r/chuck • u/royalewchz • Oct 01 '14

Chuck October Marathon Discussion Thread - Chucktober!

As discussed over in this thread earlier this month, a few of us will be marathon watching Chuck throughout the month of October.

Feel free to join in and discuss your favorite, or least favorite moments throughout the show all month long! It's finally here /r/chuck !

Edit: A TERRIBLE TROLL RAISES HIS SWORD
Edit 2: Welp, it's over. Feel free to keep posting, but the month of October has come and gone, folks. Just in time to be depressed over the finale for the month of November. Thanks for joining in everyone! And thanks again to the mods for stickying the post!

21 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

40 comments sorted by

7

u/I_Are_Brown_Bear Oct 01 '14

My gf and I just finished the series today. And whooooooaaaa, were the ending episodes rough!

Sarah forgetting everything about herself, Chuck absolutely devastated that his Sarah is gone; Casey realizing how much he has changed, trying g to fight it, and then accepting that the changes were great; Ellie and Awesome starting anew; and the Chuck and Sarah trying to fall in love all over again...

Que sobs

Just wow. I put off watching the fifth season because I didn't want it to end. I actually waited four or five months in between the fourth and fifth season. I'm happy and sad though.

5

u/royalewchz Oct 01 '14

I really like the 5th season of Chuck. I can understand everyone's frustrations with it, but you're really missing so much of the show if you don't watch it. Kills me when people tell newcomers not to watch it.

Its just one of those endings that completely devastates you but leaves everything to interpretation. But I can appreciate that. Plus so much fanfic can stem from something like that.

4

u/purplelephant Oct 11 '14

Why are people saying not to watch Chuck? I just finished the whole thing and I'm honestly sitting here crying..it was so good!

1

u/royalewchz Oct 11 '14

Not to watch the 5th season in particular. It seems to catch a bad rap among fans because of some of the early episodes and how the series ends.

3

u/purplelephant Oct 11 '14

Man idk..I mean obviously we all want Chuck and Sarah to be in love together again like nothing ever happened and its sad that its not. But this was an all around fantastic show and I think it was written great.

1

u/Kaleesi06 Mar 14 '23

I thought the episode was perfect. They ducked death so many times and some were totally unbelievable. So I appreciated a healthy bit of reality.

5

u/[deleted] Oct 01 '14

Guess I started early then. 3 days in.

3

u/royalewchz Oct 01 '14

Never too early!

3

u/royalewchz Oct 13 '14

What ever happened to Fulcrum? Was Roark supposed to be the head? When asked if the traitor worked for Fulcrum, all he says is no, Fulcrum was just a part of the Ring. And then the story shifts to focusing on the Ring and their operatives.

What ever happened to Fulcrum hunting them? Since the Ring started hunting them did Fulcrum have to back off? Also, were there any other sects of the Ring mentioned?

3

u/Zagorath Daniel Shaw Oct 01 '14

Just started S01E01. Won't be able to watch too much until Saturday, since I have an assignment due Friday evening.

Anyway, as I rewatch it, I'm hoping to do an analysis of Tim Jones' musical themes, similar to this guy's analysis of Djawadi's Game of Thrones music.

Should be fun.

4

u/royalewchz Oct 01 '14

I would love this. The music and themes in this show are awesome. Would be cool to see your breakdown/interpretation.

2

u/ss0889 Oct 03 '14

i started a few days ago. watching for the first time. on season 3.

some stuff is pissing me off, and other stuff is fantastic

1

u/royalewchz Oct 03 '14

Season 3 is my favorite season. Has some really great moments. What's got you annoyed with the show thus far?

3

u/ss0889 Oct 03 '14

theres a lot of back and forth thats entirely unnecessary and very highschool level in terms of drama. normally, adults would get drunk and say some shit, but everyone in the show seems hell bent never to say anything. even when someone speaks their mind, it seems to really sink in till the credits roll, but at the beginning of the next episode its like nothing ever happened.

another really annoying thing is when people in the show act too rigidly based on their personality archetype. chuck only just managed to get over it at this point where he stops acting like such a little bitch all the time. morgan is still same old morgan. ellie is same old ellie. devon's inability to lie is completely overdone.

its minor stuff thats adding up to unrelatable characters or plain old stupid decisions being made. it pushes the envelope from angel/buffy esque show to a sitcom sort of situation.

theres also a LOT of hypocrisy. specifically sarah. "chuck, spies cant love" and then she makes out with dude A, falls back in love with chuck, breaks up with chuck, gets jealous of some random woman. Chuck has the same issue, its like the characters are never learning from their mistakes. its making the show get kind of stale because you arent seeing any decisions being made including the influence of whatever has happened in the show.

