Castle was back after its winter hiatus and the Caskett separation was over…sort of. 

Our TV Fanatics Jim Garner, Stacy Glanzman, Robin Harry, and Christine Orlando are joined by Simon05 from A Possibility For Joy, a Castle Fan Forum, to debate Esposito’s singing, the fake separation and if pretending to cheat is okay after Castle Season 8 Episode 9. 

What did you think of Esposito’s singing and did you have a favorite song from the episode?

Jim: I actually like that Espo stepped up and showed his singing chops. I enjoyed the rap-battle at the warehouse in general, made me want to go watch Pitch Perfect again.

Stacy: That was awesome, go Espo! The riff-off was great. I'm with Jim on wanting to re-watch Pitch Perfect now. 

Robin: I've been a fan of Jon Huertas' singing for a while now and he killed it in this episode.  As for the singing, Ylvis' parody music video, "A Capella", is way too fresh in my head, and I can't actually watch earnest a capella without imagining Norwegians singing school-yard bullies away and wanting Nigerian soft-drinks.  

Simon05: I really enjoyed Esposito's singing.  I thought he pulled it off well and it didn't come off to cheesy. And you just have to love 80's music

Christine: I agree! It could have been cheesy, but Jon Huertas totally pulled it off. As for the rest of the music, I’ve always like “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell. That one made me smile. 

Would you have liked to have seen more of Martha’s show?

Jim: I could take it or leave it. That being said, I would love to see Martha coaching the girls in a capella competitions. It would be a fun direction for Martha and evolve her character more into mentor. 

Stacy: Not really. I love Martha but didn't really feel the need to see more of the show. 

Robin: I didn't even think of that. I wouldn't have minded seeing more of Martha in her element.

Simon05: I would love to see more of Martha, period! I really miss her and Castle's interaction.

Christine: I agree with Jim that Martha would make a great mentor…and I miss Martha and Castle’s heart to hearts. They’ve always been some of my favorite moments from this show, and I miss them. 

Castle and Beckett are fake separated. Does it work for you and how long would you like to see that last?

Jim: It works for now. However, Espo and Ryan are not that stupid; they have to be putting it all together. I'm ok with it going a few more episodes as there is still some fun things they can do with it before it gets old. 

Stacy: I'm fine with the fake separation in concept, but not so much in execution. Don't they get that they should be behaving exactly the same way they were when they were actually separated? It doesn't take a detective to see the dynamic between them has completely changed and they are way over-selling it. I don't see how it can last very long like this, because no one is going to be buying it.

Robin: While the fake separation makes for some humor, it's almost as silly as the real separation for every reason Jim and Stacy mentioned. The sooner it ends, the happier I'll be.

Simon05: OMG!! Please end this fake separation thing pronto. This separation has dragged on way too long.

Christine: I thought it could be fun for at least a couple of episodes…but I was very wrong. They’re really overselling it. The slap was just mean and unnecessary. The yelling makes Kate look unprofessional, and I’m just finding the whole storyline unpleasant to watch. 

Castle and Beckett pretended that he was cheating on her. Rate that twist from a 1 (hated it) to a 10 (it was hysterical).

Jim: Overall I give it about a 4, It wasn't the most original concept, but I'm giving Kate's slap a solid 10 and Rick's putting on the stethoscope an 8, as both of those were hysterical!  

Stacy: I'll give it a 3, because the scene at the end was adorable, but like I said before, Kate wasn't slapping him or yelling at him like this when they were actually separated, so she shouldn't be doing it now. They didn't have to make up a story before either. I found the whole thing kind of silly and unnecessary.

Robin: I rate it at a 1. I think we all know how I feel about Castle constantly being the scapegoat and the one seen at fault, whether real or pretend, so I'll spare us all another irritated diatribe!

Simon05: I have to rate this a 10 only because it's funny that it is so pathetic.  Do the writers really think that Ryan & Espo would ever believe that Rick cheated on her.  The man has been totally in love with her since the day they met.

Christine: A 1. I hate that somehow it’s okay that everyone thinks Castle cheated on Beckett and that’s why she left him, especially since his first wife really did cheat on him. I hate that Kate went along with the story and made their friends feel horrible for this lame LokSat story. 

What was your favorite “Tone Death” scene?

Jim: Has to be Kate's slap. The "I'm sorry" just before it was great, and the full-body swing she put into it made me wince, and I'm just watching it on TV.  

Stacy: Probably the scene towards the beginning with Castle and Beckett in bed. I'm just so happy they're back together, and I loved hearing Kate assure him that she's done playing lone wolf and that they would take down Locksat together.

Robin: I'm gonna go with Ryan's earnest reaching out to Beckett about Castle's "cheating." He cared so much, and you could tell that their breakup really saddened him.

Simon05: Can I list my top 3 - 1. Rick and Kate opening scene. 2. Rick standing in front of the Murder board (that is where he belongs).  3. A non-scene I loved that there was no Virkam.

Christine: Yes Simon05! No Vikram. No Hayley. Can a favorite scene be one that never happened? I also liked Ryan and Espo’s reaction to the cheating story. I think it’s horrible that Castle and Beckett are doing this to their friends. I can only hope that they figure out the truth soon. 

Enjoy some Caskett this Valentine’s Day as Castle Season 8 Episode 10 is on this SUNDAY and then check back for our review. If you want to see more, you can watch Castle online any time here at TV Fanatic. 

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