S08.E06: Cool Boys

[WendyCR72]

Detective Slaughter returns to enlist Castle’s help in solving a high-stakes robbery case. But when a body is found linked to the crime, Slaughter becomes the number one suspect in the heist turned murder, while Castle has to determine whether he’s guilty or help to prove he’s innocent.

[McManda]

Coming out of lurkdom for a hot second to say:

 

Well, that's how Stana got to spend a week in Milan. Not a fan of Beckett-less Castle, so if that's what they were trying to gauge interest on, I'm not a fan.

 

That said, if Beckett had been around I would have really enjoyed this episode. I find I don't pay too much attention to the case on the first view, but the rest was fun.

[FlickerToAFlame]

Another deceptive promo for next week. It's almost like they're trying to lose more viewers.

ETA: I assume Slaughter's advice hints at Castle forcing himself into the LocSat investigation?

Edited November 10, 2015 by FlickerToAFlame

[KaveDweller]

Yeah, I thought the lack of Beckett was pretty glaring and I definitely missed her.  I just am not interested in Castle and his playing PI when Beckett's not around.  But it wasn't as bad as I was expecting, and the kid was a pretty memorable suspect/guest actor.  I don't know how Castle didn't get himself arrested for all his antics though.

 

I liked the way they made Alexis involved with the case a little, but kept her to doing online research at the office and not in every scene.  If they had her suddenly knowing how to deal with thieves of gangs I'd have been annoyed. I don't mind her working with Castle if it's not too over the top.

 

One thing I've noticed this season is Ryan, Espo, and Lanie at the crime scenes just fall flat without Castle or Beckett there. And Espo and Ryan talking to the killer at the end felt flat too.  Sometimes those scenes are flat with Caskett, but they are noticeably worse without them.  I'm not trying to criticize the actors because they do fine in all the group scenes. There's just a lack of charisma or something you get with both Castle and Beckett around (or even just one of them).

 

Another deceptive promo for next week. It's almost like they're trying to lose more viewers.

 

That promo is aimed at the male audience: I just need someone to go with me to the woman's locker room. Is there anyone here who could help with the awful task of going to the woman's locker room? Did I mention we'll be showing a woman's locker room?

 

Your comment gives me an idea for a show about behind the scenes people of a TV show trying to sabotage it to get out of their contract, only no matter what they try, they keep getting more viewers and having to stay longer. Or did that actually happen in some other movie?

[FlickerToAFlame]

That too, but I meant the divorce line being deceptive.

[KaveDweller]

That too, but I meant the divorce line being deceptive.

 

Oh, yeah, I figured that was what you meant.  I was just commenting on the promo itself, but I guess the quote button doesn't include the video. I agree that the divorce line is clearly deceptive and just plan stupid really.

[Chado]

Funny how they said how Beckett is in every episode, and the promo for Cool Boys even showed her in it. Liar liars!

 

As for the episode, it was decent, but it's a meaningless episode. I don't like how Castle has to "force" his way into helping Beckett, it's missing the point entirely.

 

As for the promo....sigh. I wouldn't be surprised if Beckett is actually looking at divorce, it would be a standard response to her if she sees Castle getting more involved in trying to figure out what she is up to.

 

Nothing surprises me anymore.

 

edit: without being cynical, I imagine Beckett has to go undercover and the female at the spa is a divorce lawyer, so she pretends she needs one. I'm expecting Castle to overhear or something though. The fact Beckett could potentially even use it as a case tactic when her marriage is falling apart, is in completely poor taste, but it's what I expect to happen.

Edited November 10, 2015 by Chado

[FlickerToAFlame]

Castle's line about how many phones he goes through seemed like an NF ad lib, no?

[turnitwayup]

It wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I like the Martha's Unsolicited Advice book idea. Nathan and Adam still have chemistry tho I rather see Beckett around. Now I'm wondering if there is gonna be a upcoming Castle less ep. At least Alexis wasn't an annoying know it all. Slaughter background was completely bizarre but hilarious. I was with Castle's "who are you?" and now I got "boy, boy, crazy boy" stuck in my head. I did like the trouble teen and his snark at Slaughter at the end. Is this 1st ep where we didn't see the interrogation room or the loft.

 

Castle's line about how many phones he goes through seemed like an NF ad lib, no?

 

Yeah I thought it was an ad lib too. Was this the 2nd lost phone this season? I can't remember if he lost it in the premier.

[verdana]

Based on the promo for 8.07 the smooth, suave, seducer of old is long gone and has been replaced by a loveable clumsy goofball. Sigh I miss the old Castle, as for the divorce mention obviously not related to Castkett and deliberately misleading but way to go promo monkeys in dumb moves you got some fans out there fretting. 

