Season 5, Episode 12-13
“If you ever want to save the world again...”
I know I've said this in pretty much every review that I've written this season, but Chuck was a show made for happy endings. In this day and age, where the best works of both television and film have at least a healthy amount of skepticism, and where many writers and directors think that “happy” and “treacly” are somehow synonymous, this can seem like criticism on my part, but it's not. Chuck is one of the few shows, right up there with Parks and Recreation, that can and does earn it's happy endings almost regularly. This is largely due to the fact that Chuck tends to wear its heart on its sleeve, and while this was sometimes a liability (especially in the later seasons), it's what gave the show so much power, and when it was able to expand the range of emotions to something other than happy or lovesick, that's when it was at its best. Thus it should be no surprise that the finale worked not just because we were able to experience so many happy moments for all the character, but also because there was so much moving darkness to these two hours.
I know this may surprise some of you, given how often I've ragged on the show in these reviews, but I love Chuck. Season two of the show is one of the singularly best pieces of television that I have ever seen, and even beyond that in the show's rockier seasons, it was still able to offer up hours that were among the best of the entire television landscape. More than anything, Chuck knows how to do endings, which should come as no surprises, given that the show has produced 5 episodes during it's run that were meant to serve as series finales (season 2, two each for seasons 3 and 4, and here in season 5), with at least three of those also requiring possible avenues forward for the show lest it get picked up again.
And while that made these past few years very anxious ones for any Chuck fan, it's also forced the show to be able to identify what its bread and butter is at the drop of hat, and proved what a truly good series it could be. Most of my railings against the show have usually been brought about due to my frustration of knowing that the show could do better, but those were always complaints about plotting, never about the emotional beats that it was hitting. So its perhaps fitting that the focus of the finale was on getting the emotional moments right first, and placing the plot second.
Not that there was really a whole of plot that's really worth discussing here, in part because finales are never really about plots, but largely because the plots in these two hours were kept simple in order to gain the maximum amount of emotion out of the proceedings, and boy did they wring these premises for all they were worth.
For example, “Chuck Vs. Sarah,” the first hour of the finale and arguably the more affecting of the two, and it did so by continuing a plot that I wasn't all that sure of in the first place. As I wrote last week, the “spy turned against their team through science-fiction-type methods” is a old trope within the spy drama, and I wasn't sure how the show would be able to pull off something so tired without giving us the perfunctory go-around. I'll admit, the show hit the some the same old beats that go along with this premise – the turned spy goes back to the team and pretends all in normal, the team notices something is off about said spy, they later try to appeal to the spy's emotional side, et cetera – but somehow the show made this work.
Oh, screw the “somehow”. This worked for two main and very impressive reasons. First, Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski were great here tonight, turning in their best performances of the entire series, as they had to show a range of emotions in subtle ways, the better to convey the various conflicting emotions, of Sarah's programming versus her latent feelings, and Chuck's doubt versus his desire for everything to be all right with his wife. The second aspect played into the first, as the show layered these various emotions – along with the conflict of Chuck's belief that he could get Sarah back, with the doubt of everybody else – and let each rise and fall and flow into each other naturally, giving the audience a complex fabric of emotions. And as these emotions began to compete with each other in the back half of the episode, they took on even greater power.
This all culminated in what is probably my favorite scene the show has ever done (I can't quite be sure, I'm all full of emotion right now trying to say goodbye to the show), as Chuck takes Sarah back to their future home and attempts to awaken the loving version of his wife that he believes still resides within her. Chuck's monologue alone was enough to make me get misty-eyed (shut up, what are you, a robot?), but the show added another layer on top of that, as Sarah beats up the man that loves her (and refuses to fight back because of it) in order to get away and kill Quinn. It was a nastily brutal scene of upended expectations, and it made even more affecting by the fact that Sarah already knows and believes that Chuck loves her. That earlier scene, where Sarah looks over the whole of her video diary, and recounts the events of past seasons from her seasons, was not only a great spotlight for Strahovski, but it also served to remind us just why we were so invested in those two kids in the first place.
“Chuck Vs. The Goodbye”, on the other hand, served as the true finale for the show, not only given that these two hours were produced independently of each other, but also that it dealt the audience the numerous happy moments on which we were all expecting the show to be sent off. I normally decry shows whose “two hour” finales (or premieres for that matter) are really just two separate episodes that happen to air together, as it usually makes for a disjointed viewing experience that fails to live up the expectations of such an epic timeslot. However, these last two hours of Chuck made it work, as they were both two sides of the same coin, about Chuck attempting to bring back the Sarah that he loves and who once loved him. It made for a solid through line for the last 3-4 hours of the show, turning what could have been just a perfunctory hurdle in Sarah's mindwipe into something that was truly moving and affecting.
