S07.E01: Driven

[WendyCR72]

In the Season 6 finale, as Richard Castle drove to his much-anticipated nuptials, an ominous black SUV bore down on him. Meanwhile, after waiting in vain for Castle to arrive at the wedding, Beckett was called to an accident scene to find Castle's car in a ravine, engulfed in flames. Who or what caused the car crash? Is there any way Castle could have survived? The episode will pick-up at the scene of that accident, right where the finale left off, in a premiere that promises to put Beckett through the toughest case of her career

 

Thread will unlock after the premiere ends on the east coast at 11:00 p.m. ET!

[cappuccino]

I don't really know what to make of the episode. Especially the second half of it. I expected it to be worse. We can definitely check off a few things on the list that had me laughing out loud. Weird stuff.

Edited September 30, 2014 by cappuccino

[verdana]

I don't know what to make of it either, I found it kind of dull....it didn't feel like Castle to me. The whole thing felt off in the pacing too. 

 

Yeah that Lopes tweet was for 7.02.

[cappuccino]

I don't know what to make of it either, I found it kind of dull....it didn't feel like Castle to me. The whole thing felt off in the pacing too.

Yeah that Lopes tweet was for 7.02.

It felt like they skipped something. All of a sudden it was problem solved or rather let's find out later since Castle can't clear things up. Let's move on. No biggie and I was: ah wait a minute. Did I miss something?

[Tripp]

I felt like I was watching a different show.  I really disliked the episode.

[Tripp]

Oh my comment got moved here.  Okay, longer thoughts on the episode.  

 

-I really disliked it.  REALLY disliked it.  I expected when we returned to see Castle held somewhere with his scruff and possibly tortured or something.  I did not expect them to turn this into an obvious mis direction of suspicion.  I mean...Castle running out on Kate is laughable on it's own, but no way in hell would he run away from Alexis. And c'mon.  The guy is an award winning author.  If he had done this he'd have a damn better story than amnesia.

 

-I think everyone was acting strange in this.  Gates seems almost sing song when approaching Kate in the precinct.  And I got the weirdest vibe from Espo when he dropped off that coffee.  Like he was happy to get Kate's coffee for her.  was that just me?

 

-Speaking of Esposito.  He really pissed me off in this.  I know he's the suspicious one so of course he'd be the first one to suspect Castle.  But the pic of Castle barely came into focus before he was like "OMG, Castle DID THIS HIMSELF!"  Um, wouldn't the natural reaction been to go back to widen the camera and see if anyone was off to the side "with Castle" and forcing him making that drop?  Must Javier go straight to the dick route?

 

-then the evidence started piling up and I was getting annoyed.  Please.  Give me a break. This is ridiculous.  We already went through this in Probable Cause and no way am I going to buy that Castle would be doing this himself of his own free will.  The only thing I MIGHT buy is given how Castle tends to copy stuff from Bones we have a bad guy blackmailing Castle in some way to hide away from everyone during this time kind of like Petulant keeping Booth from marrying Bones.  But then I realize if that's the case again, Castle would have come up with a better lie than "Amnesia" and hiding out in a tent.

 

-Then Castle returns and Um. I'm even more confused. I've defended NF for his scenes and I believe he was told to play this as positive Castle but he's acting like a pod person.  A POD PERSON.  I know Castle is positive and looks to the bright side of things and even if he doesn't remember anything for the last two months he's missing a big chunk of his life, his absence dearly hurt his family and his reputation.  He needs to be upset.  Not pop open champagne and basically shrug it away.  The only moment I saw a glimmer of real Castle was when he wanted to go to the camp site.  But even then when he starts talking about suddenly having this fear of tsumanis (what?) and it's news to Kate...it's crazy.  He's crazy.  I almost expect him to be body double but that's really unbelievable (and icky should Kate sleep with him).

 

Then I realized, I think I like the awful SF better than this episode.  I LIKE THE SF BETTER THAN THIS EPISODE.  Hell, I might even like the Squid and the Quail episode better.  

Edited September 30, 2014 by Tripp

[irisheyes]

There better be an arc that makes sense with this storyline, because this episode was lame. It was like they decided to have a cliffhanger at the end of last season and didn't know how to get out of it for the premiere. I mean, amnesia? That's like so 80's.

