Ep 9. Chuck Versus the Sensei

Chuck Versus the Sensei is the ninth episode of the second season of the hit spy-comedy TV series, Chuck. It aired on November 24, 2008, and was directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik and written by Matthew Miller.

The episode takes place in Japan, where Sarah (played by Yvonne Strahovski) needs to extract information from a dangerous Japanese criminal named La Ciudad (played by Louis Lombardi). Sarah is familiar with the Japanese culture, but she needs to brush up on her fighting skills to take down La Ciudad's men to get to him. Chuck (played by Zachary Levi) sees an opportunity to help his partner on her mission and implores Casey (played by Adam Baldwin) to train him in the art of Japanese fighting. Casey begrudgingly agrees but insists on using his knife as a simulation tool to prepare Chuck for combat. However, things are not as easy as they seem, and Chuck finds himself in a dangerous situation that only his newly acquired skills can save him from.

Meanwhile, back at the Buy More, the other employees, led by Jeff (played by Scott Krinsky) and Lester (played by Vik Sahay), are hard at work creating a new game called "Super Shooter" in which the player has to shoot as many enemies as possible. Morgan (played by Joshua Gomez), who is now the assistant manager, is convinced that this game will be a hit, but his boss, Big Mike (played by Mark Christopher Lawrence), is not convinced. He believes that Morgan is wasting his time, and they get into a heated argument about it.

As Chuck trains with Casey, he discovers that he has a natural talent for Japanese fighting, but he also realizes that he is not ready for a real fight yet. Casey suggests that they take him to a real sensei (master) to give him a proper training session. Afterward, Chuck begins to have doubts, but Casey reassures him that he is ready for his mission, no matter what happens.

Meanwhile, Sarah successfully infiltrates La Ciudad's organization and gets the information she needs. However, she also meets up with someone from her past, who complicates matters for her. Chuck agrees to help her and goes undercover as a tourist to find out more about this person. He finds himself in the middle of a dangerous situation when La Ciudad's men capture him. Chuck uses his training to fight his way out of the situation and discovers a shocking secret about the person Sarah has been dealing with.

Back at the Buy More, Morgan and his co-workers experience a lot of problems with the new game. It crashes the store's system, and the authorities believe that it could be a virus. However, they find out that it was just an error, and they fix it in time for the store's grand opening.

The episode ends with Chuck and Sarah reminiscing about their time in Japan and their mission. Sarah tells Chuck how proud she is of him, and they share a moment together.

Overall, Chuck Versus the Sensei is an action-packed episode that is full of suspense and humor. It's a great addition to the series, and it helps to develop the characters and their relationships with each other. The episode is a perfect blend of spy thriller and comedy, and it showcases the talents of the show's talented cast.