Chuck: Okay, so what exactly are you saying?
Shaw: I'm saying that until you start flashing again, you're no longer a spy.
Things are not going well for Chuck. His emotional baggage has blocked his ability to flash, and there's no one he can talk to about it. Sarah is moving on with Shaw, Awesome doesn't want to know and Morgan, tired of Chuck hiding things from him, has just dumped him as a best friend. Finally, a potential buyer has sent a team to assess the store... and its staff.
With Sarah, Casey and Shaw off on a mission, Chuck mopes around trying to flash. Meanwhile, the buyers are up to no good: they're actually a Ring team, there to infiltrate Castle and find all Shaw's intel on their organisation. They find the secret entrance behind the lockers... observed by Morgan, who is rather startled to learn there's a CIA base under the Buy More.
In Malibu, Sarah, Casey and Shaw realise they've been led on a wild goose chase to lure them away from Castle. Meanwhile, Morgan drafts a rattled Chuck into his plan to save Castle by attacking the bad guys with random Buy More paraphernalia. Shockingly, this ends with the pair captured. Tied up and threatened with torture, Chuck is forced to confess his secrets to his best friend.
The team returns to Castle, and their efforts to get in distract the Ring agents from their captives. Left alone together and likely about to die, Chuck and Morgan finally get to talk properly. Chuck tells Morgan exactly how he joined the CIA and the truth of his relationship with Sarah. Morgan is sympathetic, commiserating with Chuck how painful it must be to fake a relationship with someone he really loves. Chuck confesses that it's true, moments before the Ring agents return to kill their captives prior to abandoning the base. The best friends prepare to meet their maker...
- **FLASH**
... Chuck flashes. Unblocked by talking to his best friend, the Intersect is working again, allowing Chuck to beat up the Ring agents and save himself and Morgan.
With the bad guys defeated, Team Chuck are left with a dilemma: what to do with Morgan. Shaw says he has to go underground immediately, but Chuck won't hear of it, insisting that Morgan won't say anything and he needs his friend for the Intersect to work.
Trope Flash:
- Dudes In Distress: Chuck and Morgan are captured by the Ring agents and tied up in Castle.
- Foreshadowing: Sarah notices that Shaw is uncomfortable, despite disaster being averted.Shaw: The Ring had me dead to rights in Malibu. So why didn't they kill me?
- Innocently Insensitive: Chuck asks Morgan why he cares so much about potentially being fired from the Buy More. Morgan points out that, unlike Chuck, he doesn't have a Stanford degree and can't easily get another job.
- Informed Attribute: For a team of highly-trained badasses, the Ring agents sure are out-spied by random Buy More employees. First Lester eavesdrops on and records part of their conversation, then Morgan (who wasn't even trying to spy on them) witnesses them open the secret entrance to Castle.
- It Has Been an Honor: Chuck and Morgan, when the Ring agents are about to kill them. Fortunately, Chuck flashes and saves them.
- Power of Friendship: Chuck's flashing problem is solved by being able to talk honestly with his best friend.Chuck: I can give you twenty two reasons why we can trust [Morgan], because that is the number of years that he's been my best friend. I know Morgan Grimes, and he has his flaws, granted. But one thing he is, is loyal. Look, I'm flashing. I'm a spy again because I have my best friend back. You need the Intersect and I need him. So Morgan Grimes is staying exactly where he belongs. Which is the Burbank Buy More.
- Oh, Crap!: As befitting a Wham Episode, there are many.
- Jeff, when he hears the potential buyers are checking lockers just as he's called in for an interview. He begs Morgan to remove some "contraband" before it can be found. This leads to...
- Chuck, when Morgan tells him about the awesome discovery he just made: a hidden CIA base under the Buy More!
- Sarah, Casey and Shaw when they realise they're chasing a decoy, meaning they've been lured from Castle where Chuck is unprotected.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In his interview, Chuck sings Morgan's praises to protect his job. The interviewers are Ring agents, and he just told them who's worth threatening to control him.
- Shout-Out:
- One of the weapons in the dojo where Chuck and Morgan are tied up is a Klingon Bat'leth.
- After he defeats the Ring agents, Morgan compares Chuck to Hollywood action stars including Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris.
- Wham Episode: Morgan learns about Castle, then Chuck's work with the CIA. Awesome decides he and Ellie should go to Africa with Doctors Without Borders.
