| Chuck Versus the Sizzling Shrimp | |
| Season 01, Episode 05 | |
 | |
| Air Date | October 22, 2007 |
| Writer | Scott Rosenbaum |
| Director | David Solomon |
| Previous | Chuck Versus the Wookiee |
| Next | Chuck Versus the Sandworm |
- "Help me Chuck Bartowski, you're my only hope."
- ―Morgan
Chuck Versus the Sizzling Shrimp is the fifth episode of Season One of Chuck. It originally aired on October 22, 2007.
Synopsis[]
While at a Chinese restaurant, Chuck flashes on a waitress who is actually a Chinese spy who, it is later revealed, in the US to save her diplomat brother from local Triads. Chuck then feels he must repay the spy when he messes up her rescue attempt, and still find time to spend with Ellie and Morgan.
Full Story[]
The episode begins with Morgan looking through a Chinese restaurant menu and asking Chuck if he told Sarah, who is entering the Buy More, about an "evening with Morgan." Chuck assures him he did. However, as soon as Sarah asks, Chuck explains that he has not seen Ellie or Morgan much at all and wanted to have a dinner with the family and Sarah.
Meanwhile, at the Chinese Consulate, a diplomat by the name of Lee Cho answers his phone and tells his sister that he is fine. However, as he signals his driver to open his door, a Bamboo Dragon truck driven by local Triads shoot his driver and kidnaps Lee as his sister is left asking if he is okay.
We're gonna pack our bellies so full, you're gonna make a seal jealous.
That night, Chuck, Sarah, and Morgan go to the Bamboo Dragon to pick up dinner. While in the kitchen, Chuck flashes on the tattoo of a waitress and identifies her as Mei-Ling Cho, a top Chinese spy. He tells Sarah and Casey, and is forced to spend the entire night trying to flash on documents given to him by Casey to figure out what Mei-Ling is doing in the United States rather than eating Sizzling Shrimp with Morgan and Ellie.
The next morning, Chuck is confronted by Ellie about standing her and Morgan up the previous night. Chuck excuses himself by saying Sarah had a spastic colon and he had to take her home. Ellie reminds him that their personal 'Mother's Day' is scheduled for the next night, and Chuck promises he won't forget. At the Buy More, Chuck informs Casey that he didn't flash on the documents Casey gave him, and Casey informs him they will be going on a stake-out that night. Big Mike interrupts them and tells Casey all the green shirts to report to his office. Big Mike informs the sales staff that sales are down and he is having a sales competition and the loser of the competition will be fired. Thus, Morgan tries to actually sell something with abysmal results. He asks Chuck for help and Chuck promises to try.
Later that night, Chuck, Sarah, and Casey tail Mei-Ling, who is tailing Ben Lo Pan, a wheelchair-bound local businessman who reputedly owns half of Chinatown. They follow them to the Bamboo Dragon and Chuck flashes on Mei-Ling's pistols and assumes she is there to kill Ben Lo Pan. Sarah and Casey go in to catch her while Chuck stays in the car.
Meanwhile, Morgan goes to Chuck's apartment and sits down despite Ellie saying Chuck isn't home. He informs Ellie about his dilemma before he leaves.
Back at the stakeout, Chuck stays in the car while Sarah and Casey engage in a fire fight with Ben Lo Pan's men and Mei-Ling. Lo Pan escapes the restaurant and Chuck, assuming he's a helpless old man in a wheelchair, comes out of the car to help him into his limo, and he is shocked to see Lo Pan order his thugs to put a bound Lee in the trunk. Mei-Ling fires at the limo but they escape. Mei-Ling angrily confronts Chuck and tells him Lo Pan is a Triad leader and he is holding her brother, Lee, hostage. She wasn't trying to kill Lo Pan but rather stage a rescue. She flees as Sarah and Casey approach and Chuck explains the situation.
The next day, Casey and Sarah inform Chuck that Lee is a low level bureaucrat from Beijing and was kidnapped by Lo Pan's men to force the release of a Triad captain through a ransom. The Chinese government refused, so Mei-Ling staged an unauthorized rescue operation. They inform him that they must stay out of it despite his objections to avoid an international incident. Chuck claims responsibility for it, but Sarah says that they can't save everyone.
