Castle Round Table: "Watershed"

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The Castle season finale was a "Watershed" moment that could change Rick Castle and Kate Beckett's future.

Here, Castle Round Table panelists of Jim Garner, Chandel Charles and Christine Orlando are joined by Lisa from The 12th Fan Boards to discuss whether Castle should have proposed and what Kate's answer should be next season.

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What was your favorite scene from the finale?

Jim: I loved the look on Espo's face when Kate and Rick both said "it's in the basement" at the same time. Classic!

Chandel: Despite the fact it was a bad idea, I think my favorite scene was Castle proposing, if only because of the look on Kate's face.

Lisa: There were so many great scenes; the argument, the discussions with friends and family, and (of course) the emotional conclusion. But I really loved the interrogation scene at the end because it was, to me, Beckett's final realization about everything that she would be leaving behind. In that one brilliant moment, Kate came to the conclusion that her heart was in New York, with Castle and her friends and family at the NYPD, and ultimately no job, no matter how perfect, could ever be enough to take her away from that.

Christine: I loved the scene where Castle finds the boarding pass. He transitioned from curiosity, to apprehension, to hurt and anger perfectly and he had every right to be angry. Little by little, Kate's small omission became a huge secret and it really blindsided Castle. As much as I wanted them to talk more, at that moment they only would have fought. I thought the scene played out pretty realistically for any couple at that kind of a crossroad.



Who gave the best advice: Martha, Jim or Lanie?

Jim: Martha gave Rick the best advice for him, Jim told Kate what she needed to hear.

Chandel: I think Jim. He always seems to know exactly what to say to Kate.

Lisa: I thought Martha and Jim made some really great points but ultimately gave them each some bad advise, pushing them to make this decision on their own and for their own reasons rather than together with their future in mind. I thought Lanie gave the best advise overall, calmly and carefully pushing Kate to do the right thing and speak to Castle from her heart.

Christine: Martha. She didn't take sides but tried to make Rick see things from Kate's side as well as analyze his own behavior and she did it without judging either one of them.

Should Beckett take the job?

Jim: Yes! I want to see the show takes a chance and broadens its available cases. Also, Rick's consulted with the government before, so I'm betting he could get himself invited on to cases.

Chandel:  I don't know. I think she would be great at it, but it doesn't really make sense for the show as a whole.

Lisa: No, and I really do believe that she did turn the offer down. There were hints through the entire episode that despite how perfect the job was for her professionally, it really wasn't what she wanted from a personal standpoint. In the end, I think she was heading off to tell Castle that she had turned the offer down and had chosen him and their chance to have a future together.

Christine: Only if she's resigned to having no personal life. Her boss would be someone who sneered at having to make small talk about his boss's family. It's certainly a huge opportunity professionally but taking it would mean giving up most other aspects of her life. That sounds sad to me.

Should Castle have proposed?

Jim: Only took me one year to purpose to my wife and by my math they've been together about the same length if you don't count the three years of dancing around it. I think it was the only thing he could do to show Kate how serious he was about their future.

Chandel:  I don't think so. I think he's doing the grand-gesture thing which skips over the substance of the problems they are having as a couple and forcing Kate to fill-in-the-blanks about how he feels. If they never stop and actually verbalize their feelings now, there's no way they are going to during their marriage. That screams trouble.

Lisa: Absolutely not. I know why he did it and his speech was perfect, proving exactly how committed he really was to their relationship, but the timing of that proposal just wasn't right.  Their time will come but it's not here quite yet.

Christine: No, but I understand why he did. Although I loved what he said, I hated that it was so sad and serious. A proposal should be joyful and I hope we get another one in the future.

Rank this among the Castle season finales.

Jim: Numner-one. Even though I hate, hate, HATE, this type of cliffhanger with every ounce of my being. Even if she had given an answer, there is NO WAY we would not all be back in the fall. It's a needless trope at this point.

Chandel: I think this finale was not quite as heart stopping as some of the others we've seen, but I really love all of the finales from season two on. It's hard to place it in a ranking order.

Lisa: Wow, that's actually really difficult to do. I've loved all of the finales for their own reasons and it's hard to compare them. From an emotional standpoint, I think this was the best yet. But it's hard to ignore the impact that "Always" had or the power that "Knockout" had too.

Christine: At the top is "Always" from Castle Season 4. So far nothing compares to that. Then "Knockout" from Season 3 for the drama and I never saw that bullet coming.  After that? This one. I sort of guessed the ending and although I'm okay with it if it moves the relationship forward, I prefer more joy and less angst. From there? "A Death in the Family" from the first season. I remember watching it not knowing if the show would get picked up for another season! And finally "A Deadly Game" from Season 2. I threw pillows at my TV it made me so mad. I don't think I've done that with any show since.

Will Beckett say yes or no?

Jim: Excellent question. I really hope she says yes. Would love to see her adjusting to being Agent Castle or Detective Castle.

Chandel: I think she'll probably say no. They really aren't at that stage in their relationship. Like I mentioned before, they really need to get better at communicating first.

Lisa: I think she'll turn down the proposal "for now."  Ultimately, Kate just needed to know that their relationship was heading in that direction but she didn't need the ring just yet and the timing simply isn't right for them. So I think she'll turn down the proposal but promise to say yes the next time he asks, hopefully in the midst of a much happier moment for both of them.

Christine: I'm with Lisa on this one. I don't think she'll say no necessarily but she'll say not yet. These two have so much to talk about. They've barely nicked the surface and I sincerely hope we get to hear at least some of those important conversations moving forward.

C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.

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