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Castle: For Better Or For Worse

“We want the happy ending, we can’t give up.”

Finally, finally, finally. After six years of will-they-won’t-they, but knowing full well they eventually would, Caskett’s wedding day is here. 300 people are on their way; the venue is booked; the tuxes are ready; what could possibly go wrong?

As it turns out, quite a bit. For one thing, our favorite detective is already married. When she was eighteen and drunk in Vegas, Beckett married Rogan O’Leary. As you can imagine, Caskett pull out all the stops to get this marriage dissolved before their big day. How they go about it and the various twists and turns, while fun, were finally a bit blah. There were too many people and too many plot threads for us to invest fully in any of them. And besides, we knew that they were going to get to their wedding, so the tension level was nil.

Of course, other crises ensue, including losing the venue to a fire. I smiled when Alexis mentioned the Hamptons. This house has been the venue of choice from the fan base since these two became engaged. Miller and Marlowe played it just right.

As if that weren’t enough, Beckett’s dress is ruined. To which I say, thank goodness. I never liked it. I did, however, love her in her mother’s dress and thought that Stana Katic looked stunning. It was appropriate that Beckett had something that honored her mother on her wedding day, but the scene with Martha made me well up. Martha has been a shipper since the get go and she loves her son, deeply. To see her acknowledge Beckett and her relationship with Castle in such a lovely way was the highlight of the episode for me.

The “cliffhanger” was a bit eye rolling. Although the SUV was scary, seeing Castle’s car in flames was not. There is absolutely no way anything too bad has happened to him. But, we will have to wait until September to find out what it is. It is, after all, time for some new mythology.

Season six has come to an end. I would rate this episode 3 out of 4 gorgeous sapphire earrings. Mathematically, that brings this season to just over a 3. The season started badly, with the D.C. and Pi stories. In fact, it was so bad that I was seriously thinking about dropping the show. I’m glad I didn’t as it came roaring back. The second half of this season was among the best work the series has done; we got some closure on the Johanna murder; and, Caskett are almost married. Good job.

The news broke this week that Castle has been renewed for season seven. I hope Marlowe and Co. can keep up the good work, but it wouldn’t break my heart if it were the last. In the meantime, have a great summer and I will see you all in the fall.

Tidbits:

— This show is not known for its continuity and we had another real issue with this one. Beckett had a job with a federal agency in D.C. for which, one assumes, she would have undergone a significant background check. How did this marriage of hers not turn up in that vetting?

— Rogan is played by Eddie McClintock. As a heartbreaker, this guy gets around. He very nearly kept Bones and Booth apart as well.

— I love the occasional glimpses we get of Beckett’s misspent youth. She picked the lock on the Pearl Jam tour bus. Bet she was fun to hang out with.

— Loved the fact that the stripper’s name was Sapphire. The gems in the earrings Martha gave Beckett were sapphires.

— Esplanie were holding hands. Three cheers!

— Nathan Fillion was on Letterman last week. He was his usual charming, witty self.

- ABC has created a fantastic video of the Caskett romance and posted it on their Facebook page. Enjoy.

Soundbites:

Gates: “You’re supposed to be a wreck. You’re about to experience one of the most important days of your life. I’m so happy for you detective.”
Castle: “Hey, guys!”
Gates: “In spite of who you’re marrying.”

Castle: “And, here I thought you were a one-and-done kind of girl.”
Fantastic callback to the first season.

Castle: “Coma wife. It’s kind of brilliant.”
Beckett: “You mean despicable, right?”
Castle: “Yeah. That’s… what I meant.”

Martha: "And, I want to thank you for making my son so very happy. I brought you something. In case you didn't have something blue."
Beckett: "Oh, wow. They're beautiful."
Martha: "They were given to me by my mother to wear on my wedding day, and by her mother before. Only women of substance have worn these gems. They've been waiting, Katherine, for you."

ChrisB is a freelance writer who spends more time than she ought in front of a television screen or with a book in her hand.

