After watching the series finale, many viewers conclude that the final scene was too open-ended. If the kiss works, they say, Sarah’s amnesia is pointless. If the kiss doesn’t work, the writers ruined years of Sarah’s character growth and relationship building between her and Chuck.
The Point of the Final Arc
The problem is that interpreting the final arc by focusing on Sarah’s amnesia is like watching 4.09 Phase Three and focusing on Chuck’s lobotomy, which nobody does, and rightly so, because the right focus is on the giant blonde she-male rampaging through Thailand and going all out for the man she loves.
The giant blonde she-male
Well, the same is going on in the final arc. Chuck goes all out for the woman he loves. He’s her baggage handler. Always was and always will be.
Her baggage handler
The showrunners did not give us an 89-episode love story only to throw it all away in the last two episodes; in fact, they clearly said in post-series interviews that Sarah’s memories are coming back. This tells us that the final arc is not about the memories but about a different point, a very important point—in fact, the most important point of all the points made throughout the show.
Would Chuck ever get (not keep but get) a woman like Sarah without the Intersect?
The Ultimate Challenge
The challenge is raised by Quinn in 5.10 Bo. Notice that Quinn would never have posed that question to Bryce or Cole or Shaw, and we all know why. He only poses it to Chuck because we don’t expect a Sidney Bristow (Alias) to fall in love with a Jim Halpert (The Office). But this is precisely the whole premise upon which Chuck is built. Thus, the show was always an exploration of a most unlikely but perfect relationship and explores obstacle after obstacle to this relationship and shows how Chuck and Sarah overcome all of them and why they are perfect for each other.
For this final obstacle, Quinn and season 5 make a metaphorical bet, kind of like the one between God and Satan at the beginning of the book of Job. Quinn taunts season 5 that Chuck could never get a hot super-spy like Sarah without the Intersect. Season 5 accepts the challenge and raises the stakes by betting that not only will an Intersect-less Chuck get a Sarah who doesn’t know him but he will get her even under the worst possible scenario, one in which she is reverted back to her old trained-assassin self, told that he is a traitor, and given a kill order on him.
Double or nothing.
Chuck Is a Type of Luke
Throughout the show, Chuck is a type of Luke Skywalker. In Legends, Luke Skywalker rejects the old Jedi code (emotions as a liability) and allows himself and his students to marry and have emotions, although they must learn to control them. Similarly, in season 3, Chuck rejects the cardinal rule of spying, which dictates that spies cannot fall in love and must be emotionless, and allows himself to love and have emotions, although he must learn to control them.
The final arc puts Chuck and Sarah in a similar situation as Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade. Just as Mara is initially ordered by the disembodied voice of emperor Palpatine to kill Luke, Sarah is ordered by the disembodied voice of Quinn through her earpiece to kill Chuck. Just as Luke learns of Mara’s curse and vows to free her from it, Chuck learns of Sarah’s memory suppression and vows to free her. Just as Mara ends up falling in love with Luke instead of killing him, Sarah ends up falling in love with Chuck all over again instead of killing him.
Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker
While the Jedi of the Old Republic forbade attachments, Luke wasn’t going to do the same thing with his Jedi Order, allowing his students to marry and start families. Luke himself would find love in a strange place: With someone who once wanted to kill him. Mara Jade was once the Emperor’s Hand, traveling the Empire and doing Palpatine’s will, his last command to her before he died being that she must kill Luke Skywalker. The two would meet and make peace, going on adventures together before realizing the love that they had for each other, eventually getting married. Luke’s marriage brought love and meaning to his life, making him a better man and Jedi. (Legends)
Thus, season 5 wins the bet against Quinn and shows why Sarah would fall in love with Chuck with or without the Intersect, with or without the forced handler/asset and cover relationships—because it is not the Intersect that makes Sarah fall in love with Chuck. It’s Chuck’s character that wins her over again and again. And again.
No Doubt but Certainty
The purpose of the final arc is not to make us doubt Chuck and Sarah’s love. It’s the opposite. It’s to show that their love is so strong, so deep, so perfect that not even bringing Sarah back to her old self and giving her a kill order on Chuck can touch it. It’s unbounded love that goes beyond memories and connects soulmates.
Me and you and you and me
No matter how they toss the dice, it had to be
The only one for me is you, and you for me
So happy together
Just as 4.09 Phase Three was not about Chuck’s lobotomy but about Sarah’s fierce and unstoppable love for Chuck, the final arc is not about Sarah’s amnesia but about Chuck’s fierce and unstoppable love for Sarah. It’s about the greatest possible challenge to that love and their greatest triumph.
