Alexei Volkoff
Encyclopedia
Alexei Volkoff is the alias
and alter ego
of Hartley Winterbottom (codename Agent X), a fictional character
on the television series Chuck
. Volkoff is the head of Volkoff Industries
. For the first six episodes of the fourth season
, he was an unseen character
, directing his operatives from behind the scenes. He first appeared in in the seventh episode, "Chuck Versus the First Fight
". For the first twenty-one episodes of the season, Volkoff is presented as the character's actual identity. "Chuck Versus Agent X
", however, reveals that Volkoff is actually a cover, which, following a botched Intersect
upload, Winterbottom unknowingly adopted as his true identity. Volkoff serves as the main antagonist for the first half of season four and tragic character in the second half. He is portrayed by Timothy Dalton
.
(codename Frost) was ordered by the CIA
to track him down when she was placed undercover in his organization under Project ISIS. It was first revealed in "Chuck Versus the Ring: Part II
" and over the course of the first part of the fourth season that Stephen J. Bartowski
(codename Orion) had spent the twenty years following Mary's disappearance privately attempting to locate and stop Volkoff.
According to Chuck Bartowski
's flash in "Chuck Versus the Cubic Z
," Volkoff is 5'10"-6'2" tall and speaks Russian
, German
, and English
. He was born in Moscow
, Russia
on March 30 or May 14, 1959, was indicted in New York
for his involvement in arms trafficking, and is wanted for "conspiracy to kill United States
nationals, to murder, to destroy buildings and property of the United States, and to destroy the national defense utilities of the United States."
Volkoff reveals to Dasha that his home address is 17 Tally Place, he has a dog named Kipper, he had his first sexual experience watching Lawrence of Arabia
, and he came from a broken home. He later reveals to Devon Woodcomb that he free climbed
K2
without oxygen. It is unknown how much (if any) of this is true, though, as he was posing as Frost's MI6
handler both times. Further, the revelation that Volkoff was born Hartley Winterbottom and raised by his mother in Somerset
, England
, casts doubt on the place of birth given in Chuck's flash.
," when Heather Chandler attempts to extort F-22 plans from her husband for Volkoff. In "Chuck Versus the Cubic Z
", Volkoff arranges for her to be on the same prison transfer as Hugo Panzer and hires Panzer to kill her for the failure.
For the first six episodes of the fourth season, Volkoff directed his operatives from behind the scenes. In "Chuck Versus the Anniversary
," General Beckman assigned Chuck, Sarah Walker
, and John Casey
to the same task as Mary. Volkoff first appears in person in "Chuck Versus the First Fight
." Chuck meets him masquerading as "Gregory Tuttle," Frost's enthusiastic, if bumbling and completely inexperienced in the matters of field-work, MI6 handler. With Chuck's assistance, "Tuttle" escapes several Volkoff agents and helps Chuck recover data that would clear Mary and prove she has been working deep undercover to bring down his organization. However after being apparently wounded in a gunfight while recovering the disks, Volkoff follows Chuck, Sarah and Mary to Stephen Bartowski's base of operations and reveals himself, explaining that the entire operation was a plan to locate and destroy Stephen's intelligence. He attempted to kill Chuck and Sarah in the explosion that destroyed Stephen's work, but was unknowingly betrayed by Mary, who left a means for them to escape.
"Chuck Versus the Push Mix
" confirms that Stephen and Mary had remained in contact ever since her disappearance when going under cover, and that the final key to Volkoff's defeat was a virus written by Stephen which downloaded the entire Hydra database to a computer at his cabin. Volkoff is subsequently arrested by General Beckman. As Volkoff is taken away, he tells Chuck to have his mother come visit, saying, "It's been fun."
