The Castle Season 8 winter finale – “Mr. & Mrs. Castle” – has a lot riding on it. There’s been a growing outcry of fan complaints and reviewer’s criticism and given that Castle Season 8 has had the lowest ratings of the series, it has felt like this winter finale is the episode that will make or break the season. Last week’s episode, “The Last Seduction” gave viewers some hope, but it’s “Mr. & Mrs. Castle” that will decided for many if this is a show that they want to keep watching.
SPOILER ALERT! There are HUGE SPOILERS for the Castle Season 8 winter finale ahead!
I had some mixed feeling watching “Mr. & Mrs. Castle.” Before getting into a full review, let’s start out with some pros and cons of some of the elements within it.
The Pros
1. The Opening Scene:
The crusty middle-aged man on his boat, the barking bulldog, and the dead body floating to the surface was funny, weird, and creepy. It was not violent, cold and scary. It’s the first time this season we haven’t had to witness the actual murder – and I was relieved. When Castle started – and for many seasons – it was rare that we had to be subjected to watching the murder happen. The show was about the strange and creepy ways they found the bodies, the “freaky” murder victims. It was not about watching someone be killed every week. Even when we saw the setup happening for the murder we didn’t actually watch it. There are plenty of shows that go that route, and that’s fine, but that’s not why people tuned into Castle.
I don’t know whose idea it was to try to turn this show into Criminal Minds, but I’ve come to dread the opening scenes of Castle this season – to the point of wanting to skip them. After all, the point of the show is seeing Captain Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) and writer Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) working together to catch the killer, not to see the killer do his or her stuff. Hopefully this episode will start a trend back to the kind of classic Castle openings that the one from “Mr. & Mrs. Castle” is representative of.
2. Martha, Martha, Martha!
It’s always a treat when we get a scene with Martha Rogers because actress Susan Sullivan makes her such a fun character to watch. Just the outfits Sullivan pulls off as being something one would wear on a regular day is amazing. (Quick side question: is it me or is Alexis (Molly Quinn) picking up some of her grandmother’s sense of style…?) Castle’s mother could come of as a caricature of an older theatre woman but in Sullivan’s hands she’s a fully realized character, a grand, brash, down-to-earth dame who truly knows and loves her son. Her easy acceptance of the fired british police officer turned “security specialist Hayley Shipton (Toks Olagundoye) falls right in line with this because Martha’s just looking at the bottom-line. She wants Richard to be happy, but this P.I. thing is a “money pit.” He needs someone who really knows how to do things. I’ll talk more about Hayley later.
3. Castle and Beckett’s Interactions on the Ship
The things that these two have to go through on the ship are like a mini classic episode of Castle and genuinely enjoyed this part of the episode. From Castle’s “King of the world” moment (that, had to happen!), them dealing with the concept of the cruise line having the ship take off for international waters to avoid bad publicity, and them discovering the crime scene together, it was great having Castle and Beckett working together again! My favorite line of the night is from Beckett:
“There are three Martha’s on Lido deck: if anyone knows anything about this ship – it’s gonna be them.”
Their separate stints on the ship are cute as well. I especially loved the scene with the “three Martha’s” and Beckett discovering one is a marijuana-using grandma! Castle’s dance scene was amusing as well – but I talked about that in the Castle Winter Finale Spoilers.
4. Bada** Beckett
Even though the concept of Beckett going in to talk to a possible murder suspect by herself – in the engineering hold of a ship no less – is ridiculous, it got to be so commonplace in the last season or two that now I’m basically resigned to it. The scene where Beckett is chasing this guy is shot and edited in a way that’s cool-looking, and the tension Katic has Beckett exude keeps it from being an eye-rolling experience.
5. Castle and Beckett Will No Longer Be Separated
This last point is a segue into the problems I have with the winter finale, but it’s also part of what I like. I like that the stupid separation is over. If Beckett and Castle didn’t get back together in this episode there is no way Castle would have an audience when the show returns in January. I miss the fun and flirty pairing of Castle and Beckett that we’ve had glimpses of in this episode and the one before. It’s very much like how I felt about the second wedding. With that I didn’t have to like the path that got them there, or how the actual wedding was done, in order to be happy that the characters were finally married. In this case, despite the horrible story that’s been told thus far, the sheer relief that at least Castle and Beckett are no longer apart is a positive thing.
Even though Castle and Beckett probably won’t be getting much more together screen time than what’s been going on this season, the fact that they will be on the same team and not estranged makes the time they are together far more engaging. It could be entertaining to see them pretend not to be into each other – not to mention all those fun and sexy clandestine meetings – sort of like the beginning of Castle Season 5….
Maybe they won’t even all be that secret. If Castle just suddenly gives up on her that may surprise everyone that knows him and raise a red flag. Now that they’ve had that anniversary tryst Martha and Alexis won’t be totally surprised if Beckett’s visiting the loft during the process of her and Castle “working things out.” Oh, wait, that was the deal in Castle Season 5 as well…. (I told you this was a segue into the con portion.) Honestly, my hope would be that this entire “LokSat” thing gets wrapped up ASAP and they try going back to what would be the next logical steps. What are those steps? I’ll be getting to that.
