Chuck: Chuck Versus Santa Claus

"Chuck Versus Santa Claus" is the eleventh episode of the second season of Chuck, and the 24th overall episode of the series. The episode was directed by Robert Duncan McNeill and written by Scott Rosenbaum. It originally aired December 15, 2008. The episode revolves around a hostage crisis and is largely presented as an homage to the film Die Hard. On Christmas Eve, an amateur criminal on the run from the police crashes into the Buy More and takes Chuck Bartowski, Ellie Bartowski, Devon Woodcomb, and the Buy More employees hostage. In order to protect Chuck's cover and the safety of the other hostages, Sarah Walker and John Casey secretly go into the store to remove Chuck, but the mission quickly falls apart when Chuck refuses to leave his friends and family behind. "Chuck Versus Santa Claus" received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. According to the Nielsen ratings system, it drew 7.661 million viewers, making it the second most-watched episode of the season, after "Chuck Versus the Third Dimension".