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Chuck Season Finale Open Thread

By John Cole May 24th, 2010

Have at it.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 24th, 2010 at 7:57 pm and is filed under Television. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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56 Responses to “Chuck Season Finale Open Thread”

1 YellowJournalism Says:

I’m pretty sure tonight’s episode will take place half the time in a purgatory-like world and that Morgan will have been in charge of the Buy More until he finally meets up with Chuck, Sarah, and the gang in the afterlife.

May 24th, 2010 at 8:04 pm

2 Cat Lady Says:

Celtics > Chuck.

Celtics > Orlando too.

May 24th, 2010 at 8:04 pm

3 Steeplejack Says:

Watched the intro, now letting it spool onto the DVR buffer a bit after I ran into the first block of commercials and the fast-forward button didn’t respond to my Pavlovian mashing.

[Thrumming fingers on desk]

May 24th, 2010 at 8:17 pm

4 Zifnab Says:

Sorry, turns out everyone in the Nerd Herd is dead, and the entire build up of the alternate story arc is them in quasi-heaven.

Feel my pain!

/LOSTie

May 24th, 2010 at 8:17 pm

5 Florida Cynic Says:

Argh. Pollster. 20 minutes of my life I’d like back, but they would not stop calling. Welcome to the 2010 election season.

May 24th, 2010 at 8:20 pm

6 The Dangerman Says:

Check out the Woodstock “tweets” for some John McCain truth:

Link

May 24th, 2010 at 8:21 pm

7 Linda Featheringill Says:

Yeah, I know its OT:

From a comment on Nola.com:
Regarding reparations from BP.

. . . fisherman will be compensated on what they made, meaning they will lose their ass because they greatly under report taxable income.

I had to laugh at this one. EVERY conservative Republican I have ever known cheated on his/her income tax. Each and every one of them.

May 24th, 2010 at 8:21 pm

8 Anya Says:

Cole, who is this Chuck you speak of ?

May 24th, 2010 at 8:25 pm

9 demo woman Says:

Help..What’s going on with Chuck..

May 24th, 2010 at 8:27 pm

10 John Cole Says:

The Star Wars homage there was fucking brilliant.

May 24th, 2010 at 8:38 pm

11 RAM Says:

Chuck Bartkowski is our only hope

God, I love this show…

May 24th, 2010 at 8:39 pm

12 JenJen Says:

Fuck Chuck, my Habs are getting their asses kicked. :-(

Ahhh well. Go Flyers, then. It is what it is.

May 24th, 2010 at 8:42 pm

13 ruemara Says:

dammit, I have over 2 hrs before chuckpocalypse.

May 24th, 2010 at 8:43 pm

14 khead Says:

I picked the right day to quit heroin.

Khead +3

May 24th, 2010 at 8:49 pm

15 demo woman Says:

@ruemara: Well this is an OH SHIT moment. I won’t say anymore.

May 24th, 2010 at 8:49 pm

16 Punchy Says:

Loox like my Blackhawx will be playing Motown Philly for Lord Stanley’s fine dinnerware. Habs just going thru motions right now.

May 24th, 2010 at 8:51 pm

17 Dracula Says:

. . . fisherman will be compensated on what they made, meaning they will lose their ass because they greatly under report taxable income.

For fear of sounding like an ass….there’s an aspect of “live by the sword, die by….etc.” here. I feel bad for them, but if you’ve chosen to cheat the feds for years, there’s a ton of bad karma building up.

May 24th, 2010 at 8:57 pm

18 Oscar Leroy Says:

Look at Yvonne in that purple getup. . .

May 24th, 2010 at 9:09 pm

19 YellowJournalism Says:

@ruemara: I hear you. My PVR is currently enjoying Chuck. I will not be able to until I get the chilruns in bed. And since we’ve been having a vomit-a-thon all weekend (with Mommy as the equivalent of an airline barf bag), I can safely say this will be a late night. So I’ll have to check this thread out later when I’m suffering from insomnia.

May 24th, 2010 at 9:11 pm

20 Steeplejack Says:

“Don’t know when it happened, but our boy became a man. Bartowski’s a spy.”

May 24th, 2010 at 9:12 pm

21 demo woman Says:

Not sure what happened to my comment but the “double the fun” line was cute.

