In episode 3.11 Final Exam, both Chuck and Sarah are facing a Kobayashi Maru. Hence the tragedy of their situation and the sense of hopelessness they both feel. Along with the ending of 3.08 Fake Name (the Ordeal stage of the Hero’s Journey), this is the absolute nadir of their relationship. Sarah’s Kobayashi Maru is that, no matter what she does, she’s going to lose Chuck and herself. She doesn’t want to proctor Chuck’s red test because she doesn’t want him to become a cold-blooded assassin.
But if she doesn’t proctor it, Chuck might not pull the trigger and could be killed by the mole. If she proctors it, she would never forgive herself but it might save Chuck’s life since she’s the only one that can convince Chuck to pull the trigger.
She’s trapped by her feelings for him into using his feelings for her against him in order to save him, even though doing so kills her. So, she decides to sacrifice herself to save him. You can see all hope leave her face as she leaves the table, and she’s engulfed in her own guilt for having encouraged him into the spy life.
Chuck’s Kobayashi Maru is that, no matter what he does, he’s going to lose Sarah or himself. If he doesn’t execute the mole, he won’t be a spy and will lose Sarah. If he does it, he’ll be a spy and possibly be with Sarah (or not; he doesn’t know it yet) but at the cost of his moral principles.
[Of course, there’s always the option to not execute the mole and run away together but that may be a long shot at this point—Sarah doesn’t offer herself as the prize for Chuck giving up on the spy life because she tried that in Prague. She made herself vulnerable and failed and was devastated. She isn’t going to make that mistake again.]
So Sarah takes herself out of the equation for Chuck by not making Chuck’s choice about her. She frames it as “what kind of person do you want to be? The old Chuck?” (And there’s nothing wrong with that, in her eyes.) “Or spy Chuck, which is what you’ve been working toward?”
To Chuck, being his old self is a no-no. He doesn’t see his old self as Sarah does—innocent, charming, and heroic. He sees his old self as a neurotic loser. But he doesn’t want to become a cold-blooded assassin either.
Hence, the final exam on the kind of person he wants to be, a final choice between his moral principles and his ambitions, the hour upon which the whole third season hinges and that it was hinted at since the very first scene in 3.01 Pink Slip, when Chuck refused to fake-kill Yuri during the Prague simulation.
Incidentally, some have speculated that this red test is Shaw’s idea of testing Chuck’s and Sarah’s ultimate allegiance to the CIA after their decision in 3.10 Tic Tac to commit treason in order to help Casey. And also his final piece to break up Chuck and Sarah so that he can have Sarah for himself. If so (“No Burbank, no baggage,”), it is cunning genius—use Chuck’s and Sarah’s feelings for each other against each other to achieve his purpose and keep his hands clean.
The fact that Chuck thought his test was over showed he knew nothing about the red test. Sarah’s and Chuck’s passivity during the journey is my issue with the story arc. Chuck stumbled to success; he didn’t win it. Think about it, Chuck is now a fake spy.
Sarah knew the red test was coming from the beginning. How did she allow herself to sit across the table putting the man she loves in a no-win situation? Sarah fought over and over for Chuck; but not when it really mattered, she failed him. She put Chuck’s life and soul at risk. This is my biggest issue with season 3. Sarah, the best of all spies, became nothing more than a tool for a man that used her to his advantage.
This is the deepest of betrayals. This is what I could never get over. Sarah’s lack of forethought to deal with this issue directly before it became a problem.
This is what happens when the characters are inserted into predetermined story lines. They stop being smart. They start reacting instead of taking action to deal with issues that everyone can see a mile away.
Yes, the story could be seen that way and that, I think, is part of the issues I have with season 3—that its writing and editing allow viewers to see the unfolding of the events the way you have described them. And many viewers hate the ending of Final Exam and the very idea of the red test.
That being said, I don’t see it that way and think we are not supposed to see it that way. I think what we are supposed to see is that, the moment Chuck decided to become a spy for the greater good, it was a foregone conclusion that he was going to have to face a conflict between his moral principles (his chuckness) and his new spy ambitions, that he was going to be tested.
