Chuck Finale....tears

So I had to allow myself a couple of days to accept the ending, and kinda stop crying every time I remembered the last scene… I know, drama queen… but I think Im not alone in that department this time...

During the 2 hours finale, I was basically glued on my seat, wouldn't move at all, and had tears flooding my eyes from time to time, there were scenes that Im sorry but it was just impossible to not cry, like when Chuck takes Sarah to their dream house and tries to make her remember, and when she says " I'm sorry,I did my job too well" just made me sob, and then in the ending, beach scene, beautiful call back to the pilot, when Chuck tells their story to her :

Chuck: You know Morgan has this crazy idea.

Sarah: what is it?

Chuck: He thinks that with ones kiss, you''ll remember everything

Sarah:one magical kiss?

Chuck: yeah,exactly, I know it's…

Sarah: Chuck?

Chuck:yeah

Sarah:Kiss me

… after the last scene it was just impossible to control the tears.

And there were scenes, OMG I think I never cheered so much for certain acts like, please open the parachutes, or Chuck get up of the bed , or come on just kiss the girl, do I have to get Sebastian in there singing "Kiss the girl " so you follow Morgan's advice?

Then there were scenes that in de middle of such a tragic event ( come on Sarah lost her memory?she doesn't remember her life with Chuck) made me laugh so much, such as "one word : Jeffster", I was laughing so hard with Jeffster performance of "Take on Me", Chuck shooting the helicopter,Casey with the greatest dead in the world apron, Morgan playing with the invisibility cloak, the call backs to previous episodes … and the best :

Awesome: grandma ,what did we say about baby Clara seeing firearms?

MamaB: its a no no. I am so sorry. Your mi-mi loves you!

Well about 3 things Yvonne Strahovski was right on the interviews she gave about Chuck finale, it was tragic, bittersweet and it was going to leave you on the edge of your seat. Really the finale, was pretty much that, I would just add the too, to the bittersweet if you know what I mean.

So basically Im going to write what I liked, what got me frustrated and what left me hanging…1…2…3..go…

What I liked?

What I liked the most, was that Chuck had a proper Chuck finale, no cliches in Alias and Charmed finale styles, it was a Chuck end, with a bit of everything that made me fall in love with the series, a bit more bitter than I wanted, but I remember telling a friend " I don't want Chuck to end like, ow he gets the girl, the house, the baby, the happy ever after and no intersect no more missions, I want an end like Buffy had, it closes the story in its own style"… and my friend turns to me " well but it would be cute if he gets the house, I can imagine Chuck & Sarah getting there"… true and they almost did, if wasn't for that little twist, where Sarah loses her memory, but I talk about that when I get to "frustrated part".

Also liked that neither of the characters decisions felt rushed, like it did in "Everwood" ending, in the way the plot was at the time, we just knew that if hadn't been canceled it wouldn't have ended like that, not then at least. Every character in Chuck had a finale that was coherent to their journey with what was happening during the entire series, not just in the last two episodes.

The show was able to have the creators finale, the finale they plot exclusively for The End, it's pretty rare to have this opportunity on TV, there were shows with better ratings and less struggle than Chuck that didn't have that, so I'm really happy Chuck had that chance.

I loved the first part "Chuck vs Sarah" that was such a ride, cos they made Sarah even more cold,than she ever was when Chuck started, and I assume its what Casey meant in "Phase 3" :" Casey: No, you're acting like a spy I used to know- before Chuck. Langston Graham wildcard enforcer. I didn't like that Sarah Walker. You know why?Because she was unpredictable."

Sarah was in compete unpredictable mode, and people took a while to realize, but I wanted her to recover her memories so much in that beginning , I think every one wanted, it was difficult to watch Sarah like that, not caring about Chuck or any one, doing exactly what she was told. Great way to show how different she was, was the call back to Bryce breaking in , the exactly same moves, it was amazing, and was Sarah acting on her own, not as a team.

Also loved the call back to "The Other Guy", Casey being the one helping Sarah to make a decision, and giving her the mission logs, from what I assume first 2 seasons, btw costume design and make up were awesome in recreating those looks. Remember in "the Other Guy", Casey shows up in her room to tell Sarah that Chuck didn't kill the mole.