It is revealed in "Chuck Versus the Masquerade
" that Volkoff has a daughter named Vivian McArthur, who he has chosen as his successor. Her whole life, Volkoff had been training Vivian for the spy world without her knowledge. Vivian travels to the sealed Volkoff Industries headquarters in Moscow and enters Volkoff's office. It is revealed that the horse paperweight Volkoff used to shatter Yuri the Gobbler's glass eye is also compatible with a locket
he gave to Vivian. Vivian connects the locket, unlocking a secret compartment, revealing a card to access Volkoff's bank vault in Macau
, containing various pictures of Vivian's life. Vivian is last shown driving away with Volkoff's lawyer Riley to learn the truth. She then hires an agent named Damien to kill Chuck, following in her father's footsteps and effectively becoming Chuck's nemesis.
The CIA orders Vivian assassinated, but Chuck refuses to believe that Vivian would hire Damien. In a meet, Vivian gives Chuck a component of a Volkoff weapon known as the "Norseman". Chuck and Sarah visit Volkoff at River Hill Penitentiary, only to learn that he has begun a path to redemption. In exchange for a meeting with Vivian, Volkoff helps Team Bartowski find the weapon's tracking device and killing agent, along the way apologizing to those he had wronged in the past. When Volkoff panics and nearly gets Chuck and himself killed, Chuck encourages him to return to his old ways. It is then revealed that Vivian had communicated with Volkoff simply by giving Chuck the Norseman, and he goes to rejoin her. However, Vivian refuses to forgive her father or Chuck for their lying and leaves them to die. However, Volkoff saves the team, returning to spiritual ways. Before being returned to prison, Volkoff meets with Mary one last time and reminds her, "Remember, family and friends are everything. Money, greed, and power are a dance with Satan
. And he looks like me."
In "Chuck Versus Agent X
", Chuck, Ellie, and the rest of the team discover that the CIA and Orion created Volkoff as a cover for Agent X, an English scientist named Hartley Winterbottom and a close friend of Stephen Bartowski. This was part of an early Intersect version implanted into Winterbottom shortly before Chuck was born, but the implant malfunctioned and apparently permanently overwrote Winterbottom's own personality with that of his cover identity. Casey recognizes the danger of what they have learned, and he hides Winterbottom's spy will and the key to protect them from government retribution.
In "Chuck Versus the Cliffhanger
", Chuck seeks out Volkoff to help him find a cure for the Norseman, which Vivian used on Sarah. Unfortunately, CIA agent Clyde Decker, who was involved in the coverup of Agent X, anticipated his move and had Volkoff deprogrammed to his original identity as Hartley, who has no recollection of the past thirty years. Nonetheless, he tries to help Chuck by preparing an antidote but it is not strong enough for Sarah. Learning from Mary that Volkoff was developing an improved version of the antidote, he and Chuck went to Volkoff Industries, only for Hartley to get cold feet and run away. He later came back and talked down Vivian from killing Chuck. It is also revealed that he volunteered to go undercover and convinced Stephen to use his Intersect program on him. He and Vivian then start new lives with flawless IDs provided by Casey. He also sends Chuck and Sarah all the controlling interest shares to Volkoff Industries, allowing them to purchase the Buy More
and start a freelance spy operation.
in The Living Daylights
and Licence to Kill
) was cast in a recurring role as Mary's MI6 handler, Tuttle, who has a connection to Mary in the past. Series co-creator Josh Schwartz
told Entertainment Weekly
, "It's not the kind of character you'd [expect] him to play. There's nothing suave or debonair about him."
The reveal of Volkoff's true identity was highly praised. Eric Goldman of IGN
has praised Dalton's performance, writing that he "continues to shine as Volkoff. The mixture of menace and humor he brings is perfect." Goldman asked, "How can you not share the delight of a villain who boasts that his boat has state of the art weaponry and security, 'and an old-fashioned ice cream parlor!' The fact that he was later seen having a menacing conversation, while eating ice cream, only added to that epicness."
It is later revealed that Alexei loves Mary and will go to great lengths to protect her. However, he would rather kill Mary than let her live without him. When holding people at gunpoint, Volkoff cocks the hammer
of his semi-automatic pistol, an action unnecessary due to recoil operation
, simply because he likes the sound.