And he was tested, and it was a good thing because he came out stronger. And Chuck and Sarah’s love was also tested. Many viewers kept saying that Chuck and Sarah didn’t really love each other but rather the image of the other—Chuck loved Sarah’s competence and Sarah loved Chuck’s innocence. Well, in season 3, they both were brought low, yet Chuck loved Sarah even though her competence faltered (she was off her game most of the original third season) and Sarah loved Chuck even though his innocence faltered between First Class and Fake Name, and even in American Hero, she still loved him even when she thought he had killed the mole.
Did Chuck technically fail in becoming a spy? Yes, by the CIA standard, he did. But by his own standard, which is different but higher than the CIA’s, he succeeded. He actually sublimated the CIA standard and redeemed Sarah (and Casey) and the spy profession in the process. He became his own kind of spy who redeemed assets-turned-enemies (Vivian) rather than use and burn them (Manoosh).
As for Sarah and her betrayal, I don’t see it that way. From her surprise to Shaw’s revelation about Chuck’s pending red test, she didn’t know the red test was going to take place. This tells me the red test was not a standard spy entrance exam but a test reserved for elite spies. Even Sarah had already been a spy for a few years before having to take her own red test in 2005. And once she did find out, even though I think she knew she was being used by Shaw, she went along with it for the reason mentioned in her conversation with Shaw and in this post—she was the only one who could convince Chuck to pull the trigger in case Perry was armed.
From Sarah’s perspective, she did what she could to protect Chuck. She warned him in Prague, she tried to protect him in First Class and again his innocence in Nacho Sampler. She indirectly snapped him out of his moral downfall in Fake Name and encouraged him again in Tic Tac to not lose what made him great. For an introvert who doesn’t like to talk much, she did what she could.
I think that, despite its faults, season 3 flows best when we see both Chuck and Sarah as selfless heroes bound by their sense of duty trying to do what they think is the right thing at the time, stumbling, accepting each other even when knocked down their pedestal, and finally realizing they are perfect for each other.
I agree that your perspective is what they wanted the audience to conclude. However, keep in mind, the writers themselves said on the podcast that they lamented this story arc. It’s easy to see why.
I don’t know if you have ever put your life in the hands of another. I have your back and you have my back kind of stuff. We take this stuff deadly seriously. I agree Sarah tried to protect his innocence throughout the arc. But she knew that a red test was a possibility, and she did nothing about it. The simple truth, Sarah betrayed Chuck by not taking action to protect him. It is how I read and have always read this episode.
I’m arguing that our heroes must never be compromised to tell a story. They need to earn the rewards at the end of the journey; not fall into it by a stroke of luck. To do otherwise diminishes them.
So what could have they done with the same result without compromising Sarah’s character?
(1) Sarah informs Chuck of the possibility of the red test
(2) One reason Sarah gets closer to Shaw is to get the inside track to Chuck’s training
(3) Chuck develops a plan without Sarah’s knowledge
(4) Sarah develops a plan without Chuck’s knowledge
(5) Sarah becomes aware of the red Test (same scene)
(6) Sarah puts her plan in motion
(7) Dinner (similar scene)
(8) Chuck puts his plan in motion
(9) Sarah’s plan fails
(10) Chuck’s plan fails because of Sarah’s plan got in the way
(11) To protect Chuck, the mole is killed
(12) Sarah sees Chuck standing over the body
(13) Sarah thinks Chuck killed the mole
(14) Chuck can’t tell Sarah what happened
Everyone is smarter, everyone is taking action, everyone is acting like a spy. This is how this episode should have played. Can you see the difference?
I didn’t know the writers said they lamented the story arc. Would you be able to point me to that podcast?
I don’t have a huge problem with the red test arc. It’s not perfect and, sure, Sarah should have known the red test was a possibility (Casey certainly did) but she also should have expected that Chuck would be terminated once the new intersect was ready in season 2 but didn’t. All the main characters were hit with the stupid stick in the show at one point or another.
Please note that Brandon Routh tweeted that Shaw damaged the show. No reference – too long ago
It was years ago when I heard the writer comments in the podcast. It would take me hours the find it in the poscast again.
