I'm surprised by the negative reaction to the "Beckett Files." (love that coinage reviewer!) Last week one of the complaints was that the conspiracy hadn't been mentioned or dealt with since Rise. This week it was dealt with and people are upset? The story explains why no one has bothered Castle until now - they had no reason to.
For me, the Caskett stuff was there in the sense that SOMETHING has changed. We don't know what happened at that wedding, but Beckett is now privately referring to Castle as Rick. She's listening to him more, and even when they argued it was... different. Stana & Nathan seem to have shifted the characters' dynamic to something more intimate, as if there's been another conversation about their relationship...and maybe a slow dance or two. I'm curious to see what other new layers are revealed.
Oh, and I like the relationship developing between Gates and Beckett, their scene was really good.
Tyler
January 17th, 2012 7:43 PM
Eh sometimes i wish they would just finish the storyline about Becket's mom, yeah i know its the big series story but its really annoying that its only mentioned once or twice each season and then forgotten about.
Carolyn
January 17th, 2012 7:08 PM
As usual loved the show. It wasn't he best show but I wouldn't miss any of them
Europa
January 17th, 2012 4:55 PM
@lou
I think you need to go back and re-watch the episode.
“The man in the dark” as you put it (most of us call him Mr. Smith) showed up because the evidence Beckett was uncovering about the victim’s murder was pointing to the mayor as being the one who ordered and or arranged the murder. If the mayor had been convicted (correctly or falsely) he would be removed from office. The mayor is Castle’s leverage to stay in the precinct. The mayor ordered Capt. Gates to let Castle return to precinct after she had kicked him out at the beginning of the season. If Castle is removed from the precinct he can’t keep Beckett from digging into her mother’s murder case and if Beckett starts digging into that case again, or any case possibly related to it, another attempt will be made on her life. Follow?
dagwood
January 17th, 2012 4:28 PM
Pros:They laid the ground work for continuance of the Raglan case, and the threat for Castle to keep KB out of her mothers murder since her shooting. The writers should have titled this episode, "The Pawn is moved," directing the show to a season cliffhanger over how somebody will use Castle to block the investigation of Johanna Beckett's murder/coverup.
Con:Not even an opening line about Ryan's return from honeymoon. No partner chit-chat between Ryan and Javier about Castle's remark to Ryan about any links of the mayors investigation and KB and her mother's murder. Why wouldn't he. Those two are tight partners.
lou
January 17th, 2012 4:18 PM
This weeks episode was confusing. Why did the "man in the dark" show up? It seemed out of context to get back to Beckett'w mom's murder. I thought that was over with. The writers are running low. The story was about this girl who was very well educated becoming a caller on sex line. Not a plausable premise. Then they brought in about the murder of Kate's mom again. Please!!!! Too many things going on at the same time. Lou
David
January 17th, 2012 3:32 PM
I'm going to offer my opinion about how it should have been done, it's stated quite clearly "sound off and tell us what you thought". Not sound off and give us a review.
In any case we're limited to 1000 words and no word counter!
Yes, the hypocrisy did occur to me not only for the Captain but also Beckett's biased statement she gave Castle a hard time about being biased with the Mayor when she was clearly biased when Castle was taken hostage in the bank.
I might add that biased part from that Ep was what I loved most about her.
Baebara
January 17th, 2012 3:26 PM
Love the show. Never miss it. Not a fan of the Captain
William Bruce
January 17th, 2012 3:17 PM
I was wondering to why The Ryan Wedding had zero said about it. I to would have thought they would have asked about married life, talked about happenings at reception, asked about Honeymoon, Ryan being tired after his return etc.
And yes will they dig into who was contacted to kill her and by who. And Beckett go and talk to Jordan Norris in jail? or will he come up committing "suicide" in jail? Lots of questions.
I just re-watched 'Knockdown' to see if it lived up to my memory of it. A much better episode than 'Dial M' both in terms of moving the conspiracy forward and the relationship forward. It is especially interesting to watch it now that we know about Montgomery. Puts him being so strong about keeping her off the Raglan case in a whole new light.
Europa
January 17th, 2012 3:01 PM
.... And frankly, since we got so incredibly screwed on the wedding ceremony is it really surprising that the honeymoon isn’t mentioned? There have been several times when I’ve felt the events of a previous episode should at least be mentioned or touched on in the following episode. I love this show, I really do, but one of my gripes with Marlowe and the other writing PTB is that they often leave these nagging little gaps in the continuity. It’s frustrating.
JoleneAL
January 17th, 2012 3:01 PM
What premire did you watch? Except for the fact I wish we'd seen part of the wedding, I loved it.