[Bringonthedrama]

I thought Stana did some great acting, and I'm SO glad she got to lose the hair extensions. The shoulder-length hair, with just a slight wave, looks great. I liked the last moments with Castle Fam + Beckett, toasting his return. 

[fialka]

Well, I went all summer without nary a peek at spoilers -- mostly because I was crazybusy, but partly also because it never crossed my mind to look, and by the time it did, the premiere was nearly upon us and I thought 'sure, go unspoiled, that'll probably be better.'

 

I guess it was? As in my reaction is wtf, rather than WTFFFFFF? I mean, of course he was never dead, and for a few minutes it looked like it was getting interesting. But really all it amounted to was the same summer apart bullshit we've had every year, as if they can't have a life without us watching (except when they need their privacy, of course, and all the good stuff happens out of sight). Somehow it all felt kind of rote, paint-by-numbers, calling it in on pretty much everybody's part. Even Stana, who had most of the emotional weight, and certainly tried but....I don't think anybody really had very much to work with. It did feel un-Castley to the point where when Castle came back and was making jokes, it felt beyond not funny. More like some other show. That I think I'd rather be watching. I mean, what will they do next week? Drag this out or follow it up with space bunnies or summat?

 

Sigh. I really wanted them to get their mojo back. Instead it looks like they're going to drag the wedding out yet another half season, at the very least. Gah.

 

ETA: Not a spoiler for those in the States, so...I see they've opted for drag it out. Oh, joy.

Edited September 30, 2014 by fialka

[Betweenthisandthat]

I surprised myself by actually watching this episode, and I didn't hate it.  It held my interest for the entire hour.  It was a weird episode though.  Something that could have been two parts because a lot happened and it felt very rushed.  We went from Castle presumed dead then missing then under suspicion and then found and under more suspicion and then not?  I don't mind the series of unfortunate events, but there needed to be time to breath.  I have to admit that I'm intrigued by what might come next in the hands of writers who could do a mythology like this justice.  I would also like to see Castle disturbed by not remembering what happened rather than going along his life with this in the back of his mind.

[verdana]

Okay that was weird, I kept thinking may be I was watching the wrong show, disappointing, didn't feel like the Castle I know and love for long stretches. Even the interactions between the main players felt strange and off somehow. Large parts of this episode were surprising dull for a premiere. It dragged painfully at times.

 

"Kissing can wait Castle" - they've just found the new tag line for this show.

 

The good:
Stana's shorter hair. I like.
Castle with stubble, I want to see it again but doubt I will.
Espo reminding Beckett that she's a cop who needs to keep her job she's not a thug with a badge.

 

I can't think of anything else right now I really enjoyed about it. May be re-watch will help..then again may be not. 

 

[Tripp]

Well, I went all summer without nary a peek at spoilers -- mostly because I was crazybusy, but partly also because it never crossed my mind to look, and by the time it did, the premiere was nearly upon us and I thought 'sure, go unspoiled, that'll probably be better.'

 

That was my attitude!  I've been silent on Castle all summer.  And I tend to try to be positive but I admit I HATED that finale and it was easier to just ignore Castle.  So when the time came I thought going into this premiere blind would make it better. But it didn't.  Oh, no it didn't.  

 

Seriously I don't know why I'm focusing so much on poor Esposito.  Of course I should have known by the end of the episode everyone would be doubting Castle (except Martha and Alexis) but the fact he didn't even wait 60 seconds before making it clear he thought Castle bailed.  I just...why does that annoy me more than anything?  Maybe it's denial.

[Betweenthisandthat]

But really all it amounted to was the same summer apart bullshit we've had every year

That is unfortunately true.  How many times has this happened?  The end of season 2 and 3.  The beginning of season 5 had Beckett in D.C., right?  Now this. 

 

If I continue to watch it will be out of curiosity rather than profound emotional investment.

Edited September 30, 2014 by Betweenthisandthat

[stonehaven]

I haven't been watching long..but the whole Castle side of the family was "Well, he's back YAY!"..and no one but Kate wanted answers?? The squad probably did for it was a case and they were curious but it all felt like the entire episode was on downers...

 

Also, that first Jenkins..wouldn't they hold him as a material witness to check out his story? Why take his word for it? Sigh....

Amnesia?? I'm surprised, he didn't step out of the shower...

[KaveDweller]

So....I kind of liked it.   At least I really liked the first 45 minutes or so, but then they seemed to rush through some important stuff at the end.

