We’ve seen the trouble beginning with the Chuck-Morgan bromance on NBC’s “Chuck” this season. Are we heading towards a breakup of this Buy More duo? Zachary Levi and Joshua Gomez talk about how they related to their characters , how they’ve evolved, and where they might be headed. Here are excerpts from an interview the two did recently.
Relating to their characters in real life and how their dynamic changes this season:
Gomez: When I first read the script, these two guys I felt like I knew, and grew up with. This was exactly the sort of guy I was growing up. Videogames, sci-fi, fantasy, comic books, you name it, that was a huge part of shaping who I am and was, especially as a younger man. I feel like it started back when my dad brought home an Atari 2600, and Empire Strikes Back in the theater. There’s obviously a huge difference between myself and Morgan the character, but there’s a lot in common.
Levi: There are certainly differences between our characters and real life, but they are very small and very few… I’m not aware of [Morgan’s] cluing into my life [or] his suspicions, so it doesn’t necessarily affect me all that much. You’ll see how it progresses and affects Morgan’s character and my character, and my ability to sneak out like I always do. I’m surprised it’s taken this long, to be honest with you. [Laughs] How do I keep leaving the Buy More and returning without any results? I don’t think I’ve sold anything for years.
Is Kristen Kreuk the Yoko for Chuck and Morgan?
Gomez: [Morgan] had an eye for Hannah, which didn’t help. It’s hard to talk about it now because there is some cool stuff coming. … But it’s an honest, true friendship. It’s always been a thing of, “Hey, talk to me, dude.” Chuck is wanting to do nothing more than talk to Morgan — if there would be a person who understands, it’d be Morgan. Not that he wouldn’t be a liability to the world’s safety, but it’s not in Morgan’s nature to do anything that would cause direct hurt to his friend.
Death of The Anti-Morgan and Rise of Bizarro Chuck?
Gomez: Before, whoever was in power was the Anti-Morgan so it was, “Back off, The Man.” But now Morgan is The Man, so it becomes, “Yeah, this is a little crazy.” It sets me on that road, on that path to go “Hey, wait a minute now.” [but] I don’t think Morgan is capable of [trying to make Chuck’s life harder]… It’s been really fun to start in one place and get to another. You start in one particular place and then start asking, okay, where else can this thing go? And if there was one area of improvement in Morgan, it’s the maturity level. Just growing up, going through the school of hard knocks.
Levi: I don’t know, or think, that you’ll see [Chuck] go darker, necessarily see him go darker, I know that there was a lot of hubub on boards, “I don’t like this new Chuck, it’s too dark,” but to me, I don’t see it being darker, I see it as a natural progression of the character, of someone who gets deeper into this world of espionage and tries to do the best that he can, and grows and learns as a spy. Which may lead to things that are darker than the normal Chuck that we’ve come to know… I don’t think he’s getting darker, I think every episode offers the chance for a new shade, a new color, and that’s what we’ve [seen]… We’re not going to see Bizarro Chuck. We’re not going to see this unshorn [version], fighting himself in a scrapyard. Although that would make a great episode.
They’s All Grow’d Up:
Gomez: I think because both characters have matured, their relationship has, obviously. They have to go further apart before they come back together. It’s sad, really. Sad. I think both Morgan and Chuck have mirrored each other in their own different ways through these three seasons. They both have matured, they both have become different people. You look back and go, wow, I was eating garbage out of a refrigerator in the break room and now, I still do that, but less. As an assistant manager, I do it. The same thing with Chuck, they’ve both obviously come a long long way, and I think their relationship reflects that. But that also saddens me. I miss the old Chuck and Morgan sometimes.
Clues on this season’s finale?
Levi: We haven’t actually gotten it yet, so I don’t know. But I’d imagine it’s going to accomplish both — it will wrap things up in a way that you’ll feel some kind of closure on the off chance that we don’t come back for another season, but also leave it open to whatever the possibilities for another season would be. That’s always a smart way to do things for a show like ours. …
I feel pretty good about what our chances would be for another season, given all the circumstances of where we’re at as a show, where NBC’s at as a network, with the five new hours of programming that have opened up. I feel like we could have a place there.
“Chuck” airs on NBC at 8pm ET, airing new eps till May 24th season finale.