May 24th, 2010 at 9:19 pm

22 Laura W. Says:

Well, I am not a fan of the Chuck, but I did tune in for the first part and was very excited to hear one of my current passions in the soundtrack. I love this guy’s voice, and every time it comes on XM Coffeehouse (three times/day, minimum) I run to blast it:

Come on and get your overdose.
Collect it at the borderline,
And they want to get up in your head…

Cause they know and so do I.
The high road is hard to find.
A detour to your new life.
Tell all of your friends goodbye.

It’s too late to change your mind,
You let loss be your guide.

May 24th, 2010 at 9:22 pm

23 TR Says:

@Laura W.:

That’s James Mercer, usually of the Shins but here working with Danger Mouse under the band name Broken Bells.

The whole album is incredible.

May 24th, 2010 at 9:26 pm

24 John Cole Says:

And now an Evil Overlord homage.

I love these writers.

May 24th, 2010 at 9:36 pm

25 SiubhanDuinne Says:

Do this a myriad times, you could decimate the English language.

May 24th, 2010 at 9:42 pm

26 Michael D. Says:

I had no idea this was 2 hours tonight. Fuck.

May 24th, 2010 at 9:44 pm

27 SpotWeld Says:

I gotta say, this ep was pretty much epic win.

Didn’t Chuck get renewed?

May 24th, 2010 at 9:51 pm

28 SpotWeld Says:

Okay.. wow.
The writers for this show are obviously Lucas film junkies (ending of Raiders anyone).

But damm…

May 24th, 2010 at 10:00 pm

29 boom Says:

Alright So What Is The Deal With His Dad And his MOM

May 24th, 2010 at 10:00 pm

30 John Cole Says:

Ok. That was awesome.

May 24th, 2010 at 10:01 pm

31 RedKitten Says:

That was some DAMN fine television, thank you very much. I can’t think of one flaw in that episode.

And I’m continually impressed with the sheer quantity of guts that Morgan continues to display when needed.

Seriously. The whole ep was just freaking perfect.

May 24th, 2010 at 10:05 pm

32 Michael D. Says:

Yup. very good.

May 24th, 2010 at 10:09 pm

33 demo woman Says:

I can’t count the number of films they alluded to. The writers obviously deserve great credit. It was a wonderful way to spend two hours.

May 24th, 2010 at 10:09 pm

34 RedKitten Says:

I want to take that episode out behind the junior high and get it pregnant, I loved it so much.

May 24th, 2010 at 10:14 pm

35 demo woman Says:

Does anyone else remember the ad …double the pleasure, double the fun, doublemint gum? I might just be that old…

May 24th, 2010 at 10:17 pm

36 SiubhanDuinne Says:

My lame comment @25 belongs in another thread, where it might sound marginally less lame. But only marginally.

May 24th, 2010 at 10:24 pm

37 demo woman Says:

@SiubhanDuinne: There are no lame comments on this blog so your comment must not be lame..

May 24th, 2010 at 10:40 pm

38 burnspbesq Says:

The finale of “24” sucked enormously.

Our long wingnut wet dream is, mercifully, over.

May 24th, 2010 at 10:42 pm

39 fasteddie9318 Says:

@burnspbesq:

Only until the movie! I predict Jack will resurface as the leader of the teaparty movement. The climactic scene will involve him torturing an EPA official, until he agrees to allow BP to keep poisoning the Gulf of Mexico with the poison that the BP-owned company makes, by threatening to Go Galt.

“STOCK PRICES ARE DECLINING! THERE’S NO TIME! GIVE THE GO AHEAD OR I’LL VOLUNTARILY STOP CONTRIBUTING TO SOCIETY! DAMNIT!”

May 24th, 2010 at 10:53 pm

40 Steeplejack Says:

@burnspbesq:

God, I lost the momentum and fell about five episodes behind on 24 but feel obligated to finish it out. Ugh. I am a sucker for closure once I get sucked into any narrative, no matter how bad. Might have to have an unfortunate DVR accident. Hoocoodanode.

I haven’t watched it the last few years, but someone told me, “Oh, this year it’s much better.” Need to remember who that was so I can kick them in the junk.

Meanwhile, I’m pretty sure that Human Target, which I (somewhat inexplicably) liked, got canceled.

