BiographyVery little information about Sarah's past has been revealed so far. The only people outside of her family confirmed to know her real name, revealed to be "Sam", are Director Graham[2] (now dead), Daniel Shaw, and Chuck. It is otherwise only known that she has confessed her middle name is Lisa.[5] Her father was a con artist she introduced to Chuck as "Jack Burton," and much of her youth was spent moving from city to city under a series of aliases as part of his ongoing schemes. She attended at least her senior year of high school—and graduated in 1998—under the alias of Jenny Burton.[2] While playing "Know Ya!" at the beginning of "Chuck Versus the Wookiee," she mentions having a sister; however, it is currently unknown whether this is true or part of the identity she created as part of her cover. All that has been revealed about Sarah's mother is that the relationship between her parents began to fall apart after her father's disastrous proposal attempt.[6] Additionally, "Chuck Versus the Wedding Planner" shows that Sarah and her father were largely on their own at least as early as 1988.
As a child growing up, Sarah was not only aware of her father's activities, but actively participated in them. One of their scams involved Sarah fooling an armored car driver into thinking she'd been hit by the vehicle while riding her bike, while her father claimed to be a doctor and examined her. During the confusion, he would then lift money from the vehicle. Another trick was the "Lichtenstein," in which her father would masquerade as a struggling German inventor or businessman attempting to unload an invention or other valuable commodity that never actually existed.[7] Christmases were spent scamming the Salvation Army.[8] "Chuck Versus the Wedding Planner" reveals that around 1988 Sarah either was, or masqueraded as, a Girl Scout as part of her father's schemes. Her grandmother was also shown to think rather little of Jack in this episode, and it is shown that Sarah spent at least some of the ten years between 1988 and 1998 in her grandmother's care.
Sometime in 1998 before her high school graduation, Sarah's father was arrested for his own protection after a scam went wrong and put his life in danger. He left her a hidden cache of money for just such an emergency, and it was while recovering this that she was first approached by CIA Director Graham. He took her in as a protege after remarking on her many aliases as a child and gave her the cover name of Sarah Walker. Although apparently "recruited" at this point, flashbacks make it clear that she continued in high school; several of the popular children cruelly mocked her as the "jailbird's daughter" because of her father's imprisonment.[2] According to NBC.com's Spy Dossiers she was (officially) recruited out of Harvard University.[9] She also spent a year with the Secret Service.[10]
Sarah's earliest known assignment after being recruited was with the C.A.T. (Clandestine Attack Team) Squad, a team of female spies that also included Sarah's DEA friend, Carina Miller. The team eventually broke up in 2003, when Sarah discovered a bug indicating one of the members, Zondra, was a traitor. Although Zondra was cleared by a government inquiry, their relationship was strained.
Later, Sarah's CIA "red test," or first kill, was Evelyn Shaw in 2005. Sarah was given no background information about her target, and couldn't check on the kill because she had to flee from the scene before police arrived.[11]
Also beginning in 2005 Sarah was partnered with Chuck's former friend and college roommate Bryce Larkin. Their professional relationship eventually evolved into an intimate one, but significantly cooled off, as she requested that their covers remain professional in "Chuck Versus the Break-Up".
After several conversations about marriage, Chuck ultimately proposes to Sarah in Chuck Versus the Push Mix.
[edit] SeriesWhen Bryce apparently goes rogue to steal the Intersect computer, Sarah—not realizing that he did so to protect it from a cabal of rogue spies called Fulcrum—feels both personally and professionally betrayed.
Sarah is subsequently assigned by Graham to attempt to recover the Intersect. The only lead is the e-mail Bryce sent to Chuck, and she tracks him down to the Buy More where, posing as a customer with a broken phone, she first makes contact.[12]
Sarah soon becomes one of Chuck Bartowski's two government handlers. She is partnered with NSA agent John Casey and assigned the task of protecting Chuck.[12] This extends to acting on information Chuck "flashes" on.
As part of her cover, Sarah is pretending to be Chuck's girlfriend. One of the complications and the main focus on the development of her character throughout the series is that although initially she insists this is only part of her cover, a genuine romantic interest grows between them. While Sarah herself is initially slow to recognize or acknowledge her feelings, other characters have readily picked up on her attraction to Chuck. Sarah's DEA friend Carina is one of the first to recognize that Sarah's feelings for Chuck are more than merely professional.[5] Casey also recognizes that she is falling for him,[13] something he teases her and Chuck about frequently.
