metaphor

Matt Mitovich has updated his answer to the question with quotes from Amann. Nothing really specific, apart from the mood they're going for: Do you have any scoop on Castle‘s 150th episode? Anything special fans can look forward to? –Sandra UPDATED! This just in, fresh from showrunner David Amann: “Obviously, the 150th episode is a milestone for the show but it also directly precedes the season finale. At this point, we intend Episode 22 to be a buoyant, classic episode of Castle, while [the finale] will focus on compelling, high-stakes story-telling surrounding Castle and Beckett mythology.”

Terri was asked if she'd pen another episode during her livetweet of 7.16 and she did say probably, so I think you're right. On another matter, ATP's auction for a Meet & Greet with Stana on the Castle set garnered a closing bid of $29,974.74. And the fund-raising that went on to give the audition shirt back to Stana reached its goal at $8,000. Even a simple signed press pass went for $6,100. So this was quite a successful auction for ATP.

I quite like Beckett's look in this location photo for an upcoming episode. Light and bright.

Second sneak peek here. If this was from the same day, I'd guess that this is why Beckett wasn't in heels in the first sneak peek, but based on the hairstyle and one of the screener reviews, I'm guessing it's not the reason. I know she could very easily pop back in whenever, and she's not really around that much anyway, but the Martha-moving-out news is kind of sad. She's such a fun, warm presence in the loft and it's nice to think of her there even though we don't see her.

Amann speaks to Adam Bryant on the possibility of a Caskett baby: "Beckett is looking ahead," executive producer David Amann tells us. "She's trying to figure out what her next step is, and that encompasses family. She's been driven for the better part of her adult life by the death of her mother, which is now resolved. Her relationship with Castle is settled, so she's at a place now where she really needs to be thinking about, 'What does she want that future to be?' It seems like children are going to naturally be a part of that discussion." That said, it may still be a while before we see any baby bumps. "These are all good questions that she's asking herself," Amann says. "I don't think she has any of the answers yet, but she's asking the questions because she needs to figure out where she's headed."

From the TVGuide post-mortem of Reckoning: Both of your leads' contracts expire after this season, and ABC hasn't made a decision about a renewal. How do those things impact your plans for the end of the season? Amann: We're hopeful that everything gets resolved. In the meantime, we're just building the best end of the season that we can. Obviously, we've thought about a bunch of different scenarios, but our main obligation is to our audience and to deliver great shows. That's what we'll be trying to do, and we think we have a bunch of them lined up all the way to the end. Per Nadine, filming is geared to end in April. While I am very hopeful for an 8th season, I really hope they'll know going into the last set of episodes if this is going to be the end.

Hooray for more Beckett mythology. I wonder if we're going back to Bracken in some way here or if it'll be all new (maybe getting deeper into the career/family issue). Some interesting things about what we can expect moving forward from the EW post-mortem: [W]hen we get to around episode 20, we’re probably going to be dealing in a more direct way with the missing time that he had at the beginning of the season, and trying to delve into what it was that actually occurred. Now that Castle is unbanned, have we seen last of PI Castle? I think we have for now. The PI was a means to an end for him. It was a way of trying to finagle his way into working with Beckett, and probably also fulfilling a lifelong fantasy. Now that he’s back on it, there’s not really a pressing need to continue that. [it] may be something that gets revisited down the line, but for now I think he’s happy to be back with her, doing what he was doing before.... What can you tell us about the next couple of episodes? The next episode is “Murder on Mars,” where astronauts have been sealed in a Mars simulation for months in preparation for a Mars expedition, [and] one of them is murdered. So it seems as though nobody could’ve gotten in or out of the place, and yet none of them seem to have had a hand in the killing. It becomes a big mystery for Beckett and Castle to solve, and one that requires them to put on space suits and go and interview people. It’s a delightful episode. We also have an episode with Beckett sort of meeting her equivalent, a hot shot Hong Kong female detective who’s kind of like Beckett except even more so. So they’re trying to solve a case together, and Beckett’s trying to grapple with the fact that she’s dealing with someone that’s actually better at the job than she is. And from the TVGuide post-mortem: What can you tell us about upcoming episodes? David Amann: Coming out of the two-parter is a fun, classic Castle episode. It's basically murder on Mars. There's a Mars simulation with astronauts who've been locked away in a Mars environment for six months, and one of them is murdered. But none of them could have done it -- nobody could have gotten in. So Castle and Beckett have to put on spacesuits and go talk to people. And as part of that, we think that moving forward there is this kind of an ongoing theme for Beckett about what it is that she wants to do next with her life and her career. That's going to be something that manifests in the episodes moving forward. And do you have a specific timeline for when you might re-examine the story of Castle's disappearance? Amann: We'll revisit it in Episode 20. It's an episode that's going to deal, to a large degree, with Castle's missing time from the beginning of the season. It's fair to say that we'll get some clarity on what exactly happened to him, though we may not get the entire story. I guess the answer to the penultimate question addresses the question of what the Beckett mythology may be about.