Here is another reference to it.
https://candm3407.wordpress.com/2015/01/02/chuck-vs-the-other-guy/
gmhenderson
JANUARY 4, 2015 AT 11:06 AM
In Chuck Vs The Podcast, one of the writers lamented the Shaw arc after it was over. In an interview with Yvonne ( when asked about the love rectangle ), she gave the funniest non-response, with a look of disgust on her face. She knew it wasn’t working while they were filming it. It’s pretty obvious she didn’t like what they did to her character.
I believe giving Chuck the 2.0 was a good move ….I don’t think there’s anyone who disagrees with that …it quickly gave him the skill set to join the spy world. But why Sarah would all of a sudden abandon him when he joined the spy world is the question.( and , Sheena, Prague was the first step of abandoning her 2 year quest to have Chuck join her in the spy world.)
Interesting about Routh’s tweet. I actually listened to all 106 episodes of Chuck vs the Podcast over the past few months and don’t recall what is mentioned by gmhenderson about Yvonne’s look of disgust. In fact, I don’t even recall Yvonne being asked that question but will have to check.
I do recall Josh Gomez and/or Ryan McPartlin saying that the lesson they learned from season 3 was to not come between Chuck and Sarah, and I agree with that. The main problems I have with season 3 are that (1) it’s difficult to figure out what’s going on upon first watching it and the Sham relationship seems to make no sense and that (2) even if we understand what’s going on, Shaw hangs around too long. I think six or seven episodes in the first 13 end with Sarah and Shaw, and that makes the viewer feel like Shaw is the booger that we can’t get rid of. It’s just too long. In order to end with a sweet Chuck-and-Sarah scene, we have to jump from 3.04 to 3.13. That’s a big jump. The two points above killed season 3 for me the first time around, and I was streaming it at my pace. I can’t imagine going through that for months when it first aired, after having bought Subway sandwiches to keep the show alive.
But I do know that Fedak always defended the Shaw arc, even after the series finale, and he was annoyed with critics like Mo Ryan who kept telling him the arc didn’t work. But I also think Mo Ryan didn’t understand the purpose of the arc because her reaction was like mine after the first time I watched the show.
I also know that, after the firestorm of season 3, Fedak and Schwartz did seem to throw Routh under the bus during that arc but they absolutely loved him as a pure villain in 3.18-19 and in 5.07. In the second-to-last episode of Chuck vs the Podcast, Fedak said Routh makes a great muhaha villain. I suspect Schwedak think that the Shaw arc would have worked for the viewers if Routh had had chemistry with Yvonne and/or his acting had been as good as Yvonne’s but I think the the problem is deeper than that. I think the problem is also due to the cryptic writing and editing of season 3 and the perceived length of the Shaw arc, as mentioned above.
I think Scarlett Johansson is gorgeous. Having said that, I can think of a hundred people that are more beautiful than Scarlett. But when she puts on a performance, I can’t take my eyes off her. She has that “IT” factor. I feel the same way about Yvonne’s performances but she does it with her partners. Zachary makes Yvonne better. He pulls the magic right out of her. She does the same for him. The so called “chemistry” are their combined acting skills on display. I also think they are close friends that trust each other. It shows in their performances. Routh does nothing to support Yvonne. She is trying to do it 100% by herself. That is why it does not work.
Chuck is easy to understand. Sarah is so multilayered it makes me want to watch a scene over and over to figure her character out. On top of that, I am fascinated by human psychology. I’m willing to do the work. For people that just want to watch a good hour long tv show to escape the daily grind, this arc is not for them. They don’t want to carry this kind of heavy psychological baggage. I think your point is valid, It’s okay to go deep but don’t stay there too long.
I may be the only one but I love the fact that Shaw and Sarah have no chemistry together, for two reasons. First, because it reinforces the conclusion that they don’t belong together, which is particularly important since Shaw hangs around far longer than the usual 1-2 episodes of the other love interests. Second, because Shaw’s wooden character and unfeeling pragmatism perfectly showcase the reality of the spy life behind Cole’s glamorous façade. Since season-3 Sarah is looking for real, I think Shaw’s character is perfect in this regard, which is interesting because his wooden stiffness is what lots of viewers complain about. Then again, I think it’s because they hate the character and the Shaw arc and find anything they can to vilify him.