The Cons
1. Castle and Alexis
Before I get into the big issues with “Mr. and Mrs. Castle” here’s a small one. Alexis being right there while Castle makes innuendos about his night with Beckett is another one of those slightly icky moments between the father and daughter pair. It’s a small moment, but it really bugs me how they’ve thrown all the father-daughter boundaries away. The only time they seem to have Castle remember that Alexis is his daughter is when it’s good for a laugh.
2. Hayley & Vikram
Earlier I said that I could understand Martha’s acceptance of Hayley because Martha just wants Castle’s P.I. business to turn a profit. As for Alexis, even though she’s supposedly all grown up now, she’s really just a college student who’s been raised in a privileged safe environment. She’s not that experienced in the ways of the larger world. Pulling the wool over her eyes is understandable.
The real problem is that Beckett, Castle, and detectives Kevin Ryan (Seamus Dever) and Javier Esposito (Jon Huertas) all act like Hayley is this well-known entity – and she’s not. They all know why she got kicked off the force in London. She was a bad cop in the way that Ethan Slaughter (Adam Baldwin) is – reckless, with no respect for procedure and following the law. When she chastises Castle for not telling Martha and Alexis that the real reason Castle asked Hayley to come over was to hack into Beckett’s cell phone, I wanted to smack…someone: Hayley, Castle, or maybe the writers. In the season premiere the advice Hayley gave Castle is that one must be willing to lie to his friends and sometimes, “even be willing to screw them over.” Now she’s the morality police? Really? Hayley was introduced to the show as sassy but unethical and untrustworthy character. It’s galling to see everyone acting like she’s this fine upstanding citizen.
I have a similar problem with the character of Vikram Singh (Sunkrish Bala). Why does no one suspect him of anything? With the initial phone call Beckett’s reaction tracks, but her subsequent trust in him doesn’t. Likewise, when Castle learns that the text message on Beckett’s phone came from Vikram he goes, “Our Vikram?” The fact that he knows Vikram now works for the NYPD as a tech analyst is disappointing. With the bad guy supposedly caught at the end of episode 8 x 2, why would Vikram not go back to his old job at the U.S. Attorney General’s office. Working at the NYPD is a definitely career step down for him. Castle never blinked at this until now?
The one thing that Vikram has over Hayley is that the writers don’t suggest to the audience that this character is completely trustworthy. There are consistent breadcrumbs that could end up leading to Vikram being a definite bad guy. His shooting of the guy in “XX” for instance. The “low-level analyst” is very comfortable with a gun. The way he pulls Beckett away from Castle is suspect as well. He really doesn’t want Castle to know what they’re doing. He reminds Beckett that it would put his life at risk, (There’s the Jedi mind trick, again. Castle was at risk the moment Beckett decided to investigate “LokStat.” Her being with him or not is irrelevant), but his worry is clearly really about Castle finding out. Those cell phone call that Ryan and Esposito traced from the onboard killer to someplace uptown…do we know where the stupid strip club Vikram found to use as a secret place to work is located? Vikram could have set up the guy that ultimately gets taken down as the partner – or not. This ambiguity works well. Although we’re still left wondering why none of the doubts crosses the mind of anyone onscreen at least they aren’t trying to convince the audience that Vikram is a good guy. He’s still a part of the darn “LokStat” story though – so it’s not really a positive.
3. Another New Character?!
Public Defender Caleb Brown (Kristoffer Polaha) may be connected to “LokStat.” Do I care? No. The one thing I do know and care about is that there are too many new characters being thrown on this show.
4. A Retro Always?
This is the big overarching failure with the episode – and the entire season. The writers haven’t tried moving the story forward, they’ve been attempting to rework stories from past seasons! “Mr. and Mrs. Castle” is their attempt at Season 4’s “Always” and it does not work. I hated the entire “Beckett is obsessive and to blame for everything” fights and the way Castle tells her that she could have “just come to him” and they could have worked on it together and pretended to be apart. My reaction isn’t because these things aren’t isn’t true in the context of the last seven episodes – they are. The problem is the entire storyline that’s created the situation is a bunch of bull.
Why Ultimately The Episode Fails
The new showrunners have spent the last seven episodes having Beckett act like the woman from Seasons 3-4 while trying to convince the audience that her actions were because the character is this broken and obsessive woman. This is very opposed to the woman we’d known for seven seasons. Yes, Beckett had been wounded by her mother’s death. It led her to become a champion for justice, but she also became obsessive around trying to find justice for her mother.
Before Castle had come into life, Beckett had put down looking for her mother’s killer to become one of the best homicide detectives on the force. In the Season 7 alternate universe, Beckett has become a police captain and gave up trying to find out who murdered her mother. In other words, Beckett’s obsession was localized! Without Castle there to push her back into trying to find her mother’s killer Beckett would not have fallen back “down the rabbit hole.” Beckett’s passion for being a homicide detective didn’t come from obsession. It came from not wanting, “the families of the victims” to go through what she did. Smart and tenacious, yes. Crazily obsessive? No. The scenario that new showrunners Alexi Hawley and Terence Paul Winter came up with has nothing to do with the character of Beckett we’ve watched develop over seven seasons. Having everyone say over and over again that Beckett is really this obsessive person doesn’t make it ring true to the character we’ve watched the seven seasons prior.
