Interview: 'Chuck' co-creator Chris Fedak on the series finale
How did the writers decide on endings for Chuck, Sarah, Casey and the rest?
Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) in action in the "Chuck" series finale.
Credit: Warner Bros.
So "Chuck" has come to an end. I reviewed the series finale here, and in addition to my 5-part interview series with Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz (which Fedak would later joke was "egregiously long"), I got on the phone with Fedak one more time to discuss the events of the finale.
I want to start at the end. They sit on the beach, Chuck tells Sarah the story of their relationship, she laughs, and we've gotten hints that she's starting to remember her life with him. And he kisses her. Does Morgan's magic trick idea work and she remembers everything instantly? Or is it just going to be a slow and steady process for her to get all her memories and feelings back?
I think I'm going to leave that up to the audience. I have my thought, and Josh has his. It's a sweet, nice moment. A happy ending for those two. I think it's up for everyone to judge that kiss at the very end.
Well, after last week's episode, a few commenters were upset with the idea that Sarah's memory had been erased, and that all her character growth we had spent the last five seasons was for naught. What would you say to that?
Well, after last week's episode, a few commenters were upset with the idea that Sarah's memory had been erased, and that all her character growth we had spent the last five seasons was for naught. What would you say to that?
I would certainly say it's not erased. It's not all gone. It hasn't been five seasons all for naught. It's in there. And the fun will be remembering it and falling in love again. How could you imagine anything better?
In these final two episodes, there are a lot of callbacks to stuff from early in the series, particularly the pilot. How did you pick and choose what was going to come up?
It started with how we broke that episode. For a long time, that was one of the longest breaks ever for a Chuck episode, since it was the last one. We weren't quite certain. How do we make this big enough? How do we make it about this season but also to echo all the seasons of the show? Once we realized that with act 2, and throughout the episode, there would be moments that echoed the pilot and other seasons of the show and our bad guys, that really helped me wrap my head around what this episode would do. My wife is a giant fan of the "remember when?" episodes. We didn't want to do that. We didn't want to give a lot of flashbacks — there aren't very many in the episodes — but infuse into the story the history of the show. That helped me break the episode as a writer. And when it came to things we wanted to see in there, the first idea was, "Well, we're in Berlin," and it was El Compadre, which we shot at the real El Compadre in the pilot, which is a famous restaurant in Los Angeles. We shot there, and there's a terrible photo of Josh and myself with sombreros on. Once you start thinking about it, you go, "What if in Germany there's a restaurant that looks exactly like El Compadre?" And that was the first moment where we knew, "Okay, this would be a great thing for all of these scenes," from Sarah and Chuck dancing at the Russian consulate to the Wienerlicious scene. We wanted to echo seasons past, as well as deal with all of the issues that Chuck and Sarah have been through. And, in a way, have them fall in love again.
It started with how we broke that episode. For a long time, that was one of the longest breaks ever for a Chuck episode, since it was the last one. We weren't quite certain. How do we make this big enough? How do we make it about this season but also to echo all the seasons of the show? Once we realized that with act 2, and throughout the episode, there would be moments that echoed the pilot and other seasons of the show and our bad guys, that really helped me wrap my head around what this episode would do. My wife is a giant fan of the "remember when?" episodes. We didn't want to do that. We didn't want to give a lot of flashbacks — there aren't very many in the episodes — but infuse into the story the history of the show. That helped me break the episode as a writer. And when it came to things we wanted to see in there, the first idea was, "Well, we're in Berlin," and it was El Compadre, which we shot at the real El Compadre in the pilot, which is a famous restaurant in Los Angeles. We shot there, and there's a terrible photo of Josh and myself with sombreros on. Once you start thinking about it, you go, "What if in Germany there's a restaurant that looks exactly like El Compadre?" And that was the first moment where we knew, "Okay, this would be a great thing for all of these scenes," from Sarah and Chuck dancing at the Russian consulate to the Wienerlicious scene. We wanted to echo seasons past, as well as deal with all of the issues that Chuck and Sarah have been through. And, in a way, have them fall in love again.
Chuck gets the Intersect back in the end, but is still retiring, right?
Yes, he does have the Intersect back, but he's still retiring. But I guess you never know.
We find out what most of the other characters are going to do, and Chuck and Sarah are on the beach, so we know they're going to get back together. But what do you see as the rest of Chuck Bartowski's life being?
Wow! Well, that's a gigantic question. I will tell you this: I see Chuck and Sarah together, being a husband and wife, starting up that computer security firm. Hopefully they won't find themselves dodging bullets for the rest of their lives. Of course, as a writer, now I start thinking, "You know what? They could get into a little bit of trouble." That gets the story side of my brain going. But for now, they're happy and they're together and thinking about their future.
Was it important to you that he get the Intersect in the end?
No, it wasn't the most important thing to me. That was something that we discovered as we went through the process. The way the story laid out, we began to see that it was important that he be given a decision. The idea of using the Intersect to give Sarah her memories back was a beautifully-structured thing: it makes sense, Ellie gets to help Sarah. But in that moment, Chuck has to make a tough decision, and he knows that saving the day is the thing he had to do. That was fundamental to the story. But from an overarcing perspective, looking at the last episode, Chuck putting the Intersect back into his head was not the most important thing to me.
No, it wasn't the most important thing to me. That was something that we discovered as we went through the process. The way the story laid out, we began to see that it was important that he be given a decision. The idea of using the Intersect to give Sarah her memories back was a beautifully-structured thing: it makes sense, Ellie gets to help Sarah. But in that moment, Chuck has to make a tough decision, and he knows that saving the day is the thing he had to do. That was fundamental to the story. But from an overarcing perspective, looking at the last episode, Chuck putting the Intersect back into his head was not the most important thing to me.
So Chuck saves the day, but before that, Jeffster! saves the day.
(Laughs) Yessir!
Talk to me about what you got to do in these last few episodes in terms of bringing those two into Spy World.
