| Chuck Versus the Gobbler | |
| Season 04, Episode 12 | |
 | |
| Air Date | January 24, 2011 |
| Writer | Craig DiGregorio |
| Director | Milan Cheylov |
| Previous | Chuck Versus the Balcony |
| Next | Chuck Versus the Push Mix |
- "Right now, she's saying she loves me. Or she's planning on buying a Buick. I can't really tell, it's a very confusing language."
- ― Chuck
Chuck Versus the Gobbler is the twelfth episode in the fourth season of Chuck, which aired on January 24, 2011.
Synopsis[]
Sarah throws herself into danger to help Mary Bartowski (Linda Hamilton) bring down Alexei Volkoff (Timothy Dalton), as Chuck worries that Sarah may be getting in too deep. Sarah must enlist the help of Chuck, Morgan, and Casey to complete her undercover mission.
Meanwhile, Ellie and Devon are at odds over what to name the baby.
Full Story[]
The episode begins with Casey and a dark haired Sarah fighting. Casey seems to be losing, but he still tells her she's never going to win. She doesn't answer, she just sends a punch right to his face.
Cut to two days earlier, and Casey approaches Morgan. He asks if Morgan has seen Chuck, and Morgan tells him he hasn't. Casey explains that he has news on Sarah's progress. Casey tells him that Sarah has been on several missions in Europe and has finally caught Volkoff's eye. Morgan is worried about how Chuck is reacting to her being undercover and wants Casey to help cheer him up because he thinks Chuck is going to the "dark side". Chuck then arrives, smiling and chipper because Sarah’s mission is progressing. He’s not worried that the mission will change Sarah.
Sarah enters Volkoff Industries with a new look, sporting long dark hair. She tells Alexei Volkoff that she wants out of the CIA to build a life with Chuck away from the spy game. Volkoff wants to know why he should trust her, and after taking out his three men, she says because she’s not going to kill him then. He thinks she's fun and she’s in.
Mary tells Volkoff Sarah will betray him, but he says she’ll be useful and believes he can turn Sarah just like he turned her. She suggests having Sarah break Yuri the Gobbler out of prison. Volkoff agrees that a suicide mission is a good start.
Meanwhile, Chuck is at home listening to a language of beeps that allows him and Sarah to communicate. He then warns Morgan that Alex is wearing his limited edition never before worn Robert Zemeckis tee shirt and eating pizza. When Morgan tells him, he’s okay with it and she looks cute. Chuck tells Morgan he’s in love.
Mary and Sarah meet in the one spot on Volkoff's compound that’s not under surveillance. She tells Sarah that Yuri could be connected with Hydra, Volkoff’s database.
Ellie tells Chuck that Devon keeps disagreeing with her baby name choices and wants his help pitching her perfect name: Grunka. Chuck is horrified and tells Devon, who is equally horrified, then says he has a plan.
Sarah disables Castle’s surveillance and enters on the sly to avoid being noticed. She needs her team to create a diversion so she can break Yuri out of prison. Before she leaves, she and Chuck share a heartfelt kiss in the hall. Chuck is a little thrown by her new look, "I feel like I'm cheating on you with you."
Casey and Morgan dressed as guards and bring Chuck into the prison as a new inmate. Chuck has to locate and incapacitate Yuri, who has to be unconscious for the breakout. Morgan introduces Chuck to the general population as a dangerous killer, attracting the attention of the other prisoners, before he and Casey leave. Chuck asks where Yuri is and is told by an inmate with missing fingers that he should not, since Yuri bit off his fingers when all he did was point at him once. Chuck challenges Yuri, and even with the Intersect is hard pressed to stay even with the brute. In security, Morgan and Casey distract the guards from the monitors with birthday cake. Sarah enters the prison as Chuck continues to fight the Gobbler. Chuck finally knocks him out with a barbell weight, and they load him into a bread truck. Before they part, Chuck and Sarah exchange “I love you's” and she says the mission could take some time.
Devon and Ellie stop by the Buy More, Jeff, Lester, and Big Mike try to offer terrible examples of the name Grunka to get her to change her mind, Lester saying he lost his virginity to a Grunka and Mike remembering a serial killer with the same name, Ellie knows what they're up to, especially when Jeff misses his cue and tells her his tale before she mentions the name.
Volkoff seems happy to have Yuri back, and then he shoots him in the head. He tells Mary and Sarah that Yuri was Hydra and removes his glass eye; the Hydra device. He smashes the eye after downloading the data to a more secure location. He tells Sarah he has one more issue for her to take care of. Mary and Sarah surreptitiously smuggle the broken eye out of the compound.