Volkoff reveals to Sarah that he is a romantic who appreciates "paintings, poetry, the art of massage." He later gleefully discusses Yuri the Gobbler by saying, "Don't ask why he's called that... It's because he eats people!" In the same episode, he expresses his disappointment before shooting Yuri in the head without hesitation. In "Chuck Versus the Push Mix
", Volkoff reveals that the password to unlock Hydra is "Death is the solution to all problems," a quote from his "favorite humanitarian
and poet
, Joseph Stalin
."
Although Volkoff claims to be loved by children, the longest he ever saw his own daughter was ten minutes, with years between each meeting. Volkoff's customary greeting is a kiss to both cheeks and, in Chuck's case, the lips.
"Chuck Versus the Family Volkoff
" saw a drastic change in Volkoff's personality, as counseling sessions in prison have led him to regret the way he has lived his life. To prove that he is a changed man, he takes every opportunity to apologize to those he has wronged in the past. He is shown to play chess
, nearly getting himself and Chuck killed when he panics after being checked in a computer chess
game. It suddenly dawns upon him that he does not want to die. After encouragement by Chuck to return to his old ways, Volkoff is shown to have led the automated player into a trap, paralleling the way he has manipulated Team Bartowski throughout the episode. When his daughter leaves him to die for lying to her, however, Volkoff appears to have genuinely changed.
It is first revealed in "Chuck Versus Agent X
" that Alexei Volkoff is actually a constructed identity. As Agent X, Volkoff possesses two distinct personalities: the dangerous arms dealer and his true, long lost personality as the gentle scientist with a dislike for guns, Hartley Winterbottom.
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
and alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
of Hartley Winterbottom (codename Agent X), a fictional character
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the television series Chuck
Chuck (TV series)
Chuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central...
. Volkoff is the head of Volkoff Industries
Volkoff Industries
Volkoff Industries is a major organization on the television series Chuck. It is a public business front owned by an international arms dealer named Alexei Volkoff, portrayed by Timothy Dalton. Volkoff Industries is introduced in the third season finale as a threat against which Stephen J...
. For the first six episodes of the fourth season
Chuck (season 4)
The fourth season of Chuck was announced on May 13, 2010. Having initially ordered 13 episodes, NBC ordered an additional 11 on October 19, 2010 for a total of 24 episodes....
, he was an unseen character
Unseen character
In fiction, an unseen character is a character that is never directly observed by the audience but is only described by other characters. They are a common device in drama and have been called "triumphs of theatrical invention". They are continuing characters — characters who are currently in...
, directing his operatives from behind the scenes. He first appeared in in the seventh episode, "Chuck Versus the First Fight
Chuck Versus the First Fight
"Chuck Versus the First Fight" is the seventh episode of the fourth season of Chuck. It originally aired November 1, 2010. In the wake of his first fight with Sarah, Chuck Bartowski embarks on a rogue mission to prove his mother's innocence, ultimately colliding with her MI6 handler, Gregory...
". For the first twenty-one episodes of the season, Volkoff is presented as the character's actual identity. "Chuck Versus Agent X
Chuck Versus Agent X
"Chuck Versus Agent X" is the 22nd episode of the fourth season of the American action-comedy television series Chuck, and the 76th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Phil Klemmer and Craig DiGregorio and directed by Robert Duncan McNeill...
", however, reveals that Volkoff is actually a cover, which, following a botched Intersect
The Intersect
The Intersect is a fictional secret technology appearing in the television series Chuck. Within the series, it is used to house and analyze large quantities of encoded data...
upload, Winterbottom unknowingly adopted as his true identity. Volkoff serves as the main antagonist for the first half of season four and tragic character in the second half. He is portrayed by Timothy Dalton
Timothy Dalton
Timothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
.
Biography
Mary Elizabeth BartowskiMary Elizabeth Bartowski
Mary Elizabeth Bartowski is a character on the television series Chuck. Mary is the estranged mother of Chuck and Ellie Bartowski. She is portrayed by Linda Hamilton.-Biography:...