It was something that we'd always wanted to do, but it was also the one thing you knew you would probably have to wait until the end. Because the show would be fundamentally different going forward. From the get-go, Vik and Scott brought such great comedy to the show, and such a great energy inside the Buy More, so from the Spy World, we thought it would be great to bring them in in some way. And we love "Sneakers." We loved the idea of forming a team, and that's something we always imagined happening. It was a great opportunity: exploring Jeff and Lester learning about the spy world and wanting to be a part of it and having their brains erased a couple of times. We just loved the idea in the Bullet Train episode of them going to Casey's trunk and opening it up and taking all the wrong equipment. They have hero material in them. They have good stuff in there. That was exciting for us to tell the story. They didn't figure into episode 12 all that much, so we knew in episode 13, we wanted to do something big, and we wanted to bring back Jeffster! in a big way.
So you basically build the climax around a musical performance.
We built it, the reference point is the Albert Hall sequence in "The Man Who Knew Too Much." In this version, it's Jeff and Lester with the cymbals, but they're going to use the cymbals to save the day.
We built it, the reference point is the Albert Hall sequence in "The Man Who Knew Too Much." In this version, it's Jeff and Lester with the cymbals, but they're going to use the cymbals to save the day.
You told me in the earlier interview that you guys often wrestled for a while with what the Jeffster! song should be. How much did you wrestle with this one?
We wrestled with this one quite a bit. The energy of A-Ha that I love is the positivity of it all. It's such a great energetic vibe to it. We thought of going with more operatic rock, or something more metal-ish. What's great about A-Ha is it has this fleeting, hopeful quality to it, and I love that song. The other thing that's amazing about it is Vik hit all those notes. Usually in seasons past, we will pop out of the song and go back to the original recorded performance. This was the first time that Vik has done the entire thing. And it's amazing, the notes he hits in there. We were shocked when we heard his and Tim Jones' performance. It speaks to his growth as a musical performer. He's amazing.
And now he's going to be a pop star in Germany.
What about the tear? That moment sums up our show in a way: It's crazy, it's ludicrous, and there's such incredible real emotion within it. Vik and Scott killed me in that scene. When you're on set, you get hairs on the back of your neck as he's losing it.
It does occur to me that on the show, everybody gets what they want in the end. Even Big Mike is still in the store that he loves, and he's married to Morgan's mom and has even easier access to Subway sandwiches.
Exactly. It's a happy ending.
Did you at any point dabble with the idea of things going badly for anyone? Or is it not that kind of show?
There was definitely darker endings for every aspect of the show. We struggled with where we wanted to land these characters in the end. There were many iterations of the Thelma & Louise ending for Jeff and Lester, but that turned to them having their minds erased in the Bo Derek episode. But we loved the idea of them driving off a cliff, believing the cops were after them but being wrong. In the end, I just loved the idea of them going off to be German rock stars.
The other thing, too, is that early on in the season, there's a moment where Casey hugs Alex and tells her, "I'll always be here for you." And the moment he said that was the moment I thought we were going to kill him. I thought we were going to do a "Star Trek II" thing. And Adam was pushing for that. He was of a mind that that was a good way to go, kind of like the Han Solo logic of "Return of the Jedi," where it was clearly time for this person to die. I think in the end, the Gertrude Verbanski story was such a great story for the season, and Carrie-Anne Moss and Adam gave such life and energy to that, that that became his future.
Getting back to the store for a second, is it turning into a Subway, or is Subway just coming into the Buy More?
I'll speak for Subway corporate at the moment. They've purchased the Buy More and they will be installing a Subway inside the store. I think they're also getting into the big box store game with Buy More.
They also then own a spy base underneath the store. That's a good deal.
There are many a time over the course of the show that we thought about putting a Subway into the store, just to make the integrations easier and quicker, but it never worked out.
I want to talk about the idea how these last few episodes become, as the next-to-last one is called, Chuck vs. Sarah. You could have built this entire finale around Shaw or somebody, and you didn't. You introduced this other guy who is mainly there to put our guy and our girl against each other.
Quinn is important and is a good villain, and Angus MacFadyen did a good job for us. But I think the most important part of this season, and the show, is Chuck and Sarah and Casey and our characters. This was an amazing way to have these episodes be very much about them and their relationships. Unlike last season, when we had a villain who was incredibly important to our show and had many scenes with Timothy Dalton as Volkoff, and also his daughter, here in the end, we wanted to be able to focus these last few episodes specially about our characters and about the Chuck/Sarah relationship. And it's the Chuck/Sarah relationship that saves the day.
And whether she had the Intersect or not in these last few episodes, Sarah got to do all these really superhuman things.
When we started looking at this season, the Intersect became this thing that would jump from Morgan, then we'd also see Shaw, then see Sarah with it, and realize just how dangerous it is and how it affects people. But it was also a great opportunity to see Morgan be a super spy, and see Sarah be an even greater super spy. I thought the strip kick action sequence inside the bullet train car was pretty amazing, and the final moments of "Chuck vs. Bo" where she goes crazy kung fu on all of those soldiers was just a great sequence shot by Jeremiah Chechik, one of our directors.
When we started looking at this season, the Intersect became this thing that would jump from Morgan, then we'd also see Shaw, then see Sarah with it, and realize just how dangerous it is and how it affects people. But it was also a great opportunity to see Morgan be a super spy, and see Sarah be an even greater super spy. I thought the strip kick action sequence inside the bullet train car was pretty amazing, and the final moments of "Chuck vs. Bo" where she goes crazy kung fu on all of those soldiers was just a great sequence shot by Jeremiah Chechik, one of our directors.
But even in "Chuck vs. Sarah," when she pulls the Bryce Larkin move and crashes through the top window and takes out all the guards herself — Sarah without the Intersect is pretty impressive.