 

This episode was solid filler and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would bearing in mind I don't like Slaughter as a character but they provided some extra layers to him that were funny and enjoyable, pity they can't do something similar with the regular secondary cast more often. The show is much better when they don't have the separation crapola to weigh it down. I didn't miss Beckett too much mainly because her presence means I'm going to be force fed a stodgy dollop of stale separation angst and I'm fed up with it. 

 

However as a permanent thing (a Katic-less Castle) no way,  Beckett is needed to ground Castle as a character, solo he's too goofy and silly for my tastes these days. The show has always been light hearted in the main but Castle's comedy should be based on intelligent banter and nuanced witty humor not slapstick obvious humor. The comedy they provide is painfully predictable at times, as soon as Castle poked his head nervously outside the door to look for Slaughter I was just counting the beats before he surprised him and I could have done without the singing too.

 

"Oh This separation thing is getting really old"  - Castle speaking for the entire fandom right now.

 

So Hayley is now working for Castle as a consultant that makes more sense than her being with Beckett undercover at a spa in the promo.  That said she remains a pointless character I don't know what she adds to the show.

 

Martha acting as writers mouthpiece at the start was annoying and bringing up Kate's traumatic history didn't make me feel any more receptive. I like that Martha has something to do but I didn't care for her "unsolicited" advice to Rick that things between them would just kind of just work out. No they won't and given her dodgy marital track record you would think she would know that as would her son.

 

I'm fed up of Castle being told to put Kate's needs first constantly by every single person he meets what about his needs taking precedence for a change?  This mantra the writers keep feeding me is annoying. I take it the end scene was them finally allowing Castle to grow a brain and start snooping around trying to figure out what she's up, about bloody time but he should have figured this out by himself WEEKS ago not need Slaughter's input to kick start his curiosity. The Castle I know and love would already be on the case. 

 

It was kind of sad that Slaughter's joke about how on earth would someone hot like Beckett fall in love with a guy like him rings true that would have been inconceivable to say back in the earlier seasons. 

 

I'm with Espo "not a pairing I would have expected" about Slaughter and Castle. I don't get all this friend business, they didn't part as friends in Headhunters at all and seems they're playing more on Baldwin/Fillion off screen association than the actual history of these two on the show.

 

Vikram mention lol, doing "real work" rather than Locksat obviously.

 

Castle repeating this "time out" business is just stupid, call it what it is a separation.

 

Trucco made me think of Michael Trucco and Demming lol.

 

The kid was good as the guest star.

 

It's funny how Kate wants to protect him but by leaving Castle at a loose end not knowing what she's doing he gets into even more danger on his own working with the likes of Slaughter.

[turnitwayup]

Trucco made me think of Michael Trucco and Demming lol.

 

Lol, me too and apparently Nathan too since he's live tweeting the west coast airing. Since TBTB has brought back an old character, I won't mind if Demming makes an appearance.

 

 

NathanFillion: He looks nothing like @MichaelTrucco.

[threebluestars]

I think this episode was great, but if Original Recipe Beckett had been there, it would have been fantastic.

 

As for new LocSat Beckett, I would be totally fine with Slaughter replacing her.

[Chado]

Martha acting as writers mouthpiece at the start was annoying and bringing up Kate's traumatic history didn't make me feel any more receptive. I like that Martha has something to do but I didn't care for her "unsolicited" advice to Rick that things between them would just kind of just work out. No they won't and given her dodgy marital track record you would think she would know that as would her son.

 

I'm fed up of Castle being told to put Kate's needs first constantly by every single person he meets what about his needs taking precedence for a change?  This mantra the writers keep feeding me is annoying.

That Martha line was cringe to me, you could tell it wasn't her as a character saying it, it was the writers trying to buy Beckett some patience from the fans.

 

As for when do Castle's needs get put first? That will never happen on this show.

[verdana]

Castle Recap: When the Kate's Away... at TV Line

 

That said, I felt a bit icky about Rick duping Espo and stealing the boys’ car in the name of spiriting away Slaughter, whom they were about to haul back to the 12th. As Espo said, they could have easily brought in Rick, too, so for him to usurp that already tenuous thread of good faith…. Again, icky.

