Chuck Versus the Family Volkoff
Encyclopedia
"Chuck Versus the Family Volkoff" is the 20th episode of the fourth season
of Chuck
, and the 74th overall episode of the series. The episode was directed by Robert Duncan McNeill
and written by Nicholas Wootton
and Amanda Kate Shuman. It originally aired April 11, 2011.
The episode has several unrelated sub-plots. In the episode, Sarah Walker
(Yvonne Strahovski
) throws Chuck Bartowski
(Zachary Levi
) a surprising relationship curveball as the CIA
orders Vivian Volkoff (Lauren Cohan
) assassinated. In order to prove Vivian's innocence, Chuck must put his trust in a dangerous allyVivian's father Alexei
(Timothy Dalton
). Meanwhile, Ellie Bartowski-Woodcomb (Sarah Lancaster
) suspects that her mother Mary
(Linda Hamilton
) is interfering with the search into her father Stephen
's past.
"Chuck Versus the Family Volkoff" received positive reviews from critics. However, the episode continued Chuck steady decline in viewership, drawing 4.03 million viewers, a series low. According to the Nielsen ratings
system, it had a 2.5/4 share among all households and 1.3/4 share among those aged 18–49.
) unlocks files about "Agent X" on her father
's laptop, she begins reading about the Intersect
. Ellie later discovers that her mother Mary
(Linda Hamilton
) has deleted a file. Ellie and Devon Woodcomb (Ryan McPartlin
) spy on Mary and witness her deleting more files. It is then revealed that Mary has extracted the files for General Diane Beckman
(Bonita Friedericy
). Mary urges Chuck to stop lying to Ellie and tell her the truth about his place in the CIA
.
Meanwhile, Sarah Walker presents Chuck with a prenuptial agreement
. Advised by John Casey
(Adam Baldwin
) and Morgan Grimes
(Joshua Gomez
) to "be cool", Chuck signs the agreement, worrying Sarah, who had expected an emotional reaction.
Morgan receives an invitation to go to Alex McHugh's (Mekenna Melvin
) graduation. To hide the fact that Casey is still alive from her mother, Alex arranges to meet Casey between the ceremony and dinner with her mother.
In the episode's main plot, the CIA orders Vivian Volkoff (Lauren Cohan
) assassinated for the murders in "Chuck Versus the Muuurder
", but Chuck negotiates a meet to determine if Vivian is really guilty. As a sign of good faith
, Vivian gives them a weapon from the Volkoff Industries
arsenal. Suddenly, a sniper
shoots Vivian in the arm, causing her to flee. Chuck and Sarah meet Vivian's father Alexei Volkoff
(Timothy Dalton
) in prison, and he confirms that the weapon is one of three components of the "Norseman", a DNA
tracker that could instantly kill a target. Volkoff asserts that he is a changed man. In exchange for a meeting with his daughter, Volkoff agrees to lead the team to the missing components.
The team travels to Mogadishu
, Somalia
, and acquires the targeting device from pirate
Ellyas Abshir (Kevin Daniels
). They then travel to the Swiss Alps
to obtain the killing agent, thorium
. Volkoff manages to access the vault by winning a game of computer chess
before a timer expires and triggers several turrets. Outside, Sarah and Casey detect Russian chatter and rush to Chuck's aid, only to become trapped by Vivian, who is not injured. When Volkoff asks his daughter to release him, she refuses, feeling deceived and abandoned by him. She takes the thorium and leaves everyone in the vault with armed plasma bombs which Volkoff deactivates with a portable EMP
generator. At Castle, Volkoff says goodbye to Mary before being returned to custody.
As Casey grows increasingly uncomfortable with Alex lying to her mother, he considers revealing himself to her mother. It is revealed that Sarah has money saved up in case her father is arrested again, and she tears the prenuptial agreement. Chuck later brings his own document, requiring that Sarah never suggest divorce, which she gladly signs. Chuck takes Mary's advice to tell Ellie the truth about his place in the CIA. However, when he goes to confess and first mentions their father's computer, Ellie lies to his face. At Volkoff Industries, Vivian is determined to find and kill "Agent X", the only person her father ever feared.