 

But so much better than I expected after all those gloomy reviews.

 

One complaint.  Esposito and Ryan didn't know anything about Castle's dad being part of Alexis's kidnapping, or even anything about his dad.

[verdana]

What was all that about his research on Tropical Storm and an irrational fear of tsunami business? WTF was that! That was one conversation I did not see coming.

 

And that tent wasn't very big, you would have thought he could have found himself a larger one with a separate bedroom and living area. I would have.

 

Castle is suddenly found in a boat....okay.

 

So are we ever going to find out about the key and the gunshot wound?  Or is that it? 

Edited September 30, 2014 by verdana

[kaygeeret]

I surprised myself by watching this instead of Blacklist - don't get me wrong, I love Nathan, but I LOVE Spader, so there you are - expecting some of what I loved about this in the beginning.

 

What do I find - Castle gone for TWO MONTHS - AMNESIA - DRAMA and then suddenly _NO DRAMA.

 

Sigh

 

Really stupid episode, are the writers and show runners bored? barren of ideas? all of the above?

[Pop Tart]

This feels to me like they want another deep, mysterious plot to fall back on every few episodes, like they did with Kate's mom's murder. A bad development as far as I'm concerned. Hate the 'Red John' type storytelling.

And I agree that the change from Castle did it, to he didn't was way too abrupt. They played some of the beats of Kate's feeling betrayed, but what about Castle feeling angry that Kate had lost trust? Rationally he'd get why she would, but emotionally there'd be some anger and hurt at not being believed, regardless.

[dbrits]

So I didn't watch the season 6 finale and it sounds like I can wait a while to watch this episode. Besides, there are other shows on my DVR that, you know, don't suck. And it pains me to write that because I really want to like the show but it's a shell of its former self and it's been that way for quite a while. I was hoping for a miraculous turn-around, but alas...

[Tripp]

 

 

So are we ever going to find out about the key and the gunshot wound?  Or is that it? 

Oh I think we will find out next week.  Or get more clues.  I have a feeling this is going to be a long arc.  And whatever happened to Castle will be his new "walls".

[verdana]

• Castle came across as apathetic for the most part and way too casual about everything. Fillion lacked energy in his scenes with just about everyone, even Martha and Alexis, I don't know if it was the script or the direction but I found his performance off and it added to the general weird tone of the episode. Why was he not more affected by what had happened to him? Come on the guy had been kidnapped and lost his memory and yet they're toasting with wine and it's like none of it ever happened. Only Beckett looked genuinely still unsettled and upset about it. 

The inclusion of the FBI felt kind of pointless, like they had to pad the episode out with something.

Doubting Castle again due to overwhelming evidence. *sigh* Have they learnt nothing from 3XK's supervillian antics? Yawn.

"People are complex" No shit Sherlock!

Illogical happenings at the crash site and car wrecking yard which took me out the episode.

A mystery bad guy with unlimited resources is responsible, I'm shocked. 

Beckett doubting Castle at certain points, made me sad. After all they've been through together she thinks he's up to something and obviously lying to her?  Didn't care to see that.

No Jim Beckett, why not? Is he that unimportant to his daughter now he can't even rate a casual aside? 

Tory is still around.  I don't know why.

Four month hiatus and they can't let Castle and Beckett kiss each other? Sadly I'm not surprised any more, this is "romance" the Marlowe way.

Muted reactions to Castle's disappearance at the crash site. I expected more emotion and that doesn't mean I demand loud weeping and wailing but that scene was not worth the long wait.

Not enough Martha and Alexis.

Too many questions and not enough answers, it was all a bit of a confusing mess which was presumably the idea.

Espo immediately doubting Castle's motives, some things never change.

Crazy!Badass!Beckett, I'm waiting for the day when her violent treatment of some suspects in the pursuit of what she wants comes back to bite her on the arse.

Kate still has her apartment, what the hell for?

[McManda]

Things I liked:

- Beckett's reaction to the coffee, because that's Castle's thing. It's like she was hoping he come back and then there's this coffee being presented to her and then ... Esposito.

- Beckett's initial reaction to the insinuation that Castle ran out on their wedding. I also liked Ryan's defense of Castle. I get that they play Ryan and Esposito as two sides of the coin; Ryan's trusting and the good guy, Espo's the skeptical cop, but I wished Espo would have had a bit more compassion. It's like he wanted to find fault in Castle.

