This review follows the NBC show “Chuck,” which airs at 8 PDT on Mondays. Check here regularly for a synopsis and commentary on each episode.

After the 10th episode, “Chuck” went on its winter hiatus. Commentaries on episodes that aired after the break are available in this article. For summaries of the fall episodes, as well as recaps of past seasons, read ‘Chuck’ commentary, Part I.

‘Chuck Versus the Cliffhanger’ (Ep. 24)
Originally aired on May 16, 2011

Sarah is rushed to the hospital following her collapse at the rehearsal dinner and Chuck is told that she has a day, at best, to live. With fear for Sarah’s life fueling him, Chuck turns to the one man he knows will have an antidote: Alexei Volkoff.

However, Chuck’s hope is crushed when he and Casey break into Volkoff’s prison to discover an empty cell. As it turns out, the CIA is cleaning up after themselves — just as Casey warned the team they would in the last episode — and they have sent agent Clyde Decker (Richard Burgi) to be their highly trained, top secret custodian. This man is no joke, as Casey tries to explain to Chuck after going completely pale and telling him that the man who used to do Decker’s job was killed by Decker after the CIA employed him. But, going into a rage, Chuck smashes a monitor Decker appears on to tell them that the Intersect programs are being terminated and goes on his way.

Back at the hospital, a poison is burning through Sarah’s system, and she her condition is downgraded. Meeting with General Beckman outside of Castle, she explains that if the team decides to go ahead and attempt to capture Volkoff from CIA custody then that means they will be going rogue. They are willing to accept this, and, after they get back into Castle with Beckman’s aid — a termination of the Intersect program also meant a termination of their rights to use Castle — Chuck and Casey decide to use the Nighthawk, a secret, rapid-moving motorcycle developed by the CIA, to catch up to Volkoff’s transportation truck.

While Chuck hunts down the truck on the Nighthawk with help from Casey and his mother, Decker informs Volkoff that there will be further testing on Agent X, and forces a pair of suppressing sunglasses on him, which drain the Intersect, memories and basically everything that has happened to him in the past 30 years out of him. Chuck arrives soon after this, shooting the tires of the truck out, breaking in and locking Decker in place of Volkoff. Unfortunately, he reaches them too late, as Volkoff has been completely replaced by the analyst he used to be: Hartley Winterbottom.

Hartley remembers nothing from the past 30 years but, fortunately, is still able to assemble the antidote for The Norseman’s poison. This doesn’t seem to be enough to save Sarah however, as it only slows the process. All is not lost though, as Chuck’s mom reveals that Volkoff was working on an even more effective antidote years ago, and the team goes to retrieve it from his office in Moscow. Before they even get 20 feet from the hospital’s entrance though they are ambushed by Decker and his men. Chuck attempts to put up a fight, but is taken down by tasers before he can do any real damage.

In Castle, Decker’s men force Chuck’s eyes open so that he can endure the same fate as Volkoff did and have the Intersect stripped away from him. Although everything seems hopeless, Casey goes against orders from Decker and the CIA, creating a diversion so that Chuck and Hartley can get the antidote.

After Chuck and Hartley arrive in Moscow, Hartley begins to freak out, believing that he is not up to the task of feigning his old, evil character. Despite Chuck’s protests, Hartley storms out of the main office of Volkoff Industries, leaving Chuck with no other choice but to go straight to the front desk and tell them who he is.

Of course, Vivian is in a rage that Chuck is in her office, and immediately points a gun to his head. Fortunately, Chuck is saved after Hartley walks in and explains to his daughter what his life has been like and how he now wants to make amends. Vivian goes for this, and Chuck is soon flying to the hospital to administer the new antidote.

Decker’s men have surrounded the hospital, but, with some help from Russian special forces and his usual team, Chuck is able to bust into the hospital to save his fianc