Tuesday, May 17, 2011

The Season Finale of Castle

(If you haven't watched it yet, don't read any further. Spoilers below will spoil it for you!)

I am still a little blown away by the season finale of Castle last night. Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic are some of the best actors on television today. They were so believable! I felt Castle’s palpable concern for Kate, he could hardly keep his eyes off of her every time she turned a corner, and the tension between them in her apartment was electric! I’m so glad they finally put that kiss they shared out there and the fact they almost died in each other’s arms. Poor Kate is so afraid to let him in. But the finale was non-stop tension from minute one.

I felt sorry for Castle when Kate’s dad told him he was the only one who could make sure Kate didn’t throw her life away, and then the Captain said pretty much the same thing. So much pressure!

But he really rose to the occasion. He totally called her on her fears, before she threw him out, but all of that was gone and there was just her when he carried her out of the warehouse and held her so she wouldn’t scream, stroking her hair. I could imagine that he was whispering comfort into her ear or maybe he didn’t need to say anything at all. He knew what was going on inside that warehouse and what would happen if she didn’t stay with him. To me, all he wanted was to protect her, to keep her safe and he would do anything to do that.

And that scene with Castle and his mom. Gah! The second-best line of the night: “For a man who makes his living with words, you sure have a time finding them when it counts.”

I was so sad about Montgomery. I loved his character. He was like a benevolent dad in the precinct, but I thought the writers did an amazing job of making his motivations believable and sympathetic. Poor Montgomery. And how heart-breaking was it to see him kiss his wife and daughters one more time! *sniff*

I could go on and on about how great the finale was. Ryan and Esposito’s scene in the alley was powerful. But I have to say the star of the night was Kate Beckett. The range of emotion she portrayed was incredible---exhaustion, anger, fear, anguish, and acceptance. I was riveted to my seat the entire hour.

The last two minutes, though, were hard to wrap my brain around. He finally said the words we’ve known he felt for a while. But is it too late?

Gah!

It’s going to be a long summer.

Best Line of the Show? I love you, Kate.

11 comments:

Debra Erfert said...

Ditto everything you said, with a couple of caveats. The captain had a different motive. He was told by "him" to get her off the case or she'd be killed. And at the end, she wore a heavy uniform. I sooo suspect a bullet proof vest underneath, or it would have been a head shot. Even with a vest, a high-velocity bullet will crack a rib and knock a person out. It certainly would make me cry. Remember when Montgomery was putting all those files in a manila envelope and using stamps? He was mailing evidence to someone. Who? Castle? or Kate? They're the only ones he could really trust. Maybe the district attorney is "him" they were talking about, and not another cop. hmmm?

I would've been totally disappointed if Rick hadn't said "I love you," at the end. It was time.

Shanda said...

You said it all. One of the best (of not THE best) so far. I also loved how anguished he was in the scene with his mother, trying to express how he would feel if he lost Kate but the very thought...he just couldn't say the words. Loved the scene with Ryan & Esposito in the alley, the way they used sound (or the lack of it) during the escape from the courtroom, the way Castle held Kate at the hangar and finally hearing Castle say those three little words. So much goodness in one episode!

Julie Coulter Bellon said...

Debra, there are a ton of theories floating out in cyberspace right now and one of them is that Kate was faking her death, and didn't let Castle in on it. I don't know, would they really do that? Someone else mentioned on a board I lurk at, that if it was meant to kill her it would have been a head shot, and a military person on the board said that head shots aren't guaranteed kill shots, (he brought up Gabrielle Giffords as an example) so they generally would go for a chest shot to hit heart, lungs, or spine. I thought that was an interesting piece of info for a writer, perhaps. I was also wondering about the files in the manila envelope. I wish Montgomery had given Kate a little more closure in his last moments. I did read what the writer said was their general theme for next season, though, and that gives me hope. (I know, I know, I shouldn't read spoilers. But I can't help it!)

Shanda, they way they did the courtroom scene was awesome, and I agree with everything you said. I just love how this show is filmed. Last night felt like a movie-type ep, with the lighting, the sets, the acting. It was phenomenal.

Debra Erfert said...

Face it, there would be no Castle if they didn't have Kate Beckett, so? They don't kill her off. In "Bones" the FBI agent was shot and "killed" and even had a funeral (he attended as one of the pall bearers) and Bones, the MC didn't know anything about it. They (the kid psychologist) thought it would be more realistic if she was kept in the dark. I think she punched him when she found out about it. I think Magnum PI had something similar in one of its episodes, so this isn't un uncommon situation. I know about the head shots not being fatal. My husband had seen too many attempted suicides go wrong with head shots, and the poor guys lived. ick beyond ickiness.

Anna said...

I both LOVE and HATE season endings. They pull you in and it gets intense .... and then they leave you hanging!

Of course, Kate can't be dead. I think they show would be over if that happened. Too many angry viewers. But regardless of that, Castle said "I love you". You could see in Kate's eyes that she wasn't upset at hearing that. But now we need to know how Kate feels. Well, admit how she feels at least.

Phew! It's fun finding other people who love Castle as much as I do. My husband wouldn't know what I was talking about if I tried telling him all this. :)

Julie Coulter Bellon said...

Debra, I don't think they'll kill Kate off, but I do think that her relationship with Castle will be forever changed because of that moment. We sort of had a foreshadowing of how he would feel if she'd been shot in Knockdown, and I don't know if he can honestly handle the reality of her job now that she's been shot. And, ew, on the headshot knowledge. Just ew. :)

Anna, I'm so glad you found us! I've loved this show from the beginning, at first because Castle was a writer and his little writing idiosyncracies were funny and realistic. But now I love it just because I think the writing is sheer genius. They can make us laugh and cry and really care about these characters and that is somewhat rare on TV today I think. And I'm totally with you on the cliffhanger endings. I hate that! It's a long ways until September I'm afraid. Is it bad I hope they pick up right where they left off so we can see everyone's reaction to Kate getting shot? I don't want it to be two months afterward.

Jon Spell said...

My wife points out that the show is called "Castle", so maybe they won't bring Kate back. (But I doubt it.)

Wow! That was an amazing show. I felt like Montgomery's death was foreshadowed last week with the "retirement" talk so I wasn't surprised by that. (But I didn't see him as the 3rd cop; that was a Law & Order Twist!) I agree with you all that there were a lot of great scenes. The one that sticks in my head is of Castle carrying her out of the hangar. There's a time for words and a time for action. Off we go.

Oh, and we have the title of his next book "Heat Rises" Rises from the flames like a phoenix?

Julie Coulter Bellon said...

Jon, I didn't see him as the third cop either. I was glad it was somewhat believable, though. Sometimes those twists come out of nowhere and leave the audience scratching their heads.

Have you read any of the Castle books?

Jon Spell said...

Didn't I ask you that? ;)

I have not, but I want to. (But I worry.)

My favorite TV news/gossip/spoilers site suggests (but who knows?) that Kate's shooting wasn't staged, but that her boyfriend, the CARDIAC SURGEON, will be on hand to save her life.

Julie Coulter Bellon said...

Jon, I couldn't remember what your answer was! In your honor, I have now purchased a Richard Castle book. I'll let you know what I think. :)

And boooo to having Josh on hand to save her after Castle professes his love. I guess it's better to have her alive, though, so she can react to his words, because according to my spoiler sources, she remembers exactly what he said. ;)

Melanie Goldmund said...

Well, now that Fringe has also had its season finale, maybe I should catch up with Castle. I loved Nathan Fillion in Firefly and Serenity! And do let us know what you think of the Castle book. I saw one floating around on my local online book swap recently. :-)