 Ditto Beckett's hair. I kinda liked the messy post-wedding style of the beginning, but it's good that they let her nix the extensions.

 

Things that were weird:

- Alexis toasting with champagne? Can she even drink (legally?)?

- The tone of the episode. And I don't mean "oh gosh, find Castle". I mean the color timing. It was weirdly dark, but in a different way than usual. I'm glad that next week looks to be not so ... odd looking.

 

I don't know how I feel about the idea that his goes so high that the people that conspired to take Castle have the ability to hack into the DMV and/or alter people's mental state. I'll see how it shakes out.

 

When they were going on about Castle dropping off the money and how could that be all I could think was that if he was taken, what's to stop them from coercing him into dropping a bag into a trash can so it looks like he faked his own disappearance?

 

What was all that about his research on Tropical Storm and an irrational fear of tsunami business? WTF was that! That was one conversation I did not see coming.

 

I don't know, I kinda liked it. Shows that he's still/was writing and Beckett knows his biblography so of course she'd know that wasn't a book. And I laughed out loud when his defense of the Hampton's house was that it was on the inland side, not the ocean side.

 

But all in all, this episode just felt ... incomplete. I didn't hate it, but I felt like it lacked some sort of payoff or resolution or hope. I don't know if that's what they were going for. Is next week really a part 2 (even though they don't label it that way)? Because this episode needs ... more.

[KaveDweller]

They played some of the beats of Kate's feeling betrayed, but what about Castle feeling angry that Kate had lost trust? Rationally he'd get why she would, but emotionally there'd be some anger and hurt at not being believed, regardless.

 

I thought it was weird that Castle was apologizing to her.  But then even she was like, it's not your fault.  Some people just naturally apologize when other people are upset I guess.

 

But, I don't mind her questioning things or being frustrated in the hospital room because she chose to trust something wasn't right about the money drop photo, and then she sees all this evidence that he's been camping out reading press about him.  I don't think it's unreasonable of her to be like, "what the hell?"

[Cyranetta]

At least I disliked it less than I thought I might.

 

It did overall seem like an excuse to beat up on Beckett. And I think what seemed "off" to me is her complacently going back to living at the loft with all the uncertainty still clouding the situation. This is one time I would have thought she would have taken an opportunity to regroup at her apartment (which we have yet to find out that she's finally abandoned)..

[verdana]

Oh I think we will find out next week.  Or get more clues.  I have a feeling this is going to be a long arc.  And whatever happened to Castle will be his new "walls".

I've had enough of them with Beckett I can't face Castle building them up too. Heh. 

 

Oh and yeah thanks McManda for the reminder, the coffee scene, that was sad, well played by Stana.

 

Espo and Ryan. Their dynamic has fallen into a predictable pattern, Ryan believes in Castle whilst Espo doubts. I wish they would ring some changes here, especially as I would expect Espo to have modified his views over time given his ongoing relationship with Castle, to having him immediately doubting the man as he does grates. It was madmaverick I believe who said a while back that the characters seem to have been given certain set personality traits and responses which stick with them no matter what the circumstances and it showed here.

 

The wedding is off (for now). They need a bit of time to emotionally to settle down after recent traumatic events. Okay I'll buy that but only if the writers show me that this couple are genuinely unsettled and getting their footing again with each other moving forward. This is where you need a bit of continuity to sell it. 

Edited September 30, 2014 by verdana

[sinkwriter]

 

-Speaking of Esposito.  He really pissed me off in this.  I know he's the suspicious one so of course he'd be the first one to suspect Castle.  But the pic of Castle barely came into focus before he was like "OMG, Castle DID THIS HIMSELF!"  Um, wouldn't the natural reaction been to go back to widen the camera and see if anyone was off to the side "with Castle" and forcing him making that drop?  Must Javier go straight to the dick route?

 

A big YES in agreement to this. It seems like every time Castle gets accused of something, Esposito is right on the "blame Castle" bandwagon. I did appreciate that Ryan was Castle's cheerleader, but Espo pissed me off. I know he's more of a hardened cop than Ryan is, but at some point he has to realize this is all very strange and it's not like Castle's never been used and framed before. 

