Snoopy

Don't necessarily agree with your perception of the proposal (to each their own, right?) but I agree with you - They should have been married by the end of the season, especially after all the wedding talk throughout the season. I'm still hoping they pleasantly surprise us by having them get married in a low key ceremony in the first couple episodes. They've already monopolized on the wedding during a sweeps period, no need to do it again. Especially since they have this new "mythology" that they can pull out during sweeps. I doubt it will happen, but still holding out hope. LOL...Probable just seems to be one of those words that doesn't want to be typed. Just typed probably again in that sentence. Plus, I've pretty much given up being typo-free when using the iPad to post. I hate typing on the thing but it is so much more convenient than anything else.

I really doubt Nathan Fillion cares what you or other fans think of his retweeting habits. Specific tweets, If it pertained to something controversial in some way, maybe, but I doubt he's going to start retweeting/responding to specific fans just because someone complained that he doesn't. He's made it pretty clear that he responds to tweets he finds interesting, funny, or to which he can respond in a funny way. As for reading forums, I never said that they don't do it and don't take viewer feedback into account. I don't suspect it is Marlowe, specifically, doing it however, although I could see Terri spending some time on here. I also think it would be unwise for them not to keep their finger on what viewers are feeling and how they are reacting to stories. I just think they are more likely to listen to more balanced critiques of the show. If all a particular person ever does is complain about the show and talk about how incompetent/arrogant the writers and showrunners are, I probably wouldn't pay attention to their posts for very long. They'd just seem like a lost cause for me. On that note, I really like the new critique thread that was started because I think it is important to talk about what is working just as much as talking about what isn't working for us as viewers. :) I also think that there are certain things that a writing team/showrunners isn't going to change regardless of how passionately the online viewer base doesn't like it. Especially on a show like Castle where ratings indicate that much of its viewership is a group that is less likely to be using social media. Certain things are essential to their storytelling vision and others, I imagine, go beyond writers choice and into network decisions as well.

Agreed, Verdana. I think 3XK should have ended with Probably Cause. That was a great, surprising way to bring him back and Castle adequately shot him off a bridge and into the water with no rescue in sight. Disciple is one of the few episodes over the entire series that I have little interest in re watching. Unless they find a really interesting way to bring him back, he can stay dead as far as I'm concerned.

What's working: The precinct ensemble. Beckett/Castle/Espo/Ryan all have great chemistry together and I find the precinct/investigation scenes fun for the most part. I think they've even found a good place for Gates. Having Castle and Beckett in a committed relationship is good..,after 4 years of WT/WT I'm glad that their relationship is solid. They seem like a loving and committed couple to me in most scenes. A majority of light-hearted episodes with a peppering of more personal dramatic ones. What they could work on: Underused characters: Martha, Alexis, Lanie. Martha and Alexis used to be used throughout episodes for both a sounding board for Castle but also for fun. They are usually used to help Castle solve relationship problems or, in Alexis' case, to create even more drama. Lanie, who could be used as a great way to show another side of Beckett, has been reduced to a bit character with hardly any lines beyond dead body information. I'd like to see a return to funny, saucy, friend-to-Beckett Lanie. Strict Procedural Format: I'm fairly certain this is an intentional choice on the writers' part (for whatever reason), but I'd love it if they added more continuity between episodes. If they want to have these big dramatic episodes and "mythology", they should be at least mentioning the emotional impact of events here and there. Nothing major, but things like mentioning how Alexis is feeling after being kidnapped would be nice...and not several episodes later. I know time is limited, but they could tighten up the cases a bit more (fewer twists and red herrings) and have time for some of the more personal stuff. Castle/Beckett's "spark": While I have no problem with their relationship as a whole, I do miss the flirting, theory building, and sexy banter between them. We get it here and there, but much of it has been replaced by relationship/wedding talk. Love that too but think it could be balanced a bit better. I'm one of the few that don't really need to see anymore physical contact between them (kissing, sexy times), but I'd just like to see the verbal spark a bit more.

My proposal would certainly rival that one for the "least romantic". Lol...while I had no fighting beforehand, at least Castle got down on one knee. Castle's was a little morose, yes, but I think they addressed that a bit in the premiere with Castle saying that he was serious because it was the most serious thing he'd ever done. I think that told a lot, given that we know Castle is a "grand gestures" type of guy. He didn't propose in that way to be romantic or to make a great story, he proposed to show Beckett his commitment to their relationship. And I never found it surprising that Beckett had no problem with how the proposal went down. I actually found it more surprising this season that Beckett wanted a traditional wedding with lots of guests, etc. LOL...I don't doubt that the proposal went down the way it did for dramatic effect (I was certainly surprised), but didn't feel that it was really inconsistent with the characterizations of the characters we know. As for it being "sullied" by fighting beforehand, if Castle had proposed impulsively during a fight or to end/win an argument, I would have agreed. But, in this case, it was clear that Castle had really thought hard about where his relationship with Beckett was headed and that he wasn't doing it to end the argument but to commit to working through the problem together. It didn't feel sullied to me...it felt real. I will admit thought, that I get really uncomfortable watching grand romantic/sappy proposals with deep professions of love, so I may be a bit biased.