, and was written by Nicholas Wootton
and Amanda Kate Shuman. The episode is Shuman's first writing credit, as she had previously been only a writer's assistant. It originally aired in the United States
on April 11, 2011, on NBC
as the twentieth episode of Chuck fourth season and the 74th episode overall. In the episode, guest stars Linda Hamilton
, Timothy Dalton
, Lauren Cohan
, and Mekenna Melvin
reprise their recurring roles of Alexei Volkoff
, Mary Elizabeth Bartowski
, Vivian Volkoff, and Alex McHugh, respectively. The episode also features Kevin Daniels
as Ellyas Abshir.
In their respective reviews of the episode, HitFix
Senior Editor Alan Sepinwall and Ryan McGee of The A.V. Club
wrote of various ideas the episode's writers introduced. Sepinwall noted several developments in the relationships between characters of the series. Sepinwall wrote that after becoming roommates, Casey and Morgan have become "an old married couple", drinking orange juice in unison and bickering with mouths full of cereal. In an "emotional role reversal" from previous points in their relationship, Chuck tries to be "cool" about Sarah's prenuptial agreement, while Sarah panics at Chuck's lack of an emotional reaction. Casey's relationship with his daughter also develops to the point that he considers revealing himself to her mother. Both Sepinwall and McGee wrote that Vivian was designed to be Chuck's counterpart. The episode also marks the beginning of Alexei's path to redemption. IGN
writer Eric Goldman criticized the scene where Chuck and Sarah meet with Vivian for its frequent use of quick zooms to increase tension, writing that it "just didn't feel like it was natural to this show's style."
The episode includes songs from several groups and artists. The songs include "In A City Without Seasons" by The One AM Radio, "UK Jamaican" by Tricky
, and "Distant Sures" by The Cave Singers
.
, Chuck notes, "Eddard, you don't let your kids keep a direwolf. That's a terrible idea." Chuck and Ellyas later play Uno for the thorium. Volkoff jokes that to mine said thorium, he had to wage war with natives and destroy their Hometree, only to reveal that he and the other prisoners had recently watched Avatar.
The episode received generally positive reviews from critics. HitFix Senior Editor Alan Sepinwall wrote that "Timothy Dalton was everything we had come to expect from him in the part: scary and dangerous and then so much the funnier for the way he kept trying to work the steps and turn over a new leaf. The episode left [Alexei]'s sincerity up in the air for most of the hour - was he really serious about making amends, or just trying to distract Chuck from his latest evil plan? - but Volkoff is such a well-drawn character, and Dalton so talented and versatile, that the comedy worked either way... Vivian, on the other hand? I'd been iffy on her in her most recent appearance, and putting her on camera with [Alexei], even briefly, was just a reminder of how much less she brings to the table." Ryan McGee of The A.V. Club gave the episode a A-. Though he praised Dalton's performance, McGee wrote, "The direct parallels between Chuck and Vivian haven't really panned out in the way the show initially envisioned it. Let's face it: These two aren't exactly Buffy
and Faith in terms of being foils for one another. The show's never painted Chuck as ever potentially going to the dark side. It's used Casey and occasionally Sarah to serve that function at times, but never Chuck. At this point, he's as set in his moral code as possible. Had the Vivian storyline happened at the outset of his Intersect 2.0 days, perhaps the taste of power could have gone to his head, with Vivian as an example of the road not taken. As such, Vivian's existence largely serves to connect her to the larger spy world of the show, not draw a direct parallel to the support system that helped Chuck overcome any potential temptations." Eric Goldman of IGN gave this episode a score of 8 out of 10, writing, "This Chuck got off to a shaky start. I don't know how to put my finger on it exactly, but the pacing felt off in the first third or so of the episode... Thankfully, things picked up considerably as the episode went along – I'd say the turning point was the scene in which Chuck was sent in to meet with the pirates. The way Chuck's big announcement that he worked for Alexei Volkoff immediately led to a bunch of guns pulled on him was funny, as was not only Chuck asking to play Uno (for his life), but that the pirate did indeed have the game." Carl Cortez of Assignment X, however, gave the episode a negative review, calling it "a painfully nonsense driven episode that's now grasping at straws in an attempt to round out the last part of the season with an adequate storyline."
