Chuck Episode 5.12 Chuck Versus Sarah

Chuck is at home telling Casey and Morgan that he hacked into the CIA's database. He found the blueprints to DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), and he thinks he might be able to find Sarah there. He asks Casey and Morgan if they'd help. They both agree and all three head for the door. Chuck opens it to find Sarah standing there bloodied. She tells him, "Sorry it took me so long to come home" and falls into Chuck's arms. Chuck asks her, "Baby, what happened?" We flashback to the end of last episode where Quinn is talking to Sarah in her room. He says he knows she's lost a lot of her memories, but tells her she's been undercover for the last five years monitoring a rogue spy by the name of Chuck Bartowski and hands her a file. Quinn asks, "Do you have any questions?" Sarah responds with "Yes, just one. Why the hell should I believe you?" before attacking Quinn and throwing him out the window.

In the present, Sarah has just finished telling Chuck, Casey, Ellie, Awesome and Morgan how she escaped. Casey asks about Quinn. Sarah tells him he's dead, and the Intersect is out of her head. Ellie and Awesome get up to leave. Just as Sarah comes over to hug Ellie, we hear a voice tell Sarah, "That's Eleanor Bartowski. Chuck's sister. They call her Ellie." Sarah is taking orders from Quinn, and the whole escape story was a cover! She thanks everyone and says, "I'm really glad to be home." In another flashback, we see what really happened to Sarah. She does get into a scuffle with Quinn and does throw him out the window but holds on to his tie, suspending him above the street below. She tells him she doesn't remember him anymore than she remembers "this Bartowski guy" and she demands to know what happened to her. Quinn pleads to Sarah to give him a chance. He wants to show her something.

recap_imaBack in her room, Sarah holds a gun to Quinn's head while he plays a scene from a video diary shot five years ago after her very first day tailing Chuck. Quinn tells her the agency has decided that Chuck is a major threat. Sarah asks about Bryce and Graham. Quinn tells her they're both dead. He tells her Chuck and his team are responsible for their deaths. He tells her Chuck needs to be stopped. He's a traitor. But first, she needs to retrieve something he stole from them. Intersect glasses. If she wants her life back, go to Burbank, retrieve the glasses and put Chuck to rest once and for all.

Chuck watches Sarah in the kitchen as she eagerly cuts up a whole chicken. Chuck runs off to make a phone call, and Sarah tells Quinn via her earpiece that she's alone. He tells her to look for the Intersect glasses. He also reminds her not to underestimate Chuck or his team. She begins her search while Chuck is in the other room talking to Morgan about how he thinks something is different about Sarah. He can't put his finger on it, but he knows something's off. Morgan tells him of course she's not the same; some homicidal maniac on a bullet train kidnapped her. Morgan tells him to "un-tense that leggy blonde." Chuck thinks he can manage that. Chuck walks in on Sarah holding a large Darth Vader head she was searching and asks her to meet him in the bedroom because he has a surprise for her.

Sarah tells Quinn she thinks Chuck is up to something. He tells her to stay alert because it could be a trap. Sarah walks into the bedroom and Chuck greets her with "Welcome to the Bartowski Inn and Spa Resort where all of your worries melt away." He tells her to picture the gorgeous Ojai Valley outside the windows. She should also forget the mattress is five years old and picture it as a luxurious massage table. He tells her a sheet has been provided for her discretion and leaves the room.

After Chuck leaves the room, Sarah immediately starts snooping around. Quinn asks for a status update. She tells him Chuck wants to give her a massage, but she thinks he's on to her. Outside the door, Chuck asks if Sarah is ready. She tells him to wait. Quinn then tells her this could be an opportunity for her to seem vulnerable, getting Chuck's guard down. Sarah disrobes and gets under the sheets and tells Chuck to come in. Once inside, he starts with a little massage oil. Unbeknownst to Chuck, Sarah is holding a knife under the sheets. She's forced to let it go when Chuck makes her pull her arms out and relax. He offers to crack her neck but she forcefully declines. Quinn reminds her not to blow her cover and to relax. She tells Chuck that maybe they should just go to bed.

