Chuck vs the First Kill

Original air date March 23, 2009

Season 2   episode 20

Synopsis

At the Buy More, Emmett is being evaluated, and the crew has been threatened to behave. 

The government can’t find Stephen Bartowski. Chuck is upset and

confronts Beckman. He wants to use Jill Roberts to help find his dad. She only agrees if Chuck makes a deal. The Buy More crew is not behaving, and Emmett convinces Morgan to help him so he can be transferred out. Jill tells the team that “Uncle Bernie” might be able to help. Chuck fakes his engagement with Jill so the family will get together, including Bernie.

At the party, Bernie arrives, and Chuck flashes. He is Fulcrum, and Bernie asks Jill what she is doing home. Bernie takes the couple aside, confronts Jill about prison, and Chuck offers him a deal in exchange for Orion. When they are interrupted, Chuck and Jill run because Bernie pulled a gun on them. Sarah and Casey are on surveillance and rush in as Chuck’s cousin and her boyfriend. Casey and Sarah run upstairs to help Chuck. Bernie chases them up into the attic and then collapses, dead.

Casey, Sarah, Chuck, and Jill drag Bernie out, telling the family he had too much to drink. 

Morgan and the Buy More crew put on a show for the evaluator to get rid of Emmett. Chuck wants to use Jill to find his dad, and Sarah is worried. Chuck assures her he won’t trust Jill but needs her. As Jill is leaving, Bernie’s dead body is in Castle, and his phone rings. Chuck pretends to be Bernie, and they trace the call. Jill supplies information for the location they found, and they agree to take her to help. Casey and Chuck fake their way inside, and Chuck flashes. They are pretending to test to infiltrate the holding cells. They believe Stephen is there. When they are rerouted to testing, Chuck does well, and Casey fails. Fulcrum discovers their real identity, and they are separated and detained. 

Morgan discovers that Emmett lied to them, and the evaluation was for Big Mike. They were tricked into betraying him so Emmett could be the store manager.

Casey escapes and goes to help Chuck, who is being questioned. Jill goes with Sarah to help them. When confronted, Sarah fights with Fulcrum agents. Casey comes down the outside of the building to help Chuck. Jill escapes while Sarah is pinned down. 

Jill was going to escape but stops to help Chuck save the Fulcrum agent who tried to kill him, but they fail. Casey rescues Sarah while Jill and Chuck try to find Orion. Stephen has been moved, but Jill heard them talk about Black Rock, and Chuck flashes. He is going to a base in Barstow.

Chuck gives Jill the engagement ring for money and lets her leave because she helped him.

Emmett makes Big Mike another sales associate, and he knows it was Morgan who betrayed him. 

Beckman chews out Sarah and Casey for allowing Orion and Jill to both get away. She is going to shut down Team Bartowski and put Chuck in lockdown. Sarah is to lie to him, saying she is taking him to his dad and then take him to Casey for transfer. 

Morgan realizes he trusted the wrong person. Sarah challenges Casey; he agrees Chuck is safer underground. Sarah goes to Chuck and begins the lie, but when Chuck tells her he almost stopped trusting her but he was wrong, she hugs him and tells him the truth. Casey is watching from Castle; she tells him to remove his watch, and they are running.

They leave in Sarah’s car, and Chuck tells her she could go to jail for helping him.

“You’re committing treason, Sarah; you could go to jail.”

“I know.”

Points of Interest

• The subway sandwich campaign is in full swing. Chuck fans launch a world wide campaign to bring the show back for a third season. NBC still had not made an announcement as of the airing of this episode.
• ‘Uncle Bernie’ is the best friend of Jill’s father and the person who introduced Jill to Fulcrum.
• Although the episode is titled First Kill, it is not really about the person that Chuck inadvertently kills. Betrayal and loyalty are defined. Both in the Buy More world and in Chuck’s world.
• As with Broken Heart, when the CIA makes Sarah choose between her loyalty to her job and her loyal to Chuck; Chuck ultimately wins.

References

• Spies Like Us- Casey tries to chest off Chuck’s test.
• Lost- Black Rock reference
• Weekend at Bernie’s- Uncle Bernie is dead. They drag him out, pretending he is still alive.
• The Godfather Pt II- Big Mike kisses Morgan, who has betrayed him.
• Star Wars- light saber fight
• Princess Bride- battle of the wits scene
• Dead Poets Society- Captain, my Captain
• The Shawshank Redemption- “I won’t survive”: Jeff’s quote.

Music

Here- Mackintosh Braun: Sarah tries to cheer up Chuck, offers him frozen yogurt.

We’re Not Gonna Take It- Twisted Sister: Buy More is in chaos.

The Boy I’m Gonna Marry- Darlene Love: Chuck and Jill’s engagement party.

Hungry Like A Wolf- Duran Duran: Chuck flashes on Bernie, he chases them around the house. (In a side note, Matt Bomer- Bryce Larkin- sang this song when he appeared on Glee.)

Shopping For Blood- Franz Ferdinand: Infiltrating Fulcrum building.