Written by Lauren LeFranc & Rafe Judkins

Directed by Allan Kroeker

Well played Chuck showrunners. Not only did you throw a curve ball at us, diverting us from the obvious Dalton as the baddie casting connection, with Timothy Dalton playing a frumpy MI6 Handler by the name of Tuttle; you simultaneously deked us out about the title and how it would play out in the episode.

Well played.

Move over Dream Job, I now have a favorite new episode. All things Chuck just work so much better when the spine of the show is based on a compelling spy story. The humor flows more naturally and feels funnier, the nerd references have more pop, the relationships gain more emotional weight, character motivations are often in conflict with the spy story creating extra layers of tension, and the weaknesses of the show diminish; if not vanish altogether. Conversely when the spine of the show is based on the relationship between Chuck and Sarah those very same elements rarely work together as well. The reason for that bears further examination.

It is oft quoted that the Chuck and Sarah relationship is the heart of the show. (I like to think that heart also includes all the relationships of which, indisputably, the Chuck and Sarah is the major one.) But to paraphrase the original Star Trek episode, ‘The Trouble with Tribbles,’ ‘Too much of anything, even love, is not a good thing.’ Those loveable but prolific tribbles soon inhabited every corner of the screen distracting the characters from the real threat. After three Chuck episodes in a row(4.02 – 4.04) that focused on Chuck and Sarah, even the most die hard relationship fans were ready for a change of pace. That is because the spy stories ended up being generic and not emotionally engaging for the principal characters and by extension, the audience. There was no sense of danger. No tension.

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When the spy mission is the spine of the story, comments about the show firing on all cylinders or being a balanced episode are often seen. Why is that? It is because all the characters are on equal footing in such episodes. When the episode is based on a relationship issue between Chuck and Sarah the only characters directly involved are, obviously, Chuck and Sarah. This focus creates an imbalance or barrier between the leads and the other characters. The other characters are hobbled from the get go. They can either only be involved in the main storyline from an indirect vantage point or the episode must contain a separate storyline for them. Which dilutes both storylines.

Things go even better when all the elements that go into making a show come together to create something that is greater than the individual sum of the parts. It is rather magical. Always hoped for. Occasionally happens. Can never be manufactured. Casting the right person for a part and having that person not only handle the role but go beyond what was envisioned is every show’s hope. Timothy Dalton as Tuttle, aka Volkoff, is one of those moments.

Dalton brings such an energy, such a glee, such a joy of life to the screen that it synergistically affects the other actors around him. Dalton’s scenes with Zac Levi were so much fun to watch. As his reveal at the end of the episode. Amazing. Also amazing is what a little change in wardrobe, hair style, and body language can bring to an actor. Scott Bakula had the same transformative moment in Season Two’s Dream Job when he went from being PapaB to Orion. Tuttle becomes Volkoff and those preconceived images the audience had of Dalton because of his Bond heritage served that reveal moment well. Too bad the Tuttle character has been lost so quickly but par for the course on a show where plot elements are often burnt through so rapidly. Tuttle was a lot of fun.

Episode Flashes: Add your own in the comments.

• Sarah distracted by MamaB during briefing with Beckman
• ‘calm’ Chuck
• Phalanx computer and triangular? discs
• Chuck ‘waltzes in’ by Tom, Jerry, Casey & other agents to see MamaB in the Castle
• Sarah turns a high heel spike into a weapon, Morgan pays the price
• ‘Morgan, please don’t touch my chest.’
• ‘I’m sorry. The code one more time.’
• Morgan, unlike Chuck, confronts Casey about their ‘First Fight’
• ‘Do I get to parachute out of a plane on a horse?’
• Subtle, undercover Morgan dropping ear piece into glass of water
• Tuttle and the plastic fork, ‘I’d like to apologize for addressing you in a harsh tone.’
• ‘Had my first sexual experience while watching Lawrence of Arabia.’ Tuttle cracks under threat of torture
• ‘Oh cool! A tiny weapons standoff!’
• Close quarters plane fight and another big guy prove too much for the Intersect.
• Tuttle’s ‘Here! Catch!’ knife throw
• Morgan brokers a deal with MamaB. ‘I haven’t had a decent Rice Krispie square since..’
• Tuttle teases Chuck about only have one parachute
• ‘Thrilling! Reminds me of that episode of Alias. I loved that show!’
• Sheep truck bonding
• Ellie and MamaB meet and talk, Sarah listens
• MamaB tells Ellie about the car that matches the one in the paper
• The Indestructible Woman! Scars and beauty marks!
• Sarah’s exasperated, ‘Is there anybody you didn’t tell about our fight?’
• Morgan accepts Casey ‘apology’
• Sarah a bit behind on social media with a ‘Friendsters’ shoutout
• ‘Fighting with you is exhausting.’
• Chuck and Sarah fight through their ‘First Fight’
• Tuttle is shot!
• MamaB zaps Chuck with some form of Intersect update via a PSP!
• ‘There is no Tuttle, Charles.’ Volkoff unveiled!
• Chuck cannot flash. No more Intersect or?
• PapaB narrates letter left for Ellie
• Ellie ends up with a present not only from PapaB but Orion too

