Original air date November 22, 2010

Season 4, episode 9

Synopsis

Chuck is in bed with Sarah, and she insists that he flash while seducing him. He then realizes he is dreaming when Lester suddenly appears in bed with them and tells him he can’t keep a girl like that without flashing.

Chuck is in Thailand, being held captive by The Belgian, Adelbert de Smet, and he orders Dr Mueller to activate the Intersect in Chuck’s brain. 

Sarah has been searching five countries in three days and has found no sign of him. After returning to Castle, she and Casey contact Beckman. Beckman orders Sarah and Casey to stop The Belgian from selling the stolen secrets he obtained from the diamond, but Sarah is only concerned for Chuck. She begs Beckman to forget the secrets and concentrate on saving Chuck. Casey assures Beckman they will be in touch after they get some rest.

But Sarah will not rest; Morgan shares that he has information about an associate of The Belgian, and the man is in LA at the Thai embassy. Although that is not under CIA jurisdiction, Sarah launches a mission to bring the associate in by kidnapping him.

Bringing him to Castle, Sarah and Casey (mostly a desperate Sarah) use ‘torture’ threats to get the information they need. Casey has to stop her from using extreme measures that he doesn’t approve of.

Casey refers to the Sarah that he knew of by reputation, Langston Graham’s wild card enforcer, a spy he didn’t like because of her unpredictability. Sarah seems unhinged, not her usual calm and professional self. He insists she go home and decompress, get some rest. Morgan tries to defuse the standoff between them. Sarah agrees to a two-hour break before resuming her investigation.

Devon and Ellie are discussing Ellie’s workload while pregnant. She is driving the car her dad left for her when she notices a computer under the seat as she is getting in. Devon opens the computer, and they find a blank screen. 

In Thailand, Dr Mueller uses threats to force Chuck to access the Intersect. He uses Chuck’s loved ones as motivation to try to get him to flash. 

In their bedroom, Sarah is stressing over not being able to find Chuck. She sees his Buy More shirt hanging on the closet door and finds a paper in his pocket. Morgan enters and sees the paper. He explains that it’s Chuck’s proposal plan, telling Sarah that it’s about important things to them and was recently revamped. 

Sarah asks when he was planning to propose, and Morgan tells her he put the plan on hold when he lost the Intersect. Morgan explains that Chuck feels intimidated by the more accomplished Sarah after he lost the Intersect. She now feels she made him feel inadequate because she never told him she loved him without the Intersect in his head.

Beckman questions Casey about the Thai aide they kidnapped, and Casey denies any knowledge. Beckman thinks Sarah might be ‘on the edge’ and instructs Casey to watch her.

Sarah shows back up at Castle, locks Casey in an interrogation cell, and threatens to kill the Thai aide until he tells her where The Belgian has Chuck.

Sarah tells Casey what she found out, but refuses to take him because she is going rogue. When Casey asks to go along, saying that she needs his help, she says she doesn’t need him. She needs Chuck.

Devon is trying to access the computer Orion left and eventually calls Jeff and Lester to help. In exchange for their help, he has to help with the medical issues they have. 

Morgan comes to Castle after Sarah leaves the apartment. He finds Casey locked up and tells him that he told Sarah about the proposal plan. 

Morgan and Casey go after Sarah to help her find Chuck.

In Thailand, Sarah works her way through the country looking for The Belgian. She meets resistance but neutralizes all comers, especially a guy in a bar who comes on to her.

“Anyone else want to be my boyfriend?”.

Chuck is still being experimented on by Dr Mueller. He has dreams about losing Sarah, but they still can’t access the Intersect. When The Belgian insists that Dr Mueller use ‘Phase Three’ to achieve success, Mueller tells him Chuck will be lobotomized. Nothing will remain of him except the Intersect. 

Sarah finally finds the man who knows where The Belgian is. He has heard of the ‘Giant Blond She-Male’ who has fought her way across Thailand. She has to defeat the man’s best fighter to get the information.

While Sarah faces the fighter in a fighting pit, Morgan and Casey arrive. The man tries to cheat to beat her, but Sarah prevails with a little help from Casey and Morgan. 

Jeff, Lester, and help from the Nerd Herd (including Big Mike) bring the computer online.

