Original air date
Season 1 episode 3
Synopsis
A painting is seen in Iran with two men commenting on how unappealing it is and one is murdered by the other, who takes the painting. The same thing occurs in Spain, with the previous killer being the one shot. Then the painting shows up in an LA art gallery with the change of hands occurring again with the murder of the previous killer during a sale.
A month after these events, Chuck is working in the Buy More and learns the assistant manager job is available. The Buy More team must fix a whole room of computers to prevent their manager (Big Mike) from giving the job to Harry Tang, a green shirt supervisor of the sales floor.
Sarah comes to visit Chuck and asks for a kiss since they have been on three dates. He complies but is reluctant and self-conscious. Sarah and Casey show Chuck photos of the dead men associated with the painting to see if he flashes. He does not but does flash on a photo of the painting that coworker, Jeff, brings into the room.
Beckman tells Casey and Sarah they are after La Ciudad, the arms dealer that was the subject of Chuck’s flash. They decided Chuck could be helpful and needs to accompany them on the mission. Casey tells Chuck he will need to dance the tango for the mission. Sarah helps Chuck establish a cover identity for his first time as a spy. (Charles Carmichael, a rich software designer, is born).
Chuck asks Ellie for help to learn the tango and ends up being tutored by her boyfriend, Devon (Captain Awesome). Chuck and Sarah dress for their date while the Buy More nerds fix the computers.
Sarah gives Chuck a GPS watch for his safety and he discovers that Casey duped him regarding learning the tango. During the mission, Chuck flashes on a foreign agent and thinks he is La Ciudad, causing Sarah to get forcibly taken by the agent while Casey follows them. Chuck is left behind and meets a woman while viewing the painting in question. She asks him to dance, and we discover Chuck only knows the female part of the tango. Chuck flashes on the scar on her neck and realizes she is the real La Ciudad. Casey rescues Sarah and they go back to find Chuck.
Thanks to a phone call from Morgan, La Ciudad knows Chuck is not who he claims to be and takes him, with her henchman, to her room for questioning. He is successful in persuading her that he is a computer tech, but she must kill him anyway because he has seen her. Casey and Sarah rescue him but La Ciudad escapes.
The next day, La Ciudad and her men show up to find Chuck at the Buy More. Sarah takes out La Ciudad and Casey subdues her henchmen.
Sarah is coming for dinner at the Bartowski apartment and Chuck is encouraged by Ellie telling him that it is obvious Sarah is really into him. While Chuck walks her out after dinner, Sarah compliments him and they share a moment of flirtation before Sarah turns and walks away.
Points of Interest
- Title sequence shown for the first time.
- Theme song, “Short skirt, Long jacket by Cake is heard for the first time.
- Big Mike’s stuffed Marlin, Norman, makes its first appearance.
- While discussing the Charles Carmichael cover, Chuck tells Sarah about what Bryce did to him and how he thought they were friends. “We all make mistakes” is her reply. Bryce betrayed her too.
- “It’s complicated” used for the first time (twice).
- Chuck’s middle name is Irving.
- Next to the Bowie knife with La Ciudad’s torture tools is a cheese knife.
- Sarah allows herself a moment of weakness when she admits to Chuck that a real kiss wouldn’t be rejected. Chuck- “I could suffer through it”. Sarah- “Me too”.
- Morgan refers to Chuck as 6’ 1”. Zachary Levi is 6’ 4”.
- First use of ‘Team Bartowski’
- Chuck and Sarah have two cover kisses, their first of the series. Chuck is uncomfortable with the fake relationship..
References
- Dark Crystal- Morgan calls Chuck a gelding: he means a gelfling; a mythical creature in the story.
- Goldfinger- shaken and stirred. Chuck orders a martini
- Star Trek- ‘boldly go where none of us have gone before’, referring to the nerds fixing computers.
- Bob Ross- The Joy of Painting host on PBS- Chuck brings him into his conversation with La Ciudad
- Old Boy- a poster in Chuck’s bedroom
Music
Brandenberg Concerto #3 in G major- JS Bach: Chuck and Sarah enter the auction. (Also used in Die Hard).
Figaro’s Duettino Sull’ana- Mozart: Morgan montage while locked in cage. (Also used in Shawshank Redemption).
Don’t You Evah –Spoon: Chuck fixes a gun and the team fixes computers.
Santa Maria- Gotan Project: The tango with La Ciudad
The General Specific- Band of Horses: Chuck fixes the last of the computers.
Tango Pasion- Daryl Griffith: Devon teaches Chuck to tango.
