S07.E01: Driven

[Ticketyboo23]

No, I don't think we're supposed to be believe he spent any time there at all. Just that he ended up in the boat that was once docked there.

I can blame him. He should do his job whether he's bored or not, that's what he gets paid for. I know the writing isn't the best on this show, but he gets a lot of good opportunities that he ignores. I'm not attacking the guy personally, but I've definitely been disappointed in his performances. Whether that's because he's incapable or too bored to bother doesn't matter to me.

So if you don't think he spent anytime at the campsite how do you know he was laying around not contacting them? They provided zero evidence of that.

As for NF if he was given anything more to do than be Beckett's doormat or a buffoon with stupid theories you might be less disappointed. I'm not sure what you expected him to do the last episode given the material he had to work with. I think dazed & disconnected is fine for a character who has lost two months (or if you want is trying to conceal the truth) only to find the cops, including his future wife have decided he's responsible despite a slew of evidence to the contrary. I saw the toast as his attempt to draw a line under it as far as his family is concerned although he himself is a long way from done, but in the end thinks he needs answers if he wants to salvage the relationship with Beckett. The 'coming home' toast from Beckett was harsh- if I were Castle I would have wanted to stand in a different apartment from Beckett instead of across the room.

And once again I would like to point out previous occasions where NF was criticised for not being looking in love or something enough, only to find they were setting up a Beckett feeling neglected storyline & at the proposal scene where he was told to misdirect the audience. Who's to say they aren't playing it that way deliberately to keep the 'is Castle lying' angle alive?

Edited October 2, 2014 by Ticketyboo23

[Ticketyboo23]

Oh I agree they missed the mark by a long shot but I don't see why NF who had about 10mins of screen time should carry the can. The plot made no sense & all the cops making a Grand Canyon sized leap to the conclusion Castle was responsible was ridiculous not to mention damaging to the characters. The big reunion scene might as well have been set in the interrogation room & Beckett came off once again as a cold fish. So NF's handful of lines didn't break the episode.

For instance:

Beckett sees the car empty. After the big melodrama seconds before not even a 'thank God' or frantically searching the undergrowth? Nope, flatter than a pancake. Or the complete lack of any emotional reaction to the news Castle was shot. Or the rather cold response to Castle calling her the 'love of my life'.

Could go on, but bottom line this was far from Emmy worthy for either of them, and that's not their fault. There isn't much you can make from a steaming pile of.......

[Sonik Tooth]

I know the writing isn't the best on this show, but he gets a lot of good opportunities that he ignores. 

 

Yes, a lot of good opportunities you see. Does the director see them? The editor, which scene to choose, which to cut? Do I see them? Probably not, because I watch the show seeing different opportunities to my liking.

 

Or another angle: Are people afraid to tell him to put good use to these opportunities? Or does he say “Nope, no extra expressions” to the director? Solution: How about putting a few lines in the script that take care of the problem or put some action points like “He gazed lovingly… and said:”

 

Am I hired :-)?

Edited October 2, 2014 by WendyCR72

[WendyCR72]

ENOUGH. No more talk of projection or calling fans out or joking about those that like things you may not. Stick to what YOU LIKE. Leave the other stuff at the door. I have already deleted and edited many a post and, if it keeps up, will take harsher measures.

[femmefan1946]

(BTW - who takes $10 grand, IN CASH, on their honeymoon?)
A lot of people live in an all-cash or primarily cash society. Most are self-employed and sell retail. Legal retail, btw. At the simplest this could be the guy with a hot dog cart. Higher end, antiques dealers, some car sales (probably owner who controls the cash in and out).
The advantages are many. At the simplest, you can get substantial discounts for paying cash. Often the discount is about equal to the local sales tax.  (Wink wink nudge nudge Know what I mean?)
My question would be : how did he plan to get that much cash through airport security? The bank is already alerted enough that they took down the serial numbers. (I think that is required by US law in any case.)

- Castle was camping by the lake
Was there any indication of a bonfire or other methods of cooking? Where did he get groceries for two months? You can tell the NYPD detectives were city kids.

Not only that, but do you know how forceful a firehose is?
Firehoses are used to break up riots. Beckett is such a twig the pressure would blow her across Long Island to John o’Groats.

The 'phobia' is maybe a hypnosis-implanted thing to keep him away from the truth.  
Tahtiti- It’s a magical place.

The 'phobia' is maybe a hypnosis-implanted thing to keep him away from the truth.  
XYZPVRR - whateverrrrr- hired a guy to pretend to be Castle buying earrings. And no one remembers that? Perhaps a phone call to that guy would be useful?

but he also resurrected Storm recently and was in Chicago at the beginning of Veritas on a book tour
Wasn’t that the graphic novels?

[KaveDweller]

So if you don't think he spent anytime at the campsite how do you know he was laying around not contacting them? They provided zero evidence of that.

I didn't say he was laying around not contacting anyone, I said it appeared to her that he was laying around not contacting anyone.

And once again I would like to point out previous occasions where NF was criticised for not being looking in love or something enough, only to find they were setting up a Beckett feeling neglected storyline & at the proposal scene where he was told to misdirect the audience.

I don't think they spent all of season 5 setting up the neglecting Beckett storyline, there were plenty of moments in early season 5 where he wasn't looking in love.  I never actually had a complaint about him in the proposal scene, but I have with lots of others.  And like I said, I am not trying to attack the guy. And I'm certainly not saying that he's to blame for what is wrong with the show.  I'm just saying I was disapointed with his performance.  But I think most people involved with the show are phoning it in. I still like it, so imagine how good it could be if they all put more effort in.

The 'coming home' toast from Beckett was harsh- if I were Castle I would have wanted to stand in a different apartment from Beckett instead of across the room.

What was wrong with the toast?

[femmefan1946]

I thought this episode was about Castle as a sleeper agent.
Huh? Do you have the idea that a sleeper is an agent who doesn’t know he is one? Like River Tam doesn’t know she is an assassin until she is put into action by exposure to the Fruity Oaty Bars commercial?
In real life, a sleeper agent is perfectly aware that he is an agent. He is just hiding in plain sight until he is needed for a project. When he finishes the project he is still aware of his actions during it but returns to his public persona. More like Homeland or The Americans than Manchurian Candidate.

And the controller would no more be named Derrick Storm than Castle’s female detective would be named Kate Beckett.

 I thought it seemed sweet and intimate, but also a little sad.  Castle should have done one of those forehead kisses though.
That was the one part of the episode I liked. It was intimate. Not sexy intimate but emotionally. Did they use a script doctor for that one scene?