That's the thing, too. We had to think about that quite a bit. She doesn't have the Intersect in episodes 12 & 13, but she's still an amazing spy in her own right. When we were doing the two scenes where she does fight with the Intersect, we had to cut them in a different way. We sped up the cuts. How do you differentiate between Sarah Walker with just her normal skills and Sarah who has the Intersect in her head? We brought more and more soldiers into the final scene of "Bo" for that reason.
That's the thing, too. We had to think about that quite a bit. She doesn't have the Intersect in episodes 12 & 13, but she's still an amazing spy in her own right. When we were doing the two scenes where she does fight with the Intersect, we had to cut them in a different way. We sped up the cuts. How do you differentiate between Sarah Walker with just her normal skills and Sarah who has the Intersect in her head? We brought more and more soldiers into the final scene of "Bo" for that reason.
Am I correct that the scene where Jeff and Lester are tracking Sarah is the first time that Fernando and most of the Buy More extras get to speak?
Yes it is. We also wanted to give all of our background artists a chance to have a line in the show. That's the first time we've heard most of them speak on the show. "Unleash the perverts."
Did you have any kind of checklist of things you wanted to do before the end, either from a character perspective or, like, "I really want to see Sarah fall out of a plane"?
The most important thing was the character component of the story. And then I've always wanted to do a skydiving sequence on the show. I loved the intercut between Chuck thinking he can get this girl back and she's not out of his league and her doing just the most amazing stuff. Our production team went up, and we had a skydiver in a catsuit do a number of passes. It's one of the craziest things we've ever done.
Very Roger Moore as James Bond.
Very "Moonraker."
Very "Moonraker."
You're at the end. You've done it all. You've done 6 finales, 7 finales, whatever. Is there anything now that looking back, you wish you could have done that you didn't?
I don't know. I couldn't be happier with what we've done over 91 episodes of the show, and all our different finale. We talked, in your incredibly long interview — which was egregriously long! — with Josh and me, when we spoke, I think that the one thing I thought about, looking at season 4, we could have brought Ellie into the spy world more quickly. That was something where bringing Sarah Lancaster into the spy side of the show was an outstanding secret that we could have done earlier.
I don't know. I couldn't be happier with what we've done over 91 episodes of the show, and all our different finale. We talked, in your incredibly long interview — which was egregriously long! — with Josh and me, when we spoke, I think that the one thing I thought about, looking at season 4, we could have brought Ellie into the spy world more quickly. That was something where bringing Sarah Lancaster into the spy side of the show was an outstanding secret that we could have done earlier.
Certainly, having Awesome with Clara in the Baby Bjorn in Castle was very fun.
Yeah, and it was also so much fun to bring back Linda Hamilton for a spot on the show.
Yeah, and it was also so much fun to bring back Linda Hamilton for a spot on the show.
Is there anything else you want to say about the finale?
One of the things we're working on for the DVD is a longer version of the finale. The episode was rather big, so you'll get a longer cut on the DVD.
One of the things we're working on for the DVD is a longer version of the finale. The episode was rather big, so you'll get a longer cut on the DVD.
What might be on the longer cut?
Just more of everything. It was an epic episode. We did a lot of stuff. There's a little more family, and a little more Awesome and Ellie.
Alan Sepinwall may be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
Just more of everything. It was an epic episode. We did a lot of stuff. There's a little more family, and a little more Awesome and Ellie.
Alan Sepinwall may be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
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Next 88 CommentsMatt
January 27, 2012 at 11:30PM EST Reply to CommentThat was an excellent finale, and I'm so sad to see the show go.
Aaron
January 27, 2012 at 11:30PM EST Reply to CommentI liked a lot of this finale, but I'm of the opinion that an ambiguous ending WRT the memory issues is about the most polarizing note that this extremely polarizing series could end on.
I'm glad Fedak seems to say that it would work out between them, but I personally feel cheated that we won't get to see it.
I hate Amnesia storylines.
Mark I agree with you.
January 27, 2012 at 11:46PM ESTThey've had 6 possible series finales, and this was my least favorite of them. The amnesia plotline just leaves a slightly sour taste in my mouth.
Season 2 of Chuck remains one of my all-time favorite seasons of TV. I'll always be grateful to Fedak and the rest of Team Chuck for that.
michelle ditto! We were avid fans, literally watched every episode, cried the last 10 minutes of the finale and it was frustrating to not get that closure with Sarah!
January 28, 2012 at 12:17AM ESTscott i couldnt agree with you more. the amnesia storyline left fans wanting at a point in the show were getting what we want was hopeless. i dont want to assume what happens... this ending was 5 years in the making and weve all grown to love these characters so much that what we want is to see them exactly how they dreamt. just like in that picture chuck drew.
January 28, 2012 at 12:30AM ESTfilaphresh I was pretty frustrated myself, but I'm just trusting that she gradually gets back her memory and after a year they're back to normal and living the life they always wanted.
January 28, 2012 at 12:55AM ESTChris I completely agree.
January 28, 2012 at 1:32AM ESTI feel like its finished on another cliffhanger. When your finishing a series that been in people's lives for so long. With characters as profound as in Chuck, tt would be nice to have a bit of closure. We want every loophole closed. An example of this is the final episode of Scrubs (Season 8) That was perfect. I really hate that this last episode of Chuck finished like this. Makes me a bit sad.
Grant While is was not satisfying not seeing the "Happily Ever After" ending, it seems that they leave every reason to believe that Sarah & Chuck belong together, regardless of the odds or amnesia or whatever Fedak & Schwartz have stacked against them
January 28, 2012 at 1:33AM ESTBuild A Better Fan Sharply disagree. It was a great note to go out on. She's falling in love with him all over again, and things are obviously coming back to her, so whether it happens in one kiss or over time is a matter of what you consider the happier or truer ending. I personally prefer that the final kiss only be "magical" in the sense that it shows she's falling back in love with him, that she's "feeling it" rather than just believing him, but your mileage may vary.
