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TVLine has an interview with Chuck co-creators Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz answering a few questions about the final episodes, plus teasing some extras on the upcoming DVD!
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
TVLINE | What did you always suspect would be in the series finale did in fact end up in the finale? Was it Sarah losing her memory, Chuck getting the Intersect back…?
CHRIS FEDAK | When we were working on this season of the show, we knew that the beach scene, which echoes the beach scene from the pilot, would be there. And we knew that in this case it would be Chuck trying to help Sarah. We were always heading in that direction.
JOSH SCHWARTZ | And the idea this year of taking the show back to basics – in the sense that it was going to be Chuck without the Intersect, and returning the show to its roots in that first season. That beach was the place where Chuck and Sarah first forged their bond, so it seemed like the perfect way to bookend the series.
TVLINE | After screening the finale, I made a point to rewatch the pilot, which of course brought somuch stuff into focus. You had the callbacks to the Mexican restaurant, the Wienerlicious, the tangoand “Irene Demova,” and you did a veritable shot-for-shot remake of the Bryce escape/fight sequence. Were there more-subtle callbacks that people maybe didn’t catch?
FEDAK | I didn’t even realize this, but when Sarah wears the Wienerlicious uniform, she actually has a little necklace with a hot dog on the end of it. I only now realize that it was there all this time.
SCHWARTZ | The score that plays when they’re at the Mexican restaurant together is the same score that played in the pilot.
FEDAK | Another thing is that throughout the run of the show, Chuck and Sarah have had a cue that [Chuckcomposer] Tim Jones created – a very emotional, kind of warm-hearted cue that we use in scenes where its just Chuck and Sarah talking about their relationship. It’s always been an open-ended cue, and in the final scene Tim closed it off. That’s a beautiful, delicate moment.
TVLINE | Was that the same beach?
FEDAK | Same beach, same spot. Everything was the same except the weather, which was bad [for the finals shoot]. [Laughs]
TVLINE | You did a really nice job with closure for all of the characters, including Ellie and Awesome. And you turned Jeffster! from the usual novelty into the most unlikely of heroes.
SCHWARTZ | I think that in their own mind, they’ve been heroes all along, so it’s just the rest of the world catching up to the potential that Jeffster! has. Them becoming a successful rock act in Germany feels pretty inevitable, doesn’t it?
FEDAK | Having Jeffster find out about the spy base and having them save the day was something we wanted to do. And once we knew that this would be the final episode, for our fans who love these characters so much, we wanted to give them closure. Act 5 was the one we really didn’t mess around with all that much. It was the one we knew that if we were going to have to take time out of the episode, you had had to keep Act 5 protected.
TVLINE | Any behind-the-scenes anecdotes from the finale shoot? I have to imagine landing a helicopter on a street can go sideways fast.
SCHWARTZ | [Laughs] Well, you don’t want to mess around with a helicopter. We did a lot of amazing stuff in those final two episodes, and one of the reasons this show is possible is because of the amazing production team we had. Robbie Duncan McNeil, who was our in-house directing producer, is featured in the episode — he is the other commando inside the helicopter with John Casey. Robbie was an actor on Star Trek: Voyager, and this is his first time on TV in many years, so it was great to see him up there.
TVLINE | If I gave you an extra hour for the finale, what would you have done with it?
SCHWARTZ | The original [cut] was almost an extra hour longer.
FEDAK | It’s true. Chuck episodes sometimes come in a little long — not this season as much, but this one came in quite a bit long. We actually got it a little bit of extra time from NBC for it.
SCHWARTZ | Some of the additional scenes will be on the DVD.
FEDAK | That’s right, we actually have a longer version coming out on the DVD.
TVLINE | Simply extended edits of scenes or also new entire scenes?
SCHWARTZ | You’ll have a couple of entire scenes. It will be eight minutes longer. And there are extended scenes within Act 5. It will be nice.
FEDAK | So even after tonight, there will still be the opportunity to see some new Chuck.
