We finally begin to unravel the mystery of Bryce Larkin's original betrayal of Chuck -- and, to precisely no one's surprise, we find out that Bryce had good reasons for doing what he did. It's a sweet story, but not quite as sweet as the takedown of Harry Tang by the Buy More Dirty Several, which comes complete with seduction, betrayal and stunning reversals of fortune. And once again, Morgan shines. How do they do that?

Go Spoilers!

Our mystery of the week involves Professor Fleming, a CIA asset and Stanford professor who has some information Magnus, an Icelandic spy, wants to sell to the highest bidder. Yes, apparently Iceland has spies -- Chuck was surprised, too. Fleming is the prof who kicked Chuck out of Stanford for stealing his test, and he also seems to have something to do with the design of the visual information coding in the Intersect. Now he's on the run, and The Powers That Be want Chuck to be there when they find him. Chuck isn't interested -- until he gets a flash on himself form his old Stanford ID.

They track him down, but Chuck is the first to see Fleming. He asks why he's in the database. Fleming doesn't have time to tell him before he gets speared by Mangus' crossbow bolt -- because of course, when you're an Icelandic spy, your preferred weapon is a crossbow -- but he does tell Chuck the current password for an emergency situation. Not that that will become relevant anytime in the near future.

Magnus stole a piece of paper from the punctured Fleming. Chuck remembers that it contained numbers, but he has no idea what all of them were or what they meant. Cue the flashback of Chuck and Bryce playing spy vs. spy in the library -- Chuck remembers that Bryce had a secret hiding place there. Those numbers must have been library call numbers for a specific book.

At the library, Chuck and crew discovers books strewn all over the place: Magnus  must have beaten them there! But wait! Bryce's hiding place wasn't the book itself, but a secret compartment in the bookcase! Chuck finds a disc, which has information on all of Fleming's recruits from Stanford for the past decade or so. (Bryce himself got recruited his junior year.) Chuck's name is on that list. Before he can look at the file, multiple bad guys come gunning, and Chuck flees with the disc. He cleverly calls all the current recruits, using the code phrase Fleming just happened to tell him, and all the baby spies come to the rescue. Awww.

Back at home, Chuck checks out his file-and finds out it's a video of Bryce confronting Fleming. Don't recruit Chuck, he says -- he's a good guy, and he'd never survive in the field. Give him a normal life! No can do, says Fleming -- Chuck scored off the charts on his tests, and he's required to hand over that information. But what if Chuck cheated? asks Bryce. And all of a sudden, Chuck's downfall is explained. Bryce was trying to protect Chuck by getting him kicked out. He couldn't tell Chuck because he was already a CIA agent. Chuck spent years hating him, when Bryce was only ever trying to keep Chuck safe -- well, up until the point where he downloaded all the government's secrets into Chuck's head. But that's another story...

Back at Buy More, Harry Tang is mad with power -- he's staggered all the lunch breaks, banned fraternization, criminalized Red Bull, and even gotten a master remote that controls all the TVs in the store. The fiend! Since Chuck is away, Morgan and a few hardy freedom fighters take on Tang. Anna puts on the seductive moves to get Harry's locker key, and Morgan breaks into Harry's locker to get the One Remote -- but he's betrayed by Lester, who turns into a groveling snitch for one of Tang's embroidered Buy More polo shirts. For shame! Morgan fights back -- he gets the master code for the remote and reprograms it, breaking Harry Tang's hold on the Buy More downtrodden -- for now.

Highlights, thoughts and odds & ends:

• An Icelandic bad guy who uses a crossbow? Someone is having way too much fun writing this stuff. (Or, um, they were, before the strike.)
• My love for Awesome is growing every week -- he's really trying to bond with Chuck. Granted, he goes about it in completely the wrong way, but still, he's a sweetheart.
• Which is not to say I didn't laugh at poor wee Awesome when it seemed he and his over-the-top frat brothers had painted their faces with something permanent. Hee!
• Harry Tang puts up a new list of rules on "From the Desk of Harry Tang" paper. "He doesn't even have a desk!" exclaims Chuck.
• Did anyone else finds NBC's green-week messages slightly painful? And why have Morgan, who has been a pretty pathetic character, deliver the green message, while Casey, who most people love, ridicules him? Perhaps the writers were chafing at their corporate overlord's plans?
• Oh, look, Harry Tang is getting on the Green bandwagon: "Tree-hugging is all the rage these days. I plan on exploiting the burgeoning conscience of the American consumer." Yep, the writers definitely had a beef.
• Harry Tang talking about Morgan: "I'm going to be the one who breaks you, Grimes. You know why? Because you're soft. Like pudding." That accompanied by a poke in Morgan's stomach, and Harry licking his finger. Hee!
• Anna says she "knows a guy" who can "take care" of Harry Tang. Chuck immediately suspects Casey. Casey denies it -- but looks disappointed when Chuck says he doesn't want Harry killed.
• Anna approaches Harry Tang to the strains of Maneater. Someone on staff has a real thing for Hall and Oates.
• The ominous music that comes on whenever Harry Tang appears, abusing his power? It never gets old.
• Harry's remote code? "OU812." Dude, Hagar-era Van Halen? He is evil!
• Ellie asks Chuck how painful it was to revisit Stanford. He compares it to when Morgan dedicated a karaoke version  of "The Power of Love" to Ellie- "That completely ruined Karate Kid II," she sighs. Hee.

Comments

One night in and I'm already getting tired of Green Week. We get it, NBC, the world's crashing to an end. We should do something about it, don't slam home the idea by trying to awkwardly put a recycling message into Journeyman

Corey | Nov 5, 2007 8:25:30 PM | #

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Loved it! It's like the writers were listening. More Harry Tang and they did bring back Anna. But it was nice to see how Chuck really got stuck working at a Buy More because of getting kicked out of Stanford. Well I won't write too much since this isn't the Write More.

Jason | Nov 5, 2007 9:49:39 PM | #

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I get why Bryce didn't want Chuck in the CIA, but why did the Prof go along with it?

Oh, and this green week shit has to stop... like the writer's strike isn't pissing me enough already.

AC | Nov 5, 2007 11:11:13 PM | #

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Great episode, even though it seemed like they borrowed the plot from the Initiative episodes from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Might as well borrow from the best!

neaux | Nov 6, 2007 5:05:36 AM | #

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Loved this episode. They gave a decent backstory to why Bryce did what he did, including why he picked Chuck to send the Intersec to, it seems Chuck has a high aptitude for storing and recalling subliminal information.

Also, not to nitpick but when you said "Harry Grimes talking about Morgan" didn't you mean Harry Tang talking about Morgan Grimes?

Yossarian | Nov 6, 2007 5:56:04 AM | #

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[While channel surfing] "Veronica Mars... OC season 2; highly underrated."

Morgan "Puddin'" Grimes has another great episode, which was balanced the two stories (Stanford/Buy More) incredibly well. The intrigue at the Buy More perfectly complemented the action on campus.

Chuck: "How many psychos with crossbows do you know?!"
(Casey smiles)

Didn't Awesome (Devon) nail Chuck in the produce section at the start of the show? I guess that's a sucessful bonding attempt?

Freshman Spies: "Hey, aren't you in my Econ class? Cool."

"Power of Love" by Morgan? That'd also ruin Back to the Future as well...

A very sweet story, very campy heroic save, very funny cat-and-mouse games, and all well acted by the crew. The twist on the recycling theme of the day was really funny. Ditto with the "NBC Cares" PSA in the middle between Morgan and Casey.

Chuck scored off the charts, which Fleming explained that it meant he could retain tons of info in his head. Chuck was really the greatest storage medium.

So where does Lester stand now? Is he still part of Chuck's stable of Ho's? Will we see him grovel his way back? Will he defeat the champ at TV surfing?

pakopako | Nov 6, 2007 7:06:26 AM | #

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"Tree-hugging is all the rage these days. I plan on exploiting the burgeoning conscience of the American consumer."
You have no idea how many times I'm seeing companies pull this line out... and then continue to ignore it.

pakopako | Nov 6, 2007 7:09:16 AM | #

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"Harry Grimes talking about Morgan" didn't you mean Harry Tang talking about Morgan Grimes?

Gah! Thanks for the catch, Yossarian. Changing it now.

Sarah | Nov 6, 2007 8:25:09 AM | #

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A funny episode and answered lots of questions. Also didn't fall back on the old now; plot device of Chuck not trusting Sarah. It would have been even better without all the NBC Green week crap! I might go turn on extra lights in protest.