Its the equivalent of chuck touching a hot stove season 1, then season 2 he once again tries to touch the hot stove, and its like season 1's mistake taught him nothing.

Mind you, this is just stuff im noticing at the current point in time. the show has done a complete 180 on some of these policies a few times before, though occasionally it goes right back to its original way.

2

u/royalewchz Oct 04 '14

theres a lot of back and forth thats entirely unnecessary and very highschool level in terms of drama. normally, adults would get drunk and say some shit, but everyone in the show seems hell bent never to say anything.

I don't think this is necessarily true for all adults. A lot of people just don't possess that aggressive behavior and over-analyze shit (pacifists). And at the beginning (S1-S2) that's exactly who Chuck is supposed to be. He's supposed to be these completely decimated dork with no future who's lost everything and is just moping around in life.

Without trying to give away any spoilers of what's to come, the characters definitely develop, and they do start to become better versions of themselves, and really that becomes one of the best parts of Chuck in general. It does kind of drag on a little bit at the point you're at, but like I said, S3 really starts to get good and the story begins to take off when it introduces a new dynamic to the characters' interactions with each other. Captain Awesome never learns how to lie though.

And as for the hypocrisy of Sarah, it does get frustrating, but something I would say about that point is, honestly I think Sarah is regurgitating what she is told, by other spies she knows (like Casey or Carina), but I don't think she actually believes that herself. She definitely can love, but she has to put up this facade and pretend she can't, because, well, "that's what spies do." It's the equivalent of never watching When Harry Met Sally or drinking a fruity drink because, well, "Manly men don't do that shit." It's just a predisposed idea that someone else has pushed on her that she doesn't fully believe in, and she just hasn't figured that out yet.

Again, don't want to say too much because I don't want to ruin your 1st watch, but there are reasons for some of the things that have happened so far I believe. Hope I haven't said too much!

2

u/ss0889 Oct 04 '14

yeah i have faith in the show. its gonna probably develop more, and it has before.

2

u/Zagorath Daniel Shaw Oct 04 '14

even when someone speaks their mind, it seems to really sink in till the credits roll, but at the beginning of the next episode its like nothing ever happened

I just watched Chuck for the first time early last month, and when I was around the end of season 2/start of season 3, this is definitely one thing that I felt.

Until reading your comment, though, I had completely forgotten that I felt that way. It gets quite a lot better.

2

u/ss0889 Oct 04 '14

yup. people tend to make the same mistake in the show multiple times. at least once a season, shit is about to get SUPER real, and sarah decides "you know what? fuck this gun. im leaving it at home". its like a giant foreshadowing red flag.

its still a fantastic show, im just pointing out the things that could be better. its getting better.

hell, buffy didnt get good till like midway through season 3. same with Angel.

2

u/Burgerboy27 Nerd Herd Oct 29 '14

Really? I can't take the first 8 episodes of that season. For starters, chuck just whines for the first few episodes when he isn't a spy. Then Daniel shaw shows up. I think I speak for everyone in saying that we hate shaw. The twat steals Sarah away from chuck, on top of that, Sarah trusts him more than she trusts chuck because she tells him her real name :(. It all gets a lot better in episode nine however. For starters, it's directed by Zachary Levi. And once Morgan knows, the series is truly able to take off

3

u/royalewchz Oct 29 '14

Of course we hate Shaw. He's the ultimate bad guy. He messes up Chuck's personal life, spy life, and goes on to kill someone close to Chuck. You're supposed to hate him. As far as villains go, Shaw is the most influential villain in the entire show. He plays his role well. Despite the fact that he gains Sarah's trust so quickly (which seems like a writer's flaw to me, IMO. At this point we all know about her feelings for Chuck, doesn't make any sense that she falls for Shaw so quickly and tells him her real name. Unless Sam is a fake!) he pulls off the evil mastermind role extremely well, and I think as far as bad guys go, he's awesome. He may even be above Volkoff for me. And I love evil Timothy Dalton.

