And so the deed is done.

As of this post, Strahotski.com is officially retired. The forums have been shutdown. The gallery and main site will stay up as an archive and shrine to the beautiful and talented Ms. Yvonne Strahovski. Commenting will no longer be open on either site.

The photos, wallpaper, and text from Strahotski.com are free for use with proper attribution to the site and/or Lykaon. Any other use is prohibited.

A lot of Strahotski.com veterans have banded together to start a new Yvonne Strahovski fansite — YvonneDaily.com. Check it out. They have vowed to maintain the same level of respect as Strahotski.com and I wish them well in their endeavor.

I’ll miss you guys. Lykaon out.

Strahotski.com was founded in 2007, shortly after Chuck first hit the airwaves. It was a great show, but the most interesting part was a beautiful young actress who would later become Chuck’s wife. Yvonne Strahovski had hit the Hollywood scene and she was poised to burn it up.

Fast forward 4 years later, and Yvonne Strahovski is on the verge of becoming a household name. Chuck is in the hopper for its 5th season, Yvonne has two big movies coming out in 2011, and she is the voice of one of the most intriguing characters in the Mass Effect video game series.

It’s truly been a wild ride for Yvonne Strahovski for the last four years, and Strahotski.com has been there every step of the way to organize her fans. The Strahotski.com faithful was instrumental in adding their voice to all of those Chuck fans who managed to keep getting Chuck back every season. They’ve banded together to win Yvonne Strahovski quite a few online polls, and also helped the Emmy4Yvonne campaign make their stand.

The Strahotski.com fan community could not be a better set of fans. I’m sure that Yvonne Strahovski feels extremely blessed to have such faithful fans. As a webmaster, I know that I could have never imagined the community that would build up around the site.

It is thus with a heavy heart, that I must announce that Strahotski.com will soon be no more. As of the end of June, Strahotski.com will be coming down permanently. I tried a number of different avenues to keep the site alive, but all have failed. I’m proud of the integrity that Strahotski.com has always displayed, and in the absence of trustworthy successors, I would rather shut it down than have it fall into the “wrong” hands.

I realize that this may come as a shock to many of the Strahotski.com faithful, and I’m sorry that I am unable to continue to maintain the site. It’s been a great pleasure getting to know all of you in the community, and hopefully I will run into some of you again as I fade into the sea of anonymous Yvonne Strahovski and Chuck fans.

Sincerely,

Josh aka Lykaon

It’s hard to believe that we’re wrapping up yet another season of Chuck. It seems like just yesterday that it was doomed to failure because of the writer’s strike and we were going to lose it before it even got started.

And here we are about to put four seasons behind us, beginning the dreams of an already guaranteed fifth season. As much turmoil as we’ve been put through as Chuck fans, we persevered and have managed to keep one of the best shows on television going. It’s nothing short of a miracle.

But enough reminiscing, it’s time to get to the review of Episode 4.24 – Chuck Versus the Cliffhanger.

So what can I say. This episode was awesome. It had about 100% less Yvonne Strahovski than I would have liked, but it’s hard to whine too much when this episode delivered so well.

In Phase Three, we saw what lengths Sarah would go to in order to get Chuck back and now we got to see what lengths Chuck would go to in order to get Sarah back. It’s really a great mirror of the story, and I absolutely love that Chuck lost the intersect early in the episode.

The problem with the Intersect as a macguffin is that it shielded Chuck from responsibility and the credit of being an awesome spy. Sure, they’ve flirted with the concept that Chuck had some spy abilities on his own, but the Intersect has always been his safety blanket.

It’s an absolute awesome evolution of the show to really let Chuck solve something on his own. No Intersect, no government backing. He used logic, reason, and heart instead of secret information, guns, and kung fu. It’s what makes Chuck endearing. It’s not the tech, the action, or goofs. It’s not even Sarah Walker (as much as we all love her).

The show is named Chuck for a reason. It’s about Chuck, and tonight’s season finale highlighted what makes Chuck special as a person and a show. The show is about an ordinary guy thrust into a fantasy world. A guy who abhors violence and is sometimes scared of his own shadow. But he gets things done when he has to – his way.

I loved that Chuck ultimately just marched into Vivian’s office and negotiated for Sarah’s life. It was selfless; a last ditch effort to save the only thing in life worth living for. It was touching that Volkoff and Vivian could ride off into the sunset, too.