The fact that Sarah goes back to Chuck to tell him ,that she was going after Quinn, and they have that talk in the courtyard, was just , amazing , another heartbreaking , heart to heart scene in the courtyard, their last, and I loved, cos I was always a sucker for those scenes in the courtyard.

When we get to "Chuck vs the Goodbye" its really thrilling as we feel the end is approaching, and Sarah still doesn't remember a thing about Chuck, more importantly - she doesn't feel, and this time we really embark in their last mission, but first Chuck needs to find Sarah, ok she goes to him, but it was nice to see the store staff have a little screen time in the search for her.

Generally, I really liked all the call backs to the previous episodes, the Irene Demova, the concert hall with the bomb, the beach, helicopter,Wienerlicious,Mexican Restaurant, tango ( this time Chuck knew the male part) and so on, it was a nice present to the fans that had watched and remember those scenes.

Nicely done, having Chuck entire family more involved in his last mission, Ellie played a big part, first comforting him as the great sister she is, then crashing the car with Sarah, and then telling Chuck how they could recover Sarah's memories. Then Awesome trying to cheer Chuck up and delivering some funny bits and Mary appearing with an extra information, it was nice to see the core family cast so involved and in so many scenes together.

It broke my heart to see Chuck so heartbroken, he was going to try anything, everything to have his girl back, and it was sad to watch he go through that , but it was so gratifying to see his growth , during the episode, the way he doesn't simply accept that she is gone, as he decides to give her time and then find her after Morgan little - courtyard- talk, and figure out exactly how to be there for her, and what can I say, difficult to watch, but beautiful at the same time.

One of my favorites its the one pictured above, Mary appears just when Sarah is about to go after Quinn by herself, Ellie ,Awesome with baby Clara appear and as Mary is pointing a gun to Sarah,awesome covers baby Clara eyes.

Really liked the finales to the other members of the Bartowski team, Ellie and Awesome being wowed by Westerns, and hey Mama B would be around more often, Morgan and Alex moving in together ,loved…

Casey :What's the big surprise?You two are moving in together

Morgan/Alex: we are moving in together.

Morgan: it's not fun with you .

Alex: It was supposed to be a surprise . How did you know?

Casey:hello.Spy.

…It was a great scene, Morgan has really grown as a person, and Casey too, as he hugged and Alex and went after Verbanski . Jeffster telling Big Mike about their concert and Chuck being a spy,then getting record deal in Germany, was brilliant.

As I mentioned the beach scene in the beginning , I won't repeat it, but I liked that in the end, they didn't insert Sarah memories with the intersect, cos in the way it was going to be made, by creating a file and all, it felt a bit like manipulating her mind, I rather have her remembering it bit by bit with Chuck help, cos I don't believe memories can be completely erased, even Alzheimer patients have those moments where they remember some things, so I rather have Sarah remember Chuck on her own, with Chuck's help,which she clearly accepts at the end.

As every single Chuck episode, the soundtrack in this ones was exceptionally amazing, as Tim Jones completed the Chuck&Sarah score and the final beautiful song by The Head and the Heart - Rivers and Roads, was just perfect for the last scene.

What got me frustrated?

Well I thought it helped to built a great plot, but I didn't like that Sarah lost her memories of Chuck, it took so long for them to reach a point that they were equals, and both wanted the same things, and then everything vanished….

Another thing was, I never really got it, why they wanted that house so much, I was like "Devon and Ellie, didn't go for that yet, why are you guys moving so fast", but there was so much talk about the house, that I started to care, to a point where I really wanted them to have that, their house, and then……….. na ha, no…bummer

The ending, on my first watch ,got me very frustrated , however by now I made peace with it = I cracked my head to come up with answers to my frustration and I got it = Chuck " it's going to be ok"…" trust me Sarah", and Sarah had in fact remembered bits : Sarah+Chuck in the doorframe , Irene Demova, Wienerlicious cups order,but I did want a more straight answer to whether she regained her memory or not, a simple 15 more seconds would have done it, but …

9 episodes just 9 episodes to complete 100, so close to reach that mark, it would have been nice, but 91= awesome run, still just 9 away,really NBC?

