I just watched the Finale last night (I'm in Afghanistan, with the Army, things don't happen on the same day as they do in the states).
I can't agree with you more on every single word you've written above. The Finale of Chuck was clearly the most perfect way that show could have ended, Chuck and Sarah are at the beginning of a whole new set of adventures.
Keeping the outcome of the kiss a mystery, too, was perfect. In much the same way as Chuck's proposal was left between them, this kiss too, was left between them. It was THEIR moment.
I feel the same way, about the void left by this show's absense, I discovered it in College, and it's kept me company through Law School and a deployment. I've loved Chuck and Sarah and always rooted for them. And I know for a fact that even if Fedak et al didn't actually TELL us that the kiss worked, they didn't need to, it was Sarah, real SARAH who told Chuck to kiss her, reborn in all her glory.
I didn't cry, but I came damn close, and I'm glad to read that someone else got the import of the ending.
Thanks for all the comments over the years, from one Chuck fan to another :)
You are very welcome, and thank YOU for kind words and thoughtful analysis. It's always so cool to hear from another fan who feels the same passion for this show as I do. And your point about the "Kiss Me" line being Sarah's rebirth is something I hadn't thought of, but makes total sense. I'm very glad you pointed it out.
Since the Chuck series has finally turned up on Netflix, myself and a good many others are now catching up on the series, filling in the blanks on missing episodes and the story. Yes, its almost 2 years since the series ended, but a good many people are finishing it off for the first time. And yes, the angst over the ending remains as strong today, as it was in January of 2012. I didn't see the finale the first time around - I couldn't watch it. I had heard about it, and simply couldn't accept it. Yvonne especially, had crafted so perfect and poignant a character, blessed her with so much hope, that I literally, couldn't stand to see that lost. I've only recent worked through it, and I'm not okay with it just yet.
Many have not noticed that the finale kiss is a callback to the episode in which Chuck saves Sarah from Shaw by shooting him with a real gun - the "shut up and kiss me" scene in Paris. Yvonne delivers the finale "kiss me" in the same way that she did in the Paris episode. This circles the arc back to her hazy memories of that time, and her slow realization that Chuck saved her. I think we're being asked to believe that this where we are again. For many though, I think it was maybe too subtle, especially those who had not seen that previous episode.
For me, the ending has been as difficult to watch, as their relationship has been important to me as an engaged viewer. I'm probably on average about 30 years older than the typical viewer, and unlike many viewers. I'm old enough to have actually lived through some of the real elements of Chuck and Sarah' s relationship. I needed a happy ending, because as art mirrors life, I truly know what an unhappy ending feels like in real terms. I want Chuck and Sarah to be whole, because I, personally, need the catharsis that comes from their salvation. Such is the power of television and the theatre when the actors and their work is as good as Yvonne's is in this.
Like many, I hope for a sequel for an affirmation of our desires Yes, it's just a TV show, but the uncertainty of wonder carries a price in the real world too. Good review, dude.
I just finished watching the finale last night. I've got to say it hit me hard. Harder than I expected. As a man you're supposed to be stoic about these sort of things but I was very upset. I just feel like Chuck and Sarah were robbed. Literally robbed. We the fans got robbed too. I can understand what Fedak et Al, were trying to do but it just doesn't work. Chuck gets back the woman of his dreams and she doesn't remember who he is? Or her love for him? WTF? Seriously? that's horrible. The way I understand it her feelings will come back and a lot/most of her memories will also return eventually. But whichever way you slice it she won't be the same Sarah who put on those intersect glasses. That Sarah died when Quinn abducted her. She will never be quite who she was or remember/understand their history together. It will be as if Chuck has dated two Sarah's. Some people seem to be able to rationalize this away but come on! She doesn't remember Casey, Morgan or Ellie and Devon! Since most of them are moving away there is no guarantee she ever will! It's like she died to them. No other fans feel how f'd up that is? You go through hell with a friend for years only for your relationship to be erased! Not OK! Also Morgan's miraculous recovery doesn't make sense anyway. Huge chunks of his memory are just gone. Even if his feelings about people return (Which I believe happens for both Morgan and Sarah) he's not going to be able to make sense of it or his identity because huge chunks of subtext are missing. In reality he would be a wreck who would never be the same person (exactly) again. Sarah was an even more extreme case. The idea of her just getting on with her life is preposterous! She would be a very damaged and disturbed person with a fragmented personality! Personally, it is obvious to me that If the intersect can take away memories it can be reprogrammed to restore them as well. We can see that Sarah’s memories have been supressed but are still in there somewhere. Ellie and Chuck between them should have been able to reverse the process. Volkoff had his real memories and identity completely supressed by the Intersect and subsequently 100% restored decades later. No reason that ultimately Morgan and Sarah couldn’t have their memories restored too. I would just like to have seen it! Another thing is that there was no mention of the insidious masterplan against Chuck which Dekker revealed had been in motion for years if not decades. Anyone recall his little speech about how the Intersect, Fulcrum, The Ring, Volkoff and himself were all part of a well-orchestrated plan against Chuck? You know not just a series of coincidences. Poof! That part of the plot vanished. If you’re thinking that the plot-point I’m referring too was wrapped up by Shaw’s return think again. His plan was devised after his imprisonment. All of that I could overlook if they had at least shown Sarah getting her memory back and both Chuck and herself escaping the Spy life unscathed. It was a very clever and well-acted finale which completely crapped on the character development of Sarah and the history between her and all of the other characters. The show ended with her a stranger to everyone that really mattered to her. What a load of F****** B*******!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! By Chris the pissed off fan!
