Chuck Versus the Fear of Death

"Chuck Versus the Fear of Death"
Chuck episode
Chuck enters the second week of testing to reactivate the intersect, unsuccessfully.
Episode no.	Season 4 Episode 8
Directed by	Robert Duncan McNeill
Written by	Nicholas Wootton
Original air date	November 15, 2010 (2010-11-15)
Guest stars
Rob Riggle as Agent Jim Rye Mekenna Melvin as Alex McHugh Jeffrey Hutchinson as an auctioneer Aaron Lustig as a government scientist Summer Glau as Greta Richard Chamberlain as Adelbert "The Belgian" de Smet
Episode chronology
← Previous "Chuck Versus the First Fight" Next → "Chuck Versus Phase Three"
List of Chuck episodes

"Chuck Versus the Fear of Death" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of Chuck. It originally aired November 15, 2010. Worried his relationship with Sarah Walker is souring, Chuck Bartowski aims to impress by attempting a dangerous mission. Meanwhile, John Casey and Morgan Grimes try to protect Jeff Barnes and Lester Patel from the truth when they snoop around to find out the true identity of Greta (Summer Glau).

Plot

Main plot

After suppressing the Intersect in Chuck Bartowski's mind, Mary Elizabeth Bartowski and Alexei Volkoff are spotted by Interpol in Istanbul. General Beckman sends CIA agent Sarah Walker after them, but she leaves Colonel Casey with Chuck as Chuck undergoes a month of unsuccessful tests in an attempt to bring back the Intersect. Meanwhile, Sarah returns without finding Mary and Volkoff.

Agent Jim Rye (Rob Riggle) is brought in to repair the Intersect using various unorthodox methods. His theory is that fear of death will allow Chuck to access the Intersect. Therefore, (after several failed attempts of scaring Chuck) Chuck and Rye are sent on a dangerous mission to Gstaad, Switzerland to acquire an unusual diamond at an auction, being sold by a Belgian named Adelbert de Smet (Richard Chamberlain), which various spies and killers are also planning to purchase. Chuck attempts to purchase the diamond, but he is held at gunpoint to stop bidding. As the buyer waits for his money to be wired in to complete the transaction, Chuck and Rye steal the "diamonds", which are actually fakes made of glass. Each diamond contains microdots encrypted with stolen CIA data.

While Chuck and Rye enter a cable car with the Belgian and his henchman, Sarah learns that the microdots contain information identifying Chuck as the Intersect. As she races to save Chuck, Chuck and Rye are ambushed on the cable car while hanging 200 feet from the ground. Chuck falls out of the car and, hanging by his fingers, begs Rye to help him up. Having apparently defeated the Belgian and his men, Rye refuses and pleads with Chuck to flash and pull himself up. While ordering Chuck to be a "real spy" like him, Rye is shot by the Belgian, and he falls to his death. The Belgian pulls Chuck up and captures him.

Sarah sets out to find and rescue Chuck, defying General Beckman's orders. While she packs several guns in her bag, Casey and Morgan join her. Meanwhile, the Belgian prepares to torture Chuck for information about the Intersect. Although Chuck reveals that the Intersect is gone, the Belgian reveals that when he talks the torture can end.

Buy More

Jeff and Lester have noticed the string of new employees, all with the name "Greta". The current one (Summer Glau), a CIA assassin, seemingly disappears from sight and reappears unexpectedly, drawing suspicion from the two. When they begin stalking her, Greta becomes annoyed with them and complains to Morgan, requesting that he stop them from prying, and threatening to take care of them herself if he doesn't. Morgan goes to Casey for help, who initially refuses. But after a talk with Alex, Casey returns to the Buy More, just as Jeff and Lester lure Greta to the storage cage and she begins threatening them. Casey covers with a story that Greta has been stealing, ending the duo's investigation. Greta then packs up, complaining that the operation at the Buy More is too unprofessional and expresses disappointment with Casey. Casey retorts that Team Bartowski is the finest spy team he has ever served on, before sending her on her way.

Production

Summer Glau portrayed the fourth Greta.

In this episode, the rotating character Greta is portrayed by Summer Glau.

Continuity

• When Rye describes the diamond as being used to fund terrorism and arms and drug trafficking, the rest of the team interrupts him with a bored "We know". This is in reference to the first season episode "Chuck Versus the Wookiee," which also centered around a diamond being used to fund terrorist activities.

Cultural references

• When Rye first enters Castle and talks with Chuck about repairing the Intersect, Chuck accepts by saying "Let's get physical", which is a line from the song "Physical".
• After performing a technique similar to the Vulcan nerve pinch, Rye jokes that he learned it from Star Trek.
• Casey tells Greta that he does not care what crew she served on, which is a reference to Firefly, where Adam Baldwin and Summer Glau costarred.^[1]
• Jeff begins to use the crane technique from The Karate Kid when threatened by Greta.
• On the cable car where Chuck fights is written "Bösewicht Berghütte" which is German for villain alpine hut.

Music

• "Hiding Place" by Aushua
• "Perfect Day" by The Constellations
• "Towards The Sun" by Alexi Murdoch
• "Zero Zero" by Operator Please

Critical response

Eric Goldman of IGN gave this episode a score of 8.5 out of 10.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Eric Goldman (2010-01-15). "Chuck: "Chuck Versus The Fear of Death" Review". IGN. http://tv.ign.com/articles/113/1131435p1.html. Retrieved 2010-02-16. 

External links

• "Chuck Versus the Fear of Death" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Chuck Versus the Fear of Death" at TV.com