Back at Casey's, Morgan gets nostalgic about the last five years while Casey scrubs the floor. He can't believe it's over. Quinn is dead, and Sarah is back home safe. He also can't believe that five years ago Casey was big bad sniper and now... he's scrubbing their floors. Casey tells Morgan that maybe if he used a plate when eating taquitos he wouldn't have to scrub the floors. After a moment of reflection, Casey asks him, "You really think I've changed?" Cut to Ellie and Awesome's where they're going over bills and letters. They're happy Sarah is back. Ellie says she doesn't know what Chuck would do without her. They both then open letters from the Carlos Schulman Medical Center in Chicago. Ellie's been offered a research job, and Awesome's been offered the chair of the cardiac department. Their initial excitement at the new possibilities is dampened a bit when they realize they'd have to move away from California.

Chuck and Sarah are in bed. He's sleeping but she's not. She gets up to continue searching for the Intersect glasses. She finds a pair of glasses and tells Quinn she found them. He then tells her to finish her mission and take out Chuck. Sarah crawls back into bed and is about to kill Chuck with a knife when he suddenly wakes up. She goes back to playing asleep, and Chuck tries to curl up his toes next to hers. When she pulls away, he gets out of bed and leaves the room. Sarah tells Quinn Chuck left, and she's going to follow him. Chuck leaves the apartment and goes to Ellie's. She's still up because she couldn't sleep. Ellie senses something is wrong and tells Chuck to come in.

Meanwhile, Sarah scales the apartment complex balcony and enters Ellie's apartment from the second floor. Chuck tells Ellie that little things about Sarah are different. Like when her feet get cold at night and he puts his feet on top of hers to keep them warm. Tonight she pulled them away. Ellie tells him it's her first night back, and it may take some time. Sarah eavesdrops from upstairs. Quinn asks what's happening. She tells him they're talking about her. Quinn tells her Ellie is part of the team too. Chuck then tells Ellie that he's thinking about destroying the Intersect because it almost killed his best friend and his wife. He tells her Quinn is dead, but someone will always want the Intersect. It will prevent them from moving on.

Chuck tells Ellie he knows where the latest version of the Intersect is being kept. All they need to do is sneak in and plant a virus to destroy it. He was going to tell the team in the morning. He just wanted some sisterly advice. Ellie thinks he should do it if he can do it safely. It's what their father would have wanted. Quinn tells Sarah she needs to go with them and download the Intersect onto the glasses to ensure its protection. After that, she can kill Chuck. Chuck returns to the apartment to find Sarah in bed waiting for him. She tells him she's cold and curls up her feet with his. Her charade continues.

Chuck is in Castle briefing the team on how he plans to enter DARPA and finally destroy the Intersect. Casey thinks it's a little drastic, but Chuck reminds him about all the grief the Intersect has caused. They agree to join Chuck on the mission. They get up to get ready, and Morgan asks Chuck for extra tranquilizer darts. Chuck doesn't have any, but he knows Sarah does. He looks through her bag and doesn't find any but does find the Intersect glasses and wonders out loud what she's doing with them. At DARPA, where all manner of high tech is developed, the team releases knockout gas into the facility. With all the staff knocked out, the team comes in from the ceiling. Morgan plays with an invisibility cloak to Casey's annoyance. The team scans the white room where the Intersect is and sees there are five guards there. Sarah takes the incentive and single-handedly takes out the guards. The boys are both impressed and taken aback.

The team enters the white room where the Intersect computer is kept. Chuck gets the system going and Sarah starts to upload the Intersect on to the glasses. As soon as the Intersect is uploaded, Sarah grabs the glasses and puts a gun to Morgan's head. Everyone, especially Chuck, is shocked and confused. Sarah orders everyone to drop their guns. She tells them that now they can't destroy the Intersect. They can't hurt anyone else. Chuck pleads with her, but she tells him Quinn told her everything. Chuck tells her Quinn is lying. Quinn tells Sarah to get out of there. Sarah knocks Chuck to the ground, leaves the room and plants a bomb outside the door. The team scrambles to get cover. While outside, Sarah tells Quinn that maybe they don't need to detonate the bomb because the team will be arrested anyway. Quinn tells her "that's not your call" and detonates the bomb from his location.