I agree with Matt the stealing of the car was a low point in the episode both for Castle and the boys. Espo and Ryan are acting more like the Keystone Cops with every passing week, first Ryan shoots Espo in the arse and now this. Castle is perfectly happy screwing over his friends and work buddies of 7 years, absconding with Slaughter and leaving them in the lurch without a thought to the consequences for them back at the precinct.  And that's without his prior actions in placing a tracking device on Espo without his knowledge and enticing Ryan to take regular bribes so he can keep tabs on his wife.  They need to ground the show in some sense of reality and having the cops made out to be complete morons every week for cheap laughs and the cavalier way these so called "friends" treat each other is not something I care to see. 
 

And with that freshly lodged in his mind, Rick eyeballs his wife’s desk nameplate, seemingly forming an idea for next week’s “first anniversary” episode….

It's all going to be for nothing I guarantee it, they have no intention of moving this forward significantly until the fall finale.
 
I like Baldwin as an actor as long as I don't think about him too much. He has good natural chemistry with Nathan but Fillion was strangely the weak link here, he was allowed to overdo it by the director at times and mugged to camera way too much in an attempt to overplay the physical/slapstick style comedy which made some scenes painful to watch, the scene in his office was a perfect example of that.  As for Molly she seems to have regressed acting wise to a stock two or three facial expressions which she employs depending on the situation. Between the two of them only Baldwin and Sullivan came out of that particular scene in Castle's office with any credit. I felt sorry for Susan.
 
As I mentioned on another thread a while back the writers missed a trick having Kate go away and not plant some seed that she was working on the Locksat business to the audience. I see precious little signs that Beckett "is working her tail off to try and get back to Castle" on this case as Winter suggested when this whole thing started.  What's making this whole separation arc look even worse for Beckett is that she's not looking that obsessed in terms of doing much frantic investigating, it's all been very lackadaisical and that gives the audience the unfortunate impression she's not that bothered. Despite the obvious problem of having Katic unavailable I'm disappointed they couldn't have thought of some way of putting some quick scene in with Vikram - even a phone call would have been good.

Edited November 10, 2015 by verdana

[Chado]

It was kind of sad that Slaughter's joke about how on earth would someone hot like Beckett fall in love with a guy like him rings true that would have been inconceivable to say back in the earlier seasons.

What exactly is Beckett showing, that would suggest she "deserves" somebody better than Castle?

 

Slaughter's joke is nothing more than the typical joke that gets thrown at Castle all the time. You'd never see someone say it to Beckett about Castle. He's the doormat.

[femmefan1946]

This show is definitely better without Beckett mooning about being annoying and useless.

The only weakness I found was that Baldwin isn't believable as a Theatre Arts major. Slaughter could be, I can suspend disbelief in a cobweb, but Adam Baldwin apparently has done no music or dance training in his theatrical career.

The writers have found a pace that is workable for Alexis. Hayley felt like an excuse.

On the other hand, I thought the girlfriend did it-- because she showed up around Minute 12 which is when the killer almost always did in past seasons. (She could have been Booth's mistress or worked in his bookkeeping division as likely as the youth leader.)

So SK can leave any time now, I'd be fine with it.

Oh yeah. How much makeup was NF wearing this week? Is he the new spokesperson for MAC? Trying out for RuPaul's Drag Race?

[verdana]

That Martha line was cringe to me, you could tell it wasn't her as a character saying it, it was the writers trying to buy Beckett some patience from the fans.

 

As for when do Castle's needs get put first? That will never happen on this show.

Well they need to start having Beckett doing something other than give Castle loving pained looks every week because it makes their relationship appear unbalanced and unhealthy.  My patience with this entire stupid story has not just worn thin it's evaporated completely. I don't hate Beckett but I need to feel empathy for these characters and I don't and that's a failure in the writing. I'm so tired of this contrived separation draining their chemistry away and make me fearful of watching the show every week to find out what new misery they intend to inflict on these two poor dumb idiots in love in the name of "fun".  

 

As for that scene at the start they make it way too obvious, it doesn't feel natural or remotely in character given the history of these people which the writers keep on discounting so I can't buy into it. 

 

One thing I've noticed this season is Ryan, Espo, and Lanie at the crime scenes just fall flat without Castle or Beckett there. And Espo and Ryan talking to the killer at the end felt flat too.  Sometimes those scenes are flat with Caskett, but they are noticeably worse without them.  I'm not trying to criticize the actors because they do fine in all the group scenes. There's just a lack of charisma or something you get with both Castle and Beckett around (or even just one of them).

 

Yeah there's something missing. Esposito, Ryan and the rest are dull and dry on their own, they're just there to solve the case nothing more. Where is the substance here? Didn't Hawley say they would delve more deeply into the secondary cast in an earlier interview? Because I don't see any exploration going on, I don't recognise these characters any more frankly. They often have them all doing stupid things that seems completely OOC for what amounts to cheap laughs or turgid angst. That's corrupting them not adding to their character development.