You guys - please stop putting your opinions in the reviews.
Just review.
TY
Europa
January 17th, 2012 3:01 PM
Since “Castle” isn’t a “real time” TV series in the true since of “24” I don’t know why people assume there’s no passage of time in between cases. Just because we’re seeing a case a week doesn’t mean there’s actually a case a week within the “Castle” universe. You mention Ryan being right back at work after his wedding. We don’t know that. For all we know it’s been two, three, or more weeks, and he and Jenny have already had the honeymoon. Or, it could have been mentioned but that scene got cut. Who knows? ….
Heather
January 17th, 2012 2:36 PM
I love this show but promise I'll barf if someone calls the captain "sir" one more time!
moe
January 17th, 2012 2:11 PM
I don't trust the captain....she has her own agenda...personally I think she was in on the framing of the mayor....just don't trust her
MigalouchUD
January 17th, 2012 1:08 PM
I was a bit saddened you didn't touch on the hyposcrisy in the episode that sprung up. Specifically how the episode was all about them following the evidence to justice and then pursuing that whether or not it was what they wanted to do. I say hypocrisy because when Montgomery admitted his guilt they ended up burying that because they all knew him. Isn't it just flat out wrong for them to preach one thing but when the rubber hits the road to do another?
David
January 17th, 2012 10:04 AM
I've actually got a bit more time on my hands for some Castle fanfic.
I'm just wondering if the whole "I love you" thing was a tad bit too soon personally I Would have wrote it that he held her while bleeding and whispered something in her ear that we the audience never got to hear then it could be revisited later on and the big reveal.
The problem once you throw a "I love you" out there it's really demanding of a reasonably immediate reply of some type. It's not baby steps it's 1 step forward and 2 steps back. Quite frankly the audience is smart enough to see the stalling.
I've said secrets can be damaging because I see these 2 secrets Kate's, "I love you and Castles trying to protect her about to collide!!
And if I was Castle I would have recorded every conversation and details with the mystery man.
Gates is out for herself, yes it was a nice speech and I wholeheartedly agree about seeing if she bounces :) But it was only a speech, just nice words.
When I saw the promos for this episode, I could sense the sharks swimming. Luckily, while I don't think they were jumped, if this episode was meant to be this year's 'Knockdown', then it was a disappointment. I'll hold off judgement for a few more episodes to see if they come back to this topic in a better fashion.
I agree with the comments below that this story line has gone on long enough. It's time to wrap it up and bring in another. I can see it becoming like the 'X-Files' mythology (sorry, Mr. Bowman) that became so convoluted as to be silly. The story in this episode stretched credibility to the limits. I was astonished that there was not more made of Castle having to watch his friend's career come screeching to a halt simply so he could 'save' another friend.
I am an unabashed shipper, but thought the names were second. My favourite bit was the exchange of smiles when Castle told the mayor that 'she's the best'.
Sue Ann Rank: Regular Character
January 17th, 2012 7:58 AM
@ Mike and David I agree that things are moving slowly, but what the bosses on this show said near the end of season 4 was that there would not be a full-out romance between Castle and Beckett until mid-season 6. We have a year to go. They are still taking baby steps towards that goal; in this episode, as several have noted, the incidence of first-name-use has noticeably increased. So long as there is progress, and so long as the quality of the show, OVERALL, stays up, I am happy to wait. But it has reached the point of ridiculousness already. I suppose they don't think so, or they are in love with their plan. I'll wait, but it does seem silly. Castle is exhibiting the patience of a saint, and I don't really think he is a saint.
(And I absolutely LOVED the Nick and Nora Charles movies. William Powell was one of my very favorite movie stars.)
David
January 17th, 2012 6:51 AM
yeah the Captain would have had Castle kicked out of the precinct in a heartbeat so much so that it took a shadowy figure to keep Castle IN the precinct so that wouldn't happen. So much for Castle being a part of the team..
And yes I think they have stalled the characters somewhat.
Mike
January 17th, 2012 5:33 AM
It seems like they are loosing steam. It drives me crazy that just when you think they are getting close to getting answers they pull away. Just like the character of Kate and Castle. Its taken too long. They are dragging it out which means after a good long run its time to write the final chapter.
Sue Ann Rank: Regular Character
January 17th, 2012 5:04 AM
The spooky garage setting reminded me of Deep Throat and the Watergate cover-up investigation, too. (I did not see that Michael Douglas movie.)
I think our expectations have gotten rather high, but it is not unreasonable, as the writers and actors frequently meet those expectations, which is how they got that way in the first place. This show gets better. Bones, for instance, does not. My expectations there have dropped.