January 28, 2012 at 1:50AM ESTI still feel that the show was at its strongest back in season 2, but the series finale was surprisingly good. The last several episodes increasingly reminded me of why I fell for this show. There's a nice parallel there.
Tyler Reply to comment...I also couldn't agree with you more. I thought the finale was great for all the characters except Chuck and Sarah. Doing an amnesia storyline in the finale was a horrible idea and a big mistake. There are a few reasons why: 1. all of season 5 was erased. It really made season 5 feel like a complete waste of time. 2. It also erased 5 years of Sarah's development and she had changed more than anyone else. In some ways, it made all 5 seasons feel like a waste. 3. this is the biggest reason: erasing someone's memory like they did has long term effects, and they didn't have a long time to fix it. They had 2 hours. When the Bullet Train ended I was worried that they might have taken away/undone more than they could put back/redo in 2 hours. I watched the finale in fear that that worry would be accurate (I hated feeling like that while watching it). I expected to see the scene of Chuck and Ellie talking about using the intersect to restore her memory much earlier in the finale. Then I was annoyed when chuck had to make that decision with the glasses. When I got to the end it quickly became blatantly clear that my worry had been totally accurate. They had run out of time. Something that also disappointed me was that everyone took a big step forward in their lives except chuck and sarah. They barely avoided taking a step backward. I understand what they were trying to do, bring the show full circle and all, but at what cost? In my opinion the cost was way too high. This was a series finale. There should've been closure. I agree with the other comment in that I would've loved it if that kiss on the beach had triggered a flash forward to 5 years later or so with them at the house with the picket fence with everyone and Sarah holding a baby. Or if the kiss had triggered a flash sequence of all of her memories and then the flash forward. Either one of those endings would've been perfect.
January 30, 2012 at 2:55AM ESTIn a way, this mistake reminded me of the mistake that Fedak and Schwartz made in the beginning of season 3: both involved the handling of Sarah's character and both involved undoing progress that shouldn't have been undone. An amnesia storyline would've worked a lot better in one of the earlier seasons when there was more time. I really didn't think that Fedak and Schwartz could or would possibly make another mistake with chuck and sarah after the miserable first half a season 3, but they did and this time they don't have a chance to fix it. I'm not sure if I'll ever watch another show run by Fedak and Schwartz and if I do, my guard will be up and it will never come down.
I'm going to buy the dvd as soon as it gets released and hope that some of the extended footage is an extended ending. Chuck was going to go down as one of my favorite shows of all time, if not my favorite show of all time, and now I don't know what it'll go down as.
trish I agree too. I was really disappointed by Chuck’s last episode . Loved the show throughout but never expected it to end this way. Where’s the happy ending everyone was expecting? Practically all the characters split up, Ellie and Awesome move to another town, Casey says goodbye to his daughter and friend Morgan, Lester and Jeff go off to Germany, Buymore is sold so we suppose that Chuck has given up the company, and what is he going to do next? We don’t know whether Sarah will recover her memories, if she will ever be in love with Chuck again and especially if she will retrieve her new personality and be again the woman she’d turned in during her love story with Chuck. How sad! I thought that in the last episode she would recognize the drawing Chuck had made on the bullet train, get her memory back and discover she was pregnant, with a “and they lived happily ever after” kind of ending. It feels as if they’ve cancelled the 5 years of the show as well and wiped out the characters I’d got to know and get familiar with over the years. Hope there will be a season 6 to fix this and see the whole team get back together.
January 31, 2012 at 8:08PM ESTHeather
January 27, 2012 at 11:44PM EST Reply to CommentChris and Josh may have thought the interview was egregiously long, but I read and savored every word! Thanks for everything Alan! It's been a blast seeing the Chuck journey through your eyes!
blingbling
January 27, 2012 at 11:48PM EST Reply to CommentI think Angus McFayden did a great job, but I wished that there had been a better setup of the final Shaw arc that would have better positioned Quinn as the penultimate villain of the series. I think with all the challenges Schwartz and Fedak had (I mean, has any show suffered more near-death experiences in a shorter period of time?) they had to jam in story wherever they could, but here, all of a sudden, was Quinn, the guy who somehow tied all the bad guys together, but didn't, you know?
That said, and I commented on this in the finale thread, I thought it was a brilliant ending because it left you at that wonderful point in the beginning where Chuck and Sarah were falling in love.
It was a great way to relive S1 and S2, forget S3 and S4, and bring us back to the point where we all wanted to see more.
Brilliant.
Steve First of all, Quinn was the ultimate villain, not penultimate villain. But I agree that he was a letdown as the final villain. It just felt anticlimactic and didn't really add up in a satisfying way. A bit more exposition, which I know can be boring, might have helped sell why Quinn was the big bad guy at the end.
January 28, 2012 at 12:01AM ESTI also felt a bit disappointed about the ending. It just left things too sad that Chuck has to again worry about wooing his love, and Sarah holding back part of herself all over again. I wish there had at least been more of a clue that not only were a few more memories coming back, but that the FEELING she said was missing was returning. Sure, she invited him to kiss her and was laughing at the story, but that's not quite enough. So the whole thing seems like this devastating thing that happened to them was not undone, and that's sad.
Devin
January 28, 2012 at 12:14AM EST Reply to CommentEnjoyed the finale but I have one question: what happened to the picture that Chuck drew on the Bullet Train of he and Sarah with the house, a kid, etc.? Why didn't that ever come up in tonight's episode? Couldn't he have pulled that out on the beach to jog Sarah's memory maybe? Might have made for a happier ending.
Lisa When Chuck had sarah tied up in the house, I thought the SAME THING! I was like WHERE IS THAT PICTURE?!
January 28, 2012 at 1:30AM ESTLisa When Chuck had sarah tied up in the house, I thought the SAME THING! I was like WHERE IS THAT PICTURE?!
January 28, 2012 at 1:30AM ESTTyler So true. That was the perfect chance for him to take it out and he never did.