Linda Hamilton continues to thrive as MamaB. Her stern exterior is broken by the most unexpected moments. Morgan showing up in the Castle detention cell to plead with MamaB is one of those great beats. MamaB talking to Ellie about their family history is another as she ends the scene brushing Ellie’s hair behind her ear. What is so great about the scene is that Casey and Sarah, in their own way, get to show they are part of the Bartowski family too. Casey’s subdued and regretful interruption that it is time to for MamaB to go along with Sarah’s reactions as she sits in the background and gets to hear a recounting of family history that is so relevant for her, are quiet moments that show how much ‘family’ there is with these characters.

This episode also demonstrated that bringing Morgan into the spy world is the right choice. Morgan’s struggle with the earpiece and glass of water was very funny. The Morgan/Casey ‘First Fight’ was carried out with aplomb; like the Chuck and Sarah fight; and resolved ‘in mission’, in ways that befitted both groups of characters. And Ellie! Ahhh Ellie. Is this a sign of things to come? Is Ellie really going to play a role in the spy world or will she simply carry a baton for a short bit? I hope the right answer is the first choice. Each time we get a glimpse of Sarah Lancaster’s acting ability it becomes ever more painful when she sinks back down into the background again. With Chuck in Intersect limbo could Ellie’s neuroscience abilities along with the Orion laptop left in the car become the story tool to unlock Chuck? The sharing and familial bonding that could occur in such a storyline gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. Imagine how it would play out if Ellie was actively involved in those moments!

Laura Lefranc and Rafe Judkins continue to demonstrate their skill in handling not just the characters but their ability to interweave previous events from the show into their most current writing assignment. They also have the comedy down pat and this time really shone with the mission storyline.

Chuck and Sarah could be facing their toughest challenge yet. Hanging on to their personal and professional lifes in a world where Chuck can no longer access or has the Intersect.

Chuck the show, and Chuck the character, finally has an adversary to take note of in Volkoff.

After three consecutive episodes of Chuck and Sarah relationship hand holding, and BuyMore resetting, the show returned to the spy story with The Couch Lock. In a big way too. This episode did so many things right that it made me giddy with joy.

In model, ‘Show don’t tell,’ manner, this episode dramatized Chuck’s realization that his quest to find his mother is putting his immediate loved ones in mortal danger. Casey, Morgan, and Sarah were placed in harm’s way as a direct result of what Chuck set in motion. By using the supporting players to show this it is a win, win situation. Not only do we get to share with Chuck the experience of what he has caused to happen but Casey and Morgan get to grow as characters, interact with the leads more, and play off one another in both dramatic and humorous ways.

Why was this all possible? Because the episode had a solid story foundation to work from. The longevity of a series comes down to its characters. The strength of individual episodes come down to how strong the story engine is. With Chuck being a spy based show that equates to having solid missions. Those missions work even better when an emotional connection can be forged between it and the cast. The more characters with personal stakes in the mission the better. With Couch Lock the initial emotional hooks are with Casey and his former A-Team members. This one works even better because it ties in to the season arc for MamaB, Morgan’s relationship with Casey and his daughter Alex, and the aforementioned Chuck episode arc of weighing the cost of the end goal versus the means he is using to get there.

