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Of course he can’t say much, but I think Zachary Levi’s response to the fan reaction over this week’s episode is interesting. Here are his Tweets:
So what’s all this hubbub I’m hearin about the last ep? (source)
Hmmm, I see. Question: did anyone think that Han would be stuck in carbonite forever at the end of Empire? (source)
This is especially amusing because it’s exactly the comparison some fans have made on the CTV forum (you have to be an active member to see it). Geeks of the world, unite!
I found the Han Solo reference quite geeky and witty, all at the same time…..
But doesn’t Zac miss the point? If I understand the furor, it isn’t because C/S are not together. Which is what Zac’s comment seems to address. It’s because the characters acted OOC in unbelievable ways for a seemingly manipulative plot point.
I didn’t realize the end of Empire Strikes Back was only about Han/Leia.
Then what do you think that Zac was trying to say? I took it as “Be patient. Things will work out.”
And my point is that the furor is not about that we’re impatient. It’s about we didn’t recognize the characters and felt manipulated.
If Zac is making a deeper point, then I’m missing it.
He’s saying there’s a bigger picture, that the end of 3.07 isn’t the end of the story. He’s also being amusing and geeky, something I thought people would enjoy, otherwise I wouldn’t have posted this so I’d have to read even more of the same grouchy comments that have been filling my in box for the last 3 days.
I’m not being grouchy. Sorry if it sounds like that. I’m just saying that he is not responding to the furor. I’m not even saying that the furor is even right.
You seem tense. Can I buy you a latte, lol?
Me? Tense? Now why would I be tense? Just because I can’t post something I see as amusing and not get yet another onslaught of comments about “how terrible the episode was” and “no one understands why we didn’t like it” (despite the fact that I’ve said that I DO understand on multiple occasions) and blah blah blah. If I drank caffeine, I’d totally take you up on that offer. 😉
Umm. I feel badly for you. Trust me. In my own fanfic, I’ve tasted the wrath of the shippers, lol. I can only imagine what it is like trying to keep an upbeat outlook on the show.
And, for the record, it’s not nearly as bad as everybody is making it out to be. C/S are going to be together. Sooner rether than later, IMO. Of that there is almost zero doubt. I agree, that’s exactly what Zac was trying to say. And I do appreciate it. But I think that we can admit to ourselves, even as fans, that the last 10 minutes of The Mask was awkward. Doesn’t ruin the show or make us love it any less.
I hope the rest of your day goes better, lol.
Agreed on all points. 🙂
Mel, one thing I think we all have to remember that we tend to make this more complicated than it really is. To quote my favorite scholar: “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”— Dr. Seuss
Interesting, it took a whole group of friends to get Han out of his carbonite.
Excellent observation, B-rad.
Yes Obie-Mel, but it appears as though “the training wheels are coming off.” LOL.
The show writers have a big problem on their hands. The problem is that they did not think through how to grow the show past 2 seasons. Chuck started off as a funny show about a geeky unambitious slacker in a dead-end job who gets thrust into the spy world because of the intersect. It’s all from Chuck’s point of view. Seasons 1 and 2 weren’t about training Chuck to be a spy, they were about Chuck trying to get out of having the intersect in his head and live a normal life again. Now they do this big switcheroo where suddenly Chuck wants to be a spy, so now the warm lighthearted ensemble comedy becomes another spy show with some humor. For me the best parts of Chuck were his relationships with his family, with Sarah and Casey, with Morgan, and with the Buy More crew. Due to massive budget cuts we don’t get to see most of the secondary cast as much. The whole tone of the show has changed and I don’t like it. Yes Chuck and Sarah will end up together, big deal. But what made this show great seems to be gone.
Right. The essence and warmth is mostly gone. TPTB do not seem to understand that. They are under the delusion that all we care about is Chuck and Sarah being a couple. That we don’t have a clue about story-telling structure. It’s a little insulting
While it is true to some extent the fans want Chuck and Sarah together, we do understand there are barriers and complexities separating them, but like many fans have intimated, TPTB have sucked out most of the fun and warmth from the show during season three. They do not seem to realize that.
Chuck and Sarah were never officially together in seasons one and two, but the fan base fell in love with the characters who found cute ways to interact, they rooted for them. They came to appreciate how three dysfunctional people came together to form an unbeatable team, etc, etc.
I still see the warmth and essence in this show. Chuck is still concerned about protecting his family and friends. The family and friends are not a big part of the show this year but that is not the writers fault. Last year people were complaining that there was too much Buy More and it should be cut down. This year it is and people are still complaining. The writers can’t win.
