Chuck Versus the A-Team

Chuck Versus the A-Team
Season 04, Episode 18
Air Date	March 14, 2011
Writer	Phil Klemmer
Director	Kevin Mock
Previous	Chuck Versus the First Bank of Evil
Next	Chuck Versus the Muuurder

"Chuck...are you about to disarm a nuclear bomb using fruit juice?"

― Sarah

Chuck Versus the A-Team is the eighteenth episode in the fourth season of Chuck, which aired on the 14th of March, 2011.

Synopsis

Chuck discovers Casey is with the NCS and fears his team of human Intersects will render him obsolete.

Meanwhile, Morgan begins settling in at Casey's apartment, as Devon becomes uncomfortable with Ellie's research.

Full Story

The episode begins with Morgan interrogated for information on John Casey, who is now his roommate. When Morgan refuses to reveal anything, the man reveals himself to be Casey and congratulates Morgan on passing the test and not wetting himself. Elsewhere, Chuck and Sarah are becoming bored without missions and begin to suspect Casey is carrying out missions without them. Morgan refuses to tell Chuck anything, so Chuck and Sarah follow Casey on their own. Casey meets with Necati "The Turk" Acar (Timur Kocak), posing as a messenger of Russian criminal Dragan Pichushkin (Jon Sklaroff).

The Turk, however, reveals that he knows Casey's name and true occupation as an NSA agent and has guards draw their guns on Casey. Chuck and Sarah reveal themselves in order to protect Casey, but several more of the Turk's guards then reveal themselves. Casey motions to the guards nearest him, who turn and kill the rest of the Turk's men. When they remove their masks and arrest the Turk, Chuck recognizes them as CIA agents code named "Greta". The individuals are introduced as Casey's NCS team, Captain Richard Noble (Isaiah Mustafa) and Captain Victoria Dunwoody (Stacy Keibler), who Chuck and Sarah nickname "Rick" and "Vicki".

Sarah worries that she and Chuck will be replaced by Casey's extremely efficient team, but Chuck considers himself irreplaceable since he is still the Intersect. General Beckman reveals that Pichushkin has made a fortune dismantling former Soviet arsenal and selling it to black market. The Turk is willing to lure Pichushkin onto United States soil in exchange for an asylum for his family. Chuck and Sarah travel to Tbilisi, Georgia, to retrieve "Iana" to guarantee the Turk's cooperation. Chuck and Sarah are glad to finally have a mission, but they soon learn that Iana is the Turk's beloved little dog, and the two suddenly realize that they are now the "B-team".

Dissatisfied, Chuck and Sarah decide to prove their worth. Hearing Iana's bark, they deduce that the Turk is in the NCS-restricted part of Castle. They break into Casey's apartment, tranquilize Morgan, and lift Casey's handprint from his framed photograph of Ronald Reagan, gaining access to the NCS area of Castle. They soon find Stephen Bartowski's laptop Intersect, and Chuck is actually angry they have it. Rick and Vicki appear and try to remove Chuck from the area, but Chuck flashes to defend himself. After a brief fight, Chuck realizes that they are all using the same programming; Rick and Vicki have uploaded the Intersect into themselves. Chuck tries to retrieve the laptop, as it was his father's property, but Director Jane Bentley (Robin Givens) arrives and stops him, Casey backs her.

Bentley reveals that the Greta field test at the Buy More were proving grounds for prospective Intersect candidates. She briefs her team, revealing that Pichushkin is enroute. Rick, Vicki, and Chuck flash on a surveillance video, learning that Pichushkin is transporting a fully assembled bomb. Despite Bentley's opinion, Casey requests that Chuck and Sarah be used as backup for the mission. Chuck is dressed for bomb disposal as it was the only way Casey could get Bentley to agree to his presence. Casey and his team are to arrest Pichushkin.

Chuck as he attempts to defuse the armed bomb with fruit juice

Casey tells Chuck that Bentley wants Team Bartowski disbanded. Before getting in positions, Casey gives Chuck a box of apple juice in case he got thirsty in the heavy gear. When Pichushkin arrives, Rick and Vicki shoot his bodyguards, before he reveals that he is carrying a suitcase nuke and has possession of a remote arming device. As he flees, Sarah and Vicki pursue him, while Chuck joins Casey and Rick who examine the bomb. Sarah finds Pichushkin, who informs her that the arming device is wired to his heartbeat to activate when he dies, before drawing a gun on Sarah. Even as Sarah warns her, Vicki shoots Pichushkin dead, therefore, arming the nuclear device.