 

Oh and where is the person acting as Captain in Beckett's place? Why did the boys need to call her, there should be someone there to read the riot act if something happens. 

Edited November 10, 2015 by verdana

[turnitwayup]

Oh yeah. How much makeup was NF wearing this week? Is he the new spokesperson for MAC? Trying out for RuPaul's Drag Race?

 

Ikr? It seriously looked off like it was some weird glamour shot. KInda distracting especially in the alley scene when they kept going back and forth with the over the shoulder shots between them.

 

That tasting the food scene made me wish we had more Caskett cooking scenes in the past 3 seasons since we're not getting anything like that anytime soon.

 

 

Oh and where is the person acting as Captain in Beckett's place? Why did the boys need to call her, there should be someone there to read the riot act if something happens. 

 

Yep, when Gates was away, Beckett was in charge. They should've made one of the usual background detectives seniority to run the department while Beckett is away since Ryan/Espo shouldn't be in charge the way they been portrayed recently.

 

Thanks to TV Line's recap that's where I recognized the killer from. Gabriel from The Closer.

Edited November 10, 2015 by turnitwayup

[cappuccino]

There was no Beckett drama - so that's something. The episode wasn't that bad. I sure enjoyed a scene here and there. I really hope he takes Slaughter's adivice and has a nice chat with his wife but well......I guess we can't have that. Like Martha said: it will work out itself like it always does with those two. BLAH BLAH BLAH

 

 

As for the promo....sigh. I wouldn't be surprised if Beckett is actually looking at divorce, it would be a standard response to her if she sees Castle getting more involved in trying to figure out what she is up to.

 

Nothing surprises me anymore.

 

edit: without being cynical, I imagine Beckett has to go undercover and the female at the spa is a divorce lawyer, so she pretends she needs one. I'm expecting Castle to overhear or something though. The fact Beckett could potentially even use it as a case tactic when her marriage is falling apart, is in completely poor taste, but it's what I expect to happen.

 

I'm with you on that one but how stupid are they ? You can't put sth like that in a promo when your fanbase is already angry with you and viewers not tuning in. I mean if you don't know what's gonna happen in that episode you'd probably not think twice if that divorce line might be for her undercover job or not. Plain stupid.

 

Ikr? It seriously looked off like it was some weird glamour shot. KInda distracting especially in the alley scene when they kept going back and forth with the over the shoulder shots between them.

It was really distracting. I kept thinking he had something done to get rid of those bags under his eyes. It looked weird.

[verdana]

Lol yeah the make up on Fillion was a bit much.

Slaughter looked good in that apron cooking up a storm but yeah it makes you pine for a Caskett scene like that.

[verdana]

I'm with you on that one but how stupid are they ? You can't put sth like that in a promo when your fanbase is already angry with you and viewers not tuning in. I mean if you don't know what's gonna happen in that episode you'd probably not think twice if that divorce line might be for her undercover job or not. Plain stupid.

 

To be fair TPTB don't call the shots about what gets put in them, some promo guy is sitting in an office slapping them together and thought that'll get em going!  Dumb move though with fans growing increasingly skitterish about this separation and where it's going and I've seen quite a few saying they've reached their limit on this weekly diet of angst and if something doesn't happen to end this soon they'll stop watching. Whether they will or not is another matter. 

 

 

[madmaverick]

Police brutality will never be funny to me, but it's basically a given that it's either played for laughs or "badassness" on Castle and any number of TV shows unfortunately.  Ignoring that for a moment, I thought this Slaughter episode was better than the last one, from what I recall of it since I never rewatched.  Slaughter was more fleshed out as a three dimensional being this time.  I didn't care for the dark cloud of Caskett angst hanging over the last Slaughter episode and I didn't care for it this time either.  But it is what it is.  

 

I'm fed up of Castle being told to put Kate's needs first constantly by every single person he meets what about his needs taking precedence for a change?  This mantra the writers keep feeding me is annoying.

 

 

It's come to a point where I have very low expectations for any advice offered by almost every character on the show because they often get it so wrong that it feels like the right advice would be the opposite of what the advice giver says. ;)  Slaughter's advice about putting the needs of your partner first isn't necessarily wrong in itself, but it felt very wrong to me for the writers to choose to apply it to Castle of all people in these circumstances.  My reaction was, like, :0, when hasn't Castle put Beckett's needs first?!  This whole ridiculous separation is a direct consequence of Beckett putting her needs above Castle's/her marriage, and she's basically ignoring his needs about his wife with every passing day of this separation fiasco.  When it ends, an acknowledgement from Beckett that she just can't go about putting her needs above their relationship without even talking to her husband about it is what I need.  Not for the first time, sadly, the writers' (and Marlowe was completely guilty of the same) are choosing emotional notes for the characters which I find very puzzling.  Therefore, sadly, I won't be surprised anymore if the separation ends without any mea culpa from Beckett.  The next 2 episodes will be telling in how the writers perceive the emotional dynamic between Caskett at this critical juncture in their relationship.  There should be less treading water and a real reckoning.