January 30, 2012 at 3:05AM ESTfilaphresh
January 28, 2012 at 12:52AM EST Reply to CommentI thought I knew my Return of the Jedi, but what's the Han Solo moment Fedak's talking about?
jeg Harrison Ford was asking for Han Solo to be killed off in ROTJ.
January 28, 2012 at 1:11AM ESTtimlay
January 28, 2012 at 12:53AM EST Reply to CommentMassive betrayal of 5 years I will never watching anything chris or josh create ever again. They should ahve been sacked after seaon 5.
Col Bat Guano I think they were.
January 28, 2012 at 3:46AM ESTATG
January 28, 2012 at 1:31AM EST Reply to CommentA longer cut of the finale might just the ONLY way I'll cough up the cash for the DVD. So frustrated that WB pulled all the streaming this season. Didn't get to watch a single ep of season 5 and wasn't planning on giving WB a DIME because of it. Curse you Fedak! :D
Tony
January 28, 2012 at 1:44AM EST Reply to CommentOne word. Gutted. That's how I feel after watching the series finale of Chuck. Gutted. I hope and am just going to assume that at some point Chris and/or Josh are/will be reading this, because I'm going to use the word "you" and address this directly to them.
I can't believe YOU did that.
Why?!?!? Scratch that. I don't care why. It doesn't matter. I've known for two seasons that the writing on this show wasn't as glorious and well thought out as I once thought it was. And I'm not going to go into the overlong rant that I easily could go into to explain why I've "known" that, because, really, who cares? But this? THIS? You took the one thing you had going for you: two (and even parts of a third) seasons of a TREMENDOUS romance between two LOVABLE character that the audience TRULY cared about and you took it away.
YOU TOOK IT AWAY!!!!
How dare you? How dare you do that to even SOME (as I realize not everyone will agree with me) audience members that once LOVED and even FOUGHT for your show?!?!?! One more word: appalling. ABSOLUTELY APPALLING!
And don't give me that "lady or the tiger?" it's up to YOU to decide the ending CRAP. You robbed us.
You robbed ME!
And I hate you for it.
January 29, 2012 at 6:51PM ESTAgent Carmichael I agree with you completely Tony!
January 30, 2012 at 5:17AM ESTCraig, you sir don't know true romance -Chuck and Sara deserve to move on not get set back to zero...how is starting from scratch romantic when the relationship is still blossoming? It reminds me of that horrible movie with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore -not romantic, frustrating.
January 30, 2012 at 6:53AM ESTCol Bat Guano I thought it was obvious that their relationship had not been reset to zero. Sarah was slowly recovering her memories and that the kiss at the end (initiated by her) was a symbol that it was only a matter of time.
January 30, 2012 at 1:10PM ESTCB Gotta agree with Craig on this one - I loved the ending and it's obvious she's getting her memories back. The fact that she's sitting on the beach alone proves that.
January 30, 2012 at 2:46PM ESTJeffister @Tony How did they rob you exactly? It was their story to tell..I thought the ending was beautiful and Chuck was never going to end with a perfect ending becuase after all the threats of cancellation and they didnt know what finale would be the last they werent afraid of the throwing the kitchen sink..I admire that about the writers and the show..The ending was beautiful
January 31, 2012 at 3:27PM EST
January 31, 2012 at 3:38PM ESTJeffister @Craig Very few and Chuck was lucky to get five(i think awesome seasons) and alot has to do with NBC being so bad @ airing any new programs that stick. I am really glad they got to close it out on their terms and the beach scene was beautiful..loved all the call abcks to the pilot episode
January 31, 2012 at 3:43PM ESTMitch
January 28, 2012 at 2:45AM EST Reply to CommentWhy didn't the series finale have closure all around? I feel like the finale was a setup for a made-for-tv movie 6 months down the road, except that won't be happening. A lot of the stuff that happened in the last 2 eps felt very rushed as well. Awesome and Ellie all of the sudden both conveniently get letters to transfer to a hospital in Chicago? Casey seriously thinks of abandoning his 5 years of "going soft" to try to turn back to his old self? The writers knew this would be the last season and yet they left the fate of the two most important characters open ended. That, in my book, is uncool
VisionOn The amnesia took up far too much time in the last two episodes to the point where nearly all of the supporting cast got short changed. Morgan was reduced to almost a cameo and Casey did less than he ever has. He didn't even get a shot off.
January 29, 2012 at 9:39AM ESTThe amnesia should have been cured in time for the entire team to get revenge on Quinn in the way they always do.
At the least the final shot should have been a close-up of Sarah's eyes widening in shocked surprise as she kissed Chuck. Thereby giving a clue that the kiss indeed might have worked.
Excellent performance by Levi in the end, and highlight reels/callbacks notwithstanding the actual finale was fairly average.
Points off for absolutely nobody acknowledging that Chuck now has one of the most powerful weapons in the world in his head too. Considering the entire premise of the show was bad guys trying to suck it out of his head for three seasons and Chuck trying to get it out of his head for three seasons, the fact the show left it dangling out there as if everything is going to be cool was pretty lazy. If anything it just puts Chuck back into exactly the same position as he was before.
CinemaPsycho
January 28, 2012 at 2:59AM EST Reply to CommentCome on guys, the fact that she says "kiss me" after he tells her Morgan's theory says it all. Did you really not get that? It was a PERFECT ENDING.
THANK YOU to the creators, cast and crew of Chuck for 5 seasons of pure AWESOMENESS.
Build A Better Fan I have to admit, I didn't see her regaining all the memories *before* the kiss as a possibility.
January 28, 2012 at 9:35AM ESTalbatross I agree. That shows that she's not only getting her memories back, but also her feelings, however long it may take.
January 28, 2012 at 1:03PM ESTIceTear1 I actually think strongly that her feelings have always been there. You can see it when watching her watch her log. But it really leaves a sad note to the ending that you don´t get to see that she remembers everything. And that´s why it´s heartbreaking that you don´t get chance to say goodbye to the real Sarah in the end.
