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Chuck versus the NeoGAF - The Official Season 4 Thread - Mondays on NBC

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V

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
Episode was so so... but I actually like the setup of them going rogue... should make next season a tad more interesting....

Also while I didn't see it coming persay, it did always bug me about all of the inside shit like the ring and fulcrum with no real IDK closure.

BTW man did the special effects when Chuck was on the bike look B A D. That and the green screen was sooooo awful.
 
D

Doorman

Member
.......Ah.......

...Actually, I'm not so pleased with this turn of events. Why weren't they all thrown in jail? Or killed, or all that other stuff Casey warned about? I guess the "final twist" makes some sense in that Chuck kind of reached the pinnacle of his abilities with the intersect so this gives them an opportunity to revisit the inexperience angle.

I'm curious to see what they do with it, but I'm not a fan of the setup at first blush.
 
S

Solo

Member
Didn't particularly like it, and it was easily the weakest finale yet (yes, even S1's non-finale was better). The Sarah drama was tensionless because she was never going to die, Chuck and Sarah buying the Buy More is a contrived way to keep the status quo yet again for S5, and the wrap up of the Vivian plot was unsatisfactory, much like that entire plot was. And then there was that awful twist at the end, which reeks of having run out of ideas ("hey its, season 5, might as well given Morgan a go!").

- Chuck: "that guy might think he's a hardass, but I'm the Intersect" - nice!
- no opening credits, weird
- lol deus ex machina motorcycle
- removing the Intersect from Chuck has become a pointless twist - we all know he'll get it back before the end of next year's premiere
- Casey: "Russians. So many Russians." :lol
- the flashbacks to S1 and S2 got me
- Morgan the driver, haha
- bad plot twist or worst plot twist?
 
P

PhoncipleBone

Banned
Solo said:
Didn't particularly like it, and it was easily the weakest finale yet (yes, even S1's non-finale was better). The Sarah drama was tensionless because she was never going to die, Chuck and Sarah buying the Buy More is a contrived way to keep the status quo yet again for S5, and the wrap up of the Vivian plot was unsatisfactory, much like that entire plot was. And then there was that awful twist at the end, which reeks of having run out of ideas ("hey its, season 5, might as well given Morgan a go!").

- Chuck: "that guy might think he's a hardass, but I'm the Intersect" - nice!
- no opening credits, weird
- lol deus ex machina motorcycle
- removing the Intersect from Chuck has become a pointless twist - we all know he'll get it back before the end of next year's premiere
- Casey: "Russians. So many Russians." :lol
- the flashbacks to S1 and S2 got me
- Morgan the driver, haha
- bad plot twist or worst plot twist?
Click to expand...

I agree on almost all counts. Giving Morgan the Intersect was something I was calling for a while, but the way that he got it was handled in a pretty lame fashion. Hopefully having a firm end date helps things, because this was the weakest finale yet.
 
N

NotTheGuyYouKill

Member
I liked the episode. Not the best, but enjoyable. I think Dalton has been the best part of this season, he's great on-screen.

As for the cliffhanger... it could be interesting that everything up till now was part of something greater and far more sinister. I hope the writers don't drop the ball. Also Intersect Morgan... could be fun for a couple of episodes, but I hope it doesn't become permanent.
 
W

WascallyWabbit

Member
i gotta say, i think i've lost my objectivity on Chuck, i just like the dang characters so much that even when i know a episode is subpar, i still talk myself into liking it

that said, the cliffhanger should have been

Chuck's dad being still alive
 
T

TerminalDogma

Member
WascallyWabbit said:
i gotta say, i think i've lost my objectivity on Chuck, i just like the dang characters so much that even when i know a episode is subpar, i still talk myself into liking it

that said, the cliffhanger should have been

Chuck's dad being still alive
Click to expand...

YES to the spoiled portion of your post! I totally thought that was going to happen (and would have been super pumped if it did, Orion is AWESOME.) As it was...yeah weak finale. Thankfully the show isn't ending on that note though, they still have a chance to go out on something better. Hopefully they don't mess it up.
 
