This episode opens with a retro (70′s-style?) spy show opening narrated by Morgan. It appears to have no motive other than some fun for the cast and crew. Morgan wakes up, and has a rather uncomfortable close encounter with the scantily-clad girlfriend in the kitchen. Chuck tells him he’s inviting Sarah to move in; is this supposed to put his frustration to rest? She’s standing behind him and cheerily declines, which is a little weird. After a brief stopover in the Congo with Devon and Ellie we return to Castle where Chuck & Co. receive their next assignment: he and Sarah are to shadow the most renowned pair of married agents in the CIA, Mr. Craig and Mrs. Laura Turner (played by Fred Willard and Swoosie Kurtz), in order to school the youngsters in the ways of keeping a spy-sided relationship going. John, meanwhile, will begin working on the arduous task of shaping the new Agent Grimes. As Chuck worries, and Sarah rolls her eyes, the Turners approach the apartment and moan that they have to meet themselves “thirty years ago!”
Fred Willard and Swoosie Kurtz guest star as CIA veterans
Mrs. Turner turns up her nose at the old spy stories Mr. Turner hauls out, and they tell Sarah and Chuck they are to visit a bad guy (at — wait for i-i-i-t — a PARTY!) who’s developed a decryption software that could render the nation’s security software useless. Whatever. Could have been a rogue footlong from Subway. The Turners work the room at Otto’s party as Chuck and Sarah work hard at watching and learning and staying out of the way. Unfortunately as Morgan begins making his way up the looong learning curve with Casey, we see the Turners appear to be having an off-day; as they make a scene Chuck and Sarah decide to take matters into their own hands. In the Master Suite as Sarah looks for the software, Chuck discovers a whip coiled on the bed. It’s not for someone’s kinky amusement — a low growl turns their heads and we see a tiger in the open closet. Oops.
As the tiger corners them Chuck flashes: the software is on the tiger’s collar! Cornered in a closet, they begin to sneak up on the tiger, who has inexplicably jumped up on the bed for a nap. It must be psychic, because Morgan is at the same time tasked by Colonel Casey to steal Big Mike’s keycard as he naps at his desk. Both are successful, hilariously, just before Big Mike wakes up, and just before the Turners take the software from the Bartowskis at gunpoint.
Back in the Congo, the torrential rains have stopped and Ellie and Awesome meet another, more experienced doctor, who smacks the head off a snake that also wants to make friends. Welcome to Africa! Um, what was that background music choice?
General Beckman rattles their cages in Castle. Ellie begins to make some headway in her struggle to acclimate herself to the insanity around her. Chuck and Sarah get the drop on the Turners in their hotel room and Morgan undertakes firearms training. The Turners, in chains at the Bartowskis’ kitchen table, begin to turn on each other but as Chuck’s patience reaches its end, there’s a knock at the door. Expecting federal marshals, Chuck is stunned at the sight of Otto and his tiger at the front door. Well, in retrospect, anyone who puts software on an animal’s collar would probably put in a tracking device. Right?
As the tiger sniffs around the house looking for the Turners, the Turners escape out the bathroom window and leave Team Bartowski holding the bag again. The handler takes the tiger outside to continue the search. Next, Morgan and John return from the unsuccessful trip to the gun range and Morgan has to take on the tiger after it apparently killed its handler. Or the Turners killed the handler but spared the endangered captive Bengal. Hmmm. The Turners then decide to return to rescue Chuck and Sarah even though it spells the end of their career. Chuck and Sarah keep treason out of their debrief and General Beckman is congratulatory, until the elder agents turn in their badges and retire. Last but not least, we see a montage of Casey and Morgan squaring things between them and of Ellie becoming acclimated to Africa. Fade music. Oh, I guess it wasn’t last after all. Team Bartowski undertakes to restore the disaster area that the tiger rendered of Ellie and Awesome’s apartment. As we think things are brightening for the credit roll, Ellie discovers Devon in his tent. Devon is sick. Very sick. They head for the airport, and the doctor who had taken them under his wing pulls out a Ring phone. He dials and tells the person at the other end that he “…made it look like malaria — the wife suspects nothing!” Something about that dude whispered “cuh-REEE-pee!” in my ear from frame 1, in that time-honored Treasure Island tradition of the rescuer who just squints too much. We’ll just have to see, won’t we? Oh, yeah, and Sarah decides at the end to move in with Chuck.