Meanwhile, Rick declares that the bomb is too complicated for the Intersect to disarm, but Chuck disagrees, "We're gonna have to improvise our way through this one!" After flashing on the detonator, Chuck realizes the bomb is from a Chinese submarine and was designed to deactivate in the presence of salt water in case of hull breaches. He then examines his apple juice ingredients for sodium content, finding some, he pours juice on the detonator to defuse the bomb.

After the botched operation, Beckman gives Chuck full control of any Intersect operations and has the Intersect removed from Rick and Vicki. However, Bentley believes that the flaw is not with the agents in possession of the Intersect, but rather the laptop itself. After believing that a Bartowski can handle the Intersect better, she gives it to Ellie, who was eager to have this laptop back.

Secondary Plot

Ellie asks Devon for her father's laptop back, believing that he sent it to her for a reason. Having given it to Chuck in Chuck Versus the Leftovers, Devon calls Chuck and asks for the laptop back. Besides wanting to keep Ellie out of the spy world, Chuck no longer possesses the laptop, believing it to be held at Langley, Virginia. Chuck suggests telling Ellie that he sent the laptop to the Nerd Herd, so that Ellie would think Jeff and Lester had misplaced it.

Ellie goes to the Buy More, where Lester is testing Jeff's extrasensory perception with Zener cards. They unsuccessfully search for the laptop, suspecting that they may have returned it to the wrong customer. Lester tests Jeff's clairvoyance by having him write down the location of the laptop, and Jeff correctly predicts that the laptop is in the possession of the CIA. However, Lester misreads the prediction, believing it to be a person named "Cia", completely disregarding the prediction.

Ellie is then given the laptop by Director Bentley, posing as a Buy More customer who was given the laptop by mistake, in hopes that Ellie will be able to redesign the laptop Intersect for the better.

Guest Stars

• Isaiah Mustafa as Captain Richard Noble/Greta
• Stacy Keibler as Captain Victoria Dunwoody/Greta
• Timur Kocak as Necati "The Turk" Acar
• Jon Sklaroff as Dragan Pichushkin

Trivia

• When Sarah breaks into Casey's apartment, Morgan responds by saying "Clever girl", a reference to the 1993 movie Jurassic Park.
• The NCS appears to have no knowledge of how to build a Governor as the Gretas do not seem to be wearing any kind of governor. This would eventually cause their mental deterioration if the Intersect were not extracted. The lack of a governor might also explain the relief the Gretas feel after having the Intersect removed, and 'Rick's' sympathetic "poor bastard" directed at Chuck.
• When Morgan remarks "First rule of team Casey: Don't ask, don't tell" he is likely referring to the military's policy on homosexuality, considering Casey's USMC background. 
• During a practice interrogation with Casey, Morgan more or less quotes the famous Revolutionary War spy Nathan Hale, who, as he was about to be hanged, said "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." 
• Chuck expresses disgust for crime procedural on CBS when Sarah is describing how the goggles will help them get what they need from Casey's apartment. Since Chuck had no competition from any such show in the same time slot at the time, this is more of a gentle ribbing than a pointed jab. 
• FAA registration number N237JA belongs to an Embraer EMB-500 (aka Phenom 100).

Quotes

Greta (Rick): What a relief to have that outta my head. That poor bastard, Bartowski.

~

Sarah: Chuck, we're the A-team.

Chuck: Valid point. Well, might as well bring this [picks up a game]. It's gonna be a long flight.

Sarah: I'm sure we can find something else to pass the time [kisses Chuck].

Chuck: Mmm. Not to be crude, but you were talking about sex, right?

Music

• "Murder Weapon" by Tricky
• "No Man Is an Island" by Losers
• "You & Me" by Diamond Rings
• "Ticking Heart" by The One AM Radio

External Links

• Chuck Versus the A-Team - Promo trailer
  

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