What’s worse about “Mr. & Mrs. Castle” that the episode does not have the earmarks of a “hail Mary” pass done to fix ratings. Everything the new showrunners have said about this season leads up to this! This entire fall arc…was planned. This is what co-showrunner Terence Paul Winter had to say to TVline about the plans for Castle Season 8 after the two-part premiere:
The characters of Castle and Beckett both mean a lot to us, and their relationship means the world to us as well. So we have a real plan for how to guide through this new path, and we really do believe it’s going to be something that will be satisfying overall. If people give us a chance, they’re going to really – hopefully – appreciate the journey that we’re going on.
They can believe all they want to, but this was not in any way satisfying. This was a total trashing of all the work that’s gone in creating these characters over seven seasons. It’s clear now that the entire reason for this breakup was to try to recreate the dynamics of Castle Season 4 and try to rewrite “Always.” Right before the airing of Season 8. Hawley, in an interview with Marisa Roffman for Give Me My Remote, actually said he wanted to “re-pilot the show a little bit.” The phrase, “Castle 2.0” has been tossed around by Hawley as well. Hence Beckett is suddenly this obsessive person willing to risk her marriage and endanger her family for a group of people she knew for less than six months. Trying to justify it with, “she thinks she’s protecting him” not only doesn’t change the facts, but it makes Beckett not just obsessive – but stupid. Meanwhile, Castle is this clueless man whose only fault is…loving Beckett?
One of the great things about “Always” is the balanced way the season dealt with things. Beckett lied to Castle about hearing him say “I love you” when she’d been shot because she couldn’t handle it. At the same time she’d spent the entire season in therapy learning how to bring her emotional walls down so that she could handle it and let Castle into her world – which in “Always” she does. She’s flawed and imperfect but at least we could see the logic behind the reasons and kind of get it. Meanwhile, Castle’s been keeping his own secret all season about the deal struck for her life – as well as the fact that he’s also been secretly investigating the case.
Everything blows up in the last three episodes of Season 4. Castle finds out Beckett lied so he goes out partying in Las Vegas and flaunting a blonde stewardess at a crime scene. Then he nearly gets himself killed by trying to make Slaughter his new “muse.” Beckett is afraid she’s lost him, but then an opportunity comes where she’s able to tell him about the therapy and why, and Castle gets the bigger picture. He learns not to conclusions about why Beckett does things. In “Always,” just when she is ready to take baby steps to a romance with Castle, Beckett gets triggered, obsessive – and kind of insane – when a case breaks open that could lead to her mother’s killer. She and Castle have a huge fight where she learns Castle had been keeping a big secret – to protect her. Beckett is furious and is willing to lose everything to catch her mother’s killer – or so she thinks. Because of “Always” we see Beckett realize that the most important thing in her world is Castle – not her job, not catching her mother’s killer – and can appreciate the journey it took to get there. Then, this happens:
While there’s no doubt that Beckett’s apology to Castle is well-warranted, Castle has his own part in the equation. Both were holding secrets while trying to do what they thought would allow them to eventually have a real shot at an intimate romantic relationship. Plus, what’s triggered Beckett is something that was the traumatic event of her mother’s murder. Beckett was culpable, but it was understandable as well. The entire arc is one of character growth for Castle and Beckett and moves the relationship forward.
In the scenario of “Mr. and Mrs. Castle not only is there backtracking over old ground but Castle is in a position of being completely blameless while Beckett character arc of seven seasons has been rewritten in seven episodes. She’s a broken and obsessed woman who’s lucky to have Castle put up with her. There’s not even a point of reason for risking what she is. For instance, if there had been some sense that if she doesn’t find these people they will come after her and her family. Instead the opposite is true: her investigation makes it likely that they will come after her and her family! There really is no justification.
In this “LokStat” story, Vikram says (which means the information is suspect) it’s Beckett setting up a computer search investigating her mother’s murder when she was working with the feds in D.C. that triggered the murders of her former colleagues. Perhaps one could argue that she feels guilty. That’s a lot of guilt for people you knew for six months. Castle’s stepmom Rita (Ann Cusack) certainly came off as more than capable of handling this. What happened to Season 7 Beckett, the woman who learned so much from her more “fabulous” counterpart in “Hong Kong Hustle” and wrote a list out of her priorities because she didn’t want to ever put work before her marriage? On top of that, as I, and many other online viewers have pointed out, even with choosing to investigate, there was never a real reason for Beckett to split up with Castle to protect him. No matter how many times it’s said or by how many characters that Beckett needed to do this to protect Castle, the actual facts as laid out in the story show that there was no real danger to Castle that would be fixed by her leaving. Even if she’d chosen to keep it a secret there was no reason for her to leave. None.