[S55]

but he also resurrected Storm recently and was in Chicago at the beginning of Veritas on a book tour

Wasn’t that the graphic novels?

 

It was both. He had copies of both novels and posters for both in his Chicago hotel room and also mentions the Derrick Storm book tour being put on hold for the wedding. 

[Nadine]

but he also resurrected Storm recently and was in Chicago at the beginning of Veritas on a book tour

Wasn’t that the graphic novels?

 

It was for both - both Storm novels came out in May if I remember correctly.

 

Oops replied at same time as S55.

 

I didn't have a problem with the toast - if anything it mirrored (bookended) the toast in Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Edited October 2, 2014 by Nadine

[Ticketyboo23]

I didn't say he was laying around not contacting anyone, I said it appeared to her that he was laying around not contacting anyone.

I don't think they spent all of season 5 setting up the neglecting Beckett storyline, there were plenty of moments in early season 5 where he wasn't looking in love.  I never actually had a complaint about him in the proposal scene, but I have with lots of others.  And like I said, I am not trying to attack the guy. And I'm certainly not saying that he's to blame for what is wrong with the show.  I'm just saying I was disapointed with his performance.  But I think most people involved with the show are phoning it in. I still like it, so imagine how good it could be if they all put more effort in.

What was wrong with the toast?

I just don't see why a detective could swallow that anyone lived in a tiny tent for 2months other than a quick trip to a tropical region to be exposed to dengue fever without appearing on any passenger manifest (or being recognised since it made the news), get shot at, return to tiny campsite before either he or someone shoots up the boat & he is set adrift with no hope of being rescued. A lot to swallow for a stranger but the man she loves. I would assume she look for any evidence to prove his innocence & there is a ton but that was conveniently ignored. She believed he was innocent of murder but 2years down the line she thinks he was responsible for putting his family through hell for no apparent motive.

Whoever said it was story driven is right. Problem is when the characters don't find in you can't trim them or mash them up to make them fit in serial television. Viewers get to know the characters & their expected response which means they know when it is wrong.

When I think of the big occasions in series 5 I didn't see anything wrong. However, I can't watch the Always scene without noticing the continuity errors where the editing didn't work well. Now we have seen the deleted scene we know they inserted a shot from later? According to SD they spent a time filming so should have plenty of material & still couldn't keep Beckett's hand consistent & still made a significant change to the scene by adding Castle's stern look from later. For all we know Castle originally didn't hesitate. Adding that look changes the whole scene. Look for Castle's magic jacket in number one fan (?)We are not watching a play, the performance is distilled by editing & post production. It's like going to a restaurant & blaming the chicken farmer when you don't enjoy your meal.

The toast? Castle calls her the love of his life & she doesn't react or reciprocate, just proposes a more generic toast of her own.

[oberon55]

I have a question about something that I just can't wrap my head around. If this was Castle's plan what part did the burning car play? Why would he go to the trouble to stage this? Why not just say "I'll be back in a while with the marriage license" and disappear. Why drive all the way back just to leave again. It's not like he planted a body in the car. I can't come up with a reason why he wanted everybody to think he was dead for what? Maybe 30 to 45 minutes. When they saw the video of him dropping the cash off why didn't one of them say "Man what a dumbass. He just wasted $10000 for nothing. This has to be the most idiotic way to get out of a marriage in history."

[verdana]

 

So they were awkward. He doesn't know what to do because it's been a day for him and two months for her. They can't just go back to where they were. I think Castle did show emotion. He looked troubled as hell, yet still said they would fix it. Because he believes that.

 

Your version of troubled and mine are obviously very different; he didn't look that concerned or upset to me, he might as well have been missing two days not two months for all the impact it seems to have had on him emotionally.  I've seen Castle "troubled as hell" (for example when Alexis disappeared) and what I saw in Driven wasn't even close to that level of anxiety and distress.   The guy's been in a car crash, lost his memory, been shot, apparently caught Dengue fever, been left out in a "pimped out" dingy and yet I got no sense that any of this bothered him that unduly or that he realised the distress that his family and Beckett had been through in his absence.  These events should have caused him some considerable anger, confusion and trauma and yet he's there at the end knocking back the champagne with seemingly not a care in the world. Weird. 

Edited October 3, 2014 by verdana

[verdana]

oberon55. I don't think they're expecting you to engage your brain too much when watching this particular episode.  The car crash was pointless melodrama which achieved nothing but was presumably put there to manipulate the audience's emotions for a few minutes and suck up some screen time and it also allowed Bowman to show off as usual. 

Edited October 3, 2014 by verdana

[verdana]

As for him living in a tent the size of a handkerchief for two months and winding up discovered floating at sea in a dingy may be ABC's budget restrictions are much tougher than we thought and that's all they could afford prop wise. 

[verdana]

Firehoses are used to break up riots. Beckett is such a twig the pressure would blow her across Long Island to John o’Groats.

Thanks for the chuckle I am now wishing something along these lines had happened rather than the cheesy scene I got instead. 

[KaveDweller]

)We are not watching a play, the performance is distilled by editing & post production. It's like going to a restaurant & blaming the chicken farmer when you don't enjoy your meal.

Again, I'm not blaming NF for not enjoying the show.  I'm not even saying I don't enjoy the show. Criticism isn't blame. 

 

I did say I would blame him for not trying because he's bored, but that's purely hypothetical.

 

 

The toast? Castle calls her the love of his life & she doesn't react or reciprocate, just proposes a more generic toast of her own

She did react, she smiled back at him and they made eye contact.  I thought it seemed appropriate. 

 

 

If this was Castle's plan what part did the burning car play? Why would he go to the trouble to stage this? Why not just say "I'll be back in a while with the marriage license" and disappear.

I think the theory was he was trying to fake his death so no one would go looking for him.  Now, why anyone would believe Castle would want to fake his death when he could have just let Beckett stay married to Rogan to delay the wedding is another matter.  But if they do believe that there is logic in burning the car.

 

Also, they all know a burning car is a better cliffhanger than an empty one.

Edited October 3, 2014 by KaveDweller

[McManda]

So they were awkward. He doesn't know what to do because it's been a day for him and two months for her. They can't just go back to where they were.

 

On tumblr someone described it as awkward because for him she was the woman he was going to marry tomorrow and for her he was the ghost that came back to life.

 

I get wanting more from the story, but really, I don't think a grand reunion makes sense, especially not when they're trying to play this memory loss/doubt angle. The truth is, they're not on the same page. That doesn't mean they can't be, but this was not a reunion that was going to be all desperate sex and bear hugs and ecstatic exclamation.

 

My question would be : how did he plan to get that much cash through airport security? The bank is already alerted enough that they took down the serial numbers. (I think that is required by US law in any case.)