And because they triumph over Quinn, their reward is that Sarah gets her memories back.
Faith (trust) and reward. That’s what Chuck and Sarah’s relationship has always been about. That’s what all relationships are about. And this show is a grammar of human relationships.
Faith and reward
The Head and the Heart
“But wait,” people say. “In 5.12 Sarah, Chuck takes his shot. He captures Sarah, pours his heart out, turns her loose, almost gets killed for it, takes a bullet for her. What more could he do? And although Sarah isn’t trying to kill him anymore, he hasn’t won her over without the Intersect. At least, not yet. She goes back to her hotel and is packing to run until Casey shows up and gives her effectively a disc full of memories. Doesn’t that cheapen the ‘triumph’ of Chuck and Sarah’s love?”
It does not because that is only half the story and part of the story of the final arc.
What’s the name of the band that plays the song Rivers and Roads during the final scene?
The Head and the Heart.
In order to get Sarah back, Chuck needs to win both her head and her heart. He wins Sarah’s head in 24 hours (5.12 Sarah) and, after a two-week hiatus, Sarah’s heart in four days (5.13 Goodbye).
Chuck wins Sarah without the Intersect, which, in fact, costs him Sarah on that roof of the concert hall.
Self-sacrificial agape love
Growth
And that roof scene is a callback to another roof scene, the one in the very first episode, and is there to highlight Chuck’s character growth and full acceptance of his hero’s calling, even if it’s at the cost of his own happiness.
Faith and Reward
“But wait,” you say, “Chuck is intersected when he gets Sarah back on that beach!” Yes, but the Intersect plays no part in Sarah’s decision-making process. In fact, she leaves Intersected Chuck after the bomb defusing and again the next day to go find herself. The Intersect is only important in that Chuck has proved time and time again that he’s the only one who can handle its power and thus the only one who deserves it, even though season 5 proves he doesn’t need it. The Intersect is his reward. And he’s proved time and time again that he’s the only one who truly and selflessly loves Sarah and thus the only one who deserves her. Sarah is his reward. And with that sigh right before asking Chuck to tell her their story, Sarah finally lets go of agent Walker (her old self) and puts her faith in Chuck, which was always her defining characteristic, and is rewarded with all kinds of powerful memory-sparking emotions as Chuck recounts their journey and then a magical kiss. Memories, love, and Chuck (“her life” that was stolen by Quinn) are her reward.
Chuck ends up with both power and love on that beach because he has completed his journey from boy (S1) to cowboy (S2) to warrior (S3) to lover (S3) to king (S4) to sage (S5) and deserves both.
Thus, Chuck gets Sarah back without the Intersect but with a little help from his friends. Why his friends? Because caring about people, making connections, building relationships is a huge part about what, in Sarah’s own words, makes Chuck great.
A Celebration of Togetherness
Remember Bryce’s words in 1.10 Nemesis? “I got one friend in the world. You got a home and a store full of them.”
Remember Shaw’s words to Chuck in 3.04 Operation Awesome, “family and friends make us vulnerable, unable to pull the trigger”? Chuck shows again and again that, with him, it’s the opposite. Family and friends are his strength; every time he faces Shaw as an enemy, Shaw underestimates Chuck’s family and friends and is defeated by Chuck with the help of family and friends.
And in the final episode, literally everybody is involved in Chuck’s final mission of finding and then getting Sarah back (and defeating Quinn in the process), from the nerd herders and even the extras to Chuck’s whole family and friends. It’s a concerted effort at a concert.
The final episode is a celebration of togetherness as the ultimate source of strength and a collective goodbye to us viewers (that’s why everybody goes their own way at the end).
And that is what makes Chuck great. And what makes it hard to say goodbye.
Nicely written. I actually just watched Chuck vs. Phase Three a couple days ago. It’s my favorite episode for Sarah’s character because it shows the heart behind the bad-ass that is Sarah Walker. I’ve never been upset by the ending of the show, and it’s because of what you’ve said. It’s Chuck’s heart that makes him the ultimate spy, partner, colleague, brother, son, husband and friend. And episodes are sprinkled throughout the 5 seasons that illustrate just that point, including the exclamation point to that theme found in the final two episodes.
Excellent. Insightful. Heartfelt. Love it. Thanks.
Ok, obviously, I have not spent so much time thinking about this so I applaud the effort if nothing else( have been Hallmark’ed into believing happy endings so I am going with the “one magic kiss” ending,) but this is so spot on excellent that I must congratulate you for the time and effort and insight you put into this. Bravo!