This episode was nothing special, although it was the first time that I did not want to drop their new Captain off the top of their building to see how high she would bounce. But I would not go so far as to characterize her as being on the side of the detectives. She is on the side of her career. In this instance, she told them to do the right thing. But that was only this time.
eridapo
January 17th, 2012 3:26 AM
Lilac, Norris was not the killer. We don't know who actually killed Laura, but we do know that Norris made a call to someone and that someone was responsible for Laura's death. Most likely, the next time we hear about Norris is when he turns up dead which is what happens to anyone that crosses the Dragon. It has been the history of this show that episode 13 (in this case 12 because of the 23 episode order) to deal with the Dragon and the conspiracy behind Johanna Beckett's murder.
Laura was killed because much like Johanna Beckett before her she stumbled upon evidence of corruption at the highest levels. What we learned in this episode is that the Mayor who some suspected to be the Dragon is a good guy, and that Mr. Smith is using Castle to keep Beckett away from any case that directly ties to the Dragon. With this case, the groundwork has been laid for the revelation of Castle's secret later on this season. This is what we were meant to take from this episode.
Lilac
January 17th, 2012 2:34 AM
I don't even care about Caskett but I found this episode boring. I spent the hour feeling like the whole like the case could have been solved in the first 20 minutes. Even before the whole conspiracy idea, I knew it had to be one of the aids. Plus the mystery man in the jacket was Caucasian; yet Beckett and Castle kept completely missing that. They suspected the mayor the whole time even though the evidence was in plain view. The only mystery I cared about was why the woman basically dropped off the earth and that mystery was solved pretty soon. I'm just sick and tired of the Beckett mystery, I don't feel like the writers have enough skill or imagination to fulfill a great story arch like they're trying to.
Elliot
January 17th, 2012 2:06 AM
It was uneven, and while there were good things (Rick didn't blindly back a friend, he let the facts lead him; he is learning; and Beckett let him guide her a bit; both things show growth..... and they are using first names more!!)...still, it was twisty but not suspenseful, which is odd for 'Castle'. And a tad too 'Deep Throat', kind of as if Rick had just re-read 'All the President's Men'. Still, be nice to move on with the Johanna case some, though I really hope it doesn't hang over them the entire series. Bless you Katie, I want you to move on past that. Be a bummer if Johanna's murder gets to be bigger than the Ship.
Castle: You guys get this a lot? Agent J…Agent K?
January 18th, 2012 7:39 AM
I'm surprised by the negative reaction to the "Beckett Files." (love that coinage reviewer!) Last week one of the complaints was that the conspiracy hadn't been mentioned or dealt with since Rise. This week it was dealt with and people are upset? The story explains why no one has bothered Castle until now - they had no reason to.
For me, the Caskett stuff was there in the sense that SOMETHING has changed. We don't know what happened at that wedding, but Beckett is now privately referring to Castle as Rick. She's listening to him more, and even when they argued it was... different. Stana & Nathan seem to have shifted the characters' dynamic to something more intimate, as if there's been another conversation about their relationship...and maybe a slow dance or two. I'm curious to see what other new layers are revealed.
Oh, and I like the relationship developing between Gates and Beckett, their scene was really good.
January 17th, 2012 7:43 PM
Eh sometimes i wish they would just finish the storyline about Becket's mom, yeah i know its the big series story but its really annoying that its only mentioned once or twice each season and then forgotten about.
January 17th, 2012 7:08 PM
As usual loved the show. It wasn't he best show but I wouldn't miss any of them
January 17th, 2012 4:55 PM
@lou
I think you need to go back and re-watch the episode.
“The man in the dark” as you put it (most of us call him Mr. Smith) showed up because the evidence Beckett was uncovering about the victim’s murder was pointing to the mayor as being the one who ordered and or arranged the murder. If the mayor had been convicted (correctly or falsely) he would be removed from office. The mayor is Castle’s leverage to stay in the precinct. The mayor ordered Capt. Gates to let Castle return to precinct after she had kicked him out at the beginning of the season. If Castle is removed from the precinct he can’t keep Beckett from digging into her mother’s murder case and if Beckett starts digging into that case again, or any case possibly related to it, another attempt will be made on her life. Follow?
January 17th, 2012 4:28 PM
Pros:They laid the ground work for continuance of the Raglan case, and the threat for Castle to keep KB out of her mothers murder since her shooting. The writers should have titled this episode, "The Pawn is moved," directing the show to a season cliffhanger over how somebody will use Castle to block the investigation of Johanna Beckett's murder/coverup.
