to endanger his family by trying to find her if she has turned. When Sarah goes inside, telling Chuck to come in to have dinner with the family, he receives a phone call from his mother.

Points of Interest

• Casey’s mission unit members are named after tech companies- TI, Mac and Packard.
• Dave Bautista is the third WWE wrestler to guest star (Steve Austin/Stacy Keibler).
• When TI is watching Casey’s apartment he checks the mailbox, Casey’s neighbor’s name is Bauer (Jack Bauer in 24).
• Morgan finally proves to Casey he is good enough for Alex, he has to be willing to die to do it.
• General Beckman compliments Chuck’s progress as a spy, he is willing to put a teammate at risk.

References

• Charade- scene with Casey’s funeral; stuck with a flag pin and burned with a cigar stub.
• Die Hard- Mac ‘s reference to earning 20% on a beach.
• Goldfinger- Chuck says ‘Holy, Goldfinger’ when they open the vault.

Music

Day Like This- Time Again: Casey escapes from the vault cave.

On Sale Now- Daniel May: Jeff answers Casey’s call for help.

Dead Man’s Party- Oingo Boingo: Casey’s funeral and abduction.

Second Hand News- Mates of the State: Casey gets the party invite from Morgan; Morgan’s party.

Shop Til You Drop- Billy Martin: Morgan tells Casey that he and Alex are over.

Really Want You- Franz is Dead: Chuck asks Morgan to cover for him while he and Sarah look at the Goya files.