Los Angeles scenescape at dark. We hear quasi-genuine actor laughter and then arrive in the Bartowski living room where the gang (the two couples and Morgan, of course) are playing some kind of Newlywed-esque game that requires whiteboard paddles and markers as well as a middling to uncomfortably accurate knowledge of your partner.
It took me a while to realize that Morgan is playing as a member of the Chuck and Sarah couple team.

Captain Awesome and Ellie are being that obnoxious yet stunningly healthy couple that is impossible to beat. He knows she likes her eggs, uh, poached. Ellie gives him a big kiss on his handsome face while Chuck mutters, “I don’t even know why I play this game.” I don’t know either, buddy. It looks like a good way to resent couples that have more secure relationships than you do.

Morgan holds up his paddle to reveal that he has written, “Kill me,” on it and I think Captain Awesome says, “Anytime, buddy.”

Awesome!

Sarah answers one of Chuck’s questions passably well and a nice amount of flirting ostensibly for the benefit of the onlookers occurs and then Morgan proceeds to ruin the adorable goings-on with some creepily aware information that ruins any hope Sarah has of looking like she knows what she’s talking about. Chuck, by the way, is wearing the red shirt of tight- sleeved awesomeness that he donned in episode 1×03. And from the way Sarah is watching him, I wouldn’t call it a mistake.

I also don’t think it’s totally off base to assume that Sarah is actually enjoying the company and the socialization.

The game continues when Sarah pulls a card that begs her to detail her “Most Dangerous Situation”. I’m guessing it has something to do with a pool full of sharks with laser beams attached to their heads but Chuck blandly inserts, “Changing a tire on the side of the freeway?” Which as a non-spy, I can guarantee you is terrifying enough. Sarah smiles at her dearest but goes on to reveal that it was an unfortunate sunburn she received at age nine on a family vacation. Captain Awesome and Ellie either find it charming or boring and Morgan seems buoyed that Sarah and Chuck definitely know less about each other than he knows about Chuck.

During this time, Chuck also observes in a canny, “The Office” type shot, that Sarah picks olives off her pizza. It also appears that he is somewhat troubled by it. Not that she doesn’t like olives but just the fact that it’s one of the only true things he knows about her and she didn’t even tell him.

Then, this week’s anvil of heavy-handed writing appears and Chuck is pressed to reveal is most loathed acquaintance. Chuck demurs but Sarah hazards a tentative, ”Harry Tang?” To which the rest of Chuck’s clique responds with varying degrees of scoffs and pshaws - though to Ellie’s credit, she tellss Sarah that it was a good guess- until Morgan gleefully blunders on about Bryce.

Cut to Sarah looking winsome and Chuck looking awkward. And not to editorialize too much here, but both actors do a tremendous job with this situation. Sarah again looks stricken upon hearing more of Bryce’s misdeeds and Chuck wishes that he could sew Morgan’s lips shut.

Interspersed through the “game night” antics we have one or two shots that face into the family room from outside. Sarah also hears a suspicious noise or something else that triggers her spy-sense. She looks back at the window suspiciosly but remains seated.

—–

Chuck and Sarah walk out of the house hand in hand with Ellie grinning madly behind them as she watches them before closing the door. Neither Chuck nor Sarah looks too keen on letting go and it goes on cutely a little too long to be strictly platonic.

Sarah remarks that she likes to win but that Morgan “clearly has an edge.” She is a trooper. We get another overhead shot where the audio gets further away and we are led to believe someone is WATCHING.The dialogue is a bit indistinct here but Chuck, chagrined, mentions that he thought Morgan putting some kind of information in “descending order” was a bit much and Sarah agrees, saying that Morgan is basically the intersect on Chuck.

Then Chuck says in a manner that is obviously not intended to be dirty but I choose to hear as dirty, “I wish I could access your file.” Sarah chooses to ignore the innuendo in that comment and tells Chuck if he wants to know something, he should ask. Inevitably, Chuck asks about Bryce and Sarah is evasive as she replies that he was her partner and that any closeness they shared stemmed from that. Chuck seems to accept the answer but with a definite note of skepticism.

They discuss their performance in the game and Chuck awkwardly uses it as a segue to what his response should be about their sex life. Sarah supplies a little balefully that they are “taking it slow.” Hmm.

The sound of an iron gate swinging open quickly jars them both and Sarah is instantly alert until Morgan appears, of course, to blather about how he thought Chuck wanted to walk him to the car. He then walks by the both a little brusquely and doesn’t actually acknowledge Sarah, which is pretty rich considering that she tolerates him remarkably well. But I suppose he is just scared about the possibility of losing his heterosexual lifemate in Chuck.

—

Sarah is at home in her tasteful, but oddly monochromatic apartment and we see her feeding a solitary goldfish which is just about the second most adorable thing in this episode. NBC would sue me if I didn’t mention that Sarah is wearing a rather flimsy, short-ish bathrobe since they obviously spent great care finding such a fetching piece of cloth for Yvonne to fight in.