Sir,
ReplyDeleteI just watched the Finale last night (I'm in Afghanistan, with the Army, things don't happen on the same day as they do in the states).
I can't agree with you more on every single word you've written above. The Finale of Chuck was clearly the most perfect way that show could have ended, Chuck and Sarah are at the beginning of a whole new set of adventures.
Keeping the outcome of the kiss a mystery, too, was perfect. In much the same way as Chuck's proposal was left between them, this kiss too, was left between them. It was THEIR moment.
I feel the same way, about the void left by this show's absense, I discovered it in College, and it's kept me company through Law School and a deployment. I've loved Chuck and Sarah and always rooted for them. And I know for a fact that even if Fedak et al didn't actually TELL us that the kiss worked, they didn't need to, it was Sarah, real SARAH who told Chuck to kiss her, reborn in all her glory.
I didn't cry, but I came damn close, and I'm glad to read that someone else got the import of the ending.
Thanks for all the comments over the years, from one Chuck fan to another :)
You are very welcome, and thank YOU for kind words and thoughtful analysis. It's always so cool to hear from another fan who feels the same passion for this show as I do. And your point about the "Kiss Me" line being Sarah's rebirth is something I hadn't thought of, but makes total sense. I'm very glad you pointed it out.
ReplyDeleteSince the Chuck series has finally turned up on Netflix, myself and a good many others are now catching up on the series, filling in the blanks on missing episodes and the story. Yes, its almost 2 years since the series ended, but a good many people are finishing it off for the first time. And yes, the angst over the ending remains as strong today, as it was in January of 2012.
ReplyDeleteI didn't see the finale the first time around - I couldn't watch it. I had heard about it, and simply couldn't accept it. Yvonne especially, had crafted so perfect and poignant a character, blessed her with so much hope, that I literally, couldn't stand to see that lost. I've only recent worked through it, and I'm not okay with it just yet.
Many have not noticed that the finale kiss is a callback to the episode in which Chuck saves Sarah from Shaw by shooting him with a real gun - the "shut up and kiss me" scene in Paris. Yvonne delivers the finale "kiss me" in the same way that she did in the Paris episode. This circles the arc back to her hazy memories of that time, and her slow realization that Chuck saved her. I think we're being asked to believe that this where we are again. For many though, I think it was maybe too subtle, especially those who had not seen that previous episode.
For me, the ending has been as difficult to watch, as their relationship has been important to me as an engaged viewer. I'm probably on average about 30 years older than the typical viewer, and unlike many viewers. I'm old enough to have actually lived through some of the real elements of Chuck and Sarah' s relationship. I needed a happy ending, because as art mirrors life, I truly know what an unhappy ending feels like in real terms. I want Chuck and Sarah to be whole, because I, personally, need the catharsis that comes from their salvation. Such is the power of television and the theatre when the actors and their work is as good as Yvonne's is in this.
Like many, I hope for a sequel for an affirmation of our desires Yes, it's just a TV show, but the uncertainty of wonder carries a price in the real world too. Good review, dude.
I just finished watching the finale last night. I've got to say it hit me hard. Harder than I expected. As a man you're supposed to be stoic about these sort of things but I was very upset. I just feel like Chuck and Sarah were robbed. Literally robbed. We the fans got robbed too. I can understand what Fedak et Al, were trying to do but it just doesn't work. Chuck gets back the woman of his dreams and she doesn't remember who he is? Or her love for him? WTF? Seriously? that's horrible.
ReplyDeleteThe way I understand it her feelings will come back and a lot/most of her memories will also return eventually. But whichever way you slice it she won't be the same Sarah who put on those intersect glasses. That Sarah died when Quinn abducted her. She will never be quite who she was or remember/understand their history together. It will be as if Chuck has dated two Sarah's. Some people seem to be able to rationalize this away but come on! She doesn't remember Casey, Morgan or Ellie and Devon! Since most of them are moving away there is no guarantee she ever will! It's like she died to them. No other fans feel how f'd up that is? You go through hell with a friend for years only for your relationship to be erased! Not OK!
Also Morgan's miraculous recovery doesn't make sense anyway. Huge chunks of his memory are just gone. Even if his feelings about people return (Which I believe happens for both Morgan and Sarah) he's not going to be able to make sense of it or his identity because huge chunks of subtext are missing. In reality he would be a wreck who would never be the same person (exactly) again. Sarah was an even more extreme case. The idea of her just getting on with her life is preposterous! She would be a very damaged and disturbed person with a fragmented personality! Personally, it is obvious to me that If the intersect can take away memories it can be reprogrammed to restore them as well. We can see that Sarah’s memories have been supressed but are still in there somewhere. Ellie and Chuck between them should have been able to reverse the process. Volkoff had his real memories and identity completely supressed by the Intersect and subsequently 100% restored decades later. No reason that ultimately Morgan and Sarah couldn’t have their memories restored too. I would just like to have seen it!
Another thing is that there was no mention of the insidious masterplan against Chuck which Dekker revealed had been in motion for years if not decades. Anyone recall his little speech about how the Intersect, Fulcrum, The Ring, Volkoff and himself were all part of a well-orchestrated plan against Chuck? You know not just a series of coincidences. Poof! That part of the plot vanished. If you’re thinking that the plot-point I’m referring too was wrapped up by Shaw’s return think again. His plan was devised after his imprisonment. All of that I could overlook if they had at least shown Sarah getting her memory back and both Chuck and herself escaping the Spy life unscathed.
It was a very clever and well-acted finale which completely crapped on the character development of Sarah and the history between her and all of the other characters. The show ended with her a stranger to everyone that really mattered to her. What a load of F****** B*******!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By
Chris the pissed off fan!