D

Doorman

Member
I, for one, am not totally convinced that Chuck will get the intersect back. Gives us a throwback to see how good of a spy Chuck actually is without Intersect 2.0 souping up all of his actions, and like I said before I guess the idea is that now Morgan has the chance to go through all the "intersect growing pains" that Chuck has dealt with.

That said, it does raise some continuity issues. If someone like Morgan can handle the intersect, does that somewhat invalidate that Bryce gave it to Chuck specifically because he was supposedly one of the few that could manage it? Will Chuck give his Governor watch to Morgan to keep him from losing his mind? There've been a lot of details about how special the intersect is supposed to be built up over the years and it feels like a lot of them are being glossed over now.

Still, they left open the option of Shaw returning! Hurrah. And it'll be interesting to see the inevitable General Beckman vs. Team Bartowski episode play out.
 
T

TehOh

Member
The episode was cute, but iffy.

HOWEVER, I am totally sold on that finale. I am really excited about the Chuck version of The A-Team with Super Morgan (if they don't open the next season with a parody of the A-Team opening, I'll be really disappointed).

I also really hope that Chuck doesn't get the Intersect back. I'd love to see the show end with him as the confident team leader - it would really bring the show full circle.
 
R

Rokam

Member
Enjoyed the episode quite a bit, and ready for the final season.

Here's a season 5 spoiler to tide you over!

We really wanted to get back to what it’s like when Chuck — who has a little bit of experience under his belt — doesn’t have the super computer in his head anymore. Now his best friend Morgan has the super computer in his head and he needs him

Courtesy of tvline.
 
S

Solo

Member
Chuck should have stayed de-Intersected at the end of S2. That was the natural progression they should have taken. But that ship has sailed.
 
T

TehOh

Member
Solo said:
Chuck should have stayed de-Intersected at the end of S2. That was the natural progression they should have taken. But that ship has sailed.
Click to expand...

I absolutely agree with that. When Orion gave Chuck the wrist-computer, I was really hoping the show would go forward with Chuck as the engineer/gadget/smarts guy.
 
A

Apoc29

Member
Morgan the Intersect amounts to a "Haha, oh you..." moment for me. Really glad they're given a chance to end this show properly. I miss the Buy More 'B' stories.
 
J

Jerk

Banned
Chuck as a competent non-intersect spy could be interesting.

I hope they establish this early in the next season so we will not have to deal with too much BS. Something along the lines of the intersect's role as some sort of teaching tool...

As for Morgan... BAD IDEA. They should have gotten rid of all the intersect shit and moved on...
 
S

Screaming_Gremlin

My QB is a Dick and my coach is a Nutt
I would agree with most people that overall the episode was iffy. I just didn't really see Decker as a threat. At least not compared to Shaw in last year's final. As Morgan said, he was really just more of a douche. It also hurt that there wasn't a lot of tension with Sarah, since there is no way they were going to kill her, especially if the episode ended up being the series finale.

Morgan of course was fantastic. Especially when he was discussing on how to take out the CIA agent. Sweep the legs or karate chop. I also loved Casey's line, "That's smart, Reagan smart." I also enjoyed that we went back to a bit more goofy Volkoff. There was also some good Chuck/Sarah

I never liked Vivian as a bad guy, but they ended that storyline about as best they could... I guess. I don't know, I just don't think that storyline really went anywhere so I am glad they are moving on.

Now as for the ending. I don't like this whole conspiracy thing. I just don't see them being able to come up with an explanation that ties everything up in even a remotely satisfactory way. Also, my first thought of when Chuck mentioned that they bought a Gulfstream is that I will forever take back anything even remotely positive I have ever said about the music in Chuck if next year I am forced to listen to "Like a G6" at any point in the season. Bad enough that shit already helped ruin Human Target.

Despite my complaints about the conspiracy, and my disinterest in Decker, and my worry of having to listen to that shitty song, and no matter how cheesy it is... a show where Morgan is the intersect is quite frankly amazing. More importantly, it is a show that I want to watch. So I am actually looking forward to next season much more than I was looking forward to S4.
 
Zomba13

Zomba13

Member
I quite liked it.