Meanwhile, Morgan is running last in sales and tries to employ the help of Jeff and Lester, who turn out to be less than useless. Chuck is contacted by phone at work by Mei-Ling, who tells him the Triads put a deadline on Lee's life and demands Chuck's assistance. Chuck takes Casey to the Wienerlicious, where he asks Sarah and Casey if they can convince Mei-Ling to defect, will they help? Casey states that if Chuck gets her to defect, he'll rescue her brother personally. Sarah gets suspicious and asks why Chuck is asking. Chuck informs them Mei-Ling contacted him and his two handlers immediately search the Buy More but to no avail. Chuck tries to help Morgan, but is brushed off. He then goes to the storage cage to sign for an apparent early delivery. However, it is a setup by Mei-Ling and she holds him hostage. Chuck brokers a deal that if Mei-Ling defects, Sarah and Casey will help rescue her brother. Mei-Ling is hesitant, Casey asks if this is out of loyalty to her government, the same one that abandoned her brother. Mei-Ling states that if she does this, she'll never be able to go back to China or see her brother again. Chuck points out that if she doesn't do something, she'll lose him forever. With her government refusing to help, she has no other options.
The spies plan a rescue from Lo Pan's mansion while Chuck preps for Mother's Day with Ellie. The team calls him for help, however and he makes his excuses to Ellie. His help is required with the rescue since he is the only one familiar with the cameras. Mei-Ling, Sarah, and Casey infiltrate the mansion with Chuck navigating through surveillance from inside the truck.
Meanwhile, at the Buy More, Morgan becomes so desperate about the sales competition that he goes to Lester and Jeff for help. He genuinely helps a customer by telling her Large Mart has a lower price for a product than the same one at Buy More. Moved by his kindness, she starts to give him her number, but Lester and Jeff's interference ruins it, and she takes it back.
The spies finally confront Lo Pan, but are dismayed to find out that the whole rescue operation is a setup. Lo Pan has just been refused on his last demand to the Chinese government for Lee's life, but thinks he might have a new angle with two American agents to offer. Casey tries to warn Chuck to leave and go home, but Chuck instead trails them back to the Bamboo Dragon. After seeing where the spies and Lee are being held, Chuck provides a distraction by setting off fireworks in their van. As the guards react to the commotion, Chuck releases everyone from the freezer, and hides with Lee while the spies deal with the Triads. As Lo Pan tries to escape once again, Chuck stops him, "Forget it, Ben, it's Chinatown...you ever see that movie?"
Meanwhile, Ellie and Morgan bond over an 'I miss Chuck' moment. Ellie says that while she is happy Chuck is with Sarah, she is disappointed that she never gets to see him. Morgan reminds her that Chuck went through some rough times; getting kicked out of Stanford and getting dumped by Jill. The two finally start to come to an understanding, when Chuck finally gets home, he convinces Ellie to change Mother's Day to the next day.
Signing off
The next day, Morgan is about hand in his letter of resignation, when he is surprised to see Ellie buying some $700 worth of merchandise, giving him the credit, and bumping him into second place. He is shocked, however, to find out that Big Mike never intended for anyone to get fired, and it was just a plot for the green shirts to work harder.
At the airport, Mei-Ling and Lee say goodbye and she thanks Chuck for his help. Chuck, to preserve his Buy More cover, brings the moment back to the mundane, by asking her to sign his off-site service customer satisfaction report.
Later, Chuck is surprised to find Ellie invited Morgan and Sarah for their Mother's Day. Chuck explains to Sarah that they celebrate Mother's Day in October because it was the anniversary of the day their mother left them, and since their father "was here but never really here", it was when they learned to take care of each other.
Trivia[]
- This is the only episode where we see Chuck actually getting someone to sign his off-site install papers, although the concept is mentioned on several other occasions.
- The villain, Ben Lo Pan, is played by James Hong, who played David Lo Pan in the cult classic movie Big Trouble in Little China.
- Casey refers to Ben Lo Pan as Ironside when he confronts him in his mansion, a reference to the 1967-1975 television show in which the main character, Robert T. Ironside, is a paraplegic.
- This episode marks the first of several times Chuck mentions his invention, Sarah's "spastic colon" of convenience.
- Fernando is not listed in the sales competition board despite being a Green Shirt. Jeff, however, is listed despite being part of the Nerd Herd.
Quotes[]
Chuck: Defect, yes! People do that kind of thing all the time, right? The Hunt for Red October... uh... White Nights.White Nights? Gregory Hines, Baryshnikov, dancing their way to freedom?
Casey: Well, as long as you've done serious research on the subject. You get her to defect, I'll help rescuing her brother personally.
~
Sarah:Stay in the car!
Chuck: My four favorite words.
~
Ellie: It's okay, I invited him.
Morgan: Yeah, yeah, and I told you he was gonna come walking through that door didn't I? He's such a good kid.
Chuck: What?
Ellie: We bonded over an I miss Chuck moment.
Music[]
- Hall & Oates - “Private Eyes”
- Envelopes - “Sister In Love”
- Rogue Wave - “Lake Michigan”