Chuck, Casey and Morgan survived the bomb and get ready to flee. Morgan wonders what happened to Sarah. Casey thinks Quinn turned her somehow, and now he has what he's always wanted, the Intersect. Chuck then reveals that, after he found the glasses in Sarah's bag, he switched them out. He suspected something was wrong with her but didn't want to believe it and did it to be sure. Cut to Sarah pulling up to meet Quinn in a parking lot to give him the Intersect glasses. Before handing him the glasses, Sarah punches him for blowing up a government facility. Quinn looks at the glasses and discovers they're empty. He's upset, and Sarah realizes that Chuck probably switched them out. Just then, she gets a call from Chuck.

The team returns to Castle, and Chuck wonders why Sarah isn't picking up. Morgan reminds him that now she's "evil." He's knows that's an unfair assertion, but it's the bad Intersect he had, only worse. Casey thinks they need consider the possibility that Sarah's gone. Chuck can't believe any of it. Casey reminds him she tried to kill them. They can longer assume things are the way they used to be. She's a trained assassin. She knows where they live and where their families live. Morgan wonders if Ellie and Awesome will be all right. Chuck gives them a call.

Awesome answers and tells him Ellie went to have coffee with Sarah. Cut to Ellie telling Sarah she's glad they're spending time together. Ellie tells Sarah Chuck was a wreck. Just then, Chuck calls Ellie. Sarah grabs Ellie's phone before she can answer it. Sarah's warm greeting immediately changes to a dour one. She tells him she knows he switched out the Intersect glasses. She should have known better than to trust him. She tells him to bring the glasses to the Bergamot Cafe where she's with Ellie. If he tries anything, she'll put a bullet between Ellie's eyes. Chuck is shocked and hurt. Ellie is confused.

At Castle, Beckman appears on a monitor and tells Chuck, Casey and Morgan they were right to contact her. She tells Chuck to meet Sarah at the cafe but to have her move to Regal Plaza to get the glasses. She's got men set up there ready to take Sarah out. Chuck is worried they'll kill Sarah. Beckman assures him they'll do their best to take Sarah in peacefully. At the cafe, Ellie pleads with Sarah and tells her the Intersect probably erased her memory and cooked her brain. Sarah doesn't want to listen. Chuck arrives at the cafe to meet Sarah and Ellie. Sarah asks Chuck if he brought the glasses. He tells her they're somewhere else. Sarah is about to shoot Ellie, but Chuck tells her Ellie's innocent and whatever she thinks he's done it isn't true. He tells her he will take her to the glasses. Sarah tells him she'll follow him and Ellie will drive. If she sees anything fishy, Ellie dies.

Casey drives to Regal Plaza while Sarah and Ellie follow. At Regal Plaza, Casey and Morgan tell Chuck they're in position. Chuck tells them Ellie is with Sarah. They weren't expecting that situation. Casey looks at Morgan and tells him "Poor Chuck. I'll make sure Ellie comes out of this without a scratch." In the car, Ellie drives while Sarah holds her at gunpoint. Ellie pleads and tells her she was in her wedding. She was at the hospital when her baby was born. Sarah rejects all those sentimental notions. She tells her, "This was always a mission for me, and today I'm going to finish it."

Chuck asks Casey what happens if she resists. Casey reminds him that Sarah is gone; "she's not in there anymore." Chuck refuses to accept it. "No she's not. My wife is not gone," he says before taking out his earpiece, effectively ending communication with Casey and Morgan. Chuck takes a detour in an unknown direction. Meanwhile, Ellie asks Sarah what happens after she gets the Intersect glasses. Sarah doesn't answer. Ellie then notices that Sarah isn't wearing a seatbelt. Ellie tells her, "If you could remember, you would want me to do anything to save Chuck. Sorry Sarah." She then rams into a parked car, knocking out Sarah.

Chuck arrives at the accident and runs to the car. He asks Ellie what she was thinking. She tells him, "I was thinking about protecting you." She tells him Sarah is trying to kill him, and there's something seriously wrong with her. He tells her that's why he's taking her somewhere that will help her remember. Chuck grabs Sarah, puts her over his shoulder and puts her in his car. Meanwhile, Quinn asks a passed out Sarah what's happening. Ellie pleads with Chuck and asks what happens if she doesn't remember. She's already more gone that Morgan was. She tells him he needs to call the CIA and turn her in. Chuck tells her everyone keeps telling him that she's gone. "She's not gone. She's right here," he says.

