Castle is one of the few TV series that I actually keep up to date with, watching every new episode as soon as possible, unlike most shows that I just save for binge-watching at a later date. I decided that it's latest season would be the topic of my first blog post after another long hiatus, which hopefully won't be repeated until I give birth in September. At least, I'm no longer deterred from writing by the constant feeling of throwing up on my keyboard every time I try to sit up and type for long.
Season six of Castle continues their tradition of immediately picking up after the events of the previous season's cliffhanger ending. In this case, the cliffhanger refers to Richard Castle's (Nathan Fillion) proposal to Kate Beckett (Stana Katic), despite her fears that they would break up over her decision to accept a job in Washington, DC. So, despite having to wait out the entire summer for an answer, at least viewers immediately got their answers as soon as the season premiered last September.
Since I'm pretty rusty at blogging, you can expect that I will divulge spoilers in the coming paragraphs. In case you didn't want to find out about certain plot details you wanted to watch yourself, you might want to find other reading material on the internet (though most of them relating to Castle would undoubtedly be spoilerific, too).
Of course, Beckett would say yes, lest the series creators wanted a fan riot on their hands. Never mind that the couple had to figure out how to make the long distance between them, and Beckett's extra busy new schedule, work. There's a wedding to plan, people.
Their pending nuptials would become the overarching element of the season, with Castle and Beckett alternating their wedding planning (which seemed intermittent in the beginning) with challenges, such as keeping their engagement a secret from top brass and the public, and Alexis's (Molly Quinn) annoying new boyfriend Pi. Despite certain hiccups, the relationship was relatively stress-free, which freed me from earlier concerns that the couple would be burdened with cliche problems (not entirely, but at least it was kept to a minimum) now that they were engaged.
And of course, there's the weekly murder case to solve. A few episodes in and it's apparent that Beckett belongs in New York, and a certain case would lead to her dismissal from the Attorney General's office, paving the way for a return to her old post as detective of the NYPD. Castle continued to serve the varied murder cases, which ranged from the straightforward to the kooky. Genre bending episodes abound in the form of the involvement of time travelers (Joshua Gomez is a wonderful mix of good and crazy in this episode) and ninjas, making for a great mix of episodes that ensured audiences didn't feel bored with the case of the week formula. While the focus of the series will always be Castle and Beckett, certain episodes gave supporting characters like Esposito (Jon Huertas), Ryan (Seamus Dever), Lanie (Tamala Jones) and Captain Gates (Penny Johnson Jerald) their time to shine.
Castle has always been more of a
comedy series in its core, but when it does serve
drama, the genre is served very well. Since their pending nuptials mark a new beginning for Beckett, it's only fitting that she would find closure regarding her ultimate big bad.... her mother's murder. Throughout the season, the presence of
Senator Bracken (
Jack Coleman) hovered menacingly in the background, ultimately culminating in the excellent episode "
Veritas". I have to say that as much fun as it is watching Stana verbally duel with Nathan during funny dialogues, it's hard not to appreciate her more for how she portrays Beckett during the more intensely emotional moments.
As for the wedding? Well, let's just say that based on their ongoing tradition of leaving everything with a cliffhanger at the end of the season, we can only hope that the series creators can provide us with immediate (with a capital I) closure regarding the many questions we were left with by that final, rather fiery, scene.
The finale has been polarizing, as evidenced by fan reactions. Even I had to force myself to believe that the payoff will be huge at the start of the next
TV season.
Castle hasn't let me down yet in the past though, and I don't think they're about to renege on that tradition anytime soon.
Happy viewing!!
Labels: ABC, Castle, Comedy, Drama, Must-Watch, Procedural, TV, TV Series
