1. Sarah Bartowski doesn't live here anymore
Oh boy did Quinn do a number on Sarah, I didn't think it could get any worse than Sarah being forced to flash but seeing this Sarah like this was so freaking hard to watch!! This is a Sarah we have never seen before, even at the very start Chuck had melted her icy spy heart about 14 minutes and 2 seconds into the Pilot, not that I was counting.
No wonder Sarah turned into "Sarah Walker, scary wild card enforcer"; Sarah lost her memories and Quinn convinced her Chuck was responsible for the death of Bryce and Graham, the two most important people in Sarah's life 5 years ago. That was heart-breaking enough but then seeing Chuck realise that his best friend, wife and soul mate was for all intents and purposes gone was perhaps the saddest I ever felt watching the show. The distance in Sarah's voice calling Chuck "Bartowski" and saying she did "her job too well"...I never thought CHUCK could take me to such a deep, dark place, but it did.
What it showed me next was that even when things look darkest, the truest souls still shine the brightest. Chuck took Quinn's bullet for Sarah despite knowing that his wife wasn't really his wife any longer, yeah he had a bullet-proof vest but we all know Chuck would take that bullet for Sarah with or without the vest. Then he told Sarah to escape while she still could, even when the love of his life of his life was willing to kill him Chuck being Chuck still put her safety and well-being above his own. A week on I am still in tears thinking about it.
2. The Sarah Diaries
Speaking of tears...Sarah watching the "Project Bartowski mission logs", now that was intense! Up until this point Sarah could not really believe should could fall for an asset but seeing herself on the mission logs Sarah could see how over the journey Agent Walker became compromised and fell in love with Chuck. You could see Sarah being heart-warmed by her obvious love for Chuck but at the same time feeling heart-broken that she doesn't "feel it" and then Sarah tells Chuck at the fountain that she believes him but doesn't have have those feelings. Holy crap to see Chuck's heart rise and fall within the space of ten seconds...so intense and spirit-crushing.
Sarah then heads off after Quinn alone, some fans believe Chuck never should have let Sarah go at the fountain...but seriously get into Chuck's head space; in one day he was dealt so many physical and emotional hammer-blows I am surprised he could stand. You could forgive him for wanting to crawl into a corner and slowly die, even a man as heroic and selfless as Chuck has a breaking point.
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| I Love Chuck Bartowski and I don't know what to do about it... |
3. Goodbye old friends
All good (and great) things must come to an end; it is time to say goodbye and move on because all of our characters have come so far. Casey is making his way to Dresden to be with Gertrude and build a life for HIMSELF after serving his country with distinction for decades.
Morgan is now responsible, thoughtful and far more courageous than I thought he could ever be. Now he and Alex are moving in together and to have won Casey's friendship and approval speaks volumes to how far the little beared man has come.
Ellie and Devon have got new jobs in Chicago and with Clara they have a family of their own to look after now. Despite the painful ending, Ellie now has faith in Chuck's strength and is willing to let him find his own way in the way in the world. The protective older sister will still be there, just a phone call away but knowing Chuck has gone through so much and is still standing is a comfort to the elder Bartowski. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger...
So where does this leave our two main characters? Well they are the beach talking about what has come to pass and what the future holds...HANG ON A SEC!!! Isn't that where we left them 90 episodes ago when the pilot ended?!?!...Well yes and no.
Chuck knows he has a soul-mate in Sarah, whilst right now her memories may be a little hazy...his place is by her side, forever. Chuck would not trade these 5 years with Sarah for anything. Life may not make much sense right now, but with Sarah... Chuck can be the man he has always wanted to be. Sarah is slowly getting her memories back and she is willing to take a leap of faith with Chuck. The guy took a bullet for her and values her happiness and well-being far above his own, she can't think of anyone in her life now or previously who would be willing to do this. The spark is there and the memories will be back, plus that kiss at the end just proves their love is timeless and hope springs eternal for better days.
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| Five years on on our screens and yet forver in our hearts |
4. Callbacks
Nice to see Chuck and Sarah retracing some of their earlier steps through the Weinerlicious and the Mexican restaurant plus defusing the bomb under Beckman with the Demova virus (Sarah remembered it!!). The pilot was such a great episode and so was the finale, I appreciated and enjoyed the symmetry of it all, I mean did name the Blog "Cheerful Symmetry" after all; the way the Pilot and the Finale mesh together is quite remarkable. You really can appreciate how far we have come but also just how similar things are 5 years on...
Plus I know a few of you guys out there enjoyed seeing a certain leggy blonde spy back in the Wiernerlicious outfit. Personally I loved seeing Sarah in the Orange Orange uniform more (thank you Sarah video diaries)...I love the colour orange, especially how it looks on her plus the sky blue OO hoodie makes those beautiful blue eyes of Sarah sparkle and pop even more than usual!