Sarah is adjusting the shower nozzle when she catches a black shape in the reflection. There must have been a 2 for 1 deal on Ninja Apparel at Kitson because Sarah’s nemesis is sporting a black get-up and mask remarkably similar to her own seen in the Pilot.

Sarah nonchalantly drops a bar of soap into a nylon that she has charmingly left out to dry on a towel rack as though it’s 1957.

Then she surprises the surpriser and this week’s girlfight commences. It’s a bit better edited and faster-paced than usual and it gets pretty chaotic with lots of Sarah’s glassware and knicknacks being destroyed before the fishbowl with little Nemo is overturned and both fighters tumble to the grown. There is a funny shot of the attacker apparently going for Sarah’s misplaced gun but actually grabbing the fish and tossing him back in the bowl before setting it upright.

If the scenes we saw of this episode last week hadn’t clued us in, that would have been a pretty good indication that this is one attacker with a Heart of Gold. Or a PETA membership.

While Sarah and the intruder were tussling on the ground, our Sarah got a leg up and mentioned, “You always telegraph your punches.”

Ta-da! They know each other.

Anyway, Sarah is sporting a little trickle of blood as she unmasks the attacker. They spend a minute getting over the niceties, read: finding out the other’s new cover name, and then immediately jump into conversation using the monikers. Which is kind of cool and badass.

Sarah cuts to the chase and wants to know why “Karina” is dropping in so suddenly without calling first. Karina is an old (colleague? frenemy? both!) aquaintance that works undercover for the DEA.

I didn’t know DEA agents lived the life of international spies with couture wardrobes, or looked like Mini Anden but this show opens my eyes every week.

Karina wants Sarah to assist her in recovering a diamond from a nefarious baddie. Not much more explanation is given and Sarah and Karina spend a moment bantering before Karina jumps to her feet and offers Sarah a convivial hand up. Sarah cutely bats it away and gets up on her own. Good girl. Never take help from a model.
————-

The next morning:

Chuck leaves Casa Bartowski for a day at the office and is surprised to see a 5′10” specimen of statuesque lady standing in his courtyard.

She smiles flirtatiously and Chuck gets a flash of some documents, Karina’s modeling headshots, and DEA intel. Also, the word Argentina.

He then busts into Casey’s apartment and both Casey and Sarah have their guns pointed at him before they realize it’s Chuck.

They are being debriefed by CIA director guy and NSA- Air Force uniformed Red Headed General lady and Chuck starts to speak before he’s shushed by Casey.

The foursome, minus Chuck, are discussing Karina’s plan and while I’m all for intra-agency cooperation, it seems pretty loosey- goosey. And not so much like a plan.

Sarah opines that Karina is extremely capable, but also a bit of the proverbial wild card. Her hijinks tend to get people in trouble, which I guess makes Karina the Maverick to Sarah’s Iceman. Leaving Chuck as Goose?

Anyway, she’s dangerous. Or dangerously attractive. You be the judge.

Sarah and Casey exchange several looks meant to tip us off that they are of the same mind regarding Karina’s trustworthiness. Casey overcomes some discomfort and mentions that he has some issues with Karina himself.

CIA Director says that they are aware of “what happened in Prague” and Sarah stifles a snicker. This information will be important later.

CIA director and Red Headed NSA gal decide that they are to help Karina on a recon mission to ascertain the specifics surrounding the diamond’s whereabouts and then eventually take the diamond for themselves. Under no circumstances is the diamond to be entrusted to Karina.

It’s being held at the “Malibu Compound” of one Peyman Alahi, esq.

He’s all up in the opium trade and what not as an international financial whiz.

——
Karina is waiting for them outside and after Casey has pronounced it “his” team, it is clearly established that there is some intriguing backstory between Casey and Karina after she announces that it’s nice to see him again. With pants on.

Chuck is introduced as an analyst. And an afterthought.

Morgan blunders over looking rumpled as ever and Sarah informs Karina that he is a civilian. Sarah does introductions and Morgan does her one better by taking Karina’s hand and kissing it rather gallantly.

———–

There’s a bit of Buy More action here as Morgan regales the Nerd Herd with tales of his romantic prowess while Chuck chimes in with occasional , like, Karina thinks Morgan’s name is Martin.

It should be noted that he’s a bit more contentious than usual, pointing out some of the flaws in Morgan’s story. I suspect that it has something to do with the fact that he’s still a bit upset about his lack of real information on Sarah. But I could be reading too much into it. Or, I could be reading the exact amount that Chuck’s writers want me reading into it.
———–

Wienerlicious:

Sarah and Karina are doing their best to overcome the bad lighting and garish primary color scheme in the hot dog joint whilst discussing the upcoming op. As a side note, since Mini Anden is a supermodel- turned- actress and Yvonne Strahovsky is an Australian- turned- actress, I think it’s worth mentioning that one of the major differences between actresses and models that I can observe is that models’ features endear them to stillness and print photography and actresses’ benefit from motion and expression. Which is why I get bogged down in a ridiculous and ultimately futile battle of who is more empirically attractive. It never works on Supernatural and it’s equally fruitless here so I’ll just leave it with this: I’m in Sarah’s corner.