 

Caskett is and always will be my A-team, but I have to say the pairings where they have Castle with [guest star of the week] aren't without their own version of chemistry either.  But the boys on their own without either lead have never really been able to engage a lot of my interest.

 

The musical theatre bit was fun and surprising to see.  

 

I liked how they showed Castle caring about the kid and what he'd been through.  Cases with kids still really get to him.

 

I like how Hayley is showing zero interest in all the men on the show.

 

Luke dressed Nathan terribly this episode with the old man sportscoat plus plaid, and his excessively pasty makeup didn't help either.

 

Martha and Alexis look to be living at the PI office now. :P  Kidding aside, I do miss the loft and it's airier, brighter vibe.

[verdana]

I have to admit this was the first time in weeks that I actually felt pretty good about a Castle episode, Baldwin's presence helped me forget about some of the other things I might have vexed more about. It missed in places but oh the blessed relief of the almost total absence of relationship woes between Caskett. 

 

Normal service looks like being resumed next week unfortunately. 

Edited November 10, 2015 by verdana

[madmaverick]

Also, the advice about putting Beckett's needs first was ridiculous, because that's all he's been doing. But the advice about not tip-toeing around the problem was dead-on.

 

Yes, but I'm also resigned to the fact that at this point, the advice to Castle to either demand answers from Beckett or give her space is entirely dependent on whether the writers want to move the story forward at any given point rather than anything to do with the characters. ;)  It was the same game with Marlowe, starting with the bizarre season of secrets theme in S4 where neither character could have a real conversation with each other, despite multiple life threatening experiences, until the final episode of the season.  Let's hope we don't have to wait that long this time.  The jail cell conversation in PhD was a start but they didn't want to move the storyline along so we haven't had much of a real conversation since.

 

Oh, and where can I buy that copy of Unsolicited Advice by preferably Susan Sullivan, but I'll take Martha Rodgers in a pinch :P, even if I thought what she said about things having a way of working things out was weak.  I do hope they address the fact that Beckett still has serious psychological issues to resolve stemming from the trauma of her mother's death.  I wish that wasn't the case, but the way they've written Beckett this season, she really needs therapy and not just order the boys to go to it.

[BellyLaughter]

As frustrated and disappointed as I am with this season and the character of Beckett right now I cannot imagine a Castle without her and her story and this episode did absolutely nothing to change my mind. It was an OK episode but it wasn't Castle. I hope next week can breath "some" life into the corpse of this formerly great show.

[femmefan1946]

Yep. Send Beckett back to therapy and Castle on a book tour. Or maybe Martha is playing out of town and gets involved in crime. If Castle needs help he has a smart sassy new consultant.

[Chado]

Slaughter's advice about 'needs' would have been great if it was said to Beckett. The fact it was said to Castle makes it feel completely out of place and weird. It felt very much like Martha's advice at the start, not logical given the circumstances.

 

Also, doesn't Beckett feel like she 'needs' Castle away from this? Somebody needs to ask Beckett, what she thinks Castle 'needs' from her. Does she even care at this point? Probably not.

 

Slaughter was right about the 'quit asking for permission' part though. Castle deserves to know, he deserves answers. Beckett isn't giving them to him, so he needs to push and if she still refuses to be a team....then that's when divorce should become a topic, that's when Castle should stop trying and walk away. Fingers crossed he confronts her seriously, not this half-assed attempt we've seen so far.

 

I have to ask also, what's the point of Hayley? I kind of~ like her as a character, so it's got nothing to do with how she comes across, but I just don't get the reason for her being in the show? She has no storyline at all, she has no proper motivation for being around Castle and Beckett. When they first started describing her, It felt like Castle was going to have "his" Vikram for the season, but fans losing their shit over a female maybe being into Castle made them backtrack on what she was going to be or something (not a love interest, just more 'Castle's sidekick). I mean I haven't seen those fans question Beckett with Vikram or 'new foil' guy, which is strange. ;)

 

Hayley just feels so out of place, like there's no purpose to her. She isn't on Castle's side, there's no exclusivity there, she's not helping him with the Beckett situation, they've barely said a word about it. What exactly is she doing?

