Chuck -2x22 -"Chuck vs. The Ring"-Discuss/Grade <SPOILERS>

[Thrall]

If it's true that there are NBC suits that love the show, there's a good chance at renewal despite the crappy ratings. And Yvonne Strahowski said in her "finale" interview that they were planning this finale to set up a great "final season next year," so maybe the producers will use that as a bargaining chip:

"Hey guys, you love us even though are ratings are low, but if you renew us we'll wrap it all up next season."

Could work.

If not, it's Farscape all over again (without the 4-hour TV movie ending).

Honestly though, their ratings really aren't that bad by NBC standards. They do better then Heroes sometimes. They do better then Parks and Recreation. They do better then My Name is Earl. They do better then Friday Night Lights. They do just as well as 30 Rock. And all of those shows have WAY less competition in their time slots. You put Chuck on Thursdays or Sundays, watch the ratings go up.

 

[TGTheodore]

Great episode. Almost everyone got to shine. They left the Big Mike subplot for next season.

Now, it'll be just the opposite. Chuck will WANT to kick ass and they'll have to hold him back. Loved the "modifications" that Orion added to the Intersect (can't wait to see the rest of them). And for all we know they may only be triggered under certain circumstances, such as impending immediate danger. Would love to see Chuck pretend to pick a fight and have his "power" fail him.

And I doubt Bryce is dead. He was dragged out of the room pretty darned quickly.

Wonder if Chuck blew the whole check on the second wedding?

And I wonder if somehow Orion knew that Chuck might end up with the Intersect again and that's why he made the changes--to protect his son the second time around.

And the Intersect terminal was a Macintosh Classic again! LOVE it!.

This show MUST have one more season.

--Ted

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Eh I dunno, that was a bit lame for the season finale. So Chuck loses the intersect for exactly one episode before doing exactly what we expected? And the big game changer was that he knows kung-fu? Nah, that's not a game changer. A game changer is if the intersect makes Chuck evil. Where does this plot twist put us going into the next season? Eh, nowhere particularly interesting.

OTOH, I went to Subway today for lunch! This show is still worth watching so let's hope for renewal.

Oh well. I guess that, should the series get renewed, Zach Levi will be in for a summer full of fight training so his future bust-ups won't need so many cuts in the editing room.

Yeah that was...awkward.

If not, it's Farscape all over again (without the 4-hour TV movie ending).

Oh not nearly that bad! That wouldn't be a terrible ending for the show. If they're serious about losing the Chuck's-a-nerd notion then they've ruined the show's theme which is that Chuck triumphs for being a nerd and doesn't need to know kung-fu to win. That's okay as an ironic ending twist but to really use it violates the core premise of the show and renders the character uninteresting. There are half a billion ass-kicking characters out there; Chuck shouldn't be dragged down to that mundane level.

 

[the Dagman]

Great episode. Almost everyone got to shine. They left the Big Mike subplot for next season.

Now, it'll be just the opposite. Chuck will WANT to kick ass and they'll have to hold him back. Loved the "modifications" that Orion added to the Intersect (can't wait to see the rest of them). And for all we know they may only be triggered under certain circumstances, such as impending immediate danger. Would love to see Chuck pretend to pick a fight and have his "power" fail him.

Actually, Orion didn't do all those modifications. He said something was done to the information matrix and was asking Bryce what it was, to which Bryce replied that he didn't want to know. Orion merely reconfigured the cube from its state last episode where it was set to wipe out the Intersect in Chuck's head (although not his own, and he had his eyes open for it) to where it will upload the Intersect instead.

I do agree with the idea of the "power" having an on/off switch. There's also the possibility of several other skill sets were also uploaded. It would be just like the government to put such things on a "need to know" basis. We need Casey to go over and slap him in next season's premiere. Just to show Chuck that it's not him that knows kung fu, it is the Intersect.

And I doubt Bryce is dead. He was dragged out of the room pretty darned quickly.

I noticed that as well. Remember that agent that Orion flashed on that was supposed to be dead? Maybe there is a kind of Universal Soldier program going on?

Wonder if Chuck blew the whole check on the second wedding?

That depends on how much they had given him for two years of being drafted into risking his life. I doubt it will be mentioned again. Chuck getting rich is not what Chuck is about anyway. The money would get in the way. And if he did blow it all, it kind of says a lot about how much he loves his sister now, doesn't it?

And I wonder if somehow Orion knew that Chuck might end up with the Intersect again and that's why he made the changes--to protect his son the second time around.

Again, he didn't make the changes. I'd wager that the General did. She spent two years coddling an Intersect asset that didn't have the training needed to use it right. She likely made the change to correct what she saw as an error. Remember, she did ask Chuck to join the new Intersect team. If it turned out that Bryce was not able to hold it (a concern going back to the first season, first episode. Not everyone has the capacity to do it), then she likely planned on drafting Chuck into the job again. She assumed Chuck would join to stay with Sarah. She did not think he would say no.

And the Intersect terminal was a Macintosh Classic again! LOVE it!.

Ditto.

This show MUST have one more season.

At least!

 

[Skywalker]

And I doubt Bryce is dead. He was dragged out of the room pretty darned quickly.

I noticed that as well. Remember that agent that Orion flashed on that was supposed to be dead? Maybe there is a kind of Universal Soldier program going on?

Maybe. Hasn't Bryce already returned from the dead once? Or was it that Fulcrum managed to save him just in the nick of time? I can't remember exactly.