 

I thought the episode was interesting, and I have NO idea what's going on, which I do like. I enjoy mysteries. But I feel like an emotional element is missing from the way they presented this episode. It started out well, with Kate, Martha and Alexis all clearly very distraught at the thought that Castle might be in that fiery car. But then I felt everything flagged. I wish we'd seen some sort of scene between Kate and Martha, or Kate and Alexis, or Martha and Alexis. It just feels like the more they focus on the "missing person" and then "Castle possibly running the whole scam" angle, the less connected to it I felt emotionally. It felt too clinical. Follow the evidence, interview the suspects, find Castle, blah blah blah. I liked seeing Beckett's struggle, but I'm tired of Castle's family being an afterthought. They need to have a bigger role in stuff like this! I think it would have made the episode much more effective.

[Tripp]

At least I disliked it less than I thought I might.

 

It did overall seem like an excuse to beat up on Beckett. And I think what seemed "off" to me is her complacently going back to living at the loft with all the uncertainty still clouding the situation. This is one time I would have thought she would have taken an opportunity to regroup at her apartment (which we have yet to find out that she's finally abandoned)..

Actually I liked that.  To me that said she believed Castle was alive and he would be coming back.  Then with all the doubt surrounding his disappearance, I think she probably used the loft to show she believed in him.  (Or that's my head canon anyway).

[Frost]

Castle is a mighty forgiving person.  He was all apologetic to Beckett, as if he was somehow at fault for being abducted.  And she let him!  I would be angry that someone that I loved would doubt me, but instead Richard devotes himself to comforting Beckett.  At least Alexis and Martha were unwavering in their belief that Richard was the victim.  The whole tone of the episode was weird.

[KaveDweller]

Beckett doubting Castle at certain points, made me sad. After all they've been through together she thinks he's up to something and obviously lying to her?  Didn't care to see that.

 

I don't think she thought he was lying, she just wanted something that could explain away the evidence that kept piling up. I think she would have believed any explanation he could have given, he just didn't have one. I thought that made more sense than Martha not wanting to even ask about it.

 

Now Esposito's attitude bugged me.  And he wanted to be Castle's best man?

 

 

 

This feels to me like they want another deep, mysterious plot to fall back on every few episodes, like they did with Kate's mom's murder.

 

The writers have been very upfront that this is exactly what they are doing.

Edited September 30, 2014 by KaveDweller

[benteen]

I found the episode interesting too.  I don't know about the payoff though or the lack thereof.  I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

 

Yeah, Esposito automatically jumping the guy on Castle pissed me off too.

[Tripp]

 

 

I thought the episode was interesting, and I have NO idea what's going on, which I do like. I enjoy mysteries. But I feel like an emotional element is missing from the way they presented this episode. It started out well, with Kate, Martha and Alexis all clearly very distraught at the thought that Castle might be in that fiery car. But then I felt everything flagged. I wish we'd seen some sort of scene between Kate and Martha, or Kate and Alexis, or Martha and Alexis. It just feels like the more they focus on the "missing person" and then "Castle possibly running the whole scam" angle, the less connected to it I felt emotionally. It felt too clinical. Follow the evidence, interview the suspects, find Castle, blah blah blah. I liked seeing Beckett's struggle, but I'm tired of Castle's family being an afterthought. They need to have a bigger role in stuff like this! I think it would have made the episode much more effective.

Oh Sinkwriter, good analysis on how I felt.  It started off okay and I was right there, but without the family being shown and Kate, Espo, Ryan going the investigation route I became dettached.  And once they started focusing that Castle was behind it all (the FBI insisting he wanted out of the marriage, whatever) I just sort of checked out then and prayed it would get resolved by the end which of course it didn't and now I feel incomplete as the storyline.  Overtime I'm starting to compartmentalize the show like Kate did her life with her mom's death.  OMG, I'm becoming S4 Kate!

[sinkwriter]

 

When they were going on about Castle dropping off the money and how could that be all I could think was that if he was taken, what's to stop them from coercing him into dropping a bag into a trash can so it looks like he faked his own disappearance?

 

Seriously. Espo was SO sure Castle was behind it all, and all I could think was, "Seriously, Esposito? You've never heard of someone being held at gunpoint under threat of his family being killed? You've never heard of someone being coerced for very good reasons and not being able to do anything but comply?"

 

I could understand Castle being kind of out of it in this episode, especially after everything he'd been through and given that he'd been unconscious. But if they don't have him lose it at least a little bit in an upcoming episode, after everything he's been through and all the question marks that must make him feel confused and a little freaked out, then I'm really going to be pissed at the showrunners and writers. Castle's cool, but he's not that cool, nor does he need to be. It makes me feel more for him as the lead character when he falls apart and shows his humanity and vulnerabilities. There better be something coming up or I will be very disappointed.

