Chuck Versus Sarah/Chuck Versus the Goodbye

Thanks for the memories. We wish a fond goodbye.

Photo Credit: NBC/TVFanatic.com

Well folks, that’s it. Last night saw the two-hour series finale of Chuck and it was everything we’d been promised. It was full of callbacks and emotion. Even a cold-hearted b*****d like me got a bit teary at times.

Even although it was the final two episodes, they functioned as one, to the point where they, again, dropped the opening credits for the second hour.

It was a trip down memory lane for both Sarah and us fans. From the assault on the D.A.R.P.A. lab, an homage to the very first scene of the pilot where Bryce Larkin steals the Intersect, right through to Chuck and Sarah’s dream house, it encapsulated the five amazing years we’ve had, without the need for flashbacks every few minutes.

The great thing about the finale is that it wasn’t just trying to remind Sarah why she fell in love with Chuck, it also served to remind us why we fell in love with the show.

It was funny, dramatic and touching in all the right quantities. What other spy drama wears its heart on its sleeve so openly?

The first hour, Chuck Versus Sarah, was certainly the darker of the two episodes, with Sarah manipulating those closest to her on Quinn’s orders and a lot of emotional pain for Chuck. At first we’re lead to believe that Sarah has killed Quinn, escaped, and still has enough of her memory to get home to those she loves.

Of course, she didn’t kill Quinn, but came pretty close to it, now he’s calling the shots pretending to be her handler. It’s quite amusing that Bizarro Sarah mistakes Chuck’s goofy good nature for a trap – one of the lighter moments of the episode.

Maybe it was just me, but Sarah seemed to soften slightly in deciding not to blow up the D.A.R.P.A. Intersect room. Could it have been that she didn’t see a need to kill Chuck, or perhaps it was just a disinclination to blow up a government facility.

Some of Sarah’s memory starts to come back once Chuck takes her to their dream home, although it’s not the house, or Chuck’s recounting of the dreams they had for the house, but the names she and he carved into a door frame.

Of course, once Quinn gets the Intersect glasses, Sarah is of no use to him, so he verifies Chuck’s story, that he’s been deceiving her and shoots at her. I think it was another step along the road that she was concerned about Chuck after he took the bullet for her.

Casey showed his gentler side by turning up at Sarah’s old room, telling her a bit about how they’d changed over the years and leaving the DVD of her mission logs. It was nice to see Sarah falling in love with Chuck via a series of small video diary entries.

Even although this all verified Chuck’s version of events, Sarah still didn’t feel that connection as she couldn’t remember going through all the things that made her fall in love with him.

The second episode saw Sarah back on the side of the good guys and gunning for Quinn. This allowed for more nostalgia and allowed this to be lighter as Chuck, and fate apparently, tried to take Sarah on a trip down memory lane.

The episode gave some of the usually mute Buy Morons a line or two of dialogue as Jeff and Lester were employed to help track down Sarah, using their network of contacts, or as Lester put it; “Unleash the perverts!”

We had references to Fulcrum, The Ring and Ted Roarke within the first few minutes of the episode, and the hits just kept on coming as Sarah, Chuck and Morgan went on a mission to find Renny Deutch in Berlin. First port of call was a restaurant that looked exactly like “El Compadre” in LA where Chuck and Sarah had their first cover date.

Next was a Russian consulate where we got a chance to see the pair dancing in eveningwear. This was followed by a trip to a Wienerlicious where it seemed that Sarah remembered a little more of her missing 5 years.

In an act that mirrored parts of “Chuck Versus the Ring” and his first mission in the pilot, Chuck once again put his personal desires aside in order to do what was right and took on the responsibility of the Intersect.

Thanks to Sarah, Chuck used the ‘Irene Demova’ virus from the pilot to defuse the bomb and save General Beckman, and likely a large part of the audience from being blown up.

However, the day could not have been saved by Chuck were it not for the intervention of a certain duo. One word: Jeffster!

Whereas in the season 2 finale, Jeffster played an unwitting part in helping, in this episode they were very much in on the plan. Despite turning up on their own initiative, they managed to save the day with a performance of A-ha’s ‘Take On Me’, earning them a standing ovation and the interest of a record producer from Germany.

In uploading the Intersect one last time, he was denied the opportunity to use the glasses to restore Sarah’s memory. As the team disbanded, with Casey leaving to go after Gertrude Verbanski, Sarah needed to take some time to find herself.

More pieces of her memory must have been resurfacing as she went to the beach where she had first told Chuck that he could trust her.

Taking advice from Morgan and following his heart, Chuck found her there and they started to reconnect. We got a montage of the couples important moments as Sarah asked Chuck to tell her their story and we fade to black as they share another first kiss.

