The second half of the season three finale of Chuck, "Chuck Versus the Ring, Part II," began with a flashback that we'd later learn would reveal: an necklace key to Mrs. Bartowski, Ellie promising to protect her little brother, and young, special Chuck absorbing the Intersect at a very young age.

However, at the start, we didn't want no stinkin' flashback.  All we wanted was to see what Awesome and Morgan had under their sleeves.. and it was apparently nothing.  The two ineptly saved the day by accidentally firing a missile a la Beverly Hills Cop II, taking out the armored truck and Shaw.

From there, the gang fooled Shaw with one of the lamest plots drawing out the Ring Elders, who really do sound like something out of World of Warcraft.  We'll forgive this lame middle because it led to the classic superhero vs. arch nemesis battle between the good and evil Intersect, where the evil side was ironically played by Superman.

Shaw definitely made for a much cooler villain than he ever did hero, even if his obsession with killing Chuck, with no desire to kill his wife's murderer Sarah, made little sense.  But really, both Chuck and Shaw deserve some style for both throwing down their guns for a classic even match up.

Oh and all of it in front of the Jeffster music video of "Blaze of Glory?"  It might not have been the best choreographed battle, nor the longest, but it was certainly good enough given the show's budget.

But for the first time ever, we went into a Chuck season finale knowing we have a guaranteed next season.  So really, how seriously could we take Chuck promising Ellie he'll get out of the spy business after Shaw got locked up?   Oh yeah, then what's season four going to be?  Watching Chuck do computer repair?  Heck, we'd probably still watch it if it featured enough Sarah.

Don't worry, because Chuck clearly ended the episode setting things up for an amazing season four with all new evil organizations and a new goal: finding momma Bartowski.  At the end of every season, we always wonder, "so now what are they going to do?"  Yet the creators always find a way.

We're very glad the next season is making its debut in the fall, because we're not sure if we could have gone all the way until midseason without our Chuck.

Eric Hochberger is the programmer of TV Fanatic, so please forgive his mediocre writing. His programming is far better. Follow him on Twitter and/or email him. Just don't request threaded comments. They're coming.