SPOILERS: Official Synopsis for Episode 4.01

NBC just released the official synopsis for the Chuck season 4 premiere, “Chuck vs. the Anniversary”:

CHUCK BEGINS A SEARCH FOR HIS MOTHER, WHICH HE MUST KEEP A SECRET FROM THE CIA AND HIS SISTER — LINDA HAMILTON GUEST STARS AS MARY BARTOWSKI — DOLPH LUNDGREN, HARRY DEAN STANTON AND OLIVIA MUNN ALSO GUEST STAR — Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Morgan (Joshua Gomez) go on a rogue globe-spanning mission to find Chuck’s mom. Meanwhile, Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) and Casey (Adam Baldwin) follow a trail to Russia as they investigate the mysterious Volkoff Industries and its operative, Marco (guest star Dolph Lundgren). Back at home, Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) delivers big news to her family. Bonita Friedericy also stars.

Awww…”Bonita Friedericy also stars.” That’s our Beckman!

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40 comments

  1. Yvonne and Casey in Russia??!!! Could this possibly imply snow-filled shoot-outs in musky warehouses, à la “Modern Warfare” or “Inception”? Make it happen, show!
    Something tells me Chuck and Greta’ “global roadtrip) will lead them right into Russia with the rest of the gang. And Morgan (hilarity ensues..)

    • now it will be true international espionage

    • I hope their budget has some left over from the guest stars to make a Russian trip look convincing.

      • I hope so too. The train station in Prague was a joke, really. It was not only absurdly different from the real Prague Central Train Station, it looked fake even to those who don’t know the real train station. I think that was the worst “international” site scenery until now.
        The international missions should be fun, and not disturb the spectator with the lack of any similarity to the real thing.

  2. No offense to anyone, but I’m kind of getting bored with the fact that Chuck is constantly lying now. I don’t really mind if it was to Ellie, but i hate it when he lies to Sarah. Her facial reactions when she catches him in the lies just looks both sad and dissapointed, in that he can’t be honest with her. I read somewhere that Chuck and Sarah are sort of switching gender roles this season, in that Sarah plays more of the guys (where she is really only committed to the people close to her that could die in the line of duty) and Chuck plays more of the girl (where he is not afraid of committment), and as a result, the relationship could suffer. Is that the “bumps” they were talking about for Episode 4.03 with Nicole Richie? Please, only little couple fight with the two, nothing major.

    • No offense taken, and I know many fans, myself included that don’t like the lying anymore then you do.

      I’m so happy Ellie is pregnant especially in the first episode it seems. I think this is the one with Casey and Sarah are captured and Chuck comes to the rescue. I’m thinking they might get suspicious about what’s going on and they’ll find out sooner or later as they’re all family.

    • True. But it’s not really getting bored, it’s more of gettine bummed out that Chuck is lying more. It’s really sick. Lying to his family, his girlfriend, his friends. Gosh!

    • why dont u give them a break they need to make it realistic but the fans put them in a little bit of a pickle because the fans wont accept the other way

    • The show began with a gender role-reversal. Chuck began as the sensitive one who wanted to talk about his feelings, was timid, and needed to be protected. Sarah was the one who would not discuss her feelings, was brave, and provided the protection.

    • Natatlie-I agree 100%, the lies started getting old last season–he told Sarah there would be no more lies and since saying that he has told her one lie after the other. I do not want any love triangle or break ups for the rest of the series (which I hope lasts at least a few more seasons)-I want Sarah in on more comedy-she did a great job in the Honeymoon Train, I also want the romance between Chuck and Sarah to intesify. A closer relationship between Sarah and Ellie would be a good thing.

      • you read my mind! it confuses me why chuck would lie to Sarah again, when he almost lost her to a lie in the first place 😛

    • I might be missing something here, but the synopsis mentions Chuck will be lying to the CIA and Ellie, not to Sarah. I know she is CIA, but I don’t think Chuck would do that in this stage of the relationship.
      I also hope the writers would have learned something regarding the trust issues in their relationship.

      • I’ve been thinking about that one for a while. It’s going to be interesting to see whether the synopsis is including her in the CIA or not. I hope not. Besides, at Comic Con Fedak said they weren’t crazy about splitting up the team anymore. So if they’re going to be working together, then I have to think that she knows.

        As for the lying, yes, I agree with everyone here. It was already getting old at the end of season 3 and if it continues in season 4 it’s going to get old even faster. It needs to stop, and much sooner rather than later.

  3. Hypothetical question – what if Sarah knows right off the bat in 4.01 that her mission is to find MamaB and she is under orders not to tell Chuck?

    How does that sit with everyone?

    • I think i could imagine that that could explain her angry face in one of those photos? right? idk maybe

    • I thought about that, but wasn’t sure.

      Now, I totally can see that happening! And it would fit with Ms. Strahovski saying that the story would bring Chuck and Sarah to find Mama B. It doesn’t necessarily means together professionally (at least, at first).

      It would be kind of ironic for Chuck and Sarah to both look for the same person, while trying to keep it secret from each other, and that could certainly produce some bumps in their couple when they both discover it.

