"And she needs him to know. She needs him aware that everything he was to her during those times, everything he's been and still is are the things she's willing to be for him." An insert for 7x20.
"And she needs him to know. She needs him aware that everything he was to her during those times, everything he's been and still is are the things she's willing to be for him." An insert for 7x20.
And after talking to my friend, Bri abeautytotherhythm she made an excellent observation that I hadn’t thought of. Yes, the reasoning for Castle’s disappearance was insane and far fetched. Yes, I think it was some kind of distraction for a more plausible reason. But, get this. Beckett’s mythology is beautifully constructed, a painful, intricately woven story that highlights the parts of her that we’ve grown to love. Her mythology is a mirror of who she is. Castle’s mythology is a little all over the place, with crazy theories and twists and turns that have us scratching our heads and looking for an explanation, and you know what? It’s so Castle. It’s so much like who we’ve known him to be. And that’s what makes me love it, that’s what makes me okay with it all until we get more information and a better understanding. :)
So if you saw my short post-episode post on Monday, you’ll know I was somewhere on the fence with my feelings for the episode - I was left wanting answers, and while I kind of actually liked that about it, I couldn’t help but feel like something was off.
After a second viewing I’m standing by my initial reactions, but with a slightly clearer picture of why. So what I think I’ll do for this is I’ll talk a bit critically first, and then I’ll move into the stuff that I liked, loved, and what made me squeak like a little kid. Because this episode had both sides of the coin for me. (It’s long, you’ve been warned.)
My biggest problem with the episode was it felt like an information dump instead of a completely rounded story. I felt like a lot happened, a lot was thrown at us, and it wasn’t as fleshed out or expanded as much as it necessarily could’ve been in order to give us “resolution.” And I know part of that was because it was intended to be a means of wrapping up just enough to “satisfy” while leaving more open for later, but it still felt too rushed for my tastes.
I felt like it needed to have been a two-parter, or somehow split to have had one part of the episode take place earlier in the season and then the “wrap up” take place in this episode. There could’ve still been answers left to find, but perhaps it would’ve felt a little bit less like this was the obligatory reprisal of the storyline, or half a season of 24 played out in 43 minutes. (And I say that as someone who loves 24, but part of its charm is in the pacing. The other parts are Jack Bauer yelling at Nina people and Tony Almeida being a sexy smartass, but I digress.) My point is the pacing was underwhelming while the amount of information being given was almost overwhelming, and the potential for more great character moments (because there were already a few) was lost because of that.
Now, as fantastical as the plot itself was, I actually enjoyed that. I’m a fan of big conspiracy things - X-Files, the aforementioned 24, etc - so this idea that Castle could’ve been involved in something big didn’t bother me. Even the idea that it was “spy stuff” and that his father wasn’t involved actually makes sense, too. Think back to Deep Cover, where (from what I remember) all of Beckett’s contacts told her Jackson Hunt/Anderson Cross/Spy!Daddy had essentially gone rogue. He, of course, told Castle that was the story they had to tell, their own plausible deniability. But it seems likely that it was actually the truth, and he’s off pursuing his own interests, and Castle’s kidnapping wasn’t part of his agenda.
What I wasn’t thrilled about was the way some aspects of the plot were introduced, left dangling, and treated largely as if they’d been resolved. And I’m not talking about the idea that they got enough answers for now and they can move on and continue with their lives, because that’s kind of always been something the show pushes - not having all the answers right now doesn’t mean you can’t and shouldn’t live your life as happily and as fully as possible. It’s more of the “why now” aspect of the Golovkin coming to town - the question itself seemed like it was posed and dropped because largely the focus was on Castle’s memories filtering back, but what was the story behind the Golovkin coming to town to clean up in the first place? Was he ever actually out for Castle? If he was, will someone else be after Castle because Fake!Jenkins took the Golovkin out? I can see why they’d stop actively looking, but having some answers doesn’t necessarily negate the rest of the questions, I think.
And on a more personal note, are there any ramifications for Esposito and Castle as friends, given that Castle knows Espo still doesn’t buy what they know of the missing time? Since Castle’s “sworn to secrecy,” I sincerely doubt he’s going to tell the boys, and even if he did, what are the odds of Esposito believing him? Which kind of leaves the elephant at the very least off to the side in the room, still. That’s one of those great character moments I felt was sacrificed in the quick wrap up, especially since it’s doubtful we’ll see more than maybe little nuggets of that distrust in the weeks to come.
Story wise, I’m absolutely intrigued by what we learned and the massive amount of things we still don’t know. I’m torn between being utterly convinced that the story Castle was fed was bullshit meant to play at the part of him that loves to make a difference and make his absence at least somewhat palatable - as Beckett said, saving the world is the best excuse ever for missing their wedding - and thinking at least some of it was true, but knowing it doesn’t make sense. Because if it is true, why was he then gone for the rest of the months? If extracting Bilal took 4 days, a week tops, what about the other weeks? What about Montreal and the bank boxes? What about the bullet wound and being set adrift at sea? What else was he conscripted into doing? Was the extra time because of what they did to his memory? Did something go wrong, or did someone decide to use him while they had him under and were working on his memories and that created more danger? (Or was Fake!Jenkins just really lonely and he liked Castle’s jokes and didn’t want to give him back to Beckett? That’s mostly a joke, but who knows.) It seems to me like the story is more bullshit than truth, because a simple “matter of national security/world saving mission” isn’t something you have to supposedly ask to have erased, especially if it was a legit CIA thing. Even off-books missions like what he did with his father in Paris... there was no need to have his memory erased to bring him and Alexis home.