January 30, 2012 at 5:57AM ESTfelix
January 28, 2012 at 3:44AM EST Reply to CommentI love the show and became a fan this last summer. So I was ready and excited for season 5. The ending was a bit disappointing, because Chuck and Sara lose each other emotionally. Five years worth of experiences are lost and our couple are unable to connect through these shared experiences. I feel sorry for Chuck because he bears the greater emotional burden, between the two. I wished that after the kiss on the beach, there had been a "flash" to a scene where we see the little house, with the white picket fence, and Chuck and Sara are having a BBQ in the back yard with all the characters, and Chuck next to Sara who is holding a baby. That would have been a nice ending.
I'll watch chuck on DVD again and again.. Great Show, Great characters, Great humorous stories, Great love story
FRED Felix, I like your ending better. In fact, that's what I'm going to pretend happened...since apparently that's what they want us fans to do. So, I guess while I'm at it, I'm going to pretend Bartowski Bakula came back and wasn't really dead. 95% if the time, they gave us what we wanted. But when they don't...man does it hurt. Kudos for making us care this much to be pissed.
January 29, 2012 at 12:57AM ESTWalrus
January 28, 2012 at 8:36AM EST Reply to CommentSilly observation: Why couldn't Sarah have regained her memory *and* disarmed the bomb after getting the intersect? She would have been capable.
Roy Because the intersect didn't include her life when they were on the roof. Ellie needed a few days to input the memory. Now I'm sure Jeffster has stamina, but it would've been a challenge...
January 28, 2012 at 9:13AM ESTklg19
January 28, 2012 at 10:18AM EST Reply to CommentAs soon as I heard "bomb" and "concert hall" I screamed "The Man Who Knew Too Much!" at the screen, so it is INCREDIBLY satisfying to know that that is exactly what they were referencing with the sonic bomb and not the cheap rehash of it in "Foul Play."
Biddle
January 28, 2012 at 12:22PM EST Reply to CommentOne thing that's always been clear to me with this show is that the showrunners love Chuck and Sarah together as much as we do. They laid out this epic romance for us, and time and again showed that these 2 people would always fight to be together.
If there was anything that I always trusted with these writers is that they would always find a way for Chuck and Sarah to to face the future together and that's exactly what they did here.
I'm a little surprised to see the anger displayed here because for me it was the most beautiful and poetic ending I could have imagined for them. In fact I rewound the discussion on the beach 3 times and re- watched it before I got off the couch last night.
When Ellie suggested the plan to use the intersect to get Sarah's memory back I thought "Ok, they're going for a clean finish, I'm ok with that, I guess." Then when Chuck had to make the decision to save the people at the concert and Sarah understood, I was extremly excited because I knew they weren't going to make it easy on them, but I also trusted that the writers like us loved this romance too much to let it go.
When Chuck begged Sarah to trust him... and she asked him to to tell her their story that for me was a classic t.v moment. Sarah was adrift and like the two have always done for each other Chuck was there for her and she decided at that moment to trust that what they had WAS important.
Watching him tell her their story, and us as the audience see glimspes of what made us love Chuck and Sarah together was for me the greatest gift the writers could have given us. Yeah sure they could have had Sarah put on the glasses and give us a montage of their moments as she regains her memory and throws herself into his arms.
But as always the writers illustrated for us why this is an epic romance, because no matter how hard the journey is it alway ends with the two of them together facing the future.
Watching Sarah laughing as Chuck told the story, having him take her hand and guide her through the moments that defined them as a team and a couple was the most beautiful thing gift the writers could have given us. I thought it was perfect, when they kissed and the camera pulled back I knew they were going to be ok. I didn't need to know if the kiss magically gave Sarah her memories back, or what they would do next. All I needed to know was that they were going to be together, and now I get to think back on the show and decide for myself what they do next.
For the person who said they hate amnesia storylines, my only problem with amnesia storylines is that shows often cheat with them and make the character magically themselves again. When Ellie came up with the interesect solution I wasn't crazy about it, but I was prepared to accept it. When I saw that Sarah's road to regaining her 5 years back was going to be much harder then that, I was grateful.
This show has never made it easy for these two to be together but Chuck and Sarah have always fought to find their way back to each other and to have the show end with them once again nagivating another obstacle to be together... that was perfect.
When you have writers who love their characters as much as the audience does, you can trust that they'll do right by them, and that kiss for me spoke more about their future then a nice clean montage of their future ever could have.
Sarah gets to fall back in love with Chuck all over again, that's a happy ending for you.
albatross Beautifully said.
January 28, 2012 at 1:05PM ESTmaria Ditto! I could not have said that any better... and that's exactly how I feel too, Biddle. Thanks for your beautiful, thoughtful post.
January 28, 2012 at 1:52PM ESTJoão Amaral Sir, you are amazing. This is exactly what i thought when i was watching i don't understand the fans that can see this.
January 28, 2012 at 6:06PM ESTWill always remember this show. And will always remember that final scene.
João Amaral "don't understand the fans that can't see this."
January 28, 2012 at 6:07PM ESTsorry about the mistake.
LoopyChew This is exactly the best way to see it, and this is wonderfully expressed.
January 28, 2012 at 6:29PM ESTFred Ok, good points. Bug after all the eps that ended with the gang laughing over a meal or wine and being one big happy family, why deny us that now. We all know they end up together, so why the need to not let us see it?
January 29, 2012 at 1:04AM ESTFred But*. Fern auto correct.
January 29, 2012 at 1:06AM ESTVisionOn Actually I'm going to disagree. The writers had no choice with the Chuck/Sarah romance.
January 29, 2012 at 9:45AM ESTAs evidenced when Kristen Kreuk joined the show (who was a perfectly fine cast addition) the moment that anyone else was introduced in between Chuck and Sarah the overzealous shippers cried and complained with such venom that it was clear that the writers had to always play to the Chuck/Sarah romance even if it killed the show.
