Chuck Versus the Fake Name

Chuck Versus the Fake Name
Season 03, Episode 08

Air Date	March 1, 2010
Writer	Allison Adler
Director	Jeremiah Chechik
Previous	Chuck Versus the Mask
Next	Chuck Versus the Beard

"Because I like cupcakes, that's why. Who doesn't like a good cupcake?"

― Chuck

Chuck Versus the Fake Name is the eighth episode of the third season of Chuck, which aired on March 1, 2010.

Synopsis[]

Chuck promises to cook dinner for Hannah, Ellie, and Captain Awesome, but must first assume the identity of one of the world's most dangerous assassins for his latest mission. Meanwhile, Sarah strives to maintain a strictly professional relationship with Shaw.

Full Story[]

The episode opens with Ellie in Chuck's apartment hoping to talk to him about how closed off he has been lately. She voices her concerns through the bathroom door while the shower runs, only for a very embarrassed Hannah to come out a few seconds later. Chuck returns from a breakfast run, and awkwardly introduces them before making plans with Ellie for dinner later that night to smooth things over.

Meanwhile, Sarah and Shaw are having breakfast and talking about a relationship. Shaw is interested, but Sarah doesn't want to get involved with another co-worker. A valet drives a car up, and the team target shows up to get his car. They tranq and cuff him before putting him in the car.

Later, in Castle, Sarah explains that the man they caught, Rafe Gruber, is not only a very skilled sniper and infiltrator but also incredibly elusive. Shaw is planning on having Chuck impersonate him. A very chipper Chuck then arrives and presents a box of donuts. Casey comments that the "stallion got lucky" and Sarah's smile vanishes.

After briefly studying Gruber's mannerisms, Chuck and Casey rendezvous with Gruber's contacts at a bar, two old school mobsters named Matty and Scotty, while Sarah and Shaw monitor from the van, Chuck successfully passes himself off as the assassin, however, one of the goons recognizes Casey as a Fed and mentions the name "Alex Coburn", which causes Chuck to flash.

Chuck manages to remain in character and, at Casey's subtle prompting, proceeds to 'torture' him for information, and extracts one of Casey's teeth in the process. The contacts are appeased, and Chuck's cover is further strengthened by a 'raid' led by Shaw and Sarah. Chuck flashes on martial arts and 'defeats' the federal agents, allowing himself and his two new accomplices to escape. They agree to meet again later when the situation calms down.

Later, back at Castle, Chuck apologizes to Casey for pulling his tooth, but Casey remarks that he was impressed and proud of how Chuck handled the situation, and that the tooth had a cavity anyway and Chuck saved him a trip to the dentist. Rafe is taken into custody by Federal agents, and Chuck returns home for dinner with Ellie, Devon and Hannah, which Sarah and Shaw had prepared while he was debriefing, mistakenly making it far tastier than Chuck had ever managed to, and was commented on by Ellie.

The next morning, at the Buy More, Hannah inadvertently answers a call from the mobsters intended for Chuck, they say they will be at the store shortly. Chuck hastily gets back into character and meets them at the loading dock, where they smash his watch and gave him a gold one as a gift to replace it, then take him to an apartment high-rise where he can target his mark. Chuck looks across to another apartment complex; a shot of over half a mile; through the sniper scope, and is stunned to learn that the Ring has targeted Shaw. They have also bugged the apartment, and he discovers that Sarah is with him.

Chuck lets slip that Shaw is with his girl, and takes advantage of their sympathies as an opportunity to 'confront' his rival face-to-face, and warn Shaw that he is the Ring's target. Sarah, like Chuck, is disturbed with how much he has changed, and how well he has learned to lie. As she visits Shaw at his apartment she admits that watching Chuck make the transition into becoming a full-fledged spy has led her to question who she really is. Sarah then tells Shaw that her first name is Sam. He kisses her, but they are interrupted by Chuck who arrives at the door and punches Shaw, after revealing what he'd heard through the bug, giving Shaw the necessary information to play along. They fight to convince the mobsters.

Meanwhile, Gruber escapes custody and tracks Chuck's whereabouts. He kills both Matty and Scotty, who remained behind to cover Chuck from their apartment, then makes his way across to deal with the team. He quickly disables Chuck, Sarah, and Shaw. Realizing that Chuck and Shaw both have feelings for her, takes Sarah as hostage. Before he can kill her, Casey, who has also tracked Chuck's location, kills him with the sniper rifle, revealing Casey as one of the best sharpshooters in the world, as Gruber was described as one of only about five guys who could have made that shot.

Hannah invites Chuck to meet her family the next evening. Chuck is profoundly disturbed by how much he has changed, and how easy it has become for him to lie to the people he cares about. He speaks to Ellie about it, how he used to be able to compartmentalize, but now everything, all the time, makes him feel like he's losing himself. Ellie suggests that one problem might be that however much he likes Hannah, he is still in love with Sarah. Chuck agrees.

He meets Hannah, and with a great deal of regret, in order to protect her, he admits to her that there are things he can never tell her, that she deserves to know who she's with, and they should stop seeing each other. Hannah, hurt, tells Chuck he is not the nice guy she thought him, which hurts him in turn. As a result of the breakup, she resigns from Buy More and disappears from his life.

Shaw is forced to remain in Castle now that the Ring has learned Shaw is still alive. Sarah brings him food, and they kiss again. The impression is left that Sarah has begun a relationship with Shaw.

Guest Stars[]

Quotes[]

Lester: What's that guy's secret with women? What, has he got some kind of deal with the devil?
Jeff: I've narrowed it down, either mind controlling LSD or sorcery.

~

Big Mike: I'm not gonna lie to you, boys, Bartowski is killing it with the ladies.
Lester: I know. First there was that hot girl from Stanford.
Jeff: Jill. Yeah, then the brunette with the overpriced deli.
Big Mike: Lou. She was a fine miniature piece of woman.
Lester: And now Hannah. I'd like to moisturize her feet with my saliva.
Jeff: Don't you get it? None of them matter. Chuck may try to replace her, but when he's with Sarah, the light in his eyes shines brightly.

~

Chuck [posing as Gruber]: Is this stuff sterile? I take pride in my work, all right? I want to kill him, not some secondary infection.

~

Chuck: I feel like I'm living a lie, Ellie. I used to be able to compartmentalize these things, but it's like, it's all the time now. It never stops. I feel like I'm not me anymore.

Trivia[]

Guest stars Tony Sirico and Louis Lombardi were both in The Sopranos
Brandon Routh and Kristin Kreuk played Clark Kent and Lana Lang, albeit in very different productions of the Superman mythos.
Chuck plans to make Chicken Pepperoni, which is a reference to the meal the governor wanted in the Goldie Hawn/Chevy Chase movie, Seems Like Old Times.
At the end of the episode, Sarah brings Shaw takeout from the Bamboo Dragon, the same Chinese restaurant featured in "Chuck Versus the Sizzling Shrimp".

Music[]

Daniel Zott – “Living A Lie”
The Generationals – “Faces In The Dark”
The Traditionist – “A Sleep Be Told”
Ennio Morricone – “Investigation of A Citizen Above Suspicion”