Sarah: You saved me!
Shaw is out for revenge on Sarah and the CIA for the execution of his wife Eve. Chuck thinks Shaw is about to kill Sarah in a warehouse and calls half the U.S. army to rescue her, drawing the ire of General Beckman, who sidelines Chuck and sends Shaw and Sarah on a mission to Paris in order to retrieve info on the Ring. Chuck finds out it’s a con by Shaw who defected for the Ring and wants to murder Sarah in the same place where she killed Eve. Chuck must rush to save Sarah once more.
Romantic Reversal. In a scene that is the mirror of Chuck’s love declaration in the previous episode, Sarah tells Chuck she loves him and always has. By retaining his innocence while becoming a spy, he’s remained “her Chuck,” the synthesis of what she loves about the ordinary world and the special world, and has made possible what she thought impossible—spies can fall in love.
The cafe and bridge scenes in Paris are a symbolic representation of the life Sarah would have lived with Shaw (had she not killed his wife and had she chosen him over Chuck): emotionless, inexpressive, and paralyzing. He would have dragged her down emotionally with him as he was about to do physically on that bridge.
But Chuck saves Sarah in the warehouse first and he’ll save her later in Paris. As Sarah says, “You saved me” to Chuck, in a reversal from her “I’ll save you later” to Chuck in 1.13 Chuck Versus the Marlin, she gives him the same adoring look Hannah gave him at the end of 3.07 Chuck Versus the Mask when she said, “you saved my life.” Now that he’s completed his hero’s journey, Chuck can finally bask in the full adoration and respect of the woman he loves.
In how many ways does Chuck save Sarah?
- He saves her life
- He saves her from her old ways
- He saves her from her belief that feelings are a liability for spies
- He saves her from being “nothing but a spy”
- He saves and redeems her profession
- He saves her from thinking that killing someone would change Chuck
In 3.05 Chuck Versus First Class, Chuck couldn’t be in Paris (real life) with Hannah. Chuck is now in Paris (real life) with Sarah. Just as Sarah watched over Chuck all night at the dawn of their spy relationship, Chuck watches over Sarah all night at the dawn of their real relationship.
The “Shut up and kiss me” final scene is not only a nod to many James Bond movie endings but also to the final scene of the 1987 movie Who’s That Girl.
Spy Reversal. Chuck saves Sarah twice in the episode (warehouse and Paris). Chuck is no longer Sarah’s boy toy but her fully actualized spy partner. This episode is a reversal of 2.18 Chuck Versus the Broken Heart. Just as Chuck was incapacitated and about to die due to a spy who didn’t care about him and was saved by Sarah, Sarah is incapacitated and about to die due to a spy who doesn’t care about her and is saved by Chuck. Just as their hearts were broken because they were going to be separated for good, their hearts are now mended because they are finally united for good.
Season-3 Sarah trusts Shaw just as Chuck trusted Jill in 2.08 Chuck Versus the Gravitron. And just like Chuck’s Sarah’s trust is misplaced.
And Shaw betrays Sarah’s trust, just as Sarah almost betrayed Chuck’s trust at the end of 2.20 First Kill. Once again, Sarah is walking in Chuck’s shoes.
In 2.03 Chuck Versus the Break-Up, Chuck mentioned they could never be really together because he was a normal guy while she was a super spy quelling revolutions with a fork. They did not share the same ontological plane of existence. Now, Chuck has walked in Sarah’s spy shoes and has quelled a (Ring) revolution with a fork. They are now equals and ready to be together.
Love vs Duty. Sarah says that, after this one last mission, it’s all going to happen between her and Chuck. Mirror situation with 2.22 Chuck Versus the Ring, where Sarah initially chose duty (spy assignment with Bryce) over love (vacation with Chuck). Here Chuck ups the ante (from a vacation to a life together) and Sarah chooses love after one final mission (duty).
Feelings as a liability. Just as Sarah’s feelings for Chuck in 2.18 Chuck Versus the Broken Heart helped her save Chuck from death, Chuck’s feelings for Sarah help Chuck save Sarah in the warehouse and in Paris. Feelings can be a liability but they can also be an asset and the lack of feelings (Forrest, Beckman) can be a liability.
Red Test. Under the mentorship of his true mentor Casey, Chuck passes his red test by shooting Shaw in order to save Sarah, thus actualizing his 3.04 Chuck Versus Operation Awesome prophecy to Shaw by showing him with three bullets in the chest that nothing matters to him more than friends and family. Sarah realizes that Chuck can still be her Chuck even when he pulls the trigger. Chuck shooting Shaw in order to save Sarah’s life is a reversal of Sarah shooting Mauser in order to save Chuck’s life.