Regarding that spoiler, I think some just saw the "better than Beckett" descriptor and had visions of Marlowe's "take Beckett down a peg" comments from the end of last season flash before their eyes. I'm thinking/hoping it'll play out a bit like Jordan Shaw (renowned investigator with her cooler toys). And as Nadine indicated, it should lay down more groundwork on the Beckett thinking about her life/future storyline, which I'm actually looking forward to seeing. New tweet from Jim Adler (BTS pic at link): Jim Adler ‏@jimadler 56 seconds ago Who's going for a night on the town? #Castle #ep718 #itsryantime So 7.18 is the Ryancentric episode. That's about all we know about this ep so far, is it?

Yes, I read that wiki awhile back and thought it quite interesting that although Beckett is only ranked Detective, she was named the highest-ranking officer in the precinct when Gates was away in 6.20. I guess if she went up to Sergeant or Lieutenant, she'd be bossing around more than just the boys? Heh. I'm not particularly fussed to see that. I guess show hierarchy also works a bit differently, since Beckett has always been shown to report directly to the Captain as well.

Looks like you were spot on, Nadine. In this teaser article, Amann states that Beckett's screentime in Reckoning will be similar to that of Castle's in Driven. As a huge Beckett fan, I hope she'll have some agency in her own rescue and not just have to rely completely on Castle and the boys to get out. The rest of the tease is pretty much what I expect from Amann, roundabout and rather vague. Case in point: As for Tyson and Nieman, fans shouldn’t expect much background on what they’ve been up to since we last saw them. They should, however, expect some hints about their future. “We will get a little bit of a sense of where they hope to be going moving forward in the next episode so it will be mroe about where they’re headed as opposed to where they’ve been.”

Stana's been announced to be guesting on Kimmel on the 16th.

For better or worse, people aren't really spoiling much of anything in their reviews. (I guess it's better for most people, but I actually don't mind being spoiled.) Given that I think I can surmise what the cliffhanger is, though, this segment from the end of Lisa Caputo's preview actually has me quite intrigued. "And while most viewers, if not all, will surely deduce what the cliffhanger will be before they see it play out, again something that seems perfectly constructed by the Castle team, it is still a complete shock in so many other brilliant ways. In fact, it is more so what that cliffhanger reveals and how it will force one to view the entire episode in a remarkably different light that is the key to its emotional and jaw-dropping impact than the event itself."

BTS promo pics of Reckoning, with Castle, Ryan and Esposito here.

The press release is out as well: “Reckoning” – In the second installment of the Castle two-parter, stakes rise as the 12th Precinct matches wits with serial killers Jerry Tyson (3XK) and Dr. Kelly Nieman. With the clock ticking, Castle and the team must crack the case before the killers claim their next victim, on Part 2 of “Castle,” MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16 (10:01-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. I wonder how meaningful the wording of that press release is, in possibly implying that Beckett may be the next victim.