[McManda]

Castle is a mighty forgiving person.  He was all apologetic to Beckett, as if he was somehow at fault for being abducted.  And she let him!  I would be angry that someone that I loved would doubt me, but instead Richard devotes himself to comforting Beckett.

 

I would imagine part of that is because he can't remember what happened, so he doesn't know if it was his fault or not. Or if there was something he could have done differently or fought harder for or whatever. There's a lot of 'what if's' in not being able to recall the details, so instead he just apologizes because that's all he can do. There's no use at being mad at her for doubting him (because really, it did look like he walked away and she did believe in him at the beginning) and there are no explanations, so really all they can do is step back, start over, and figure out how to keep going.

[Tripp]

I don't think she thought he was lying, she just wanted something that could explain away the evidence that kept piling up. I think she would have believed any explanation he could have given, he just didn't have one. I thought that made more sense than Martha not wanting to even ask about it.

 

Now Esposito's attitude bugged me.  And he wanted to be Castle's best man?

 

 

 

 

The writers have been very upfront that this is exactly what they are doing.

Overall I wasn't that upset with Kate.  It disappointed me a bit to see it but I understood that a person could only take so much and this was after 2 months of searching for him.  And if Castle had been more upset at Kate possibly losing hope I could understand that too.  It's an emotional response and sometimes you can't always control those.  The fact that Castle seemed to be missing any true emotional responses has me worried but I don't know if he's supposed to or it's just badly written.

 

And when Ryan started to question it, it disappointed me but I got it.  Their cops and the evidence is overwhelming.  But the fact they had to write Espo so willing to think the worst of Castle.  Couldn't Gates have played that part?  She doesn't know them like they do and I could believe it in her and it wouldn't have bothered me as much.

Edited September 30, 2014 by Tripp

[sinkwriter]

 

And once they started focusing that Castle was behind it all (the FBI insisting he wanted out of the marriage, whatever) I just sort of checked out then and prayed it would get resolved by the end which of course it didn't and now I feel incomplete as the storyline.

 

"Checked out" is an excellent way to describe what I felt as the episode went along, Tripp. Well said. The more they focused on the investigative angles instead of the emotional ones, the less connected I felt to the episode, the characters and what was going on. The more I felt like, okay, fine, just find the answers and be done with it. I could have been on the edge of my seat from start to finish, if they'd delved more into the emotions of it all for Kate, Martha and Alexis. Instead I felt a bit like Castle in this episode: confused, disconnected, and at a loss.

[KaveDweller]

Overall I wasn't that upset with Kate.  It disappointed me a bit to see it but I understood that a person could only take so much and this was after 2 months of searching for him.  And if Castle had been more upset at Kate possibly losing hope I could understand that too.  It's an emotional response and sometimes you can't always control those.  The fact that Castle seemed to be missing any true emotional responses has me worried but I don't know if he's supposed to or it's just badly written.

 

Yeah, I would have understood if he'd been upset too.

 

But I agree that they need to show more emotion from Castle, maybe next week we'll get more of that.

[verdana]

Driven just felt underwhelming and strangely emotionally uninvolving. Castle's more dramatic outings don't appeal unfortunately, it's not what the show does best. This show often suffers from the writers not allowing the characters room to breathe and it happened once again here. 

 

There were lots of questions kicked up but very few answers and whilst this was to be expected given their need to kick start this "new mythology" it proved frustrating to have just so many loose ends left hanging. I'm not expecting much more to be revealed next week either. And it's not as if Castle and Beckett get explored in any real depth here, I learn't nothing about them that was genuinely fresh or interesting. Beckett's initial grief did not pull at my heart strings but it might have done if they had increased the one on one interactions between the characters and slowed it down instead of rushing on to the "lets go find him" stage.  Then we had the "we're suspicious of him stage" and then it just kind of ended and I thought is that it? 