But let's put Chuck and Sarah to the side for now, and praise the closing hour for how it packed in so many happy moments for all the characters involved, giving everybody the closure that they wanted and we as an audience needed. Big Mike's two loves – the Buy More and Subway – get joined into one. Morgan and Alex move in together, while Casey goes off to Germany in order to be with Gertrude. Ellie and Awesome get dual offers in Chicago, which allows them to be closer to Mary – and all of this comes after Ellie realizes her full potential when she crashes the car with her and Sarah in order to save Chuck.
And Jeff and Lester – oh, Jeff and Lester. You didn't really think that the show would go out without one final performance from Jeffster!, did you? No, of course not, don't be ridiculous, they've been a staple of the finale since back in season 2, and even though they've waxed and waned over the years (with the low point being their shoehorned performance of Salt-n-Pepper's “Push It” back in “Chuck Vs. The Push Mix”), the finale gave them a glorious send off. A-Ha's “Take On Me” is such an of-its-time 80s hit that it's surprising that the show hadn't used it already, but I'm glad they waited until now, as it's very nature makes for a great cover, only to superseded by season two's rendition of “Mr. Roboto”. But the cover didn't stop there, as it also gave them one last chance to be heroes (the better to get extra mileage out of their knowledge of Chuck's spy activities), and it afforded them the opportunity to achieve their life-long dream of being recording artists (albeit in Germany). Now that's quite a way to send out two characters, and ones that were really only second-tier players for the show's entire run.
And that leaves us with Chuck and Sarah, the heart and the center of the show, and the obvious place to end the series. Going into the finale, I would have guessed that Chuck would have found some sort of way to totally reverse the affect of Sarah's brain melt because A) that's how these things usually work, B) Chuck tends to operate in such a manner and C) because that's the kind of happy ending one would expect from this show. In fact, given how happy-go-lucky this show usually is, I almost expected Morgan's idea of the “magic kiss” to actually work, despite how ridiculous that idea is. Luckily, the show went with something much better, and much more surprising, by having Sarah not be fixed, but instead having her and Chuck start their relationship all over again, right back on the beach where their relationship first started. Watching Sarah watching the video may have been sweet, but seeing Chuck recount their relationship to her, and her enjoying it was even better.
Yet what I think made all of these moments land, apart from the fact that they're all fitting endings for characters that we love, is that they weren't really endings at all. The best finales give closure to the characters, yes, but they also hint that life will go on for these characters, that they'll keeping living and loving even when they don't appear on our screens. And that's exactly the kinds of moments that “Vs. the Goodbye” gave us. Morgan & Alex and Casey & Gertrude will see their relationships continue to thrive. Jeffster and the Woodcombs will both succeed in their careers. Big Mike will keep on eating Subway. And Chuck and Sarah will start their relationship anew, and get to experience that growing lover all over again. And with the Intersect once again firmly in Chuck's head – and no where else – we can all rest easy that he very well may live to kick ass another day.
But closure – and the goodbye inherent in those moments – are meaningless without context, something that the show realized as well. In fact, there were many moments that asked us to look over the paths that the characters had traveled these past five seasons, while also giving us the proper amount of nostalgia in order to feel the proper sense of “wrapping things up”. Seeing Morgan go on one last mission reminds us how much different he is from the lazy goofball of the pilot. Ellie's clearly more confident since participating in Chuck's spy life, while Devon has grown more caring and domestic (just like Mary). Lester's far less self-destructive and creepy, and Jeff is much more clear headed. Casey and Sarah have both grown softer since knowing Chuck, and as Morgan so adroitly explains, maybe that's not such a bad thing. And Chuck, well he may no longer sing “Vikki Vale” in the goofy voice, and his time around Sarah and Casey has made him a more confident and strong person, but he's also maintained that goofy likability – just like it should be.