For me, the only way this story arc would have worked is to find someone that everyone liked including the audience. Sarah and this man would not only have chemistry but would be very sexually attracted to each other. I would have brought in someone in from her past that she trusted but never had a sexual relationship with because he was married. Perhaps a former handler would have worked. That way they can move the relationship where they needed it very quickly without Sarah looking bad. The audience and Chuck would not like but would accept the relationship and see it as a viable option for Sarah.
The relationship would be just sex until Chuck’s red test result. Both people would still be in love with other people. I also would have had the red test ordered from above to keep this man’s hands clean. The goal would have been to have Sarah choose between two good men with very different values. In the end it would have been crystal clear to why she chose Chuck. It would have not have been anything to do with chemistry or sexual attraction. It would have been base on who these men are as human beings. Her choice would decide who she would be going forward.
I think of it this way. I am sexually attracted to Sarah, but I would not choose to be in a relationship with her because our values are not compatible. So if we had chemistry, it still would not matter.
Interesting. That would not have worked for me at all. Season-3 Sarah is not interested in just fun sex with a super spy. She says no to that to Shaw at the beginning of 3.08. She’s looking for real and can’t find it in the spy life, even with the most real spy that world can offer (a man who had been married, understands her loss of a loved one, and doesn’t like guns like Chuck). A strong sexual attraction would have skewed the theme of the journey and, frankly, ruined her character for me just like the interrogation scene in 3.17.
You are missing my point. But first let me say that I think this arc was totally unnecessary.
Sarah was sexually attracted to Shaw. He was her type. It’s not fun sex at first, it was rebound sex for the both of them. They shared hurt over the people they lost.
The main difference between my version and what was aired would be Shaw would have been someone the audience would have bought into as a guy that Sarah would have turned to for support. Making it someone from her past makes it possible to move the story a long faster.
The problems were:
• Shaw’s character flaws (Sexual harassment of a subordinate)
• Sarah giving into sexual harassment
• Sarah’s early distain for Shaw
• Chemistry between Sarah and Shaw was not there
• Sarah sharing secrets with a stranger
• Sarah sharing her feelings about Chuck with a stranger
• Sarah sleeping with a stranger/boss
• Sarah being manipulated by Shaw
• Shaw was so damaged it damaged Sarah
A better and sexier version of Shaw would have made Sarah’s choice to be with Chuck more meaningful.
Deflating Shaw = Deflates Sarah (She looks like an idiot with a lack of morals)
Elevating Shaw = Elevates Chuck higher than Shaw = Protects Sarah’s character
At the end of this arc people should have been able to say… “You can’t blame Sarah for what happened with Shaw.” Today, that’s not true.
Cast reaction to season 3 – Yvonne’s reaction is priceless.
Josh Schwartz stated they were trying to replicate with Shaw the chemistry that exists between Sarah and Chuck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHPlxzB5FYc
I don’t like the arc but I don’t know that it was totally unnecessary in the context of the story Schwedak wanted to tell.
This is fiction and it could go in a million different ways but the story they decided to tell is legitimate and, I would argue, the one that made the most sense. What do I mean by that? Well, the show is built on symmetries and counterpoint; it’s an exploration of reality vs appearance; it’s the story of Chuck and Sarah influencing each other towards a real life and towards a life with meaning; and it’s a spy show. In this overall context, season 3 makes sense. Chuck has influenced Sarah to seek a real life. Sarah has influenced Chuck to seek a meaningful life. Chuck goes through his Hero’s Journey (12 stages in 13 episodes) and Sarah goes through her real-life journey. These two journeys diverge in Prague and converge in Paris.
Chuck is prophetically warned by Devon (the threshold guardian) about the dangers of the journey (“If having a double life means giving up half of your real life, it’s not worth it”). This prophecy is actualized through Hannah and Shaw, the two halves of Chuck’s and Sarah’s double life. Hannah is the normal half of Chuck’s double life and his ideal partner from the normal world. Shaw is the spy half of Sarah’s double life and the her ideal partner from the spy world.