I think Chuck is still the same Chuck, just more confident. If the writers didn’t change it up and Chuck was still staying in the car and screaming like a girl, people would be complaining that the character is not growing (which they were complaining about last season). The writers can’t win.
The writers aren’t going to please everyone. I trust them to take us on a great ride like they have in the past.
I get the whole “growth” argument. But my point is that the whole show has changed. It is now a spy show (like Alias, for example), when it started off as a light-hearted ensemble comedy with some dramatic elements. It really feels like the folks at NBC are demanding that the show become something it never was: a procedural case-of-the-week spy show. So the fault may not lie entirely with the writers. This is just my opinion, and what do I know? But I do know that I am not enjoying this season nearly as much as I liked the last 2 seasons. And I hate to say it but if it keeps going in this direction I won’t really care if this ends up being the last season.
i agree with you completely, everybody is just complaining, but i stil think chuck is great
AGREED, Chuckfan808!
Aww, Zach is so adorable! Don’t worry, Zach, PLENTY of people enjoyed VS The Mask (myself included):
http://tv.ign.com/articles/106/1068038p1.html
And I like how the show is evolving as it should be (I trust in the showrunners, they haven’t disappointed me yet). I like the more darker tone, and how Chuck is progressing as a spy. It’s more realistic, while still fun, IMO. And I don’t mind that Chuck and Sarah are not together right now.. never expected them to be so soon. I like the new love interests too. I’m definitely enjoying the ride, and I can’t wait for March 1st! 😀
No, I guess you’re right from their POV they can never win, yet overall, must be doing something right. Otherwise, we wouldn’t care and we wouldn’t watch and we wouldn’t respond.
But as you know, he never stayed in the car. Part of his charm and many of his unorthodox and unique contributions to the team.
I think that the S3 it’s showing us the necessary growth of the entire show…You are right when you say that in past 2 seasons we’ve seen a nerd with ambitions looking for his own way…that gets into the spy world for a pure chance…but this is the point..3 years has passed..and the spy world became an important part of Chuck life…!I think that after 3 years of missions on the field with Sarah and Casey. Chuck realized that probably this is his own way to walk(thanks also to Sarah)he realized that this all CIA thing is his chance to become somebody better than a underpaid nerd in an electronic store!Let’s make this clear i loove the nerd who works in the Buy more..but let’s be honest…it would have been weird and insane if the creators continued on with Chuck in trouble,in the car, and all the problems to get the intersect out(THIS IS THE NAIL ZAC WANTED TO HIT ON)Not mentioning the fact that if Chuck gets the intersect out…the SHOW ENDS!Personally i hope they’ll keep on showing us Chuck as No more MR.Nice spy and as a civilian…that it’s the perfect balance…!
For Chuck and Sarah obviously they’ll be a couple…just we don’t know when!
Well said, S1monetz. I totally agree with you. Chuck still makes me smile, and also cry and laugh. It’s still a very enjoyable show for me.
well said mate…i too feel the same
Zach just gave the classic non-denial denial aviodance answer. I’ve hear it all the time. Save the funny or witty remarks for Chuck and be honest.
Yeah Zac, quit trying to communicate with the fans. Geez.
The real problem was sarah seemed to hate shaw one moment and was ready to jump him the next after finding out about chuck and hannah wich just wasn’t something the fans could buy. If they are gonna keep chuck and sarah apart they need to have them entering relationships that show they care about the people they are gonna be with and we didn’t get shown that sarah cares about shaw so it made this episode suck hence all the controversy.
What can Zach say? He’s on the payroll and can’t exactly go against the writes and producers without committing professional hari-keri. He and the whole bunch are hoping this all blows over quickly and is easily forgotten.
Or…he knows what happens next and isn’t concerned.
Good Point!
We have only a little window on the whole season.
Mel, Do you think he’ll be concerned if we lose viewers for ep 8? The show went from a 2.4 to 2.1 on the last major relationship explosion This event has had a bigger responese than that one. I do expect them to drop, but here is to hope that those we lose are only gone for an episode or 2 then come back.
Why are people so upset over Chuck/Hannah and Sarah/Shaw? I don’t get it. I’ll bet that it turns out that Sarah is “dating” Shaw because in fact she is on a secret mission to prove that he actually works for The Ring. And I’ll bet that it also turns out that Hannah is a spy herself (for either the good or the bad guys). Then everything gets resolved and Chuck and Sarah end up together eventually. Big whoop.
