I was talking with Carla before the show this week and made the guess that all of the Castle/Beckett romance shenanigans would take a back seat now that the premiere has passed. I think that’s correct, for the most part. There really wasn’t much more than the occasional glance that one could read a little something extra into, if one was so inclined. Still, after all the craziness with psychics, it’s the relationship aspect of the show that’s on my mind.
That’s partly due to the comment from CliqueClack regular Kate on last week’s post. She disagreed with my take on the episode, and had her own very good reasons. It would seem that the two of us differ in that, for now, I’m willing to look past the ‘Lucy and the football’ aspect of the show, and simply enjoy it for the madcap adventure that it is. However, while I’m still on board with the show, I share many of Kate’s concerns over what they are doing with the Castle/Beckett romance.
So, with so little reference to it this week, why do I bring it up again? Well, even after all the craziness of what was a very good Castle case, the one little thing that stuck out for me in the episode was Castle’s throwaway line about how he’s still with Gina. Sorry, but I have to call bullshit on that one. If we are to believe, after two years of teasing and watching Castle’s longing glances, that he is four months into a new relationship with his ex, then where the hell is she?
We’re getting more story out of Martha and Chet (and really, round of applause for Susan Sullivan) than we are out of Castle and Gina. If this new relationship is anything more than just a convenience to keep Castle and Beckett apart because someone read in their Copshow 101 manual that they can’t be together, then it’s going to take a little more than a toss-away line to convince the audience. At least, my little part of this audience. I’m curious to know how others feel about the great romance of Castle and Gina.
Now, as for the case, I did feel it was a little slow to start. Granted, woman stuffed inside of a couch is a pretty inventive open. It still took me a bit to really get invested in the case though. What won me over was the way it perfectly illustrated just how different the world views for Castle and Beckett really are. Castle is the dreamer, the one who wants to believe. The Mulder to Beckett’s facts and figures Scully.
It also didn’t hurt that the case led itself to some priceless Castle reactions. His little squeak when he realized that Vivian had predicted her own murder was priceless. As was the glee that followed. It’s that curious wonder that just washes over Castle that really sets this show apart from all of the other cop shows. You can’t help but get sucked in by his charm. I also loved the little bit with “Ask the Masons…” That little exchange is why we dig the Castle/Beckett dynamic so much. And it will still work if/when they get together.
At the end of the day, I’m still filing this one as a really good episode. I certainly have my issues with what is going on between Richard Alexander (TEASE!) and Beckett, but this is still a very fun show, and one of the very, very, few cop shows I’ll even watch.
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Sep 28, 2010 @ 08:13 EST5EDT
One of the things that I really liked about this episode is that the mother was a fake but the daughter’s visions were real.
I think Castle did Beckett wrong when he said she’s not a dreamer or a believer. Beckett believes in a lot of dreams, just not the unicorns and psychics kind. She believed in the dream of catching her mother’s killer so much she almost drove herself crazy. She believes in the dream of catching the perp every time she works on a cast and especially as she stares at the murder board through the long night hours trying to figure it out. And her leap of faith in her dream when she ended her relationship with Demming and going to Castle to see if they could have a relationship, amidst all her doubts that he was able to have the kind of relationship she wanted, was huge. As was her letting him back into her life at the station (and hence into her heart) last week when not only is he still in a relationship with Gina but he didn’t call when he got back into town as he said he would. He proved himself untrustworthy but she still had faith in the dream.
The difference I see between them is that when Castle dreams and it doesn’t come true, he just rolls with the punch and keeps going. He’s a teflon guy. When Beckett’s dreams don’t happen, because they are more realistic dreams it hurts her more and she’s more likely to let if affect her.
Even if we didn’t see Gina yet this season, Castle’s line that the thrill is back big time with Gina was more than enough cold water for me. I’m glad that for some people the Castle/Beckett magic is there and I appreciate that Castle is no longer flirting with Beckett now that he’s in a relationship but I am disappointed how much less I enjoy their scenes this season than the last two. They’re as enjoyable as Ryan/Esposito banter but for me nothing more. As for the daughter’s prophecy that someone called Alexander will be important to Beckett and may even save her life, it kicked Castle into Bones territory for me, the endless teasing of the couple even while they date other people, promises that go nowhere until I starting thinking that they should just be best friends and nothing more. Not to mention we know Castle has saved Beckett’s life at least three times so far (Always Buy Retail, Sucker Punch and last weeks’s episode) so it’s not really telling us anything new.
(I’m flattered to know that you’re reading my comments. :-))
*POST AUTHOR*
I always read, and look forward to, your comments. :D
Your Bones comparison is an apt one I think, and one that I continually go back to myself. I quit watching Bones a while back for those very reasons, and I can certainly see Castle heading down that same path. I just think we differ on how far down the path they are at this point.
I think Andrew Marlowe said in an interview that when he was pitching Castle, ABC told him they wanted a show like ‘Bones’ (this would be in ‘Bones’ season 3 when they weren’t in a rut yet) so we’ve got the right comparitor. The other time he mentioned Bones was in an interview during the summer where he said they had to find the right balance between Castle and Beckett so that it doesn’t move into brother/sister territory like ‘Bones’.
But the show I’m worried about comparisons to right now is ‘House’. It’s been losing viewers since season 4 but since they hooked up House and Cuddy, they’ve taken a nosedive both in overall viewers and in the 18-49 demo. I’m afraid Marlowe is going to see this as an example of The Moonlighting Curse (put the characters in a relationship and the show is dead) and delay getting Castle and Beckett together even longer. (I don’t think that’s the case with House, the problem is not that House is in a relationship but that he is in a (poorly written IMO) relationship with Cuddy.)
*POST AUTHOR*
And there you’ve nailed it. Either scenario can work. Keep the pair apart, or put them together. It all comes down to the writing. The rub comes in constantly hinting at them getting together and then inventing more and more reasons for it not to happen.
Both Bones and Castle should take a hint from The Glades’ writers. Writers there went to a complete different route. While Jim and Callie can’t be together for a real reason (Callie is married) instead of unbelievable fake reasons (like in Bones), they are together with having sex and a few kisses. It is exciting, tense, and fun.