With all that to work with the episode becomes a gold mine of character beats, action set pieces, comedy, heart felt moments, and just plain old fun. Riffing off of the A-Team, Charade, Weekend At Bernie’s, and Entrapment to name a few there was very much to like about this one. This episode also makes the best use of Jeff and Lester since Dream Job and the American Hero where their unknowing participation in the spy storyline is seamless and as a result very funny. Another sign of a good episode is when the BuyMore supports the main storyline instead of detracting from it.

Episode Flashes: – so much to pick from this week! Too much. Add your own in the comments.

* The Casey A-Team: Packard, T.I., MacIntosh,
* Clinton and his mouthy wife
* Casey smelling Jeff & Lester
* ‘White Zin. Magic of the Gathering, If you have the manna.’ Jeff &Lester riffing
* Morgan with Alex while staying under Casey’s radar at the BuyMore
* great to see Chuck and Morgan talking openly at the BuyMore
* ‘You know. The A-Team.’ ‘I was the A-Team.’
* ‘Casey. We have to kill you.’
* Sarah’s look of pride at Chuck’s plan to draw out the A-Team
* Chuck’s discomfort with Beckman congratulating him on putting duty above emotion
* Fakeadeathonol
* ‘Little alone time before I die. Pay some bills.’
* Morgan’s ‘mish’ callback quickly dismissed by Chuck
* Casey ‘Charade’ funeral scene done to Oingo Boingo’s – ‘Dead Man’s Party’
* Casey freaking out Morgan when he opens his eyes
* Casey being stuck with American Flag pin and lit cigar
* ‘Forgiveness. Big gun loving. Commie hating. Forgiveness.’ Morgan’s hilarious eulogy.
* A-Team stealing of Casey from church
* Casey’s tracker on cat. Chuck’s frantic, ‘Don’t shoot it,’ to tactical squad
* Casey ordering his feet to move
* Jeff and Lester knowing the exact dumpster Casey is in.
* Red Batphone at the BuyMore!
* ‘Strait laced ones.’ ‘Every one likes to get their freak on.’ ‘Sometimes I like to feel official too.’
* ‘You don’t say uh-oh!’
* Snarky Sarah – ‘You could have told me that before I crawled under those lasers.’ – should have been a hommage to Entrapment there though
* Casey couch locked with a StormTroopers helmet to boot
* Morgan getting Alex out of harm’s way.
* Alex, like her father, prefers to be direct.
* Sarah’s, ‘Getting bored,’ to Chuck.
* Morgan trying to break Casey’s couch lock by slapping him, ‘Like slapping a car!’
* Morgan breaking Casey’s couch lock by telling him about Alex – great Casey reaction shots and loved the use of Russian themed music during this sequence
* ‘Frost is our boss.’ Volkoff’s right hand clean up specialist.
* Casey and Morgan at the Iranian bunker door. Morgan with a battery hand-held fan.
* ‘That’s 3 to 1 Casey!’ ‘Just the way I like it.’
* Holy Goldfinger!
* ‘Let there be darkness!
* ‘Is that a little girl?’
* Name: Morgan. Expertise: None.
* Morgan waking up to Sarah
* ‘I died?’ ‘Yeah. Just for 3 secs.’
* ‘We wake up in some of the best dumpsters in the city.’
* Morgan party invitation to Casey made up like a top secret document.
* Casey covering for Morgan with Alex
* Alex to Morgan, ‘You are brave.’
* ‘Break her heart, I break your everything.’
* Chuck and Sarah fountain scene. Chuck deciding to give up search for MamaB as price is too high.
* MamaB calling Chuck.

With the exception of Big Mike, everyone puts in an appearance and none of it felt contrived. Especially nice was the family gathering at Morgan’s party. Adam Baldwin really demonstrated a lot of acting range with even more minimal body movement because of his Weekend At Bernie’s Couch Lockdown. The eye emotings he did, mostly with Morgan, were hilarious. But really the episode belonged to Morgan as he ‘died’ for three seconds and proved to Casey that he is indeed a good guy. Casey and Morgan scenes are gold and this episode gave us twenty-four carat ones. Morgan and Alex continued to show their chemistry from the previous episode was no fluke. Also very refreshing to see Alex being very open and direct in her talks with Morgan.