Okay so Chuck realizes now that Bryce wasn't totally evil and Sarah does also. How long before Chuck comes to the conclusion that if Bryce hadn't interfered he might be a CIA agent and hanging out with all the hot spy chicks. And, wouldn't have to wait in the car.

Loved Sarah and Casey's 'Butch and Sundance' moment.

jbw | Nov 6, 2007 9:05:12 AM | #

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The song from the karaoke reference was "The Glory of Love" by Peter Cetera, not "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News.

J | Nov 6, 2007 9:09:14 AM | #

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Great episode. I, too, thought the baby spies were cool ("hey, aren't you in my Econ class?") and finally understood, at least partly, why Bryce had Chuck expelled. If they could explain why Bryce sent him the Intersect thing and stop having Chuck turn into Basil Exposition every scene (how many times did he have to inform us that he was expelled from Stanford? Sheesh! We get it!), I'll be a happy camper.

Girley | Nov 6, 2007 10:33:01 AM | #

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I love Adam Baldwin. Love, love, love, love! Thank you, "Chuck," for giving him room to shine.

Sorry, just had to get that off my chest :)

Michelle | Nov 6, 2007 11:24:07 AM | #

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Best episode so far! Really liked the back-story and the Buy More Wars! Tang is so despicable it's hilarious - the actor seems to be making a career of playing that type as he's doing a similar character on Dexter.
Does anyone else think that Casey might actually be on the verge of liking (or at least tolerating) Chuck?
This episode had all the plot threads meshing nicely - poignancy, pathos, humor, and insider-jokes all blended for a very satisfying hour.

wmeador | Nov 6, 2007 11:31:23 AM | #

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I'm surprised that there is so much animosity towards NBC's "Green Week," with the requisite color-changed logo...after all, NBC has been recycling scripts and old ideas for decades. This is why I'm so happy that they allowed a show like "Chuck" on the air, since it breaks the mold (and I mean the nasty stuff that forms in shower stall floors and such) that has infested the network schedules for the past, oh, 900 years or so. This episode, in particular, is the reason why this show needs to stay on (presuming that the writers get their thumbs out of their collective bargaining asses and get back to work, the chiselers). My only problem with the overall plot was this...why were there so many unlocked doors, classrooms, labs, etc? I know Stanford is in California, but even they aren't so bombed out on sunshine that they don't take security precautions, especially with all those lovely computers and such right out in plain sight for anyone to take. Also, in the chemistry classroom, no professor worth his trumped-up salary would ever leave an active experiment unattended. So, while it added to the suspense and all, it was beyond even plausibility. Thankfully, the rest of the episode was so spot-on that I enjoyed everything. What scares me is that I've had a hate for the prototypical frat boy persona since I was in college awhile back. Yet Captain Awesome is just so incredibly cool that I can't help but like him, which says much for the actor playing him. Great episode, and if anybody wants somebody to write episodes while the regulars are walking the picket line and being fed by Jay Leno, I'll gladly pen a few scripts. They might seriously suck, but at least they'd not be reruns!

Dark Disciple | Nov 6, 2007 12:36:59 PM | #

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DD says "I've had a hate for the prototypical frat boy persona since I was in college awhile back. Yet Captain Awesome is just so incredibly cool that I can't help but like him,"

That's why he's so Awesome..because you'd think he'd be the prototypical frat boy, but he's not. He's a good guy, who clearly likes Chuck and even Morgan and just wants everyone to be...awesome.

On the Green Week stuff: Really, had NBC not called this "Green Week" would it even be noticeable? Hippy protesters at Standford? (one of them who's one of the baby agents) and some corporate Green BS at Buy More? It's that NBC is making such a deal about it, it seems (very!) intrusive.