I agree, but I mistyped originally. I'd be absolutely fine with no simmering "mythology" but that doesn't seem like Marlowe's style. I'm OK with something as long as it is interesting and I'm glad they've wrapped up Beckett's mom's murder and hopefully keeping 3xK to a minimum. I think the biggest problem with this mythology they like to add in is that they tend not to carry it over at all to other episodes anymore. At the beginning, even though they only focused on Johanna Beckett a few times a season, it was part of who Beckett was and felt like it had an overall impact on many episodes. The last two seasons, I feel it was "put away" a little too neatly between arc episodes. Just a mention of Castle and Beckett's investigation between ITBOTB and Veritas would have been a way to stop us all from saying "huh?" when Beckett revealed they'd been doing it together for 6 weeks.

Lol...it would be such a ridiculous story because what would the point even be? Castle already has a child so it is not like realizing his role as a father would be a huge part of it. Yes, there'd be a little bit of an emotional impact on him and Beckett, but I couldn't see it having a major impact on anyone other than another person to build a relationship with. Someone mentioned Gilmore Girls, and my goodness, that storyline was so illogical and frustrating. The problem wasn't that Luke had a daughter he didn't know about it. The problem was that they made Luke into an idiot who didn't seem he could be married and have a child at the same time. Even though his future wife had a child of her and got along well with said long-lost child. Ugh...rant over I like the suggestion that perhaps Castle witnessed something when he was younger and doesn't remember it. That said, it would have to be really well-written to make sense and answer all the questions that we're all asking. Why is Castle suddenly a threat now, would be the first thing that comes to mind. Though I'd be just as happy if they carried on with COTW and the relationship aspect with extra "mythology", Marlowe seems to like having something to simmer on the back burner and I'll admit that the storyline of Beckett's mom's murder was one of the things that hooked me when I first marathon watched seasons 1-3,

It was actually a Castle who pretty much made it an either/or situation. Kate hadn't even thought of how the job would have affected he relationship, other than, as per her convo with Lanie, that it would mean that her and Castle would have to talk about where their relationship was heading. When Castle found out about the interview, HE was the one that said if she took the job, their relationship would be over because they would never see each other. When talking to her dad, she said that he was right...that she would be too busy with a new job, etc. Given that she hadn't really given it much thought (I don't think she wanted think about it so kept telling herself she wouldn't get the job) and Castle's response had no offer to try to make it work (understandably he was upset and not thinking beyond his initial emotional reaction), it doesn't seem that she made a huge jump to think that she couldn't have both. I'm not sure what you expected her to do when things did prove too difficult after a few months on the job? Was she supposed to quit? Ask for more time off from her brand new job? As long as she had that job, there were not a lot of "inches" for her to give. The only thing that really would have made a difference was Castle moving to Washington, which I can understand why she wouldn't suggest on her own given that his daughter and mother are in New York. The solution had to come from him. We don't know what Kate was going to say when she got to the swings, other than to apologize for keeping her interview a secret and likely to say that she was going to accept the job. I personally doubt that she was going to say "I'm taking the job. I guess we're breaking up." We'll never know because Castle spoke first, but I like to think she was going to tell him she wanted to take the job but also wanted to try to make it work with Castle. She was afraid, based on Castle's previous reaction, that Castle was going to say it was him or the job. I wanted to hate the proposal. I really did. I'm sure we all had this grand romantic proposal in mind and what we got certainly didn't fit that. However, at the end of the day, Castle's proposal showed Kate that he was absolutely committed to making it work with her, which was exactly what their relationship needed at that point. After thinking about, I decided that there is really nothing more romantic than someone saying, "Yes, this is hard and it is going to get harder, but I love you and can't imagine my life without you, so I'm committed to making it work."

I thought I read they weren't doing a photo shoot this year. Did I make that up? Usually there is chatter about it on Twitter and I don't recall any this year.

