| Chuck Versus the Zoom | |
| Season 5, Episode 01 | |
 | |
| Air Date | October 28, 2011 |
| Writer | Chris Fedak and Nicholas Wootton |
| Director | Robert Duncan McNeill |
| Previous | Chuck Versus the Cliffhanger |
| Next | Chuck Versus the Bearded Bandit |
- "The computer didn't make you a hero it just gave you an opportunity to become one."
- ―Ellie
Chuck Versus the Zoom is the premiere episode of Chuck's final season, which aired on October 28, 2011.
Synopsis[]
After Carmichael Industries first mission – to recover a stolen vase from a ruthless thief known as Jean-Claude (Mark Hamill) – goes awry, Chuck and the team go up against Roger Bale (Craig Kilborn), a man who steals secrets from other villains.
Meanwhile, Chuck attempts to buy a house for Sarah, and Decker (Richard Burgi) continues to hunt the team with one of his own.
Full Story[]
The story begins with Sarah joining Chuck on a balcony at the edge of a cliff. Chuck, Sarah, and Casey are about to be forced to jump off the cliff when Morgan arrives, flashes on martial arts skills, and takes out the bad guys. The vase that the team had been sent for is recovered, but Morgan accidentally drops it and it shatters.
Back at Carmichael Industries, Morgan attempts to reconstruct the vase, but fails miserably. As it turns out, the real objective was a microchip hidden in the vase for an unknown client and the vase was to cover the team's fee. Sarah confronts the team about how they overspend and how they need to remain solvent, with so few clients coming to them.
They are therefore delighted for their next client, Woodley (Ethan Phillips), whom Casey brought to Castle blindfolded and gagged with duck-tape. Woodley asks that they steal back money from a Roger Bale, who has embezzled from a many people, and promises 20% of the recovered money for the team. Chuck and Morgan go on a recon mission. Morgan flashes, or as he decides to term is, zoom, on Bale's bag and learns that he goes to the Kensington Athletics club.
Chuck meets with Ellie in Castle, who assures him that there was only one upload left in the Intersect glasses given them that is now in Morgan's head. Ellie tells her brother that the Intersect didn't make him a hero, but just gave him an opportunity to be one.
Meanwhile, in the Buy More, as soon as both Chuck and Morgan are out of sight, Lester raises a "Save Jeff Barnes" banner over the Nerd Herd sign. Jeff is faking being a paraplegic so he and Lester can scam their customers out of money. Unfortunately for them, Jeff is seen getting up from his wheelchair by Chuck and Morgan who then put a stop to their scam and return all the money.
Team Bartowski then begins discussing a plan to infiltrate Bale's upcoming party.
Much to Chuck's dismay, it's pointed out Morgan, as the Intersect, is a better choice to get close to Bale. Casey then uploads a virus to Bale's Blackberry while Chuck distracts his bodyguard during his massage. Though Morgan succeeds in getting himself and Sarah invited to a party, Chuck sets off alarms with the bodyguard after spotting Chuck's tranq gun. Worse, the bodyguard is resistant to multiple tranq darts and struggles with Chuck, before Casey arrives and knocks his opponent out.
Chuck and Morgan had been conspiring to keep plans to buy a house for Sarah a secret. But their secret does not stay hidden for long. Sarah dresses up seductively and breaks Chuck, who tells all, and then she takes the planning binder from Morgan. After looking through the potential houses, Sarah admits to Chuck that she dreams of a white house with a red door and picket fence.
Morgan, Sarah, and Casey then go to the party and access Bale's electronic accounts. But just as Chuck is about to transfer the money, he is interrupted by Clyde Decker, who hijacks his hack and freezes all the money, alerting Bale to the heist. With his team captured and Morgan knocked out, Chuck frantically tries coming up with a plan. Hearing that Bale's computers are having trouble, Chuck goes in as a Nerd Herder to help. But as he had seen the computer systems, Bale decides to have him killed. Chuck then threatens to destroy the banking of all of Bale's money and bring in the CIA if he doesn't let his team go. He then tells everyone on the radio to leave. But when they get to the van, they discover video messages from Chuck instructing them how to aid his escape. Following the instructions, they turn off the power in Bale Industries for a second, allowing Chuck to run before "catching" him after he jumps out a window.
We're in
At Castle, it is revealed that Bale has been arrested, but Decker has foiled their mission, including having frozen their almost all assets, leaving them with nothing but the Buy More and Castle.
Going out for some air, Chuck heads to the house he was planning to buy for Sarah - he had found the perfect place, but with Decker having frozen his accounts, he can't afford it. His wife finds and comforts him, reminding him that he is still their leader, and they can still get new clients to support their team. They then realize that they could work with the profits the Buy More makes to fund themselves. They are unaware that they are under surveillance by Decker, who is meeting a cabal of CIA agents and tells them that their interference in Chuck's life has just begun. He declares that they must ensure that he fails and declares that it is the final chapter for Team Bartowski.
Cast[]
- Mark Christopher Lawrence as Big Mike
- Ryan McPartlin as Devon Woodcomb
- Sarah Lancaster as Ellie Woodcomb
- Scott Krinsky as Jeffrey Barnes
- Vik Sahay as Lester Patel
Guest stars[]
Trivia[]
- Mark Hamill makes an appearance as a villain at the start of the episode. Craig Kilborn guest stars as Roger Bale, a dangerous man who steals secrets from other villains.
- Ethan Phillips, who played Neelix from Star Trek: Voyager, plays Carmichael Industries' client, Woodley.
- "Zoom" is Morgan's preferred term instead of the "Flash" used by Chuck.
- In DC comics, Zoom is an enemy to The Flash, foreshadowing the future story arc between Morgan and Chuck.
- Sarah's "perfect house" is the house from Scarecrow & Mrs. King, which starred Bruce Boxleitner (who plays Devon's father, Woody) and shared the plot dynamic of an average citizen becoming involved with a spy and ends up falling in love with and marrying the agent assigned to them.
Quotes[]
- Morgan: We finally lost control of the store, haven't we?
- Chuck: All right, where's Jeff...no, where's Lester. I can sense his evil little hand all over this.
~
- Morgan: You're amazing. You are so Zen right now. If I had a power like that and I thought it was gone forever, aw, Chuck, I'd be a wreck. Whew! But not you, man, you are my hero. You're great even without the Intersect.
Music[]
- Devil’s Music - Teddybears
- Ice Cream - New Young Pony Club
- Take My Hand and Lead Me Home - Simian Ghost
- Pucho’s Descarga - Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers
- He Regresado - En La Palma Orchestra
- The Honest Truth - Typhoon