Morgan getting the intersect could be interesting
I bet that Papa B is still alive, the CIA guy laughed when Chuck said he was dead.
I kinda feel like Bryce might still be alive, we saw the body dragged off and if the CIA guy is right and everything has been manipulated then there is no reason that Bryce's 'death' was real.
I think Chuck will get the intersect back soon, he's lost it and gotten it back and patched it and upgraded it so many times now. I'm almost willing to bet he'd get it back by putting the glasses on.
 
Infinity

Infinity

Member
Pumped for the final season. Loved tonight's episode.

As I watched, I couldn't help but think how often Morgan steals certain scenes. He's the perfect sidekick.

And now it's the other way around! Putting the intersect into Morgan's head was a great ending to this season.
 
BJK

BJK

Member
Can't shake the feeling that the Season 4 finale was essentially a mash-up of Seasons 2 (Bartowski family wedding; re-intersecting) and 3 (Chuck going rogue w/ new agenda).

Slight twist in that it wasn't Chuck who received the Intersect (which is the 'back to Season 1' twist I had seen rumored over the weekend), but I'm not sure it's a good one. Rather than allowing Morgan to grow up, we're going to be forced to watch him lie to Alex the way Chuck did to Ellie .


I appreciate that this is where the writers want to take things, but it reaffirms my thoughts that I was glad the show is being given 13 episodes to wrap things up. (In the episode's defense, the pre-wedding montage gave me the same feeling, but in a much better way.)
 
aparisi2274

aparisi2274

Member
I appreciate the twist with
Morgan becoming the intersect
, but I would enjoy it more if it was a more powerful version, with abilities that
Chuck did not have
. If it's the same stuff, then that's boring.
 
S

Screaming_Gremlin

My QB is a Dick and my coach is a Nutt
You guys don't need to use spoiler tags now that the episode has aired.

BJK said:
Rather than allowing Morgan to grow up, we're going to be forced to watch him lie to Alex the way Chuck did to Ellie .
Click to expand...

I doubt he would have to lie to Alex. It isn't like she doesn't already know that he works with her father for the government. Well, did work for the government.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
What in the dang?!? :p That wasn't as well executed as I would have liked, but I'm intrigued with where they ended up. The Morgan intersecting could be an unmitigated disaster next season, or it could be a lot of fun. In any case, I like them trying something new out and hopefully the firm thirteen episode order will help them write something strong. Guess we'll have to wait and see...
 
R

RevoDS

Junior Member
Freelance Team Bartowski should make for a fun season next year (the whole "but you were actually evil" twist was extremely reminiscent of Alias though)...but I'm not sure Intersecting Morgan was really necessary.

Good episode overall, but I agree that it's subpar for a finale. Considering next season is 13-and-done, I hope they can run with it instead of rebooting as they're used to doing.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
RevoDS said:
Freelance Team Bartowski should make for a fun season next year (the whole "but you were actually evil" twist was extremely reminiscent of Alias though)...but I'm not sure Intersecting Morgan was really necessary.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's the thing for me. I was down with how it was set up to begin with, and then they threw in the Morgan bit at the end, too.
 
S

Silh

Member
Decent finale I guess… damn it, Morgan. Well, all I can do now is hope that won't last too long.

A shame Decker wasn't as threatening as we were lead to believe. In hindsight, it makes the scene at the beginning with Casey going pale disappointing. It was a sure sign shit was about to get real but it never did.

Casey tearing up at the wedding though? Ahahaha.
 
B

BankaiZaraki

Banned
I'm with you guys on the season finale. Sure it had its good parts but there were also some head scratching moments for me. The biggest wtf moment was when Morgan got intersected. There are no moments in the whole Chuck mythology where Morgan is even able to comprehend thousands upon thousands of images that Chuck is able to. So when Morgan goes through with it without knowing what it is, I can't believe Morgan is able to still be alive where presumably hundreds have failed before him. It's a ridiculous plot twist and I hope they get it out of him but probably won't. Also, with 877 million dollars, I wonder if Chuck will try to build an intersect of his own so he can re-upload it. Be a nice little plot to deal with in regards to season 5. Also, I hope Clyde Decker returns. That guy was boss throughout the episode. I actually loved the wedding scene and the flashbacks from the 1st episode, to the first kiss and what not..very touching imo. I actually liked the Vivian ending plot. I knew as a viewer that Vivian didn't want to be the person she was trying to be so it was satisfactory for her and her father to re-connect and vanish off the face of the planet with new identities. So stoked about season 5 and where it leads to.
 