What left me hanging?

Ok we did get the full cycle of the intersect , and I think I got it the bit with the bugs ,keys and all, but what I still couldn't properly understand, is how the intersect never affected Chuck, behavior , memory, ok affected his neurons = governor , but even before the intersect had the bug that made Morgan forget and become a jackass , it did have an effect on the Gretas, but never on Chuck… therefore Im hanging….

The ambiguous ending… did she remember… did she not…we have to decide, really?

But gotta say ,it was a nice ride, I mean awesome ride, and it was pretty satisfying to have a proper ending to such a great series, even if the creators couldn't help it but to leave a little ambiguity in the end, it was nice to not end with "What if Chuck knows Kung Fu? What if Chuck becomes a full spy? What if Chuck loses the intersect? What if Chuck and Sarah get married? What if Chuck finds his mother? What if Morgan gets the intersect? What if Chuck learns to be a spy without the intersect? I might have forgotten some "What ifs" but to all the ones above, we had a nice answer, we were just left with the core of Chuck and Sarah relationship: nerd boy falls in love with this beautiful spy, will she fall in love with him? in this case back in love…

Chuck: I was hoping you would be here

Sarah : This place is important,isn't it?

Chuck: Yeah, very much…this is actually were you told me I was going to be ok…I could trust you and that is exactly what I'm doing now… Im asking you to trust me…Sarah…Sarah I don't want anything from you…I …I just need you to know that wherever you go I will always be there to help you…someone you could call…whenever…trust me Sarah…Im here for you always

Sarah: Chuck…tell me our story

Chuck: yeah yeah where do we begin well ahh it started with a guy who worked at the Buy More and then one day one college friend of his send him an email filled with secrets and then in the next day his life really changed when he met a spy named Sarah and he fell in love….

You know I didn't get to enjoy Chuck for 5 years - I started watching between S3-4 hiatus- but I did get to enjoy 5 seasons, and it had been a long time that I didn't enjoy a series this much. Thanks for the memories it was an awesome ride!!

Zach Skype talk to the fans after the finale, what a great guy!!

video uploaded by MattG1978

General Beckman :if you ever wanna save the world again, you know where I am...

Chuck vs The Combo (The Santa Suit&The Baby)

First = Happy New Year, hope you guys have a great 2012!! now moving on…

So last week I was half way through my review of "Chuck vs the Santa Suit", but then it was Friday and I thought, why not see what the "the baby " is all about, right? and then maybe I do a combo.

Well if you didn't have you head blown by these two last episodes, really?seriously? in which world of series you live, cos those 2 were by far the best episodes of this Chuck season, and actually comparing with all the other series I watch, too.

I hate that the series has only 5 episodes to go, but knowing that this time they had to write a final ending has its advantages, for examples you can bring back blasts from the past as Shaw and close little gaps of information that fans as me, have been longing to know.

Bringing Shaw back, was really clever, if they hadn't advertised it, it would be even more clever, cos no one was expecting his return,especially at this point. It never crossed Chuck's team minds, that an old nemesis was responsible for the Omen virus or that someone would have so much hatred against, not only Chuck,but his entire family and friends.

But hey think again, and go back to season 3 to remember, Shaw: the most hated character in Chuck, and damn Brandon Routh played him in the meanest, psycho possible version, it really makes you hate the guy, making him the perfect villain.

As is a Chuck episode, there were plenty of moments for every single character, some funny other tense:

General Beckman kissing Chuck,

Morgan actually rescuing Sarah with a little Casey help

Casey opening an electric door with the insides of a stuffed bear

Chuck finally being able to fight agains Shaw without the intersect and using all of his nerdiness to recruit Jeff and Lester, to do what they do best, hack computers with a little extra motivation= the good old sub.

Sarah knife on her heels

Stan Lee cameo

Ellie, frying pan on Shaw's head ( anyone?she did the same with Casey=))

General offering the entire team their positions back in the CIA

Casey telling Alex to give another chance to Morgan

Shaw teasing Sarah about the Baby "Does Chuck know about "the baby"?

