With only two episodes left in its fifth and final season, Chuck has filled the inner nerd in its faithful audiences. The show centers around Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi), a Stanford graduate whose lack of ambition lands him at a dead-end job at the Geek Squad-esque "Nerd Herd." When his college-roommate-turned-CIA-agent accidentally downloads the Intersect - a supercomputer containing all of the government's secrets - and manages to embed the data into Chuck's head.
Chuck unwittingly finds himself to be one of the government's most prized possessions. In earlier seasons, we see Chuck learning to use his new powers to thwart terrorists and other enemies, while also building relationships with his "handlers," CIA agent Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) and NSA agent John Casey (Adam Baldwin). The spy-comedy has repeatedly faced cancellation but year after year, audiences have rallied for another season.
The fifth season hinges on the concept that Chuck no longer has the Intersect to guide him. Instead, his friends each take a short turn with the supercomputer downloaded to their minds and must deal with the complexities which accompany it. However, the fifth season does not focus on the Intersect but rather on how the characters change without it, and how each can continue to defeat evil without the Intersect's help. Therefore, while action and spy work play a major part in the fifth season's plot, the show also highlights each of the main characters' journeys as they search for their purpose in life.
For example, Casey started as an agent dedicated to whatever his job entailed and to love of country, but throughout the show, his relationships with his daughter, his new girlfriend and his fellow spies grow in a truly endearing way. Sarah, previously afraid to attach herself to any person or place, is now settling into her life with her new husband Chuck and looking forward to their future. Even Chuck has finally discovered motivation after transforming his newly created security firm into an Internet security firm and replacing the information he received from the Intersect with his strong knowledge of computers.
Ultimately, Chuck has not sustained its fan base solely because of the dialogue or an innovative plot. Instead, Chuck's fans are drawn toward the character-building which gives its story meaning. The final season has cemented this idea by focusing more on the characters than ever before, reaching beyond the simple Chuck and Sarah romance to question what the relationship means for their future. The last two episodes, which will air Fridays on NBC at 8 p.m., are sure to offer surprises and test the characters in a way which makes fans' dedication worthwhile.
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