(codename Frost) was ordered by the CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
to track him down when she was placed undercover in his organization under Project ISIS. It was first revealed in "Chuck Versus the Ring: Part II
Chuck Versus the Ring: Part II
"Chuck Versus the Ring: Part II" is the 19th episode and season finale of the third season of Chuck. It was originally aired May 24, 2010 in a special two-hour block with "Chuck Versus the Subway." Team Bartowski escapes execution by Shaw, thanks to Morgan and Devon...
" and over the course of the first part of the fourth season that Stephen J. Bartowski
Stephen J. Bartowski
Stephen J. Bartowski is a recurring character on the television series Chuck portrayed by actor Scott Bakula. Stephen is the estranged father of Chuck and Ellie Bartowski, and under the government codename "Orion" was the chief designer of the Intersect....
(codename Orion) had spent the twenty years following Mary's disappearance privately attempting to locate and stop Volkoff.
According to Chuck Bartowski
Chuck Bartowski
Charles Irving "Chuck" Bartowski is the main and titular character of the American fiction television show Chuck on NBC. He is portrayed by Zachary Levi.-Character profile:...
's flash in "Chuck Versus the Cubic Z
Chuck Versus the Cubic Z
"Chuck Versus the Cubic Z" is the third episode of the fourth season of Chuck. It originally aired October 4, 2010. A prison transfer delivers old foes, Heather Chandler and Hugo Panzer , to the Buy More, canceling Chuck Bartowski and Sarah’s romantic mission...
," Volkoff is 5'10"-6'2" tall and speaks Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. He was born in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
on March 30 or May 14, 1959, was indicted in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
for his involvement in arms trafficking, and is wanted for "conspiracy to kill United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
nationals, to murder, to destroy buildings and property of the United States, and to destroy the national defense utilities of the United States."
Volkoff reveals to Dasha that his home address is 17 Tally Place, he has a dog named Kipper, he had his first sexual experience watching Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia (film)
Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel through his British company, Horizon Pictures, with the screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. The film stars Peter O'Toole in the title role. It is widely...
, and he came from a broken home. He later reveals to Devon Woodcomb that he free climbed
Free climbing
Free climbing is a type of rock climbing in which the climber uses only hands, feet and other parts of the body to ascend, employing ropes and forms of climbing protection to prevent falls only....
K2
K2
K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest...
without oxygen. It is unknown how much (if any) of this is true, though, as he was posing as Frost's MI6
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
handler both times. Further, the revelation that Volkoff was born Hartley Winterbottom and raised by his mother in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, casts doubt on the place of birth given in Chuck's flash.
Series
Volkoff has been present in the series as early as "Chuck Versus the CougarsChuck Versus the Cougars
"Chuck Versus the Cougars" is the fourth episode of the second season of Chuck. It originally aired on October 20, 2008. Chuck Bartowski learns more about Sarah Walker's past when they run into her old high school nemesis Heather Chandler . Sarah's teenage insecurities come to surface and she tries...
," when Heather Chandler attempts to extort F-22 plans from her husband for Volkoff. In "Chuck Versus the Cubic Z
Chuck Versus the Cubic Z
"Chuck Versus the Cubic Z" is the third episode of the fourth season of Chuck. It originally aired October 4, 2010. A prison transfer delivers old foes, Heather Chandler and Hugo Panzer , to the Buy More, canceling Chuck Bartowski and Sarah’s romantic mission...
", Volkoff arranges for her to be on the same prison transfer as Hugo Panzer and hires Panzer to kill her for the failure.
For the first six episodes of the fourth season, Volkoff directed his operatives from behind the scenes. In "Chuck Versus the Anniversary
Chuck Versus the Anniversary
"Chuck Versus the Anniversary" is the fourth season premiere of Chuck. It originally aired September 20, 2010. When the CIA gains control over the Buy More, Chuck Bartowski begins searching for his mother . Sarah and Casey follow a trail to Russia as they investigate the mysterious Volkoff...