Back to Chuck the Show: These two [Sarah and Karina] are definitely frenemies and you’re about to find out why.

Karina surmises that Chuck is the odd man out in the espionage equation and that his status as “analyst” might be a bit of stretch. She questions, “What’s he analyzing? You?”

Sarah’s like, from your lips to God’s ears, buddy.

Instead, she announces somewhat vaguely to Karina’s continued curiosity that her cover with Chuck is “boyfriend/girlfriend.” And there has got to be a more professional way to say that.

Anyway, Karina seems genuine when she offers Sarah her condolences on Bryce’s passing. Sarah seems genuinely surprised and then appreciative and smiles a smile that is made of win.

Sarah, perhaps struck by the realization that there is literally nobody else she could talk to about her feelings regarding Bryce, opens up a little bit but Karina talks over her and says that what happened to Bryce is an occupational hazard.

Sarah’s walls go back up.

Karina mentions wanting to talk to Chuck herself and Sarah says matter-of-factly, and with not a small amount of satisfaction, “That’s not happening.”

She turns back to her files only to have Karina walk out of the Wienerlicious.

Sarah moves to follow, but her Wienerboss bars the way and demands she keep “two eyes” on a rotating Wheel O’ Hot Dogs.

—-

While Sarah is waylaid, Karina catwalks the hell into Buy More and comes face to face with Morgan. The Nerd Herders are watching, completely dumbfounded by this turn of events and betting that there’s “a nicer establishment where beautiful people can shop.” It’s called the Internet. Or Neiman Marcus.

Karina sees Chuck and waves, because she is going to be kind of interested in him all episode long. Sarah comes up behind and all the Nerd Herders just had the hard drives erased. Or something computer-ish with consequences.

Morgan leaves Karina and heads toward the Nerd Herd desk to command Chuck to beg Sarah to persuade Karina to go on a double date.

Chuck says no pretty quickly.

–

Karina and Sarah are now having some words and one begins to assume that there might be another set of reasons why Sarah subconsciously prefers that Karina not get too close to Chuck.

–
Chuck allows Morgan to believe that he will passionately advocate the double date to Sarah and he is making his way to the ladies just as they are ending their discussion with this exhange:

Sarah: Well, it’s my op and my rules and you’re gonna do exactly as I say.
Karina: We’ll see about that.

And then Sarah does this funny little head pump which is synoymous with, “You are an effing pain in my ass.”

—-

Chuck asks to speak with Sarah in private and Karina graciously cedes the floor to the representative from the Nerd Herd. Sarah gives her undivided attention to Chuck and he begins to describe his plan that when he asks her to set up Morgan with Karina, she should say no.

Karina is posing- I mean, standing- in the corner of the screen checking Chuck out as this goes on.

He also describes, hilariously, that she should look over at the gawking nerds and exaggeratedly shake her head so they get the message loud and clear, seeing as how they’re “kind of lame”.

Sarah has a better idea. Though I’m not sure if it’s that good of an idea spy-wise. It’s a good idea NBC spy-show wise, though. After Chuck broaches the plan, Sarah looks around at Karina, then funnily, back at Morgan who is kind of gesturing and doing an antsy-pants dance. Karina has since wandered off and misses Sarah’s gleeful declaration that it is a “great idea.”

Chuck is perturbed.

—

Sarah ignores a question Karina poses about some Buy More merchandise’s ability to cut through bone and lays the new deal out on the line. If she wants Sarah and Chuck’s help, she’s got to go on a date with Morgan. Or as he’s affectionately known to Karina, “Martin.”

Karina says it’s a small price to pay and asks, “which one of these geeks is Morgan?”

Really, I know she’s hot. And very poised and secure, I might add. But that marks her third introduction to Morgan that morning. Isn’t she supposed to be kind of brilliant?

Anyway, Sarah says with smirk that Morgan’s wearing, “The green shirt.”

And Karina looks over at Morgan who is kind of doing his best to appear self-possessed and she does one of those quick once- up, once-down nods with the half -smile that Joey Tribbiani made famous.

They cut back to the girls and Karina says, “Well, that’ll be fun” as Morgan rides the pony in the background.

Chuck raises his hands and gives Sarah an adorable WTF look as she laughs and flounces away with much self-congratulation.
———–

Chez Bartowski:
Karina is on the couch beside Morgan, saying to Chuck and Sarah, “You guys are so cute.”

Yeah, we know, Karina.

“You guys are like the cutest couple ever.”

Cut to Sarah perching on the edge of Chuck’s chair in a lovely purple top that I believe she might have worn before. NBC costumers are apparently big on the idea that these people don’t have a new outfit for every day. Which is kind of cool, but if the poor kids on shows like One Tree Hill can have new clothes every week, why can’t our people?

Anyway, Sarah is just grinning smugly at Karina’s pronouncement and what goes on in this scene is like a weird battle of one-upmanship in which the only person who thinks he’s on a real date is Morgan.

Sarah and Chuck both look hot though and the sparks are flying on Sarah’s end. Chuck looks a little awkward. And I suppose that it’s possible that at this point, Chuck doesn’t know Sarah told Karina about their “boyfriend/girlfriend” cover. So maybe he believes they’re still trying to fool her.