Now, as to whether this arc is necessary or not, Hannah and Shaw are the hypostatizations (personifications) of Devon’s warning and the quickest way to show the truth of this warning. Hannah and Shaw are a no-go because they are only half of our heroes’ lives. Hannah is blind to Chuck’s spy half of his double life, and that’s exactly what he tells her in his breakup speech (“There are things about my life I cannot tell you and you deserve someone you can know completely”) and Shaw is not interested in Sarah’s normal half of her double life (“Feelings are a liability. Family and friends make us weak.”). In this sense, in the context of the story we are being told, the Hannah/Shaw arcs are necessary in showing the truth of Devon’s warning and in showing why Chuck and Sarah are perfect for each other—because they are the only ones who can give each other the missing half of their double life.
Within this framework, the sexual relationship with these partners is a secondary aspect. It’s only important in that it happened, so that Chuck and Sarah could have no excuses (“Oh, maybe if I had had sex with Hannah/Shaw, it could have worked”). Nope, even a complete relationship with these on-paper ideal partners was never going to be enough because both of these partners are half of Chuck’s and Sarah’s real double lives.
Notice how Devon and Ellie, who symbolize the ideal couple in the Chuckverse, bookend Chuck’s season-3 journey. Devon issues the double-life warning at the end of 3.03 (the Crossing the Threshold stage of the Hero’s Journey) and Ellie helps Chuck realize his priorities (Sarah over the spy life) at the end of 3.10 (The Road Back stage of the Hero’s Journey).
In this context, Shaw was elevated. He’s supposed to be a great spy, Chuck’s mentor, and Sarah’s ideal partner. It’s only a (sizable) minority of viewers (myself included, at first) who sees him as an incompetent sexual predator. But we are not supposed to see him that way and my analysis of season 3 is made from the standpoint that Fedak wanted us to have—that Shaw is a great spy with a complex character that helps justify his turning to the dark side.
Where Schwedak needed Sarah’s relationship to go was to show that even the most “real” spy from the spy world was not enough for a season-3 Sarah looking for real. Skewing the relationship to a strong sexual attraction would weaken, not strengthen, this point. Making Shaw real was much more important than making him sexy. That was already done with Cole in season 2 because that was Sarah’s hurdle at the time (the larger-than-life sexiness of the spy life [Cole] vs the apparent mediocrity of the normal life [Chuck]).
Season-3 Sarah is looking for real, so Shaw is made to be the closest thing to “real” in the spy world. That’s why he was married (symbolizes commitment), lost his wife (symbolizes his bond with Sarah), doesn’t like guns (symbolizes his similarity to Chuck). The sexual attraction is there (museum neck kiss, Sarah’s reaction, Sarah’s later admission she liked it, her reaction to seeing him half naked in his hotel room) but downplayed because it is a secondary aspect.
In this regard, it was played perfectly. Any more of that and it would have ruined Sarah’s real-life journey in season 3.
I agree with 90% of your analysis. It is frankly brilliant, I have never argued against it. I also think it was not a story necessary to be told in a light-hearted romantic comedy. It’s too heavy. The other 10%, we can agree to disagree.
Josh Schwartz stated they were trying to replicate with Sarah and Shaw the chemistry that exists between Sarah and Chuck. In other words, they wanted to put the chemistry on equal footing to take chemistry out of the equation.
This does not interfere with “real” spy from the spy world. It only enhances it. Spies are supposed to be sexy and charismatic in this show. In fact, they go out of their way to make every spy on this show sexy. I would argue that they need to go overboard with Shaw to make your story work.
Elevating Shaw = When Sarah chooses Chuck over Shaw elevates Chuck
Elevating Shaw = Protects Sarah’s character
This is not a question you need to answer. Are you sticking to the intentions of the creator/writers to move past the pain of the result of what was shown on screen?
Yes, if they had done it in a more lighthearted way, in the vein of Seasons 1-2, I would have liked it much better and think that many more viewers would have as well. Going darker for the seasons was a bet that didn’t pay off. Season 3 has plenty of fun moments (Goya, Awesome’s “I killed the bear,” the two goombahs in Fake Name, Morgan as as spy, etc.) but the overall mood of the season was darker and keeping Chuck and Sarah on the outs for 12 episodes proved to be a wrong move, as highlighted by Josh Gomez in the YouTube video you posted.