And in many ways it did.
Stef Thank you! I could not agree more. These are exactly the thoughts that ran through my mind after the finale and it's beautiful.
January 29, 2012 at 11:43AM EST
January 29, 2012 at 6:54PM ESTTom in NJ
January 28, 2012 at 12:32PM EST Reply to CommentSarah instinctively goes to *their* beach. She then asks Chuck to tell her their story. They laugh and cry together When Chuck tells her of Morgan's "magic kiss" theory, she asks Chuck to kiss her. Translation: She remembers some things and wants to remember even more. More importantly, she wants to be with Chuck. Whether she gets all her memories back instantly or whether it takes some time, the point is that they'll be together. The nerd gets the girl. Again. :)
HWah
January 28, 2012 at 3:46PM EST Reply to CommentI loved the show and loved the ending. And I loved that I sat on my couch and just smiled, while wiping away tears, knowing that Chuck and Sarah got a happy ending.
My mind almost immediately flashed back to when I was in high school and we had to read a short story "The Lady or the Tiger" in class, and not to spoil the ending, but there is no ending. I was furious and felt cheated that I didn't get an ending....that was the writer's job and he blew it.
Then here I am all these years later, and while it seems like the writers gave us no ending, there is no doubt in my mind that there is a happy ending to this story.
I like that the writers gave us a choice, although I do believe they were leading the witness(viewer) a bit at the end, I like that I get to chose "joy" (great word choice in your review Alan).
That is what drew me to this show way back when and why I stayed all these years. It is nice to have shows here and there that leave us happy after we watch them. That is what this show was to me...like another show I love, Parks and Recreation. I'm just happier after watching them after a very long day.
Well played all involved with Chuck. Off to Subway.....
beeted
January 28, 2012 at 10:35PM EST Reply to CommentIf I go away for a while and come back will there be less "Chuck" stuff on this website? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for the fans of the show. I'd just like to get back to other things at some point.
jenfullmoon Chill out. This is the last gasp. Then we'll never be able to talk about Chuck again.
January 29, 2012 at 1:00AM ESTbeeted I watched one once and wasn't bowled over. If people love it so much maybe I should try again. I think I watched an episode from season 1. Was it so great? What do you compare it to?
January 29, 2012 at 9:11AM ESTStef From a fan that has watched since the pilot, yes, this show is beyond great. And in all seriousness, you cannot compare this show to anything on tv. That's what makes it so great. The strongest part of Chuck is the characters and their bonds to each other, so if you are into that, I would give it a try and start from the beginning.
January 29, 2012 at 11:54AM ESTCol Bat Guano Why bother coming on a comment thread for a show you never watched? I'm sure there will content you find interesting coming along soon.
January 29, 2012 at 3:38PM ESTDavid What other tv show has ever been a drama, action, comedy, romance? On top of all that we have incredible characters you can relate to, appreciate their dilemmas, smile at their ineptitudes, and feel the warmth in their love. I am sorry you didn't watch and/or don't get it. I hope someday you will find a place in your heart and mind to appreciate the wonderful work this cast and crew has given us.
January 31, 2012 at 10:02PM ESTTim
January 28, 2012 at 11:37PM EST Reply to CommentOh man that ending made me sad. It felt kinda horrible not knowing whether Sarah would have her memories back... and the whole glasses giving her the memories back freaked me out... would have seemed artificial. I wish that there could be more... Great finale. So emotional! But I still don't feel like it was a happy ending...
Miguel A
January 29, 2012 at 1:38PM EST Reply to CommentHe said that there was nearly an hour of additional footage, but the extended cut would be 8 minutes longer. Please convince him to include all of it; we can never get enough Chuck, especially if it's an extended epilogue.
David Agreed. Why have all that extra material and not use it?
January 31, 2012 at 10:02PM ESTchuchundra
January 29, 2012 at 2:31PM EST Reply to CommentI think this is the first time that a series of in-depth interviews with a show's creator/writer made me like the show less in retrospect.
Claudio
January 29, 2012 at 2:41PM EST Reply to CommentI realize there is a very good chance no one is gonna read this, but I don't care. The finale aired almost two days ago and I watched it almost a day ago. I'm still very emotional about it and I don't know if I'm emotional because the show has ended or because of the way it ended.
Alan, you said that the emotion you associate to "Chuck" is joy and for me most of the finale (especially the second episode)was filled with joy, but I'm not sure that the Chuck and Sarah story brought me joy. Many of you said that these last two episodes were a love letter to the show and I couldn't agree more but there where heartbreaking moments.
It was heartbreaking seeing Sarah call the love of her life Bartowski and it was heartbreaking when Sarah went to Chuck at he end of the first hour and said that she believed him but did not feel those feelings anymore. But the worst part was when she remembered carving the names in the doorframe and then telling Chuck that it was all a lie.
It was great seeing Sarah switch allegiances even if it was only because Quinn told her that he had in fact manipulated her and then coming to the Buy More and accepting Chuck's offer for help.
Still, she was pissed at Chuck when he didn't shoot Quinn and wanted to finish the mission by herself.
It was great when she started remembering stuff (at the Wienerlicious, Irene Demova even though she didn't know what to make of those memories).
The final scene at the beach was great: the fact that she wanted to know their story and asked Chuck to tell her meant to me that she wanted her old life back (she said to Quinn: "you stole my memories, you ruined my life") and the last words she ever said (Chuck, kiss me) were a reminder of the "Chuck vs the other guy" ending.
The fact that Chris Fedak said in the post mortem interview that Sarah's memories aren't gone gives me hope for those two (I want them to have the house with the red door and the picket fence and the babies running around in the garden).
