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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

I Love You Kate : Review of Castle 3x24 'Knockout' (Season Finale)



So was last night mind blowing or what?? I already knew somebody was going to die. That isn’t what shocked me, but boy did the ending leave me speechless…

For the most part episodes of Castle are self-contained. Yes the sexual tension between Castle & Beckett is apparent in every episode, but plot heavy episodes only happen every once in a while.

Going into last night’s episode, we all knew that we would be diving back into the murder of Joanna Beckett. Because of this we assumed that this episode would be very plot heavy. We expected to come out shocked. And usually when a viewer goes into an episode with such high expectations it jinxes it. The viewer comes out feeling un-shocked and unsatisfied. Well this was certainly not the case with this finale. When this episode ended I felt like I do after an episode of Fringe. Okay well maybe I wasn’t that confused, but I definitely didn’t know how to process everything that just went down (speaking of which I still haven’t posted about the last episode of Fringe. Ha did that episode mind f*$k me).

Getting back on track, this episode dealt with concepts that Castle just doesn’t talk about. For God’s sake Castle & Beckett discussed feelings. I mean what IS THIS?! The scene between the two of them in Kate’s apartment was just…amazing. Seriously I applaud Nathan and Stana. For those of us who watched the sneak peeks, we knew a talk like that was coming, but I never imagined the factors that would lead up to it. Castle being told by the captain and Beckett’s dad that he needed to stop her…genius. When Beckett’s dad came to see Castle I was floored. He was the last person I expected to see in this episode. The fact that he knew so much about Castle spoke volumes about his relationship with Beckett. And the look on Castle’s face when Daddy Beckett was talking to him…priceless. I basically felt like Beckett’s dad was giving Castle & Beckett his blessing or something (Let’s face it. These two are destined to get married. It’s okay to admit it to yourself). Daddy Beckett put so much trust in Castle, solely based on what he’s heard from his daughter. Now if that doesn’t say something, I don’t know what does.

And then the captain. Jeez. Yeah there was a lot of shit that went down involving him that I’ll get into a little later, but the stuff he said throughout the episode about Beckett & Castle’s relationship was heartwarming. He knew Castle allowed Beckett to have fun. He knew Castle would be the only one to get Beckett to back down. He knew that if he told Castle to go to Beckett that Castle would listen .

So Castle went to Beckett and took Daddy Beckett and the Captain’s advice. But of course Beckett stayed true to her character and refused to back down. I was so happy that the writers had Castle bring up how this was affecting Beckett’s loved ones. When Daddy Beckett appeared earlier in the episode I kept thinking “Kate, can you at least give this up for your father? He’s still alive, and he deserves to have you in his life. Don’t do this to him.” So when Castle brought that up I was stoked. When he brought Josh up I was a little less stoked, but hey I understood. And then..the moment we’ve all been waiting for…Beckett threw Castle a curveball – “What about you Rick?” Castle exploded and I LOVED it. The way he went off on her about how they never talk about their feelings was breathtaking. Everything he said was so true, and she knew it. She tried to push him away by telling him he doesn’t know her, but we all know that’s BS. Their relationship has been built up so that they affect one another in a way that no other person can (hence Martha’s line “There’s only one person on the planet that could make you this upset”). So when Beckett finally felt her walls crumbling, in true Beckett fashion she retreated. Let’s face it, she might be kick ass physically, but emotionally she definitely has some issues. She kicked Castle to the curb and went running to the captain to get Castle removed from the 12th permanently.

And even though she went to the captain with the intention of getting Castle thrown out, we all know why she really went there. She knew the captain would tell her how ridiculous she was being. She knew the captain would never let her throw Castle away. So when the captain simply went along with everything she was saying she went crazy and I loved it. That scene was hilarious and Stana played it so well. When he said “Okay” Kate literally looked at him like “WTF did you just say?!” It. Was. Wonderful.

Okay, breaking away from Castle & Beckett for a moment, I’m going to talk a little about the captain now. From previous episodes we already knew a ton about Joanna Beckett’s murder. We knew cops were involved. We knew someone hired assassins, but we didn’t know that the captain was involved with the case. How many of you saw that coming? I was completely blindsided. When it came out that he was the 3rd cop I felt just like Ryan and Esposito (BTW their fight really got me worked up. I was screaming at my TV “YOU’RE BEST FRIENDS. CUT. IT. OUT."). Like R & E I wanted to deny what I was hearing. I wanted it to not be true. The captain has always seemed like a father figure for Beckett, so knowing that he had any part in her mother’s murder was devastating. But because the Castle writers are so awesome, they were able to still redeem him in the end.

The captain loads his gun, brings Kate to lure in the bad guys, and has Castle there to take her away. That man seriously had everything thought out. What he was saying to Kate made so much sense. He hadn’t intentionally tried to hurt anyone. He got in too deep as a rookie, and when she came around he saw it as a chance at redemption. Everything he did for her might have had an ulterior motive, but he still truly cared.

When Castle carried Beckett away (her screaming “I forgive you” was heartbreaking) I went nuts. We’ve never seen Beckett have a meltdown like that, and the way Castle held her and comforted her was perfect. Now the one thing to me that didn’t make sense in this scene was the moment that Castle let Beckett go. How on earth would he know that what he had just heard was the final gunshot? Lockwood could have very well still been alive and ready to take her away, but Castle let her run off. It made no sense. So if anyone has any explanations hit me with them!