The development of a relationship between Sarah and Chuck meets with two major sets of obstacles throughout the series. First, professionally Sarah is supposed to avoid romantic entanglements, and her affection for Chuck sometimes does put him in danger.[14] Second, both characters become jealous of competing romantic interests, including instances where one of them has to seduce someone for a mission.
There are two particularly notable cases of these love triangles in the first season. Chuck's interest in finding a real relationship leads Chuck to "break up" his cover relationship with Sarah and pursue Lou the sandwich girl,[15] which causes Sarah to become jealous and protective.[13] Soon afterward, Bryce Larkin returns[16] and competes for Sarah's affections. Sarah is torn, but ultimately decides to stick with her mission protecting Chuck rather than follow Bryce.
By the end of the season, Sarah displays a willingness to go to great lengths for Chuck, and is even prepared to go rogue and draw her gun on another CIA agent attempting to take him into government custody.[17]
In the second season, Chuck and Sarah haltingly move towards establishing a real relationship. Sarah agrees to go on a first "real" date with Chuck as it appears he is being released back to civilian life.[18] However, the rebuilt Intersect is sabotaged, pulling Chuck back into his spy life and re-establishing Sarah's professional barrier.
Then, as Chuck attempts to pursue Sarah anyway, Larkin returns a second time.[19] This time Sarah's feelings are clearly for Chuck, but when her affection for Chuck places both her life and Chuck's at risk, Bryce convinces Chuck to "break up" with her.[14]
Shortly thereafter, Chuck runs into his ex-girlfriend Jill Roberts, creating another love triangle that makes Sarah jealous and protective of Chuck. But this time she shows more restraint, trying not to interfere, at least until she discovers Jill is a member of Fulcrum.[20] Yet another love triangle arises later in the season with the arrival of Cole Barker, who (like Bryce) is a suave and formidable spy, but that only goes as far as a kiss.
Chuck provides Sarah with emotional support when a mission forces her to revisit part of her childhood,[2] and later when Sarah's father returns.[7] Chuck makes some strong suggestions that he loves Sarah, including notably in the mid-season finale when he gives Sarah his mother's charm bracelet, a gift Sarah says is something he should save for a "real girlfriend."[8]
Sarah's personal feelings for Chuck lead to her temporary replacement as Chuck's handler in "Chuck Versus the Broken Heart," as Beckman is concerned those feelings jeopardized the mission. However, the replacement agent, Forrest (Tricia Helfer), failed to effectively protect Chuck and he refused to work with her because of her methods. Sarah's feelings also gave her a close insight that warned her something was wrong when Forrest couldn't. Beckman reluctantly acknowledged Sarah and Chuck's feelings for each other were actually a benefit to their working relationship rather than a danger, and allowed Sarah to resume her role as his handler.
In the meantime, while Sarah's professional obligations to Chuck are suspended, she becomes more personally involved. Sarah makes an unauthorized and illegal search of the CIA database at Langley to locate Chuck's father after his own efforts fail, and ultimately she takes Chuck to meet his father.
In "Chuck Versus the First Kill" General Beckman orders Sarah to lure Chuck to Castle so he can be taken into custody and brought back to Washington. Sarah objects, but is about to carry out her orders when at the last minute she warns Chuck that it is a setup and takes him on the run.[21]
While on the run, Chuck and Sarah spend the night in a motel, and share a bed. While not under surveillance, they kiss and are close to having sex but are interrupted by a lack of a condom, followed by the appearance of Agent Casey. After Chuck successfully removes the Intersect from his head, Sarah is reassigned to work on the new Intersect project with Bryce, but soon decides not to go and instead stay with Chuck. But even after learning that she turned down the assignment, Chuck consciously re-establishes the professional barrier by uploading the new Intersect.
By the beginning of "Chuck Versus the Pink Slip" Sarah's relationship with Chuck is shattered. Flashbacks throughout the episode reveal that shortly after uploading the new Intersect, Sarah asked Chuck to go AWOL and run away with her so they could be together. Chuck was initially enthusiastic, but by the time they met with each other he refused so he could pursue his spy training. Sarah was heartbroken and subsequently cut him off. She was forced to reconnect again when Chuck interfered with an operation against the Ring. Ultimately, Chuck was reinstated on the team and Sarah was ordered by Beckman to help train Chuck. Their relationship issues again came to a head during an assignment with Carina. Because of Chuck's remaining feelings for her she requested a transfer from Beckman on grounds she was a liability but was denied. They managed to partially resolve their situation, and Carina showed Sarah security footage of Chuck trying to explain to her he chose to take his spy training because of Sarah's own encouragement, and his realiziation he could help people and a desire to protect those he loved-including her.