Chuck (season 4)
The fourth season of Chuck was announced on May 13, 2010. Having initially ordered 13 episodes, NBC ordered an additional 11 on October 19, 2010 for a total of 24 episodes....
of Chuck
Chuck (TV series)
Chuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central...
, and the 74th overall episode of the series. The episode was directed by Robert Duncan McNeill
Robert Duncan McNeill
Robert Duncan McNeill is an American actor, producer, movie director, and television director who is best known for his role as Lieutenant Tom Paris on the television show Star Trek: Voyager.-Acting:...
and written by Nicholas Wootton
Nicholas Wootton
Nicholas Wootton is an American Emmy Award-winning writer for and producer for television.He has written to various TV shows, including Chuck, Prison Break, Law & Order, NYPD Blue.- External links :...
and Amanda Kate Shuman. It originally aired April 11, 2011.
The episode has several unrelated sub-plots. In the episode, Sarah Walker
Sarah Walker (Chuck)
Sarah Lisa Bartowski is the alias of one of the main characters of the fictional television show Chuck on NBC. She is portrayed by Yvonne Strahovski and is one of two agents assigned by the NSA and CIA to protect Chuck Bartowski after he unwittingly downloads the secret government computer known...
(Yvonne Strahovski
Yvonne Strahovski
Yvonne Strahovski is an Australian actress. Born in Australia to Polish immigrant parents, Strahovski speaks Polish and English...
) throws Chuck Bartowski
Chuck Bartowski
Charles Irving "Chuck" Bartowski is the main and titular character of the American fiction television show Chuck on NBC. He is portrayed by Zachary Levi.-Character profile:...
(Zachary Levi
Zachary Levi
Zachary Levi Pugh , better known by his stage name Zachary Levi , is an American television actor, director, and singer known for the roles of Kipp Steadman in Less than Perfect, Chuck Bartowski in Chuck, and Flynn Rider in Tangled.- Early life :Zachary Levi Pugh was born in Lake Charles,...
) a surprising relationship curveball as the CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
orders Vivian Volkoff (Lauren Cohan
Lauren Cohan
Lauren Cohan is an American actress. Her most recognized role to date is that of the role of Bela Talbot on Supernatural...
) assassinated. In order to prove Vivian's innocence, Chuck must put his trust in a dangerous allyVivian's father Alexei
Alexei Volkoff
Alexei Volkoff is the alias and alter ego of Hartley Winterbottom , a fictional character on the television series Chuck. Volkoff is the head of Volkoff Industries. For the first six episodes of the fourth season, he was an unseen character, directing his operatives from behind the scenes...
(Timothy Dalton
Timothy Dalton
Timothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
). Meanwhile, Ellie Bartowski-Woodcomb (Sarah Lancaster
Sarah Lancaster
Sarah Lancaster is an American actress. Since the show's inception in 2007, she has co-starred in the NBC comedy-spy series Chuck, as the title character's sister, Ellie Bartowski....
) suspects that her mother Mary
Mary Elizabeth Bartowski
Mary Elizabeth Bartowski is a character on the television series Chuck. Mary is the estranged mother of Chuck and Ellie Bartowski. She is portrayed by Linda Hamilton.-Biography:...
(Linda Hamilton
Linda Hamilton
Linda Carroll Hamilton is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Sarah Connor in The Terminator and its sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Catherine Chandler in the television series Beauty and the Beast, for which she was nominated for two Golden Globes and an Emmy...