Back then, Chuck may not have fully understood what Sarah meant when she had to execute Mauser, but he sure does now.
Hero’s Journey. Return with the elixir. It’s not the Intersect or outside help (the much-appreciated tank) that ultimately saves Sarah but Chuck. The Intersect fails to locate Shaw and Sarah in Paris, fails to protect Sarah at the café, does not kick in during the shooting on the Bridge, and there’s no tank in sight. It’s all Chuck.
My question is this, Why does Sarah show up at Chuck’s apartment? In the 5 act structure this I believe would be act 3 the turning point. Every time I watch this episode this question crops up. When I look at the evidence from Chuck’s perspective I see this.
Sarah did not need saving in the warehouse and when he sees Sarah and Shaw they are holding each other.(Granted you have made the case that had Chuck not been there with the team, Shaw may have killed Sarah) Chuck doesn’t know this.
In castle, Shaw (seemingly) forgives Sarah for killing Eve. Sarah openly (in front of Chuck) reaffirms her commitment to be teammates with Shaw which means going to DC. She genuinely thanks Chuck for the tank but there is no further interaction between them.
Later, Beckman essentially pink slips Chuck. Sarah does not know this.
Chuck’s reaction is understandable. He has done everything he can to win Sarah back but to Chuck it appears that Sarah has still chosen Shaw.
Sarah shows up at Chuck’s apartment. Morgan tells Sarah that Chuck knows she is leaving with Shaw. Sarah does not say anything at this point to correct that statement. Chuck plays his last few cards and his emotions are clearly on his sleeves. When in frustration Chuck says you two are going off to save the world Sarah responds with, Shaw is a great spy which reinforces all the evidence above that she has chosen Shaw over Chuck. At no point does she tell Chuck that he is wrong or that she was on her way to meet him at Union Station. It is Chuck playing his last card, Sarah do you love me, that turns this scene around. I understand that she has problems expressing herself and that answering would expose her again as she exposed herself in Prague. So I get the pause in her response but even then she does not say I love you but yes. Chuck gives her that out. Actually saying the words takes several more episodes. When she does admit she doesn’t say yes, I was on my way to union station and I am ready to leave with you. The response is yes, we have a mission with Shaw and you are our third. Jolley states that she went there because she knew the impact that all of the events would have on Chuck and to set the record straight with Chuck. I don’t think the evidence supports that. The Yes declaration comes because Chuck forces Sarah to admit to her true feelings for him. The audience believes she is all in for Chuck but what would Sarah have told Chuck had he not directly asked her. The evidence would suggest that she went there to get Chuck as a third for the mission and it was Chuck’s question, do you love me, that turned everything around. .Your thoughts.
If Sarah simply wanted to tell Chuck about the mission, she would have texted him, as she did many times in the past (e.g. at the beginning of 3.03 Chuck Versus the Angel de la Muerte).
I think Sarah shows up at Chuck’s apartment because she knows she needs to talk to him after all that has happened between his love declaration the day before and now. She knows he is in the dark about a lot of things.
I imagine her plan is to talk about the mission and tell Chuck they can be together but not quit the spy life just yet since her sense of guilt for killing Shaw’s wife has committed her to help him defeat the Ring.
What Sarah does not expect is to find Chuck in such a desperate state of mind, and that changes the course of the conversation.
This scene in Chuck’s apartment is important for a few reasons:
The conversation touches then on Chuck’s red test and on Casey’s revelation about the mole. This is the setup of the episode’s Chekhov’s Gun, and the payoff will be at the end of the episode when Chuck kills Shaw and Sarah is okay with it, bringing to a conclusion the theme introduced in 3.10 Chuck Versus the Tic Tac when Chuck promised Sarah that he would always be that guy.
Interesting. I missed the crucial point that Sarah felt guilty and had committed to help Shaw take down the ring. Is that why she agrees to stay as his partner. Wouldn’t her commitment mean going to DC without Chuck?
Yes, we can see that she hesitates when Shaw asks her to fight the Ring together. He has to ask her twice before she agrees. From the way the story is told, the characters make it sound like they are very close to defeating the Ring, and Sarah tells Chuck it’s one more mission and then they can be together.
Wonder what was running through Sarah’s mind while drugged at the cafe. Yvonne did an excellent job of keep her facial expressions neutral but her eyes conveyed much.
Before Chuck shows up, I think she is sad that she will not have a future with Chuck. We can see a silent tear on her face.
After Chuck shows up, her facial expressions change a lot, from relief (when she sees him behind Shaw) to neutral (when Chuck says he won’t shoot Shaw in the back) to worry and despair for Chuck on the bridge when she thinks he will not be able to pull the trigger and will be killed by Shaw.