Another episode description for 7.14: @MattMitovich: CASTLE, Feb. 9 "Resurrection": When clues in a murder implicate Dr. Kelly Nieman, Castle is called in to consult. And promotional pictures for the same episode are out, including several of the special guest star (other than Annie Wersching).

It's funny. I was catching up on S7 of The Mentalist this weekend, and Jane and Lisbon kissed a couple times in the episode. And for all the complaining some Castle fans do about Caskett kisses, I thought the kisses there was way more chaste than Castle/Beckett kisses. Finishing the episode actually made me go back and rewatch 5.01 and 5.04, when Caskett were at a comparable point in their relationship. No contest on heat, then or now, IMO.

My first guess would be After Hours, too. If not, I guess the one that would next most fit the bill for me would be Veritas, but "running around" wouldn't be my top of mind descriptor for the episode, so probably not. Was the scene in the Season 5 blooper reel where Nathan just could not stop cracking up (I think we saw 5-6 takes of it in the blooper reel) from The Squab and the Quail? That's the first thing I thought of when he described the episode as having sexual innuendo in every line. Kind of a letdown that that After Hours answer was promoted as "Nathan talks about Stana Katic," but I guess I shouldn't have expected differently.

Ha, I admit I'm tickled by the Hooch reference, especially seeing that some fans were actually looking for one in the wedding episode.

Second sneak peek here: I'm hoping this will be a little bit of Under Fire, an episode I really liked for Castle and Beckett, and a little bit of Wild Rover, even though I like Ryan much more than I do Esposito. I do understand that Stana and especially Nathan would need a bit of a break after two episodea heavy on them.

Castle 7x08 ABC promo I like how the newlyweds theme seems to be continuing. Here's hoping the honeymoon vibe lasts a few more episodes.

I wonder if the choice to cop to there being a wedding in 7.06 was kind of forced upon them by the leaked 7.07 call sheet and Nathan's interview in which he was very obviously wearing a wedding ring. Although again, you'd think they would want the fans to know there would be a wedding beforehand to drum up interest in the episode... I guess there's also a difference between promoting the wedding and allowing photos of the event (along with possible costume/set design spoilers) to be leaked beforehand, as would be more likely with a location shoot. In the end, I admit that I kind of liked seeing everything for the first time as it was happening on Monday night.

I don't know if I'm giving Milmar/Amann too much credit, but I don't think the choice to do it on a soundstage was really all about the money. For whatever reason, TPTB wanted to keep the wedding under wraps, what with the Tumblr poster's friends directly lying to her about the episode's content. Nathan also said as much in the Kimmel interview, that it was all supposed to be very hush hush. I think that shooting on location in a Hamptons-like setting would have gone against that objective, especially given how "forensic scientist"-like Castle fans are. You know some people would have found a way to swarm that location shoot, just as they did the Driven/Montreal shoots. Now, why they'd go to such lengths to keep it a secret when they'd already lost so much goodwill in last season's finale, I don't really understand.

If the dress is not of Beckett's choosing, maybe Castle bought the dress for her. It could be a callback to 1.07. ;) I like the dress, too. I guess we'll see how it makes sense in story, but I'm glad she's not just throwing on any old dress/suit for the event. I like the image of Beckett in a wedding dress when she actually gets married.

Promo of Stana's appearance on The View in a couple of hours. Two spoilery things from the promo that leave me psyched for tonight: 1.) The wedding won't take place in the precinct. 2.) They'll be in wedding garb.

Another pretty long article about the wedding from TV Guide, with more quotes from Amann: http://www.tvguide.com/News/Castle-Wedding-David-Amann-1088982.asp 'Yes, even those fans who shouted their anger from the rooftops after the failed wedding last season. "They will certainly be vocal, but we feel it delivers the best version of what we wanted that moment to be. There are obviously people who felt a little thwarted, and I think now that the wedding will become a reality, I think the people who felt forsaken or betrayed by the end of last season, my hope is that that earns back whatever good will we might have lost with them."'