Team Bartowski, previously known as Operation Bartowski, is the main spy team of the series that was assembled by NSA Director Diane Beckman and CIA Director Langston Graham when they were still serving under the US intelligence.
The team consisted of Chuck Bartowski, Sarah Walker, former NSA Colonel John Casey, and Morgan Grimes.
The team mainly operates out of their secret base Castle, hidden under the Buy More in Burbank. They also often utilize their heavily modified van during missions.
Since the fourth season finale, Team Bartowski has been disbanded, leading to the entire team having been fired after Chuck went rogue to save Sarah's life.
This led to the ultimate decision for the team to become a freelance spy agency, with all the assets of Volkoff Industries loaned to them by Hartley Winterbottom and Vivian Volkoff.
Members
- Chuck Bartowski (Human Intersect until Season Four finale)
- Morgan Grimes (Human Intersect in Season Five)
- Sarah Walker
- John Casey
Member Roles
In Season One and Season Two, Chuck's primary role is as an observer - possessing no fighting abilities of his own, he is relied upon to flash on important objects or information, solve puzzles, and occasionally, help out if necessary. However, when the Intersect 2.0 is downloaded into his brain in Template:222, he gains the ability to learn martial arts and other amenities upon flashing, and throughout the beginning of Season Three is trained to become a proper member of the team. His dislike of firearms means he usually dispatches enemies with non-lethal methods, for example knocking them out or using tranquillizer guns. Throughout Season Four, Chuck is progressing more as a spy.
Sarah and Casey provide the backbone of the team, specializing in martial arts and firearms usage. Their role remains constant throughout all three series, providing the upfront force needed in the team, and when Chuck progresses to become a true spy in Season Three, they work in tandem with each other. However, in Template:108, upon being contaminated with the potentially fatal truth serum, Casey reveals that Sarah is more adept at lock picking than he is. Casey's strong personality has often caused rifts in the team, however, for example in Template:209, when the anger caused by the appearance of his old sensei, now Fulcrum agent Ty Bennett, causes Casey to make a request to Beckman that Chuck should be "benched" from this mission. Similarly, Chuck and Sarah's close relationship has often resulted in fall outs, for example in Template:302, when, after the events in Template:301, Sarah requests a transfer out of the team after Chuck reveals his feelings for her.
Morgan joined the team when Chuck revealed his secret life to him in Template:309. He becomes an official member after Casey had persuaded Beckman to accept him in subsequent episodes. As a team member, he is the least capable like Chuck once was, however in his short service so far he has on numerous occasions had revelations the others have not, for example in Template:314, when he realizes two Interpol agents are actually undercover ETA agents when the agents, supposedly stationed at Lake Como, misidentify an annual boating festival for "Palaces". He has been codenamed "The Magnet" in Template:406, where Casey pretends to assist him on his first mission. Morgan waited in a parking lot, while he was dressed professionally and carrying a briefcase. He was held at gunpoint by an enemy agent who Casey wanted documents from. Casey shows up behind the man, with the man now at gunpoint as well. Morgan then realizes why he was codenamed as The Magnet.
Daniel Shaw first joined the team in Template:304, when, after Chuck and Devon successfully revive him, he takes control of the team. He frequently overrode the authority of the other team members in order to discover the potential of Chuck as a real agent. After briefly romancing with Sarah after Template:308, he is apprehended by The Ring and it is revealed to him that his wife's death was initiated by Sarah Walker during her "red test". Sarah is unaware that his wife was her victim, however, and apologises profusely when it is revealed to her in Template:312. Whilst Shaw insists that it will not get in the way of the team, it is slowly revealed that he had plotted his revenge by working with The Ring, culminating in abducting Sarah in Paris in Template:313. When Chuck manages to track him down and attempts to take him out, Shaw escapes with Sarah and warns Chuck not to follow, or he will kill him as well. However, Chuck does follow and successfully terminates Shaw, which results in a romance starting between Chuck and Sarah.
Alex Forrest was only a member of the team briefly, after she replaces Sarah on the team in Template:218, when Beckman initiates a "49B" and forcibly removes Sarah from the team as she feels the close relationship between her and Chuck compromises the team. Sarah is later reinstated at the end of the episode, after she successfully aids Forrest and the team on the previous mission.