If you’re correct concerning Schwedak’s goal for the final 2 episodes,(and I’m not sure you are) then for me they failed miserably. If you can’t see at least half a dozen ways for this open ending to go bad, you lack imagination. Sarah is not in the same place she was in 101, why should she react to Chuck in the same way? She didn’t trust her feelings, or Chuck’s feelings in 101, why should she now? Not to mention she’s a spy again, why wouldn’t she feel the need to return to spying if possible? Sorry, when so many people find the ending ambiguous, you have failed in your writing. I believe Schwedak failed here. Too many people doubt the outcome.
Because the Sarah who asks to be kissed in the final scene is not the Sarah of 1.01. It’s the Sarah of 3.13. Even the scene is almost identical. Chuck starts rambling and she interrupts him and says, “Chuck, kiss me,” just as at the end of 3.13 she interrupts him and says, “Shut up and kiss me.”
The last episode is a symbolic synopsis of the whole show, a walk down memory lane for both Sarah and us viewers (or, rather, the original viewers, who may have forgotten the five-year journey, just like Sarah). Sarah progresses through the final episode as she did through the seasons. I need to write an analysis of the final episode.
Just read this again. Excellent analysis with the same optimism which runs through Chuck. I hope the creators and Zach Levi get to read this someday. Thank you, Andy
Very beautifully expressed and thus in keeping with the show.
Good analysis on the final arc. But the point that is raised here (by Quinn) was already answered throughout the series that Sarah fell for Chuck, the regular guy who worked at the Buymore.
“final arc is not about the memories but about a different point, a very important…
Would Chuck ever get (not keep but get) a woman like Sarah without the Intersect?”
But is this a valid point though when this question is being asked to Season 5 Chuck, not S1 Chuck? Because by Season 5, Chuck is an accomplished spy even without the Intersect and is Sarah’s partner and equal. He proves that when he defeats Shaw in Santa Suit and saves Sarah once again, this time without the help of the Intersect. This would be a more valid question if it was asked to S1 Chuck. So, Quinn’s question is actually moot when he is asking that to Chuck of Season 5 who has accomplished a lot as a spy. And Chuck is a lot more successful now and is secure in his relationship with Sarah in S5, unlike the Chuck of S1.
Secondly, as you have rightly mentioned Sarah fell in love with Chuck because of his character and personality. She has reiterated that multiple times throughout the show – 1) I fell in love with a regular guy (S3 end), 2) She loves him with or without the Intersect (Phase 3), 3) She fell for him after he fixed her phone and before he started diffusing bombs, i.e., when he was just a normal guy. (S3) 4) “I didn’t fall in love with James Bond. I fell in love with you.” (Balcony proposal S4). 5) Sarah didn’t even want him to be a spy in S3 and Chuck had to prove that he is still the same guy after he became a spy (her Chuck). So, again Quinn’s question becomes moot because it shows he doesn’t know Sarah and the kind of guy she fell for.
“Notice that Quinn would never have posed that question to Bryce or Cole or Shaw, and we all know why. He only poses it to Chuck because we don’t expect a Sidney Bristow (Alias) to fall in love with a Jim Halpert (The Office). But this is precisely the whole premise upon which Chuck is built.”
Once again this question gets some attention when asked to S1 Chuck. By Season 5 Chuck has surpassed the James Bonds of the world “with the Intersect” (S3 when he defeats Shaw in Paris and then Intersected Shaw in Buymore) and “without the Intersect” (S5 when he saves Sarah and defeats Shaw).
Yes, the show started with the premise of Jim Halpert and Sydney Bristow falling in love in S1, but by S5 Jim Halpert (Chuck) had become better than James Bond (Bryce or Shaw) and is more than deserving of Sydney Bristow (Sarah Walker). So, it’s not really S1 Chuck that is trying to get Sarah back here, it’s the S5 Chuck (better than Bond) who is trained by Sarah and is an accomplished spy on his own like he proves in the Bale mission or during the Omen virus and defeating Shaw in S5. Even in the looks and confidence department (if that is an important factor), he is no slouch either and looks every bit the James Bond when on missions. Compared to S1, by S5 (actually by S3) he isn’t scared in the face of danger, is a good dancer, and is more than a match for any Bond. It’s even funnier when Quinn is asking that question when he was captured as a spy, got broken and turned rogue and is not so great in the looks department (no offense).