For an episode that had so many of Zac Levi’s real life friends such as Joel David Moore and Eric Roberts in it, it was unfortunate that Chuck and Sarah were somewhat subordinate in the episode. All to the good mind you because that is what the story called for. It has been awhile since the Chuck that I really liked so much as a character has had a chance to come out but he did this episode. He learned a lesson and was willing to give up the search for his mother. Great to see his priorities back in proper order.

Fortunately, for dramatic purposes, Chuck’s activities have caught Volkoff’s attention and, no doubt, prompted him to bring in his cleaner. MamaB.

Exciting!

Directed by Robert Duncan McNeil

• The real Morgan is back this week! Yippee!
• Morgan channeling audience on Chuck & Sarah being crap communicators while being the masters of precious looks
• Morgan nailing the heart of the awkward faux engagement – how would Chuck have reacted if Sarah had said yes
• Devon talking to baby and sharing his fab workout jams
• wheelchair Casey in Castle for ‘fresh air’
• Beckman back to monitor status – Boo!
• Beckman’s – ‘Anyone who was not shot recently.’
• Generalissmo’s hilarious Costa Gravas travelogue video
• Smooth product placement via Devon and Goya
• Babymoon
• Bikinis &’Yes. That. Both….all of them.’ & ‘There are many ways to communicate.’
• Morgan trying to take care of Casey.
• ‘Dad.’ ‘Daughter.’ ‘Morgan, how’d the pot roast turn out?’
• Roman Holiday movie
• ‘Grimes, give her a five minute head start.’
• Chuck’s cuddling needs versus Sarah’s needs for thirty minutes of silence.
• Awesome’s awesome smile at seeing his statue
• Generalissimo’s wife, Hortencia
• Generalissimo’s senses immediately picking up on the fragrance of a ripe fruit aka Ellie’s pregnancy
• ‘Way to go, marble me!’
• ‘Follow the stink of commie.’
• Tall and brunette versus charming and handsome. Sarah and Chuck characters captured in dialogue.
• Red door. ‘Get me out of here!’
• Alex & Morgan movie marathons
• Big Mike on Casey, ‘That’s not a daddy you want to be giving you a spanking.’
• Chuck shaking his head no but saying yes to Sarah’s question about the 101 Questions book
• Costa Gravas = Chuck and Sarah = nuclear
• General Beckman’s – ‘Costa Gravas is nuclear!’
• Casey nailing the full scope of those involved with the Coup
• a red polka dotted, laser sighted Casey proclaiming, ‘Cute. Too bad you didn’t bring enough.’
• ‘The stench of tyranny.’
• Big Mike talking the goods to Morgan about love via Bolognia singing like the happiest bird in the sky to knowing about being with the right one because you feel the sweet, smooth jams rise up from your soul
• ‘What rebel leader goes to a marriage counsellor?’
• Alex and Morgan!
• Sarah talking to Chuck in his ‘sleep.’ Best of all it is left open to our interpretation. Was Chuck awake or asleep? Either scenario works for me. And works well.

First time Chuck writer Nicholas Wootton sets up a Chuck episode that aims high but is undercut by execution factors outside his control and the restrictions of the world which the show has set upon itself. He has a solid grasp on the spy material but the world of BuyMore retail ridiculousness was flat.

The spy storyline of a prisoner transfer of characters from Chuck and Sarah’s past is a great idea but is hampered by the need to tie a BuyMore storyline to it. The Cubic Z gives some excellent emotional hooks for Sarah into the main storyline only to have them undercut by placing the burden of carrying those moments on Nicole Ritchie. The episode gives a triumphant return to Big Mike but at the expense of Morgan’s character.

For Sarah, the reappearance of high school nemesis, Heather Chandler, could not come at a worse time. Having a romantic getaway canceled in the midst of relationship strain over commitment issues places Sarah in a vulnerable position. And like the true predator she is, Heather Chandler senses Sarah’s weakness and exploits for pure enjoyment. It is this aspect of the Heather character which works so well and which Nicole Ritchie can carry off with relish.

The return of Steve Austin’s Hugo Panzer clicked on all fronts. He was big, bad, crafty, powerful and engagingly evil. Everything you want in a bad guy. Hugo was plain fun to watch and his fight scenes with Chuck were great, especially the Cage Match. His eventual put down by Big Mike was good – though the Big Mike put down of Leader from Season Two is still Big Mike’s signature take out in my books.