Anyway of getting a TV movie made for the series in a few years. This ending with everyone but Sarah and Chuck was terrible. Did not see this ending coming, why most everything in Chuck be cliff hanger, every,SINGLE, YEAR!!!! I demand a spin off show called Col. Casey! Make it happen! Then have Chuck & Sarah as a guest spot, to show that they are happy, have there dream house and a baby. Plus we can see Casey in action again. Even if just for 1 season.
I agree with so many of the other fans, this we a really cheap way to end the series. Did Fedak and Schwartz not learn from the whole Shaw arc? That stupid plotline cost a large percentage of Chuck’s viewership that never returned. I almost gave up on the show too and I am sure many of you almost did as well. Yet we all stayed and continued to fight for this show. The whole Chuck and Sarah relationship angst pushed to the extreme nearly killed the show before, so I guess it is only fitting that Fedak and Schwartz save one final obnoxious case of it for the very end. I really don’t understand why they would spend this entire season focusing on Chuck and Sarah wanting to have their happy ending: a house, thinking about being parents, only to pull the rug out from under them at the very end. As some of had said I don’t think I will watch another Fedak or Schwartz show again especially after they took one final chance to score a cheap shot against their fans.
;Blake-I could not have said it better. At the end of the last episode I felt betrayed by F&S , but that is something I should have expected. No more F&S angst filled shows for me.
I really hope the S5 DVD gives us some extended scenes that provide definite closure
I feel we were robbed of that
I hope so to, i hope that there some extended ending scene because we all do need some real closure.
I really hope that too because I just hope to that ending would have let us see if her memories come back. Because Chuck & Sarah deserves a happy ending like all of the others or maybe even more.
I just have a feeling that these extra scenes would be earlier on the episode.
I hope they will add some extra ending scene on dvd. I hate to think that all those years with Chuck that made Sarah become a loving, caring person, all those experiences had come to waste in the end. So an extra scene revealing that she eventually remembered everything is dream ending.
I know this is around my fourth post but: I am having such a hard time trying to convince myself I will enjoy watching a back episode. It’s like after this ending just about anything I watch will be as good as it gets. Chuck and Sarah will probably be happier in a random episode than they wind up being in the end. Watching them grow together now will be pointless. The dream has been KILLED for me.
Give yourself some time to process the ending, Paul. I think eventually you’ll be able to see it as the positive, hopeful send off many of us saw.
MEL- As usual thank you for helping me. Very kind of you. Can imagine how busy you must be. I will use your words to help keep “Chuck” alive for me.
No offense meant Mel, but as I have observed on here and many other sites that many many more people disliked the ending than liked it…its definitely not a 50/50 split. I do see your point of view, having read your comments about it, but Im like Paul, Ive watched it multiple times now hoping I would feel better about it but I cant get over that they really destroyed so much of the past 5 years by not allowing Sarah to get her memories back. I hope you will ask some good hard hitting questions when you interview Fedak in a few weeks so he can address some of the choices they made with the finale. And I highly doubt they’ll put in any scenes from after that ending, they apparently arent that nice like I thought they were, even if we do get more act 5 scenes
It was positive and hopeful. Doesn’t mean it can’t be disappointing and sad too. And doesn’t mean you can’t feel a bit gutted that what we were led to believe (house, red door, kids) didn’t happen, or at least happened off camera. I wanted that; hoped for that and when none of that happened, or will eventually will happen later, I was broken hearted. I can respect and appreciate the finale, but I hope people who saw this finale as positive and hopeful can also appreciate the sadness and disappointment that others have.
But Mel,
I didn’t want hopeful OR positive!! I wanted happy! What’s wrong with that? And I want to see the house, the kids. That was mentioned so many times this season, and that rug was pulled out from us, for what? To hope and be positive? I can see and appreciate what the message is/was that they were trying to make, but with all due respect, I am devastated by the fact that I couldn’t see the happy ending and get the closure I wanted as a fan. This doesn’t feel like a love letter to me. More like a Requiem 🙁 Why the frak did I even bother watching the finale? Chuck ends at S4 for me. With Chuck and Sarah getting married.
I know you did, Lianne. And I’m sorry the hopeful, positive ending doesn’t equal happy for you. I wish it did.
Original cut was “an hour” longer? DVD will get an episode cut 8 minutes longer? No my friends include it ALL – lol… just kidding. If the scenes add to the episode great. Otherwise I’d want to remember this one in the way it was presented.
