Halloween preparations take a backseat when Chuck flashes on Morgan's arcade game rival. Laszlo Mahnovski is a CIA asset, escaped from his safe house and is on the run. Unfortunately, Chuck's poker face is nonexistent and Laszlo realises he's been recognised.
Later, Laszlo tracks Chuck down. After driving a wedge between Chuck and his handlers by making Chuck realise his apartment is bugged, he tells Chuck his story: he was a Child Prodigy discovered by the CIA at a young age, playing Tetris at Santa Monica Pier. After the government put him through college, they owned him, and he's spent the last few years trapped in a bunker doing their work. After finally managing to escape, he was framed for murder and hunted, and now just needs a place to stay for one night until he can get away. Chuck, overidentifying with Laszlo and angry with Sarah and Casey, agrees to shelter him in the Buy More entertainment centre.
Meanwhile, Sarah is approached by Laszlo's handler, who tells a different story of Laszlo as an unstable genius, escaped and off his meds. Whoever is with Laszlo, he tells Sarah and Casey, is in terrible danger...
The two nerds watch A View to a Kill cheerfully enough, until Chuck realises that Laszlo has a... different understanding of the film than he does. Specifically, that he views Zorben as a Tragic Villain whose plan to nuke San Francisco was unfairly derailed. In fact, Laszlo wants to nuke San Francisco right now in tribute. Panicking, Chuck distracts him with Goldfinger and runs to the Nerd Herder to call Sarah... only to find an unfooled Laszlo waiting for him. Surrounded by agents closing in, Laszlo hacks the Nerd Herder, ejects Chuck and drives away.
Sarah and Casey track the Herder while Chuck prepares for his long-awaited Assistant Manager interview. However, a napkin doodle of Laszlo's triggers a flash, revealing the real plan: Laszlo intends to blow up Santa Monica Pier. With Sarah and Casey tracking a false lead, Chuck blows the interview and races to the pier. Finding Laszlo on the beach underneath, Chuck is tricked into touching the Herder keys, allowing his fingerprints to turn on the car's self-destruct. However, he tells Chuck the bomb can be disarmed by cutting the red wires, "just like in Goldfinger." However, Laszlo claimed never to have seen that movie, so Chuck, realising he's been lied to all along, rips out the green wires, disarming the bomb. Sarah and Casey arrive and arrest Laszlo.
Trope Flash:
- American Gothic Couple: Jeff and Lester dress up as the farmer and his daughter.
- Ax-Crazy: Laszlo is perfectly happy to bomb San Francisco just in homage to A View to a Kill. His plan is to blow up Santa Monica Pier because that's where he was discovered by the CIA.
- Chainmail Bikini: For the Halloween party at the end of the episode, Sarah comes dressed in the Princess Leia metal bikini costume.
- Evil All Along: At the start Laszlo makes himself seem like a victim to Chuck, but it's quickly revealed he's lying and turns out to be the real villain of the episode.
- Foil: Laszlo is a genius, drawn into the world of espionage without really understanding what he was getting into... just like Chuck. Unlike Chuck, he's an unstable borderline sociopath bent on killing people just because he can. He's spent the last few years stuck in a deep, dark hole, as Chuck has been threatened with in the past. It's implied that Laszlo is Chuck, without Ellie, Morgan and the other loved ones who keep him grounded.
- Halloween Episode: The episode takes place in Halloween and features Halloween decorations, a Halloween party (with Chuck and Morgan going as a sandworm from Dune (1984)), and Morgan's new clothes style being mistaken for a Gordon Gekko outfit.
- Manipulative Bastard: Laszlo tells Chuck a hard-luck story of CIA manipulation and control designed to make him sympathise and trust him, while also driving a wedge between him and his handlers by making him realise they're bugging his apartment. It's because of this that he gains access to the Nerd Herder he plans to use to blow up Santa Monica Pier.
- Meadow Run: A bromantic Meadow Run happens between Chuck Morgan.
- Oh, Crap!: Chuck, when he realises Laszlo is Ax-Crazy. And again, when he realises he's accidentally armed the Nerd Herder's self-destruct.
- Rooting for the Empire: In-Universe example: Laszlo sympathizes with Max Zorin, a villain in the James Bond movie A View to a Kill, who he sees as a highly talented man who was manipulated by his government. This is what first tips off Chuck that Laszlo may not be the good guy he claims to be.
- Shout-Out:
- Chuck and Morgan's traditional Halloween costume is a two-man sandworm from Dune (1984). Ellie is trying to persuade Chuck to try something else this year.
- Sarah presents Chuck with a (fake) photo of the two of them at Comic-Con, dressed as Han and Leia from Return of the Jedi.
- After Laszlo claims never to have seen a James Bond movie, Chuck shows him A View to a Kill. a Goldfinger viewing is also on the cards but never happens, letting Chuck realise he's been lied to when Laszlo lets slip that he has in fact seen it.
- Teen Genius: Laszlo Mahnovski graduates from college at 14 and earned his PhD at 17.
- Troll: Knowing Casey is listening through the bugs, Chuck starts a conversation with Morgan about what sandwich to bring to a desert island, knowing Casey will have to listen and be annoyed.
- Villain of the Week: Laszlo Mahnovski (Jonathan Sadowski), a rogue government scientist that is planning to blow up the arcade where his recruiter found him as a child.
