'Chuck': Goodbye, sweet Brit, and hello, hope

 My TV boyfriend's back, and you know there will be trouble/(Hey la, hey la, my boyfriend's back!)/ Those Fulcrum agents better cut out on the double/(Hey la, hey la, my boyfriend's back!)/Cole's pitching woo to that comely spy called Sarah/(Hey la, hey la, that's my name too!)/While Chuck's just trying to exit the war on terror/(Hey la, hey la, what can he do?)/Hey! To clear his head Chuck's trying!/Hey! Let's hope the doc's not dying!/Hey la, hey la, my TV boyfriend's back! (Cole, call me!)

Ahem. Sorry for the musical interlude, but I couldn't help myself. I mean, dude, in the first two minutes, my TV boyfriend makes a James Bond joke, then asks his torturers not to mess up his pretty face. And then he kicks their butts (offscreen, alas) and makes his way back to the Castle to ensure that everyone is safe. Plus, he managed to get a bit of intel out of his tormentors -- someone code-named Perseus is important to Fulcrum. The General sends Sarah and Casey to a consulate party to track Perseus down, while Chuck and Cole stay in the safety of the bunker.

Things get hairy when Chuck flashes on Howard Busgang, a research scientist who's worked with DARPA -- he must be Perseus! -- and Cole recognizes his torturer. The bad guy knocks out Sarah and Casey's comm equipment, so Cole decides they need rescuing. And he wants Chuck to help. And he gives Chuck a gun. Um, is that a good idea? (Casey doesn't think so -- "We're dead. Bartowski's got a gun.")

Chuck and Cole arrive in time to see the Fulcrum guy taking Casey, Sarah and Busgang upstairs at gunpoint. Cole is prepared to scale the walls, but his stitches break and he starts bleeding copiously, so Chuck is the one who goes over the top. Cole tells him to count to 20 then go in. Chuck launches himself through the window -- and gets his foot caught, drops the gun, shoots Busgang in the leg, and generally is very (and adorably, I hasten to add) Chucklike. Cole is equally Colean -- he flings himself in front of a bullet to save Sarah. I start writing Mrs. Cole Barker on my Trapper Keeper.

When the General lets slip that Busgang was involved in the original Intersect experiments, Chuck starts to hope that he can actually get this thing out of his head and live a normal life again. That's why, when Ellie drags him to the hospital to get his twisted ankle checked out (and forces a cast on him in case it's a hairline fracture), Chuck is thrilled to find Busgang there, too. He follows Busgang out (each limping pitifully) and trails him to his office. Luckily, he calls Casey to let him know where they're going. Unfortunately, Fulcrum is trailing them, too. Busgang catches Chuck skulking around, and is amazed to see Chuck flash on something. Chuck asks if Busgang can get this out of his head, but Busgang says the only person who might be able to do that is Orion, the originator of the Intersect program. Great, where do I find him? Chuck asks. Enter Fulcrum, shooting. Exit Busgang, dying. Cole again jumps in front of a bullet -- does he have a lead deficiency that he's self-medicating in the weirdest way possible? -- and saves Chuck. Then Chuck saves him back, bringing his 80s-movie acumen in to disable the bad guy. However Chuck doesn't realize that "Sweep the leg" is just the first step. "Get the damn gun" is step two. Fortunately, Sarah arrives and shoots the bad guy. Saved!

Cole gets ready to return to London (Sob! Cole, don't leave me! ) and makes another play for Sarah, but she's not bending. That's in part because she heard Cole's inspirational speech to Chuck -- "You want something bad enough, don't ever take no for an answer." Cole bows out gracefully. I kind of like him. Can you tell?

Back at the apartment, Chuck tells Sarah he can't move in with her -- he's crazy about her, and it would be too much. But there's more:  "Just so you know, I am going to get this thing out of my head someday, and when I do, I'm going to live the life that I want with the girl that I love." Sarah quietly swoons. And Chuck has a plan -- that Tron poster everyone's been mocking hides his Intersect info flow chart. Now he's got another piece to add to the puzzle: Orion.

The Buy Morons
Morgan is thrilled to be moving in with Chuck.  But when Anna sees the lease, she assumes that Morgan is planning on moving in with her. Morgan panics -- he can't just explain the misunderstanding, or  he'll never get laid again. So Lester and Jeff offer their expertise: "Repulsion is our business," Lester says. "And business," Jeff purrs, "is good."

The guys do their damnedest to make Anna decline to live with Morgan. There's the tennis re-enactments, the Morganuptual, and a plan involving "a quart of peanut oil, some bubble wrap and as much yarn as you can find." But Anna remains unrepulsed. In fact, she finds it all hysterical. Finally, Chuck injects a little sanity into the situation: Dude, she love you for you, despite you being, well, you! Don't screw this up, or you'll regret it! Morgan sees the light. He and Anna are shacking up.

Highlights, thoughts and odds and ends

• Awesome's words of wisdom on apartments: "You two lovebirds need to find a nest where you can let the worm wiggle free!"
• OK, how many people are betting that Chuck and Ellie's dad is Orion?
• The Buy Morons enjoy "Morgan's Mama" jokes. Jeff: "Morgan Grimes is so tired of listening to Big Mike punch his mama's time clock that he actually showed up on time today!" Lester: "Morgan Grimes is so disturbed by what Big Mike is doing to his mama that the thought of Jeff doing the same thing to Anna is actually sweet, sweet relief!" Um, no, it's not.
• Morgan is undeterred: "Laugh it up, fuzzballs..." Points for the Star Wars quote, but it definitely applies to shirtless Jeff as well.
• Items in the Morganuptual: no joint-cracking, don't look at or touch the cymbal monkey, Grimes hates Goethe, Barcelona is verboten, only string cheese allowed in the house (except on weekends, when Gouda is permissible), ankle bracelets render people untrustworthy, and all documentaries about blue-footed boobies are to be recorded and saved.
• Morgan tells Chuck he's testing Anna, to see if "she loves me for me and not...other things." "Are you crazy?" Chuck replies. "What other things could she possibly be loving you for?"
• Chuck contemplates how to infiltrate the party, and suggests posing as dentists. Cole decides they should pose as spies -- and punches the guard out.
• Cole actually goes out of his way to praise Chuck, which is another reason I adore him. Chuck responds: "You were your usual superhuman self. You saved Sarah's life." Cole: "No, It was a team effort." Chuck: "I get what she sees in you: the fearlessness in the face of danger, the imperviousness to pain, the supercool tank tops.... Stop me whenever this is getting uncomfortable..." "No," Cole, replies, deadpan. He's fine with the praise.
• Another reason to love Cole: He speaks Chuck's language. He tells Chuck that guns are "point and click," then, when Chuck sneaks up on the gun-toting Fulcrum goon, remembers to tell Chuck to "sweep the leg."
• Casey asks if he really took out nine guys to escape from Fulcrum's clutches. "It was more like 12," Cole says, abashed. "I don't like to boast."
• Cole, to Chuck: "You are truly the most... special agent I've ever worked with."  Casey laughs. Then there's this advice: "For god's sake, man, carry a gun -- maybe two."
• Cole's parting words: "Who'd have thought it. Cole Barker loses the girl to Chuck Bartowski." Hey, Cole, did you catch that "Call me" bit above? Just saying...
• Despite all my embarrassing Cole worship, possibly the best part of the episode for me was seeing Chuck's Intersect research on the back of the Tron poster. Because yes, he is that smart, and no, he's not just going to sit back and let his life get taken away from him. He may not be a traditional spyboy, but he's got skills that people keep overlooking. Go, Chuck!