[BellyLaughter]

Waiting until Stana formerly quits....

[Sara2009]

Waiting until Stana formerly quits....

She can't. She has a contract.

[BellyLaughter]

She can't. She has a contract.

For 1 season.....she may not quit, this could be the last season (who knows) but I can't believe for one second that Hayley has been introduced for no good reason. If, and I admit it's a big if, the show continues next season, Nathan agrees to do more and Stana doesn't the show is gonna need a new female presence (romantic interest or otherwise). Introducing Hayley gently this season without defining her character too much gives them room to move in the future if they need it. It's my take on the softly, softly approach with Hayley so far. YMMV.

I guess I see it as them covering all the bases and in TV that's surely just good business??!!

Funnily enough I think I enjoyed Hayley working alongside Beckett and the boys a bit more? Will be interesting to see what next weeks episode is like.

Edited November 10, 2015 by BellyLaughter

[Sara2009]

For 1 season.....

Yep. But many doubt the show will even last longer than that. We'll just have to see.

[Brit Babe]

I’m going to admit I liked the Slaughter episode in season 4, Slaughter was who he was and I don’t need characters to be politically correct. The reason I was not looking forward to this episode was not Slaughter but lack of Beckett, we had a sneak peek of this last season in 7x21 which I hated so I knew this was to be potentially worse. Beckett is Castle’s foil and vice versa plus it stops the writers doing what they did in this episode turning Castle into a complete buffoon and slap stick comedian.

 

I agree with verdana, that Baldwin was fine in this but Fillion was the weak link, I felt that he was phoning in his lines and just making stupid faces.

 

The writers dropping in silly statements about Beckett from Martha and Slaughter was just really annoying and showed how stupid this whole storyline is.

 

If this was what they are hoping a potential season 9 would look like without Katic, cancel the show now.

[CastleSeason8]

I have so many thoughts on this episode, but much better stated by others here - especially @Chado and @verdana - so I will leave that there. I will just add that while i was seething over the 'put her needs first' comment (u know, like he hasnt been doing since S2) i wondered - when did Slaughter socialize with them? When did he ever even see them together? (They were fighting his last go round) so can someone please tell me how he knows they love each other and can give better advice than Laine, Espo, Ryan, even Martha? Seriously? More history change i guess.

[Chado]

I have so many thoughts on this episode, but much better stated by others here - especially @Chado and @verdana - so I will leave that there. I will just add that while i was seething over the 'put her needs first' comment (u know, like he hasnt been doing since S2) i wondered - when did Slaughter socialize with them? When did he ever even see them together? (They were fighting his last go round) so can someone please tell me how he knows they love each other and can give better advice than Laine, Espo, Ryan, even Martha? Seriously? More history change i guess.

Like Martha at the start of the episode, it's the showrunners/writers speaking to the audience instead of the characters speaking naturally. That's the only way to explain it, they are trying to buy patience for Beckett.

[madmaverick]

It's obviously a matter of taste, but give me a lighthearted episode of Castle playing PI even sans Beckett over a deadly serious, overwrought, melodramatic episode of Beckett solo on her quest for justice or Locksat whatever any day.  Castle and Beckett are at their most entertaining when they play with each other, but barring that, I find Castle more entertaining as a character than Beckett, if she's just being the deadly serious straight woman with psychological issues, or badass female version of Jack Bauer combined with Mary Sue.  I like Castle the show most when it's a light hearted affair that's truly fun, and not taking itself too seriously, but with heart.  Beckett needs Castle as a foil to lighten her up and keep her from being like every other justice seeker on TV with a tragic past.

Edited November 10, 2015 by madmaverick

[pepper]

Nobody else said it, so I will: Nathan Fillion was chewing up the scenery in this episode. Completely over-acting. I almost stopped and deleted the episode 10 minutes in (it's broadcast at 7 pm in Eastern Canada so I record and watch later). His performance got better later on, but he reverted to the clown often enough throughout to make me cringe. 

 

There were some good scenes, almost all involving the guest stars, but if the writers have to go to one more random character to remind the audience how much in love Beckett and Castle are with each other, I'll hurl. Seriously, folks, it's your job to put something up on the screen that makes the AUDIENCE want to tell Castle how much Beckett loves him. I mean, how well does Slaughter know the two of them? What makes him such an expert on Castle's marriage? Didn't you establish up front that Castle hasn't seen him since the last time the audience saw him?