," General Beckman assigned Chuck, Sarah Walker
Sarah Walker (Chuck)
Sarah Lisa Bartowski is the alias of one of the main characters of the fictional television show Chuck on NBC. She is portrayed by Yvonne Strahovski and is one of two agents assigned by the NSA and CIA to protect Chuck Bartowski after he unwittingly downloads the secret government computer known...
, and John Casey
John Casey (Chuck)
Colonel John Casey is portrayed by actor Adam Baldwin on the television show Chuck on NBC. Prior to the episode "Chuck Versus the Tic Tac," he was partnered with CIA agent Sarah Walker to protect Chuck Bartowski....
to the same task as Mary. Volkoff first appears in person in "Chuck Versus the First Fight
Chuck Versus the First Fight
"Chuck Versus the First Fight" is the seventh episode of the fourth season of Chuck. It originally aired November 1, 2010. In the wake of his first fight with Sarah, Chuck Bartowski embarks on a rogue mission to prove his mother's innocence, ultimately colliding with her MI6 handler, Gregory...
." Chuck meets him masquerading as "Gregory Tuttle," Frost's enthusiastic, if bumbling and completely inexperienced in the matters of field-work, MI6 handler. With Chuck's assistance, "Tuttle" escapes several Volkoff agents and helps Chuck recover data that would clear Mary and prove she has been working deep undercover to bring down his organization. However after being apparently wounded in a gunfight while recovering the disks, Volkoff follows Chuck, Sarah and Mary to Stephen Bartowski's base of operations and reveals himself, explaining that the entire operation was a plan to locate and destroy Stephen's intelligence. He attempted to kill Chuck and Sarah in the explosion that destroyed Stephen's work, but was unknowingly betrayed by Mary, who left a means for them to escape.
"Chuck Versus the Push Mix
Chuck Versus the Push Mix
"Chuck Versus the Push Mix" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of Chuck. It originally aired on January 31, 2011. Much like "Chuck Versus the Other Guy" in the third season, this episode was intended to be the fourth season finale before an additional eleven episodes were ordered...
" confirms that Stephen and Mary had remained in contact ever since her disappearance when going under cover, and that the final key to Volkoff's defeat was a virus written by Stephen which downloaded the entire Hydra database to a computer at his cabin. Volkoff is subsequently arrested by General Beckman. As Volkoff is taken away, he tells Chuck to have his mother come visit, saying, "It's been fun."
It is revealed in "Chuck Versus the Masquerade
Chuck Versus the Masquerade
"Chuck Versus the Masquerade" is the sixteenth episode of the fourth season of Chuck. Although taking place on and around Valentine's Day, the episode actually aired originally on February 21, 2011, one week later. Valentine's Day is ruined when the team is dispatched to protect heiress Vivian...
" that Volkoff has a daughter named Vivian McArthur, who he has chosen as his successor. Her whole life, Volkoff had been training Vivian for the spy world without her knowledge. Vivian travels to the sealed Volkoff Industries headquarters in Moscow and enters Volkoff's office. It is revealed that the horse paperweight Volkoff used to shatter Yuri the Gobbler's glass eye is also compatible with a locket
Locket
A locket is a pendant that opens to reveal a space used for storing a photograph or other small item such as a curl of hair. Lockets are usually given to loved ones on holidays such as Valentine's Day and occasions such as Christenings, weddings and, most noticeably during the Victorian Age,...
he gave to Vivian. Vivian connects the locket, unlocking a secret compartment, revealing a card to access Volkoff's bank vault in Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
, containing various pictures of Vivian's life. Vivian is last shown driving away with Volkoff's lawyer Riley to learn the truth. She then hires an agent named Damien to kill Chuck, following in her father's footsteps and effectively becoming Chuck's nemesis.