He accepts the compliment from Karina with a nervous chuckle as he hilariously uses his fist to nudge Sarah’s thigh in a way that I suppose he thinks is kind of romantic, or would be in a normal situation as he says, “Ahh. Thanks. We’re doin- doin good.”

To which Sarah responds to the eye-challenge put forth by Karina as she leans closer to Chuck so that she’s sort of draped behind him. And she smiles down at him adoringly and says, “Good? I’d say we’re doing very good sweetie.”

And lesser actors could have made this contrived scenario pretty cringeworthy but dammit, I’m all aboard the Cheese train, thanks very much.

Chuck laughs nervously and says, “I stand corrected.”

Karina asks how they met and Chuck is thrown for just a second before he says, “At work, I guess.”

And then we witness the return of Morgan’s disturbingly accurate, mental Chuck dossier as he proceeds to enlighten Karina about our lovebirds’ meet-cute.

Karina smarms that, “I guess a lot people that meet at work end up dating.”

Sarah commits murder through the eyes while Karina gloats and Chuck is awkward again. Though, I’m not sure why he’s so awkward at that point because he doesn’t know about Sarah’s romantic history with Bryce.

Sarah then asks if anyone wants to watch a movie. Chuck turns his face up to agree and Sarah sort of runs her hand over the back of his neck and through his hair as he’s speaking and Chuck’s eyes close in bliss as his speech slows down quite a bit. She keeps going and he seems to regain control a bit as he tells her that he rented, “that penguin movie.”

Morgan tries to deny the penguins but Chuck’s not having any of it.

There’s some good Chuck and Sarah reaction to Morgan’s babbling at a misleadingly flirtatious Karina.

—-

Chuck and Morgan go into the kitchen to prepare the pizza and Morgan tells Chuck that he thinks Karina is really into him.

Chuck places careful inflection on the word “seems” when he replies, “It seems that way.”

His tone clearly speaks volumes and the show is doing a pretty adequate job of setting up Chuck’s disillusionment and hurt at the “boyfriend/girlfriend” charade.

—

In the other room, the womenfolk move closer for some girltalk and Sarah sweetly reminds Karina that she doesn’t need to toy quite so much with Morgan’s feelings.

Karina wants to know how Sarah can stand being in a place that’s like “if a yawn could yawn.”

And Sarah tells her a lttle flintily, “I’m good here.”

And am I the only one who wants to know exactly how Sarah got into the spytrade? Has the life lost it’s luster? Or is the more behind this admission? Like Chuck.

—

Cut to:

A kind of hilarious shot of all four young people on the couch. And the scene is so mundane that I swear it’s happened in every house across America. The group date. Live it, love it.

All four are watching the Penguin movie and it’s kind of precious because Morgan’s pretty much just staring at Karina, while Chuck and Sarah pretty much just stare intently at their pizza/penguins. These two really could be such a cute couple. There’s a part of Sarah that is really, really digging the quiet life. Whether or not she wants it permanently is another issue.

Chuck again notices that Sarah peels the black olives off her pizza.

Morgan asks Karina if she likes to travel. I’d bet yes.

She replies but barely has time to speak before Chuck and Sarah jointly “shhhh” her. Awwww.

Morgan “shhhes” them back and Karina laughes a laugh that might be real amusement.

The Morganator is quiet, speaks again, Chuck snaps, then Morgan is quiet again and then he says to Karina, “You want to go to Chuck’s room? Somewhere private?”

We get a glorious sideview of Sarah’s WTF face.

—–

Cut to: Chuck in bed. Someplace we’d all like to be. In bed. Not necessarily with Chuck but if the chance arises…

It’s night obviously, and Morgan is calling. He wants to know “how soon is too soon” to call. Try one month from never.

This goes on for a few minutes before the phone rings again and a lady caller is connected to Chuck because he’s the on-call member of the NH.

Quite obviously, it’s Karina. Quite obviously, she attempts to seduce him (who can blame her) and quite obviously she indelicately spills the beans about Bryce and Sarah’s relationship.

And while I appreciate the need to show us how much Chuck cares for Sarah by showing us how upset he is over the news of a relationship. It’s kind of unfair of him to blame her for being involved with Bryce before she a) ever met Chuck and B) knew Bryce was a tool.
—–

The next day:Wienerlicious

Sarah is detailing the op rather sunnily to a less-than-enthused Chuck who is twirling his corndog forlornly as Sarah talks at him. It’s supposed to be a strictly recon mission but Sarah is innocently interested in Chuck’s vacant stare and corndog twirling.

Sarah notices Chuck’s glazed eyes and inability to meet her gaze and she is the picture of concern. She asks, “Are you okay? Are you sick?”

He tells her he’s fine and she eventually mentions a caveat to their mission, saying, “At the mansion, I need you to stick by my side.”

He asks why and she starts to reveal that Karina is a bit of a loose cannon and Sarah does this so endearingly, and with such a blatant desire not to overwhelm Chuck and make him nervous that I kind of start to get a bit annoyed with him.