Episode Flashes:

• Video game called Spy Attack

• Morgan blogging about listening skills

• ‘Beyond DeNiro serious. That’s Russell Crowe serious.’

• ‘Filter, filter!’

• Chuck and Morgan taking a moment to enjoy angst free relationships

• Sarah putting a beating on Casey, fighting like a pit bull

• Sarah and Casey talking relationships!!!!!!!!

• ‘Jenny Burton, my old high school punching bag.’

• ‘I am Cobra!’

• Hugo Panzer! Steve Austin rocked this episode.

• Great to see Big Mike. Great to see him ask Morgan’s blessing to marry his mom.

• Supply closet shenanigans!

• Tough cop. Silent cop.

• Heather is very good at the needling. Not so much the emotional insights.

• Sarah telling Chuck to not let Heather get under his skin. LOL

• Volkoff engineered prison transfer? Intriguing

• Hugo/Greta fight scene

• Casey with flaky Voice Recognition Control Interface

• Castle air ducts are big enough to handle Star Trek Enterprise turbolifts!

• Heather chides with Jenny/Sarah name

• Hehee – Sarah responds with head kick

• four way melee between Chuck, Sarah, Hugo, and Heather

• Sarah’s, ‘That felt good.’

• Rooftop fight! Girls and automatic weapons!

• ‘Back up.’ ‘You back up.’ ‘No! You back up!’

• Hugo/Chuck cage match

• ‘Mike. Big Mike.’

• Casey and Sarah continue to give each other relationship advice!!!!!!!!

• Operation Beacon: Frost and Volkoff seem very close. Hmmmm.

• Chuck and Sarah agree to take things slow

• Fate via a ring drop seems to counter them

The best character interchanges took place between Sarah and Casey this episode. Who would have thought that the two spies of the show would not only be having personal conversations but good ones at that two seasons ago? Sarah’s pit bull aggression while fighting Casey was hilarious. Chuck, Intersect or no, do not make this female dynamo angry!

For the first time this season, an episode hit the ground running. The pacing of the episode was good even when certain elements were not working such as the whole BuyMore Spy Attack video game launch and the return of Big Mike. I love Big Mike as much as the next person and it was great to see him again. Unfortunately his return was at the expense of Morgan’s character and to an extent Chuck’s. Chuck should have taken down Hugo in the cage. And no way, would Hugo leave the cage without killing Chuck.

Also does this mean the end of Beckman’s onsite presence? If so, that is a most unwelcome reversion.

It was also a welcome sight to actually have Sarah’s conflict over learning that she was no longer the person Heather claimed, to be visibly dramatized. This was done through Heather’s character as well as during the decisive moment on the rooftop battle when Sarah frees Heather to help in the fight instead of giving her up. Unfortunate then that Heather’s last speech to Sarah about Chuck and love and Sarah being able to change came out as an exposition infodump instead of a heartfelt moment.

To balance that though the episode had several terrific action scenes. The brief but violent fight between Greta and Hugo made an impact. Along with the rooftop fight, Chuck’s cage match with Hugo, and Sarah’s feel good putdown of Heather the episode earns top marks on the action front.

Another thing the episode did well was to show that Volkoff has far reaching power. To be able to arrange prisoner transfers and intercept and replace rescue teams keeps his presence in our minds. It also shows he holds a grudge. Heather’s reveal about Operation Beacon and that Frost was never far from Volkoff’s side continues to muddy the waters as to where MamaB’s loyalties lie.

While the closing cliffhanger was not all that much, I did like the notion that even though Chuck and Sarah have agreed to take things slow, the timing of an engagement ring showing up at that very instance plants the seed of thought that Fate may have something else in mind for them as far as a timeline is involved.

Last season in Chuck Vs The Role Models we were led to believe that Sarah had overcome her commitment issues when she agreed to move in with Chuck. In Suitcase we learn that was a baby step. While Sarah has apparently been able to set up a few pictures on the living room mantelpiece that appears to be the extent of her initial move in. In the following eight months she has been unable to take the next step and unpack the rest of her personal belongings. This is dramatized by the starkly naked image of her half of the bedroom closet.