The Wrap Up: Fifty Shades of Gray
More than anything it’s this major flaw in the plot of Season 8 that made watching “Mr. & Mrs. Castle” like riding a rollercoaster. It’s full of highs and lows with a few loop-de-loops thrown in for good measure, and at the end of it, I was left feeling nauseous. The second time I watched wasn’t any better. Back in Castle Season 4, the finale “Always” was the single best episode of bringing a couple together I’d ever seen, and the reviews across the boards were full of praise. It made sense that Beckett, after a year in therapy, is deeply affected by her most recent life and death experience in a way she’s never been before. Beckett went into therapy because she wanted to be able to bring her walls down to have the kind of relationship she genuinely wanted. In case you don’t recall, she said what that was in the Castle Season 3 episode, “Setup.”
Beckett: “I wish that I had someone who would be there for me and I could be there for him and we could just dive into together.”
In Season 3 Beckett knows what she wants a relationship to be – but she also sees that she tends to have “one foot out the door” when she starts one. It’s after the premiere of Season 4 that Beckett is able to put together that more than just a foot out the door for safety she has “these walls” up that keep her from the kind of relationship she wants.
Castle and Beckett were supposed to get married at the end of Season 6. Why they didn’t is a rant for another day, but the short version is that until this season Castle had never had such a blatant out-of-nowhere plot move to stall the forward progression of Castle and Beckett’s relationship. That stall in Season 6 was also done by sacrificing some of Beckett’s canon history and integrity in a story that has never added up. Castle Season 7 had its own problems (some – like having Castle as a P.I. – have inexplicable been carried over to Season 8) but the second half of it showed a Beckett who was happy in her marriage, but restless about her career. As a woman who does want to make a difference in the world, who is talented as a homicide detective and a strong sense of justice, this makes sense. However, in “Hong Kong Hustle” Beckett is very clear that she does not want to sacrifice her marriage to chase after career goals.
Aside from the weird flip-flop in the Season 6 finale, the growth of Kate Beckett as a character has been a strong thruline – until the new showrunners came in. Rather than move forward with the characters they decided to try resetting back to Season 4. All of this unnecessary angst was done so that the writers could have Beckett be “broken” again – even though we’ve seen all the work she did in her healing. They needed her to be in the wrong so Castle could get mad the way he did in “Always” – so that they could have a reunion scene that sets up this new idea that Castle and Beckett will now pretend to be broken up while they work on the case together. Again, it’s the same faulty premise. How is their appearing to be broken up going to be protecting anyone?
In my preview I said this episode was fifty shades of gray. That’s because there are some sweet moments, and interesting things that do occur, and the show had to do something to stop the bleeding. If Captain Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) and writer Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) didn’t get back together in this episode there is no way Castle would have an audience when the show returns in January. This ending cauterised the wound ripped open by the new plot presented at the top of Castle Season 8. Who doesn’t like sexy Caskett? It’s absolutely a move in the right direction. Maybe now the show will move into where it should have gone once they’d gotten married: Castle and Beckett being there for each other while together they dive into whatever comes their way. That was Beckett’s Season 3 relationship description and it is the perfect template of what viewers want to see and the logical next step of the story.
The question is will enough viewers get past the awfulness that these eight episodes have been? In the past there have been a couple of times fans have had to pretend an episode didn’t really happen in order to go along with series in general. Castle 6×23 is one of them. I also know that if I mention “The Squab and the Quail” I will get a flurry of upset responses. However, those were single episodes, not an entire story arc. I’m not sure how much forgiveness Castle fans have left in them, although I am sure many are going to try. The damage from this part of the Castle Season 8 story arc is going to take a long time to heal, and even if the healing process does end up going well…it’s going to leave a nasty scar on this series.
Okay, it’s your turn now. Let me know in the comments how you felt about the Castle Season 8 winter finale!
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[Photo credit: Mitchell Haaseth/ABC]
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Spot on again Joy,I loved the episode ,but the consequences are still going to hang like a dark cloud.I have been saying Dr.Burke can help here hopefully they will bring him onboard somewhere.I was not coming back if they did not come together,this was what everyone wanted Caskett fighting together and loving.It could have some great scenarios ,but Martha will know.
I am still concerned with W&H,they lost our trust and need to get it back.Maybe Dr.Burke can squeeze them in.
I like every point you made.
i hated this episode and are now done with this show, if this is the best they can do, then I feel bad for them and the Actors, who gave their all in this series. As for me I gone…..the put in the last nail to Castle’s coffin. Sorry guys epic fail! I can careless how they do the second half-of the season Feb 1, I will laugh if they can keep the fans! They screwed us over once again.
but loved the story so thanks for that.
The best review you have ever written Joy. I agree 100%. However, I am not sure I will be back.
You said it in a nutshell, Joy, when you compared this story arc to season 4. The season 4 arc had a balance, they were both in the wrong for keeping an important secret (it could be argued that the secret Castle was keeping was far greater than the secret Beckett was keeping). This season’s story arc is highly unbalanced, in that the wrong is solely on Beckett’s part. The fact that they are NOW going to do the lets-pretend-we’re-separated thing proves to me that this whole story arc was created just to bring Beckett down and Castle up, to make her less, to make Castle better than her. Otherwise, this plot-hole riddled story served no other purpose. All it did was to make both of them look incredibly stupid and fans to hate Beckett (not this fan though).