But even if all of this wasn't enough, the show gave us plenty of clues along the way that this was the end, no question about it. The show in fact busted out another finale chestnut, by having numerous call backs to the pilot (El Compadre, Weinerlicious, Sarah meeting Chuck at the Nerd Herd desk, disarming a bomb with a computer virus) and even beyond (the Nerd Herder, all those flashback, Sarah's various outfits in her video diary, the way she Bryce Larkin'ed her way into the Intersect room). The character also had a a wistful sort of air about them, as evidenced by the many lines of dialogue:
In lesser hands – and in a show that didn't face possible cancellation at so many turns, all of these explicit acknowledgements could have come off as forced and cloying, but given what this show has been through, it feels earned. Granted, it was the subtler things that worked better, as is always the case with this show, but to nitpick like that would go against the purpose of this post.
Despite all the frustration that I've had with this show, I've never fell out of love with it like I have with others (I'm looking at you, The Office). Frankly, I'm not sure if I'll ever truly understand why this is, why in even the show's darkest days (i.e. season four) I was always anxious to see the next episode. Maybe it was the show's goofy charm, or the way that the best episodes could so easily mix humor, drama, tension, and heartache, and have me begging for more. Maybe it was the enchanting way the show told spy stories on such a shoe string budget. Or maybe it was because there was never anything else quite like it on TV, and it's specialness wormed it's way into my heart. Yeah, that's probably it.
As I finish this post, I'm currently chocking back tears, and that's not a joke, or something I'll even bother trying to deflect at this point. When a show as special as Chuck finds it's way into your heart, it would be disingenuous and disrespectful to all involved to pretend as if it's departure doesn't cause you some distress – especially for a show that was so earnest with it's own emotions. Instead, I'll just soak in the memories of a show that's brought me so much joy, and I hope that you'll do the same.
And oh – I'm still waiting on the real CIA to invent an Intersect. So I can steal it.
Quotes and Other Thoughts:
If you're still looking for ways to assuage you're Chuck grief, there are plenty of pieces around the internet to do so. Alan Sepinwall as a not 1, not 2, not 3, not even four, but 5 part interview with co-creators Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak, as well as an interview over the finale, and a list of his favorite moments. And this to say nothing of the many pilot reviews that many critics have unearthed from their vaults, if visiting the show's halcyon days is up your alley.
One thing I'm surprised the show didn't do one last time: one final shot of somebody – anybody – entering the Buy More all sexy-like, what with the fans and the slow motion, and the music. I don't think any other show got as much mileage out of that joke than Chuck ever did.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention Jeff and Lester last act of creepiness in their attempts to track down Sarah, which involved invoking the help of the other Buy Morians and their internet skills. They even got lines, I guess for being such good team players over the years.
“Untense the tense girl. Loosen up that leggy blonde” sounded a lot more dirty than Morgan or the show probably meant it to.
“I also want to say that I'm glad we're having this third last mission, given that I wasn't there for the other two.”
“Yes, I'm small, but I'm worth three spies.”
“Grandma, what'd we say about Baby Clara seeing firearms?” “It's a no-no.”
“I can smell it coming. You're going to keep all weepy and emotional.”
“Women and men?”
And while that made these past few years very anxious ones for any Chuck fan, it's also forced the show to be able to identify what its bread and butter is at the drop of hat, and proved what a truly good series it could be. Most of my railings against the show have usually been brought about due to my frustration of knowing that the show could do better, but those were always complaints about plotting, never about the emotional beats that it was hitting. So its perhaps fitting that the focus of the finale was on getting the emotional moments right first, and placing the plot second.
Not that there was really a whole of plot that's really worth discussing here, in part because finales are never really about plots, but largely because the plots in these two hours were kept simple in order to gain the maximum amount of emotion out of the proceedings, and boy did they wring these premises for all they were worth.
For example, “Chuck Vs. Sarah,” the first hour of the finale and arguably the more affecting of the two, and it did so by continuing a plot that I wasn't all that sure of in the first place. As I wrote last week, the “spy turned against their team through science-fiction-type methods” is a old trope within the spy drama, and I wasn't sure how the show would be able to pull off something so tired without giving us the perfunctory go-around. I'll admit, the show hit the some the same old beats that go along with this premise – the turned spy goes back to the team and pretends all in normal, the team notices something is off about said spy, they later try to appeal to the spy's emotional side, et cetera – but somehow the show made this work.
Oh, screw the “somehow”. This worked for two main and very impressive reasons. First, Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski were great here tonight, turning in their best performances of the entire series, as they had to show a range of emotions in subtle ways, the better to convey the various conflicting emotions, of Sarah's programming versus her latent feelings, and Chuck's doubt versus his desire for everything to be all right with his wife. The second aspect played into the first, as the show layered these various emotions – along with the conflict of Chuck's belief that he could get Sarah back, with the doubt of everybody else – and let each rise and fall and flow into each other naturally, giving the audience a complex fabric of emotions. And as these emotions began to compete with each other in the back half of the episode, they took on even greater power.
