Chuck Versus the Nemesis

Chuck Versus the Nemesis
Season 01, Episode 10

Air Date	November 26, 2007
Writer	Chris Fedak
Director	Allison Liddi
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"Sarah and Casey are right inside, one girlish scream from me and they go into combat mode."

―Chuck

Chuck Versus the Nemesis is the tenth episode Season One of Chuck. It originally aired on November 26, 2007.

Synopsis[]

Just as Chuck begins to think there might be something between him and Sarah, her supposedly deceased ex-partner, and Chuck's nemesis, Bryce Larkin (Matthew Bomer) is discovered alive. Bryce seeks Chuck's help to prove that he is not rogue, as he was forced to comply to a mysterious organization that were looking for the Intersect.

Meanwhile, Morgan leads the charge to help the Buy More prep for the busiest shopping day of the year.

Full Story[]

The episode opens with Bryce Larkin, who is strapped to a hospital bed in an empty white room. As he wakes up, an orderly comes to tend to him. Sarah Walker and John Casey are watching from an observation window. As Bryce drifts out of consciousness, he mumbles the name "Chuck".

At the Buy More, Morgan tells Chuck that he is crazy because he broke up with Sarah. Morgan senses that something is wrong, however, and asks Chuck about it. Chuck doesn't want to talk about it, so Morgan goes to see Anna.

Meanwhile, Chuck contemplates his breakup with Sarah, balanced against the kiss they shared; and thinks he may have been hasty about breaking up. He notices Anna and Morgan kissing; Morgan then asks Chuck if Anna can come to his Thanksgiving dinner. Chuck says she is welcome, it's always the more the merrier with his sister; and is confused when Morgan asks if Ellie Bartowski will be there. Morgan explains that Anna believes he has a crush on Ellie as well. Chuck dryly points out that that is because it is what Morgan always tells everyone.

Big Mike reappears and warns the staff about Black Friday - the biggest shopping day of the year; and much to the dismay of the staff, explains that they need to come in on Thanksgiving for training. As Big Mike finishes, Sarah enters, and reveals to Chuck that Bryce is alive.

Chuck, Casey, and Sarah are then seen watching someone try to question Bryce; however, Bryce refuses to talk. Sarah and Casey believe that he might talk to Chuck, he has been asking for him. As Chuck prepares to go in, Casey warns him to be careful, because Bryce is a rogue, trained assassin. Chuck finds Casey's pep talk less than inspiring.

Chuck enters Bryce's room; but Bryce does not believe him to be the real Chuck Bartowski, and asks him to prove his identity, questioning him in Klingon. Chuck responds in the same language, and Bryce comments that his Klingon is rusty. Chuck tries inquiring why did he downloaded, destroyed, and sent the Intersect to him and how he is still alive. Bryce only cryptically replies and asks Chuck to come closer, when he does, Bryce breaks out of his restraints, grabs Chuck, and holds a syringe to his neck. Sarah and Casey burst in, guns ready, but Bryce uses Chuck as a human shield, preventing them from firing. Though surprised that Sarah is there, Bryce asks Casey if he "cares to try again", but Chuck does not understand what he means. Bryce, still holding Chuck hostage, backs out of the room, down the hallway, and into an elevator. As the elevator is locked, he demands that Sarah tell him the access code, or he'll kill Chuck. Reluctantly, Sarah complies. As soon as the doors close, he lets go of Chuck, dropping the serious face, thinking that Chuck knew he wasn't going to kill him. Frantically, Chuck demands to know what Bryce is trying to pull. Bryce ignores his question and asks back why Sarah is with him. Chuck explains that she and Casey are protecting him.

Suddenly, the elevator slows down to a stop. Bryce again holds Chuck at needle point as the doors open. On the other side, a man is standing. Chuck flashes on the man, who talks briefly to Bryce about something called 'Fulcrum'. When they are done, Bryce and Chuck proceed upward. Chuck asks him about Fulcrum and the man they just met, but Bryce avoids his questions, but is more amazed that the Intersect is in his head. Suddenly, Bryce presses the emergency stop button, injects Chuck with the syringe, asks that he pass on a message to Sarah - "It's hard to say goodbye" - and escapes through the elevator hatch as Chuck passes out. Chuck regains consciousness as Sarah and Casey open the elevator and find him on the floor.

The next day, at the Buy More, Morgan is giving directions through a megaphone to the Buy More employees, training them for Black Friday. After teaching them how to do crowd control, he explains to them that they will use the word 'pineapple' to indicate a Very Bad Situation, such as an earthquake, which would necessitate evacuation. Chuck gets a call from Ellie, asking him to leave so he can help with the groceries and Thanksgiving dinner.

Much to Chuck's surprise, later that evening Casey appears at his house; he explains that Ellie invited him for dinner. When Ellie leaves the room, Chuck asks him if he really killed Bryce. Casey replies that he thought he did.

Moments later, Chuck tells Ellie that Morgan is bringing someone to dinner, yes, a real person, not imaginary. Ellie is surprised to hear this and quips that she is surprised that Morgan has a friend. Just then, Morgan and Anna ring the doorbell. Ellie and Chuck answer it. Anna brings a casserole but is very cold towards Ellie.

