Posted by Janie Logan May 10, 2011, 17:59 GMT
Chuck (Zachary Levi) is snapped out of the joy and merriment of his rehearsal dinner by an ominous phone call in "Chuck vs. the Last Details." Photo courtesy of NBC.
Happily ever after isn't going to come easy for Chuck Bartowski and Sarah Walker. On the eve of their wedding day, misguided baddie Vivian Volkoff (guest star Lauren Cohan) strikes out at Chuck in the worst way possible--by hurting Sarah. Will he be able to save her and say, "I do," in next week's finale? Or is that episode's title, "Chuck vs. the Cliffhanger," setting viewers up for an even more shocking twist?
One of the greatest elements to Season 4 has been the humanization of the villains. In previous years, Team Bartowski has battled organizations like FULCRUM and the Ring that were totally evil and needed to be destroyed. Not so with the Volkoff storyline, which has been the most personal for Chuck because of his mother's involvement and because he got to know his enemies.
He's spent a lot of time with Alexei and Vivian and realizes that circumstances outside their control pushed them to do bad things. "Chuck vs. Agent X" revealed that Alexei Volkoff was an Intersect experiment gone awry, a cover identity created by Stephen Bartowski for a British agent named Hartley. And had none of that ever happened, Vivian's life would have been much different.
Now that Chuck knows all this, I imagine the next step would be him enlisting Ellie's help to work through the files on their dad's computer to figure out a way to undo "Agent X" and give Volkoff his old life back. Perhaps his true self is more like "Tuttle," the bumbling MI-5 analyst Volkoff pretended to be with Chuck.
Season 4 has also placed much emphasis on family, as relationships have deepened--Mary returned after being absent for 20 years, Ellie gave birth to a daughter, Chuck and Sarah got engaged, and Casey learned how to be a father to Alex. These characters have come a long way. It was easy to fall in love with them way back in Season 1, but now it's clear how dysfunctional and unfulfilled they used to be.
Sure, they still have their quirks (Chuck and Morgan, "The Imperial March," enough said...), but they have really grown up, both professionally and personally. The world is a better place because of the work they have done, and along the way they have found their own happiness.
If this sounds like I'm saying goodbye to the show, it's because I'm preparing myself for what might happen within the next couple of weeks. The media frenzy that is network upfronts will bring with it many announcements about new series being developed, as well as the fates of current shows that have yet to be officially renewed or canceled.
Chuck is in a familiar position on-the-bubble, with the same old story of having low ratings that have declined even further since last year, but the fans they still do have are some of the most vocal and passionate in the 'verse. I don't know how it will turn out, but I don't envy the decision-makers at NBC.
No matter what, we've got a big finale to look forward to next Monday! You can count on Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak to turn Chuck's world upside down.
Highlights from "Chuck vs. the Last Details":
-"I'm sorry my bridesmaids couldn't help out more. Staging that coup is taking longer than expected."
-"Nothing can go wrong." "Sarah, you didn't... WHY would you say that, do you not watch movies?!"
-" 'Kill da puppy. Ciao.' So hard to get good henchmen nowadays."
-"What happened to your arm?" "Wii Tennis." "Son, it's amazing you're not single."
What did everyone else think about the episode?
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