) is interfering with the search into her father Stephen
Stephen J. Bartowski
Stephen J. Bartowski is a recurring character on the television series Chuck portrayed by actor Scott Bakula. Stephen is the estranged father of Chuck and Ellie Bartowski, and under the government codename "Orion" was the chief designer of the Intersect....
's past.
"Chuck Versus the Family Volkoff" received positive reviews from critics. However, the episode continued Chuck steady decline in viewership, drawing 4.03 million viewers, a series low. According to the Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
system, it had a 2.5/4 share among all households and 1.3/4 share among those aged 18–49.
Plot
After Ellie Bartowski-Woodcomb (Sarah LancasterSarah Lancaster
Sarah Lancaster is an American actress. Since the show's inception in 2007, she has co-starred in the NBC comedy-spy series Chuck, as the title character's sister, Ellie Bartowski....
) unlocks files about "Agent X" on her father
Stephen J. Bartowski
Stephen J. Bartowski is a recurring character on the television series Chuck portrayed by actor Scott Bakula. Stephen is the estranged father of Chuck and Ellie Bartowski, and under the government codename "Orion" was the chief designer of the Intersect....
's laptop, she begins reading about the Intersect
The Intersect
The Intersect is a fictional secret technology appearing in the television series Chuck. Within the series, it is used to house and analyze large quantities of encoded data...
. Ellie later discovers that her mother Mary
Mary Elizabeth Bartowski
Mary Elizabeth Bartowski is a character on the television series Chuck. Mary is the estranged mother of Chuck and Ellie Bartowski. She is portrayed by Linda Hamilton.-Biography:...
(Linda Hamilton
Linda Hamilton
Linda Carroll Hamilton is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Sarah Connor in The Terminator and its sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Catherine Chandler in the television series Beauty and the Beast, for which she was nominated for two Golden Globes and an Emmy...
) has deleted a file. Ellie and Devon Woodcomb (Ryan McPartlin
Ryan McPartlin
Ryan McPartlin is an American actor, best known for his role as Devon "Captain Awesome" Woodcomb on NBC's Chuck.-Early life:...
) spy on Mary and witness her deleting more files. It is then revealed that Mary has extracted the files for General Diane Beckman
Diane Beckman
Brigadier General M. Diane Beckman, USAF is a fictional character in the NBC television series Chuck. Beckman is a senior official of the National Security Agency, working within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. She holds her rank of brigadier general in the United States Air...
(Bonita Friedericy
Bonita Friedericy
Bonita Friedericy is an American actress. She currently can be seen in the television series Chuck as NSA Director Diane Beckman. She has also appeared on Malcolm in the Middle, Veronica Mars, Star Trek: Enterprise, Bones, The Nine, The West Wing, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and in the film...
). Mary urges Chuck to stop lying to Ellie and tell her the truth about his place in the CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
.
Meanwhile, Sarah Walker presents Chuck with a prenuptial agreement
Prenuptial agreement
A prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement, commonly abbreviated to prenup or prenupt, is a contract entered into prior to marriage, civil union or any other agreement prior to the main agreement by the people intending to marry or contract with each other...
. Advised by John Casey
John Casey (Chuck)
Colonel John Casey is portrayed by actor Adam Baldwin on the television show Chuck on NBC. Prior to the episode "Chuck Versus the Tic Tac," he was partnered with CIA agent Sarah Walker to protect Chuck Bartowski....
(Adam Baldwin
Adam Baldwin
Adam Baldwin is an American actor, known for his roles as Animal Mother in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, Ricky Linderman in My Bodyguard, Knowle Rohrer in The X-Files, and Marcus Hamilton in Joss Whedon's Angel...
) and Morgan Grimes
Morgan Grimes
Morgan Guillermo Grimes is a major character on the television series Chuck. He is portrayed by actor Joshua Gomez, and is the best friend of Chuck Bartowski....
(Joshua Gomez
Joshua Gomez
Joshua Eli Gomez is an American actor best known for his role as Morgan Grimes on Chuck. He is the younger brother of actor Rick Gomez....