This episode showed the Bartowski extended family pull together. We’ve seen it before, and I think such episodes will always be the best. I would put the characters in this show up against any other cast in history. They’re just an awesome set of characters that can pull off amazing feats in television when given the script.

I liked that this episode really put it all on the line. It went for broke. There was almost no humor, which I generally hate, but this episode didn’t need it. Casey’s love for his team didn’t need to be masked behind a gruff exterior. Mommy issues didn’t need to haunt every scene. Morgan didn’t have to be a goof.

They just all showed up and they did what they had to do when the stakes were high. The love for one another was taken as a given for once, and we got to just see them all deliver at peak performance.

I loved that Carina and Zondra showed up out of nowhere. It made sense and it was a great treat for the fans. Though I have to admit that I knew Chuck would have the forces of Volkoff at his back, the “magnet” theme was nicely played. I loved seeing all of the spies in Chuck’s life behind him. I wish that the squad they were facing up against was a more established villain. It would have made the standoff a bit more satisfying.

So Chuck and Sarah are married. At long last. Where can the show possibly go from here? I love that the Mr. and Mrs. B now have Volkoff’s fortune in their hands. It’s a great setup for next season with no CIA backing and their own funding. Not that I would wish away our 5th season, but it would have been a superb ending to the series.

*spoiler* I imagine the transfer of the Intersect to Morgan will be a polarizing issue. I sorta like it. Morgan has grown a lot as a character over the years, and this revelation gives us a great way to relive the first few seasons of Chuck. I also liked the symmetry with the episode ending with “I know kung fu.”

It was really a great end to what I would mostly consider a bit of a rocky and uneven season. The setup for Season 5 is insane and I can’t wait to see what they manage to morph it into. I’m also eager to see how Beckman’s going to fit into the picture.

What do you guys think? Surely you loved it as much as me, but are all of you stoked about Morgan’s new bag of tricks?

We’re still watching Chuck, but Season 4 wrapped about a month ago now. That hasn’t stopped Yvonne Strahovski from working hard, though! Lots of delicious news has recently been announced that ensures that we’re going to be full up on Yvonne for the foreseeable future!

Chuck Season 5

Though NBC has yet to hold the official presentation of its fall schedule, it’s a virtual certainty at this point that the little engine that could has managed itself yet another season. That’s right – Operation Bartowski will continue for at least 13 episodes in the fall.

Often projected as doomed by naysayers, Chuck doesn’t know how to quit and we fans are a big part of its staying power. I’m sure you can all join me in a collective sigh of relief to know that we’ll be getting our weekly fix of Yvonne Strahovski for another season.

My Mother’s Curse

As if Chuck doesn’t keep her busy enough, it was recently announced that Yvonne will be starring opposite Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand in “My Mother’s Curse.” It’s a comedy detailing a road trip between mother and son with no release date yet.

The size of Yvonne’s part is unknown at this time, but we do know she’ll be playing a former flame of Seth Rogen’s. Yvonne Strahovski certainly knows how to go big or go home. Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand are both legends in their own right, and it’s going to be great exposure for Yvonne to play opposite them.

Killer Elite

Speaking of legends, it doesn’t get much bigger than Robert De Niro, and he’s yet another actor that Yvonne will share a movie with when “Killer Elite” hits theaters this fall.  The movie wrapped a while ago, but was recently picked up by a US distributor, finally guaranteeing that we’ll see Yvonne on the big screen at a theater near us.

Mass Effect 3

We’re half a year away from battling the Reapers alongside Shepherd and company, but the news is coming hot and heavy about the next installment in the Mass Effect series. Recent tweets by lead developer Casey Hudson confirm that not only will the character of Miranda be returning, but it’s a virtual lock that Yvonne Strahovski is the voice once again.

It’s Good to Be Yvonne

So, Yvonne Strahovski is pretty much having the best month ever. As a devoted fan, I couldn’t be more proud and excited of all of the revelations in her career as of late. Not only does it serve the selfish motivation of getting a constant supply of Yvonne Strahovski, but it also helps to further cement Ms. Strahovski as a future major star in Hollywood.

Join me in congratulating Yvonne on all of the good news. I’m sure she’s on Cloud 9, but we Strahotskiers are too!