May 24th, 2010 at 10:53 pm

41 burnspbesq Says:

@Steeplejack:

The first 16 episodes or so were very good. When they brought back former President Logan, it all went sour.

May 24th, 2010 at 11:06 pm

42 Chuck! Says:

Wow I love Chuck, and this finale just brought not only this show to a whole new level, but television itself…Amazing twists and turns, sad to see Chuck’s father killed, but that emotion/comedy/action is what keeps this show alive. I can’t wait for season 4! Hope to see all the same characters back again. By the way, was it just me or was anyone else expecting Rachael (from earlier in the season) to have a larger role overall in the show? Maybe we’ll find out in Season 4, anyways fantastic finale, Chuck forever!

May 24th, 2010 at 11:41 pm

43 Steeplejack Says:

@burnspbesq:

Great, I’ve got that to look forward to. The last one I saw, I think, was where the car bomb went off at CTU (in New York) and Jimmy James from News Radio was closing in on that blonde from Battlestar Galactica.

ETA: Sorry, I was channeling my friend who mixes up all her shows and actors. Drives me nuts.

May 24th, 2010 at 11:43 pm

44 rikyrah Says:

I love Chuck. I think it’s great the way over this season, they’ve brought Morgan, Awesome and Ellie into his spy world.

May 25th, 2010 at 2:35 am

45 Cyrus Says:

Huh, I didn’t like this episode nearly as much as most people here.
SPOILERS
Three main problems. First and biggest, the – da dun DUN – Ring’s storyline comes down to holding five people we’ve never seen before at gunpoint, and Chuck tricking someone who really, really should have known better into blurting out the whole thing on camera? That’s just sad. Especially considering that they were even more powerful than we knew, if they could get Beckman thrown in jail. Approaching Ellie was the first hint we have ever had that they were even remotely competent, and in this episode they went from taking over the entire U.S. government to being brought down by Nerd Herd techniques. How? What a waste of a storyline.

Second, apparently badassery is zero-sum between Chuck and Sarah – the better he gets, the more she has to be tied up or drugged. Since Paris, she’s had maybe three scenes that weren’t just standing by her man. Calling the writers sexist for this would be painting with too broad a brush, but it’s definitely something like that.

Third, the cliffhanger makes it look very, very likely that next season will be full of Chuck lying to people. Sometimes it makes sense but it doesn’t look like this will be one of those times, and even when it does make sense it gets old quickly. Well, it’s got old.

There were a lot of parts I liked. The Chuck/Shaw fight was good (except for, again, what happened to Sarah), and I liked how they resolved it. Chuck… got his system working for a few minutes by rebooting to an earlier Intersect! Awesome! And I liked all the Morgan/Devon/Ellie stuff. Funny, and very well-handled. And Daddy Bartowski is always cool, and what happened to him, although obviously horrible, was very fitting.

It’s like the writers can’t decide if they want to do a nearly slapstick comedy about an inept guy who bumbles through heroism, or a spy-action-drama show with a protagonist who just happens to be a huge geek. The former would be light fun, and the latter would be outstanding. Both together, though, aren’t working well at all, IMO.

May 25th, 2010 at 9:55 am

46 MarkJ Says:

@ Cyrus as far as the bumbling geek vs. spy-action-drama thing goes, it started out as one and is morphing into the other, but I doubt they’ll lose the comedy completely as that is part of the charm of the show.

Yes they took down the Ring but now there is something else (that Chuck’s mom works for) out there to drive the narrative next season. The way they brought them down was a little anticlimactic – you’d think the elders or whatever they’re called would be pretty awsome spies in their own right and would have put up more of a fight.

Jester on the lam from the law should be comic gold.

May 25th, 2010 at 10:16 am

47 Stogoe Says:

Meanwhile, I’m pretty sure that Human Target, which I (somewhat inexplicably) liked, got canceled.

Good News, Everyone! (also Steeplejack) You’re incorrect about Human Target! It has indeed been renewed for a second season, though it has sadly been sent to die on Friday nights.

May 25th, 2010 at 10:23 am

48 Cyrus Says:

@MarkJ:

as far as the bumbling geek vs. spy-action-drama thing goes, it started out as one and is morphing into the other, but I doubt they’ll lose the comedy completely as that is part of the charm of the show.