 

Whilst Chuck and Sarah may have had a slightly ambiguous ending, others got their own happy endings. Alex and Morgan moved in together, Casey off to find Verbanski, Ellie and Awesome moving out to Chicago, Jeff and Lester getting a record contract. Even Big Mike got a happy ending, with Subway moving in to the Buy More!

Photo Credit: ZacharyLeviFan.com

“If you ever want to save the world again…. You know where I am.” – Gen. Beckman.

It’s been a fun ride.

Josh Schwartz, Chris Fedak, Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Adam Baldwin, Joshua Gomez, Sarah Lancaster, Ryan McPartlin, Scott Krinsky, Vik Sahay, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Bonita Friedericy, Julia Ling, a whole host of guest stars, all the writers, directors, producers and the rest of the crew. All of you are responsible for a show that captured the hearts and minds of people the world over, and for that we thank you from the bottom of our nerdy little hearts.

 

*fade to black*

Chuck Versus the Bullet Train

The Train Job and Jeffster! to the rescue!

Photo Credit: Byron Cohen/NBC

As we race towards the final two episodes, last night showed us that the stakes have never been higher. Like Shaw, Nicholas Quinn (Angus Mcfadyen) is a man obsessed with getting rid of Chuck Bartowski, but Quinn has had a lot longer to stew and a lot more failed attempts, given his client list.

Sarah revealed to Chuck that she had uploaded the dodgy Intersect, explaining that she’d had no other options. Considering the circumstances, Chuck did very well not to freak out.

There was a great moment between them, after an awkward silence, where they bond further over having the Intersect. It reminded me of the Smallville episodes where Lana/Lois get Clarks powers; it gives you a deeper understanding of how awesome it is to have superpowers, but there is always a catch. In this case, the Intersect is wiping Sarah’s memory, although 40 flashes in two days is a little excessive. Even a clean Intersect shouldn’t be such a crutch.

Chuck almost managed to hold his own in the fight against Quinn in the train carriage, considering that Quinn boasted that the only thing he couldn’t take down was the Intersect. As it was, he managed to make a getaway and captured Sarah, dropping her with a tranq dart and disconnecting their carriage from the train, leaving Chuck watching helplessly.

At a warehouse location Quinn used Intersect images to stimulate Sarah to flash, damaging her memory so that she could be his ‘soldier’. I liked that although Casey, Chuck and Morgan tracked her emergency beacon to the location, all that was waiting for them was the beacon and a note saying "Nice Try!" Things won't be wrapped up that easily.

Craftily taking Sarah back to her old hotel room, Quinn used the memory loss to create a new scenario with him as her handler. The new mission: kill Chuck Bartowski. So it seems that the next episode, Chuck Versus Sarah, is just that. It seems quite fitting that part of the drama of the finale will come not from a new villain, but as a threat from one of the very people at the heart of the show. Chuck will have to defeat his wife in order to save both their lives.

The secondary story brought Jeff and Lester back into the fold. With Alex being kidnapped by two of Quinn’s goons, one of whom was played by Farscape/Stargate SG-1’s Ben Browder, it was up to Morgan and Awesome to rescue her. Things didn’t go too well as they were spotted, although it probably didn’t help that Morgan was walking through the parking lot with a large sniper rifle.

It occurred to me when Morgan commented that he’d never sniped “wet or dry”(obviously he's never encountered the ‘wetworks’ euphemism) that while he’ll never have done it for real, surely he’s sniped in games, such as Call of Duty. It might not be the same, but at least it’s a slight advantage over a novice.

Anyway, with Awesome and Morgan captured as well, Lester picked up Morgan’s earpiece and hilarity followed. Casey told them to go to his Crown Vic and take a pistol each, but they broke out the heavy artillery. Cue Lester Rambo with the mini-gun, chewing on one of Casey’s cigars (and I don’t think he’d be happy with that!) and Jeff being a little scary with the flamethrower. I’d have surrendered; never mess with disturbed people with powerful toys!

Now Jeff and Lester have been officially let in on the secret of Carmichael Industries, will Big Mike find out in the final episodes? He is the last one of the principal characters not to know about it, so I think it would only be fair.

A couple of other points: As well as having Sarah’s old place feature, we had a nice callback to the Strip Kick from last season and, of course, Casey’s Crown Vic! I also loved the 80’s style train-track titles that were used in this episode.

I wonder if the warehouse that Quinn took Sarah to was actually a set-dressed workspace behind the normal sets for Chuck. It had a certain look to it, with the scaffolding at one side looking like there might be a set, possibly the train, behind it.

Next time: Chuck Versus Sarah/Chuck Versus the Goodbye

SARAH MUST KEEP A SECRET FROM CHUCK IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH A MISSION — ANGUS MACFADYEN GUEST STARS AS ‘NICHOLAS QUINN’ — After a harrowing mission, Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) returns to Chuck (Zachary Levi) with a huge secret. Meanwhile, Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and Awesome (Ryan McPartlin) are presented with a new opportunity that could change their lives. Adam Baldwin and Joshua Gomez also star.