B

BankaiZaraki

Banned
Zomba13 said:
I quite liked it.

Morgan getting the intersect could be interesting
I bet that Papa B is still alive, the CIA guy laughed when Chuck said he was dead.
I kinda feel like Bryce might still be alive, we saw the body dragged off and if the CIA guy is right and everything has been manipulated then there is no reason that Bryce's 'death' was real.
Click to expand...

The writers have confirmed over and over again that Papa B and Bryce are both dead. Matthew Bomer(Bryce) is on White Collar so he'd never be cleared to partake in another series while one is still ongoing. Unless I've missed something, I don't see the writers bringing back either guy. No need for it really.
 
O

Oozer3993

Member
BankaiZaraki said:
I'm with you guys on the season finale. Sure it had its good parts but there were also some head scratching moments for me. The biggest wtf moment was when Morgan got intersected. There are no moments in the whole Chuck mythology where Morgan is even able to comprehend thousands upon thousands of images that Chuck is able to. So when Morgan goes through with it without knowing what it is, I can't believe Morgan is able to still be alive where presumably hundreds have failed before him. It's a ridiculous plot twist and I hope they get it out of him but probably won't. Also, with 877 million dollars, I wonder if Chuck will try to build an intersect of his own so he can re-upload it. Be a nice little plot to deal with in regards to season 5. Also, I hope Clyde Decker returns. That guy was boss throughout the episode. I actually loved the wedding scene and the flashbacks from the 1st episode, to the first kiss and what not..very touching imo. I actually liked the Vivian ending plot. I knew as a viewer that Vivian didn't want to be the person she was trying to be so it was satisfactory for her and her father to re-connect and vanish off the face of the planet with new identities. So stoked about season 5 and where it leads to.
Click to expand...

It's been shown this season and last that the CIA (and Fulcrum) had worked out the kinks with the Intersect and could put it in just about anyone. There was never any talk (as far as I can remember) about either of the Gretas who got Intersected being special in the same way that Chuck is. Same for Shaw.
 
P

PhoncipleBone

Banned
Another Fedak interview from EW.

ew said:
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You all had said all season that you sort of saw Morgan as the mini-Chuck in the spy world. Was this just a way of bringing that idea full circle?
CHRIS FEDAK: I think there’s two things. I think the first is that Chuck is so great as Chuck Bartowski, and we were really excited to take him back to the guy who doesn’t have a supercomputer in his head. And now he’s had all this experience and training and following that character without the Intersect is something we really wanted to do. On the flip side, we have Josh Gomez, who is so comedic and wonderful. And because the show isn’t the show without the Intersect, we thought, “What if he got the intersect in his head?” And the moment the writers started thinking about it, we got that goofy smile on our face. That’s the show: Chuck having to protect his little buddy, Morgan Guillermo Grimes. We love that evolution. So it’s certainly based on, like you said, the full-circle nature of season 5. Also, Zach and Josh are just great.

What made you want to take them out of the CIA environment?
In season 4 and 3, we took a big CIA angle. We gave them the resources of the CIA and they went on missions to Iraq and Moscow and Russia. And there was a part of me that was, like, “What happens if you take away all those resources? The protection of the CIA?” And even though they have the Volkoff fortune, there’s something, too, about working for the government that protects you. Season 5 will be more dangerous than ever before. They’re on their own. Chuck also doesn’t have the Intersect any more.

I love how you took away the protection but they still have money so they can still go overseas.
Oh yeah! I still love to go overseas. I’d love to find myself in a Swiss vault at least one point next season.

Tell me about the decision to let Sarah and Chuck have a happy ending. You could have easily played with fans’ hearts — don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you didn’t! But as a fan, it’s satisfying. Was their happy ending important to you?
For us, we have done three seasons of the will-they-won’t-they. I think that, for us, we didn’t [necessarily know] that they were going to be a couple together. But in the “Honeymoon” episode in season 3, you see how great they are as a couple. They’re so funny, charming, and romantic. I think, for us, we weren’t afraid of allowing them to be a couple and allowing them to be married. We all get married; we all grow up. This story is about Chuck’s evolution from being a 20-something to now being a guy who knows what he wants to do, has a job, and has a beautiful girl. But that doesn’t make life any less complicated.