And I wouldn’t want them to lose it completely. I guess the way I phrased it was too much of a dichotomy. I was thinking of the anticlimactic Ring resolution as a part of the bumbling geek stuff – jokes are great, but the Big Bad shouldn’t be a joke.

May 25th, 2010 at 10:26 am

49 Michael Says:

Mua-ha-ha!

Awesome.

May 25th, 2010 at 10:29 am

50 Steeplejack Says:

@Stogoe:

Thanks, that is good news. Although I will say the season finale was a little lame.

Human Target was one of the “guilty pleasure” shows I picked up after I got the big-ass TV in January and upgraded to HD cable. Maybe I just like it because it looks good in HD, but then everything looks good in HD. I often find myself just watching the Humidity Channel for hours on end.

[. . .] though it has sadly been sent to die on Friday nights.

That’s what DVRs are for.

I wonder if Nielsen or whoever has made any effort to account for DVR time-switching, etc. Not to mention downloading or streaming from the Interwebs.

May 25th, 2010 at 10:44 am

51 Steeplejack Says:

@Cyrus:

Agree with you about some of the unevenness and plot holes. E.g., why is Jeffster on the run for blowing up Buy More when about 10 law enforcement people were standing right there when Morgan dropped the trigger?

May 25th, 2010 at 10:47 am

52 Kevin from the North Shore Says:

@John Cole: That was the most awesome part of a way-awesome episode. (Close second: the Intersect “beta” with period-correct Mac, including the Chicago font and the bomb icon!)

Chuck totally jumped the shark mid-season—everything related to Shaw didn’t make sense, and the characters’ behaviors were completely inconsistent with Year 1—and then somehow unjumped by rebooting into a slightly cartoonier version of itself (Beckman in a nightgown, any Casey/Morgan grunting scene, etc.)

Yes, the Ring takedown was cheesy and anticlimactic, but so was Fulcrum last year. What I loved was how easily the episode could have been the series finale—reshoot the last three minutes with Chuck and Sarah moving to Dad’s cabin and Casey flying home to DC for his next assignment.

Mom Bartowski as bad guy?!

May 25th, 2010 at 1:28 pm

53 Kevin from the North Shore Says:

@Steeplejack: All those “law enforcement” were CIA/NSA cleaners—they don’t care if Jeffster takes the fall.

(I really thought something in the production values of the Jeffster video was going to cause Shaw’s Intersect to spazz out.)

And don’t forget that Dad Bartowski was taken down in the same Ring lair where Dr. Kuwambe’s cellular regeneration revived Shaw!

May 25th, 2010 at 1:33 pm

54 Steeplejack Says:

@Kevin from the North Shore:

Good point re the cleaners. And I, too, thought the Jeffster video was going to cause something to happen—maybe Chuck to get a good “flash.”

May 25th, 2010 at 3:19 pm

55 Jeff Says:

@burnspbesq (#41):

The first 16 episodes or so were very good. When they brought back former President Logan, it all went sour.

Logan was okay for the first few eps—their big (huge, gigantic) mistake was killing Rene. I’ll never forgive them for that.

May 25th, 2010 at 9:01 pm

56 Don Says:

Human Target – yeah, it got a 13 episode buy, which is nice. Not a great show but the actors are all good.

Chuck has indeed been a little weird here and there this season but the Ring’s variable competency doesn’t bother me. If I’m going to accept a secret organization working within another organization then I’m willing to accept that there’s going to be widely varying latitude in what they can do. Sometimes huge sweeping projects, sometimes very little ability to act w/o discovery.

I agree, though, that the Ring takedown was kinda flimsy. Even if I forgive Shaw being cocky (which given Team Bartowski’s bumbling up till that point was kinda deserved) what exactly can they pin on those five folks? Illegal congregation in a staircase? I suppose we can claim they are the CIA and don’t need hard evidence, but if they’re reclaiming their reputations with this win then they need to convince someone.

Oh well. Chuck has always been about character movement, not plot. I’m with Cyrus on not wanting to watch another season of Chuck lying to everyone. Aside from it not being fun to watch it also doesn’t work within the character arc. By now he’s gotten the shit end of the stick enough times because he’s been lying that it’s unbelievable that he wouldn’t have learned better.

May 26th, 2010 at 11:46 am

Chuck Season Finale Open Thread

56 Responses to “Chuck Season Finale Open Thread”

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