    • Sounds like a repeat storyline of “Chuck vs. the Predator”. How could Sarah not possibly think that Chuck would conduct another rogue search for Mama B. just as he did for Orion? If anything Sarah should anticipate that Chuck would do anything he could to find his mother and certainly Chuck should remember how ticked Sarah was with him once she found out.

      Hopefully our spy couple will have more love and respect for each other than to continue trying to keep secrets from each other even when they’re under orders not to. After all I remember this dialog from Chuck vs. the Graviton: Chuck “I’m glad I have you.” Sarah “Yeh, we’re better as a team.”

  4. I think that sarah and casey will find out within the first couple of episodes if they do not know already off the bat that chuck is gone rogue (a good rogue) and is running his own rogue missions to find his mum. I mean he cannot lie constantly to sarah about this because she lives with him and sleeps next to him, I think as a spy she would notice if he was leaving in the middle of the night mutilple times to run his own missions, so I think she will be in the know. I think at one point he may also be back in the cia first as a mentor to the cia operatives in the buymore and then probably back as an agent to find his mum if his missions constantly keep mixing with casey and sarah’s. So fans I would not worry to much.

  5. Does anyone think that this Volkoff industries is a front company for an organization we saw on one of the boxes in Orion’s lair, and that there will be a connection between them and Mama B’s disappearance?

    • Am i the first one to point out that Chuck vs. the pop culture references is already off to a start in the first episode? “Volkoff Industries” as in Nikolai Volkoff from the WWF

      • When I read “Volkoff Industries” my first thought was I wonder how they got that pasts the censors? 😉 I guess if they give it an American pronunciation it would fly.

      • I’m thinking it’s a reference to Vladimir Volkoff, a Russian/French author who wrote spy novels during the cold war.

  6. I can’t remember when but Yvonne said that she will help Chuck to find his mum so i think she knows everything.

  7. Yeah enough of the lying between C/S from what I gather it won’t last long and Sarah will suss it out quick.
    I’m just sick and tired of Chucks pathetic and lame “I’m sorry” all the time, guys gotta grow a set and just come out and be truthful with Sarah and Ellie even if they don’t like it, however 1 lie is 1 too many in my opinion.

    • That lying thing doesnt really bother me cause Sarah is a hypocrite so she deserves it. “Aww, I can’t love you chuck if you you shoot someone even if they are trying to kill us.” Of course she can shoot whoever and he can’t say boo.

  8. What if Chuck has to save Casey and Sarah– if that happens in Russia it will be interesting to see how Chuck explains just being in the neighborhood.

    • I had sort of assumed that’s what was happening from the promo video. I like the global aspect. It’ll be good to get out of Burbank.

  9. i wonder why sarah looks so mad in all the promos for season4? my biggest question is where are Jeff and Lester during all this?

    • Jeff and Lester are on the run I’m pretty sure. There is videos where they are in the woods in Jeff’s van, but they realize they need the new game of halo, and they sneek back into the Buymore but Big Mike Catches them. The videos are on hulu

  10. I wonder what happen with “…we where protecting Chuck from the world, now we need to protect the world from Chuck”? Chuck remains the intelligence government’s most important asset, he just quit and Beckman agrees?, he starts looking for his mom with Morgan under the radar and the CIA nor the NSA found out? Chuck still has all the government’s secrets in his head….

  11. We must not forget that the title of the episode is “Chuck Versus The Anniversary”

    For me, and I only thought this up a couple of hours ago, it’s Mother’s Day in the Bartowski Household.

    It seems logical with Linda Hamilton being cast in the first episode.

    The last time we heard of Mother’s Day was in S1, so it seems fitting we bring it back at the beginning of the search for MamaB

    • That’s one of the most talked about theories for the title, Macka. What’s holding us back from settling on it is that Mother’s Day for the Bartowskis is in October, and the show seems to follow real time, meaning it should be September in the show as well as real life when it returns.

      • The timeline could be a little off by a month or so. Late September could pass for october. Like other shows, they could just assume we don’t remember and bump up the anniversary to match the date of the premiere.

    • Perhaps is Chuck’s Birthday (In the pilot episode Ellie thew a birthday party for Chuck), for some people they are call anniversaries.

      • The pilot also is when Chuck met Sarah. That’s my top pick for which anniversary is being observed.

      • I think the Anniversary is the Anniversary of chuck joining the CIA, which will be around his birthday, or unless his mother left near his Birthday….

  12. I just hope that the fights that they have also have make-up scenes (: and I hope that there are few fights…

  13. I know why she’s mad! she gets called away on a mission on her and chuck’s anniversary! makes sense right!! that’ll be cool chuck’s saves them yada yada ya makes good dialouge for casey about “lady-feelings” cool

  14. I still wonder if the bracelet will come in to play again. Perhaps Sarah gets in a bind and Mrs. B recognizes the bracelet and helps Sarah without telling Sarah who she is—I would like to see the Sam thing resolved–why tell Shaw and not Chuck? Time is getting short–competition for viewers will be ramped up this year–the show will need help if a season 5 makes it.

  15. I still maintain that Mama B will be season 4 main baddie and that Chuck and Sarah will come into conflict with her, without relizing that Chuck is her son…and perhaps end on season redemption