 

Is there a restriction on how much of your own cash you can take through security?

 

I know that banks have to report transactions over $10,000 to the government, but I don't know if that includes reporting serial numbers on the bills. But if it were Castle taking out money for his honeymoon, I don't think that would raise any flags with the bank or airport security. But even if Castle were on the run, I don't think airport security would take notice of the cash.

 

Mostly I think it's silly to take $10,000 with you on a honeymoon to a private island. What are you going to do with all that cash?

[McManda]

Any transaction over $10,000 has to be reported. There are special circumstances (like transactions for business accounts and to/from government entities), but for normal people with normal bank accounts, those transactions are reported. Also, all transactions from all your bank branches in a single day count, so if you withdraw $4,000 in the morning from you bank account and then go across town to another branch and take out $7,000 in the afternoon, that all counts and would have to be reported.

 

I just don't know if that reporting involves the documentation of the serial numbers of the bills. That seems like it would be a big giant hassle, especially if the bills weren't sequential. Much easier to say "John Doe deposited $15,000 on 1/1/2014" or "Jane Smith took out $25,000 on 6/30/2014" or whatever.

 

Of course Castle going missing would mean they'd  check his financials. But other than the record of him withdrawing the $10k for his honeymoon (which Beckett could vouch for), I don't know that they'd be able to trace where that $10k ended up, unless they already had an idea of where to look for it.

 

That's not to say watching his financials wouldn't also serve another purposes -  they could see if his accounts were active or if his kidnappers were blackmailing him or something.

Edited October 3, 2014 by McManda

[Ticketyboo23]

oberon55. I don't think they're expecting you to engage your brain too much when watching this particular episode.  The car crash was pointless melodrama which achieved nothing but was presumably put there to manipulate the audience's emotions for a few minutes and suck up some screen time and it also allowed Bowman to show off as usual.

I had presumed they torched the car to either conceal any evidence they might have left getting Castle out of the car or to give themselves a head start. But that's just me trying to fill in blanks. I think the reality was it made a great cliffhanger.

[femmefan1946]

But even if Castle were on the run, I don't think airport security would take notice of the cash.
Does Border Security play in the USA? It’s a reality show from Australia and Canada that watches immigration and customs agents do their jobs at airports, docks, and border crossings.
Both countries are suspicious of anyone with large amounts of cash. The carriers get interrogated. Very politely, but firmly.

 

The Aussies also stopped one elderly lady who was bringing sumac into Australia, because she only knew the Arabic word for it. (Another agent recognized it and she was allowed into the country with just a fine. She had enough assorted foodstuffs, all legal but undeclared , to open a corner store.)

[oberon55]

I had presumed they torched the car to either conceal any evidence they might have left getting Castle out of the car or to give themselves a head start. But that's just me trying to fill in blanks. I think the reality was it made a great cliffhanger.

 

This makes sense if Castle was ambushed. What I'm getting at is Beckett & the boys believe Castle did this himself. What is Castle's motivation from their viewpoint for burning the car instead of just saying "I'll get the license" & getting into his car, waving goodbye & hauling ass to his tent. That way he would have had several hours headstart before anybody knew he was missing. Going camping is not against the law. Even if you miss your wedding doing it. But faking a kidnapping is. I guess they figure Castle setup a fake kidnapping instead of just disappearing because he wanted the FBI involved. I'm sorry but a child could write a better damn story than this.

Edited October 3, 2014 by oberon55

[Ticketyboo23]

Well, for me, "great" may be overstating it, since "OH NO, IS CASTLE DEAD?"

1. Has been done for other cliffhangers and

2. Not much of a cliffhanger when we find out it's coming back for another season, and the star of the show was in the car.

I think oberon got it right with "manipulate the audience's emotions," particularly when we get not one, not two, but three shots of Kate in her wedding dress being really dramatic. But seriously, when the firemen hit the car with the hose, and it's just this beautiful light mist coming down on her, I had to laugh.

Yeah, I accidentally deleted part of that sentence. THEY THOUGHT it made a great cliffhanger. On the fireman note, forget the dress they managed to preserve drag marks in sand despite pouring all that water onto the scene & everyone clomping about.

The wrecking yard scene was another fail. After all the drama about stopping the crusher etc they don't hang around to check more than his phone was in the car?

Edited October 3, 2014 by Ticketyboo23

[Ticketyboo23]

This makes sense if Castle was ambushed. What I'm getting at is Beckett & the boys believe Castle did this himself. What is Castle's motivation from their viewpoint for burning the car instead of just saying "I'll get the license" & getting into his car, waving goodbye & hauling ass to his tent. That way he would have had several hours headset before anybody knew he was missing. Going camping is not against the law. Even if you miss your wedding doing it. But faking a kidnapping is. I guess they figure Castle setup a fake kidnapping instead of just disappearing because he wanted the FBI involved. I'm sorry but a child could write a better damn story than this.

Don't forget his managed to spirit himself away on a quick trip to come into contact with dengue fever & get shot. For Beckett et al to even entertain the idea he did this himself makes them look incompetent & is the major issue with the episode. I think just about anybody could have written a better episode. Did they really not sit in a room, lay this out & realise how darn stupid it was?

Edited October 3, 2014 by Ticketyboo23

[oberon55]

I know this is TV and everything is swept under the rug & ignored whenever they want it to disappear but this is pretty ridiculous. The police have video evidence that he paid a mobster money to crush a SUV that was involved in a hit & run. They even arrested the guy who crushed it (and damn near broke his thumbs). I sort of wonder who owned the SUV and how they felt about it being crushed. That's besides Castle's car that got torched on the side of the road. Then the FBI gets called in because it's a possible abduction. But it all worked out in the end. I guess the FBI & the State Police were fine with the "Oh nevermind he's a runaway groom" excuse.

Edited October 3, 2014 by oberon55

[verdana]

I get wanting more from the story, but really, I don't think a grand reunion makes sense, especially not when they're trying to play this memory loss/doubt angle. The truth is, they're not on the same page. That doesn't mean they can't be, but this was not a reunion that was going to be all desperate sex and bear hugs and ecstatic exclamation.

But that's not what some people were demanding to see (at last not here) what they expected was to feel a genuine sense of intimacy despite the awkwardness of their situation which that scene distinctly lacked to the point of being just plain awkward. 

 

And if any fans out there did expect "desperate sex" what show have they been watching for the last two years? 

 

The wrecking yard scene was another fail. After all the drama about stopping the crusher etc they don't hang around to check more than his phone was in the car?