The CIA orders Vivian assassinated, but Chuck refuses to believe that Vivian would hire Damien. In a meet, Vivian gives Chuck a component of a Volkoff weapon known as the "Norseman". Chuck and Sarah visit Volkoff at River Hill Penitentiary, only to learn that he has begun a path to redemption. In exchange for a meeting with Vivian, Volkoff helps Team Bartowski find the weapon's tracking device and killing agent, along the way apologizing to those he had wronged in the past. When Volkoff panics and nearly gets Chuck and himself killed, Chuck encourages him to return to his old ways. It is then revealed that Vivian had communicated with Volkoff simply by giving Chuck the Norseman, and he goes to rejoin her. However, Vivian refuses to forgive her father or Chuck for their lying and leaves them to die. However, Volkoff saves the team, returning to spiritual ways. Before being returned to prison, Volkoff meets with Mary one last time and reminds her, "Remember, family and friends are everything. Money, greed, and power are a dance with Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
. And he looks like me."
In "Chuck Versus Agent X
Chuck Versus Agent X
"Chuck Versus Agent X" is the 22nd episode of the fourth season of the American action-comedy television series Chuck, and the 76th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Phil Klemmer and Craig DiGregorio and directed by Robert Duncan McNeill...
", Chuck, Ellie, and the rest of the team discover that the CIA and Orion created Volkoff as a cover for Agent X, an English scientist named Hartley Winterbottom and a close friend of Stephen Bartowski. This was part of an early Intersect version implanted into Winterbottom shortly before Chuck was born, but the implant malfunctioned and apparently permanently overwrote Winterbottom's own personality with that of his cover identity. Casey recognizes the danger of what they have learned, and he hides Winterbottom's spy will and the key to protect them from government retribution.
In "Chuck Versus the Cliffhanger
Chuck Versus the Cliffhanger
"Chuck Versus the Cliffhanger" is the fourth season finale of the American NBC action-comedy television series Chuck. Aired on May 16, 2011, it is the season's 24th episode, and the 78th overall episode of the series. The episode was directed by Robert Duncan McNeill and written by series...
", Chuck seeks out Volkoff to help him find a cure for the Norseman, which Vivian used on Sarah. Unfortunately, CIA agent Clyde Decker, who was involved in the coverup of Agent X, anticipated his move and had Volkoff deprogrammed to his original identity as Hartley, who has no recollection of the past thirty years. Nonetheless, he tries to help Chuck by preparing an antidote but it is not strong enough for Sarah. Learning from Mary that Volkoff was developing an improved version of the antidote, he and Chuck went to Volkoff Industries, only for Hartley to get cold feet and run away. He later came back and talked down Vivian from killing Chuck. It is also revealed that he volunteered to go undercover and convinced Stephen to use his Intersect program on him. He and Vivian then start new lives with flawless IDs provided by Casey. He also sends Chuck and Sarah all the controlling interest shares to Volkoff Industries, allowing them to purchase the Buy More
Buy More
Buy More is a fictional big box electronics retail chain in NBC's action-comedy series Chuck. The Buy More is a parody of similar chains, particularly Best Buy....
and start a freelance spy operation.
Development
It was announced in October 2010 that actor Timothy Dalton (famous for the role of James BondJames Bond (character)
Royal Navy Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is a fictional character created by journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. He is the main protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics and video games...
in The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights is the fifteenth entry in the James Bond series and the first to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent 007. The film's title is taken from Ian Fleming's short story, "The Living Daylights"...
and Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill, released in 1989, is the sixteenth entry in the Eon Productions James Bond series and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming novel. It marks Timothy Dalton's second and final performance in his brief tenure in the lead role of James Bond...
) was cast in a recurring role as Mary's MI6 handler, Tuttle, who has a connection to Mary in the past. Series co-creator Josh Schwartz
Josh Schwartz
-Film school at USC:In 1995, Schwartz realized his boyhood dream of attending film school to study screen and television writing at the University of Southern California...
told Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, "It's not the kind of character you'd [expect] him to play. There's nothing suave or debonair about him."
