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Artifex

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  1. I AM sorta excited. As much as I desire an infinity of Castle episodes, I was not looking forward to continued succession of increasingly implausible Case-of-the-Weeks punctuated by cozy Caskett moments. Looks like the cases will indeed become more implausible—hardly avoidable after 8 years—but Castle and Beckett will have a strained relationship which will exercise their emotions and potential for growth. I hope to see not just petulance but rage, not only uncertainty but real ambivalence, not mere dejection but despair. A cute dispute about the state of the toothpaste tube might satisfy a craving for Caskett marital drama, but I'd much rather see them grapple with her obsessive pursuit of Big Bad and what it means to their alliance, or bring up ticking biological clocks versus the demands of captaincy, or confront his craving for action and what that means for his writing career. These are serious issues maybe best explored in Serious Drama, but Castle has never been capital-S serious, and case plausibility was long gone by season four. The emotional depth in cases that distinguished the first dozen or so episodes ("Nanny McDead" for example) is mostly absent; we've made do with artificial crimes among artificial characters with artificial motives for a long time. The touchstone for me in the beginning was Castle's emotional growth as attraction transmuted to love. When they settled into a predictable pattern of solving and smooching, that growth stopped. While I'm sure to scoff at upcoming plots (my eyes can roll only so far!), I'm hoping the series tune-up will keep them out of a fossilizing emotional comfort zone.
  2. I'm not sure where the certain conviction, that C and B are in conflict or on the verge of divorce, comes from. I got the impression that the first 2 eps will be of the same story told from 2 points of view: Castle's first, then Beckett's. I'm convinced they will be "separated", sure, but only by circumstances, not conflict between them. I envision this pattern: 801: - Castle in his PI digs, on the phone to Beckett. The conversation serves to tell us what's happened. He's taking on clients, she's been promoted. We don't see her, but his lines tell us what we need to know. They make a date for a rendezvous: lunch? dinner? - Other stuff happens (Alexis? Martha?) that further brings us up to speed. - Something inaugurates the Case of the Week: A Bad Guy does something... a client comes in...something. - Castle takes action, or misfortune befalls him. He's hurt! He's a prisoner! He's deceived! - Cliffhanger! 802: - Beckett's turn. We see "Captain Beckett" for the first time, settling in to her new office. Precinct action introduces us to the changes in command structure & personnel. - Beckett realizes something's happened to Castle! - Beckett mobilizes resources to resolve the case to find/help/rescue him. - Blissful reunion! Maybe there's a new Bad Guy that will haunt the rest of the season, or it's Bracken back to poison Beckett's triumph, or some new engaging twisty thing. Maybe there IS a tragic angsty undertone: a secret Castle has to keep, a seeming-betrayal, a spurious doubt. All grist for the mill.
  3. I know his hands pretty well by now. If I can find the clip, I'll check it out.
  4. Today, I posted this over at the Sundae Ladies: In Sundae Ladies' parlance "the PS" is "the Patron Saint", i.e. Nathan Fillion. Could the ultimate reason for the layers and layers be NF's self-consciousness and Luke's cooperation? Think about the strip poker scene where he kept his shirt on and you have to conclude he's hiding something. However, a character like Castle, even if he were self-conscious about a thickening middle would dress with more panache and hip-ness than he does. Just because he's rich, why would he want to fit in with men 30 years older? Castle supposedly lives in a SoHo loft in Manhattan, which even now—ultra-gentrified as it is—has a lingering reputation for avant-garde glamour and art-fart originality. At the very minimum, Castle, being who he is, would have a snarky t-shirt collection. He could have had a cult following by now as fans relished the juxtapositions of shirt and situation. Ah well. Love 'im anyway , character AND actor.
  5. Having once-upon-a-time lived in Manhattan, I think when I see Beckett's wardrobe, "How does she afford those clothes (even from a department store)? Where does she keep them?" I imagine the bedroom of her (looks to be a ROOFTOP apartment: many thousands a month) filled to the ceiling with clothes. Maybe a second bedroom just for jackets. When does she shop for those department store finds? When does she have time for the hairdresser? The dry cleaner? Or the opportunity to put on makeup before attending the corpse? I'm not a couture-wearing, golden-locks-having, stiletto-running, flawless-makeup-applying woman myself but I do realize that women who are, and who can manage to appear in public in a timely way, are fast and efficient at it. However, my interest in Beckett evaporated when she became a clothes horse. I relate to season one Beckett: a natural beauty, smart, empathetic, practical, and dedicated. Current Beckett is to me hardly more than a manikin.
  6. It seems to be very clear that Nathan is eager to move on to more challenging work and to have a work schedule compatible with his health and personal happiness. I don't think Castle has been on long enough—or is popular enough—for them to make a big deal of the final season long in advance. But it makes sense that a new showrunner would speak to Stana in person to sound her out about the possibility, or about the direction for her character for the future. Personally, I would be disappointed if Castle lingered past 7 seasons. Weak episodes hurt to watch and since season 4 they're increasingly common. Of course, a new regime might signal a new, more lively, more engaged, and less formulaic approach that would revive my delight and have me howling for more more more!
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