Chuck vs the Dream Job
Original air date April 6, 2009
Season 2 episode 19
Synopsis
Sarah has found Stephen Bartowski. She and Chuck are at his trailer in Barstow. Chuck tries to catch him up on his and Ellie’s life and asks him to come for Ellie’s wedding. He initially refuses but agrees after Chuck convinces him he owes her. Chuck arrives back at the apartment with Stephen. Ellie is unable to deal with it and walks out. Chuck talks her into giving Stephen a chance. While talking together, Stephen starts ranting about his ideas being stolen by Ted Roark. Chuck flashes on an ad Stephen has about a tech show Roark is putting on.
At Castle, the team is briefed by Beckman and they believe a virus is being released at the tech show. Chuck gets a job interview at Roark Instruments that he gets based on his own credentials and Sarah encourages him that he is very qualified. Chuck arrives for his interview and gets the job. He is introduced to Ted Roark; he has achieved his dream job. Jeff and Lester attend the tech show and see Chuck leave. Morgan lets it slip at dinner that night that Chuck was hired by Roark Instruments. Stephen feels betrayed that his son is working for his enemy.
The new computer system that Roark is launching contains the virus, and Fulcrum has an agent there that Chuck flashes on. Casey and Sarah are unable to get past security to back up Chuck. He runs on stage during the presentation and tries to take the controller that starts the launch. He fails and is seen on tv by Ellie and Stephen as he is grabbed by security. Ellie accuses Stephen of orchestrating Chuck’s actions, which he denies.
Chuck is in his room reading his information from Orion when Stephen comes to tell him he doesn’t want Chuck to ruin his life, and working for Roark is okay with him. After the talk, Chuck notices that Roark’s office layout matches the Intersect diagram; Roark is involved with building a new Intersect for Fulcrum. Casey and Sarah don’t believe him because his idea was not the result of a flash but his own deduction. He decides to infiltrate Roark Instruments and prove his theory. He has to tranquilize Casey to escape on his own.
Chuck breaks in and finds his father already there, demanding to talk to Roark on behalf of Chuck. Stephen is punched and subdued, but Chuck bursts out of hiding to defend his father with his tranquilizer guns. Roark’s security is alleviated, and Chuck tries to leave with his Dad. Stephen refuses, and when the Fulcrum agent, Vincent, greets Stephen, he admits to Chuck that he isn’t who Chuck thinks he is. He uses his wrist-mounted computer to control the security door to take Vincent down. Stephen tells Chuck he is Orion and that he left his kids to protect them from the government when he realized what they wanted the Intersect for. He knew others wanted it too but never thought Chuck would be involved. That’s when he decided to come back and let Sarah find him.
When Chuck questions why he didn’t tell him the truth and allowed him to get here on his own, Stephen admits he thought Chuck wouldn’t believe him. He tells Chuck he thinks he can remove the Intersect, and Chuck needs to flash on the keypad code to get them in the door. Chuck says the Intersect doesn’t work that way, and Stephen assures him it does; he built it. Chuck flashes, and they enter. They find the almost completed Intersect, and Stephen will use it to remove the Intersect from Chuck, but Roark and Vincent enter. Stephen trades himself for Chuck’s release. Casey and Sarah break in as Stephen is taken away. Before the door closes between them, Stephen tells Chuck he was wrong about not trusting Sarah and Casey.
Beckman debriefs them at Castle and is upset Roark escaped with Orion and the Intersect.
She says she now has the best man on it.
Chuck claims that Team Bartowski is the best and demands they be included.
Casey sides with Chuck, and Beckman tells him not to allow his personal feelings to interfere.
Ellie tells Chuck that Stephen has left them again, but Chuck says she should not give up on him. Stephen is seen working on the Roark Intersect.
Points of Interest
- Casey registers for NextExpo09 as David Coleman. David ‘Kentucky’ Coleman is the prop master for Chuck. On a side note, Kentucky and Razzle is a podcast hosted by David Coleman and stand up comedian, Razzle. It is part of Zachary Levi’s Nerd Machine and was active from 2014 to 2018. Zachary Levi co-hosts and Adam Baldwin, Yvonne Strahovski and Joel David Moore are all guests, among many others, over the four years they discussed shows and movies. The podcast can be found on podchaser.com.
- Fulcrum agent, Vincent, continues on into this episode from Predator. We now see that Vincent is working for Roark to track down Orion and finish the Intersect. This also begins the transition of Fulcrum into the Ring, which is the evil enemy going forward.
- This episode pays off some dominant stories and begins others. Chuck finds his Dad, the Intersect/Orion mystery is finally explained, it is shown that Chuck is able to function on his own and develop his own conclusions without the Intersect and Orion is able to remove the Intersect from Chuck’s head.
- Stephen Bartowski is not a spy, he is a scientist who developed the Intesect as a special project and then took his data and disappeared when he found out what the government planned to do with the technology. He never intended Chuck to be involved, even though he always knew he was special.
References
- Quantum Leap- “oh, boy” was a phrase used by Scott Bakula as Dr Samuel Beckett in every episode of the show. It is said by Stephen when Ellie responds to his appearance with “you said we were having pancakes” and then walks out.
Music
Highschool Hoodlums- The Datsuns: Chuck goes for his interview at Roark Industries.
Around the Bend- The Asteroids Galaxy Tour: NextExpo09.
Luisa’s Bones- Crooked Fingers: Chuck reviews the Intersect information from Orion; Chuck realizes what the Intersect diagram means.
Daddy’s Gone- Glasvegas: Roark takes Orion; Devon tells Ellie that Stephen is gone; Stephen works on Roark’s Intersect.