Rest of the analysis is pretty good. My point is all the points they make in this final arc, about Chuck getting Sarah without the Intersect had already been answered before from Sarah’s responses and actions. And Chuck is no longer his S1 version of just the nerd herder who didn’t what he wanted to do with his life or who he wanted to spend it with. By S5 he is a grown man who knows exactly what he wants and who he wants to spend his life with.
Jan,
Thank you for your thoughtful and well-reasoned comment.
You are technically right that S5 Chuck is not the same person as S1 Chuck (and all thanks to Sarah’s loving mentorship over five years), but this is also the reason Chuck in the final episode is brought back to S1 Chuck at the beginning of the episode (all main characters are) and grows through the episode as he did through the seasons since the final episode is a synopsis of the show.
We should also remember that, even as a grown man in S5, Chuck is still a sensitive nerd, not an alpha male like Bryce, Cole, or good-spy Shaw that S1 Sarah would typically go for.
Finally, taken as a whole, the final arc is about answering Quinn’s challenge by raising the stakes—it not only deprives Chuck of the Intersect, but it puts Chuck and Sarah in the worst possible starting scenario (Luke and Mara Jade in Star Wars) and shows that Sarah will fall for Chuck even under this scenario.
In other words, it shows that Sarah’s falling for Chuck was never just the result of lucky coincidences. They were always meant to be, no matter what.
Thank you for your reply.
Yes I agree as a synopsis it sure makes sense, when you bring down all characters to S1 level. They did the same with Casey as well in his conversation with Beckman. Even though I find it a bit implausible because the characters have grown organically throughout five years and they wouldn’t just go back to their five year prior self without external influence, like say loosing your memories where it made sense for Sarah to go back to her pre-Chuck self. Also, this doesn’t last long as the other characters quickly change back to their S5 personalities with the help of their friends and family (Ellie and Morgan for Chuck and Morgan for Casey).
So, yes, as a synopsis of the whole story I understand what they are trying to do, especially as a goodbye to the fans to once again remind them what made the show special. And the multiple parallels to the previous seasons also illustrate the same point.
And, the point about Chuck and Sarah falling for each other in the worst possible circumstances is absolutely true (exactly like Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade).
I would only like to point out a small difference in thought I have.
“even as a grown man in S5, Chuck is still a sensitive nerd, not an alpha male like Bryce, Cole, or good-spy Shaw that S1 Sarah would typically go for.”
This is what Quinn (and perhaps other typical spies) would think, but not what Sarah went for, from what I have seen in the show. Because they don’t know Sarah, the woman and what kind of guy she fell for. Such as-
a) There isn’t much Bryce and Sarah interaction to show why she was with him. But from Bryce’s friendship with Chuck, we see he is actually caring and protective about Chuck, not just a macho guy. And he was a nerd himself. In fact S5 Chuck is very similar to Bryce, the only difference being that Chuck rejected the traditional spy code of feelings as liabilities and instead proves that spies can fall in love and use those feelings as an asset, which made him even better. Bryce also showed his caring nature when he warns Chuck about dangers of Sarah’s feelings to her life and asks him to do the right thing.
b) With Cole, she is initially only attracted because of his heroics, but she doesn’t respond to him until he starts to create an emotional connection (something like believe me I have looked and you don’t meet many people you care about).
c) It’s the same with Shaw. She doesn’t trust him initially or reciprocate his offers of a spy with benefits relationship and only started a relationship after establishing an emotional connection with her real name.
Also Chuck Bartowski, the nerd herder is only a cover for him by now in S5. While in reality he was a superspy (who is emotional) by now and Sarah’s equal (after he saved her from Shaw in S5). Chuck being a nerd wasn’t an issue for Sarah ever.
What I am trying to say is that throughout the story she has shown she looks for more in a guy than an alpha male personality. That is she valued the sensitive and emotional nature of Chuck. Even she says the same to Roan during Sasha Banachek episode – “sometimes a girl appreciates when the guy can take a backseat”, that is, not an alpha. And she also defends Chuck’s romantic potential to Roan for being passionate, sweet and caring. Again she values the sensitive nature, but Roan didn’t because he just like Quinn didn’t know which kind of guy Sarah would really fall for.
And I believe this same point is made once again in the arc when she falls for Chuck once again because of his nature – passionate, sweet and caring and his selfless heroic actions to save people ahead of his personal desire to restore Sarah’s memories using the Intersect glasses. Once again reminding us why Sarah would always fall for Chuck. I think I am basically saying the same things you did in your posts now.