) to "be cool", Chuck signs the agreement, worrying Sarah, who had expected an emotional reaction.
Morgan receives an invitation to go to Alex McHugh's (Mekenna Melvin
Mekenna Melvin
Mekenna Melvin is an American actress known for playing the role of Alex McHugh in Chuck, Angela in Three Rivers, and Stefanie Fife in Lie to Me. She also co-created and will be starring as Amber Hannold in Amber Lake, an independent film due for release in 2010.- Personal life :Melvin was born...
) graduation. To hide the fact that Casey is still alive from her mother, Alex arranges to meet Casey between the ceremony and dinner with her mother.
In the episode's main plot, the CIA orders Vivian Volkoff (Lauren Cohan
Lauren Cohan
Lauren Cohan is an American actress. Her most recognized role to date is that of the role of Bela Talbot on Supernatural...
) assassinated for the murders in "Chuck Versus the Muuurder
Chuck Versus the Muuurder
"Chuck Versus the Muuurder" is the nineteenth episode of the fourth season of Chuck. It originally aired on March 21, 2011. Chuck Bartowski is made the team leader and tasked with finding new Intersect candidates, but must solve a murder mystery when his recruits start turning up dead...
", but Chuck negotiates a meet to determine if Vivian is really guilty. As a sign of good faith
Good faith
In philosophy, the concept of Good faith—Latin bona fides “good faith”, bona fide “in good faith”—denotes sincere, honest intention or belief, regardless of the outcome of an action; the opposed concepts are bad faith, mala fides and perfidy...
, Vivian gives them a weapon from the Volkoff Industries
Volkoff Industries
Volkoff Industries is a major organization on the television series Chuck. It is a public business front owned by an international arms dealer named Alexei Volkoff, portrayed by Timothy Dalton. Volkoff Industries is introduced in the third season finale as a threat against which Stephen J...
arsenal. Suddenly, a sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
shoots Vivian in the arm, causing her to flee. Chuck and Sarah meet Vivian's father Alexei Volkoff
Alexei Volkoff
Alexei Volkoff is the alias and alter ego of Hartley Winterbottom , a fictional character on the television series Chuck. Volkoff is the head of Volkoff Industries. For the first six episodes of the fourth season, he was an unseen character, directing his operatives from behind the scenes...
(Timothy Dalton
Timothy Dalton
Timothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
) in prison, and he confirms that the weapon is one of three components of the "Norseman", a DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
tracker that could instantly kill a target. Volkoff asserts that he is a changed man. In exchange for a meeting with his daughter, Volkoff agrees to lead the team to the missing components.
The team travels to Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, and acquires the targeting device from pirate
Piracy in Somalia
Piracy off the coast of Somalia has been a threat to international shipping since the second phase of the Somali Civil War in the early 21st century...
Ellyas Abshir (Kevin Daniels
Kevin Daniels
Kevin Dwight Daniels Jr. but known as Kevin Daniels is an American actor who started his career with a supporting role in the 1998 film Twelfth Night, or What You Will by director Nicholas Hytner....
). They then travel to the Swiss Alps
Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
to obtain the killing agent, thorium
Thorium
Thorium is a natural radioactive chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. It was discovered in 1828 and named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder....
. Volkoff manages to access the vault by winning a game of computer chess
Computer chess
Computer chess is computer architecture encompassing hardware and software capable of playing chess autonomously without human guidance. Computer chess acts as solo entertainment , as aids to chess analysis, for computer chess competitions, and as research to provide insights into human...
before a timer expires and triggers several turrets. Outside, Sarah and Casey detect Russian chatter and rush to Chuck's aid, only to become trapped by Vivian, who is not injured. When Volkoff asks his daughter to release him, she refuses, feeling deceived and abandoned by him. She takes the thorium and leaves everyone in the vault with armed plasma bombs which Volkoff deactivates with a portable EMP
Electromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field...
generator. At Castle, Volkoff says goodbye to Mary before being returned to custody.