This all culminated in what is probably my favorite scene the show has ever done (I can't quite be sure, I'm all full of emotion right now trying to say goodbye to the show), as Chuck takes Sarah back to their future home and attempts to awaken the loving version of his wife that he believes still resides within her. Chuck's monologue alone was enough to make me get misty-eyed (shut up, what are you, a robot?), but the show added another layer on top of that, as Sarah beats up the man that loves her (and refuses to fight back because of it) in order to get away and kill Quinn. It was a nastily brutal scene of upended expectations, and it made even more affecting by the fact that Sarah already knows and believes that Chuck loves her. That earlier scene, where Sarah looks over the whole of her video diary, and recounts the events of past seasons from her seasons, was not only a great spotlight for Strahovski, but it also served to remind us just why we were so invested in those two kids in the first place.
“Chuck Vs. The Goodbye”, on the other hand, served as the true finale for the show, not only given that these two hours were produced independently of each other, but also that it dealt the audience the numerous happy moments on which we were all expecting the show to be sent off. I normally decry shows whose “two hour” finales (or premieres for that matter) are really just two separate episodes that happen to air together, as it usually makes for a disjointed viewing experience that fails to live up the expectations of such an epic timeslot. However, these last two hours of Chuck made it work, as they were both two sides of the same coin, about Chuck attempting to bring back the Sarah that he loves and who once loved him. It made for a solid through line for the last 3-4 hours of the show, turning what could have been just a perfunctory hurdle in Sarah's mindwipe into something that was truly moving and affecting.
But let's put Chuck and Sarah to the side for now, and praise the closing hour for how it packed in so many happy moments for all the characters involved, giving everybody the closure that they wanted and we as an audience needed. Big Mike's two loves – the Buy More and Subway – get joined into one. Morgan and Alex move in together, while Casey goes off to Germany in order to be with Gertrude. Ellie and Awesome get dual offers in Chicago, which allows them to be closer to Mary – and all of this comes after Ellie realizes her full potential when she crashes the car with her and Sarah in order to save Chuck.
And Jeff and Lester – oh, Jeff and Lester. You didn't really think that the show would go out without one final performance from Jeffster!, did you? No, of course not, don't be ridiculous, they've been a staple of the finale since back in season 2, and even though they've waxed and waned over the years (with the low point being their shoehorned performance of Salt-n-Pepper's “Push It” back in “Chuck Vs. The Push Mix”), the finale gave them a glorious send off. A-Ha's “Take On Me” is such an of-its-time 80s hit that it's surprising that the show hadn't used it already, but I'm glad they waited until now, as it's very nature makes for a great cover, only to superseded by season two's rendition of “Mr. Roboto”. But the cover didn't stop there, as it also gave them one last chance to be heroes (the better to get extra mileage out of their knowledge of Chuck's spy activities), and it afforded them the opportunity to achieve their life-long dream of being recording artists (albeit in Germany). Now that's quite a way to send out two characters, and ones that were really only second-tier players for the show's entire run.
And that leaves us with Chuck and Sarah, the heart and the center of the show, and the obvious place to end the series. Going into the finale, I would have guessed that Chuck would have found some sort of way to totally reverse the affect of Sarah's brain melt because A) that's how these things usually work, B) Chuck tends to operate in such a manner and C) because that's the kind of happy ending one would expect from this show. In fact, given how happy-go-lucky this show usually is, I almost expected Morgan's idea of the “magic kiss” to actually work, despite how ridiculous that idea is. Luckily, the show went with something much better, and much more surprising, by having Sarah not be fixed, but instead having her and Chuck start their relationship all over again, right back on the beach where their relationship first started. Watching Sarah watching the video may have been sweet, but seeing Chuck recount their relationship to her, and her enjoying it was even better.
Yet what I think made all of these moments land, apart from the fact that they're all fitting endings for characters that we love, is that they weren't really endings at all. The best finales give closure to the characters, yes, but they also hint that life will go on for these characters, that they'll keeping living and loving even when they don't appear on our screens. And that's exactly the kinds of moments that “Vs. the Goodbye” gave us. Morgan & Alex and Casey & Gertrude will see their relationships continue to thrive. Jeffster and the Woodcombs will both succeed in their careers. Big Mike will keep on eating Subway. And Chuck and Sarah will start their relationship anew, and get to experience that growing lover all over again. And with the Intersect once again firmly in Chuck's head – and no where else – we can all rest easy that he very well may live to kick ass another day.