Carina Miller and Cole Barker are both associates of the team, with Carina first appearing during Template:104, as one of Sarah's friends. Having played Team Bartowski to obtain the diamond they are tasked with stealing from a suspected drug smuggler for her own aims at the DEA. Carina appears again during Template:302, tasked with stealing a "weapon" with the team (which actually turns out to be information left by a deep cover agent on the Ring). At the end of the episode, Carina sleeps with Morgan, as he is the only man ever to say no to her. Cole Barker appears during two episodes in Season Two, Template:215 and Template:216, and is originally assumed to be Fulcrum. Actually, Cole is a deep cover MI6 (SIS) agent tasked with infiltration the splinter organisation. In the episode of his first appearance, the team are tasked with helping him retrieve a playback device to access the information stored on a Fulcrum data chip, containing the names of every Fulcrum agent currently working inside the CIA. Unfortunately all does not go to plan, and Chuck, Sarah and Cole are captured by Fulcrum and submitted to torture. They are soon rescued by Casey however, and Cole is sent back to the UK alone (having asked Sarah to travel the world with him). However, Cole's driver is killed by a Fulcrum agent, and he is once again captured, only to escape again at the beginning of the next episode, with another mission to follow.
Jim Rye was sent from Langley, to train Chuck into using the Intersect 2.0, after it had been assumed to be removed by Mary Bartowski. After a month of having NSA scientists investigate on Chuck's mind, they found out that the Intersect is hidden in a part of the brain still, but inactive. Jim scares Chuck into using the Intersect's skills by using Chuck's fear of death. The Intersect flashes at times in Template:408, but still unable to supply him with him the skills needed. Jim sends Chuck on a mission to Switzerland, completely away from the safety of Casey and Sarah. Chuck is later kidnapped by a Belgian after killing Agent Rye. The Belgian assumes Chuck still has a working Intersect.
Team History
CIA agent Bryce Larkin had stolen the the Intersect and sent it to Chuck, who unintentionally downloaded the Intersect into his mind when he opened an e-mail addressed to him in Template:101. Both CIA and NSA, whilst not being certain of who the Intersect had been sent to, narrowed it down to Burbank, CA, where they sent top CIA Agent Sarah Walker to investigate. She successfully locates Chuck, however NSA agent John Casey was sent to kill him. However, when Chuck flees with Sarah to avoid getting killed, he flashes on a bomb plot in a nearby hotel, where a high profile dinner is being staged.
With the help of Casey and Sarah, Chuck successfully averts a major disaster by defusing the bomb using a Russian computer virus. Similarly, in Template:102, Chuck proves his worth when he aids the escape of Agent Walker from enemy captive, and, after being captured himself, successfully hijacks a helicopter before landing it safely. Based on these events, both the NSA and CIA agree on the adeptness of the team, and decide to put the trio to use.
In Template:310, Casey appears to go AWOL, as he assists the Ring in obtaining a package from a 15-level underground US Government facility when the team attempt to "spy-proof" the building under Beckman's orders. Chuck notices Casey take the package, and inadvertently reveals this to Beckman, who questions Casey. When he does not respond, she strips him of his rank as Colonel, and he is officially ejected from the US Military. Initially, Chuck and Sarah believe Casey is unaware who he is dealing with, but it is revealed he is fully aware he is assisting the Ring when they attempt to break him out of his holding cell. However, they later find out he was blackmailed by The Ring, and told that unless he complied they would kill his old fiancee. Casey begins a brief but fruitful civilian life working at the Buy More, during which time he comes under fire from Jeff and Lester, as he regularly assaults them. Big Mike helps him to control his emotions, and he apologises when they go for lunch at Subway. In Template:312, after Chuck is offered a deployment in Rome and a team consisting of anyone he wants by Beckman, Casey takes interest - despite officially being a traitor, within reason he would be allowed to join Chuck in Rome. He highlights his "extensive military experience", and Chuck decides that if he helps him get Sarah back, he will happily reinstate him in his team for Rome. When the situation doesn't go to plan, however, and Chuck suspects Shaw of being a double agent, Beckman denies Chuck the oppurtunity to work in Rome. Finally, in "Chuck versus the Other Guy", when Casey captures The Ring leader and opens up a comms link with Beckman, he demands reinstatement for transferral of the leader. Beckman reluctantly accepts, and Casey is officially reinstated into Team Bartowski.
Whilst Sarah and Chuck had brief flings before, as of Template:313 the two have begun a proper relationship. So far, this has impacted the team greatly, with Chuck and Sarah working more closely together, whilst Casey has been assigned to mentor Morgan. It is unclear whether this behaviour will continue, effectively resulting in two "sub teams" working within Team Bartowski.