As Casey grows increasingly uncomfortable with Alex lying to her mother, he considers revealing himself to her mother. It is revealed that Sarah has money saved up in case her father is arrested again, and she tears the prenuptial agreement. Chuck later brings his own document, requiring that Sarah never suggest divorce, which she gladly signs. Chuck takes Mary's advice to tell Ellie the truth about his place in the CIA. However, when he goes to confess and first mentions their father's computer, Ellie lies to his face. At Volkoff Industries, Vivian is determined to find and kill "Agent X", the only person her father ever feared.
Production
"Chuck Versus the Family Volkoff" was directed by producer Robert Duncan McNeillRobert Duncan McNeill
Robert Duncan McNeill is an American actor, producer, movie director, and television director who is best known for his role as Lieutenant Tom Paris on the television show Star Trek: Voyager.-Acting:...
, and was written by Nicholas Wootton
Nicholas Wootton
Nicholas Wootton is an American Emmy Award-winning writer for and producer for television.He has written to various TV shows, including Chuck, Prison Break, Law & Order, NYPD Blue.- External links :...
and Amanda Kate Shuman. The episode is Shuman's first writing credit, as she had previously been only a writer's assistant. It originally aired in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on April 11, 2011, on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
as the twentieth episode of Chuck fourth season and the 74th episode overall. In the episode, guest stars Linda Hamilton
Linda Hamilton
Linda Carroll Hamilton is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Sarah Connor in The Terminator and its sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Catherine Chandler in the television series Beauty and the Beast, for which she was nominated for two Golden Globes and an Emmy...
, Timothy Dalton
Timothy Dalton
Timothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
, Lauren Cohan
Lauren Cohan
Lauren Cohan is an American actress. Her most recognized role to date is that of the role of Bela Talbot on Supernatural...
, and Mekenna Melvin
Mekenna Melvin
Mekenna Melvin is an American actress known for playing the role of Alex McHugh in Chuck, Angela in Three Rivers, and Stefanie Fife in Lie to Me. She also co-created and will be starring as Amber Hannold in Amber Lake, an independent film due for release in 2010.- Personal life :Melvin was born...
reprise their recurring roles of Alexei Volkoff
Alexei Volkoff
Alexei Volkoff is the alias and alter ego of Hartley Winterbottom , a fictional character on the television series Chuck. Volkoff is the head of Volkoff Industries. For the first six episodes of the fourth season, he was an unseen character, directing his operatives from behind the scenes...
, Mary Elizabeth Bartowski
Mary Elizabeth Bartowski
Mary Elizabeth Bartowski is a character on the television series Chuck. Mary is the estranged mother of Chuck and Ellie Bartowski. She is portrayed by Linda Hamilton.-Biography:...
, Vivian Volkoff, and Alex McHugh, respectively. The episode also features Kevin Daniels
Kevin Daniels
Kevin Dwight Daniels Jr. but known as Kevin Daniels is an American actor who started his career with a supporting role in the 1998 film Twelfth Night, or What You Will by director Nicholas Hytner....
as Ellyas Abshir.
In their respective reviews of the episode, HitFix
HitFix
HitFix, or the HitFix.com is an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information and providing reviews and critiques of film, music and television...
Senior Editor Alan Sepinwall and Ryan McGee of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
wrote of various ideas the episode's writers introduced. Sepinwall noted several developments in the relationships between characters of the series. Sepinwall wrote that after becoming roommates, Casey and Morgan have become "an old married couple", drinking orange juice in unison and bickering with mouths full of cereal. In an "emotional role reversal" from previous points in their relationship, Chuck tries to be "cool" about Sarah's prenuptial agreement, while Sarah panics at Chuck's lack of an emotional reaction. Casey's relationship with his daughter also develops to the point that he considers revealing himself to her mother. Both Sepinwall and McGee wrote that Vivian was designed to be Chuck's counterpart. The episode also marks the beginning of Alexei's path to redemption. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
writer Eric Goldman criticized the scene where Chuck and Sarah meet with Vivian for its frequent use of quick zooms to increase tension, writing that it "just didn't feel like it was natural to this show's style."