I know some people feel there should have been more after the beach. I guess the Pilot gave us Chuck going back to the Buy More and finding Casey and Sarah there after the beach scene. Maybe people needed Chuck & Sarah to return home with Alex and Morgan waving to them as the two of them go home after coming back from the beach and holding hands into the apartment.
I personally liked the beach scene and the reversal of roles from where each was sitting 5 years ago. I remember the scene from season 3 where Ellie is leaving for Africa and she sees Sarah and asks Chuck if they were back together… he simply replies, “We’re together” and leaves it at that. That’s good enough for me too, they’re together.
But the point is excatly that now you don´t really know they are together. There´s a chance that she don´t remember and they end up being just friends.
I’m kind of surprised by a lot of the fan reaction to this ending. Perhaps I’m a product of too many Disney movies as well but there was not a doubt in my mind that Morgan was right on this one. Does the ending tie things up with a bow and tell you everything that you already know is going to happen? No. But do you really need it to?
We saw Sarah’s memory slowly returning to her, so even if we assume that Chuck’s kiss wasn’t enough to bring Sarah’s memory back, what is the worst case scenario that we are dealing with here– Sarah being able to fall in love with Chuck all over again?
For me this doesn’t feel like a cheat or a middle finger to the fans but the promise of something exciting—something that we were all a part of the first time around. I felt the finale of Chuck stayed true to the series in that it was one of the most entertaining hours on TV while packing in the emotional heft that a finale should.
In the end I think it’s about faith in these characters and faith in kind of show Chuck was. We’ve seen time and time again over the past 5 years that against all odds Chuck and Sarah are destined to be together. If you think a little hiccup like this is going to stop that then you don’t know these characters. And if you think the writers would let “Sam Kinison and an Indian Lesbian” be superstars in Germany and not let Chuck and Sarah end up together then you don’t know this show.
So whether you are a romantic like I am and you think Sarah’s memory returns right there on the beach or you’re a little more cynical and thinks it takes a bit longer, the end game is always the same: Chuck and Sarah living happily ever after.
Very disappionted with the ending, I only hope that this is a lead up to a short movie or something that gives us closure. Maybe we will get that in the dvd but I seriously doubt it
There are a LOT of people trying to get CBS to pick it up! Join the cause on Facebook!
Of all the networks that could possibly pick it up (which would never happen) CBS would be the least likely of the broadcast nets to revive it…they have way too many shows that “do well” as it is. They would never want to pick up a show that averages 1.0 in the demo. Just not going to happen. No way no how, sadly. Sorry.
I think a couple fans are being a bit dramatic here. Without Schwartz and Fedak, the last 5 years wouldn’t have happened. Sure, the ending may not have been as conclusive as as some fans may have liked, but the final scene of the series was Sarah kissing Chuck, in an episode where she had been regaining memories left and right.
It could’ve been a LOT worse. I personally thought it was a great ending in its own way. Cheers to new beginnings!
So, it’s been a good run. To the entire team behind Chuck, I’d personally like to thank you for everything. I loved (almost – I thought Vs. the Curse was stupid) every moment of Chuck, and I look forward to supporting all your projects in the future.
I want to thank Chris and Josh mostly for making their dream true, which they had 5 years ago. Hopefully, we will have one last opportunity to see the exact same Cast & Crew on another show!
A great ending and about what I expected. The lack of total closure/clarity should probably be considered a hallmark of Josh though at this point I think. It’s exactly what he did with the OC’s series finale if any of you saw it. Some characters direction and end stories were perfectly clear, others were a little more ambigious in certain aspects but it was a positive ending overall.
Though I would have liked a little more firm closure on Casey and Gertrude it was pretty obvious where Chuck/Sarah were rapidly once again headed. 🙂
I cant belive Chuck over…NBC WE NEED MORE ..PLEASE MAKE A NEW SEASON!