VideoBeagle | Nov 6, 2007 1:34:48 PM | #

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Love Tang. I thought it was stupid that all of those college kids are spies, otherwise a pretty good episode

derek | Nov 6, 2007 2:16:04 PM | #

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Am I the only one or did anyone else get the feeling from Sarah that Bryce may still be alive after chuck said hed never be able to thank him? Was that a look of sorrow for chuck, herself or because she knows the truth,

darrpub | Nov 6, 2007 4:54:36 PM | #

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Or jbw, instead of hanging out with hot lady spies, it's much more likely Chuck would have been the prototype for last week's psycho nutjob. Even Bryce could see that Chuck was too sweet to be as ruthless as the CIA wanted. He'd have been locked up in some windowless cell inventing deadly things and feeling bad about it.
What I don't get is if Chuck's brain is capable of retaining all that information how come he couldn't remember the numbers on the paper after he looked at it - surely they should have popped right in there?!
Did anyone else notice all the correlations to Lord of the Rings at Best Buy? Harry had the one remote, one remote to rule them all? Lester, like Smeegal turned into Gollum the betrayer. The little brat at the hole even called Morgan Samwise Gangees as he threw a DVD at him.
Anna was masterful at getting the keys from Harry - more of her and that killer red lipstick - mine never looks that good, I'm jealous!
But the best was when pudding Morgan turned into an allegory of the Giant Pilsbury Doughboy and stomped all over Harry Tang.
Favourite line of the night Casey telling Chuck "Leave the quips to me!"

Sirius | Nov 6, 2007 4:56:26 PM | #

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Thank you writers for all the good work you have done.

When Chuck started, I hated Bryce just about like everyone else, but now, the writers have me actually liking the guy. Saving his best friend from the CIA, but then in the end, he still has him in the CIA and more. He knew what Chuck could do so that is why he sent him the file.

"Puddin" Morgan was great. He finally stood up to Tang.

I think Sara was upset because she got to see Bryce on the CD. Made her miss him more. But then she could feel sorry for Chuck because she is starting to have feelings for him.

John L | Nov 6, 2007 5:55:10 PM | #

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NBC having a "Green Week?" What's next... Fox News having a "Truth Week?"

Seriously, does did NBC corporate parent General Electric dredge this idea out of the Hudson River, one of its more decidedly non-green pollution locales?

Goph | Nov 6, 2007 7:46:49 PM | #

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Darrpub, I think Sarah was sad because she had a thing for Bryce and was thinking about his selfless act in trying to save Chuck from the CIA life. She also might be a little sad thinking that his actions were for nothing, because Chuck is now deep into the life he was trying to save Chuck from.

Big Joe | Nov 7, 2007 5:03:50 AM | #

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i think this show has finally found the balance that it needs to carry a story for an hour by having a storyline at the Buy More and the spy stuff of the week storyline. I wanted to see more of the Buy More gang and now that they are complying, Chuck is really starting to come into its own. It is officially my favorite new show.

steve | Nov 7, 2007 6:09:40 AM | #

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also like how we've yet to see Chuck's ex from Stanford yet so they still have that story to tell also.

steve | Nov 7, 2007 6:10:57 AM | #

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On Green Week: I thought it was funny that during the "chase" sequence, the Green Conservatory banner got destroyed :D

Alyx | Nov 7, 2007 6:35:01 AM | #

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This a great show. I'm hoping that due to the writer's strike, a lot of the good shows this season get re-run and audiences will watch them just because they want something they haven't seen. That will certainly help some of the struggling shows. When the writers are back on the job, the new episodes should have better ratings.

That said, I think that Bionic Woman might actually be better without writers. Just let the actors improv the whole thing. They're good actors, trapped in an awful script. Let them free!

Siansonea | Nov 7, 2007 11:37:06 AM | #

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Just like most of the readers of this blog, I think that "Chuck" keeps getting better every week. I hope the WGA strike is resolved quickly because I need new episodes ASAP!

It's funny that you mention the writers mocking NBC's Green Week campaign because the chracters in this episode seemed to hate the idea too. I loved it when Casey told the Stanford tree hugger: "You want to help the environment? Take a shower!" ;-)

As one of the few people who actually watched the entire run of "Traveler" on ABC this summer, I thought Bryce's chracter was similar to Will Traveler. Both were college students who were recruited for a secret government agency, and both of them involved their college roommates in the covert missions. In fact, there was a similar storyline in "Traveler" where Will hides his secret stash in Yale's library, just like Bryce hid his disk in a secret compartment in Stanford's library. Deja vu scene for Matthew Bomer, who played Will's roommate that found out he was really a spy. :-)

Paige | Nov 8, 2007 7:41:41 AM | #

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