 

What got me most about that scene is that they all run after the bloke but no one seems to give a shit that a human being might be in that car alive and could be saved, they might be in a part of the car not crushed, and not just any one but Castle. If I'm Beckett and the choice is running after someone or going to check to see if the man I love is alive I'm going to the car first. That felt like more cheap manipulation on the part of the writers to give us a good dose of some Badass!Beckett but threw common sense out the window. 

 

It's made even more ridiculous when you consider they have been under suspicion for nearly the same circumstances, and Espo barely got a look at Castle on film before declaring him guilty. Like, nobody said, "Holy crap! It's more serious than we thought! Someone has kidnapped him and is making him do this stuff, so he looks guilty!"

 

But that's the beauty of how this show is written keeping little continuity, Marlowe can just repeat patterns of behaviour over and over. The characters don't remember prior events it's wiped from their memory which makes the characters look dumb because most rational, smart individuals learn from past experiences and then modify their behaviour depending on that experience. But not these characters because if they did they might have to break a sweat and give them more depth and nuance and stop writing cheap, lazy stories like this one that don't add up. 

Edited October 3, 2014 by verdana

[WendyCR72]

As someone 3 seasons removed from this show, I'll just offer my opinion based only on TVLine, here, etc.

 

I just don't think the plot holes are meant to be dissected. Alas, the more passionate fans will do that (and hey, it's why PTV exists! YAY!). But for me alone, if I went over every plot hole with such a discerning eye, I'd soon be in a straitjacket. The way I see it, if I want realism, I'll watch the Law & Order franchise (and even there, some things are stretched!).

 

But Castle? It's like the sugary hot fudge sundae after the main course, lighter, fluffier. Even with all those killings in the Castle-verse, its NYC seems strangely...ungritty, you know?

 

In any case, the bloom is long off the rose for this series agewise, so I guess this is the stage where the "winter of discontent" starts to rear its ugly head.  :-)

 

With that all said, I am at a loss myself to understand why the show needed a "new mythology" this late in the game. Maybe to keep NF engaged? Boredom? Incompetence? All of the above? I guess time will tell!

 

Oh! And just as an aside, my folks still watch, mainly my father, and when I talked to him the other day, I asked him what he thought of the premiere, and he raved! But he just watches and forgets, so there's that. But maybe the online/offline disconnect still applies.

[Ticketyboo23]

As someone 3 seasons removed from this show, I'll just offer my opinion based only on TVLine, here, etc.

 

I just don't think the plot holes are meant to be dissected. Alas, the more passionate fans will do that (and hey, it's why PTV exists! YAY!). But for me alone, if I went over every plot hole with such a discerning eye, I'd soon be in a straitjacket. The way I see it, if I want realism, I'll watch the Law & Order franchise (and even there, some things are stretched!).

 

But Castle? It's like the sugary hot fudge sundae after the main course, lighter, fluffier. Even with all those killings in the Castle-verse, its NYC seems strangely...ungritty, you know?

 

 

With that all said, I am at a loss myself to understand why the show needed a "new mythology" this late in the game. Maybe to keep NF engaged? Boredom? Incompetence? All of the above? I guess time will tell.

I think having wrapped up Beckett's backstory because everyone had become bored with it they feel naked without a 'mythology' as well as a cliffhanger to end every season. We suspend our disbelief every week for this show but that's ok because we don't watch for it for the cases but for the characters & the humour. Castle of old had witty banter & friendships, whilst not taking itself too seriously. Now it bends the characters to fit the plot, friendships & trust forgotten. If viewers can't enjoy the relationships anymore then the case better be good & this made zero sense at all. Why not have Castle vanish, dead ends, an increasingly desperate Beckett & some nice friend /family moments. Then return Castle with amnesia & have folks happy to see him rather than arrest him. I think even casual viewers would have enjoyed it more.

[WendyCR72]

I think having wrapped up Beckett's backstory because everyone had become bored with it they feel naked without a 'mythology' as well as a cliffhanger to end every season. We suspend our disbelief every week for this show but that's ok because we don't watch for it for the cases but for the characters & the humour. Castle of old had witty banter & friendships, whilst not taking itself too seriously. Now it bends the characters to fit the plot, friendships & trust forgotten. If viewers can't enjoy the relationships anymore then the case better be good & this made zero sense at all. Why not have Castle vanish, dead ends, an increasingly desperate Beckett & some nice friend /family moments. Then return Castle with amnesia & have folks happy to see him rather than arrest him. I think even casual viewers would have enjoyed it more.

 

Your version sounds intriguing - minus the damned amnesia. Nothing can make that old trope fly, unless Nathan Fillion wants the show to "go soap". Return to his roots, if you will.  :-)

[Sonik Tooth]

I would speculate that they are trying to appeal to a wider viewership or retain their former viewership. It seems to me they are juggling all these different predilections and concerns, and try to fit them into Driven (and the subsequent season). Richard Castle has become boring? Check, Mystery Rick. Drama lovers? Check. Badass Beckett? Check. Caskett? Half-check, they weren’t boring though. Funny, stand-alone COTW episode? Soon-to-be-check. To name a few. And that can’t go well on further inspection.

 

Still, I was sold on the premiere because for the first time in a long while watching Castle, I felt something like curiosity which is a big part of why I watch TV Shows.

[oberon55]

I just don't think the plot holes are meant to be dissected. Alas, the more passionate fans will do that (and hey, it's why PTV exists! YAY!). But for me alone, if I went over every plot hole with such a discerning eye, I'd soon be in a straitjacket. The way I see it, if I want realism, I'll watch the Law & Order franchise (and even there, some things are stretched!).

 

I agree that age has a lot to do with it. But I think the quality of writing has steadily gone down hill also. We saw several examples last year of a complete disregard for simple details.

 

1. The engagement ring coming & going.

 

2. Sully just disappearing from one scene to another without a single word.

 

3. Beckett gets framed for murder & we have no canon explanation how she was cleared. Not even one throw away line. She just magically shows up to arrest Bracken.

 

Most of the time even a stupid explanation is better than no explanation. It's getting to be common practice for them to not even bother to explain big or small things. At least we used to get some kind of an answer even if it was ridiculous. I will bet donuts to dollars that most of questions that people have about this episode will never be addressed or acknowledged again. That is lazy & bad writing.

[sinkwriter]

 

What got me most about that scene is that they all run after the bloke but no one seems to give a shit that a human being might be in that car alive and could be saved, they might be in a part of the car not crushed, and not just any one but Castle. If I'm Beckett and the choice is running after someone or going to check to see if the man I love is alive I'm going to the car first.