Sarah mentions that once in Pakistan, she had to get Karina out of quite a tight spot. “She is not to be trusted.”

And Chuck looks up all full of hope that this beautiful, lovely girl that he’s growing to like so much will reveal to him that the Bryce thing was completely made up. He starts laughing a bit incredulously at his good fortune and he says to Sarah, “You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that.”

She cocks her head and looks good-naturedly puzzled and asks him why. He mentions his late-nite rendezvous and Sarah is suitably affronted. Then suitably nervous. She does not want to have to reveal this to Chuck. She does not want to revisit her mistake with him. She does not want to have to blur the line between personal and professional again.

She asks worriedly, “What did she say?”

Chuck is about to tell her when the Wienerboss buts in and informs Sarah that her break is “abutting the twenty five minute mark.”

Sarah requests just a few minutes and he wanders away.

Sarah is growing more dreadful as is Chuck. He tells her “it doesn’t matter if it’s not true.”

Sarah’s face is utterly still as she asks, “Just tell me.”

Chuck’s face is crestfallen as he adds, “Something about Bryce.”

And the acting is superb, but again, the idea that Chuck would be this angry with her for something she did before they knew each other (when they’re not even really involved) is kind of ludicrous.

Wienerboss makes his way over again but the damage is already done. Sarah threatens the Wienerboss with a not-accident and then she sits back down where Chuck is imploring her to tell him that “it’s not true.”

Strahovsky’s eyes are selling this scene. She’s a very eye-talking, expression-centric actress and she’s rockin’ it this episode. Zach is looking marvelously wounded.

She finally admits, “It was complicated.”

And Chuck tells her pretty harshly, ” I thought you were supposed to be good at lying.”

————————–

Cut to: Beach Party at Peyman Alahi’s swingin’ bachelor pad
Chuck is complaining about his Miami Vice duds to Karina and looking kind of bummed. Karina begins to flirt with him and Zach does a good job of not letting his body language show too much reciprocation because he is clearly still upset about the Sarah/ Bryce “boyfriend/girlfriend” revelation.

Sarah, meanwhile, is wearing the least attractive outfit she’s ever had, and walking a perimeter with a mojito. She looks hurt and bothered by the Karina/ Chuck action by the pool and continues walking by herself.

Karina is passionately intoning to Chuck that she knows Sarah probably filled him in on their history and the fact that she’s unconventional. Chuck admits as much and Karina begins to assure him of her committment to the mission and of the fact that he can trust her.

Karina introduces us, and Chuck, to Peyman Alahi.

Well, she doesn’t technically introduce him so much as she points him out. He is the titular wookiee. And the name fits like a glove. He is donning a speedo. And I can’t find one reason why he should.

—
Chuck walks by Sarah in a move that is both Mean, and Mean Girls. She ignores it and goes to brief Karina about a “southern egress”. Which I am well aware is some kind of alcove or something but for a moment I thought she said egret and I was picturing marsh-dwelling water fowl.

They share tidbits about the security/plan and just generally walk around and are hot.

—–
Sarah catches up with Chuck and asks if “we are okay?”

He stuffily replies that they are and then lets her know about some security cameras he’s seen.

—

Casey has been relegated to chauffeur again this episode, though lucky for us, he is one caustic, wry chauffeur.

One of Alahi’s goons approaches Casey to ask for a light and Casey dryly tells him to “Pick up a paper. From the 60’s.”

The goon walks off looking both chastised and confused.

—

The threesome of Chuck, Sarah, and Karina head around back, pretty noisily in my opinion. They seem a bit rusty on their spycraft but what do I know?

Chuck also states, “So, I guess if this was you and Bryce you’d be breakin’ into the bedroom, huh, Sarah?”

It’s pretty tasteless, and again, silly, since Chuck really has no leg to stand on.

Sarah answers him a lot more professionally than I would in her position, saying simply, “Now’s not the time.”

They proceed to the room with the Diamond in it and are there maybe thirty seconds when Peyman Alahi and his Goons of Thunder bust in. Peyman still has on his speedo. Couldn’t they have gotten him a tiny robe when they got Sarah’s?

Anyway, they pretty easily convince him that they’re just a couple of Midwest gals and their baby brother Chuckie, which seems even more ridiculous considering not a one of them has the same hair color. Or face shape/structure but hey, he’s a Wookiee.

Peyman is only to pleased to hear that the girls are unrelated to Chuck and he throws a Sasquatch hairy arm over both girls. I notice that Sarah is the only one brave enough to return the favor.

Sarah invites Peyman to show her those cool paintings outside the vault after he exposits TMI about the security surrounding the diamond to the remaining spy and Chuck.

Sarah feigns interest in the neon, acrylic paintings that are not unlike the ones found in strip mall nail salons and Alahi tells her that she has, “A nice pair of eyes. Amongst other nice pairs.”

Nice.
———-

Karina, predictably, is a loose cannon and finagles the diamond out of the diamond holder, causing the alarm to go off. Sarah understands what’s happening almost immediately and is happy to knock out old Peyman.

