Chuck Versus the Ring

Chuck Versus the Ring
Season 02, Episode 22
Air Date	April 27, 2009
Writer	Chris Fedak & Allison Adler
Director	Robert Duncan McNeill
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"No, no, no, that clashes with the bunting."

―Casey

Chuck Versus the Ring is the second season finale, which aired on April 27, 2009. It is the thirty-fifth episode overall.

The title of the episode is a play on words, referencing both the wedding rings, and "The Ring", a hostile organization to which the antagonistic agency Fulcrum was a subsidiary. Bryce is the first to reveal their existence.

Synopsis

Finally free of the Intersect, Chuck expects his life to return to normal. The day of Ellie and Devon's wedding arrives, however, and Chuck finds himself forced to protect both his sister and the event from a vengeful Ted Roark.

Meanwhile, Bryce is back in town to move the Intersect 2.0 from Castle, and Sarah must decide whether to stay with Chuck or to leave and be with Bryce.

Full Story

At the Buy More, Chuck, followed by Casey, enters Emmett's office and with great pleasure, quit. As they walk away, Emmett shouts at Chuck, "What you going to do for the rest of your life?!" Chuck mutters quietly, "Anything I want to."

In Castle, General Beckman asks Chuck if he would like to be a part of the new Intersect project as an analyst, he declines. Casey was told he was rejoining his old team, and Sarah was told she would be joining Bryce on the new Intersect project. Before leaving Casey gave Chuck a check from the Government as payment for his services, a fairly handsome amount for two full years, and also gave Chuck his personal phone number, he told Chuck that he could call if he ever needed him, but he warned that his fingers better be on fire if he did.

Meanwhile, Ellie and Devon's wedding was getting under way, and it was all going according to plan. Chuck asks Sarah if she would go on holiday with him, she told him she was joining Bryce on the new Intersect project. Upset, Chuck sat down as a table to drown his sorrows with a bottle of champagne when he felt something under the table, and found two dead waiters. Ted Roark then sits down at the table and tells Chuck that if he doesn't bring him the Intersect cube withing forty minutes, he was going to kill Ellie. Chuck bumps into Morgan, he tells Morgan he had forgotten the rings and needed him to stall the ceremony, he also instructed Morgan to tell Sarah this. Previously Sarah had asked if Chuck had the rings and he had shown her them. Chuck then called Casey’s number and left a voice mail.

Morgan tries getting into the bridal chamber where Sarah is, but Devon's father, Woody, refuses to let him in. Luckily, Sarah comes out to pass on a message from his wife. Woody leaves, instructing Sarah to stand guard and to not let Morgan in. When Morgan tells Sarah what had happened, she knew something was up, and went into combat mode.

Chuck returns to Castle but the Intersect cube is gone. Bryce tells him that it had already been uploaded into the new computer. When Chuck tells him what had happened, Bryce said that he couldn’t get him the cube, but he could surrender himself to Roark, since Fulcrum thinks he's the Intersect. The cube can't fall into the wrong hands, he made a promise to Orion. Chuck is shocked that Bryce knew all along who his father was. Bryce admits that Stephen knew he protected Chuck at Stanford and asked that he keep him out of the spy world. But he knew Chuck could handle the Intersect, that Sarah would find him, and he'd be learning an important truth about his father: he is a hero.

Back at the wedding, Chuck and Sarah are missing. When Stephen hears this, he realizes something is wrong and finds Sarah, he tells her how to get into the room where Roark and his men are, and she opens a set of knives meant as a wedding present. In order to stall the wedding Morgan has Jeff and Lester (Jeffster) perform. Devon is horrified until Morgan tells him Chuck asked him do stall, then Devon, knowing Chuck's secret, did his best to back the play

Just as Roark is about to help himself to the wedding cake, Chuck bursts in, warning him not to touch a thing. He was unable to get him the cube but he was able to get him an Intersect; it was long established in story that Fulcrum believes Bryce is the human Intersect. Roark is happy with the compromise but reveals that Fulcrum wants Chuck dead either way. Bryce and Sarah defend him, and just as Sarah runs out of knives and Bryce out of bullets, Casey and his team come crashing through the skylight. They shoot all of Roark's henchmen, before Stephen comes in and gives a knockout punch to Roark, something he'd wanted to do for 20 years. The dining area is a disaster, no one discovers this as Jeff lets off fireworks which activate the sprinklers, causing the guests to flee. Ellie announces that the ceremony is cancelled.

Chuck finds Ellie, who was drinking wine in the bathtub, he apologizes and says it was all his fault, but he will fix it. He uses his government pay, and the help of Casey's squad to get Ellie the wedding she had wanted all along: a small ceremony on the beach. Chuck and Stephen give the bride away. During the wedding, Sarah tells Bryce she isn’t going with him.