And now we are at the point I wanted, the last line on Chuck vs The Santa Suit, was able to freak every fan out, cos the way the following episode was advertised by NBC, really makes you think, the baby in question, is really Sarah's. But then you think, no way, Sarah would hide something like that from Chuck and if she did, why?

Last week we had our answer delivered in the form of a beautiful, emotional episode and awesome Matrix style opening sequence.

"Chuck vs The Baby" was full of flashbacks of a Sarah in full killer mode, being manipulated by her old handler Ryker (Tim Dekay - White Collar) to recover a package, that turned out to be a baby, and the reason she quit her relationship with her mother.

The story the writers were able to come up for Sarah's relationship with her mother adorably played by Cheryl Ladd was absolutely amazing, it delivered the long question of Why Sarah relationship with her mother was so complicated? and it turned out to be a simple answer, so she could be protected and safe, not just her mother but "the baby" too.

When we first meet Sarah back in season one, we see a flawless agent that hides her emotions as much as she can, and was that what we saw in the initial flashbacks of Chuck vs The Baby, except that now we know that underneath all of that she had a heart and Shaw knew exactly what to tackle, to make her shift back to Sarah can do all by herself , putting herself in danger, but good thing Chuck was able to convince her to use Carmichael industries back up team, emphasis on : not as her husband but as the CEO.

Anyway good try Chuck, but thanks to that they were able to rescue Sarah from Ryker, too bad he ended up finding out where the baby was, as Sarah was carelessly finally telling the secret to Chuck ( really no sweeping for bugs before?), and incredibly touching scenes during those final flashbacks, as Sarah finds out what would happen to the baby if she turned it to the CIA or in case Ryker got hold of it… so she gives the baby to her mom to take care of the little one. Unfortunately to keep them safe she wouldn't be able to contact her mother anymore, and asks her mom o give all the things she wished for her, to Molly. : "going to prom, and soccer games, all of those normal things you wanted for me, will you just make sure she gets them".

Then we got ourselves in a rushed wish that Sarah's mother remembered Sarah's signal and rushed drive , to then a super breaking walls fight between Ryker and a Sarah disguised as her mother, finally stabbing the threat with a knife ( a very Buffy kill if you ask me), followed by one of the most emotional scenes in the series, Sarah reencounter with her mother, if you didn't have tears by then? really, I rather think you were like me, and had them…Molly being introduced to Sarah as her sister, super sweet family moments in the best Chuck style.

The other nice moments of the episodes were brought by Ellie and Devon hilarious role playing agents again and then with their mission to reunite Morgan and Alex, using a very touching story from their own relationship, and as they are awesome they succeed, cos as Morgan starts to act more as himself, playing games with Molly, Alex has no other alternative but to melt and take him back.

In my book that makes a great pair of episodes for a season finale, and even if they have some little plot wholes, I actually made them work in my head, in timeline terms, if you go back to season 1, the entire story works really well, when Sarah was in Ryker's mission, Bryce was rogue, when she got assigned to handle Chuck, they had just killed Bryce and recovered the hard drive he used to send Chuck the intersect, so hey nicely done.

Personally, I loved Chuck and Sarah's mother conversation, so honest and very motherly, it was nice to know her concerns about her daughter and that she was happy to know that in a different way , Sarah had the things she wished for her.

As an ending, the door frame scene was perfect, we know that the house with the red door its gonna be theirs, but it was a nice touch, hosting the house,definitely better then back in s2,and it was a nice moment first Chuck saying everything he wanted to give to Sarah, and then to her really wanting all of those things but not at the cost of the CIA controlling her life again, Sarah came a long way, it was for sure nice to see that character journey!!!

Once Upon a time ...there was snow white trapped in time and prince charming was in coma...

Ok so a couple of episodes rolled in some of my A list series are already in hiatus and sadly enough will only come back in January, while others will stick around for a couple of rounds more like " Once Upon A Time" that had a late start in the fall season.

