The season finale of Chuck remind us why we fuck this show in the first place : villainous cackles , pugilism , and a nougatty emotional kernel .
Let ’s get this out of the way right up top : I ’m not gon na retrograde the events of “ Chuck Versus the Subway ” and “ Chuck Versus the Ring , Part 2 . ” You would n’t be reading this if you did n’t already watch it — you know what fall out . or else , I wanna let the cat out of the bag about expectations and how our expectation for a show can bankrupt our experience watching it .
I ’ve been a little harsh on a few episodes here and there . I ’ve complained about the presence of the Idiot Ball , Chuck not learning from his mistakes , and the casual feel of some of the action subplots . Many of those I will fend by — lazy televisioning is still otiose televisioning . I need more from this show that I sleep with ; I always do . And when I did n’t get it , I snap at Chuck , like an beloved but errant pet . In doing so , I overlooked one , fundamental matter :
television set is a long con .
It ’s well-heeled to forget that , catch hebdomad after calendar week , trying to put together a puzzler without the welfare of even the moving-picture show on the box . Sometimes the pieces do n’t fit . Sometimes they feel superfluous , as if they ’re not even part of the teaser itself . But what we do , as a faithful audience , is position our trust in the writer and producers to give us what we need so that by the meter the long con has bleed its class , everything fall down into place : musical rhythm become sequence , sequence become seasons , season become a series .
And this two - part , two - hour finale just … clicked . The hr we tolerate with Shaw , Morgan ’s bumbling , the Awesomes trip to Africa , Chuck ’s ill - apprize lies , Jeffster and the BuyMore escapades — well , that last bit was still a waste of time — everything slotted into property like a well - machined scout . thing were lost ( most notably Scott Bakula ’s Papa Bartowski ) and thing were found ( Mama Bartowski ? ) — tears were shed , laughs were had ( Shaw explain his evil architectural plan , close with a sotto " Mwa - ha - ha , " was whiz ) .
I ’m aroused about where the show could go : Chuck still being a spy , still keeping secrets from everyone , still palpate his direction through his life , but now without his sustenance system of rules . The late Papa Bartowski can be Chuck ’s Alfred — or the crystal - happy Jor - El — via computer screen , guiding him through the Citizen Kane - like end of his secluded creation . And Sarah will have to know with being on the exterior … for once .
It ’s gon na be a long wait until next season .
ChuckrecapsTelevisionZachary Levi
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