Team Bartowski's new leader, Daniel Shaw, began romantically approaching Sarah in "Chuck Versus the Mask." Although initially Sarah very vocally rejected his advances, when she and Shaw were exposed to cyclosarin gas Sarah admitted that she over-reacted and somewhat enjoyed Shaw's attention. Sarah and Chuck agreed that they were free to pursue relationships with other people, and Sarah began allowing Shaw to get closer. In "Chuck Versus the Fake Name", Sarah tells Shaw that this job is making her slowly forget who she was before and says that for the last three years, she has never once told anybody her real name. When Shaw asks her what it is, Sarah reveals that her real name is Sam (most likely from Samantha). Chuck also finds out her real name after he overhears this conversation while posing as an assassin the Ring hired to kill Shaw. She is still initially reluctant to allow herself to become involved with him, but by the end of the episode relents.
Sarah administered Chuck's "final exam" as a spy alongside Shaw in "Chuck Versus the Final Exam." During the mission Chuck tried to talk about what happened in Prague, but the mission interrupted them. Although pleased with Chuck's successful handling of the assignment, Sarah was greatly disturbed when Shaw instructed her to order him to kill a rogue CIA agent. She attempted to resist, fearing what it would make Chuck into, but eventually gave Chuck his instructions. When Chuck finally cornered his target he hesitated and Casey completed the hit from the shadows, however from Sarah's perspective it was Chuck who pulled the trigger. After the mission she refused to answer when he attempted to call, and expressed to Shaw her distaste over what she had turned Chuck into. When Shaw pressed if she was still in love with Chuck, she replied she no longer was.
In "Chuck Versus the American Hero" Chuck presses her on how he feels, and asks for a second chance at Prague. Sarah is in the process of packing to meet him when Casey arrives. Although she insists what he has to tell her won't change her decision, Casey admits he killed the mole instead, to Sarah's visible relief and removing any reservations that Sarah had against Chuck. However before she can leave, Shaw arrives and tells her they have a new mission and there is no time contact Chuck. In Shaw's car Sarah is distressed that there is no signal to call Chuck and asks where they are headed. Shaw tells her only they are going to "settle an old score."
"Chuck Versus the Other Guy" revealed that Sarah was taken by Shaw to a Ring facility where, masquerading that they were still on a mission, he revealed to Sarah that she was set up to kill Evelyn. Despite the revelation, Sarah continued to trust Shaw over Chuck's misgivings. She and Chuck did reconcile their feelings for each other and were preparing to begin a relationship when Shaw lured her to Paris. He took her to the street where Evelyn was killed and revealed he had turned to the Ring and intended to kill Sarah in retaliation for his wife's death. Chuck correctly guessed Shaw's intent and destination and arrived in time to save Sarah's life by shooting Shaw when he refused to back down. Unlike the death of Perry, Chuck's killing of Shaw to save her life put Sarah's mind at ease, realizing that Chuck can kill, but only if every other option was exhausted. The two chose to spend a few days together in Paris before returning to Burbank. She also admits she fell for him before the climax of the Season 1 pilot.
She and Chuck did attempt to run away from the spy life together in "Chuck Versus the Honeymooners," until an encounter with a defecting Basque terrorist helped them realize that they "wanted it all," and were determined to build their relationship without giving up on their careers. Although Beckman was not pleased when she learned of the couple, even she noted "it's about damn time."
In "Chuck Versus the Role Models," Chuck asks her to move in but she initially declines, telling him that they aren't a "normal couple" so they shouldn't pretend to have a "normal life." General Beckman assigns them to observe an experienced spy couple, the Turners. After seeing the Turners' rocky relationship, Chuck and Sarah find that their relationship could be more of a challenge than they thought. However, Sarah agrees to move in with Chuck at the end of the episode, so that they can have something "to fall back on after [their] spy life is over."
In "Chuck Versus the Tooth" even though they are living together, Sarah still has difficulty expressing her emotions to Chuck. When Chuck starts to show signs of a mental breakdown and is locked down in a CIA mental hospital, Sarah believes in and supports his claims that a Zamibian scientist has connections to the Ring. Although her investigation indicates that Chuck is wrong, she goes to his doctor and tells him that she loves Chuck and wants to help him work through whatever problems he is facing. At the end of the episode, she candidly tells Chuck that she loves him.