 

YES! That's the first thing that popped into my head when I saw that scene. I thought, at least ONE person has to go running over to the vehicle and try to get it to stop being crushed. What if he's in there? Obviously, we know he's not because that would be the end of the series, but the characters don't know that. The logical (and emotional) response would be to try to stop the car from being crushed any further or to make sure Castle's not in the vehicle.

 

This goes far beyond hand-wavable plot holes. There comes a point when it feels like the writers and showrunners aren't even trying anymore. Where they aren't stopping to consider believable behavior. This show offered that in spades in the beginning. Why do they have to forget that? 

 

They can go with the outlandish plotline, which this mystery feels like, I'm cool with that. But what grounds the crazy plots is the characters and their believable emotional connections and reactions. The Castle showrunners used to do it really well, and then they just... lost it. I don't understand why. 

 

How could they not bother with the impact of losing a son and father (for Martha and Alexis) and how they might bond with Beckett about that? I know Beckett tends to compartmentalize in order to stay focused and do her job, but at some point it would have been much more effective an episode if the writers had focused on the emotional rather than the investigative angles of this story. To skip over it leaves me feeling detached from it all, and I really don't think that should be the goal. I would expect showrunners would want people to be emotionally involved in the story and what the characters are going through.

[Ticketyboo23]

Your version sounds intriguing - minus the damned amnesia. Nothing can make that old trope fly, unless Nathan Fillion wants the show to "go soap". Return to his roots, if you will.  :-)

I think the amnesia thing can work it's just always done badly. I could weep for what this episode could have been. I would have loved to see Beckett sitting at Castle's desk using his murder board, a scene where Martha tells her she knows Castle would want to make sure Beckett eats & sleeps. Another where Alexis finally admits she is terrified this has to do with own kidnapping & then helps Beckett sift through information. And a scene before the toast where Castle is losing it over not being able to remember, with Beckett assuring him they'll get answers but right now Martha & Alexis need some normality.

Anyone else fancy that episode?

[Ticketyboo23]

Wendy, I have to tell you, I've been away from these boards for a while, but when I saw that season premiere, I came running to talk about it.

 

For me, it's not the plot holes. They've sold this show as a whole team of people who love and care about each other. They sold me on the love story of Kate and Castle. The heat. Their ability to finish each other's sentences.

 

 

With Castle, we have a woman who sees a set of circumstances which frankly, she should be able to see right through, because this is her man, and she knows him so well, but instead just chooses to believe it, because the plot dictates her to.

 

We have Espo, who was just BEGGING to be Castle's best man, immediately say he's guilty.

 

We have Ryan coming around to that side, saying he has no other explanation, when that just isn't in his character.

 

I was sold a love story. I was sold a cohesive team who stood by each other. It was their little ragtag team against the jerks of the world. Now Espo is the jerk, and I'm pissed off about it.

 

So, it's that the characters have suffered, not the plot holes, that make me sad for the demise of the series.

 

I've got it. You know what it is? I feel insulted intellectually, because it's so blatant.

 

Or what Ticketyboo said.

I JOINED this board in response to the premiere. I wasn't upset by the finale, Beckett's Dad wasn't on the cast list, this is a tv show, no way there was a wedding happening. I was interested to see where they went & unfortunately it was down a steeper slope than the one Castle's car ended up on. Ugh.

I came to Castle late watching the earlier series & what caught me was the moment where the SWAT team end up in a hotel elevator with a slightly shocked man & bad musak. The show had a real sense of humour & poked fun, not in the slightly demeaning way it does now but in the situations that arose. Beckett was one of the best female characters on tv, acerbic, capable, slightly dorky & relatable. There was subtly, the moment where Castle 'reads Beckett' & she just tears up for a second was more award worthy than anything she did in Driven. She showed more empathy & compassion for victims & their families then than she did now for Castle & his. She has transformed into a Lara Croft/Benson/Nikki Heat mismash & I'm not sure who that is meant to appeal to, maybe middle aged men? ;) Now we are just clubbed over the head with pointers, please please let that shrink have been a set-up to try & misdirect Beckett. It was as subtle as a smack in the mouth.

[verdana]

This goes far beyond hand-wavable plot holes. There comes a point when it feels like the writers and showrunners aren't even trying anymore. Where they aren't stopping to consider believable behavior. This show offered that in spades in the beginning. Why do they have to forget that?

They can go with the outlandish plotline, which this mystery feels like, I'm cool with that. But what grounds the crazy plots is the characters and their believable emotional connections and reactions. The Castle showrunners used to do it really well, and then they just... lost it. I don't understand why.

 

I don't understand it either because you're right they used to do it, so it's not as if we're are asking for something that never happened before. If I can't believe in the characters reactions to something then they've lost me it doesn't matter what else they throw at the screen to divert my attention and that car crushing scene was a perfect example of that. You can sell an awful of lot crazy shit as a writer if your characters are well drawn and have reactions that are consistent and believable but increasingly on Castle they fall down on that.

 

I would expect showrunners would want people to be emotionally involved in the story and what the characters are going through.

 

It's the characters that draw me in and keep me watching and invested in something not the plot, that's just something there that can draw me in if the writing is good enough around the characters.  If it isn't and I've just got the story but little else to get invested in then I tend to switch off. If you can't empathize and feel for what the characters are going through on whatever journey it might be then what's left to anchor the audience in what's going on? Why should they care?

 

Ticketyboo23. Count me in on watching that episode in fact I think I just have in my mind!

Edited October 3, 2014 by verdana

[Ticketyboo23]

Took a quick trip to Twitter & saw the writers etc congratulating themselves & each other. Don't if they were putting a brave face on it, but if they seriously thought that dross was great tv be afraid, be very afraid.......

[turnitwayup]

I would have loved to see Beckett sitting at Castle's desk using his murder board, a scene where Martha tells her she knows Castle would want to make sure Beckett eats & sleeps. Another where Alexis finally admits she is terrified this has to do with own kidnapping & then helps Beckett sift through information. And a scene before the toast where Castle is losing it over not being able to remember, with Beckett assuring him they'll get answers but right now Martha & Alexis need some normality.

Yep those would've been great scenes to have but we got a montage of Beckett using her window again. Actually we don't even know if she stayed at the loft the entire time he was gone or did she run back to her apartment. Plus her ring was there when Lanie was at the hospital but disappeared again when she confronts Castle when he wakes up.

[verdana]

You know, I hadn't even thought of that. They focused SO MUCH on Beckett and her pain and agony and OMG THE BETRAYAL of her man sleeping in a child's tent for two months, that we never got one moment of Alexis/Martha contemplating that after not hearing from their son/father for two months, that he might be dead, because, once again, he is a dedicated father and son. Nothing they've shown us to date has made us believe anything else.