The end scene was a let-down, so much less than it should have been, could have been. The bad thing is that when the show returns next year, it’ll still be the same w/the only difference being that Castle & Beckett are secretly back together. All else is the same – they’re still separated, still living apart, still doing their own thing (her the Captain, he the PI w/his daughter) separately, coming together (I would bet) for the 5 minutes of screen time to discuss Loksat or other precinct business. This does not change anything, does not bring this show back to what it once was and what made it so popular – Castle & Beckett together at work and at home. Since nothing really has changed, I have no desire to watch this show in the new year when I can catch their 5 minutes of joint screen-time on Youtube. I still have no desire to watch the Castle/Alexis PI show, the Boys & Castle in the field show, or the Hayley show in combination w/either one of them. The soul of this show, the bread and butter of the show, has always been Castle & Beckett and until they get back to that, I’ve got no reason to watch, and I suspect many others feel the same.
great review Joy. “sadly” spot on. This is such a mess. Like reporting on a train wreck with the high light being “wounded but not dead!”.
One thing I disagree with you on, is that I do think the ending to 808, was a hail mary to save ratings and diffuse the fan anger over the break up. The reason I say so, is that is was way too quick, For 6 episodes RC has been ” trying to make her fall in love with me again” cause is wife walked out on him. Then in 10 minutes, he figures it out, and K is ” sorry I blew up our marriage , i was only trying to protect you, can I come home? ” and RC is “OK”. With out any consequence on the part of KB, really ? I wonder if the shift the idiots ( Hawley & Winter) was referring too was that RC would call KB on the issue, and then force her to fight her way back into his life. It would fit with the over arching ” lets knock down Kate Beckett character” theme that has been abounding since 623. But when faced with armageddon on the ratings front, they had to move up the time table. Similarly to the ” 3 minute green screen wedding” wedding of 706. I think in that case, whomever made that call, was thinking the wedding would take place much later in the season, probably around sweeps, but fan back lash created the need. Just like I think Caskett is together now verse later next year. I could be wrong, but it sorta fits.
Also regardless, something is wrong in the show, I don’t know what “the issue” is, I have my theories, but what ever the cause, it is like a cancer sucking the life out of the show. Either way and regardless, the idiots need to be fired. They have lost any trust or confidence with the fans. Even if they aren’t the issue, they are somewhat culpable. What ever is the issue, if it cant be fixed, then ….
I think the show needs to end this season . Its like all the “smart” has been used up. Seriously the S5 rehash, lets pretend to be apart , was annoying in S5, now S8, its down right F-ing stupid. Also the break up 802, 6 eps of agony , only to have them fight locsat together after 808, seriously, they couldn’t have done this in 803 ? Really , what a waste of time,talent, and resources. I hate writing it, but its true.
I wonder if in the future Castle will be the example of how not to show run,
You make some good points about them pushing up the timetable and the 6×23 wedding issue. It very well could be that. I think for me though, the idea is that they set up this “breakup” to knock down the Beckett character and give Castle opportunities to get mad and then be the superior “good guy” – as opposed to both characters having their flaws. If it was a hail Mary in the sense of they weren’t planning to make the pass yet, it was still the same planned play. They were just forced to execute it sooner than expected.
Oh yeah, this episode is a mess of a story. I sort of feel for the writers, but they were paid big bucks. Sometimes Castle episodes could have done with another 5 minutes or so to fill out the rough spots. This one needed another 42 minutes (an hour in TV time.) It jerked all over the place trying to fill in the pot holes they had created over the previous 7 episodes. Whatever his short comings Marlowe was a good storyteller. H & W are just terrible. They don’t do the basics correctly. They seem to lack an understanding of the form (23 episode season) among other things like the audience’s understand of the characters and their span of attention.
There are fans out there who are keeping track of how much time Fillion and Katic spend acting in the same frame. This episode it seems Vikram had more face time with Beckett than Castle did. That’s important because the chemistry Katic and Fillion bring to the show, the cornerstone of the the audience interest, comes from their reactions to each other. Everyone understands that it’s been 7 seasons with long shooting schedules and they’d like more time for themselves, but it is what it is.
I’m OK with the end. Castle would have been stupid to let his pride get in the way of his happiness. He could have been angry and stomped out after Beckett gave him exactly what he wanted, but to what end? Dramatic, but stupid.
Will people show up for 9 on whatever day it is? Yes. The better question is – Will they show up for 10?
“Whatever his shortcomings Marlowe was a good storyteller. H & W are just terrible. They don’t do the basics correctly. They seem to lack an understanding of the form (23 episode season) among other things like the audience’s understand of the characters and their span of attention.”
Great insights. I think too, Hawley didn’t care about the characters and the show’s history. He tried to come in and just do his own series instead of continuing the show from where it was at. Hawley left the show right after season 4. It’s almost like he didn’t like the way that season happened so he rewrote season four with the elements he wanted – which included making Beckett the forever, “broken one” and Castle completely blameless. It’s like he’s Saint Castle putting up with the lunatic lady because she’s hot – as opposed to a unique-thinking, witty, intelligent, ruggedly handsome sweetheart of a man loving a woman who has some scars from her past but is smart, strong, ethical, compassionate…and hot. ;) Marlowe wrote complex characters, and these guys have butchered them.