Then

CHUCK’S FINAL MISSION BRINGS HIM BACK TO HIS ROOTS AS HE FIGHTS TO SAVE HIS FUTURE – ANGUS MACFADYEN AND LINDA HAMILTON GUEST STAR — Chuck (Zachary Levi) enlists his family, friends and some unexpected allies as he races to stop Nicholas Quinn (guest star Angus Macfadyen, “Braveheart”) from destroying everything Chuck has built over the past five years. Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua Gomez, Adam Baldwin, Sarah Lancaster, Scott Krinsky, Vik Sahay and Mark Christopher Lawrence also star.

Here’s the trailer, take a look:

Chuck Versus Bo

A less than perfect "10"!

Photo Credit: NBC

Is there anyone in Hollywood who isn’t a spy? First Stan Lee, now Bo Derek!

Chuck Versus Bo was probably one of the more fun episodes of the season. With things starting to be wrapped up, although most of the last few episodes have had a sense of closure to them, it was time to unveil the final villain.

What they’ve done is neatly bring everything into play, the fact that Nicholas Quinn (Angus Mcfadyen) was supposed to be the first candidate for the Intersect, and that he’s been going after it ever since was a pretty interesting way of linking the past to the present. He blames Chuck for being broken because he didn’t have the Intersect when he felt he needed it and it seems he might have plans for him.

It was quite amusing that in the list of Quinn’s clients, as well as FULCRUM, The Ring and Volkoff Industries, they also mentioned Kim Jong-il. Spooky timing when they say they’ve taken down some of his biggest clients and Morgan comments regarding the late Mr Kim; “Did we get him?” A similar thing happened last year with a gag involving Casey having Bin Laden targets, just days after he was killed.

Is Casey involved in the assassination of evil foreign douchebags when he’s not on a mission with Chuck and Sarah? Just a thought :)

Jeff managed to prove that he has considerable smarts in the last episode and this continued in this one. While Lester was more than willing to accept a debauched night in Vegas that he couldn’t remember, Jeff questioned the evidence.

The X-13 gas that Casey used on them, multiple times, was meant to knock them out and they’d forget the last 24 hours, but it didn’t quite seem to work. Jeff took a cue from Memento and started writing clues on his arm to help him remember – surely something that Casey would have spotted and erased before leaving them at the set-up scene.

Of course, Jeff and Lester got to the bottom of it in Vail, following the team to the Buy More. Just as Lester accuses them of being spies, Quinn and his men come in and start shooting. The very notion of Jeffster being involved in a spy vs. spy shootout would never have crossed my mind last season, but there we were, Jeff cowering and Lester trying to scale a climbing wall to safety as the bullets flew!

In the end, Casey managed to outsmart them by writing ‘not’ into the phrase ‘they are spies’ on Jeff’s arm. So, with the +1 vultures on the car, Big Mike treated them to a Subway Fresh Fit meal and they drove off towards Vegas. That could have been a nice ending for them in the series, but they’ll be back in the palace of emerald and gold, hopefully with Jeffster! rocking out one final time!

I liked the Vail Buy More, a strange Twilight Zone version of the familiar Burbank store, right down to the Jeff and Lester-alikes (note how their Lester IS a woman), the female Big Mike, Big Michelle, and even a version of Fernando!

Adam Baldwin tweeted that he’d ad-libbed Casey’s “I hate Twitter” line. Who doesn’t love a good Baldwin ad-lib?

We knew that everything wasn’t going to end smoothly, right from the moment that Sarah said “one last mission” – even Casey knew that you never, ever, say one last mission – it’s like saying “nothing can possibly go wrong” or “this’ll be the best Christmas Walford’s ever had”*

*A trope taken from UK soap Eastenders, where something terrible happens every Christmas. Line also completely nicked from Doctor Who episode The Impossible Planet ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hdvMjVSctc )

The bad guy and his new set of goons grab Chuck demanding that Sarah bring the Intersect glasses to a location at the docks. Sarah and Casey go off to save Chuck, only to find that the exchange is a trap. Pinned down without an exit, Sarah decides the only thing to do is put on the glasses and upload the Intersect. Well, to be fair, it was either that or surrender and most likely be killed.

I’ve seen a few people on Twitter complaining that Sarah doesn’t need the Intersect to be badass. Whilst this is true, it should be noted that the Intersect 2.0 was supposed to enhance the skills of already competent spies. The Giant Blonde Shemale might be awesome, but give her the Intersect and she can dodge bullets.

I would have said that with Intersect-enhanced skills she’s unstoppable, but we all know what comes from uploading a dodgy Intersect. Can we expect Sarah to start losing her memory, or worse? There’s only one way to find out – tune in next week!