Sarah struggles with Chuck lying to her in "Chuck Versus the Living Dead" about his dream that Shaw is alive. After she obtains the truth from Morgan, she confronts Chuck and along with Casey, go through her relationship with Shaw to find any clues as to his whereabouts or plans. She breaks into Shaw's penthouse with Chuck and recovers Shaw's Intelligence Safe after a confrontation with a Ring agent. When Chuck's father leaves, she provides Chuck with his address and takes him to Stephen's cabin, where she saves Chuck from a trap by Ring agents. At the end of the episode, Sarah gives her spy will to Chuck, saying that he's the only one she wants to have it in case something happens to her.
At the beginning of the fourth season Sarah continues working for the CIA partnered with Casey, while Chuck is retired. "Chuck Versus the Anniversary" reveals that the two have been assigned to investigate Volkoff Industries, run by a notorious black market arms dealer. Their mission dovetails with Chuck's own search for his mother, which she and Casey agree to aid. In "Chuck Versus the Suitcase" she and Chuck are dispatched by Beckman to Fashion Week to recover a smart bullet prototype. Sarah inadvertently gained notoriety as a runway and cover model during the mission when a fight against Volkoff arms dealer Sofia spilled out onto the runway during Fashion Week in Milan. Despite the public nature of the fight and landing on the cover of a magazine attending the event, Sarah's identity was not compromised.
Sarah confronted her old high school enemy Heather Chandler again in "Chuck Versus the Cubic Z," when her prison transport breaks down and she is routed to Castle while awaiting a relief transport. She helps protect Heather from incarcerated Ring operative Hugo Panzer—who was also on the transport—after it is revealed that he was contracted by Volkoff to kill her in retaliation for failing to secure Mark Ratner's F-22 prototype. Later, while on vacation in Costa Gravas in "Chuck Versus the Coup d'Etat," she helps rescue Alejandro Goya from a coup attempt led by his wife, Hortencia. Later she, Chuck and Casey restore him to power after reconciling the couple, and disarm Costa Gravas's nuclear arsenel. Both missions proved connected to Chuck's search for his mom, as Heather and Goya were both able to provide some limited information on an operation called "Beacon," in which Mary Bartowski plays a role.
In Chuck Versus Phase Three, Sarah goes on a rogue mission in Thailand to find Chuck after he is taken in "Chuck Versus the Fear of Death". After no success of finding him, the team finds a Thai diplomat Chanarong might have the information and Sarah nearly beats it out of him. Casey tells her that she's not acting like herself. That she was Langston Graham's "wild card enforcer" again. Casey also adds that he didn't like her back then. She finds Chuck's proposal plan and with renewed motivation locks Casey in a cell and threatens to kill Chanorong for Chuck's whereabouts. Sarah then agrees with Casey's statement and says "I'm different without Chuck, and I don't like it". When she finally finds him, he is unconscious and Sarah says to Chuck that she loves him and wants to spend the rest of her life with him with or without the intersect. This comes after marriage talk from earlier episodes: "Chuck Versus the Suitcase", "Chuck Versus the Cubic Z" and "Chuck Versus the Coup d'Etat"
Sarah tells Beckman in "Chuck Versus the Push Mix" that if there is anything she can do to bring back Chuck's mom to let her do so. She establishes her cover as a rogue CIA agent and goes undercover in Volkoff Industries to help Mary bring it down. She is assigned by Volkoff to help break one of his bodyguards, Yuri the Gobbler, out of prison due to the man's intimate knowledge of the Hydra database, which she accomplishes with the aid of Chuck and Casey.[22] She and Mary then unexpectedly rendezvous with Chuck and Morgan aboard Volkoff's yacht Contessa in "Chuck Versus the Push Mix", where Chuck puts his complex plan in motion to bring about their adversary's final downfall. Chuck finally proposes to Sarah while waiting for the arrival of Clara Woodcomb.
The pending wedding with Chuck presented Sarah with a number of small personal crises owing to her childhood. In "Chuck Versus the Seduction Impossible" Chuck's family starts prying the couple with questions about their wedding plans causing Sarah to panic. She suggests eloping, as she would have no one to invite to the large family wedding Chuck desired. To help her reconnect with her friends, Chuck reunites Sarah with her old team, in "Chuck Versus the Cat Squad". prompting the return of their nemesis Augusto Gaez and some internal grudges. Sarah had long suspected her teammate Zondra of being a traitor working with Gaez, having foundnd a transmitter in her boot. When it was discovered that Amy was in fact the traitor, Sarah mended her friendship with Zondra, inviting her and Carina to be her bridesmaids. Sarah also deepens friendship with Ellie, agreeing to discuss her family issues, and inviting her to be maid of honor.
In "Chuck Versus the First Bank of Evil", Sarah is at first not truly excited about making wedding plans but Ellie assures her at some point she will be. Sarah reaches this moment when she picks out the perfect dress which she is delighted to tell Chuck as they rob a bank. As Sarah becomes fully invested in more elaborate and expensive wedding plans, the Bartowski siblings fear Ellie has "created a monster".
Sarah reconnects with her father Jack Burton in "Chuck Versus the Wedding Planner" when the wedding planner she hires with Chuck steals their savings. She tries not to reveal to her dad she is getting married but he finds out for himself. At the reception where the team captures the wedding planner's terrorist clients, Jack and Sarah have a father/daughter dance. Jack laments it might be the only one they have. Chuck invites Jack to stick around but he says he won't make promises to Sarah he can't keep. Instead Jack leaves Sarah her old piggy bank to which he has only added cash, never taken, to cover the costs of their wedding.
In "Chuck Versus the Last Details", Vivian discovers that Chuck's mother and father were responsible for the undoing of her own father, Alexi Volkoff/Hartley Winterbottom. She takes her revenge by targeting Sarah with the Norseman device. Sarah is barely clinging to life throughout most of "Chuck Versus the Cliffhanger", but is saved when Chuck and Hartley retrieve the antidote for the Norseman from Vivian. She and Chuck are then finally married. When they return from their honeymoon two weeks later she and Chuck reveal to Casey and Morgan that Hartley turned over all the wealth of Volkoff industries to them. She and Chuck used this money to purchase the Buy More and Castle, and announce they intend to go into business for themselves as independent spies.
[edit] DevelopmentOn February 12, 2007 Australian actress Yvonne Strahovski was announced[23] for what was then the role of "Sarah Kent," joining Zachary Levi (Chuck) and Adam Baldwin (Maj. John Casey). Prior to beginning of filming the character's name was changed to Sarah Walker. Strahovski was unable to come to the US for audition so the producers allowed her to make her audition via the internet.[24] The character is a reversal of typical action film gender roles, with Sarah Walker portraying the protector and fighter while Chuck is the more emotional "brain."
Strahovski herself is highly active and performs all her own fight scenes. She considers this one of her favorite parts of the role, especially the fight scene in "Chuck Versus the First Date" against Michael Clarke Duncan's towering Mr. Colt.[25] She also speaks fluent Polish, which she worked into the role in the Season One episode "Chuck Versus the Wookiee."
Very little of Sarah's background was revealed in Season 1 other than her relationship with Bryce Larkin and middle name. However real attention was paid to her past in the first half of Season Two. In June 2008 Nicole Richie was announced to be appearing in a role as a former classmate of Sarah from high school,[26] and in September Gary Cole was revealed to be playing Sarah's father in an upcoming episode.[27] Parts of Sarah's name has been revealed; her middle name is Lisa revealed first, and in a recent episode her first name was revealed to be Sam. It has not been announced if the name Graham hints at on her birth certificate is actually her real name, or if it will ever be revealed. These two episodes ("Chuck Versus the Cougars" and "Chuck Versus the DeLorean") are the only ones so far to have provided any significant amount of information on the character's past, and most of her development has focused on the character's relationship with Levi's Chuck.[citation needed]
At the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con, Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak revealed that Sarah's mission will shift somewhat. According to dialog quoted during interviews, Sarah's role will begin to change from protecting Chuck from the world, to protecting the world from Chuck due to the unpredictability of Intersect 2.0. Sarah will also have a significant effect on Chuck's development during the third season, due to the profound impact she has on his emotional state. As described by Fedak, with the Intersect being affected by Chuck's emotions, Sarah has the potential to be both his "kryptonite" and his "spinach."[28] Other interviews and panels have indicated Sarah's role with Chuck will also change from more of an asset/handler relationship, to becoming Chuck's "sensei."[29]
[edit] PersonalityAlthough a highly-trained CIA agent, Sarah can be warm, kind and compassionate, although she can be ruthless when she needs to be and has ended lives without hesitation on numerous occasions.[8] She is emotionally detached, and sometimes cold and distant. She feels that emotion is a sign of vulnerability, and is uncomfortable in emotional sitations. It has been indicated that Sarah was once as kind, caring, and trusting as Chuck, but after her first kill, she reverted into a cold mask of heartlessness and indifference. This is one of the reasons why she tries to protect Chuck; she doesn't want him to lose his trusting nature. While Sarah lacks Chuck's openly trusting nature, she displays a great deal of intuitiveness about others' character: Sarah quickly recognized that Chuck was just a regular guy and not a threat, and chose to protect him from the NSA hit team led by John Casey.[12] She is also shown to be much more empathic and sympathetic to Chuck's plight than Casey, and is highly protective of her asset, to an extent beyond the requirements of her mission to safeguard him. Where Casey only seems concerned with physical threats to Chuck's safety (things that might cost the government the use of the Intersect information in Chuck's head), Sarah is more concerned for him as an individual. She typically objects to any orders by Graham and Beckman to put him in dangerous situations and openly warned both Lou[13] and Jill[30]—with whom Chuck carried on brief relationships—not to hurt him.
Sarah is quick to acknowledge and reinforce Chuck's own abilities beyond the Intersect, and has told him on several occasions that he has made an excellent spy.[18][31] During a hostage situation at the Buy More Sarah promised to Chuck that she would never let anyone hurt him and proved determined and willing to go to any extreme to protect him. This is demonstrated when she cold-bloodedly kills an unarmed enemy agent (who had learned Chuck was the Intersect and threatened to reveal the secret to his entire organization) in order to protect Chuck.[8] Although she has denied any romantic interest in Chuck several times, she openly acknowledges a desire to remain friendly with Chuck on a personal level, until the end of the second season, when she and Chuck share several intimate moments. She objects to lying or concealing information from Chuck and using him without his knowledge under orders from her superiors.
Little information about Sarah's real life has been revealed in the course of the series, as she is shown to be highly secretive, with a past built around false identities. She jealously guards her personal life and even violently threatened Chuck when he attempted to learn more about her.[2] As a nod to continuity, when Sarah does talk to Chuck about her past and family she continued to use the name "Jenny Burton," as it had not yet been revealed to Chuck that Jenny is not her real name either.[7][8]
Sarah has often been impressed by Chuck's abilities, starting with when Chuck defuses a bomb with a computer virus in the pilot episode; however, with the download of the Intersect 2.0, Sarah's admiration seems to give way to reservation as Chuck comes closer and closer to becoming a full field agent. In "Chuck Versus the Tic Tac", Sarah begs Chuck not to lose the guy she met three years ago. This episode was also the only time Sarah has shown fear of Chuck, when Chuck, under the effects of laudanol, is able to throttle an enemy single-handed; on the verge of breaking the enemy's neck, Sarah interrupts Chuck. Chuck's dead gaze scares Sarah and the look of fear snaps Chuck out of the drug's emotionally-numbing effects.
Sarah has also been shown to mask her emotions. However, many characters, including Chuck's sister Ellie,[32] Bryce Larkin,[14] Casey,[13] Carina,[5] Roan Montgomery,[19] and her father,[7] have all detected that she is romantically interested in or in love with Chuck. Chuck is one of the few people she's allowed to get close to her, one the few people she trusts, and in the few times she has been in a vulnerable state Chuck has been the one there to offer comfort. She admits to Chuck, she fell for him during the first episode "after you fixed my phone and before you started defusing bombs with computer viruses".[33] In "Chuck Versus the Tooth," Sarah expresses that she never envisioned a future for herself beyond her next mission until she met Chuck, and she openly told Chuck "I love you" for the first time.
Several episodes have implied that Sarah misses or envies the "normal" life Chuck desires to return to. Sarah herself expressed a desire to have a normal life with Chuck in "Chuck Versus the Pink Slip," and has asked Carina[34] and Casey[31] if they ever wondered what a normal, real life would be like. In "Chuck Versus the Role Models," Sarah moved in with Chuck and expressed that she looked forward to living a "normal life" with him after their spy lives are over.