Back at Castle, Casey instructs one of his men, Miles, to keep an eye on Roark and goes to play poker with the rest of his men. Miles, opens the cell door, and shoots Roark dead. He then tells Casey that Roark wants to talk to him; Casey finds Roark dead in his cell. Hearing suppressed gunshots, he makes his way back and finds his team dead, and is then hit on the head. He asks Miles how long he has been with Fulcrum, he says he isn't with Fulcrum. Casey tells him to pull the trigger, Miles declines, sparing Casey who "saved my life” then knocks Casey out.

Meanwhile, the reception is being held in the courtyard at the apartment, and Ellie is happy. Bryce shows up and talks to Orion. Stephen reminds Bryce of the deal they made: in exchange for re-configuring the Intersect, the government stops looking for him and they leave Chuck alone. Bryce informs him that Chuck turned down a job on the Intersect. An agent arrives to take Bryce to have the new Intersect uploaded into his brain. Orion then flashes on the agent and sees that he was presumed dead long ago. Stephen tells Chuck and Sarah this, stating that he was "young and foolish" when he tested the original Intersect on himself. Sarah leaves, and Chuck goes to follow, telling his father he loves Sarah. Stephen says he can't follow Chuck on his mission, but he gives Chuck his Wrist Computer to help. Sarah and Chuck head to Castle and get Casey, they then head to the “Secret Intersect Location”.

Bryce, who is already there, complains to the agent on site that Sarah was “in love with another guy” and comments “it’s a bad day to be me”, to which the response is “you have no idea” and a gun is pulled on him. Bryce grabs him, shoots the others and then uses the first man as a shield but gets hit. He then enters the Intersect room and locks the door.

Chuck, Sarah, and Casey arrive at the Intersect building but get pinned down in a gun fight, Chuck is told to get help, then uses the Wrist Computer to access the Intersect room via the vent, a reference to the pilot episode where Bryce falls from the ceiling into the intersect room.

Chuck finds Bryce slumped against the wall, dying. Bryce gives Chuck a chip, and tells him that this Intersect is too powerful to fall into enemy hands, and he must destroy it. Chuck says that they need this device to fight Fulcrum. Bryce replies that Fulcrum doesn't matter, for they are just "one part of the ring." Chuck begs him not to die and that Sarah will join on him on future missions, Bryce then reveals to Chuck that she was never going to leave. To Chuck's horror, Bryce dies.

Chuck approaches the new Intersect with the Intersect destroyer. A series of flashbacks where he has been told that he is a hero flash past. A determined Chuck activates the Intersect and uploads it. He then inserts the chip which triggers a power surge and destroys it.

The doors open and Casey and Sarah are marched in by the Ring agents. Miles demands to know what Chuck did. Chuck said they were too late, he destroyed the Intersect. When Casey remarks that "you lose", Miles replies that no one stops them. Just then, Chuck experiences a flash: for the first time, it's not just intel, but a new skill flash. When both Sarah, Casey, and Miles realize he has uploaded the Intersect, the leader orders Chuck killed. Chuck then single-handedly beats his captors before saying to bewildered Sarah and Casey “Guys... I know Kung Fu”.

Trivia

• It was unsure if Chuck would be renewed for a third season. If it hadn't been for the Save Chuck campaign this might have been the last episode of Chuck.
• The title Chuck Versus the Ring has two meanings, one of which is a reference to Ellie and Devon's wedding, while the other is a reference to The Ring, Fulcrums, parent company, and the main antagonist of Season Three.
• The drive-in theater where Ted Roark plans to create new intersect agents is called the Starbright Drive In. Starbright was the name of the project Dr. Sam Beckett ran, prior to his Quantum Leap project, also the name of a series which Scott Bakula starred in.
• Chuck's last line "I know Kung Fu" comes from The Matrix (1999). Neo says the same line after Kung Fu is uploaded into his brain.
• When Miles shoots Roark there is blood where the bullet hit him. However, when Roark is shown falling, the blood is gone.
• Jeff's instructions to the string quartet before Jeffster!'s performance of Mr. Roboto are similar to the instructions Marty McFly gave the band before playing Johnny B. Goode in Back to the Future.
• Casey's mention of "man parts" in the opening scene may be an allusion to the Firefly episode "Trash," in which Jayne Cobb (also played by Adam Baldwin) says "I'll show her good and all I got man parts."

Quotes

Chuck: I can't believe you're actually leaving me.
Morgan: All right, don't Chuck, I'll cry.
Chuck: We don't want that, now do we? I'm happy for you, buddy.

~

Chuck: Go with your heart, buddy, our brains only screw things up.

~

Chuck: You belong out there, saving the word. I'm just...I'm just not that guy
Sarah: How many times do you have to be a hero to realize you are that guy.

~

Woody Woodcomb [to Devon]: Why are you letting Sam Kinison and an Indian lesbian wreck your wedding?

~

Chuck: Guys, I know king fu.

Music

• The Thermals – “Now We Can See”
• Blind Pilot – “3 Rounds And A Sound”
• The Cure – “Friday I’m In Love”
• Styx – “Mr. Roboto”
• Slow Club – “Christmas TV”
• Gramercy Arms – “Looking At The Sun”