 

[Iasius]

I absolutely loved it.

I think a good way to keep Chuck from being IKnowKungFuChuck all day next season would be that he HAS to flash to use those abilities and introduce a few difficulties there.

That said, if this show doesn't get a third season, this should serve just fine as a series finale.

 

[CommanderJMic]

I'm an avid watcher (I even bought my $5 footlong yesterday), but I can't say I was thrilled with the "Chuck-fu" ending. I wasn't surprised by the return of the Intersect to Chuck's head, but I think the fighting skills—if continued—threaten to ruin the show's charm.

That said, I am intrigued by the third group of "spies" and I hope I get to see where the story leads.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

If it doesn't return for another season I think that ending will do me fine. Goes back in with eyes open, it was his choice this time and he knew what he was getting in to... plus now he can defend himself (as far as we know). So while not the perfect ending it isn't exactly one I'd be too horrified over if that's all we get.

 

[TheBrew]

Honestly, it worked as a series finale to me. At the end, Chuck stepped up to the plate and into the shoes he has been wearing the whole time. He quit the Buy-More. If they had one more scene of the three of them suiting up for a mission and Chuck being the Hero he knows he is, it would be perfect for me. "A riding off into the sunset" sort of ending.

 

[Ryan]

If they're serious about losing the Chuck's-a-nerd notion then they've ruined the show's theme which is that Chuck triumphs for being a nerd and doesn't need to know kung-fu to win.

This.

 

[Sheep]

If they're serious about losing the Chuck's-a-nerd notion then they've ruined the show's theme which is that Chuck triumphs for being a nerd and doesn't need to know kung-fu to win.

This.

The writers HAVE to have some plan in place to account for Chuck's new fighting skills. I trust they know that him being able to fight will completely throw off the balance of the show.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

I just hope they don't fall into the tempting trap of having the new Intersect "corrupt" Chuck/make hum evil/drive a wedge between him and the team. God that would be lame.

 

[Guy Gardener]

This feels like that episode of Voyager were the Doctor jumps ship to be an opera singer superstar for some aliens that just love him... Until they make their own singing holigram who is so much better and doesn't have a fraction of the lip.

Its cheating.

Besides he still doesn't know how to fight. Just because he's got all these autonomic moves, it doesn't mean that he actually knows what he's doing does he? Is he sitting back and enjoying the ride as his body is working against his wishes... O! I'm recalling lines from the failed Bionic Woman where skeevy Isiah Washington was mocking the girls factory settings default combat style.

More clarification is needed.

O. Sending him to the car is what turned Sarah on.

NuChuck just won't do it for her.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

Yeah, it is cheating. When I first heard that there would be a "shocking" death in the finale and that it would be "game-changing," I honestly thought they'd kill Awesome at the wedding (thus bringing the danger close to home for Chuck) or Sarah or Casey would get shot.

But this kung fu stuff a little silly.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

O. Sending him to the car is what turned Sarah on.

NuChuck just won't do it for her.

Yeah, Chuck was the anti-Bryce. And her way to having a normal life. NuChuck will be "different" (cue subsequent cooling of romance between them), especially if the new Intersect starts to change who he is.

 

[TGTheodore]

Of course, when Chuck wakes up the following morning, he won't be able to move. He's not in shape and using all those muscles that way is BOUND to really hurt him physically.

That would a great scene to open the next season -- Chuck unable to get out of bed.

If the show returns, I'm not worried in the least that the basic change in premise will be that much different or permanent. There are bound to be consequences and limitations of the Intersect 2.0. Chuck's still Chuck in there.

It definitely will complicate the love story. And it's wide open for whatever direction they want to go with Chuck's abilities (or lack thereof).

I also noticed same parallel and phrasing of a larger "circle" of bad guys as they've used on 24 the last two weeks. The words have almost been identical.

It killed me when Jeff leaned over to the violinist and sad, "In A. Try to keep up, and watch me for the changes."

--Ted

 

[Othello]

i REALLY don't like this change though I understand it. I definitely want Chuck to get picked up for a third season but am skeptical I will enjoy the new direction. as much as the old.

 

[davejames]

I don't know. There were some cool moments, but after the BRILLIANT previous episode, this one came across as really jumbled and unfocused for some reason-- like the writers expected to be wrapping the series up, and then had to jam in a cliffhanger at the last minute when they thought they might get renewed. It just didn't flow well at ALL.

As much as I'd like to see the show come back, they really had something good going with the way they were wrapping all these stories and characters up, and it's a shame they weren't able to follow through on that.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Oh no.

sex.

Chuck is fucking and then he really begins to wonder why he he is fucking like he is fucking and that these are really not his moves at all entirely... he's not even sure if he has moves, so why is his thing in that and they're all upsideways in the... His dad did the programming right?

This is how daddy did mommy verbatim?

This'd be just like how Chuck learnt how to ride a bike, with pappy pushing him.

Lovely epiphany.

Maybe Sarah likes being vomited on?

 

[RoJoHen]

I'm surprised people are upset over the last few minutes. I thought they were awesome, and I knew it was going to happen as soon as Bryce said that this new intersect was too powerful. Even if they don't get rid of it, I don't see it ruining the show. Frankly, the "Chuck is a helpless nerd" arc had been played out and would have gotten really tiresome if they just repeated it for a third season. This gives them new stuff to play around with, and I hope it gets renewed so I can see what they decide to do.

Overall, I thought this was easily one of the best of the series...although that's been true for the last 3-4 episodes as well!