I also want to know this: if the only motivation for the kidnapping was the fact that Castle knew a guy and said guy needed him as a human shield for a few days, why frame the evidence to point to Castle ditching his life? Why not hire a nameless CIA flunky to drop the cash off to crush the car? Was it solely to get the FBI to back off? Because to me it feels like there was something more sinister to it. Lesser families would’ve broken apart because of that. He could’ve very well returned to a fiancee who never wanted to see him again, or one who would’ve “forgiven” him but never trusted him again. He could’ve returned to a career that tanked because his fans turned on him. That feels pretty calculated to me, and not just in the CIA “some collateral damage is OK” sense.
I also still want to know if any of the 6x23 comedy of errors prior to the wedding was part of the kidnapping scheme. They haven’t said it wasn’t, but I can’t help but feel like at least SOME of it had to be. If not Rogan (though I’m more likely to consider the Vegas!marriage the most legit part of the Murphy’s law wedding that wasn’t short of the pipe and the dress), then at the very least the venue, which got Rick to that very specific empty road on the way to the Hamptons at that moment. Otherwise, why not grab him off the street and disappear into a sea of people as he’s walking around waiting for the wedding? Plus, with all the record manipulation that we’ve heard them discuss - the DMV photos for Fake!Jenkins, Faircroft’s records saying Castle was the sole winner of the debate championship... it feels weird that nobody has even wondered if, perhaps, a marriage suddenly being on record for Beckett wasn’t part of it too.
My going thought is that if the Vegas!Marriage was part of the kidnapping plot, she and Rogan did the drive thru chapel for shits and grins, because that’s something Beckett remembers having done, and Rogan clearly told people he had a coma!wife with Kate’s name, but never formally filed paperwork and thus it wasn’t actually real - I’m basing this on what I’ve read from here, so theoretically the law wasn’t much different in 98/99. So assuming the saving the world story is legit, when the CIA needed Castle, they did some searching into his past, then Beckett’s and realized they could falsify marriage records to, at the very least, slow down the wedding, get Castle out of the country for whatever reason, and then bring him back. But that’s obviously just a theory, and without any sort of confirmation for or against it, it’ll remain that way.
So I’m very much hoping they do address this storyline again in season 8, because I would love to see if any of my own conspiracy theories prove to be connected, or if it’s just the product of my overactive imagination, and I’d absolutely like to see the full story get fleshed out. Because “saving the world” makes a great tagline, but it doesn’t explain why amnesia was necessary to come home, it doesn’t explain why someone wanted to tie up loose ends months after the fact, and it doesn’t explain what the heck else Castle was into/forced into while he was gone. It doesn’t explain the money drop and crafting the story to make it look like Castle ditched his life. So yes, my hope is definitely that we’ll see more answers next season.
Now, I’ve already talked about liking the intrigue of the story, and liking the bigger pieces that leave me fidgeting for more, so now I’m gonna hit on the rest of the things I absolutely loved about the episode:
Everything about the family. From Martha’s blunt honesty in the beginning, to Beckett’s quiet prodding, to Alexis knowing when she needs help getting through to her father, to one of the most grown up talks father and daughter have had. I loved it all. I love the way this family has grown and banded together to be each other’s rocks when they need it.
I love the fact that Kate didn’t back down, and she didn’t let the fact that things are good between them and in their life as a whole deter her from helping her husband. I loved the fact that she stood up for him quietly to the guys when they scoffed at the tasks she asked of them, and that she didn’t back down with Gates.
Speaking of Gates, I loved her scene with Beckett. Just the right amount of respect for what Castle (and Beckett) went through, but just the right amount of skepticism too. I love the quiet respect she and Beckett have for each other.
I loved Alexis coming to wake Kate and standing well out of the limb flailing zone. Something tells me Kate Beckett’s a bear to wake up, unless you’re Castle bearing something hot... oh and coffee, too.
Castle in plaid. Mhmmm. Yes, I can be shallow, too.
Martha coming to Kate was beautiful, but even more beautiful was Kate’s insistence that she will be right there. If there was ever, every any doubt about how much Kate Beckett loves her husband and wants the best for him, I hope this episode erased it.
Castle punching Fake!Jenkins. Golden. Not only was it hot, it was also this gorgeous moment for Castle, who’s lived with these worries for months, finally having an outlet for the anger and the frustration he’s been feeling. And the fact that his biggest concerns were doing something terrible and hurting Kate Beckett and his family... just gorgeous.
Also along that line, the talk between Castle and Alexis was just beautiful. And the absolute faith Alexis has in her father is just fantastic. I’m glad we’re going to see more of the two of them working together next week.
So basically, all the personal moments were absolutely spot on for me. The Castle household is just an amazing place, and I’m so, so happy to see how much they love their life and how hard they’ll work for each other. In that respect, the episode was a win for me, even if it wasn’t necessarily an overwhelming success in other areas.
And if you made it this far, you get a cookie. And a high five.