But closure – and the goodbye inherent in those moments – are meaningless without context, something that the show realized as well. In fact, there were many moments that asked us to look over the paths that the characters had traveled these past five seasons, while also giving us the proper amount of nostalgia in order to feel the proper sense of “wrapping things up”. Seeing Morgan go on one last mission reminds us how much different he is from the lazy goofball of the pilot. Ellie's clearly more confident since participating in Chuck's spy life, while Devon has grown more caring and domestic (just like Mary). Lester's far less self-destructive and creepy, and Jeff is much more clear headed. Casey and Sarah have both grown softer since knowing Chuck, and as Morgan so adroitly explains, maybe that's not such a bad thing. And Chuck, well he may no longer sing “Vikki Vale” in the goofy voice, and his time around Sarah and Casey has made him a more confident and strong person, but he's also maintained that goofy likability – just like it should be.
But even if all of this wasn't enough, the show gave us plenty of clues along the way that this was the end, no question about it. The show in fact busted out another finale chestnut, by having numerous call backs to the pilot (El Compadre, Weinerlicious, Sarah meeting Chuck at the Nerd Herd desk, disarming a bomb with a computer virus) and even beyond (the Nerd Herder, all those flashback, Sarah's various outfits in her video diary, the way she Bryce Larkin'ed her way into the Intersect room). The character also had a a wistful sort of air about them, as evidenced by the many lines of dialogue:
“Wow. It's all ending, huh?”
“You really think I've changed?”
“I guess Bartowski both made us a little soft.”
“You are not the person you were five years ago. You are so much more.”
“Oooh, it's been a while since I've done that.”
“I understand this is the end.”
In lesser hands – and in a show that didn't face possible cancellation at so many turns, all of these explicit acknowledgements could have come off as forced and cloying, but given what this show has been through, it feels earned. Granted, it was the subtler things that worked better, as is always the case with this show, but to nitpick like that would go against the purpose of this post.
Despite all the frustration that I've had with this show, I've never fell out of love with it like I have with others (I'm looking at you, The Office). Frankly, I'm not sure if I'll ever truly understand why this is, why in even the show's darkest days (i.e. season four) I was always anxious to see the next episode. Maybe it was the show's goofy charm, or the way that the best episodes could so easily mix humor, drama, tension, and heartache, and have me begging for more. Maybe it was the enchanting way the show told spy stories on such a shoe string budget. Or maybe it was because there was never anything else quite like it on TV, and it's specialness wormed it's way into my heart. Yeah, that's probably it.
As I finish this post, I'm currently chocking back tears, and that's not a joke, or something I'll even bother trying to deflect at this point. When a show as special as Chuck finds it's way into your heart, it would be disingenuous and disrespectful to all involved to pretend as if it's departure doesn't cause you some distress – especially for a show that was so earnest with it's own emotions. Instead, I'll just soak in the memories of a show that's brought me so much joy, and I hope that you'll do the same.
And oh – I'm still waiting on the real CIA to invent an Intersect. So I can steal it.
Quotes and Other Thoughts:
If you're still looking for ways to assuage you're Chuck grief, there are plenty of pieces around the internet to do so. Alan Sepinwall as a not 1, not 2, not 3, not even four, but 5 part interview with co-creators Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak, as well as an interview over the finale, and a list of his favorite moments. And this to say nothing of the many pilot reviews that many critics have unearthed from their vaults, if visiting the show's halcyon days is up your alley.
One thing I'm surprised the show didn't do one last time: one final shot of somebody – anybody – entering the Buy More all sexy-like, what with the fans and the slow motion, and the music. I don't think any other show got as much mileage out of that joke than Chuck ever did.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention Jeff and Lester last act of creepiness in their attempts to track down Sarah, which involved invoking the help of the other Buy Morians and their internet skills. They even got lines, I guess for being such good team players over the years.
“Untense the tense girl. Loosen up that leggy blonde” sounded a lot more dirty than Morgan or the show probably meant it to.
“I also want to say that I'm glad we're having this third last mission, given that I wasn't there for the other two.”
“Yes, I'm small, but I'm worth three spies.”
“Grandma, what'd we say about Baby Clara seeing firearms?” “It's a no-no.”
“I can smell it coming. You're going to keep all weepy and emotional.”
“Women and men?”
“I am Casey, I don't run; I hunt and stalk my prey.”
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