'Chuck' Gets Committed

As much as I enjoyed this week's detour with Chuck in the mental hospital, I can't wait until the show gets back to its usual self.  I want the spy missions back.  I want Chuck, Sarah, Casey and (now) Morgan working together undercover to bring down the bad guys and recover whatever intel they're charged with recovering.  Not that this week's detour wasn't interesting or important for the future of the characters and the story, but I just want to let the spies be spies again.  There were actually two very important details from this episode that will affect every character on the show moving forward.  They are both bad developments, and as of right now, none of the other characters knows about them.  Ellie may end up causing harm to the entire team and Chuck may do harm to himself.


Chuck's trip to the CIA's mental hospital may have been a false alarm, but the doctor's warning was not.  Because the Intersect is a new technology, doctors and the CIA do not know what sort of long-term effects it may have on the brain.  This week, Chuck learned that those effects may not be good.  He has been having vivid dreams that may/may not be providing clues to things that are about to happen (is Shaw going to turn up alive??!!).  The dreams seem to be a side effect of the Intersect, but instead of flashes, Chuck sees bit and pieces of events that don't seem to make a lot of sense (in true dream fashion).  The doctor believes that the Intersect messes with the brain, thus, Chuck's vivid dreams are merely the early symptoms of him going completely crazy.  He was going to tell Sarah about the bad news, but decided not to when she finally worked up the courage to tell him that she loves him.  I'm holding out hope that Chuck's father can get that Intersect out of Chuck's brain before it does any more damage.

Meanwhile, Ellie is entering the spy life on her own.  Remember the Ring operative in Africa who made Devon sick by making it look like Malaria?   Well, he tracked down Ellie at the Buy More and flashed his CIA badge to get her to meet with him in a quieter location.  He told her that her father's life is in danger and she needs to track him down (it seems the Ring is looking for the elder Bartowski -- probably for his Intersect-building capabilities).  She agreed to "serve her country" and not tell anyone else about it because the agent convinced him that no one would believe her.  Oh, and bonus, he convinced her that Casey is on the wrong side!  Ellie became convinced of this when she saw his arsenal of weapons in his living room.  Someone schedule some brother/sister bonding time STAT!  Ellie needs to tell Chuck before everything falls apart.  Can't wait to see what happens next!

Chuck airs Monday nights on NBC.  If you missed this week's episode, you can watch it for free at Hulu.com.