I’m not looking forward to Friday night. I am as ready as possible, with plenty of junk food and beer and tissue, but I still don’t know how I will say goodbye to Chuck.
But at 8 ET, I will silence my phone, settle into my recliner, and watch the two-hour finale, as a five-year relationship comes to an end.
I have so many feelings.
Chuck tells a story that many of us relate to: A fairly ordinary, but brainy, underachiever suddenly finds himself with superpowers and secret missions to save the world, surrounded by dangerous villains and beautiful women. Terrified and clumsy as he is at first, our hero grows into a confident, capable agent – even when his special abilities are taken away.
But my love of Chuck goes beyond the story. It even goes beyond Sarah Walker.
If you’re still breathing, let’s look at five of the best things about Chuck – and what we’ll miss the most.
The Nods to Nerds
From having a computer geek lead character – complete with pocket protector – to making Kung Fu a superpower, Chuck consistently honors our inner nerd. The characters collect action figures and comic books, quote Star Wars, injure themselves playing video games and hope they live long enough to own a hoverboard. Geeky elements are as much a part of Chuck as the Intersect.
I know these people. I am these people.
The Best Guests
The list of guest stars reads like a 80s TV fantasy dinner party. Chuck/Ellie’s parents are Scott Bakula and Linda Hamilton; Sarah’s are Gary Cole and Cheryl Ladd; Awesome’s are Bruce Boxlietner and Morgan Fairchild.
We’ve had visits from Summer Glau, Chevy Chase, Nicole Richie, Timothy Dalton, Robin Givens, John Larroquette, Bo Derrick, Christopher Lloyd and Carrie-Ann Moss.
I could go on, but you get the idea.
The Geek Gets the Girl
In Chuck, the nerds aren’t losers. Even Morgan gets hot chicks. On his way to happily-ever-after with Sarah, Chuck warmed up with Kristin Kreuk, Rachel Bilson and Jordana Brewster.
The ultimate “get,” of course, is Sarah. Out of everything that happened in five seasons of Chuck, what we’ll remember most is the love story.
Awesome and Ellie
I have to admit that I didn’t much like Captain Awesome/Devon when Chuck started. He was the stereotypical himbo, able to do most anything and well aware of how good he looks doing it. But he won me over with his love for Ellie and his loyalty to Chuck.
Plus, Ellie and Chuck have the best brother/sister relationship on TV.
Agent Sarah Walker
We’ve never been shy around here about our love of all things Yvonne Strahovski. And as Sarah Walker, Stra-hot-ski has shown us that she has oh-so-much to love.
Happily, NBC understands what we want to see and provided this “sizzle real” of Sarah’s finest moments.
And thanks to TV Line for this sampling of Sarah’s best outfits. I think we’ll all dream of a blonde Princess Leia tonight.
Strahovski talked about her own feelings on the end of Chuck in this video. (Contains spoilers.)
That Chuck lived to end its story in a satisfying way is testament to what fandom can do. The show was nearly cancelled twice, but fans rallied in support and saved their show. Executive Producer Chris Fedak said that the final season was written as a love letter to the people who supported Chuck along the way. To be sure, the things we love about Chuck have been front and center this year. Which makes saying goodbye that much harder.
Will you be watching the series finale of Chuck? What will you miss the most?