Dedicated father and son.  That's what gets my goat most about Beckett doubting him when the evidence starts coming through.  She's been with this guy for six years now and seen his behaviour up close and the one thing she can be certain is that he's a great dad (may be even too protective and doting) and loving son. The idea he would ever contemplate running away from his daughter and letting her think he might be dead does not compute. This fact alone should have made her sit up and realise the "evidence" pointing to his involvement in his own disappearance was a bunch of horseshit. I don't believe Beckett would think him capable of this if they were writing her properly but instead they're forcing the character to doubt in order to create some drama and angst in the relationship, that's how it comes over to me.

[oberon55]

The thing is if Beckett doubting Castle is integral to the story then have the mysterious elements be things we could actually see Castle doing. Smart intuitive Beckett should have looked at all of this & said "Castle would not willingly do these things." Shame on the writers for having to bring back doubtful insecure Beckett to push their agenda.

Edited October 3, 2014 by oberon55

[verdana]

The thing is if Beckett doubting Castle is integral to the story then have the mysterious elements be things we could actually see Castle doing. Smart intuitive Beckett should have looked at all of this & said "Castle would not willingly do these things." Shame on the writers for having to bring back doubtful insecure Beckett to push their agenda.

I dislike doubtful insecure Beckett, I find it brings out all her worst qualities and it's beyond tiresome to watch her doubt and mistreat the man she claims to love who has shown the patience of a saint in putting up with her constant issues and insecurities. Castle has his faults (my list of annoyances sadly grows) but he's supported her through so much when most men of my acquaintance would have kicked her to curb in sheer frustration ages ago and found someone less high maintenance. I'm waiting to see what direction they will take in the next episode and I'm praying they don't overdo the angst because honestly I think many fans have had their fill of Beckett being like this.

 

I hate it when the writers make a character drop IQ points suddenly in order to sell me a story. Kate's not stupid so stop having her act that way. 

[pepper]

I saw the episode and can't say I agree with too many of the opinions expressed here. It felt... incomplete, as though it was part pne of two. But otherwise it held my attention and I understood the reactions of all the characters. Beckett would have come across as some kind of idiotic Stepford wife if she had recognized Castle's body language, seen him dropping off money that he had withdrawn beforehanmd to pay a guy he personally knew to crush a car linked to his own "kidnapping" and had zero doubts that he was involved. She might try to make sense of why he was involved, but as they pointed out, he was alone. And I doubt such slickly professional kidnappers would rely on the kidnapee just happening to have enough cash on him to cover an essential part of the escape plan. So it made sense.

 

Yet she clawed her way back to her belief in Castle. The FBI represented impartial, professional logic and yet the FBI basically stopped investigating the case of "rich playboy fakes abduction to escape wedding". Each time it seemed obvious that Castle was involved in whatever was going on, she found her way back to not believing he'd hurt her, Martha and Alexis that way. And in her case, not just hurt, but humiliate her in front of everyone she cared about. But after months, a part of her accepted his death and grieved for him. They probably all did. And then he showed up literally as though it had all happened yesterday, wanting a kiss no less. If they'd kissed at that point, it would seriously have squicked me out.

 

It made perfect sense to me that they cannot go back to where they were until they both have answers and she moves on from the trauma, the worry, the fear the acceptance, the grief and the mourning, that any normal human being would have gone through. Nothing about any of that makes her an idiot. At least from what I've seen. Castle looked idiotic at first and then you realize he is literally clueless. He doesn't realize he's lost two months of his life; he doesn't realize what the people around him have been through. When he realizes what has happened, he is sorry and stunned. Any empathetic person who, as far as they knew had only expereinced physical discomfort when the people they loved had been through hell (especially when he'd lived through a kidnapping from the other side) would have an instinct to comfort.  Even as he struggled to get his head around how it could have happened.

 

If by next episode he isn't angry about the unfairness of it, I'll call bullshit. If next week they ignore this week and go back to a light-hearted CotW with glib Castle, eye-rolling-but-indulgent Beckett and the Rysposito bromance, I'll call bullshit on it. But for now I get it and I'm sure most people who tune in to Castle and don't read message boards get it. Esposito wasn't any more of an asshole for stating the obvious than was the FBI agent, except Esposito's emotions were engaged and the secondary emotion was anger. Ryan defended Castle, but bless Seamus for a damn good job it was a defensive defense that seemed to shout down internal doubt.

 

I have enough distance from the show nowadays that I don't give a crap about weak excuses for summers apart and I can watch an episode as simply an episode of a show I like... most of the time. And I liked this episode. But based on the reactions here, I'm thrilled that my summer was Castle-free. Unless an experience enhances my enjoyment of the show, I'll pass. And I'm guessing that the Interwebs would not have met that criterion this summer!

[Samantha84]

You know, I hadn't even thought of that. They focused SO MUCH on Beckett and her pain and agony and OMG THE BETRAYAL of her man sleeping in a child's tent for two months

 

lmao!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not a child's tent though? 

I so wanted to see how Beckett AND Martha AND Alexis dealt w. this. But we, of course, dealt w. only Beckett's pain, hurt, and betrayal. 

[Samantha84]

The excuse they came up w. why Castle would do this is bullshit: B/c he didn't wanna get married? Really, Beckett & co.? He could have called off the wedding when he found out Beckett was some other man's wife! But he didn't. He came and helped her push things along so they could still get married. 

Even if Castle got cold feet .. why wouldn't he just say so? Why would he fake a car wreck and camp out for 2 months?!?!?!?!?! Allowing his daughter & his mother suffer in agony?! This is why they couldn't show Beckett w. Alexis and Martha b/c her being there and seeing their pain .. there would be no way in hell Kate Beckett would make that asinine leap that Castle did this to them willingly. 

[TWP]

Pepper and I are on the same wave length. I finally watched Castle last night and really, really liked it, more than I've liked it in years.

I agree with those who say that even the suspicion that Castle would sleep in a tent for 2 months to avoid having to tell Beckett that he didn't want to marry her was annoying. This is a guy who has pulled the plug on nukes in the last second before they explode (LOL). He has more cajones than that. I will allow that Beckett is a mean girl when she's crossed, but I think if Castle had said, "sorry love, but I'm not so into you after all," she'd have run away and licked her wounds instead of breaking his fingers. No reason to sleep in a tent for two months, regardless, LOL. I'm sure a rich guy can find fine luxury accommodations in Tahiti or something if he decides to run away. But I'm glad they resolved that nonsense quickly via the reappearance of the real trailer owner, establishing that the "eye-witness" was phoney. Still I think Castle should be peeved that they even doubted him.