Next time: Chuck Versus the Bullet Train

A MISSION ABOARD A JAPANESE BULLET TRAIN SPIRALS OUT OF CONTROL, PUTTING THOSE CLOSEST TO CARMICHAEL INDUSTRIES IN DANGER – ANGUS MACFADYEN GUEST STARS — When a mission in Japan becomes a hostage situation, Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) and Chuck (Zachary Levi) must face the merciless Nicholas Quinn (guest star Angus Macfadyen, “Braveheart”) aboard a speeding Japanese bullet train. Meanwhile, the mission leaves Casey with an impossible decision. Joshua Gomez, Sarah Lancaster, Ryan McPartlin, Scott Krinsky, Vik Sahay and Mark Christopher Lawrence also star.

Here’s the trailer, take a look:

Chuck Versus the Kept Man

Assignment: Miami Beach. Sun, sea, subterfuge and spiralling!

Photo Credit: NBC

The first Chuck episode of the New Year was one that followed the pattern of the last couple of episodes by giving a certain amount of closure to one of Team Bartowski. This time it was the turn of John Casey, the stoic military man who seems averse to warm fuzzy feelings.

Gertrude Verbanski made a return; not because she was no longer wanted for murder, but to come back to Casey. She’s a strong woman and once she sets her mind to getting something she wants, she is very persistent.

The expensive gift of the cashmere sweater was certainly not Casey’s style, something I thought she’d have known. Give him harsh conditions and gunplay and he’s happy as a pig in mud.

She had to resort to hiring Carmichael Industries for what was essentially a ruse to get Casey to Miami for a booty call. There was a mission, but it was largely time for a bit of private R&R and then time for some nefarious dealings.

He did succumb to her at one point during the ‘mission’ at the hotel in Miami, allowing her to exercise her dominant nature and play rough with him. It was probably one of the most unusual uses of a Casey grunt we’ve had in the series, although thankfully (for most of us) it was off screen.

Chuck, after Sarah walks in on Casey and Verbanski: “Sarah, what’s wrong?” 
Sarah: “Everything. It’s all wrong.”

It was quite a comedic episode for Yvonne Strahovski with her quizzical and disgusted looks and her meta reference complaining about how many skimpy outfits she’s had to wear for the missions.

We had Sarah’s pregnancy scare, leading Chuck to start ‘spiralling’ towards freaking out. Then of course Sarah started spiralling in their discussion before she went to aid Casey in rescuing Verbanski.

One of the neat little tricks I liked during the episode was Chuck and then Sarah tuning in to the dangers around them. It was in tune with the audience understanding that no matter what situation the find themselves in, they always manage to survive it.

I’m actually wondering if a major character will be killed off in these last few hours of the series, just to throw us a curveball.

In the Buy More sub-plot this time around, we had Jeff piecing together the puzzle of what goes on behind the scenes. Using a noteboard in the way that Chuck used the back of his Tron poster, he deduced that Sarah and Casey were spies and that Chuck was an asset. Okay, so he was a bit late with the info, but he was brain damaged up until recently.

It was fun to see Jeff and Lester tracking Awesome on the ‘drop’. They have done some “pretty decent spy work” before in ‘Versus the Best Friend’, but of course we knew that Awesome was acting as a decoy and knew he was being followed.

It certainly was, how should I put this, ‘interesting’ to see Lester embrace the feminine side everyone has talked about. He even got the wind machine!

I loved the fact that Morgan used Awesome to fake them out, but that Jeff, thanks to Lester, found out the truth and busted through the fake wall to see Chuck, Sarah and Morgan in Castle.

I’ll be interested to see if they try to use this newfound knowledge to wangle themselves positions in Carmichael Industries.

It seems that pretty much everything is wrapped up, although we didn’t get Casey’s reaction to Chuck and Sarah deciding not to rejoin the CIA, although the option is still open to him. Would he choose to go back, or do the roots he’s been putting down in Burbank have a stronger hold on him? Will we ever find out?

Next time: Chuck Versus Bo

MORGAN FACES THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS TIME AS THE INTERSECT WHEN HE MUST PIECE TOGETHER A LOST WEEKEND IN VAIL — BO DEREK (“10″) AND ANGUS MACFADYEN (“BRAVEHEART”) GUEST STAR — As Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) try to realize a new, safer future, Morgan’s (Joshua Gomez) past as the Intersect sends them to Vail on one last mission, where they enlist the help of an unlikely source — the legendary Bo Derek (as herself). Elsewhere, Jeff (Scott Krinsky) and Lester (Vik Sahay) continue their own spy mission. Adam Baldwin, Sarah Lancaster and Mark Christopher Lawrence also star.

Here’s the trailer, take a look: