Goodbye, Chuck.

I meant to write this blog post earlier but I've been in mourning. Chuck, one of my absolute favorite TV shows ended forever on Friday, and I am still grieving.

Me.

This heartwarming, incredible show was criminally underappreciated, but thankfully, it had one of the most passionate fanbases I've ever seen. Fans stuffed themselves with Subway sandwiches, tweeted sponsors, and sent bundles of postcards to the network - anything to keep the show alive. We showed the industry that Nielsen ratings are not the most accurate way of measuring a show's success but more importantly, we kept Chuck alive for several seasons longer. That's something to be proud of.

Josh Schwartz knows what's up.

I have mixed feelings about the finale. I mostly love it, and I think the story was beautifully told, but I was raised on Disney movies, so I naturally demand rainbows and bunnies and happily-ever-after type endings. But despite the open-ended nature of the finale, I know that Sarah and Chuck will live happily ever after, whether her memories return on their own, or if Chuck just has to reenact them all for her. Besides, how perfect was that last scene on the beach, with the montage of Charah moments going by? One of my favorite reviews that I've read so far put it best: "The show gave us ton of awesome spy stuff, but in the end it was about a guy and a girl on a beach."

I heard that a lot of the footage for this scene is just Zac and Yvonne on the beach, laughing and crying together.  Sigh. I swear I'm not crying, it's just been raining on my face.

I love so many things about Chuck, from Team Bartowski to the pop culture references and the goofy humor. But I think what I love most is just how much heart this show has. It taught us that it's okay to be a nerd. It taught us to dream big and follow our hearts. It taught us to fight for what we love and what is right. Truly, this experience has been a journey and an honor. 

As this is mainly a music blog, and Chuck is a show that relies heavily on the soundtrack, here are some of my favorite songs from throughout the seasons to get you through the withdrawal:

1. "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" - Cake

2. "Cobrastyle" - Teddybears

3. "The General Specific" - Band of Horses

4. "Don't Look Back in Anger" - Oasis

5. "Dropped" - Phantom Planet

6. "Skinny Love" - Bon Iver

7. "Buildings & Mountains" - The Republic Tigers

8. "Once In A Lifetime" - Talking Heads

9. "40 Day Dream" - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

10. "I Am Your Skin" - The Bravery

11. "Howlin' For You" - The Black Keys

12. "Beat The Devil's Tattoo" - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

13. "Kiss With A Fist" - Florence and the Machine

14. "Woman" - Wolfmother

15. "Young Blood" - The Naked and Famous

16. "Blow" - Ke$ha (Okay, I don't love Ke$ha but this song was SO perfectly placed that I have to include it).

17. "You Are A Tourist" - Death Cab For Cutie

18. "First Day of My Life" - Bright Eyes

19. "We Are Young" - fun.

20. "Rivers and Roads" - The Head and the Heart

21. Anything ever by Jeffster

(A full list of all the fantastic music from the show)

So turn up the volume, grab some tissues and remember how fabulous this show was. Let this playlist and the following GIF be my way of e-hugging all of you Chucksters out there:

And in the meantime, if you start to feel horribly depressed again, I find admiring this stunning photo of Zachary Levi makes me feel a lot better about everything:

Nerd Herd for life.