Perfect review again. As much as Im glad they are back together and (i think) i can start watching again, that had to be the worst scene i have ever seen NF and SK share. The quick resolution to 7 episodes of torture was beyond ridiculous. What these guys have done to the character of Kate Beckett is unforgivable. While Castle showed signs of life in the confrontation scene, all was lost in the end.
I have no desire to watch S5 reset, i enjoyed it the first time around – just as i enjoyed S4, which they just tried (and failed miserably) to recreate. What a shame.
You nailed it once again Joy! So far, the only thing the showrunners have accomplished for me this season is causing me to think that maybe MilMarMann weren’t that bad. In my saner moments I know that MilMarMann were that bad, but TPW and AH are even worse. I have no idea why they decided they needed to rehash the seasons since Hawley left (at the end of season 4) but they did. Unfortunately, they aren’t doing it as well as it was already done…and coming from someone who felt that the previous showrunners ruined every relationship milestone, that’s bad.
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Part of the reason it is even worse is that this time it is only Beckett who is really at fault, when previously there was some balance in Caskett’s disfunction. I shouldn’t be surprised though because this is shaping up to be the most sexist of the seasons so far.
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Another reason this season is worse is that I am frequently shaking my head and mumbling to myself that “they already did this,” or “this issue has been resolved” or “again?”…you get the idea.
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Will I be back in February? If an episode looks ok I will record it and decide later if I want to watch it. That’s a big change from when I first found the show on TNT and couldn’t get enough of it and just binged, binged, binged. Then after 6×23 I put my DVD’s back on the shelf, stopped watching on TNT and removed the “season pass” on my DVR. Unfortunately, or fortunately (depending upon your view) Caskett, Stana and Nathan, are so amazing together, (when they are together) that I can’t give up the show completely.
No, Susan, you nailed it! :) “I shouldn’t be surprised though because this is shaping up to be the most sexist of the seasons so far.” I think this is a big part of the problem.
I agree but I read an interview earlier that the show runners gave and some of their answers were sexist in general. I think they just honestly have issues writing strong female characters, even one that’s already very established.
I sure liked that “…in bed” from Winter in the THR interview. NOT.
I also think they have real issues writing healthy relationships.
“Part of the reason it is even worse is that this time it is only Beckett who is really at fault, when previously there was some balance in Caskett’s disfunction. I shouldn’t be surprised though because this is shaping up to be the most sexist of the seasons so far. ”
I’m so, so happy to see other people realizing this. The treatment of Beckett has been about as disgusting as possible this season, all while continually propping up the man as blameless in all things. No matter what he does, it’s perfect. Half-naked women are being played for laughs even more often than in the past, “Captain Hoochie Mama” was actually a thing we were supposed to find funny, and (apparently) the way to show that Alexis is “growing up” is to have her running around in that “sexy angel” getup.
…and don’t even get me started on them bringing back Slaughter and trying to make him more likable, what with Slaughter having been one of the most misogynistic characters ever and Baldwin himself not exactly being an angel. So gross.
I agree about the nasty scar. Why, why, why, was there even a storyline that would deliberately upset the fandom? It was not even a Maybe, but a for sure. Bad timing if you ask me. Pulling this in S8 was not the time, considering the scars lingering from 6×23. Ouch! Saw your points on pros and Cons and just glad they are together. Surprise, Surprise…..the ratings went up. Duh, Castle and Beckett being together both working and in their marriage does drive the ratings. Hope the second half of S8 will be great.
A) numbers never ever moves up or down because of what happens in the actual episode, except if the writers tell the details in advance – which here didn’t happen
B) the numbers were the same low (1.1) as during the season, there wasn’t even a small uptick.
I always enjoy reading your reviews and this one was no exception.Thank you for saying so well what I think and feel but don’t think I can express so eloquently! :)
I love this show too much (like all of us) to see the butchering of all we’ve come to know and love about Castle.I am one of those who had to pretend that 6×23 did not exist and I did not read or view anything that spoke to it. However this roller coaster ride that these new show runners are taking the fans on this season in unforgivable!!! As Stana rightly said in one of her interviews, we have INVESTED a lot in the show and it’s not fair that we are made to sit by and take the garbage they are feeding us with no recourse. Last night I felt that I was a puppet being pulled and tugged in every direction! I felt nauseous ….just like I did at the end of 6×23. There is a creepiness for want of a better word to Beckett and Vikram’s relationship that I don’t like. He just rubs me the wrong way! Something’s amiss there.
They needed to spend some more time on the final scene as well. It just didn’t give the proper closure to the episode. More needed to be said…imho..
Somebody please pinch me and wake me up from this nightmare! Don’t the actors have any say in what the writers are doing? Certainly they do.
I am not giving up hope in the show! Why??? I simply refuse to! Properly written…this show could go for 2 more seasons. i would NEVER tire of Fillion and Katic’s chemistry on screen….and of course all the characters, twists and turns we’ve come to love. We wait….hopeful.