She reunites with the spy and Chuck and they grab the diamond and get their asses in gear. Karina and Sarah argue as they kick and punch their way out of the compound with Chuck pointing out approaching Bogeys and generally being high-pitched and frantic. He’s in some danger from a ginormous baddy when Sarah frisbee-launches a plate from across the pool and connects with the guys head.

Chuck shouts a thank-you and then they’re all off, with Sarah calling Casey to demand an extraction.

Casey knocks out his own Bogey and is about to alight in the NSA-financed limo when his face grows mischievous and he hotwires the baddie’s SUV.

Through this scene, the background music is so obviously a James Bondian string arrangement that it’s kind of funny.

——

They all emerge on the beach and there’s some meaneuvering as Sarah wants to know Karina’s plan. Karina selflessly offers to “take the heat” to give Chuck and Sarah time to escape. And she’ll take the diamond, thanks.

Sarah demands Chuck give her the diamond and Karina does the same. Inexplicably, Chuck chooses to ignore the fact that Sarah has saved his life several times by giving the diamond to Karina. Sarah is suitably incredulous and I bet her eyes would be communicating this strongly but it’s pretty windy and her lustrous hair is in her face.

Chuck is shocked that another spy was acutally duplicitous.

Karina uses a watch to activate a remote control….jet ski? Yeah, it popped out of the water like magic.

Chuck is shocked, Sarah is hurt/pissed at Chuck, and Karina is shirking clothes as she frolics down the beach to her getaway watersport flotation craft.

Just as the bad guys burst out onto the beach to give chase: Casey appears!

Sarah tells Chuck to get into the front seat and for a second I wondered why it would matter.

Then: Casey is driving, Chuck is reeling, and Sarah is seething. While she changes into her Wienerlicious uniform. Which, hello? I just spotted a plothole. Where the hell did she get her uniform?

Casey commandeered another vehicle and Sarah pretty much had on a dress that no frilly bodice and skirt set could rightfully fit under. I suppose we have to assume that she had it in Casey’s limo and sometime between when they showed him running to it—No. There’s no way. Oh well.

Casey is listening to them bicker sort of nonchalantly. Sarah keeps popping between the seats in various states of undress to berate Chuck for not trusting her. Again. And to point out that he completely disregarded the explicit orders to get the diamond back to their superiors.

Finally, she lays down on the seat to slip into her Wiener-skirt, complaining that, “If I call in sick” to work again, “I’ll get canned!” Then the phone rings.

She answers it to hear Karina sort of blithely doing the equivalent of a finders keepers chant.

She tells Karina that the CIA is gonna have her ass for this. And the way she says C period I period A period makes me believe that she is really mad. The only thing missing was snapping and saying, “Oh, no you di’int.”

Casey tells us that he put a trace on Karina’s phone with some NSA magic so Sarah’s free to go to work and he’ll collect the diamond.

Then Casey sees Chuck looking in the rearview mirror as Sarah buttons up her Swiss Miss top and he hilariously shifts the mirror and says, “Eyes up front, soldier.”

Aww, Casey protecting Sarah’s virtue. And Chuck just kind of babbles defensively and pouts.

—–

Morgan arrives at Karina’s hotel with a bouquet of flowers and as he waves, she goes right by him without noticing.

Models.

Then she’s upstairs hastily packing her suitcase.

She hears a car screeching outside her window and rushes over to see that Casey has just pulled up. To the valet.

Karina says fiercely, “Dammit.”

She’s running to the elevator when it opens to reveal Martin! I mean, Morgan. Casey is just entering the hallway from the stairs and Karina cleverly uses Morgan as a cover. She kisses him passionately, wheeling them away from Casey and using the cover to drop the diamond into Morgan’s messenger bag.

She tells him that she’s sorry she didn’t call. She’s got relationship issues. Then she pushes him into the elevator and turns to smirk at Casey.

He forces her into her room and starts looking for the diamond. He’s rifling through doors while Karina says flirtatiously says, “Look anywhere you’d like. In fact, why don’t you start with me?”

She peels off her clothes for the third time or so this episode and Casey drops the drawers without a word.
————

Buy More:

Sarah runs in, still dressed in Wienerlicious gear, waves at Lester, and then tells Chuck hurriedly that she hasn’t heard from Casey in an hour. She’s going to go get the diamond back herself.

She also says, ” I need you to stay home tonight. Got it?”

He’s a little affronted that she doesn’t want his help and he asks her if he’s off the team.

Sarah tells him he’s benched.

Lester the Nerd Herd guy has been listening in and he assumes it to be an argument about Sarah giving the old “headache” excuse for not putting out. But if I had heard that exchange, it would have tripped me out because at least two other people were mentioned and if it was sexual, there was swinging involved.

——

At Karina’s Hotel:

Sarah, wearing black jeans and a black top with her ponytail- she must have changed out of her Wiener outfit on the way, again. -is picking the lock outside of Karina’s door.

She opens it, reaches into the waistband of her jeans to pull out her gun, and then busts in.

To find: What happened to Casey in Prague.

