...Set: Chuck 3x05 "Chuck versus First Class"

This week Chuck goes on his first solo mission, thanks to the new man in charge, Special Agent Shaw (guest star Brandon Routh, who got to wear some glasses and look rather Clark Kent-ish... Was this on purpose?). Sarah and Casey don't think Chuck is up to the challenge, but both Shaw and Chuck assert that he is. The mission, should he choose to accept it, is in Paris. Conveniently, we learn nothing about what it was supposed to be exactly. Because, as it turns out, the mission isn't in Paris, but rather on the plane to Paris! Dun dun dun.

Chuck finds out that this is his true mission once he flashes on a Ring operative on the plane, played by Stone Cold Steve Austin. And, as I don't remember if they gave him a name, I'll just call him SC. Chuck must drug him, get his cargo ticket, and head down to the hold to find a special key hidden in his luggage. He manages to do so, but once he gets down there discovers that the luggage is... a coffin! With a creepy dead old man inside. Chuck's drugging of SC doesn't last long, and he's forced to hide in the coffin with the dead man, which turns out to be the worst place to hide. Thanks to the Intersect and a nicely placed Yale Fencing Team bag, Chuck is able to en guarde SC and take him down.

He heads back up to First Class to flirt some more with Hannah (guest star Kristin Kreuk, who I liked much better here than I ever liked her as Lana in Smallville), the cute girl he just so happened to be seated next to. The flirting does not last long, however, because after taking a sip of a mysterious drink, Chuck realizes he's been poisoned! And though he tied up SC down in the hold, he's free! And on top of all of that, the flight attendant, Serena, turns out to also be a Ring operative! Lions, Tigers and Bears, oh my!

Serena and SC take Chuck down to the cargo hold to get back the key while Sarah and Shaw work to take over the plane remotely from Castle. While Sarah does some fancy remote flying of the plane (she's a pilot? Who knew!), Chuck gets the antidote to his poison and is ready to take action with some nunchucks, only to find his would be captors have been taken out by tumbling luggage. Mission: accomplished.

Chuck bids farewell to Hannah after he's told he can't go out and enjoy a Paris day, but gives her his card for if she's ever in Burbank. And guess what? She shows up in Burbank at the end of the episode! Do we think she has a hidden agenda? It always seems to be the case. Is she secretly a Ring operative? Someone else entirely? Hmm.

And on to our subplots. We find out a bit more about Shaw. He had a spy within the Ring who was killed five years ago. Any guesses who that spy was? I think you can guess. Yep, his wife, Eve. But she was able to send him a bunch of information, which is what they needed this key for. Sarah and Shaw also bonded some over their shared experiences of falling in love on the job.

Meanwhile, at the Buy More, Morgan was having his authority tested by Lester and the gang. He recruits Casey to help him get order, and Casey being Casey, he kidnaps Lester and does some kind of Clockwork Orange-y brainwashing on him. Ah, Casey. Gotta love him.

Some noteworthy lines of the night:

"If you gave me five minutes running this popsicle stand, we'd be ready." - Casey
"Ready for what?" - Morgan
"The Russians." - Chuck

"Insurgents. I hate insurgents." - Casey

"Mama?" - Lester, as Casey is about to drug him

The Buy More story this week felt rather superfluous. I think the show works better when they are at least vaguely connected. But it did produce some of my favorite lines of the night, so oh well.

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