I can’t believe there IS a controversy. It’s so ridiculous. Why do people take a TV show so seriously? Especially a light hearted one like Chuck. And spend time writing essays and organizing protests or whatever they’re doing. It reminds me of the SNL skit with Shatner telling the Trekkies to get a life.
I know, it is ridiculous. So Chuck and Sarah are not together.. yet.. this is a tv show, the leads are not supposed to be together so soon.
Stargazer-I’m not a shipper, and I get that Chuck and Sarah will be together by episode 13. But you should understand that TPTB decided to tell us in Season 1 Episode 4 that Sarah wanted Chuck. There have been 42 episodes of the show broadcast so far. So they have been playing the WTWT game for 90 percent of the show’s life. The one thing you cannot say is that would be “so soon.”
LOL! I agree. Relax everyone. This season is the middle of the story. Like Empire Strikes back it’s darker in tone than the beginning and the end (ignore the prequels for now). If the next Chuck was going to be on at it’s usual time this would all have blown over, but because we have to wait three weeks, everyone is in an uproar over nothing.
Mel, we have three weeks to kill (two and a half now)! Gotta talk about something. If you don’t like us talking about this, then post an article about something else. There’s plenty to talk about other than Chuck/Sarah:
* Is Ellie satisfied that Hannah is Chuck’s big secret (despite the fact that it in no way explains Devon’s strange behavior), or will she keep digging?
* What will the consequences be now that Morgan believes Chuck betrayed him by stealing Hannah?
* What happened at the end there? Is Shaw a Ring agent?
* Does anyone other than Sarah work at the Orange Orange?
Just some thoughts.
I’m not preventing you all from discussing other elements of the show. There are plenty place to talk about them, it’s just that few people are.
“* Does anyone other than Sarah work at the Orange Orange?”
HAHA. I’ve always wondered this and frankly I didn’t even know if she was still working there this season.
and I think it was Ellie’s reaction to Chuck and Hannah that had me the most upset. Is she really okay with him moving onto another girl so fast? Clearly her and Sarah have a relationship, there’s feelings there and they are friends, I just wonder how she could be so okay with it.
Doctor Joe
I didn’t like Ellie’s reaction at all. Just another part of a bad, or rushed 10-minute stretch in my estimation.
She’s more clever than that. All giddy because Chuck is seemingly playing tonsil hockey with a new chick behind the curtains in the home theater?
It doesn’t answer any of her questions. It doesn’t explain why her once rock-solid husband is now a babbling, nervous fool.
For the last time, we are not upset about the trapezoid. We are upset of the way the trapezoid came into fruition, hastily and sloppily
You have a point there, but remember they wrote this episode before they even knew they would have 19 episodes for this season. (I think the original count was going to be 13). So from that perspective they had to zoom along in the story, and that probably resulted in some writing that wasn’t as natural as they would have liked. I have faith that in spite of this awkwardness things will improve.
I have to say that Zach’s reference to The Empire Strikes Back is exactly what I was thinking as well as the furor over the episode developed….
Mel, are you wearing your flame retardant suit today? :+)
All this negativity is a bummer.
So this is a fun if inaccurate interpretation, so I’ll keep it light.
I agree that Solo didn’t stay encased in a block of carbonite, so if fans are solely worried about Chuck and Sarah being with other people they need to suck it up and wait for Return of the Jedi. Solo’s not going to remain a showpiece in Jabba’s palace and Chuck and Sarah won’t remain apart indefinitely. When the show comes back from the Olympic break things will begin moving in the direction you want.
Now for a little honesty. This response hasn’t been largely because Han was encased in carbonite. Unless you’ve been in a cave the last 6+ months you knew Chuck and Sarah were going to pursue other interests. It’s really the whole 180 degree, damn the characters we’ve got a story to tell dynamic that’s tweaked most of the irate fans. Also, this episode of Chuck is nowhere near on the level of the Empire Strikes Back. I’m tempted to track Zach down and revoke his nerd card just for making that analogy. Let’s see, the best episode of the Star Wars franchise vs. a mediocre episode of Chuck. Maybe if Zach was comparing Han in Empire to the coitus interruptus in Colonel he’d have a point.
I’m going to continue with Zach’s Empire analogy and jeopardize my own nerd card and make my own analogy and hope other posters follow suit.
If Empire had been like the Mask….