Once Upon A Time has a new take on the classic farytales with a blend of real world thanks to a curse made by the Evil Queen, making all the classic farytales that we know forget who they were and be forced to leave in the real world without happy endings , now guess who is the only hope. ??? Prince Charming and Snow White 28 years old daughter , ow yes I know, did they have a kid? In this classy series yes , and she is the saviour bringing back time to Storybrook and making the time roll!

At this moment the serie is at episode 4, and we were introduced to some of the main character and some alternate stories to the classics were presented as the last one about Cinderella having her fairy godmother getting killed by Rumpelstiltskin and pregnant of a runaway prince!!!

A totally brave choice in my opinion taking the risk to update the stories with our reality!

It's amazing how much they accomplished in terms of technical aspects, each episode has an enormous number o special effects and an amazing use of the green screen ( come on let's consider the craziness of building actual sets for each castle and ballroom) and I would be lying if I said the first time I saw the trailer I didn't think it was a movie, it looks quite a bit like a movie and the stories arcs and references to the farytales on the real world are quite strong and nice to pick up !!!

I don't even have to go into the actors land, cos they have an amazing cast just to name few Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, the adorable Jared Gilmore, Robert Carlyle, Lana Parrilla... Once Upon A Time airs on Sundays 8/7c on ABC.

Doppelgängers Season

So first was Katherine who we heard an entire season about ,till she decide to show up and mess Mystic Falls around, then it was Bolivia who exchanged verses and passed by the original Olivia, now we have two twins exchanging lives, Bridget and Siobhan, and hey we have two more even If I don't watch the Lying Game I know enough to tell that Emma and Sutton are twins.

Now making my point, is Doppelgänger season and we all know it. Ok maybe in some cases not in the complete sense of the word, but let's just stick to the simple sense of the word, that being, a double or a look-alike of a person.

So when the Doppelgänger landed at the Vampire Diaries, it was just Elena, learning that Katherine ,the love of Salvatore's life looked just like her, and by some unexplained reason the girls were linked, then to Katherine be actually alive ( it's vampire world here, go for the 100's of years), and that she back to mess with everybody's life, but not before trying to pass by Elena and succeeding a couple of times, she isn't gone for good, but the trick remains straight hair = Elena, curly=Katherine, except when Katherine is trying her charms on the Salvatore brothers.

Then Fringe just pushed the boundaries , and hey parallel worlds where the same people that lived in the normal world had different choices over there, and entire cast with double characters Olivia -Bolivia, Walter- Walternate… ow except Peter (remember 1st Peter died), till they exchange Olivias between verses, and then is Doppelgänger season cos she had everybody fooled for quite a long time, while original Olivia was stuck over there. Now everybody is back to their verses and normal hair colors, but aware of their doubles and even working together.

Now we have estranged sisters coming together , in double doses, honestly CW (Ringer) and Abc family (The Lying Game) launching series with very similar ideas at the same time but clearly to different audiences (so weird) . Ok will focus on "Ringer" that Im actually watching.

Well at this point we have more information about Bridget than about Siobhan, making the audience have more empathy for Bridget.

Summing up the story ,basically both sisters get in touch after a long time without talking to each other, an accident happens and Bridget takes Siobhan life,believing that she is dead. While Siobhan goes to Paris and who knows what are her plans, anyway Doppelgänger is in place, and no super different hair to help here this time is about places ,at least for now, USA = Bridget, Paris= Siobhan.

So not the first time Doppelgängers appear in series, and is extremely common in Mexican soap operas (Maria del Barrio, Usurpadora…) in Buffy The Vampire Slayer they appeared quite a few times, Willow and Vamp Willow in Doppelgangland is a classic one, but then we had a Xander episode too, and even a Buffy Bot, well but that was a robot so it doesn't count.

Anyway Doppelgängers have been around for a long time, they tend to cause quite a mess when they appear, as an audience I love to see the actors in question playing a different character in the same series, it must be a challenge, but Im under the impression they love.

I know nowadays it must be easier in terms of production nonetheless still tricky every time both characters are in the same scene.

So who is you favorite Doppelgänger?