I liked the mission log scene the best, because that was the point where Sarah started to come back and we got to see her point of view on some major developments (the "my middle name is Lisa" scene is referenced, the first break-up, the first kiss and her admitting to herself she had fallen for this guy: by the way I' don't know if 564 had past between the airing of the pilot and the airing of "Chuck vs the colonel", but the other numbers were correct) and thank you John Casey for bringing the mission log to her(I guess Bartwoski has made us both softer). It was very much like when he went to Sarah to tell her that Chuck hadn't killed the mole even if in that occasion she had already decided to be with Chuck and that revelation only reinforced her opinion taht she had made the right chioce by choosing Chuck.
On the Chuck side, it was great seeing him fighting for the love of his life even when everybody else believed she was gone for good and it was very much a Chuck thing when he decided to use the Intersect to save all those people and give up his own personal happiness (even if I think that, as some other commenters have said, it should have been also Sarah's call because it was her memories that were gone)as he did back at the end of season two.
Still, it was a great finale (other would-be finales maybe gave happier endings to Chuck and Sarah, but this one gave us hope that everything will turn out to be ok)and I'm going to miss this show very much.
Thank you Chuck for this wonderful ride and for giving us hope that things will turn out ok for everybody in the end.
Sorry for this very long sort of rant
Lee
January 29, 2012 at 2:56PM EST Reply to CommentOh, boy, do I feel dumb. I love "The Man Who Knew Too Much" - have seen it countless times and didn't get the reference. Ack. I chalk it up to my being caught up in the characters and how they were going to end the show..yup, that's my excuse.
But, really - I just had a dumb moment.
It would be fun if they ever got the green light, interest and money to do a full length film and I have to say, I am so glad they didn't kill off Casey. It would have changed it all for me.
This way, I am left satisfied for having been able to enjoy something so fun for so long.
Brian Barker
January 29, 2012 at 4:22PM EST Reply to CommentI want to know, what version of version of the intersect did chuck download, 1.0? 2.0? Or the rumored 3.0 that shaw was trying to acquire
Yann
January 29, 2012 at 6:09PM EST Reply to Comment"love letter to the fan" ?? seriously!!?? How can we like an amnesia plot?? HOW!!??? You create the sarah zombie walker, even in the pilot she wasn't an animal
thedecade
January 29, 2012 at 7:00PM EST Reply to CommentNot crazy about the 'talk to me about ...." It's clear the person being interviewed will talk to you when you ask the question. See / hear it all the time after sporting events.
ryan http://glorbi.com/bringbackchuck/counter
January 30, 2012 at 1:17AM ESTthere is a chuck petition still going on people we need help picking up steam. we don’t know if we can force a movie or what, but we need to make more noise!!! just an e-mail address is required it takes 10 seconds. more jeffster is possible!!!
BigB
January 30, 2012 at 6:26AM EST Reply to CommentI find it interesting that we are all talking about a TV show as if these characters are real people that we actually know and love. But that is precisely the point and why this show is so great. We were treated for five years to characters who were real, who grew and developed, who moved two steps forward and one step back on a regular basis. And yes, when I watched the finale I was watching very close friends struggle and hurt and I struggled and hurt with them. I finally had to step back and get some perspective and remind myself that this is only a TV show. It isn't real. When I did that I was also able to better enjoy one of the things that I like most about the show, and that is the acting. A lot of folks commented on how they didn't like Sarah losing five years of her life. But can you imagine what Yvonne had to do to pull that off? She had to become the original Sarah, the pre-Chuck Sarah. And as we all know "spies don't fall in love." I have no idea how Yvonne was never even nominated for an Emmy. Nobody else can do what she does. And the rest of the cast is right up there with her. Yes the ending made me sad but then i reminded myself that it is my right to fill in whatever ending I want. And I plan to do just that. Thank you cast and crew for giving us something that could and did generate so much enjoyment and love for so many people.
David Ditto to all you have said. When Sarah returns home in the beginning of chuck vs Sarah and he comes behind her and they say they love each other, did you see the minute change in her face that completely change the moment? What an incredible job, Yvonne. This is one fine, beautiful actor! And to have to make such a drastic change for these final two episodes after 5 years...WOW! No wonder she was crying so much those final days of shooting.
January 31, 2012 at 10:10PM ESTApple piie
January 30, 2012 at 11:21AM EST Reply to Commenthttp://glorbi.com/bringbackchuck/index
If you love chuck why don't give him another chance. sign this and share. We will get NBC or any other network realize that chuck is worth keeping!!
Col Bat Guano Unfortunately, five years of low ratings is going to carry far more weight witha any network than a few thousand names on a petition.
January 30, 2012 at 1:15PM ESTApple piie
January 30, 2012 at 11:21AM EST Reply to CommentIf you love chuck why don't give him another chance. sign this and share. We will get NBC or any other network realize that chuck is worth keeping!!
Jeffister no chance of it happening..NBC owns tv rights and Warner Bros owns movie rights
January 31, 2012 at 3:29PM ESTmikepengelly
January 31, 2012 at 7:39PM EST Reply to CommentIve just watched the last 2 episodes without realising that its the last 2 episodes.. I can honestly say im am gutted.
5 Seasons of Chuck and I actually wasn't ready for it to end. Its a tv show, I know this, but it was written and acted in such a way that without realising it your part of it. The emotions, the adrenaline. Ive never actually felt gutted that a show has ended until now.
I feel a strange feeling of incompleteness. It was an amazing ending and I think most people will agree that I wish Chuck and Sarah could have had a more solid ending, just for my sanity... The implication that they will go on is a lovely thought and even thought its totally not real, I cant help but feel like a large part has gone now.
The show was filled with Amazing Actors who did everything perfectly, writers who just seemed to be able to mix it up perfectly.
So i may not have realised it to begin with but Chuck was a brilliant show and it has become set in my heart and will stand there with other great tv shows. Thinking back now.. if it had ended with Sarah getting her memory back, well, maybe it wouldnt have been such a strong ending..
To all the cast and crew of Chuck. I salute you.
Thank you for the journey, Shame it had to end.
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