"Chuck Versus the Anniversary" is the fourth season premiere of Chuck. It originally aired September 20, 2010. When the CIA gains control over the Buy More, Chuck Bartowski begins searching for his mother (Linda Hamilton). Sarah and Casey follow a trail to Russia as they investigate the mysterious Volkoff Industries and its operative, Marco (Dolph Lundgren). Back at home, Ellie delivers big news to her family.

Plot

In 1994, Mary Bartowski reads young Chuck a bedtime story, foreshadowing her secret life as a spy. In the present, Chuck finds his father’s research confirming Mary’s role in espionage. He and Morgan begin a secret mission to locate her, keeping it hidden from Sarah and Casey. After traveling the world, they find an empty safe in Mary’s Los Angeles hideout, but a Chinese restaurant menu offers a clue. Chuck considers giving up, unaware that Mary is watching them through a security camera. Meanwhile, their reckless spy endeavors leave Chuck and Morgan in severe debt. Struggling to find a job, Chuck is repeatedly sabotaged by General Beckman, who eventually forcibly reinstates him and Morgan into the CIA. At the Buy More, now a CIA/NSA base, Chuck flashes on an EMP device connected to Volkoff Industries, matching the restaurant logo on the menu. This discovery leads them to a facility in Venezuela, but they realize the logo is tied to a Moscow operation. Sarah and Casey, in Hong Kong tracking a Volkoff EMP device, end up in Moscow after being captured by Marko, a Volkoff operative. Simultaneously, Chuck and Morgan infiltrate Volkoff’s Moscow base to retrieve information on Mary. Through text messaging, they discover Sarah and Casey are imprisoned in the same facility. Despite the building being sealed, Team Bartowski uses the EMP to escape, sacrificing vital data on Mary’s whereabouts. After their successful escape, Sarah and Casey agree to help Chuck continue his search for Mary. Back in Burbank, Chuck plans to tell his sister Ellie about rejoining the CIA, but she surprises him with news of her pregnancy, causing him to withhold his secrets for now. Later, Marko reports to Mary that her family is searching for her. In response, Mary swiftly kills Marko and his men, escaping to remain hidden. At the newly rebuilt Buy More, staffed by CIA operatives, General Beckman reassigns Chuck and Morgan to full-time operative duties. They are dropped into the revamped Castle base, fully recommitting to their mission of finding Mary and bringing down Volkoff.

Production

At San Diego Comic-Con in 2010, Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak announced that from season four the Buy More will be run by the CIA as a base of operations (much like the Orange Orange was in Season Two and Three) with an agent named Greta working undercover as a Buy More executive and "badass greenshirt." This episode introduced the rotating character of Greta, portrayed by Olivia Munn.

Continuity

Flashes

Cultural references

Critical response