I don't disagree. I do wish they would have addressed it a little more clearly. I do think that Beckett caught on to the fact that Castle at least suspected she remembered him saying "I love you." The conversation at the end of Undead Again, as subtexty as it was, was Beckett explaining to Castle why she wasn't able to face what happened that day. And Castle accepting it. I think the entire storyline did make Beckett wake up and realize that the holding pattern they were in wasn't going to last forever and that she better start doing something about it. The way I saw it, she took some small steps forward. The conversation at the end of Undead Again, for one, but also Beckett accepting Castle's vague invitation to watch movies at the beginning of Always. That, of course, is me putting my own interpretation of things on it and making it into something that makes sense to me. There are a lot of conversations I wish Castle and Beckett would have on screen that I don't think we'll get. I think I've just learned to accept that and realize that if I want to enjoy the show, I'm going to have use the things that are up for interpretation in a way that suits me.

Can't we all, though? Lol...I think most people have that side in them. Would the Castle who we'd seen grow (in large part thanks to his partnership with Beckett) over the years do that? No, but I have no doubt the Castle-of-old may have. I looked at it as a bit of a regression. I actually think I had more of a problem with Beckett's inability to confront him, even though I understood that talking about her feelings for Castle had always been a sticking point. I didn't mind the arc. I think the "pay-off" of always was more sweet because there had been some conflict there that brought things to a "head"...but I did feel they went a bit too far in the Limey. Castle being hurt made sense to me. Castle trying to "move on" made sense to me. Castle pairing up with another detective made sense to me. Castle making the occasional pointed remark to Beckett even made sense to me. I'm not even sure that Castle "flaunting" Jacinda in Beckett's face didn't make sense to me (assuming he'd regressed a bit), but mainly, as you said, it felt like something they could have achieved their storytelling goal without, considering they knew it would upset a lot of fans.

It must be a catch-22 for them. On one hand, how great is it that fans care enough to want to catch any glimpse of you and your work that they can? I'm sure they also know that they often make people's day by posing for these photos with them on occasion. However, I can't imagine having to try to do your work and carry on your day and be constantly interrupted or have people take your picture without your knowledge/permission. I guess it is just an occupational hazard in some ways. I just hope people who go to these locations are respectful and understand that these people are trying to do their jobs - that they are not just there so that fans can sneak a peek or get a photo with them.

I'd be OK with them being together or not being together, but I'd wish they'd just decide already. This are they/aren't they together situation is getting old. But I'm with you...give me a Lanie and Beckett scene any day over a Lanie/Espo scene. I'm always kind of surprised with how enthusiastic Tamala appears to be about being in the show when it does seem like her role as declined a lot in recent years. I guess that's how you keep jobs in that business? By not biting the hand that feeds you...even if it doesn't feed you what or how much you want. Love the pics of the cast with the man in uniform. They all seem absolutely proud to be posing with this fan!

I agree. I don't always like how "case of the week" driven the show is. I see other shows that balance the procedural/personal aspects of the show differently, and in some cases, more in line with what I'd like to see. But I don't think the writers don't achieve this balance because they are incapable of it or don't think it's possible, I think it is a deliberate choice they make. I don't know why they make that choice (my guess has something to do with syndication and the casual nature of their audience), but I truly don't believe that couldn't do it if they wanted to or felt it was appropriate.

At the end of the day, people watch TV differently. I'm more like you, I think. I just take it as it comes and don't get too invested in particular characters/storylines. I'm OK with it if the character doesn't make choices I like, as long as I can understand why they are making them. If something happened in the story that I don't like, I move on. You know what? At the time, it really bothered me that after years of waiting for Beckett, Castle likely slept with Jacinda. I thought it was something that would hurt Beckett and I thought it was a bad writing choice. But, when all was said and done, it didn't seem to bother Beckett all that much, so I got over it. Was it my favourite arc? No. (Actually, it was really just The Limey I didn't like). But is it part of their history now? Yes. The characters made a choice to move on from that, so I as a viewer did as well. Some people, however, get more emotionally invested in both characters and storylines. They know how they would react in a certain situation and fell the characters should/would react in the same way. When something doesn't fit with their moral compass or sense of logic, they have more difficulty moving on with the characters. They like to forget storylines and events that they didn't like or that gave them a negative emotional reaction. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just a different way to watch. I read a book recently and later read an interview with the author where they questioned the author on her ending. Many people didn't like the ending because they didn't feel justice had been achieved and things were sufficiently tied up. The author's response was that she wrote an ending that she felt was appropriate for the characters. Just like others thought justice should have been served and disagreed with her ending, she disagreed with many of the endings suggested and explained why she felt they wouldn't have worked. She understood that some people felt different and was OK with the fact that some people didn't like the conclusion. She embraced the idea that readers were writing fan fiction alternate endings to be more in line with what they would have liked to see. Some people like happy endings. Some people don't. One's not wrong or right. It's just a different outlook.