The fact that I'm not a shipper (anymore) and would prefer that Castle and Beckett split up and find new chemistry elsewhere** may play a role in why I could put aside the lack of romance and wedding and enjoy the show. I thought the story idea was pretty great (wow, did I say that?). This is not a literary work of art. It's just a weekly TV show. In that context, I thought it was very good. I found the twists and turns casually entertaining and interesting and I very much hope this arc drags on for a little while longer. I was disappointed to find out that they may get married before the end of the year.

For me, none of the actors in this show have especially awe-inspiring talents (with possibly the exception of Susan), but I think they were all fine. What some interpreted as Nathan Fillion being out of touch with his character, I interpreted as Castle being out of it. Castle had just lost two months of his life. He was stunned....although a little of me doubts the person they found is really Castle, but I'll hate the show-runners if my suspicions are true.

As a photographer, I found the artistic cinematography they employed here, um, interesting. Fast camera movement, weird closeups, etc. were distracting. These effects work in movies -- when I assume the cinematographers have more time to work things out -- not necessarily here in a compressed 7-day shoot. But I found the stage illumination and paint very good. I noted in the scene where Beckett was interviewing Vinne? the mobster who apparently helped arrange the car crushing that the background wall paint was absolutely gorgeous...a silly aside I know, but yayyy for the set creators.

I love that Beckett has shorter hair and is wearing less makeup. She actually looks something like a cop. I hope that continues from now on. Stana Katic is a gorgeous woman and doesn't need the black eye-liner of a raccoon.....

I loved the bedroom scene with Castle and Beckett. How many times have I wanted them to talk about themselves and their relationship in an intimate way and I think they did. Love between a couple is not always about a hot romance. It sometimes is about family and comfort and the two of them needed comforting after this horrifying ordeal (for Beckett at least, since Castle can't remember). I thought the tone was completely appropriate. She leaned on him, and maybe that could have been construed as daughterly-fatherly, but sometimes couples play roles like that with each other. Emotional support is very much like a parental role. But real love is much deeper than sexual attraction. It is family.

Watching the previews, this is the first time in years that I absolutely can't wait for next week. Bravo show runners. Good job. And honestly, I'm as stunned as Castle, since I haven't waited in anticipation for this show in years.

**because I feel no chemistry between the couple.

Edited October 4, 2014 by TVWithPity

[verdana]

ABC's 'Castle' Season Premiere Surges to 14.1 Million Viewers & a 3.0 in Adults 18-49 in Live + 3 Ratings at TVBTN

[ByaNose]

Finally watched the premiere episode. I've been busy & had so much on the dvr. There isn't enough time to watch tv & work. LOL!! Anyhoo, how is that Beckett & the guys who have been working with Castle for 7 years would think he would intentionally do any of this? It doesn't make any sense storyline & character wise. That said, I enjoyed the episode & I thought Stana did a great job with the material. Although she did look different. New haircut? I couldn't put my finger on it.

[verdana]

At this point, I'd like Castle to tell Beckett to take a hike and go find someone who actually knows and has faith in him.

 

Because Beckett clearly isn't that woman right now.

 

If I woke up from a coma after being deathly ill and shot at, to my man interrogating me, that would be the end of the relationship. Forever.

It's sad to see Beckett so hesitant about the man who calls her the "love of his life" and simply wanted a kiss which is not that unreasonable a request I would have thought if he'd just woken up in a hospital bed confused and there she is. But no. 

 

That she believes any of this evidence enough to make her reluctant to give him some visible token of her affection when he wakes, well that doesn't feel natural to me. Yet this is the man she wants to marry and commit her future too?  But what I got from this is that it doesn't take much for her to distrust his motives which given what's happened in the past doesn't add up as ByANose points out.

 

Once he woke up and discovered the so called overwhelming "evidence" that cast him in a suspicious light over those missing months and further cemented by the laughable discovery of the tiny tent which had become his "home" for two months it should be Castle having severe doubts at this stage about all of them and where they put their brains.  

 

That moment when they're checking out where he had supposedly been hiding away and she says "and you were right here, right where you wanted to be!" And she's so serious about it, I feel like shaking her hard, oh Kate for crying out loud look around you, this is not where your millionaire man hides out if he's going to dump you and run. 

Edited October 5, 2014 by verdana

[oberon55]

To me the writers are putting their characters in a no win situation. Either Castle is the victim & Beckett let him down when he needed her trust the most or Castle is behind it all and stabbed Beckett right in the back. Whichever way they play it does not bode well for them as a couple. They are too far along in this relationship for this level of deception or distrust.

[madmaverick]

Late to the party, what did I miss?  Other than massive eye rolling, self included. ;)

 

Count me in with those who didn't like the episode.  I had zero expectations to begin with, but basically the episode did not deliver on any of the stuff I'd hoped to see following the very questionable cliffhanger.  Mainly I wanted to see well-written, emotional character interactions that made sense and it was mostly a massive fail in this regard.  Firstly, characterisation very much took a back seat to the investigative side of things (neither were compelling).  Secondly, their attempts at characterisation were poor.

 

Unfortunately, the episode left me wanting to smack just about everyone (Esposito mostly, and sadly, also Beckett).  Worse, it actually made me feel maybe Castle and Beckett aren't ready to get married and I never quite had that feeling before.  It had me doubting the depth of feeling and trust that Beckett actually had in Castle considering all that he's done for her in the name of love all these years, and that's sad.  I thought Castle had taught Beckett to always look for the story that makes sense, but seems like that never got through to her. ;)  As another poster said, if I were Castle, I'd be asking for a breather and having issues with my partner in life to be thinking I could be capable of what Beckett believed Castle would do to her and his family.   But instead, we get Castle apologising to Beckett (as usual), which really is pushing it when he's a victim as well and been through some unpleasant ordeal that involved being shot and left to die in a dinghy.  Yeah, "you went through stuff, too", is all that Castle gets.  I am not saying that they both don't have to be apologetic to each other (Castle for the unintentional distress caused, Beckett for believing he could leave her and everyone like that considering the man she knew him to be) but I am annoyed that the emotional focus was on Beckett's feelings again and Castle making the overtures again, even when he himself has been the victim and treated unfairly by his colleagues.  I doubt we will ever get Esposito apologise to him for doubting him.  Tired of Castle never getting the respect he deserves from those supposedly close to him.

 

The closing Castle/Beckett scene definitely could have been better.  I would have Castle delivering some heartfelt, impassioned reassurance to Beckett about what she meant to him and how he would never leave her behind, and hold her and look her in the eyes whilst he said it.  I would have Beckett apologising for doubting his character, and thinking him capable of leaving her and her family behind in such a callous way.  Then they could have talked about how they needed time to heal each other and figure out what the hell happened to Castle, together.  Instead all we got was a really lame line "we'll find our way home" (eyeroll) and no eye contact at all in a moment which really called for emotional honesty.