Sarah wakes up in a chair with Chuck sitting in front her. Chuck has brought her to their dream house. He tells her he realizes she doesn't remember him, but he was hoping she would remember their dream house. Sarah rejects everything he has to say and tells him their relationship was a cover. He was just an assignment. He reminds her he was an assignment, but then she fell in love with him. He knows that sounds crazy, but the fact remains that she fell for him. She tells him it was her job to make him think she fell for him. It's what she does best. She lies. He tells her about their first kiss when they were trying to diffuse a bomb, and when he asked her to marry him, she didn't even have to say yes because they both knew they would be spending the rest of their lives together. He pleads with her to please remember the life they had planned and the love they shared.

Chuck then tells Sarah he's going to give her a choice. She can either take a chance on him and start over or "You can take these glasses that you came for" and never see him again. Sarah gets up and asks Chuck, "So this is real, you love me?" "With all of my heart," Chuck answers. She then apologizes for doing her job too well before going for the glasses. Chuck tries to stop her, but Sarah hits him. Chuck doesn't try to defend himself. She asks why he doesn't fight back, and Chuck says, "Because you're my wife." Sarah kicks Chuck particularly hard and sends him tumbling down the stairs. Sarah takes out a gun and points it to his head.

Chuck tells her she can kill him because he will never hurt her. When it seems Sarah will in fact pull the trigger, she notices the carving on the doorframe that reads "Sarah + Chuck." She immediately realizes it was she who carved that into the wood. She immediately has a flashback to the night they spent in that house. Just then, Quinn arrives. He congratulates Sarah on her good work and asks for the glasses. He starts to walk out, and Chuck tells Quinn, "You lied to her; you used her." Quinn turns around and confirms as much, telling Sarah he's not CIA, and he could explain it more; but she's not worth the time. He takes out a gun and points it at Sarah. Chuck lunges in front of Sarah and takes the bullet for her. Quinn escapes.

Sarah runs to Chuck to see if he's okay. It turns out he had a vest on, so he wasn't shot. With sirens in the distance, he tells Sarah to run because they're coming for her. She runs out the backdoor before the CIA arrives, accompanied by Casey, Ellie and Morgan. Casey asks Chuck where Sarah went. He tells him, "Sarah's gone. She's gone." Chuck arrives with Ellie and Awesome at their place. Awesome tells him he's lucky the bullet only hit his vest. Chuck tells Ellie that he lost Sarah, although for a split second she was starting to remember. She tells him he should get some sleep, and he gets comfortable on their couch. Ellie goes into the kitchen and hugs Awesome, telling him, "Don't ever leave me." He responds with a "never."

Sarah is quickly gathering her things in her old apartment when she's startled by Casey who walks in through the front door. Sarah picks up a knife and points it at Casey. "Figured you'd be here," he says and tells her to put down the knife because he's not there to fight. He asks her what she remembers about him. Sarah tells him she remembers his reputation, unfriendliness and unquestioning tendency to follow orders. He tells her it's funny because that's the same thing they said about her and that they probably wouldn't get along. She asks if they didn't get along, then what's he doing there? He takes out a small manila envelope. Before putting it down he says, "I guess Bartkowski has made us both a little soft." He tells her in the last five years, they've become good friends. He tells her to take care of herself and leaves.

Back at Ellie's, Chuck is getting ready to leave. Ellie invites him to stay. He tells her he has to go home at some point and tonight is as good as any. Ellie tells him she's coming over early and making him pancakes. They hug, and Chuck walks over to his apartment. He's about to open the door when he hears his name called. He turns around, and it's Sarah standing in the courtyard. Sarah tells him she believes everything he told her about them. "But," she says, "the truth is I don't feel it." Chuck understands, admitting he didn't know what to expect after everything that happened. He then wonders what she's doing there. "I wanted to say sorry for everything that happened today." But most of all she just wanted to say goodbye. Chuck wonders where she's going, and she tells him she needs to go find Quinn because he stole her life. She gives him one final goodbye, turns and walks away leaving Chuck standing alone in the courtyard.