So then the final scene happens: the funeral procession. We assume that the drama has mostly stopped at this point. Yeah, we all knew a cliffhanger was coming. But I for one assumed it would be another Castle is about to tell Beckett how he feels, Josh miraculously falls from the sky and rides off with her on his horse motorcycle moment.

But no that doesn’t happen. Instead we see a freaking SNIPER. And before we have any time to fully process what’s going on BECKETT GETS SHOT. WHAT THE HELL? Obviously she isn’t going to die, but still, WHAT THE HELL Castle writers?! Once again I applaud you because I did not see that coming. When Castle told Beckett he loved her I nearly fainted. I wanted her to say it back so bad, but obviously that’s coming.

Now my predictions for the future? Well since Kate was “horribly injured” stupid Josh is probably going to come in and save the day with all of his doctor skills. As much as I really don’t want that to happen, I would not put it past the writers. I could even see them having Kate not remember what Castle said right before she went unconscious. I mean, the girl had just been shot. She was definitely going into shock. So while I don’t expect there to be huge progress between them right away next season, I’m still happy Castle got his feelings out there. We finally got to hear him admit that he loves her, and more importantly, Castle got to hear himself admit it.

This episode was magnificent just like the entire season has been. I could not have expected anything better, and I am so pleased with what we got. This episode was a definite WIN. Do you guys agree? Did you love it?? Hate it?? (How could you hate it?) Chime in below!!

Oh and quick side note: Who do you think the captain sent those files to? People are probably assuming he sent them to Castle, but I’m not so sure. Castle showed up at the hanger because the captain called him, not because he had seen the files. But then again the creator did say that Castle will know more about the murder come season 4, so maybe he did get those files after all. Unfortunately we won’t know until September. But until then just remember these four words "I love you Kate."

7 comments:

  1. This episode was freaking AMAZING. That is all.

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  2. WOW what a summery, I enjoyed reading your article as much as I did watching the show. Just about every point you made I agreed with. You totally right about Castle letting Beckett back in the hanger I mean how could they know Lockwood wasn't still alive? not to worry you but they actually CAN kill Beckett off, (it would be show suicide to be sure) but they still can and I have seen the company that makes this show do it in another and ran the show for another session without the heroin in it (though it really did suck without her) Fingers crossed they're not going to make the same mistake. Though I agree I don’t want Josh to come back but at some point he's going to have to eventually so they can at least break up so she can be with Castle. Totally OMG when Beckett's Dad showed up that was brilliantly written and the later scene between C&B at her apartment. Like you I saw the sneak peek and was totally opened mouthed in shock by what I heard but it was the scenes after that really got me, I don’t recall seeing Castle lose his temper (other than when he punched out Lockwood in Knockdown) like he did when he pegged the glass at the book cover-and Martha got to love her performance- point of Fact (as I am a writer myself) when Castle can no longer find the words to explain that’s when emotion takes over if a writer is ever speechless we're beyond help. To be honest I saw the twist of the Captain being involved coming I even knew someone was goanna get shot though I must admit by the time Kate got shot I was too submerged in the show to really predict anything. I laughed actually as each ep I was saying someone was goanna get shot but each time I was wrong, it was like finally I got one right lol.
    After talking with his mom Castle was trying to tell Kate the truth but she refused to answer his call, the way I see it was just after he called her for the 24th time he got the call from the Captain and after that everything went haywire as you know. Think about the guilt Castle is going to feel next season. If he had only gotten to her sooner he could have protected her (if she dies or not) that’s going to affect him greatly. In the end I was really amazed by it all (really happy he told her) I joked that she'd say 'oh, great Castle now you tell me' lol anyway great summery, dying to see next season. Can’t hardly wait.

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  3. I liked your summery as well. I love this show in general. They arn't going to have Kate with a fatel gun shot. I wonder who the new captin is going to be? Would it be too much for Rick and Kate to be married by the end of the 4th season?

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  4. My guess for Season 4 opener: In order to protect Kate from further harm, they will fake her death - she'll be whisked off to a safe house and Castle and the gang will be told she has died so that their reactions and behaviors will convince the bad guys she is really gone. Castle will lose it and he, Ryan, and Esposito will plan to do something stupid, to take the bad guys down, but at the last minute all hell will break lose as the DOJ comes down on whoever "Him" is. Castle will somehow blunder into a situation where he is the accidental hero, taking "Him" down, possibly beating him senseless until a half dozen FBI agents pull him off. The big moment will be the reveal - when everyone is let in on Kate's being alive. Castle will grab her up in a bear hug and overflow with relief and happiness. There will be a moment at the end of the episode when they are left alone. Castle will ask her if she remembers being shot, or anything after that ("yikes!"). She'll look puzzled and say, "I remember you leaning over me, cradling my head and telling me to stay with you" "Oh, uh, so you don't remember anything after that?" he'll ask. "No, it's all hazy after that," she'll reply. "Oh, okay." He'll turn to walk away with a look of relief on his face, but as he turns to go Kate will flash one of those knowing smiles behind his back...

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  5. @ Anonymous May 21, 2011 11:43 PM - i like your idea though they did a similar thing in Bones; Castle and Bones are already too much mirrored in their plot lines but that said great idea i like your way of thinking

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  6. @Kara C: I'd forgotten about that. Hopefully if it happens the end result will not be that Castle punches Beckett out when she shows up at her own funeral.

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  7. @Anonymous May 22, 2011 7:24 AM - LOL yes let’s hope not i don’t think it will play quite right if he did, admittedly it worked in Bones but it really would be a major break in character and really a big mistake if they did that, funny thing is I"D forgotten about THAT! lol

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