The lack of continuity and closure have always plagued this show. I still don’t understand the stand alone episode that made a big deal out of her real name, then continuing on without a mention of her name-Sarah even got married under her fake name. What about the Intersect? Are there still bad guys and girls looking for it., iIs Chuck still in danger.Can Chuck put together a new Intersect to help Sarah? What about those Intersect headaches? Some things seemed to be formulated to cause angst among the viewers and then were dropped without resolution. I would have liked a quick flash forward showing Sarah with a smile, Chuck and their newborn twins.
i just can’t realize what are NBC thinking,keeping canceling good quality shows. chuck is one of them .i still remember the show “life” ,which Damian Lewis acted.
Now , nbc still cannot learn that lesson ,canceling chuck ,what a huge mistake !!
but i don’t see any sign that chuck will return in the future, only i hope is a movie for chuck and sarah to continue their romance story and give us a real ,a happy ,a comedy ,a warm end.
C’mon guys. Sarah DOES remember. We all know how its supposed to be.
Sarah remembers, and they get the house and the kids and everything. This is just like Chuck’s proposal in Push Mix. We didn’t hear the proposal, but we knew Sarah said yes. Why? Because we had already heard the proposal in Balcony. Becaus we knew she said yes, because that was the way it was supposed to be. We didn’t need to hear her say the words to know it was true. This is the same deal.
Hannah, that’s a great way of thinking about it. I hated the ending at first and although I now don’t love it, nevertheless I do know that Sarah and Chuck will be Mr and Mrs Bartowski again and that they will achieve their dreams as we have seen them throughout Season 5 and previously. I’ve started to look at it like this: At the end of 5.12, all Sarah could do was run away because whilst she believed it, she could not feel it and she was still very much the old Sarah. Slowly, during the course of 5.13 she made a transition from that position to really wanting to feel it as well as know it, and that culminated in her asking Chuck to kiss her. She’s going to stick at it until their relationship is whole and real again.
Exactly Hannah. How many times did we see scenes between Chuck and Sarah and their looks said it all, no words necessary. This whole past season we got glimpses into what their future would be like and what they wanted for their future together. This was a bump in the road to them being together. It proved they could over come anything.
Remember they are spies and their world is a dangerous one. Chuck came dangerously close to losing Sarah, but his love, loyalty and tenacity brought her back.
Yes this was exactly that. To look their looks and reactions to get the whole story and not words. Because if you put words aside, you can she that Sarah´s feelings are all the time present and she herself realize them when watching the video log. It just takes time for her to decide to trust Chuck and let him see what she is feeling.
Just like she says on video, I love Chuck bartowski but I don´t know what to do about it.
I really would like a movie about chuck, so that they can clear op some things and so that they can make a very good ending. because this was a bit disapointing to me ;p.. So please don’t stop with chuck
Having watched the last scene numerous times, I can now appreciate the ending, which left me rather cold the first time. I can understand the logic behind the finale and I can see the optimism and love there, but I do wish there had been a little more closure onscreen. I didn’t need to see the dream house, or the baby, or even the family dinner that could have been an equally fitting end to the show. I like that we can imagine their future adventures. All I really needed was some clearer indication that the kiss really meant SOMETHING to Sarah – for her to really react to Chuck as she had in the past when they kissed, but this time, I didn’t see enough of that. A few more seconds where she leaned in to him more, for example and I would have felt happier. I know that she was starting to remember and they will ultimately be together, but I wanted to know that it wasn’t going to take long! It would have been impossible to please everyone, however Chuck ended and this was nowhere near the worst possible end in my opinion, but I can understand why people feel cheated out of 5 years of development. I guess we just have to remember that this isn’t the end of the journey for the characters, just the start of a new chapter that we have to imagine, because we don’t get to watch it …
i like many others are disappointed in the ending, as you arent really left with a sense of closure. You cant really say for sure if Sarah got here memories back or not and that annoys me. I also think that it is heavily hinted that Sarah would get her memories back due to her remembering random stuff and maybe it is just the hopeless romantic in me that chooses to believe that the kiss did the job but i would have wished that there were some real closure in the ending, something like fast forwarding 2 years to Morgan’s and Alex’ wedding with Sarah as a bridesmaid pregnent or something like that, it would have atleast given us total closure, instead all we got was this,
Would love to see any form of chuck return. Movie, web movie, spinoff tv series. Anything to see more chuck.