 

The episode was poorly paced, it sagged badly after the opening scene at the crash site which was unsatisfying and kind of dull, logic was thrown out the window in order to cheaply manipulate the viewers feelings and it showed. There's no way in hell the fireman/police at the scene would have allowed her that close and then carried on trying to put the blaze out. Meanwhile Bowman seemed intent on making sure you knew it was him directing with the framing of a distressed Beckett down on her knees in the dirt by the burning car being slowly showered in water. Bowman I give your "glorious" directing (as described by Matt at TV Line) the thumbs down. There was strangely not much intensity in evidence despite the supposed drama, I was expecting much more shock and signs of despair from Alexis and Martha and even Kate and the boys acting fell rather flat at times. 

 

[McManda]

Yeah, I'd agree the case went on a bit too long. I kept wondering when Castle would make an appearance - not in a surveillance video or as an unconscious victim. I think that says something about the Castle/Beckett connection though - the show is truly better when they're doing things together.

 

That said, I kinda liked scruffy Castle in the boat and thought he looked really good in the jacket in the woods. Maybe I just missed NF on my screen.

 

I also like Beckett's new shorter hair, but it was weirdly plastered to her head towards the end of the episode.

[moodyblue]

First I'm going to say I hated the finale; hated it! It wasn't the lack of a wedding that I hated but everything in that episode leading up to the lack of wedding. I plan on never watching that episode again, and it really soured me on the show for the summer. So I came into this episode with a lot of trepidation, but I have to say I liked it. It wasn't great, but I thought it was good for what they were trying to do which was setting up Castle's story. I did think it was a bit rushed at the beginning and also the end.

 

I liked that Esposito had doubts from the beginning. That's who he is, and I like him. I also liked that Ryan had faith until the evidence seemed to prove otherwise. I'm glad there was very little of Alexis. I loved the last scene with Castle and Beckett in the bedroom. I thought it was very well done and believable, and I was sad for both of them.

 

My trepidation for the season isn't completely gone, but I do feel better about it than I did two hours ago.

[Tripp]

Yeah, I'd agree the case went on a bit too long. I kept wondering when Castle would make an appearance - not in a surveillance video or as an unconscious victim. I think that says something about the Castle/Beckett connection though - the show is truly better when they're doing things together.

 

That said, I kinda liked scruffy Castle in the boat and thought he looked really good in the jacket in the woods. Maybe I just missed NF on my screen.

 

I also like Beckett's new shorter hair, but it was weirdly plastered to her head towards the end of the episode.

 

Oh I did like the scruff but it didn't last nearly as long as I thought it would.  Nathan looked like he wore that scruff for awhile.  I wonder if they had to mix up episode shoots because if they do flashbacks he will have to have the scruff again.  And I think I liked him in that jacket.  I just was a bit too confused as he was talking about tsunamis and I wondered how Kate didn't know about this irrational fear.  

 

I didn't notice Kate's hair until she came running in the hospital and she paused before going into Castle's room.  I thought..."Oh they want the audience to notice her hair now".  Hee.

[atir]

I don't know which of the following 3 items was the most laughable:

1) soap opera amnesia

2) Castle is in his late 30s

3) the wee scruff he was sporting after being a mountain man/boater for 2+ months.

[McManda]

So random observation:

 

they make a big deal about Castle being missing for two months, but the admitted date on his hospital wristband is 10/02/2014. So ... they were getting married in August? Wasn't the date on their wedding program 5/11/2014? So ... he's been missing more than 2 months. (Or rather, the production team missed some details.)

 

2) Castle is in his late 30s
3) the wee scruff he was sporting after being a mountain man/boater for 2+ months.

 

The guy said he thought the man camping was in his late 30s. Castle's in his early 40s, that's not that much of a stretch. It kind of all blends, anyway. He's a middle aged man, not a teen or ancient. I didn't see a problem with the description. (I'd be hard pressed to guess someone's age, even if it was a ballpark.)

 

Castle looked to have a pretty decent setup in his tent, I'd buy they gave him a razor and a camp mirror. Really he'd only have to look like was was unshaven for however long he was on the boat, so just a couple of days.

 

But yeah, I've got nothing for the soap opera amnesia. A nod to Nathan's roots, maybe?

[verdana]

But I agree that they need to show more emotion from Castle, maybe next week we'll get more of that.

Castle's attitude and lack of any overt emotions frustrated me.  Was the guy on drugs or something? I don't know if Fillion wasn't that well or what but I didn't feel he was really engaged at all during this episode. I expected more from him, Castle just doesn't seem that bothered about anything considering what's happened and the worry and hurt he caused his family and Beckett.