As Ellie, Captain Awesome, Morgan, Anna, Casey, Sarah, and Chuck are eating dinner, Morgan complains that there are no marshmallows on his sweet potatoes. Anna declares that dinner is ruined, looking pointedly at Ellie. Chuck tries to defuse the situation by apologizing and saying he left the marshmallows in his car. As Chuck heads back from the car, he notices Bryce in the courtyard. Bryce seems surprised and disappointed with Chuck's living situation and asks him what happened to become Bill Gates with style. Chuck reminds him that he was kicked out of Stanford because of Bryce, and he was unable to finish any of his plans. Bryce tells Chuck that he needs to talk to Sarah without Casey knowing; the man they met in the elevator works for an organization named Fulcrum that wants the Intersect.

Chuck enters, carrying a bag of marshmallows. As Ellie prepares the sweet potatoes, Morgan tries Anna's casserole. It's apparently a green bean casserole made with tartar sauce, but he pretends to enjoy it. He offers it to everyone else at the table; but they all turn it down.

Devon starts a conversation about white-water rafting with Casey. Chuck, seizing the opportunity, discreetly tells Sarah that Bryce wants to speak with her in the bedroom. Sarah, surprised, excuses herself. Once in Chuck's room, Sarah and Bryce talk, and they share a kiss. Chuck, who happens to pass by the door, sees this.

Chuck, in shock, wanders back to the table. Devon asks everyone to name something they are thankful for. When it is his turn, Chuck, who is still distracted by what he just saw, states that he is thankful that Bryce Larkin is dead, and is not making out with his new girlfriend in his room. Everyone, except Casey (who excuses himself to investigate), thinks it's a rather dark and quite specific sentiment. Casey, meanwhile, enters Chuck's room, but Bryce is gone.

Meanwhile, Morgan moves on to the sweet potatoes. Anna becomes upset that Morgan enjoys Ellie's dish more than hers and walks out; with a protesting Morgan following. Chuck also goes after them, leaving a bewildered Ellie and Devon behind. Outside, Chuck is trying to catch up with Anna and Morgan when Sarah appears. Before she can respond to his questions about her actions; Sarah notices someone in Casey's Apartment. They sneak in, to discover Bryce. Chuck freaks, alerting Bryce, who turns around and brings up his gun. Sarah demands that he put the gun down. Bryce explains that he was recruited by Fulcrum, a splinter group inside the CIA, to steal the Intersect. Sarah naturally doesn't believe him, thinking that the CIA would've known. Bryce says that Fulcrum knew who he was, his access codes, and his record. When he realized that Fulcrum had sinister plans for the Intersect's data, he didn't know who to trust. He needed a friend like Chuck who wasn't CIA, know anything about the Intersect, Fulcrum or Sand-wall. Chuck flashes on the code-name, 'sand-wall'; and verifies that Bryce is telling the truth.

Just then, Casey walks in, gun drawn. Despite Chuck and Sarah's protests, he shoots Bryce, who falls to the floor. Chuck immediately faints. Sarah, concerned for Bryce, attempts to check on him only to find that he's wearing a bulletproof vest. When everyone settles down, Bryce explains that he stole the Intersect secrets and sent them to Chuck, when he ran into Casey, who shot him. The next thing he knew, Fulcrum brought him to a European clinic to revive him to make him divulge where the Intersect is. When he told them that it was inside him, they were trying their best to keep him alive. He wants to turn himself into the CIA so he can work against Fulcrum, but he needs to be sure it's real CIA agents and not Fulcrum operatives. Chuck volunteers to help, knowing that if he flashes on the agents, he can confirm if they are Fulcrum, if not, then Bryce is free and clear. Casey adds that they need a public place where the transfer can take place, with lots of witnesses; Chuck knows just one.

On Black Friday at the Buy More, crowds are frantic to get in the door. Big Mike says he's going into his office and doesn't want to be disturbed for any reason. The doors open and the Nerd Herd guide customers to the areas of the store they want to go, with Chuck and Anna doing a better job than Jeff and Lester who get so freaked out they hide under the counter.

Onefriend — "I got one friend in this world."

The meeting almost goes awry when Morgan runs into Bryce, but believing Bryce to be dead, he just tells him he looks like a friend's friend from college, one who wrecked his life. Later, Bryce apologizes to Chuck for insulting him the night before. He admits that he has only one friend, while Chuck has a home and store full of them. When the agents come by, Chuck does not flash on them, indicating they are legitimate, and Sarah goes with Bryce. In the car Sarah and Bryce are talking about their past when their car is side-swiped by a van driven by a Fulcrum team.

Back at the Buy More, Chuck is at the Nerd Herd desk when Tommy, the man who confronted Bryce on the elevator, comes up to Chuck and says he needs to get a very special computer called The Intersect, which he deduced is actually Chuck. He remarks that if Chuck thinks that a crowd of civilians would protect him, that's where he is wrong. Already, his men have captured Sarah and Bryce, disarmed Casey, and that he's willing to kill everyone in the Buy More to carry out his mission. The Fulcrum team that captured Sarah and Bryce call in to say that they've succeeded, only to have Sarah and Bryce turn the tables and take them out. When Bryce doesn't see Tommy anywhere, he and Sarah realize that he is after Chuck. They take Fulcrum's van and speed back to the Buy More.