 

I admit that my level of contempt for Baldwin made it hard for me to enjoy any scene he was in, which didn't help my efforts to suspend disbelief. But the cliches written into the dialogue and the cheesy music when I was supposed to be touched... *shudder*  All ending with a violent cop, who arguably should not be wearing a badge in the first place, as a mentor to an intelligent, thoughtful genius... They could have made Castle his mentor and given themselves something interesting for the character to do if Fillion wanted a change, but of course they didn't. And a cop beating the hell out of a man and not being charged with assault - in fact, his barely-controlled violence being played for laughs - just falls a bit flat for me given the stuff I've seen lately from real-life cameras.

 

I watch this show for Castle and Beckett solving crimes together and having the same moral compass despite their different personalities and approach to what they do. I didn't miss Beckett, because I didn't recognize WTF that was on my screen. A pilot for a new Fillion comedy about how hilarious a violent cop can be while is trusty sidekick makes faces? No thanks. Was happy to click "erase".  

[FlickerToAFlame]

So, I'm sure a lone Beckett scene could have been wedged in, even if she was solo in the scene or on the phone. Does SK have to be paid her whole per episode salary no matter how much she's in an episode and they just figured they'd save the money?

[verdana]

So, I'm sure a lone Beckett scene could have been wedged in, even if she was solo in the scene or on the phone. Does SK have to be paid her whole per episode salary no matter how much she's in an episode and they just figured they'd save the money?

A fan on twitter asked that question recently to some blogger who must work in the business and they confirmed it doesn't matter if she makes an appearance or not she'll get paid exactly the same so it wasn't saving them money. 

Edited November 10, 2015 by verdana

[Blackrock1]

In the pilot for the series, Castle stole crime scene photos off of Beckett's desk. She arrested him. Castle was introduced as ladies man, signing boobs and twice divorced from hot women.

The balance to the character was provided by his crazy mother and his daughter. It was nice. A handsome, rich, successful alpha male whose ego was kept in check by his family. It made him interesting AND relatable.

Flash forward, Castle steals a police car and helps a prisoner escape. No consequences. He is such a hapless buffoon that Slaughter wonders how he got a hot wife? His mother has gone from crazy to wise, his daughter has failed to launch and his third wife has taken a "time out". The man who was driven to find the story doesn't even question her.

The is nothing interesting about Richard Castle anymore. He's lost his mojo.

Beckett Is just a train wreck. Introduced as buttoned down, by the book cop. She was a sympathetic character. A woman who was smart, resourceful and successful in a male dominated field. She was damaged and driven by personal tragedy to help others. Becket was the kind of character that you root for in a story.

Flash forward, they morphed her into a supermodel who lurches in all directions when it comes to her career and her love life. She loved her job, she solved her mother's murder, it wasn't enough.She's so awesome that the Feds want her, the state senate wants her, the precinct wants her, Castle wants her. She has rejected all of them either outright, or by her actions. How is she still employed? Why would Castle still pine after her?

Her character has no counterbalance. It used to be Montgomery, then Gates. There is no authority in the precinct anymore. She answers to no one professionally, and she clearly does what she wants in her marriage...walking out with no explanation.

How can you root for a character who has been on a quest for personal satisfaction, at everyone else's expense, and who doesn't even see it?

Five seasons was enough. This stretching out of the series has ruined the characters and thus, the whole story IMO.

[FlickerToAFlame]

A fan on twitter asked that question recently to some blogger who must work in the business and they confirmed it doesn't matter if she makes an appearance or not she'll get paid exactly the same so it wasn't saving them money.

Hmm, interesting. I wonder then if SK just wanted to distance herself from Baldwin as much as possible. I read awhile ago, but don't remember where, that he's said some rude things about her (to her face or not I don't know).

[Chado]

Flash forward, they morphed her into a supermodel who lurches in all directions when it comes to her career and her love life. She loved her job, she solved her mother's murder, it wasn't enough.She's so awesome that the Feds want her, the state senate wants her, the precinct wants her, Castle wants her. She has rejected all of them either outright, or by her actions. How is she still employed? Why would Castle still pine after her?

Her character has no counterbalance. It used to be Montgomery, then Gates. There is no authority in the precinct anymore. She answers to no one professionally, and she clearly does what she wants in her marriage...walking out with no explanation.

How can you root for a character who has been on a quest for personal satisfaction, at everyone else's expense, and who doesn't even see it?

Agree with this so much.

Edited November 10, 2015 by Chado

[madmaverick]

The only waves around Adam Baldwin when he did his previous episode that I recall was the then editor who was into tweeting political things getting into a twitter argument with him.  I don't agree with AB's political views at all but I haven't read anything about him not being a professional or a gentleman on set.  There are plenty of people whose political views I don't agree with (lol, half of America?) but it doesn't mean they can't have their good qualities as well.  It's unfair to assume otherwise. And I'm always wary of reducing people's complexities down to 140 character tweets.