The episode includes songs from several groups and artists. The songs include "In A City Without Seasons" by The One AM Radio, "UK Jamaican" by Tricky
Tricky
Tricky is an English musician and actor. As a producer and a musician, he is noted for a dark, rich and layered sound and a whispering sprechgesang lyrical style. Culturally, Tricky encourages an intertwining of societies, particularly in his musical fusion of rock and hip hop, high art and pop...
, and "Distant Sures" by The Cave Singers
The Cave Singers
The Cave Singers is an American band from Seattle, Washington. Rising from the ashes of Pretty Girls Make Graves after its disbandment in 2007, former PGMG-member Derek Fudesco teamed up with Pete Quirk and Marty Lund and began playing in the Seattle area. Soon after the band's conception, The...
.
Cultural references
This episodes maintains the series' tendency to reference popular culture. While reading a volume of A Song of Ice and FireA Song of Ice and Fire
A Song of Ice and Fire is a series of epic fantasy novels by American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. Martin began writing the series in 1991 and the first volume was published in 1996. Originally planned as a trilogy, the series now consists of five published volumes; a further two...
, Chuck notes, "Eddard, you don't let your kids keep a direwolf. That's a terrible idea." Chuck and Ellyas later play Uno for the thorium. Volkoff jokes that to mine said thorium, he had to wage war with natives and destroy their Hometree, only to reveal that he and the other prisoners had recently watched Avatar.
Reception
"Chuck Versus the Family Volkoff" continued Chuck steady decline in viewership, drawing 4.028 million viewers, a series low. It also had a 2.5/4 share among all households and 1.3/4 share among those aged 18–49.The episode received generally positive reviews from critics. HitFix Senior Editor Alan Sepinwall wrote that "Timothy Dalton was everything we had come to expect from him in the part: scary and dangerous and then so much the funnier for the way he kept trying to work the steps and turn over a new leaf. The episode left [Alexei]'s sincerity up in the air for most of the hour - was he really serious about making amends, or just trying to distract Chuck from his latest evil plan? - but Volkoff is such a well-drawn character, and Dalton so talented and versatile, that the comedy worked either way... Vivian, on the other hand? I'd been iffy on her in her most recent appearance, and putting her on camera with [Alexei], even briefly, was just a reminder of how much less she brings to the table." Ryan McGee of The A.V. Club gave the episode a A-. Though he praised Dalton's performance, McGee wrote, "The direct parallels between Chuck and Vivian haven't really panned out in the way the show initially envisioned it. Let's face it: These two aren't exactly Buffy
Buffy Summers
Buffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...
and Faith in terms of being foils for one another. The show's never painted Chuck as ever potentially going to the dark side. It's used Casey and occasionally Sarah to serve that function at times, but never Chuck. At this point, he's as set in his moral code as possible. Had the Vivian storyline happened at the outset of his Intersect 2.0 days, perhaps the taste of power could have gone to his head, with Vivian as an example of the road not taken. As such, Vivian's existence largely serves to connect her to the larger spy world of the show, not draw a direct parallel to the support system that helped Chuck overcome any potential temptations." Eric Goldman of IGN gave this episode a score of 8 out of 10, writing, "This Chuck got off to a shaky start. I don't know how to put my finger on it exactly, but the pacing felt off in the first third or so of the episode... Thankfully, things picked up considerably as the episode went along – I'd say the turning point was the scene in which Chuck was sent in to meet with the pirates. The way Chuck's big announcement that he worked for Alexei Volkoff immediately led to a bunch of guns pulled on him was funny, as was not only Chuck asking to play Uno (for his life), but that the pirate did indeed have the game." Carl Cortez of Assignment X, however, gave the episode a negative review, calling it "a painfully nonsense driven episode that's now grasping at straws in an attempt to round out the last part of the season with an adequate storyline."