Casey, after an interlude with Karina that included his trying to suss out the diamond, is handcuffed, bound, and dressed only in boxers and a white t-shirt; manacled to the headboard.

Sarah is grinning over his protests and indignation as she says, “Just like Prague, huh?” And pulls out her camera to make the memories last.

—–

Chuck is at home commiserating with Morganwhen he gets a flash of the Diamond being WAY MORE IMPORTANT than anyone previously believed.

He calls Sarah to tell her, halfway through a ramble when he questions, “Wait, you know this is Chuck, right?”

Sarah is no nonsense as she tells him that he’s got to find Karina and have her bring the diamond to the hotel.

Where we now see that Peyman’s crew is holding her and Casey hostage. Maybe the photos weren’t such a good idea…

—

Meanwhile, Chuck has been paid a visit by another Ninja Lady, and he uses the Plate Trick and gets her on the head. She gives a familiar sounding Ow and Chuck is onto the fact that it’s Karina. Which is perfect, because he needs her help.

She’s there to get the diamond, and wearing a mask so that “Martin wouldn’t ID me.” Heh.

At first she refuses to assist in the rescure but he but he guilts her about how Sarah saved her ass in Pakistan. She’s a little petulant about it but I guess she’d feel like a hypocrite if she saved Sarah’s goldfish and not Sarah herself.

—-

Cut to:

A gun at Sarah’s back. it’s golden by the way. The gun.

And a great little aside here as Peyman asks Sarah, “Who do you work for?”

Sarah’s rejoinder? “Tiffany”.

That’s actually a lot better than the clunky retorts Sarah usually gets handed. Casey can’t realistically get all the good lines, right?

Well, unless they’re trying to prove that Sarah was right when she said she wasn’t funny.

PS- On a side note. I know, I’m playing right into NBC’s hands here, but Sarah is smokin’ hot in this scene.

—

Chuck and Karina are picking out weapons for the rescue and Karina is explaining to Chuck why it’s so important that spies guard the truth with their lies. And why they find it difficult if not impossible to get close, in the event that they might have to leave at any time or “shoot someone in the head.”

Yikes.

Chuck begins to see Sarah’s side more clearly and realizes how insensitive he’s being. Sarah’s secrets could mean her life. Or his.
—

At the OK Corral:

Karina tells Chuck to carry the diamond. She’ll act as “intermediary”.

—-

Casey is still cuffed to the headboard in his boxers but he’s struggling manfully and finally his brute strength breaks a piece of the headboard off.

He lies in wait before bashing a goon over the head to escape.

——

Karina and Chuck walk into the hotel lobby and the place is actually crawling with about ten extra guys that we’re meant to assume are a captive audience.

Sarah is seated in a chair with Peyman Alahi training the Golden Gun at her head/shoulder area. Chuck looks freaked, Sarah looks like she could use a cup of tea, but is otherwise unruffled.

The negotiations begin on bad terms when Peyman asks for the diamond only to have Chuck hold it aloft while Karina simultaneously says that “she might have pawned it for Justin Timberlake tickets.” Chuck hilariously brings his arm back down quickly.

Peyman is not impressed and cocks the gun, levelling it a bit more with Sarah’s head. Chuck is horrified but Sarah doesn’t flinch and says to Karina, “Why do you always have to provoke people?”

Word.

Peyman wants to see the diamond. Chuck wants to show it to him. Karina wants a Mexican standoff. Though she appears gunless. Chuck waits all of about two seconds before he volunteers the diamond.

He holds it out and Karina easily knocks his hand from underneath and catches the gem when it sails out his palm.

Sarah surmises that Karina is pressing for time. I surmise that Maverick is indeed being dangerous.

Peyman sort of laughs off the idea that she can take on everyone in the room alone. Sarah says bravely, “She’s not alone.” Which is nice, but if I had a gun pointed to my head and my only hope was some sort of communication with my crazy DEA agent buddy, I wouldn’t be so flagrant about telegrahphing our next move.

Karina is moved by the solidarity and starts speaking in what is apparently Swedish, which I will not translate here because I can’t.

Sarah responds in a language not yet identified by me, though it’s worth mentioning that Yvonne S. speaks fluent Polish. Though it sounded vaguely French until the end. Mini is Swedish so it’s kind of weird that they wouldn’t respond to each other in the same language since they would both have to know the other’s language to understand it anyway. But I guess it sounded cool and nobody had to learn any extra foreign dialogue if that’s indeed what they did.

Regardless, they start the asskicking right then and Sarah gives a pretty attractive high kick and then they’re off.

—-

Casey has manage to slide into some pants and is riding in the elevator with a mom and a seven year old girl. He is still handcuffed, with a giant piece of headboard attached to the chain. He looks less than halfway respectable as he smiles bashfully at the duo.

Quite politely, he greets them, “Ma’am, miss.”

—-

Chuck, now in possession of the diamond, is involved in his own standoff in the mailroom with a behemoth of man from Alahi’s crew. He starts to advance but Chuck has just finished sealing the diamond into a cardboard package and writing an address on it.

He’s holding the box over the mail chute and as his leverage, he asks the goon if he knows where that chute goes.