Maybe you expected this the whole time, but has it ever surprised you how getting them together didn’t soil the chemistry at all? Obviously, that’s always a worry in these situations.
I was, of course, nervous, like any producers. But we knew that it wasn’t the will-they-or-won’t-they that made them fantastic. It was the actual, natural, movie-star chemistry they have.

Now that they’re hitched and happy, what adventures can we expect from them?
They’re happy and married, but it doesn’t mean their lives aren’t going to be complicated and dangerous. And starting up this spy firm, there are a lot of emotional and epic things that are going to happen in season 5. It’s going to test their character and their relationship. We haven’t seen them ride off into the sunset. I think that there’s still a lot more for them to deal with.

Babies?
I guess I’m not seeing a how a baby might fit into the new spy team. I actually spent too much time thinking and talking about the prosthetic baby bump for Sarah Lancaster [when her character was pregnant]. So I think I’d like to steer clear of that. [Laughs.]

Speaking of Ellie. How do Ellie and Awesome fit into this?
She’s sort of found herself involved in Chuck’s world, with the computer. So for season 5, they’re going to be a little closer to the spy world than they have in the past. But they’re also two brilliant doctors, and we have fun looking at their lives and how different it is from Chuck’s. It’s still going to be a different world.

So you did you plan out this season knowing there was a season 5?
We didn’t know until a few days ago. We were locked into the finale before there’d be a season 5. We called it “Chuck versus the Cliffhanger,” but it was a cliffhanger in the most fun sense of the world. We knew there wasn’t going to be a cliffhanger in that Chuck and Sarah get into a limo, and there’s a bomb — even though we tried to hint at that.

Lastly, how did it feel to get a chance to close it out properly?
It’s great. That’s something unique and we’re very thankful to NBC and Warner Bros. for giving us the opportunity to close out the show in a satisfying and great fashion. It helps us as storytellers and gets us ready.

Any pressure knowing that this is the final season of a show people are so heavily invested in?
I always feel the pressure. We’re excited, though. That’s the great part of having a show like this.
Click to expand...
 
C

Cornballer

Member
A few more things....

- It's nice to not have to worry about ratings too much from now on.
- The soundtrack for this season rounded out pretty well. You can definitely tell that they were on a tighter budget based on the selections (both current and classic picks are more obscure), but overall it holds together a lot better than I thought it would. More info on that coming soon...
- A few quotes from the Maureen Ryan interview with Fedak:
Q: Will we see any changes in the writing room? Any returns possible for 'Chuck' veterans Ali Adler, Scott Rosenbaum or Matt Miller?
A: I would love to have those people return, but I think considering that we only have 13 episodes, I think the writing staff that we have, which has just been fantastic this year, will be the ones writing these 13 super-huge episodes.
Click to expand...
Q: So will there be a musical?
A: I am totally against the musical.
Click to expand...
- Good summary from McGee's Onion A|V Club review tonight, too:
That there’s even a fifth season is a miracle. Far be it for me to harsh the buzz of anyone excited about another thirteen hours of this show. I’m excited as well. But the show’s sawn song hinges on two big “if”s. If the show can temper Morgan’s newfound abilities, and IF the show can tie the past four seasons into one elegant(ish) bow, then it will be worth this final leg of the journey. The key will be exploring the new dynamics established in tonight’s hour without losing the people we’ve grown to care about. Evolution, not reinvention, will be the key to ending this show strongly.
Click to expand...
 
B

Blue Ninja

Member
I loved the episode. Certain points had me laughing out loud. When Morgan reached for those glasses, I remembered someone on here stating "I'd just love to see Morgan get the Intersect", and I lol'ed even harder. When he opened his mouth and said "Guys..." Well, I said it along with him, and laughed some more.

I feel like, if they had cancelled the series here, this would've made an excellent finale with just a few minor adjustments at the ending, too. Makes me wonder if they had an alternate version stored somewhere, just in case the series didn't come back.
 
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