Monday, May 31, 2010

Chuck - Chuck vs the Subway & Chuck vs the Ring: part II, S03E18-19 - Season finale

This excellent season of Chuck, which was renewed for a full season before the finale aired, concluded with just the right amount of mystery to make me unbelievably glad that it will be airing again in September. Waiting longer than that just would not have worked for me. I do have a few questions about that conclusion, but I am sure we will find out the answers in 4 short (and gloriously sunny) months.

The first episode of the 2 part finale, which aired back to back, started with Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) still in Ring custody, while Chuck (Zachary Levi) and his dad (Scott Bakula) worked on a governor device, designed to regulate the Intersect impulses racing through Chuck's brain.
With Ellie missing, the fear of Morgan (Joshua Gomez) and Devon (Ryan McPartlin), that Ellie was cheating, grew. All the while, Casey (Adam Baldwin), although bruised from his encounter with Ellie, was ordering pie at the restaurant where his daughter, Alex (Mekenna Melvin).

And if all that wasn't complicated enough, General Beckman (Bonita Fredericy) was defending the Intersect program to her higher ups, unaware that Daniel Shaw (Brandon Routh) was back and planning to take down the government from the inside.

I loved Ellie's reaction when she found out Chuck was an agent. Even more so, I loved how confused I was when it turned out that Ellie was being held in an actual CIA facility. The confusion about what was going on, who was a good guy or a bad guy, and all that sort of tension was absolutely delicious.
Also, Shaw's evil plan worked so well. Chuck played right into his hand, every time. When he was first arrested, it wasn't so big a deal, but when they were about to face off, and Shaw actually pulled the bad guy move of shooting Steven Bartowski, my heart just broke despite the fact that I saw it coming.

The second part was even better. Morgan and Devon had to rescue Chuck, Casey, and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovsky). Best car ever! The Crown Vic was armed with a missile launcher! I want that feature!
Ellie confronted Chuck about everything, making him promise to quit the spy game once Shaw was apprehended and the security of the CIA, NSA and every other defense organization was no longer compromised.

The battles continued, and while we learned that Chuck had first been exposed to the Intersect program when he was still a child and his brain was far more capable of processing the information than any others, his final battle with Shaw - taking place in the Buy More while the Jefster video played - was both intense and uncertain. When he rebooted and thus was significantly superior to Shaw, I cheered.

And so we come to the conclusion. No, we did not return to the status quo. Chuck has, apparently, quit the spy game. Sarah and Casey, however, likely haven't. It will be interesting to see how that continues to work next season. Morgan has equally not been released (or has he?). Now that a new mission has been established, on that is completely off the grid, of finding Chuck's mom, he's certainly going to want his team and his family by his side. But how is that going to work with Casey and Sarah still working for the government? I guess we'll find out.

I also though the Buy More send off was fantastic. Although I am not certain, it seems to me that Big Mike (Mark Christopher Lawrence), Lester (Vik Sahay), and Jeff (Scott Krinsky) no longer really have a place in the story line. Blowing up the store was a perfect end. I hope we will still see them occasionally, but there are new places to go.

Finally, the season was fantastic, the conclusion excellent, and the set up for next season perfect. All I have to add is that I love how much Adam Baldwin can say just by grunting or snarling. Casey's relationship with his daughter is sure to develop, and I love just how protective and fantastic a father he will end up being.

Can't wait for the fall.

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