Neither has a clue.

Chuck is pressing for time when Casey comes to the rescue and clocks the goon on the back of the head.

Chuck is so gleeful that he releases the package with a clunk.

There’s a hilarious exhange between Chuck and Casey as Casey watches Chuck’s guilty face exasperatedly and says, “What?”

And Chuck bites his knuckles and says with practiced nonchalance, “What?”
———–

Shots of LA by day are accompanied by jaunty indie pop and then we are back in Casey’s abode being debriefed via computer.

Casey and Sarah share unusually comradely looks as the CIA Director and NSA Lady tell us that capturing the diamond has virtually eradicated any street cred Alahi had and that his organization is scrambling. Also, for good measure, it looks like they foiled an international arms sale to the Afghani crime families that Chuck flashed on earlier as the true owners of the Diamond. It turns out Peyman Alahi was just a front. A fence. A patsy. A stooge. An emissary. But most of all, a broker.

We see NSA lady holding a FedEx box as CIA Director shakes it and says, “You didn’t.” Knowing full well that Chuck did.

Chuck grins, Sarah watches him affectionately.

——-

In the Courtyard of Goodbyes:

Karina is telling Sarah, “this has been fun.”

Casey tells Karina that working with her has been a pleasure he hopes never to repeat.

Karina’s parting shot is to tell Casey that next time he ought to branch out a bit in the boxer short-pattern department.

Karina and Sarah actually part with an affectionate hug and Sarah tells Karina that with her around, “There’s never a dull moment.”

Karina snarks back, “If you’re looking for a dull moment, check out your cover life.”

Sarah is like, ok bitch, step off. Then she looks at Chuck and says quietly, “We have our adventures.”

As she’s leaving, Sarah catches Chuck and tells him they should do dinner that evening. To talk.

He quickly agrees and offers to bring the peace pizza. He’s watching her go a little wistfully when Karina steps up behind him with a final offer of sex at her place.

Chuck tells her he’s equally flattered and intimidated and wants to know what she sees in him as opposed to Martin.

She says he’s kind of “cute-ish” but that she really enjoys taking what Sarah wants.

Chuck is disbelieving and flabbergasted and frightened by that and tries to deny the possibility but Karina’s known Sarah a long time. I guess. And she says that Sarah probably doesn’t even know how much she likes Chuck. But Karina says she can see it.

Karina is like, so long, pal. And Chuck is left staring after both girls, a little more hopeful than he’d been a few minutes before.

—–

Sarah is sitting in her bedroom. Which, I never realized before? But her front door opens directly into the room that has her bed in it. Convenient.

Anyway, she hears a knock and gets up to grab the door. She’s wearing dark jeans and a long sleeved black t-shirt and when she opens the door to see Chuck her eyes just light up.

Chuck’s carrying a brown takeout bag and a box of pizza and as Sarah leans against the doorframe, Chuck drops the bag onto the entry table so he can open the pizza box and display the pizza with no olives.

He says, “It’s the only thing I know about you that’s true.”

Sarah is still leaning against that green door and in awwww of his thoughtfulness.

She smiles kind of adorably up at him and thanks him before she tells him to come in.

He thanks her and as they walk the short distance to her bed, (which, I guess she doesn’t have a dinner table? Or the lighting is bad at said table?), Chuck apologizes for not trusting her at the beach.

Sarah’s reaction is worth noticing here because as Chuck goes on apologizing sweetly, she seems to get a little more wistful herself. She sits down on her bed as Chuck takes a seat opposite her.

The seat is a little lower than her bed so that Chuck is kind of looking up at her earnestly as he tells her with newfound understanding that he understands the thing with Bryce. “He always got the great girls.”

The camera cuts back to Sarah and she hasn’t said anything but her eyes are communicating very effectively that she is so incredibly conflicted about all of this. About Chuck, about Bryce. About Chuck’s feelings about her and Bryce.

Also, her hair is looking really pretty.

She smiles a little bit and then looks down almost bashfully as Chuck continues.

Chuck is growing a little less earnest and a little more quietly desperate as he says, “I just wish I knew something real about you.”

Sarah looks down again and for a second I think she might crack. Her hands shift in her lap as she looks back up at him and he asks if she can’t just tell him one true thing.

Her eyes are glassy now and she looks incredibly sad as Chuck goes on asking where she grew up, or if that’s too much, just her name. Sarah is sitting very still but every so often she shifts and she looks unbelievably vulnerable and surely Chuck can see that it’s killing her not to tell him?

He amends the request for her name to just her middle name.

Chuck’s growing more downcast and for another second, I think, surely she’ll tell him her middle name. Come on. And Chuck’s voice kind of fades as he asks her again and seems to catch on that she’s not going to speak. He finally decides nobody’s going to budge except for him and he goes off to get the napkins, leaving Sarah sitting completely motionless on the bed as she looks down at her knees or the floor or where Chuck was just sitting.

He’s in the corner, strategically backlit, as Sarah says quietly, ” It’s Lisa. My middle name is Lisa.”

Nice to meet you, Lisa. I’m crushed. So is Chuck.