Meanwhile, Chuck has a dream where he escapes from The Belgian and calls Ellie for help but discovers it is just another dream where everyone demands that he flash. Dr Mueller tells him what will happen to him if he doesn’t give him the Intersect.

Casey, Morgan, and Sarah make a plan to find Chuck. While Mueller starts the Phase Three wipe, Chuck dreams about his friends, family, and colleagues demanding that he flash. Chuck begins to lose his memories as the people in his life fade away in his dream.

 Morgan, Casey, and Sarah fight and defeat the guards at The Belgian’s compound. Sarah breaks into the lab where Chuck is held and disconnects Chuck from the machine. She tearfully pleads with him to come back. She tells him she loves him. He sees her in his dream state, but wakes up when she tells him that she loves him and knows about the proposal plan, and wants to marry him.

The Nerd Herd crew has gotten the computer to work, but it needs a password. It’s a knock, knock prompt. “An impenetrable riddle,” according to Jeff. Devon then throws everyone out.

Beckman congratulates the team back in Castle. Beckman wants Chuck to stay with the CIA; he’s an asset with or without the Intersect, Sarah agrees. Beckman lets the team know that she knows the Thai aide is back home with no memory of what happened to him.

Chuck tells Sarah that the proposal plan she found is only a rough draft. He has surprises up his sleeve. Chuck then tells Morgan he needs a new plan for the proposal. Morgan tells Chuck that the mission in Thailand taught him that Sarah really loves him and will do anything for him.

Ellie comes home to find the computer working, and the Knock, Knock prompt is something she recognizes. She types in “I’m here,” and the computer boots up.

Points of Interest

• The Intersect was suppressed by Mary Bartowski with a device she knew was in Orion’s secret files. Sarah is not the reason Chuck can’t flash, but the premise is a fun plot device.
• This is a Sarah-centric episode because co-star Zach Levi needed less on his plate as he prepares to direct the next episode, Chuck vs the Beard.
• There is foreshadowing in this episode that Ellie would be the next to get the Intersect. According to the creators, that was the plan, but it was changed due to Sarah Lancaster’s motherhood.
• Throwbacks in Chuck’s proposal plan-the DeLorean and the beach in Malibu where they first agreed to work together. Sarah repeats the Malibu beach reference in her plea for him to come back to her.
• “I’m nobody, I’m nothing but a spy. Come back to me.” Sarah says this to Chuck in his dream, and it echoes what she knows about herself since falling in love with Chuck. She repeats a version of this in her wedding vows.
• Casey, among his other skills, is an expert in hypnotherapy. He removes all memory of the Thai ambassador’s torture just like he hypnotized Lester.
• When Sarah discovers the proposal plan she is desperate to find Chuck. She wants the life he offers. 
• Similar plot device as used in Chuck vs the Goodbye. Chuck is losing his memory and Sarah tells him she loves him and kisses him to try to bring him back. In this case, it works, and Chuck returns with his memory fully intact. Depending on your outlook, the same can be true for the finale.
• “You were right. I’m different without Chuck, and I don’t like it.”- Sarah to Casey in Castle after he tells her she reminds him of Graham’s wild card enforcer. A person he didn’t like much. Sarah reverts back to the woman who is only a spy to save Chuck.
• Alan Sepinwall, a TV critic and Chuck fan, coined a subtitle for this episode- Sarah Unleashed.

References

• The computer Ellie finds in the car is a Roark 7- a reference to Chuck vs the Dream Job.
• The Manchurian Candidate-mentioned by Chuck.
• Apocalypse Now-Sarah rising from the pond with a knife in her teeth.
• Family Ties- a show mentioned by Chuck.
• Kill Bill-mentioned by Morgan in reference to Sarah’s technique with the Thai diplomat.

Music

J’ai claqué la porte- Chromeo: Sarah and Chuck in bed, and she wants him to flash.

Woman-Wolf Mother: Sarah rises from the pond and fighting in the pit.

Miss Friday-Nico Stai: Sarah finds the proposal plan in Chuck’s pocket; Sarah pleads with Chuck to wake up.

Creator-Santigold: Sarah tries to find the Belgian and gets ready for the fight.

Excuses-The Morning Benders: Devon tells Ellie he fixed Orion’s computer.