Casey and Morgan join Chuck for board games post-mission since Chuck seems to be sliding down into depression about Sarah. Casey receives a text he believes is Sarah, but is actually Volkoff, for a meet—alone. Morgan happened to glance at the text and knew what it said. At the meeting spot, Volkoff tells Sarah to kill Casey. Sarah is worried how she can make it look real with all the surveillance cameras and Mary gives her the eye to pass on before departing with Volkoff. Chuck is worried about Casey and Sarah and says he's going to castle to trace the phone signal, Morgan reveals he read the text and give Chuck the address.
'World Domination never gets old'
When Casey shows up at the meet, Sarah tells him she’s supposed to kill him as they fight. The two then try to figure out a plausible strategy. Volkoff and his men intercept Chuck outside when he arrives, and he tell him he’s just in time for a game-changing step. He brings Chuck upstairs. Casey tells Sarah to throw him out the window; he says he can survive the forty foot fall easy, "You better be fine or else I'll really kill you!"
Chuck and Volkoff enter in time to watch Sarah punch Casey who breaks through the window. He falls onto a scaffold hanging below the window, and Sarah breaths a cautious sigh of relief, but then, the scaffold breaks, and he falls the rest of the way to the ground leaving a horrified Sarah to believe she has actually killed or seriously injured Casey. Chuck is in shock, and one of Volkoff’s men then knocks him out. Sarah checks on him, but Volkoff asks if she’s ready to go. She stands and says she is.
Devon apologizes to Ellie for involving the Buy More guys in his ploy to avoid the name Grunka. She says she’s just anxious they haven’t chosen a name yet, and he hasn't liked any names she's proposed. He says he likes Clara, she likes it too, so she gives him a choice: Clara or Grunka. "I can't believe you thought I was going to name our baby Grunka. Grunka, the name of the spoons I bought at Ikea."
On a plane to Russia, Sarah is obviously struggling. Mary tells her that it gets easier if she creates distance and is emotionally unattached.
Chuck and Morgan watch over Casey in the hospital. Alex enters, visibly upset; Morgan comforts her. A confused and anxious Chuck tries to contact Sarah on the sat-link, and although the fact that Chuck is contacting her makes her feel a little better, she repeats Mary's advice of "distance" and declines the call, leaving both of them visibly upset.
Guest Stars[]
- Timothy Dalton as Alexei Volkoff
- Linda Hamilton as Mary Bartowski
- Mekenna Melvin as Alex McHugh
- Matthew Willig as Yuri Gobrienko
Trivia[]
- Sarah's new hair is similar to that of the hair of the video game Mass Effect 2 character, Miranda Lawson, who is modeled on and whose voice actor is Yvonne Strahovski. Her outfit is also similar to Miranda Lawson's alternative outfit, unlocked after her loyalty mission. Sarah says "I love a good suicide mission," referring to the suicide mission from the game. Adam Baldwin also lent his voice to Mass Effect 2.
- The number on Chuck's prison outfit, 092980, is the actual birth date of actor, Zachary Levi.
- The actor, Matthew Willig, playing Yuri the Gobbler, also appeared earlier in the Season One episode Chuck Versus the Tango, as one of the bodyguards of La Ciudad under the name of "Uri" according to IMDB.
- Grunka is an actual set of spoons from IKEA. 'Grunka' is Swedish for 'thingamajig.'
Quotes[]
Volkoff: Miss Walker, even if you've told me the truth about your motives, why would I ever trust you?
Sarah: Fair question. [after taking out his guards] The reason you're going to trust me is because I'm not going to kill you right here and right now.
Volkoff: You are such fun!
~
Morgan: Lemme ask you a quick question. What the hell's wrong with me?
Chuck: Nothing is wrong with you, my friend, but I have news for you, Morgan, I think you're in love.
Morgan: What? I'm in love? [Chuck nods] I'm in love. Maybe you're right. Wow. Do I tell her?
Chuck: Well, that's a kind of big deal.
Deleted scenes[]
The Season 4 DVD contains the following deleted scenes from this episode:
- Morgan having a heart-felt conversation with Casey while he's in a coma.
Music[]
- "AM/FM Sound" by Matt & Kim
- "Midnite Runaround" by Pop Levi
- "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks" by The National
- "Silvia" by Miike Snow