Well, this is not your usual well reasoned and accurately described critique/commentary; it’s even better! HOWEVER, if you’ve noticed(and I’m sure have) recently many Castle fans (and at least one fan site) have made it quite clear they will NOT tolerate ANY negative statements concerning the shows episodes, writers, or plot lines. They treat this show as many fanatically think of their political and religious beliefs. Any contrary thought or statement can only be blaspheme or treason. They have no tolerance for such criticism, even if given in an effort to make the show more acceptable to the majority in the hopes of getting the show back on track and renewed because of an increase in ratings based on the suggested changes. You’ve actually included (gasp) “cons” in your submission. Please watch your back, but, DO keep it up.
I know of at least one fansite, one podcast, and one blogger that all behave this way. It’s really sad. Sorry if you’ve been treated badly by any of the above, as so many others have.
Thanks SMalley!
When I watched this episode, all I saw was a disgustingly poor excuse for a rewrite of “Always,” right up to the big confrontation between Castle and Beckett. Of course, the “Always” version had them fighting in her apartment, but the female lead’s new dwelling isn’t worth the budget, so at her workplace it was. Which, of course, makes it far worse. This is a woman in a position of power, and she’s being screamed at about how she “likes being broken” at her place of work. Closed blinds or not, that was just one more horrific way to disrespect and degrade the Beckett character in a season that’s done basically nothing but that.
Since Joy basically said everything I could think of to say so well — only without being a viciously angry ranter like I would have been, had I written anything about this — I’ll spare everyone some of my thoughts.
However, I will say the following couple of things:
1) If Beckett was going to be degraded in this way, then I would have much preferred that they would have simply killed the character off. I’d rather not have her on the show at all than have her dragged through the mud like this. This whole thing about her having an “obsession” shows that the new showrunners haven’t even paid attention to her development since season four. In “Always,” she put her so-called “obsession” aside FOR A MAN. Evidently, that wasn’t enough. Evidently, it will never be enough. If they’re going to play it like she has an addiction of sorts, then there ought to at least be some respect paid to that addiction. There isn’t. She’s made to look like an idiot on a regular basis, and for the man who watched her BETTER HERSELF SO SHE COULD HAVE HER RELATIONSHIP with him say that she “likes being broken?” The absolute worst. I don’t even have words for it.
2) Shame on them. And no, the little “…in bed” joke doesn’t give me the sexy times to lure me back in as a stupid viewer who only cares about that sort of thing. If Caskett banging was all that it took for people to watch the show, it wouldn’t even be on the air anymore. We were here for the well-written characters, the love story, the drama, and even the comedy. Too bad everything is just comedy and assumptions that the audience is as stupid as the titular character has become for the sake of proving this formerly complex and label-defying show is a “romantic comedy.”
Hi That One Mean Girl. The point about him fighting in her office is a good one, but this other one of yours is stellar:
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“the man who watched her BETTER HERSELF SO SHE COULD HAVE HER RELATIONSHIP with him say that she “likes being broken?” The absolute worst. I don’t even have words for it.”
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They have been saying how broken Beckett is all season. Every time a character says it I’m reminded just how contrived this storyline is. It’s not the truth of the character – just the B.S. of this plot.
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I can’t say I’d want her killed off though – especially by these showrunners. It would not be done in a way fitting for Beckett. For me, I just wish it had ended with Hollander’s Woods. Everyone – myself included – was excited for a season 8 because they thought the story was going to move forward. Had we known it was going to be a reset and a remaking of the characters I suspect many would have been willing to see it end there as well. Hollander’s Woods gave us the real Mr. & Mrs. Castle: two strong people who had been marked by a violent event in their past, but overcame that to go on to do great things. They found and helped each other heal, they had each other’s backs always. Hollander’s Woods really felt like the show was back on track and moving forward. Then came the new showrunners with the idea that they could rewrite the past seasons as they thought it should be and now the show’s a complete trainwreck,
Perhaps I’ve watched Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale’s Batman movies too many times, but I’d rather Beckett had died a hero because as it is, she’s lived long enough to become the villain.
What makes you think these showrunners would let Beckett die a hero? (Think about it.) At least in Hollander’s Woods it ends with Beckett having achieved all that she wanted: her mother’s murder is solved, she’s gotten her one-and-done (screw 6×23), she’s learned more about Castle’s past and there are nothing but positive possibilities for her to look forward too. Meanwhile Castle has gotten the love of his life and his life has become extraordinary in a way he didn’t have at the top of the series. He doesn’t just write about murders, he helps solve them. He’s solved his own life-changing mystery. It’s a great stopping place.
I don’t think these clowns WOULD let her die a hero, but I still can say I would have preferred it if she did over having her around, yet not really having her, all this time.
I see what you’re saying. I was thinking more in terms of actual choices that could have gone down under the circumstances.
Ya and people wanted her and them to move forward like starting a family and such but instead they move backwards
I definitely agree that this season’s story tellers haven’t done Beckett’s character any favors. I can definitely understand the feeling that this season is sexist. I think the show really misses Terry Miller’s influence on that front.
However, I disagree with the “Always” assessment that Beckett put her obsession aside “FOR A MAN”. She worked hard during season 4 to tear down her walls to let SOMEONE in. She had a desire to be more than just someone defined by her mother’s death. She also was in love. So she put her obsession aside while hanging off the building realizing she could die and not having lived the life she had wanted. She chose to live and have a life. That is why “Always” was such a great episode. She made a choice and then really swept Castle off his feet.