 

I wasn't that bothered by NF/Castle's lack of a more intense reaction as some here, because the script didn't really allow for that imo.  No words were scripted for Castle to vent his anger so how could NF do so?  Words however were scripted for Beckett to vent her anger at Castle, and so she did.  When they chose the happy families champagne route in the home scene, Castle couldn't really be displaying intense anger in the next scene with Beckett and they clearly wanted to close the episode with Caskett on a healing, hopeful note.  At the hospital, the point was mainly to drive home Castle's clueless and disconnected state of mind in light of hearing about his amnesia.  He didn't have time to get angry at Beckett whilst she got angry at him at what she thought he had done.  At the precinct, all Castle got to do was exposition about the fake Jenkins.  Nothing was scripted about why on earth would someone do something like this to him or why on earth would his own team believe that he would do something like this. ;)  I do believe anger is warranted from Castle in light of the situation at some point, but I'm not sure we'll see it because the writers don't showcase Castle's emotional reactions much, and also they don't write him angry much.  They seem to prefer him in apologetic and clueless mode.  I hope we'll see more intensity and drive from him in future episodes because he should really care about what happened to him.

 

This episode also felt cold, removed, emotionally distant to me, especially as characters seem to be acting in ways directed by the plot than attention to characterisation. The opposite of the emotional intensity that should have been.  Investigation took precedence over character interactions as expected.  This tends to be DA's writing style (from his past dramatic outings) so I wasn't surprised but I didn't care for it.  He and AM are not the writers in the staff whom I believe to have a stronger handle on writing good character interactions that really matter.

 

Also, the episode felt like mythology setup more than anything but I didn't find myself caring much about the mythology when they started it with the idea that Castle would go camping on a beach for 2 months as a runaway groom and Beckett and others would actually believe that possible.   Dinghy, Tropical Storm, camping, fake witness, unlimited resources blah blah blah.   Who cares when there's no emotional resonance (and likely little emotional repercussions) and the characters are acting in WTF ways?

 

Hoped Castle's disappearance would allow for some heartfelt emotional reactions.  But didn't really happen.  Alexis and Martha were almost non-entities.  Strangely and sadly, Beckett was kept distant from them.  They did not seem like 1 close family to me.  Beckett even referred to Alexis and Martha as Castle's family not "ours".  Bad writing again.  No one brought their A-game to the episode.  Maybe because the script was so WTF with the characters' behaviour.   They should have showed Beckett's emotional struggles rather than just have her tell it to Castle at the end.  Also not a fan of the coffee moment misdirect, especially with the coffee coming from Esposito.  Sorry, but I don't like to see coffee and theory building between anyone but Caskett.

 

Badass finger breaking Beckett not to my taste and again, I think they should stop indulging in that sort of thing and passing police brutality off as badassness.

 

Everyone's touched on the logical disconnects from the car on fire scene to the car crusher scene to all the ludicrous about Castle's disappearance.  I could have forgiven all that if only we got some well done characterisation, but alas, we didn't. 

 

What I can say is, if I had to insert an 'omg my fiance may be in that burning car' cliffhanger, I would not have followed it up the way they did by going with the tired and nonsensical Doubting Castle angle.  Much better (if less twistier) and resulting in character and relationship growth would have been the straightforward approach of Beckett unwaveringly believing in her man, supported by their family at home and at work. They find Castle and there's mystery about what was done to him (amnesia, if they must ;)) but they never suspect he had in a hand in it and they move forward, strong and united, to investigate that mystery.

 

I guess if they did it that way they couldn't excuse delaying the wedding further. ;)  

 

I fear we have to suffer through more of the characters behaving in unlikeable ways in the episodes ahead, either through lies or mistrust, and that kind of Castle just isn't my cup of tea.  At this point, I am not looking forward to whenever they pick up their precious mythology. I just want to get back to lighthearted Castle (but yes, it doesn't really make sense considering...but amnesia about this episode might do it ;)).

Edited October 5, 2014 by madmaverick

[madmaverick]

Looks like Driven did well in the ratings.  From AM's point of view, his gamble with the burning car cliffhanger to delay the wedding further + insert new mythology must have paid off?  It didn't pay off for me in terms of delivering quality TV, but others must not agree considering the higher ratings... the highest for a premiere in a few seasons, right?  

 

Also, unfortunately I don't think that AM/DA have completely made up their mind about the mythology and they are hedging their bets.  So there's a fair chance that they could be telling Castle to play it both ways (he lied about his amnesia/he didn't) which I think never does any favors for a show or for the actor.  Hard to play emotional repercussions when you're not sure what you actually did!  But I guess actors on mystery/suspense shows learn to live with the not knowing.   

[VinceW]

At this point, I'd like Castle to tell Beckett to take a hike and go find someone who actually knows and has faith in him…Because Beckett clearly isn't that woman right now.

In a Marlowe interview during the hiatus, he misled fans again by using “unsettled” to describe Beckett’s emotional state after the dramatic event that disrupted the wedding ceremony. He implied that something specific from the Castle back story would cause issues. However, the whole premise of the premiere was just the same old remix from the past about Beckett somehow having doubts and not trusting Castle after all this time living together. There is a natural progression to relationships and this one is at that point which is why so many people just want to see them married. There is no reason to wait years and years. If Beckett doesn’t know Castle after all they have gone through together, then Castle should let her go on her way. If you can’t trust after all that, you will probably continue to question everything. If Marlowe intends to keep Beckett on this ongoing path of no final commitment then, why spend an entire season on wedding planning. The story line presented here to viewers was that suddenly Castle got “cold feet” over the wedding which was just crazy and it just insults the viewers. There was no way Castle would leave his family and let them believe he was hurt or killed. At some point, I was hoping for a scene with Alexis and Kate where Alexis just tells Beckett to show some real trust and faith in her father after all this time. I bet a scene like that was filmed, but cut from production to further enhance Kate’s misgivings over the Castle disappearance and to drive the contrived story. During the hiatus, Molly Quinn stated that there was tension between her and Kate, but it was never shown in the episode. If the writers continue further with the level of Caskett tension shown between them at the hospital reunion, it presents that season 7 might be a loss. It is hard to imagine that viewers will continue to watch past episode 3 given this kind of ongoing relationship angst after what was presented to the viewers in the finale that our couple was only 20 minutes away from getting married.

Edited October 5, 2014 by VinceW