Tommy is walking Chuck toward the exit when a panicked Jeff comes running up to him, saying the registers are down and he can't get them working. Tommy warns Chuck that if he says more than one word, he'll kill Jeff where he stands. Chuck looks at Jeff and says, "pineapple", the phrase indicating a store wide emergency requiring evacuation. Jeff runs off and tells Morgan "pineapple." Morgan thinks he's joking, but when Jeff says he was told by Chuck, Morgan grabs the bullhorn and announces that the store needs to be evacuated. The shoppers start a stampede for the door, during which Morgan carries out a trampled Anna; Big Mike hears this, and attempts to stop the customers from leaving, only to be carried outside by the crowd. The confusion allows Casey and Chuck to escape their captors and take cover in the Home Theater Room, where Casey unveils the arsenal he keeps in there, calls for an NSA team to get over there, and starts a shootout with Fulcrum.

Sarah and Bryce arrive on the scene and begin taking Fulcrum agents out, Chuck is extremely impressed by how well they work together. When trying to get out of the Home Theater room, however, Chuck is taken hostage by Tommy, who winds up in a standoff with Bryce and Sarah. Bryce asks Chuck a question in Klingon, when Chuck responds, Bryce tells him he's sorry, and shoots Chuck in the chest. Casey then takes out Tommy as the NSA team begins to arrive. Sarah rushes to check on Chuck, asking Bryce what they said. Bryce suggests she ask Chuck, who was wearing a Kevlar vest.

While Chuck comments on how it still hurts to get shot while wearing a bulletproof vest, Morgan carries Anna to safety. Lester says that this was rather goofy of Morgan, but Anna tells him that he passed this test. But she has to scurry when an enraged Big Mike comes over to confront Morgan about evacuating the store on its biggest day. However, Morgan is saved when a fireman/NSA agent tells Big Mike there was a gas leak and whoever evacuated the store may have saved a lot of lives. Big Mike walks off in exasperation as Morgan basks in the glow of vindication.

After giving his report to General Beckman, Bryce emerges from the Home Theater Room wearing a tuxedo. He tells Chuck that he is going deep undercover to stop Fulcrum and for all intent and purposes, he is to remain dead. When Chuck asks him where he's going, Bryce tells him that not even he can know. He then turns to Sarah and says "we'll always have Omaha."

Later that evening, Chuck goes over to Casey's apartment and asks what was meant by that statement. Casey says it was probably a meeting point, and that if Sarah wants to go with Bryce she has to do so tonight. But not to worry, if Sarah leaves, they'll get him a new girl.

Back at her hotel, Sarah is looking very conflicted. Her room phone rings, and she goes to pick it up when her iPhone starts ringing, and Chuck's picture and number appear on the screen. As two men who care about her wait, she hesitates about which one to pick up.

Quotes[]

Bryce: Who are you?
Chuck: Hey, buddy, it's me, Chuck.
Bryce: I don't believe you. What have you done with the real Chuck?
Chuck: Great. Well, unless we're in the twilight zone, and I'm some kind of clone, the answer to your question is, 'yes' I am the real Chuck.
Bryce: Prove it. [speaks Klingon]
Chuck: Come on, they're watching.
Bryce: Do it. [Chuck responds in Klingon]
Casey: What the hell?
Bryce: Your Klingon's a bit rusty, Chuck.
Chuck: Yeah, I've been kinda busy lately.

~

Morgan [about Anna]: She scares the crap out of me.
Chuck: What is that about?
Morgan: She's got this crazy idea that I'm in love with Ellie.
Chuck: 'Cause ya are
Morgan: Why does everybody know that?
Chuck: Because that's what you tell everybody!

~

Chuck: You want me to go in there and and ask him what exactly? Just so we're on the same page. Hey, Bryce why did you send me the Intersect? Why did you chose my life to ruin? How exactly do I start that conversation?

Music[]

Daniel May - “On Sale Now”
Band Of Horses - “No One’s Gonna Love You”
Pop Levi - “Sugar Assault Me Now”

Trivia[]

In an interview with the show's producers, it is revealed that Mark Christopher Lawrence who plays Big Mike, had accidentally fallen off the counter in the Buy More evacuation scene.
At the hotel, when Sarah is looking at the two phones ringing her, it represents the old and the new. On the old phone is Bryce and on the new phone is Chuck.
The Klingon dialogue is not entirely correct grammatically, the actor's pronunciation is not perfect, but fine.

Bryce: tlhIngan Hol Dajatlh'a'? (Do you speak Klingon?)
Chuck: HIja'. bIpIvqa'law'. (Yes. Apparently, you are healthy again.)
then
Bryce: ghaj yoD wep? HIja', ghobe'? (The jacket of shield has, yes, no.)
Chuck: HIja'. (Yes.)