Con:Not even an opening line about Ryan's return from honeymoon. No partner chit-chat between Ryan and Javier about Castle's remark to Ryan about any links of the mayors investigation and KB and her mother's murder. Why wouldn't he. Those two are tight partners.
January 17th, 2012 4:18 PM
This weeks episode was confusing. Why did the "man in the dark" show up? It seemed out of context to get back to Beckett'w mom's murder. I thought that was over with. The writers are running low. The story was about this girl who was very well educated becoming a caller on sex line. Not a plausable premise. Then they brought in about the murder of Kate's mom again. Please!!!! Too many things going on at the same time. Lou
January 17th, 2012 3:32 PM
I'm going to offer my opinion about how it should have been done, it's stated quite clearly "sound off and tell us what you thought". Not sound off and give us a review.
In any case we're limited to 1000 words and no word counter!
Yes, the hypocrisy did occur to me not only for the Captain but also Beckett's biased statement she gave Castle a hard time about being biased with the Mayor when she was clearly biased when Castle was taken hostage in the bank.
I might add that biased part from that Ep was what I loved most about her.
January 17th, 2012 3:26 PM
Love the show. Never miss it. Not a fan of the Captain
January 17th, 2012 3:17 PM
I was wondering to why The Ryan Wedding had zero said about it. I to would have thought they would have asked about married life, talked about happenings at reception, asked about Honeymoon, Ryan being tired after his return etc.
And yes will they dig into who was contacted to kill her and by who. And Beckett go and talk to Jordan Norris in jail? or will he come up committing "suicide" in jail? Lots of questions.
Rank: Extra
January 17th, 2012 3:03 PM
@MigalouchUD - that's an excellent observation.
I just re-watched 'Knockdown' to see if it lived up to my memory of it. A much better episode than 'Dial M' both in terms of moving the conspiracy forward and the relationship forward. It is especially interesting to watch it now that we know about Montgomery. Puts him being so strong about keeping her off the Raglan case in a whole new light.
January 17th, 2012 3:01 PM
.... And frankly, since we got so incredibly screwed on the wedding ceremony is it really surprising that the honeymoon isn’t mentioned? There have been several times when I’ve felt the events of a previous episode should at least be mentioned or touched on in the following episode. I love this show, I really do, but one of my gripes with Marlowe and the other writing PTB is that they often leave these nagging little gaps in the continuity. It’s frustrating.
January 17th, 2012 3:01 PM
What premire did you watch? Except for the fact I wish we'd seen part of the wedding, I loved it.
You guys - please stop putting your opinions in the reviews.
Just review.
TY
January 17th, 2012 3:01 PM
Since “Castle” isn’t a “real time” TV series in the true since of “24” I don’t know why people assume there’s no passage of time in between cases. Just because we’re seeing a case a week doesn’t mean there’s actually a case a week within the “Castle” universe. You mention Ryan being right back at work after his wedding. We don’t know that. For all we know it’s been two, three, or more weeks, and he and Jenny have already had the honeymoon. Or, it could have been mentioned but that scene got cut. Who knows? ….
January 17th, 2012 2:36 PM
I love this show but promise I'll barf if someone calls the captain "sir" one more time!
January 17th, 2012 2:11 PM
I don't trust the captain....she has her own agenda...personally I think she was in on the framing of the mayor....just don't trust her
January 17th, 2012 1:08 PM
I was a bit saddened you didn't touch on the hyposcrisy in the episode that sprung up. Specifically how the episode was all about them following the evidence to justice and then pursuing that whether or not it was what they wanted to do. I say hypocrisy because when Montgomery admitted his guilt they ended up burying that because they all knew him. Isn't it just flat out wrong for them to preach one thing but when the rubber hits the road to do another?
January 17th, 2012 10:04 AM
I've actually got a bit more time on my hands for some Castle fanfic.
I'm just wondering if the whole "I love you" thing was a tad bit too soon personally I Would have wrote it that he held her while bleeding and whispered something in her ear that we the audience never got to hear then it could be revisited later on and the big reveal.
The problem once you throw a "I love you" out there it's really demanding of a reasonably immediate reply of some type. It's not baby steps it's 1 step forward and 2 steps back. Quite frankly the audience is smart enough to see the stalling.
I've said secrets can be damaging because I see these 2 secrets Kate's, "I love you and Castles trying to protect her about to collide!!
And if I was Castle I would have recorded every conversation and details with the mystery man.
Gates is out for herself, yes it was a nice speech and I wholeheartedly agree about seeing if she bounces :) But it was only a speech, just nice words.
Rank: Extra
January 17th, 2012 9:33 AM
When I saw the promos for this episode, I could sense the sharks swimming. Luckily, while I don't think they were jumped, if this episode was meant to be this year's 'Knockdown', then it was a disappointment. I'll hold off judgement for a few more episodes to see if they come back to this topic in a better fashion.
