alldressedup

I'm out. This show has truly jumped the shark for me. That was a mess of an episode, from slack-jawed Fillion to ridiculous "I told my parents we were engaged" B plot that went nowhere. Dude ranch, fake scenery wedding, expendables rip-off, holy hell this show is all gimmick now tied together with the bow of buffoonery that Rick Castle has become.

It's more like a M16 agent becoming JK Rowling. Maybe they used his fame in their favor, I don't know, or maybe he stuck to tropical islands where Richard Castle isn't well known. I think spy dad had to know and maybe that's part of Martha's back story, too. There will need to be hand waving, but because most of it would have happened prior to the start of the series they could brush off a lot with "we thought that part of your life was over". Weave Casino Royale in there and I'm guessing most casual fans will be satisfied. Maybe a passage in that book is his 'trigger' and meeting spy dad and getting a new copy of the book was his reactivation or some such.

I also thought this episode was a set up for the new Derrick Storm series. I thought this episode was about Castle as a sleeper agent. They activate him for short term assignments but he doesn't overtly remember anything specific about them when not activated. This assignment lasted longer than most (2 months). I think Martha knows about these - she was very "let's not ask too many questions" throughout the episode. Not exactly Manchurian Candidate, but a lighter version where she knows but does not control. Here's the real speculation - Castle's handler is an agent named Derrick Storm. Storm's as real as Beckett in the fictional universe and the new series will be about the "real" Derrick Storm, not the Castle fictional character. The Derrick Storm novels were based on what Castle remembers about his real adventures as a sleeper agent along with Storm. He didn't just do research on tsunamis, he lived through one on a case with Storm but cannot recall that part, only the lingering "irrational" fear and the notion that he had researched them. Just a theory, but a couple of pieces seem to fit and it would set up the new series quite nicely.

Question: why was Castle on tour for a Derek Storm book? I thought he killed off that character? Or is Wild Storm about another character named Storm?