It would seem that an unwillingness to unpack translates into an Achilles Heel for missions, though what exactly that weakness is, is never made clear. In an episode that postulates a ‘Smart Bullet’ such answers are left to the viewer to decide. Or accept on faith.

Suitcase is an episode where the B Storyline outmatches the A Storyline in every department. Isiah Mustafah as this week’s Greta outmatches the combined talents of Karolina Kurchova, Lou Ferrigno, and a barely present Bronson Pinchot. The BuyMore storyline has Morgan pointing out to Beckman that the government run BuyMore is too efficient. Such a well run retail outlet can only lead to having its cover blown. Morgan’s solution? Bring back the original BuyMore crew. The B storyline was tighter, more believable and arguably a more entertaining one than the ‘Smart Bullet,’ one for the ‘A’ storyline.

Throw in a Chuck that all but wolf whistled at an Intel photo of an enemy agent in a bikini, an overzealous Daddy Devon that marred a long awaited family scene, a Casey reset that has him reluctant to contact Alex, and the character manipulations to service the ‘A’ storyline show up in stark relief. The saving grace between the two storylines was, again, Morgan. A Morgan who notes Sarah’s reluctance to use the closet and at the same time susses out the weakness at the too efficient BuyMore all the while doling out sound relationship advice to Casey. Keep this up and the show should be renamed, ‘Morgan.’

The return of the original BuyMore gang is living proof for two conflicting adages; absence makes the heart grow fonder and some things work better in small doses.

Episode Flashes:
* bullet shot around corner. Cool. Impossible but cool
* Morgan noting Sarah still has not unpacked
* Isiah Mustafah as the next Greta. Funny and cool at the same time
* Milan scenes use same stairway from Chuck Vs The Tango
* ‘Have you been watching Project Runway?’
* Chuck and Sarah nod to upside down SpiderMan kissing scene
* Morgan aping Casey at the BuyMore
* Morgan telling Beckman about the BuyMore flaw – ‘Two minutes. Walk with me.’
* Greta demonstrating his shooting skills with a price gun
* Jeff & Lester living on the lam aka out in the wild a full seven minutes, in traffic, from Burbank; hiding from the, ‘Popo.’
* ‘These are not the boys you are looking for.’
* Jeff’s, ‘I think my water just broke,’ when hit with the first tranq dart.
* Casey emptying the tranq gun clip in disgust into Jeff
* Tranq Gloves!
* Chuck closing door on Sarah with an ILY before taking on the bad guys
* Sarah’s fight through dressing room and out into catwalk
* ‘You’re my home Chuck. You always have been.’
* Ellie looking through photo album.
* Closing shot of Sarah’s reaction look to thoughts of marriage and family Sometimes a closet is just a closet.

Like Chuck Vs The Anniversary the episode wobbles until the second half. When Chuck and Sarah are separated and Chuck tells Sarah he loves her before closing the door to face the bad guys it finally felt like the characters I knew and love had emerged. The scenes following that were all strong from Chuck’s fight against the baddies to Sarah’s catwalk fight to Sarah’s finally, truly moving in to Ellie taking out an old family album to Sarah’s panicked look at Chuck’s statement about possible marriage and family down the road for them.

Much like Role Models, Sarah’s forward progress is all internal. There is no moment in this episode where one can see any growth on Sarah’s part that led to her character evolution. All it seemed to take was Sarah seeing a well stocked closet of another spy. If it were that simple Chuck should have arranged for Sarah to visit such a closet before Sarah moved in.

Stand alone episodes work well if the mission involves or affects the characters in a personal way. Beyond a little closet window shopping there was no such personal involvement. Neither was there any progress made in the search for MamaB. In many ways this episode is the antithesis of the best episodes of Season 3.

In Season 3 a good episode would often end on a dark note. In Suitcase a dubious spy mission storyline is protected by having a strong, upbeat ending. Take your pick. My preference is the former.

If you are looking for an episode that has lots of Chuck and Sarah interplay then Chuck Vs The Suitcase will definitely fill the bill. It is great to see the return of the kick ass Sarah Walker. Too bad the storyline and the opponent do not allow for that return to feel more triumphant and noteworthy.

One final thing to ponder, if Morgan’s statements are so stupid, why is everyone always so shook up by them?