7 comments:

  1. I was searching for a long time for the perfect word for this episode. I finally realized what it was. Contrived. This episode was so over the top, I thought surely they were going to pull a gotcha! like the 100th episode. In fact, I thought for sure they were intentionally parodying all the countless shows that amp up the wedding day drama. But no, this stuff actually happened. Let's recap, shall we?

    -Beckett somehow never knew she was legally married (near impossible). So now she has to track down the guy.

    - Said guy of course doesn't want to sign the papers. Cliche.

    - Wedding venue suffered an accident

    - Beckett's dress somehow gets flooded on that day of all days.

    - There is one last case to solve on her wedding day. Naturally.

    - Castle mysteriously disappears

    Like I said; contrived. This was a horrible episode. This was bad even for a soap opera. And why have a mystery at the end? I understand the Bracken saga is over (hopefully). Can't we just have a wedding? The show was almost cancelled. Is that really how it could have ended?

    All in all, this felt like a very bad mid-season episode with Caskett's wedding attached. I didn't feel like I was watching a season finale. This whole episode was just...contrived.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are not alone, Austin. Rarely have I seen such vehemence from Castle fans, especially for a season finale. The vast majority feel exactly as you do.

    The backlash is such that Andrew Marlowe gave an interview to TV Line defending the story. Never a good sign.

    http://tvline.com/2014/05/12/castle-season-6-finale-rick-car-crash-dies-wedding/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for the link ChrisB. I was disappointed to see the interviewer was such a kiss ass (can I say ass on here?). I only come here for reviews, so I don't know if there's backlash. I think I'm going to google and see what's out there.

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  4. I'm still angry. Most of the episode was fine. Contrived yes, but, you know…it's Castle. But the 'cliffhanger.' UGHHH. After an entire season of wedding planning, they're going to pull this shit? Really? C'mon. Did they expect to shock us? Are we supposed to be on the edge of our seats wanting to know if Castle survived?

    The second I saw the black SUV I went to a spy place. I assume his dad is involved and that his death was intentionally faked for some reason.

    It's funny you brought up Bones. One of their early season finales was a wedding between Hodgins and Angela that couldn't happen because it was suddenly discovered she was married.

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  5. I have the opposite opinion than sunbunny. I found the episode for the main part to be extremely boring until we got to the cliffhanger. I don't think they were expecting us to spend all summer speculating if Castle is alive, the series is named after him after all and this is not a sci-fi show where resurrection is possible however he can still be in really big trouble. And the most important thing is that Kate thinks that he is dead. It's the characters that will be affected and that's what matters!

    After the conclusion of Joanna's murder the show needs something like this. Caskett have their fair share of enemies and their highly publicized wedding is the perfect opportunity for revenge. I for one cannot wait for next season.

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  6. I really enjoyed this episode, up to the "cliffhanger"... I think if anything they should have done it after the two were married. Let them have their wedding already! lol.

    I know, it was contrived. And included every single wedding episode cliche... and I'm certain it was on purpose. It is, after all, the show that brought us real (sort of) ninjas, phasers, maybe-a-time traveler, and so on. I thought the over-the-top-ness was perfect for Castle.

    But the ending... sheesh. It's not like we don't know Castle is still alive - Josie's law, plus the show's named after him. Oh, and on my channel it went like this:
    Dramatic shot of Beckett's reaction
    Dramatic shot of SUV burning
    Heavy Foreboding Music
    Fade to black... pause...
    Announcer, in a cheery voice "Hello Castle Fans, Castle and Beckett will be back solving cases in the Fall! In the meantime..."

    So much for the cliffhanger. LOL

    But yes... I guess the important thing is Beckett thinks he's dead. It would have been nice to see a shot of Castle waking up (or unconscious) in the dark or something, just so we know they don't think we're idiots.

    Have a great one everybody!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nonei -- your comment made me laugh. So much for the cliffhanger!

    :-)

    ReplyDelete

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