 

To me, the simplest and most likely reason for Stana not being in the episode was that she wanted the time off and TPTB were able to make that work for her and for the show.  Maybe she really wanted to go to that fashion show.  And to me, the simplest and most likely reason for Adam Baldwin to be in this episode was because Hawley wanted to do another version of his previous episode with Slaughter.  Hawley wanted it, Hawley wrote it and Hawley made it work with the actors' schedules.  It was one episode in a season of 20+ episodes.  Not a big deal to me.

[basiltherat]

I don't like that Rick has been so emasculated by Show.  Having a strong woman (Beckett) does not mean you have to make the male lead lesser.  Can't they be equals coming at a problem from different perspectives?  That was what it was at the beginning.  Now, Ricky is Beck's show poodle (and he's had a little snip snip).

 

And I must admit I am missing Gates more that I thought I would.  Hope the actress is getting work elsewhere!

[Lamb18]

I bet Castle will have Hayley track down what Kate is doing.

[Driad]

 

When you design a P.I. office, you plan the lighting so when someone comes in, his face is in the dark and you can't see who he is until he is close enough to jump you.  Right?  If they lighted the rest of the show decently, I might forgive this "dramatic" lapse.  For this show it was just idiotic.

 

Can someone explain the use of the "Cool Boy" song?  I remember the song but not the choreography.  How did Slaughter know what Castle wanted to do, and when?

[CastleSeason8]

When you design a P.I. office, you plan the lighting so when someone comes in, his face is in the dark and you can't see who he is until he is close enough to jump you. Right? If they lighted the rest of the show decently, I might forgive this "dramatic" lapse. For this show it was just idiotic.

Can someone explain the use of the "Cool Boy" song? I remember the song but not the choreography. How did Slaughter know what Castle wanted to do, and when?

I dont know. I was too busy shrinking in my couch of embarrassment

[madmaverick]

For anyone interested, this is the rendition from West Side Story, the movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wugWGhItaQA

 

I thought Nathan and Adam did a pretty good job with the singing.  Actually prefer them to ShayJean, heh. 

 

Nathan Fillion ‏@NathanFillion  13h13 hours ago
These scenes are hard to do unless you have a real handle on the logic of the mystery. We sometimes sit and track it through.

 

Nice of him to do another live tweet.  Was he talking about the scene where they were all in the break room discussing the case?  Considering some of the COTWs we've had to endure, it's no wonder even the actors have to track it through.  Of course, sometimes you wonder if the writers tracked things through in the first place, both the logic of mysteries and relationships on the show. ;)

[Bubbi63]

I do not comment much since I don't watch much but I did watch last night and as the poster before me stated--I watched it as a stand alone prime time special that wasn't Castle--just a show.  There were some lol moments and KB was not there to suck the oxygen out of the show.  So I was able to watch and not want to toss things at my screen every time the mean (I am the best cop ever) self absorbed KB was in a scene.

Other than the stop asking for permission advice the rest of it was cringe worthy and also makes me wonder why Espo. Ryan and Lanie are not there for Castle?  He talks to Slaughter because besides his mom and daughter who else is there?  The boys are staying out it and of course Lanie is KB BFF but it still bugs me that not even Ryan extends any real empathy other than bribes. That said--  I had no problem with Castle taking the guys through a few hoops.

 

 I think Castle has been damaged beyond repair and I see no way of fixing it now. It would need a some awesome creative writing to turn things around but I have lost hope of that ever happening.  My only hope is that RC will get off the buffoon trolley and zero in and figure out what his errant wife is doing.  On that note of what KB is doing---am I the only one who sees that she is putting not only Castle but everyone from her father to her family, co-workers and friends in danger as well?

Why did they fire PJ after telling her she was in and create Hayley? She is window dressing imo.

 

So much of the fandom expects them back together before the winter break and we know that is not going to happen. With that--a long winter break will make it that much easier not to come back. Thanks for letting me vent......

[Samantha84]

Review: Castle felt like a completely different show in this week's disappointing episode

[Samantha84]

It's a shame what this show has become. What these writer/showrunners have done to the characters and the ship. So much so that people would rather see a pig of character like Ethan Slaughter than the character of Kate Beckett. Hawley/Winter have regressed Beckett back to pre-season 4 and undid all the character development. Castle a character that had some intelligence and common sense is now a complete buffoon and idiot. Sleeper was when I washed my hands of this show and reading/hearing about it now ... I'm glad I did.