That is also why 8×08 was such a disappointment to many. It was trying to be a newer “Always” but lacked any true depth. It was Kate saying “Oops, I wrecked our marriage for the past several weeks because I made a bad decision, my bad.” No great epiphany. Just utterly stupid.
Fair enough. That particular assessment of mine may have been a little bit harsh, but it’s hard not to be cynical about everything at the moment.
Hi Jeff. I agree with you about Kate’s motives in Always. Kate wanted “to be more” than what she was. She didn’t want her mother’s murder to be the thing that defined her. Castle made her realize that, and he was something she wanted to add to her life, but the changes were for her.
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The relationship she describes in season 3 is her ideal – and it’s not about Castle at that point. Realizing that Castle loved her, and that he was the man she could have that kind of relationship with made her see that she had a problem. Beckett did not realize she had those walls until that I love you. When Castle says to her (In Always) that he’d been right there, the truth is Beckett couldn’t see it because of those walls. After all, In season two she needed Esposito to tell her Castle had real feelings for her in order to see it and admit her feelings to herself, but the timing was wrong and she shut down. The conclusion she draws is Esposito had to have been wrong and she basically rebounds with the Doctor the same way Castle did with Gina.
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It’s complexity of Beckett’s journey that makes Always so profound. That’s why this season 8 arc is such a wrecking ball to the entire series. It’s as if that journey never happened. Castle’s comment about Beckett likes to be broken is a direct contradiction to what we saw in seasons 3 and 4. I know it’s Hawley speaking through Castle and giving us his new definition of Beckett, but it’s still a hurtful statement. Writing-wise it’s not connected to the journey through season 7, which makes it plain old bad storytelling.
Elaborating a little on a comment someone made on investing in the show…
For me S8 has chipped away much of the emotional investment I used to have. Not only that, it’s also failed to replace what was lost with something new. Therein lies the problem. Storytelling is fundamentally built on a simple phenomenon: you have to emotionally connect with your audience if you want your story to succeed. S8 has mostly failed in that respect, whereas previous seasons mostly succeeded (albeit in various degrees). S8 and previous seasons have so often felt mutually exlusive, and that is not a good thing. That means things have been shaken up way too much.
If I were to graph how my emotional investment or connection with the main characters developed this season the line would stay very low.
In general, I think the show needs to have a much clearer direction in terms of emotional content. Something is seriously wrong when I walk away from an episode or story arc with the exact opposite emotional response than what the show runners sell in interviews. I did not root for C&B even ONCE between the end scenes of 8×02 and 8×07. On the contrary. Beckett going off to DC in secret made no sense. The non-wedding made no sense. But those things did not stretch out for as long as things have in S8, so I tolerated it. So many other things DID make sense, so the good outweighed the bad. As opposed to this season. So, my expectations for the show have now plummeted, and I suspect that my tolerance level for non-emotionally-investing-scenes will be severely limited for the rest of season 8 as a result of it.
Too bad. They had a good thing going.
And they have two leads who have not been using their full potential this season.
Yet.
To Castle Showrunners and ABC Execs
I will start by saying I am a fan of Castle,I like millions of others have followed Rick and Kate and company through hardache and joy,watched Alexis grow up before our eyes,Martha has become a friend each week….Marthaisms…..Javi and Kevin,loosing Captain Montgomery but getting to like Captain Gates….it goes on.
We had the the best duo on tv,fighting crime and slowly getting to the long awaited wedding.Kate had her family,yes I know she had her dad but somehow I think Martha became her mom over time.
And then season 8 started,you killed a wonderful show to shake things up,a wonderful duo because I guess married people cannot have drama…..you must not be married would be my guess.No matter what storyline you come up with now the trust is gone,people have decided that Kate will be the bad guy as it were and she will carry that for however long the show goes on.That is so very sad.
So if you need a good story have them investigate the murder of Castle the once awesome tv show,that’s what we need solved.
I will watch,yes,because you always feel it has got to get better.You have the power to make it better.Will you?
Similarly to “Sleeper” the writers tried to put too much into this single episode. Many viewers have been complaining that if Kate was doing this to investigate Locksat then why were they not showing that investigation in the episodes. This episode tried to make headway in the Locksat investigation, add a potentially new major character (Caleb Brown), and fix the Caskett separation all in 42 minutes. We that did not work very well in “Sleeper” and it does not work well here. If we had been working the investigation as part of the previous episodes, we probably could have cut at least 10 minutes out of this episode and given the extra ‘act’ that Hawley/Winter claimed was probably needed to allow Rick to be angry at Kate a while longer rather than just capitulate as soon as she says “I don’t want to do this alone”. That seemed extremely rushed and out of sync. At least we will begin seeing Rick and Kate being together more in the future episodes (unless this is a red herring). In my view the series has never been about great writing or story telling, it has been about a great relationship between the two leads. We loved that so much that we tended to gloss over writing mis-steps and overall story telling faux paus. When you don’t have that relationship dynamic, the story telling screwups just stick out and you have nothing to cover them up with.