 

That said, the idea that Castle was involved in his disappearance and the reactions to that reveal by the team did make me groan a little, although at least it didn't involve a woman.  To have Beckett and the team doubting him once again felt like a rehash of Probable Cause. It would be nice if one day the people who claim to love him and be his best buddies and "like family" could believe in the guy straight off and realise he must have been set up in some way and work it from that angle. The idea that such a man would willingly put Beckett let alone his family through such distress didn't add up and it shouldn't have done to them either no matter what so called "evidence" they had.

Edited September 30, 2014 by verdana

[Sharkatefonz]

Meh. I wanted to love this. I wanted to wash the bad taste out after last year's 'slap in the face'. Big Generation Kill fan, so I love Huertas, but I HATED Espo in this episode.

After ALL of the melodrama and completely implausible cases these people have faced- Hello, ninjas? - how could ANY of the crew have doubt, even looking at the video?

I'M looking at the money drop video and thinking he was forced to drop it because Kate was threatened. Dumb theory by me or not, I would've thought 1 character could've said something like it. And I love Stana, but I wanted to smack Kate after she doubted Castle. Really? After the message in the elephants on the desk? The time travel crap? The ninjas?

These are people who have lived through this insanity and they insult the audience by acting like we should even consider Castle knowingly leaving everyone? Not for one second do I believe he's some secret spy or some such nonsense, by whatever retcon might explain this.

Icing on the crap cake - them not being able to pick up where they left off. I just don't understand that, because Castle is obviously a victim in all of this as well- more so IMO, so it just seemed like he was being held responsible for his own traumatic experience.

It just seems like a little (yet to be seen, but perhaps poorly executed) mystery to carry us through this first part of the year. Right now I'm not so sure I really care about any of that. I just want to see some quirky, interesting cases solved, from the perspective of a happily married, sexy, bantering and entertaining duo. By that, I don't mean filler. I'll take adventure, intrigue, drama and romance. Why can't this team ever seem to pull it off without using some pointless redirect that pulls them apart?

I'm sticking with the show, but FEH! Disappointed.

[verdana]

Tory was there. Yawn. But no Jim Beckett, not even one line to acknowledge his existence. I dislike the way the writers dismiss so many of the secondary characters that revolve around the two main leads by ignoring them completely or simply treating them as bit parts especially during what should be key moments when you would expect to see them come into focus more or at least be spoken of.  Same problem with Alexis and Martha they hardly feature now on the show and it suffers for that. 

Edited September 30, 2014 by verdana

[atir]

Man, I would have pegged NF for being in his early 50s. I have a 37 yo son, so I really laughed at that fellow estimating Castle's age at late 30s. Hee

[FlickerToAFlame]

I thought it was a decent episode. More of a setup than a great standalone. Stana carried the episode though, without her it's boring and terrible.

[Bort]

I don't know which of the following 3 items was the most laughable:

1) soap opera amnesia

2) Castle is in his late 30s

3) the wee scruff he was sporting after being a mountain man/boater for 2+ months.

I laughed my ass off at Kate's banzai flying squirrel tackle on the junkyard guy. Tee hee!

[verdana]

As for scene at the wrecking yard this seemed designed to showcase Beckett's ultimate badassary at the expense of what seemed (to me) the more logical choice (and more affecting emotionally) of having Kate go and first check to see if Castle was alive and leave the boys chase after the suspect. I groaned at the cliché of everyone standing frozen in shock as they patiently wait for the crusher to finish the job. But if she had gone looked first then of course we wouldn't have got to see Beckett rugby tackle this guy about three times her body weight to the ground and beat him up, meanwhile the man she loves could be dying close by with no one bothering to check up on him. *sigh*

 

Then the guy ends up back in the precinct suddenly and Kate almost manages to break some fingers in a desperate attempt to get the guy to talk, it sort of reminded me of the "I'm not a cop today honey!" scene that still makes me wince. There's nothing I like more than watching a spot of police brutality by our distraught heroine to give me a warm glow inside. The writers seem to equate badassary with violence, of course they know this version of Badass!Beckett is popular but it does nothing for me, glad Esposito stepped in and stopped her doing something even more foolish (not to mention illegal). 

Edited September 30, 2014 by verdana

[pcta]

Kate's a bitch. Castle's a wimp. Match made in heaven. Take me back to season one.

Why exactly can't they just pick up where they left off?