In "Chuck Versus the Ring: Part II", Shaw remarked on how Sarah's personality had transformed from a person who masked her emotions to being just as open, caring and loving as Chuck. He used her real name Sam to play on these emotions and manipulate her into stealing his gun. When Chuck decided to quit the CIA (at Ellie's request) he asked Sarah if she could love a regular guy, she responded that she fell in love with a regular guy. This reinforces that she fell in love with Chuck after he fixed her phone. She also expressed relief when Chuck did not kill Shaw after he defeated him and showed mercy. While Shaw said that it made him weak, after knocking him out Sarah responded with happiness that "no, that is what makes you great!"
There are indications that she is concerned that Chuck's experiences in espionage work might not only threaten him physically, but might also disillusion him and destroy his kind, trusting nature (for example, his being used and betrayed on a personal level by Jill Roberts threatening to destroy his idealistic views and tendency to trust others). She is deeply affected by Chuck apparently completing a hit on a rogue CIA asset and her role in administering the mission, worrying that he will never be the same again. Sarah later remarked to Shaw that her own "red test" was the worst day of her life, and that she has never forgotten the details of it.[11] Sarah was unaware that the target of her "red test" was Evelyn Shaw until it was revealed to her by Daniel Shaw.[33]
She is skilled in a variety of espionage techniques, and is adept at taking on different roles and covers. Sarah's cover previously had her working at the Wienerlicious[35]—a restaurant across from the Buy More where Chuck works—and later at a tangy frozen yogurt shop called the Orange Orange.[36] Her cover after the destruction of the Buy More (and, possibly, Castle) is unknown; it may, however, be unnecessary, as the few people she is close to are already privy to the fact that she is a spy. Her essential cover has been as Chuck's girlfriend (which has evolved into a real relationship), and her professional cover has only been necessary for the people in Chuck's personal life. She has also portrayed a ditzy party-goer,[5] the receptionist and personal assistant to "Mr. Lichtenstein",[7] a hotel staff member,[37] a call girl,[30] a waitress, a scientist,[20][38] and a member of the Nerd Herd.[39] Sarah has also used her appearance on missions, both as a distraction and an angle, at times flirting with the team's targets when needed.[5][31][40] Sarah speaks several languages, including Polish,[5][34][41] Russian[37] and German.[7][42] She can also understand at least some Swedish.[5] "Chuck Versus the Wedding Planner" details Sarah's own knowledge of the "con game." She is shown having some skill of her own with the cup and balls, as well as being able to quickly and accurately determine the amount of cash a potential mark has in her possession. Sarah therefore considered it a personal embarrassment that, in spite of her knowledge, she and Chuck were swindled out of their wedding money.
Sarah is highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, including against multiple enemies, and even managed to hold the substantially larger Mr. Colt at bay.[18] She is also a very good shot, with extensive firearms training. Most notable is her expertise in the use of throwing knives, which is one of the skills witnessed by Graham that led him to recruit her into the CIA.[2] She typically wears several in a sheath strapped to her lower leg when her wardrobe allows,[2][12] and has also used specially-designed hair pins for the same purpose.[12] Sarah's favored side arm throughout the series is the Smith & Wesson Model 5906. In "Chuck Versus First Class" Shaw reveals that Sarah has flight experience.
She has also displayed domestic skills, and progresses from a confessed terrible cook when she starts at Wienerlicious[43] to quite skilled when she lives in the suburbs with Chuck a season and a half later.[44]
Although in several episodes Sarah has expressed hesitation or fear of commitment in her relationship with Chuck, in "Chuck Versus the Coup d'Etat" she admitted (while Chuck was pretending to be asleep) that if he were to actually propose to her she would accept, and in "Chuck Versus Phase Three" she told him that she wanted to marry him.
While Sarah is more emotional than Casey, like Casey, she is a killer. When Chuck flashes on her ring in the pilot, a video shows her fighting and executing three opponents. She has also proven to be much more dangerous, vicious and cold-blooded when Chuck or his family are threatened; in "Chuck Versus Santa Claus," she executes an unarmed Fulcrum agent who learns that Chuck is the Intersect. While this may be due to her feelings for Chuck, Casey remarks that, before Chuck, Sarah is wildly unpredictable and her relationship with Chuck tempers her from being 'Langston Graham's wild-card enforcer;' this is no more apparent than in "Chuck Versus Phase Three" where Sarah goes rogue, crossing several lines (including the kidnapping and torture of a Thai aide) to rescue Chuck, and, in the process, scaring Morgan, and, in Casey's words, showing more of what she was like before Chuck, a Sarah Walker that neither Casey, nor Sarah, herself, liked.