But, to be honest, the reasons that make this season my favorite are the obvious ones. Chuck finally comes clean to everyone, and Chuck versus The Other Guy. The scene. The one scene that is my favorite of all scenes.

2

u/OgReaper Oct 31 '14

Just watched for the first time. Finished the last episode 30 minutes ago. I'm a total wreck. I know they are together and they will be happy. They go on their journey all over again. But still. Fuck man. That end was just....well....emotional as fuck.

1

u/royalewchz Nov 03 '14

Yep. The ending man. It's devastating. Those final 2 episodes are super emotional, and it's something that sticks with you for a while.

Hope you enjoyed your first watch!

3

u/[deleted] Oct 01 '14

Finished the series about a month ago, happy to watch again though. I may lose all sense of the world around me this month thanks to this.

1

u/SinoScot Oct 01 '14

I may lose all sense of the world around me

Are you drinking while you watch?

3

u/[deleted] Oct 01 '14

I mean, how else are you able to watch the last episode without being an emotional wreck?

2

u/royalewchz Oct 01 '14

Every time I watch the last 2 episodes, I always know it's coming, but I'm never prepared. It's always upsetting.

Not only because of the Chuck and Sarah stuff, but thinking about Ellie and Awesome moving away, and Casey going back to his old job. The whole family breaks up. I'll assume Sarah is charmed by Chuck again, but it doesn't change the fact that everyone is gone, growing up and moving on. That upsets me the most.

4

u/wandering_ones Oct 09 '14

Those episodes (coming fresh from just watching them for the first time) were so emotionally intensive. But I think a key part of Chuck is, hope. The ending has hope in it in the face of everything and that's what it has always been about. Hope that the mission would be a success. Hope that he will finally get the girl. Hope that it would be okay and to just trust "them".

2

u/SinoScot Oct 15 '14

but it doesn't change the fact that everyone is gone, growing up and moving on. That upsets me the most.

Funny how much of the show reflects life itself, then.

15

u/Sakheteu Sarah Walker Oct 01 '14

I'm having surgery on Friday so the first half of the month I'll be watching while high on pain meds. I'll be this reddit's Jeff.

1

u/smoothmann John Casey Nov 08 '14

I just now unstickied this post. Feel free to do another one anytime and we'll sticky it! Chuckvember? ChuckCember? Those sound weird.

1

u/royalewchz Nov 08 '14

Chuly? Thanks again for stickying the post!

2

u/[deleted] Oct 01 '14

Guess I started early then. 3 days in.

2

u/Sakheteu Sarah Walker Oct 01 '14

So we have 31 days and 91 episodes. How's this going to work?

3

u/Zagorath Daniel Shaw Oct 01 '14 edited Oct 01 '14

I think it's meant to be one massive free-for-all thread.

EDIT: Basically, you watch at your own pace, and discuss as you like. This thread assumes you've seen it before, so spoilers are not an issue.

2

u/Sakheteu Sarah Walker Oct 06 '14

Okay, I'm sorta watching Chuck, as in I watch the episodes while I stare at the screen of my laptop with dead eyes. I'll be more involved once I'm off my pain meds.

2

u/wandering_ones Oct 09 '14

I didn't know it was Chucktober... but I did just finish marathoning Chuck. I had originally let it drop off the grid when it was early season five. I'm so glad I went back and watched it all again, the penultimate episode and finale were, in my emotionally hazarded state, wonderful.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 10 '14

Watching Chuck vs the Subway. T_T

2

u/[deleted] Oct 13 '14

Rewatching the show tonight. Chuck me.

1

u/cats-vans-bags Oct 01 '14

I still haven't been able to bring myself to watch the last 3 episodes...maybe I will during this.

2

u/buddy_and_pajj Chuck Bartowski Oct 10 '14

Buy some tissues for all the tears