After disarming Han at the end of the episode, Vader would have sat him down and discussed the surrender of all Imperial forces under his command to the Rebel Alliance over a cup of steaming tea and cookies with hot pink frosting. As part of the terms, Han would have agreed to the necessity of purging the galaxy of all Wookies, princesses, and whiny teenagers with a predilection for playing with their father’s light sabers.
can somebody translate Zac’s comment? I don’t speak nerd.
I think a lot of people are reading too much in to it. My take is that he’s basically saying, “Suck it up until after the Olympic break, things get better.”
I mabye alone hear but when chuck kissed hannah i was cheering. the way i see it when chuck and sarah are toghether without breaking up then the show is over. unless they kill someone major off (ellie or morgan)i will always watch the show & i probaly still will if they do kill them off. it may be similar to what it was before but they did twist it. sarah and chuck having a love intrist at the same time? Who da Thunk!
Sorry for all the spelling errors.
I agree that people are reading too much into Zac’s reference to Han Solo.
I think that what he’s trying to express is that the status quo is not going to be maintained for long, that, just as Han had eventually broken out of the carbonite, Chuck and Sarah are going to break out of their respective relationships eventually. It is just a dire situation that we have to go through in order to move on in the story.
Team Schwedak (JS and CF) had stated in the phone interview with Sepinwall that after what happened in Prague, after Sarah has made herself emotionally available and then things turned out the way they turned out, it will be very difficult for Sarah to make herself available emotionally again. The mini-synopsis from MSN also stated that Sarah actually tries to maintain a professional relationship with Shaw in s03e08. These suggest that Sarah does not have true feelings for Shaw. She might appear to be with him so to get herself out of the way of Chuck and Hannah, perhaps because she thinks that she is in Chuck’s way of happiness (as she herself said so at the end of s03e07). This might explain her behavior in s03e07, from being annoyed to APPEARING to be infatuated with Shaw so quickly, because the truth is that she does not love Shaw, but tries to be in a relationship with him so to make way for Chuck and Hannah. As Schwedak said, at the end of ep7, Chuck and Sarah are not in the same place emotionally.
And guys, the fact that Chuck and Sarah is each with another person does not lessen their love for each other. If you remember, Zac said in an interview with Kristen at E! that even though Chuck is with Hannah, deep inside, he knows that Sarah is the one for him. And Sarah’s feelings for Chuck remains intact, as can be seen in ep7 when her face lights up when Chuck calls her partner, when she is so confident that Chuck is going to retrieve the antidote to save her and Shaw, and when she indirectly tells Chuck that he is a hero by saying that she has a type. So please don’t see what has happened in ep 7 as betrayal on the writers’ part and on Sarah’s part, because although Chuck and Sarah are not in a relationship together, they are still very much in love.
As most of us know, Kristin Kreuk has only one more episode on Chuck, which means that Chuck and Hannah are not going to last til ep 9. The reason why they’d break up just after one episode is definitely going to be Sarah, either because being with Hannah makes Chuck realize that Sarah is the only one for him, or Chuck has an epiphany on his own seeing Shaw and Sarah together. Moreover, as Chuck is no longer a spy “in training wheels†means that he is not as dependent for Sarah and Casey’s protection now that he is no longer an asset. Being a “real spy†now, he can compete with Shaw on an equal footing for Sarah’s affections. (I am truly quite sure this happens because a promo for S3 showed Chuck punch Shaw in the face after Shaw said, “You had your chance, and you blew it†while Sarah looks on) Anybody excited to see Chuck step up to fight for Sarah? I know I am! : )
All these add up together suggest that this situation (Chuck w/ Hannah and Sarah w/ Shaw) is not Chuck and Sarah drifting apart, but an indirect way of bringing them together. So please don’t be so negative guys, this is definitely a good thing in the long run! I know that you want Chuck and Sarah together, believe me, I do too! But every good story/movie/tv show has conflicts, and for characters to go through conflicts can only make their relationship stronger. Have faith, fellow Chucksters! We’ll get there!
The Star Wars analogy is a bit faulty. Carbonite seems to be very unpleasant to be stuck in. Hannah on the other hand…
The rather sudden change of attitude of Sarah towards Shaw might have been awkward but, hey, the concept of women acting illogical at times is not completely unheard of.
/chauvinism
How about we all take a deep breath, enjoy the Olympics and look forward to March!
HAHA Levi is awesome. What a great point and also very nerdy and so Chuck-like.