Chuck (Zachary Levi) just can’t get a break. In Chuck Versus the Fake Name, written by Ali Adler, and having an original airdate of 1 March, 2010, Chuck has plans to make dinner (chicken pepperoni) for Hannah (Kristin Kreuk), Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and Awesome (Ryan McPartlin) but things get sidelined when he has to pose as an assassin.

Can Chuck change his whole personality to masquerade as Rafe Gruber (Johnny Messner)? And how will this affect his growing relationship with Hannah?

Meanwhile, Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) is determined to keep her relationship with Shaw (Brandon Routh) professional, but will they be able to maintain that professionalism? But they also lend a hand to make sure the dinner goes off without a hitch for Chuck. But Awesome is having real difficulty in keeping Chuck’s secret.

Things get really complicated when he finds out who he, as Rafe, is supposed to hit… Shaw. A moment that allows him to eavesdrop on Shaw and Sarah, and who she wants to be, and more.

In terms of continuity, we finally learn Sarah’s real first name, Sam, something she shares with Shaw, but not Chuck… in a telling moment. But things go sideways when Rafe escapes and is determined to complete his contract himself, and if he gets to take out Chuck and Sarah so much the better.

Happily Casey (Adam Baldwin) saves the day, but Chuck still has to sort out himself, Hannah and Sarah. And you just know that that is going to lead to ending things with Hannah, no matter how good they are together, because he doesn’t want to lie to her, and he still cares for Sarah.

Poor Hannah.

And just because he ends things with Hannah, doesn’t mean things are going to stop between Sarah and Shaw.

Chuck Versus the Beard was penned by Scott Rosenbaum and first aired on 8 March, 2010.

Chuck is taken off active duty when he is unable to flash with the Intersect and ends up being in lots of trouble when Sarah and Casey aren’t around. And while the BuyMore is in trouble of being bought out, Morgan (Joshua Gomez) finally learns Chuck’s secret.

That is after he fires Chuck from the position of Best Friend, and finds his way into Castle. From then on, he and Chuck plan to reclaim Castle, but you can guess how that plays out.

Meanwhile Shaw and Sarah are off on a mission with Casey, Chuck has to deal with Neil (Cedric Yarbrough) and Del (Diedrich Bader) who are actually members of The Ring. They plan to infiltrate Castle (watch for a bat’leth in the weapons cabinet), kill anyone who stands in their way, and take over it. Will Sarah, Shaw and Casey make it back in time from their goose chase mission that centres on Awesome and Ellie, or will Chuck save the day and flash?

And how will these revelations affect his friendship with Morgan?

There’s more spycraft and laughs next week, as Chuck continues.