Chuck – Recap & Review – Chuck vs. The Couch Lock

photo: nbc

Chuck
Chuck vs. The Couch Lock

Original Air Date: Oct 18, 2010

Jeff L – Staff Writer
JeffL@thetwocentscorp.com

If you have a problem, if no-one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the cAsey-Team. This week’s episode opens in the Zargos Mountains of Iran in 1999 where Casey and his a-team of commandos (Eric Roberts), Joel Moore, and Batista) uncover a stockpile of gold being used to fund terrorism. Casey’s men have other plans for the gold, but Casey won’t let them deviate from their mission to destroy the bunker and bury the gold. Casey wins the day and the men formerly under his command end up in Levenworth but the gold remains buried in a vault somewhere in Iran which can only be opened by Casey.

Back in present day at the Spy More, Chuck has a lead on Momma Bartowski in the files provided to him by the Generalissimo of Costa Gravas. One of the photos with the file shows Volkoff’s black ops soldiers causing Chuck to flash and realize they were the same men Casey was working back in Iran. I guess they didn’t stay locked up for long. Casey explains that the men escaped and are wanted by the government and surveying as soldiers of fortune. Chuck asks if Casey ever saw “The A-Team” to which Casey responds “I was the A-Team!”

Chuck hatches a plan to draw out the soldiers by faking Casey’s death. Remarkably General Grandma goes for it. Morgan, who’s been desperately trying to find a way to tell Casey he’s been dating his daughter Alex, tries and fails to do it while he’s paralyzed (but still conscious) at the funeral. Of course, Casey’s old team show up one-by-one. Each testing if Casey is really dead or not by sticking him with pins, burning him with a cigar, etc. Chuck calls a halt to the faux-funeral before “someone burns off Casey’s face with a blow torch.” The rogue soldiers of fortune, however have another plan and they blow explosive charges they’ve planted around Casey’s casket and make off with Casey’s “body,” effectively eluding capture.

Chuck and his team track Casey via a tracking device, but the rogue agents are too smart for them and they end up tracking (and almost shooting for some reason) an alley cat. The soldiers take Casey to their hideout and decide they don’t need to bring his entire body to Iran to open the vault. They only need his arm. They’re about to saw it off, when Casey is saved by the bell or the pizza guy at least. He wills himself to counteract the drug they gave him to fake his death. He stumbles out of the room, losing the second hypo and his wallet (with the John Casey driver’s license). The men come back and Casey hasn’t had time to escape, he has to take on the men while half his body is still paralyzed. He manages the task, but he’s injected with the second hypo of the drug in the process. He stumbles out into the alley and tries to call Chuck and Sarah to rescue him, but ends up getting Jeffster! on the Nerd Herd hotline before passing out in a dumpster. Jeffster! has had some dumpster-pass-out experience of their own and they show up and bring Casey back to Morgan’s apartment where he remains catatonic.

Chuck and Sarah have a little adventure with some laser activated tripwire explosives, but the real fun is back at Morgan’s where Morgan tries to bring Casey back from his faux-death. Then, to make matters worse, Casey’s daughter shows up. Morgan tries to get her to leave when he spies Batista (The B.A. of Casey’s A-Team) snooping around eventually he does the only thing he can think of to make her run and that’s break up with her. Batista grabs Morgan and forcefully explains to him that if Casey doesn’t show up in the vault where the gold is stashed in 24 hours Morgan is going to have two more funerals to attend. Uh oh, Chuck and Sarah.

Inside, Morgan, desperate to wake Casey calls Captain Awesome and tells him that Jeff has is drugged out and catatonic on the couch. Awesome just laughs it off as Couch Lock (hence the title) and advises Morgan to get Jeff’s heart rate up. Morgan tries slapping Casey, but it’s like “slapping a car.” He ends up using the last weapon in his arsenal and telling Casey that he’s been dating Alex his daughter. Casey’s eyes start to open. Morgan continues. He explains that he’s been a gentleman, but that it’s very clear that it’s fast approaching sleep over time with him and Casey’s daughter. Casey, now fully awake, lifts Morgan by his throat. He’s awake now and after Morgan recovers from the choking and the gut-punch, the two will have to head to Iran to rescue Shuck (Sarah and Chuck).

Captive in Iran, Chuck starts asking the men questions about Volkoff and if the men ever saw a prisoner called “Frost” who we’ve learned is probably Chuck’s mother. The men explain that Frost isn’t a prisoner at all, but actually Volkoff’s right hand. (Who didn’t see that coming?) Chuck begins to come around the idea we’ve had for weeks now, that his mom might not be a prisoner of Volkoff, but actually one of the baddies.

Outside, Morgan and Casey hatch a rescue plan, but of course Morgan botches it, ends up shorting out some wires and flooding the room. Casey ends up being taken prisoner along with Chuck and Sarah. Morgan surrenders but there’s no more rope to tie him and he’s not identified as much of a threat. Morgan notices the men are standing in water and one of the electrical cords is nearby. He signals Casey to tell Chuck and Sarah to move their feet and grabs the cord and steps into the water along with the bad guys.

Later, outside the bunker, Morgan wakes up to a blue sky with Chuck and Sarah standing over him looking concerned. Turns out Morgan died, but only for a few seconds.

Back in California, Morgan is having a celebratory party. He’s informed Casey that he and Alex have broken up and invites him to the party. Ellie and Awesome and Chuck and Sarah are at the party when Casey shows up. Minutes later, there’s a knock on the door and it’s Alex. She tells Morgan that Casey explained that he had ordered Morgan to break up with her. Casey pulls Morgan aside and warns him “if you break her heart, I’ll break your everything.”

Outside, Chuck is finally considering that his mom may, in fact, be a baddie. He makes the decision to stop looking for his mom but of course, just then his phone rings. “Hello, Chuck. This is your mother.”

It looks like Momma Bartowski may actually make an appearance next week in Chuck vs. The Aisle of Terror so check back here next week for that. Until then, check out the rest of thetwocents.com for all your television recaps, reviews, news and discussion. Please leave your comments about Chuck vs. The Couch Lock in the comments section below.