Chuck Versus the Balcony - Recap

Loire Valley, France

A man in a suit and tie, carrying a briefcase is being chased by several men with mastiffs and guns. They beat on the door as he opens the briefcase and gets out a kind of gun. He shoots a nanochip into a bottle of wine. The men arrive and shoot him. One says in French that the chip is gone. They leave him lying there because the police have arrived.

Back in California, Chuck and Sarah are having a lovely dinner. He seems nervous, and logically so. He's about to propose, until Sarah tells him that her dad went way over the top on his proposal to her mom, and that was the beginning of the end of their relationship. She tells him to take his time. No rush. Now he has to rethink that engagement ring hanging off the end of his right arm, in his shaking hand. He snaps the ring case shut, and Sarah hears it, so Chuck claims it was his jaw, cracking.

Chuck excuses himself and runs to tell Morgan to shut down the proposal. He makes the string quartet go away and gives away the champagne. Sarah gets a call that they have a job, so they leave the restaurant - just as the horse-drawn carriage arrives. Chuck takes her out the side exit.

The case Beckman wants to discuss with them involves the nanochip that was injected into the wine. The chip is full of secret locations and blueprints of CIA black sites in Europe. Agent Rosenbaum's body was returned, sans chip. The team needs to recover the chip. Beckman tells them there is a terrorist who is also searching for the nanochip. Beckman assigns Chuck and Sarah to a wine tasting at the chateau tomorrow, while Casey is posing as Chuck's personal manservant.

After Casey and Chuck leave, Sarah reconnects with Beckman so she can make something clear. She will do anything in her power to bring back Chuck's mom and eliminate Volkoff and his organization. Beckman understands, and commends Sarah but cautions her that they must wait for the right opportunity.

At Buy More, Chuck tells Morgan that the only thing worse than proposing to a super spy has to be proposing to a super spy with major proposal issues. Morgan seems to be making light of it, so Chuck reiterates. Her parents made it nigh well unto impossible for him to do the perfect proposal, yet he has to. Morgan doesn't think there's a problem. Chuck should simply propose to Sarah in the French countryside, during their mission. Chuck doesn't like the idea, and rejects it out of hand, so Morgan asks him to at least think about it.

Lester yells from a good ten feet away "WHY is everyone so obsessed with marriage!?" When Chuck and Morgan look at him, he huffs that he doesn't want to talk about it and storm away. Chuck tells Morgan he should handle that, but Morgan calls for his fixer to handle it.

Big Mike asks Lester why he's so unhappy. He shares that his "control freak parents" have arranged a marriage for him. He talks a bit about the old country, dietary restrictions, etc and how he has to tell his parents he lives in the USA. He's not in Canada anymore. He's loving online dating, and now? His parents are sending his new bride HERE! Big Mike advises him to be honest. Lester thinks that's wonderful. He also thinks Big Mike is going to be the one talking to her. Thanks, buddy.

The team heads out, but Morgan stops Chuck before he gets out the door. He shows him the perfect proposal spots, and tells him to keep an eye on Sarah. She'll let him know when the time is right.

Chuck and Sarah arrive at the wine tasting; no sign of Pierre, the terrorist. They both notice what a romantic place it is. As Sarah floats away, Chuck calls Morgan who tells him he has an earpiece in one pocket, ring in the other, and mints in both. Good to go, bro.

Casey tells Chuck to get cracking, find that chip. He wants to be back stateside tomorrow. Chuck tells Morgan (through his watch) that he can't propose with Casey hovering like this. Morgan tells him to let Casey "man serve you." Chuck sends Casey off looking for the nanochip underground, and Casey leaves. Growling. Sarah returns, and he kisses her before they start looking for the chip. The technology to find the chip isn't getting a signal. They find themselves on the balcony, and Sarah's breath is taken away by the scenery. Chuck calls in the right location, and commences the submission. Before he takes two steps, he hears from Casey who has a location pinpoint on the nanochip. He has to take cover as Pierre and his men arrive.

A thug finds the nanochip gun and brings it to Pierre, who licks the needle and determines the vintage the nanochip has been placed in. The thugs go to work locating the right bottles. Casey radios the news to Chuck and Sarah as a waiter is delivering a bottle of that vintage. The signal gets weaker, which means the bottle is on the move. Sarah notifies him that they are on their way. Pierre becomes aware of Casey's presence and announces that no one leaves that room alive.