I like the fact that both at the beginning and the end of the show the sense of hope but also a desire of wanting to know what's next for the couple, they face much uncertainty but knowing Chuck and Sarah will face it together is comforting...Chuck AND Sarah versus The Future!
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| The more things change... the more they stay the same |
5. The endpoint and the true meaning of a hero
The continuing theme I have been focusing on for most of Season 5 is Chuck and Sarah's hope to build a life of their own away from the spyworld. By the end of the finale you could say that Chuck and Sarah are well on the way to doing this.
With Sarah's memories slowly coming back it will take some time to get to know her husband again but now our favourite couple have seemingly retired from active duty they have plenty of time.
Time is such a precious commodity, it is something Chuck and Sarah have never had a lot of...until now!! There are no upcoming missions no "big bads" to stop...just a boy and girl, a nerd and kick-ass beauty...a husband and a wife who can just be with one another without the interference of the rest of the world and the entanglements that accompany it. I don't want to speak for the rest of you but this may just be my favourite thing from the finale and the thing which fills me with the most hope.
Sure the ending could have been a lot more fluffy; a Chuck and Sarah pregnancy or Sarah getting every memory back straight away. But CHUCK has always been about the checks and balances in life from love & loss to happiness & despair... just look at Chuck's journey to rise above hate and embrace the good in the world despite all the terrible things that have happened to him.
CHUCK has always shown us that everything worth fighting for in this life often comes at a price. So to get out of the dangerous life of the spyworld was never going to be easy and it was always going to cost something. In this case is was the temporary loss of Sarah's memories.
But such is the life of the hero, every day you go out try to make the world better mainly for those you love but also for people you may have never met... often at a great personal cost! From the spies fighting Fulcrum and The Ring to the Doctor saving lives in the ER to the Police Officer on the beat to the Firefighter/Paramedic/Emergency Services worker each rising to the challenges they face on a daily basis, never knowing what price they will be forced to pay for their actions.
Look at the personal toll the spy life has taken on Chuck, Sarah and Casey...more than any three people should have to lose or give up. But each and everyday they still show up ready to fight knowing that they may lose even more just so others don't have to...that is the true selfless nature of heroism.
I am glad that Chuck and Sarah (and Casey) made it out alive and these heroes can begin to live a life of their own together; they have paid the price and deserve to enjoy happier times now!
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| This is the future for Chuck & Sarah...love, laughs and happiness |
Bonus Chunks
6. Rivers and Roads
Man I truly love this song...there have been so very many great songs on CHUCK and whilst I am not saying this is the best song ever to be on the show; I just think it was the perfect song for the show to bow out to... the mix of melancholy, hope and devotion in the song was perfectly matched by the Zach and Yvonne emotional tour de force... right place and right song!
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| Who are we kidding? Every kiss is magic with these two!! |
I find myself riding the emotional roller coaster with Chuck and Sarah... laughing, crying and being heart-warmed. I am filled with the pangs of sorrow knowing this may be the last time I see Sarah and Chuck but I am also just so thankful to have been on the journey. This song seems to encapsulate the mixed bag of emotions brilliantly, and all I can say is that it's such a great song and thank you CHUCK!!
I have also come across a few great videos for the song online, firstly to Dren_lla cheers for pointing me in the directions of the Doe Bay Sessions performance of this song by The Head and The Heart... if this doesn't have you thumping the ground and kicking the dirt, I don't know what will!
Then there is also this awesome video...man I love the CHUCK fandom!!!
7. One song reviews
Those of you who follow my CHUCKed up rambling on twitter might be aware of group of us CHUCK fans that submitted "One Word Reviews" for many of the Season 5 CHUCK episodes, the one word review crew are a great bunch of people who love the show and it is my absolute honour to talk about the show with them.
Watching the last two episodes and thinking of just one word per episode to convey how I felt was so very difficult but thinking of a song for each was easier...funnily enough both were by the same band... the supremely awesome BLOC PARTY!!
Chuck vs. Sarah was definitely "The Pioneers" a song of such intensity and urgency matched by the seemingly insurmountable odds facing Chuck to get the wife and love of his life back to being her old self before it is too late. My review word was "Despair" but I think these lyrics describe the struggle better.
If it can be broke then it can be fixed,
If it can be fused then it can be split...
If it can be lost then it can be won,
If it can be touched then it can be turned.
All you need is time...
Chuck vs. The Goodbye was always also a thrilling ride but was also about re-tracing Chuck and Sarah steps and looking for the "Signs" of Sarah's memory and love of Chuck returning and why I feel that their connection, love and bond is "Eternal"...
The last time we slept together
There was something that was not there
You never wanted to alarm me
But I'm the one that's drowning now...
I see signs now all the time
That you're not dead, you're sleeping
I believe in anything
That brings you back home to me
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Bloggers note: I am in the midst of doing a longer piece with more thoughts on the CHUCK finale and in particular how I felt about it... so look out for that in the next day or so!!
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