The reveal of Volkoff's true identity was highly praised. Eric Goldman of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
has praised Dalton's performance, writing that he "continues to shine as Volkoff. The mixture of menace and humor he brings is perfect." Goldman asked, "How can you not share the delight of a villain who boasts that his boat has state of the art weaponry and security, 'and an old-fashioned ice cream parlor!' The fact that he was later seen having a menacing conversation, while eating ice cream, only added to that epicness."
Personality
The series has so far revealed little of Volkoff's personality. In his first appearance, he claimed to be able to kill a man with a plastic fork. When threatened with torture by Dasha, he instantly reveals several irrelevant details about his life.It is later revealed that Alexei loves Mary and will go to great lengths to protect her. However, he would rather kill Mary than let her live without him. When holding people at gunpoint, Volkoff cocks the hammer
Hammer (firearm)
thumb|150px|Hammer with an integral [[firing pin]] on a [[S&W Model 13]] revolver The hammer of a firearm was given its name for both resemblance and functional similarity to the common tool...
of his semi-automatic pistol, an action unnecessary due to recoil operation
Recoil operation
Recoil operation is an operating mechanism used in locked-breech, autoloading firearms. As the name implies, these actions use the force of recoil to provide energy to cycle the action...
, simply because he likes the sound.
Volkoff reveals to Sarah that he is a romantic who appreciates "paintings, poetry, the art of massage." He later gleefully discusses Yuri the Gobbler by saying, "Don't ask why he's called that... It's because he eats people!" In the same episode, he expresses his disappointment before shooting Yuri in the head without hesitation. In "Chuck Versus the Push Mix
Chuck Versus the Push Mix
"Chuck Versus the Push Mix" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of Chuck. It originally aired on January 31, 2011. Much like "Chuck Versus the Other Guy" in the third season, this episode was intended to be the fourth season finale before an additional eleven episodes were ordered...
", Volkoff reveals that the password to unlock Hydra is "Death is the solution to all problems," a quote from his "favorite humanitarian
Humanitarianism
In its most general form, humanitarianism is an ethic of kindness, benevolence and sympathy extended universally and impartially to all human beings. Humanitarianism has been an evolving concept historically but universality is a common element in its evolution...
and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
."
Although Volkoff claims to be loved by children, the longest he ever saw his own daughter was ten minutes, with years between each meeting. Volkoff's customary greeting is a kiss to both cheeks and, in Chuck's case, the lips.
"Chuck Versus the Family Volkoff
Chuck Versus the Family Volkoff
"Chuck Versus the Family Volkoff" is the 20th episode of the fourth season of Chuck, and the 74th overall episode of the series. The episode was directed by Robert Duncan McNeill and written by Nicholas Wootton and Amanda Kate Shuman. It originally aired April 11, 2011.The episode has several...
" saw a drastic change in Volkoff's personality, as counseling sessions in prison have led him to regret the way he has lived his life. To prove that he is a changed man, he takes every opportunity to apologize to those he has wronged in the past. He is shown to play chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, nearly getting himself and Chuck killed when he panics after being checked in a computer chess
Computer chess
Computer chess is computer architecture encompassing hardware and software capable of playing chess autonomously without human guidance. Computer chess acts as solo entertainment , as aids to chess analysis, for computer chess competitions, and as research to provide insights into human...
game. It suddenly dawns upon him that he does not want to die. After encouragement by Chuck to return to his old ways, Volkoff is shown to have led the automated player into a trap, paralleling the way he has manipulated Team Bartowski throughout the episode. When his daughter leaves him to die for lying to her, however, Volkoff appears to have genuinely changed.
It is first revealed in "Chuck Versus Agent X
Chuck Versus Agent X
"Chuck Versus Agent X" is the 22nd episode of the fourth season of the American action-comedy television series Chuck, and the 76th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Phil Klemmer and Craig DiGregorio and directed by Robert Duncan McNeill...
" that Alexei Volkoff is actually a constructed identity. As Agent X, Volkoff possesses two distinct personalities: the dangerous arms dealer and his true, long lost personality as the gentle scientist with a dislike for guns, Hartley Winterbottom.