I agree with the comments below that this story line has gone on long enough. It's time to wrap it up and bring in another. I can see it becoming like the 'X-Files' mythology (sorry, Mr. Bowman) that became so convoluted as to be silly. The story in this episode stretched credibility to the limits. I was astonished that there was not more made of Castle having to watch his friend's career come screeching to a halt simply so he could 'save' another friend.
I am an unabashed shipper, but thought the names were second. My favourite bit was the exchange of smiles when Castle told the mayor that 'she's the best'.
Rank: Regular Character
January 17th, 2012 7:58 AM
@ Mike and David I agree that things are moving slowly, but what the bosses on this show said near the end of season 4 was that there would not be a full-out romance between Castle and Beckett until mid-season 6. We have a year to go. They are still taking baby steps towards that goal; in this episode, as several have noted, the incidence of first-name-use has noticeably increased. So long as there is progress, and so long as the quality of the show, OVERALL, stays up, I am happy to wait. But it has reached the point of ridiculousness already. I suppose they don't think so, or they are in love with their plan. I'll wait, but it does seem silly. Castle is exhibiting the patience of a saint, and I don't really think he is a saint.
(And I absolutely LOVED the Nick and Nora Charles movies. William Powell was one of my very favorite movie stars.)
January 17th, 2012 6:51 AM
yeah the Captain would have had Castle kicked out of the precinct in a heartbeat so much so that it took a shadowy figure to keep Castle IN the precinct so that wouldn't happen. So much for Castle being a part of the team..
And yes I think they have stalled the characters somewhat.
January 17th, 2012 5:33 AM
It seems like they are loosing steam. It drives me crazy that just when you think they are getting close to getting answers they pull away. Just like the character of Kate and Castle. Its taken too long. They are dragging it out which means after a good long run its time to write the final chapter.
Rank: Regular Character
January 17th, 2012 5:04 AM
The spooky garage setting reminded me of Deep Throat and the Watergate cover-up investigation, too. (I did not see that Michael Douglas movie.)
I think our expectations have gotten rather high, but it is not unreasonable, as the writers and actors frequently meet those expectations, which is how they got that way in the first place. This show gets better. Bones, for instance, does not. My expectations there have dropped.
This episode was nothing special, although it was the first time that I did not want to drop their new Captain off the top of their building to see how high she would bounce. But I would not go so far as to characterize her as being on the side of the detectives. She is on the side of her career. In this instance, she told them to do the right thing. But that was only this time.
January 17th, 2012 3:26 AM
Lilac, Norris was not the killer. We don't know who actually killed Laura, but we do know that Norris made a call to someone and that someone was responsible for Laura's death. Most likely, the next time we hear about Norris is when he turns up dead which is what happens to anyone that crosses the Dragon. It has been the history of this show that episode 13 (in this case 12 because of the 23 episode order) to deal with the Dragon and the conspiracy behind Johanna Beckett's murder.
Laura was killed because much like Johanna Beckett before her she stumbled upon evidence of corruption at the highest levels. What we learned in this episode is that the Mayor who some suspected to be the Dragon is a good guy, and that Mr. Smith is using Castle to keep Beckett away from any case that directly ties to the Dragon. With this case, the groundwork has been laid for the revelation of Castle's secret later on this season. This is what we were meant to take from this episode.
January 17th, 2012 2:34 AM
I don't even care about Caskett but I found this episode boring. I spent the hour feeling like the whole like the case could have been solved in the first 20 minutes. Even before the whole conspiracy idea, I knew it had to be one of the aids. Plus the mystery man in the jacket was Caucasian; yet Beckett and Castle kept completely missing that. They suspected the mayor the whole time even though the evidence was in plain view. The only mystery I cared about was why the woman basically dropped off the earth and that mystery was solved pretty soon. I'm just sick and tired of the Beckett mystery, I don't feel like the writers have enough skill or imagination to fulfill a great story arch like they're trying to.
January 17th, 2012 2:06 AM
It was uneven, and while there were good things (Rick didn't blindly back a friend, he let the facts lead him; he is learning; and Beckett let him guide her a bit; both things show growth..... and they are using first names more!!)...still, it was twisty but not suspenseful, which is odd for 'Castle'. And a tad too 'Deep Throat', kind of as if Rick had just re-read 'All the President's Men'. Still, be nice to move on with the Johanna case some, though I really hope it doesn't hang over them the entire series. Bless you Katie, I want you to move on past that. Be a bummer if Johanna's murder gets to be bigger than the Ship.