Chuck follows the bottle while Sarah goes to join Casey. He's overwhelmed by all the waiters, so Morgan tells him there's a stable on the label and a stork on the cork. He still can't get a lock on the bottle.

Sarah is outside the cellar door, gun drawn. He tells her that the place is crawling with french bad guys, so she breaks a heel and staggers in as though she's drunk. When she wins over the bad guys, she immobilizes them, and Casey takes out the others.

Chuck gets a lock on the bottle and finds it empty. Somebody nearby seems to have the nanochip in their glass. Sarah checks in, and lets him know they will come back up. Chuck tells the man he has the wrong drink, but the man doesn't believe him. Chuck takes the glass from the man and runs, but Pierre catches him. Chuck flashes and takes out all the bad guys while keeping the glass safe. He checks in with Morgan and is informed he has three minutes to sunset. Chuck turns the wine over to Sarah, and prepares to propose, but Casey interrupts, and they rappel off the balcony just as Pierre arrives.

General Beckman arrives to debrief the team in person, as their mission isn't over. Sarah and Chuck are going back to capture Pierre. A couple in love are more believable as turncoats. Pierre has been led to believe that they've gone rogue, and want to sell the nanochip to him. The chip they will be turning over to him is actually for tracking, and they will be able to find his entire terrorist cell. They leave tonight. Beckman asks for a word with Agent Walker. She wants Sarah to be the one to make the drop, she's the seasoned agent and the drop must go smoothly.

Lester's bride arrives and she is exquisite. He wants Mike to stall her, because he has three fat girls to dump. Mike is about to give her the bad news, but Jeffrey interrupts and tells her Lester will be back in
1/2 hour.

Morgan tells Chuck to propose during moonlight tonight. It will be perfect.

Lester's bride returns and is freaked out by his attempt at tradition. He quickly shifts gears, and she is relieved. They're going to give it a second chance.

Sarah approaches Morgan, she wants his intel on the proposal. When she hears everything, she tells Morgan she's taking over the mission. They'll make this proposal happen.

As Sarah waits in the garden for Pierre, somebody is taking pictures of her. Morgan tells her the proposal is all systems go. She insists that if anything goes wrong, he is to tell her immediately. He leaves her call to talk to Chuck, and denies Sarah knows anything. Chuck ends the call to be backup for Sarah. They exchange codes, and then briefcases. She tells Chuck the exchange is made, and they agree to meet on the balcony.

Jinsana arrives so they can go get a drink, but Lester makes things even worse by performing "Is this love" in a horrible, excruciatingly embarrassing fashion.

Morgan checks in with Chuck, who says the mission went so smoothly, it must be a sign. That's when he's garroted. Pierre asks if Chuck thought he was just going to let him walk away with his money, but Chuck flashes and takes out the bad guys.

Jinsana has never been so uncomfortable, and leaves. Lester calls after her that he wants to get married, and she snarls back that he should try the internet.

Casey finds Morgan running the chateau feed and informs him the mission is over. Now he's part of the submission, as he accurately realizes that Chuck is going to pop the question. They watch Sarah, she's nervous. Morgan tells her it's completely natural. He gives his blessing.

Casey notices that Chuck dropped the ring, so he tells Sarah. She tells Chuck to look at the moon, and picks it up. When they kiss, she drops it in his pocket. She says she's never seen a place as beautiful as this, and he says every time he looks at her, it's the most beautiful place he's ever been. Morgan and Casey are loving how things are unfolding. Chuck tells her he wants to spend the rest of his life with her. He gets out the ring, but as he's getting on one knee, The CIA arrests Sarah for treason.

Chuck is beside himself. Casey tells him to sit down, the pacing is making him dizzy. Chuck shares that he was going to propose. Casey proposed once. To Kathleen. They had plans to go to Niagara Falls. He was about to ship out. But things got screwed up. Casey was young, and stupid. He wound up proposing in a Buffalo bus station. It wasn't romantic, but he'll always have that day. He'll always have that look on her face. Forget about the balcony. All Chuck needs is the girl.

As Beckman walks out, she lets Chuck in to see Sarah. She knows they have some things to discuss. Sarah tells him the truth. She's being set up as a double agent so she can take down Volkoff and get Mary Bartowski out of deep cover. He doesn't want to hear it. This is exactly how he lost his mom. She asks him to trust her, and they kiss before parting.

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