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San Francisco, 5:17 PM
Wed Nov 25
23 posts in the last 24 hours
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04/29/09
04/28/09
1. Chuck was going to get the Intersect back at some point. The writers' options were to dick us around for half of the (mythical) next season, or to spare us the "Heroes" melodrama -- will they get their powers back? Of course they effin' will! -- and revisit a winning premise with a totally new and winning device.
The writers would need a wholly different contrivance to keep the Casey-Sarah-Chuck team together. Why the hell would they keep Chuck around if he had no Intersect? Oh, annoying nerdy guy who's done well in a pinch but still totally isn't a spy, let's go ahead and make you a spy now that you have nothing we want. That's not even an interesting premise for a show -- uh, nerd becomes a spy. That's my show! No thanks.
2. "Chuck" was too formulaic. Of course that guy Chuck totally trusts is a bad guy. Of course the Buy More crew is going to do something douchy but totally redeem themselves. Of course Casey is going to act like he's about to shoot/abandon/strangle-a-la-Homer Simpson Chuck, but then says something to band the ol' team together. I liked it for two seasons, but I feel the beginnings of a big yawn. Super-spy ninja Chuck piques my interest more than Jeffster!, I've gotta say.
3. Indeed, the episode seemed rushed. The threat of it being a series finale instead of a season finale seems to have put a little fat into the story.
4. I'd like to toss all the people who watch "Heroes" but not "Chuck" into a bottomless pit.
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thanks, Kiefer's dad. and thanks Garrison.
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The "self-indulgence" of the finale was a way of saying goodbye to what we're leaving behind--whether or not Jeffster remain on the show as it moves forward, Chuck's new Intersect and the new relationship it'll mean for Chuck, Sarah, and Casey, means that the show is moving forward, and something has to be left behind. So I loved Lester's "Mr. Roboto." And yeah, when Chuck, Bryce, and Sarah were cornered by Roark, I knew Casey would be the one who saved them--but it didn't matter, because it was just awesome.
The pace of the episode started to suffer just after the abortion of the first wedding ceremony. As a result, the ending was more rushed than I would have liked, which might have contributed to the anticlimactic feeling. When Chuck downloaded the Intersect again, I said, "Now Chuck knows kung fu!" and was both pleased and disappointed to see my prediction confirmed a few moments later. But I'm not crying foul yet.
We overuse the term "deus ex machina" far too often these days. I don't blame people so much as television for causing us to become familiar with it in the first place. However, an ending is only deus ex machina if it doesn't follow logically from what has come before--and we all admit we saw Chuck's kung fu skills coming; the foreshadowing was there. Likewise, let's not pre-judge the next (hopefully!) season based on the finale.
The Intersect was destroyed (again). The idea that Chuck can now "upload new skills into his brain as the plot demands" is fallacious. I'm sure that several of Chuck's skills will turn out to be conveniently suited to the plots at hand. But how is this different from Chuck's current level of computer expertise? Have we forgotten that this is the same Chuck who saved the world by beating Missile Command to the tune of "Tom Sawyer"?! The writers have never been shy about having Chuck's suitability for saving the day.
Honestly, the idea of Chuck being an ordinary analyst with the CIA is a non-starter. Chuck as the Intersect is just so much cooler and so much richer in terms of storytelling potential. I'm not willing to pan Chuck's new Intersect abilities as deus ex machina-prone until we actually see how the writers use them. Until then, I'm content with the fact that the writers delivered an exciting finale that tied up the story so far.
04/28/09
Well said.
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Good answer, but you're discussing the wrong version. I'm talking about the Fulcrum "intersect" Chuck was downloaded with far earlier this season, not last night's reboot. (Remember, it's part of what allowed him to realize where Fulcrum's most secret facilities were. Even the original gov't version of the intersect didn't have that intel.)
04/28/09
I don't really think the writers planned on people analyzing these little plot points, but I do think this issue can be explained thusly.
04/28/09
Your supposition seems plausible. Another possibility is that Orion's Intersect just can't be removed that way due to a difference in its design (it was, after all, an alpha version).
04/29/09
Not only was it at least three generations removed from the last thing Chuck had uploaded (original e-mailed version, the sunglasses update, and the version Fulcrum fed into him), but it also appears to cause him pain when he flashes, where Chuck is merely disoriented.
04/28/09
"Why are you letting Sam Kinnison and that Indian lesbian ruin your wedding?" (delivered deadpan, no less.)
Please, tv gods, let there be a season three for people to love or snipe at. Me, I plan to keep enjoying the show as long as it's on the air.
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Still want a third season. I want to see where this is going.
04/28/09
Besides, it sort of makes sense; the past two seasons have basically been the government desperately trying to track, trap, or save the Intersect's life. If I were a giant government agency, the first things I would build into 2.0 are self-defense skills, a tracer that can't be taken off like a watch, and potentially some sort of remote control abilities. I wouldn't be shocked if it turns out Chuck can now be remotely brain-locked in some way, if the government think this new piece of tech is being misused.
Regardless, I have faith. Levi's funny enough to carry most anything off, and the writers have been remarkably inventive with a premise that could've gone stale instantly.
04/28/09
The End.
Thank you and good day.
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How do you balance having a good season finale with not wrapping up every story line completely in case the series folds and never comes back. No one hates the untimely death of a show with open plot lines, so how can you not leave everyone wanting, but still keep enough mystery that there is still a plausible story line to return to if need be?
All that being said, I love the show, and hope it comes back, with bells on.
04/28/09
04/29/09
You're assuming that Orion is safe. Note that we just had a whole new bunch of badguys pop up out of nowhere, and Orion no longer has his wrist-comp-thingy. And we never saw any of what happened with him after Chuck took off to save Bryce. I wouldn't put it past them to run a shot of Orion getting captured from the reception as the cold opening of the season 3 premiere.
@ninjajazza:
Nah. Orion will make a new Intersect, and Bryce will show up to destroy it in the season 3 finale.
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I would almost be happy losing the whole Chuck angle altogether, seeing Big Mike getting his job back, and having a Jeffster spin off show. The Mr. Roboto was amazing and in my circle of friends a legendary wedding staple, so it made me laugh on a couple of levels.
04/29/09
Mr. Roboto is not a wedding staple in any circle of friends. It may be a wedding _reception_ staple, but noone plays it as part of the actual ceremony. Though I do have two friends who used the Imperial March as the processional at the end of their wedding (her idea, which kinda surprised me. They followed it up with the Muppet Show theme song as they arrived at the reception.
04/28/09