Castle 2x23 Review
May. 24th, 2010 09:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iariaA Deadly Game
Hmm. This episode... I’m not completely satisfied here. Even more I’m finding myself actually rather irritated by the direction the show has chosen to go and I don’t like that feeling. It’s kind of unexpected because Castle is generally a happy place for me.
• I really hated (omg, so much) the implication that Castle was only partnering Beckett because he was attracted to her/wanted to be with her.
We get it when Esposito talks with Beckett and tells her – “Why do you think he’s been following you around all this time? What, research? The guy’s done enough research to write a fifty books. Look, whatever the reason is, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t include watching you be with another guy.” – implication being of course that Castle’s only been hanging out and ‘playing’ Beckett’s partner because he wants to be the guy she’s with.
Then we get Castle’s line at his poker game – “I think I’ve gotten everything out of that relationship anyway.” – which is far more than an implication. No, it’s stating straight out that because Beckett has chosen to be with another guy in her personal life her and Castle’s relationship no longer has meaning or is worth pursuing any further. And that is horrible.
That isn’t even jerk behaviour – that is full on ‘Nice Guy’ behaviour. And despite everything Castle is, I would never have thought I would be calling him a Nice Guy. He has always been very firmly a true ‘nice guy’ underneath his charming exterior. Now that is probably not where the PTB meant the audience to go with this story. Castle has serious feelings for Beckett and watching her with Tom is clearly painful for him and so him wanting to take some time off to gather himself both makes sense in a character and a plot sense. But the way they did it... no. That was just wrong.
This is just not an interpretation of their relationship that I have gotten over the last two years, at all, and I am not pleased with TPTB seem to pushing that as truth. This episode’s case is actually perfect because while the victim in the case paid to play spy and live out a fantasy life that is actually exactly what Castle’s been doing for the last two years. He’s playing detective but far more real than the victim ever was as he’s intimately involved in real cases – he’s questioning suspects, following leads, going to crime scene and is helping to solve murders. He has even been accepted by the rest of the police. He has immersed himself in this other life – to the point now where it’s basically a second job, equal to being a writer. I think in the beginning it was very much about him living out a fantasy, being a character like in his books, and he wrapped it up in the tale of Beckett being his muse so he could do it. (Though there was probably truth in that as well.)
What it wasn’t about was Castle using it as an excuse for him to get into Beckett’s pants. And more it quickly became more than just about the thrill as well – though I think that will always be a part of it. There was an attraction from that first episode and over these two seasons it has grown exponentially – but now it’s not just attraction and admiration. Now it’s also like and respect and admiration, and trust, and partnership and perhaps even love. And there is nothing wrong with that. Frankly it’s expected.
What’s wrong is saying that him staying was because of the lust/want and that now that he knows it won’t be returned then the rest of it doesn’t matter anymore. That the partnership was never the goal or the important part of their relationship – it was always about the sex. That is pretty much exactly the opposite of respect – respect that I have always felt Castle had for Beckett and showed clearly and was one of the things I loved best about them. He respects her, he thinks she’s amazing both as a cop and a woman, he loves her intelligence and competence; he thinks she’s the best. Their partnership worked and this *waves hands* this makes it so much less and that in turn makes me so unhappy.
• The second thing I really didn’t like was how the entire Beckett/Castle situation played out. It felt off. It’s been Castle who has been following after Beckett with puppy dog eyes, though he’s never actually said anything, while Beckett has been in denial about her feelings for him. This episode was about Beckett getting a wakeup call – and she took it. She let herself be kicked out of denial – and then showed more courage at the end of the episode than Castle has shown in half a season or more. She figured out her feelings for him – she worked through them and accepted them – and then she immediately went to Castle to talk to him about them. She’s the ‘stereotypical’ closed-off homicide detective and so for her to take that first step with her feelings is all the more amazing to me. Compare that to Castle who I feel has known for awhile now how he feels about Beckett, definitely since she started getting chummy with Tom, and hasn’t said a word. (In fact he gave Tom permission to pursue her!)
It ends up feeling like Beckett is being punished for her opening herself up – Castle is going to play house with his ex for the summer, never mind that he just asked her to join him. Now there is something to be said for accepting when someone doesn’t return your feelings and refusing to mope and angst about it but instead choosing to go on with your life and find your own happiness. It’s healthy! (And, oh, so rare.)
But there was just something about this... it bugged me. Perhaps it’s because of the above point and if I hadn’t got the Nice Guy vibe it wouldn’t have bothered me so much. I mean it really is a classic trope and not one I have a problem with usually and yet I found myself really wanting to smack Castle. Or maybe it’s because he has been playing puppy dog with her, and she chooses him, to the extent that she breaks up with her boyfriend, and he can’t even wait a day of rejection before he’s hooking up with another woman. When the show returns I find that I want it to be about Castle realising what he did, how he messed up, and having to try and actively get Beckett back. I want him to have to put the effort in now. Also I want Alexis or Martha or Lanie or someone to smack him upside the head. Gibbs would work.
• For a moment there at the end I actually thought the show was going to skip over dragging the UST out forever like every other show has done – to let them accept their feelings and get together – and it felt like a breath of fresh air. But of course it wouldn’t go that way. Sigh.
• “It’s sad a man had to die because all the people involved were too scared to say what they really felt.” – Captain Montgomery. As soon as he said that I wondered if it was actually him making a point to Beckett or if it was just the show being unsubtle. I was leaning to the former because the station often seems like a gossip filled school and Roy has several times shown he knows most of what happens in his station. Plus Castle taking a break from partnering Beckett certainly seemed to get around the station quickly.
How the end played out – with them all watching Beckett and Castle, and then their expressions when Gina showed up – confirmed to me that it was probably him giving advice while trying not to seem to. Oh, those little matchmakers. I love how much they all love Beckett, and how they’ve brought Castle into their circle. It felt a little strange at first that it would only be the four of them, surely in the year he’s been there he’s made other friends, but they’re the ones closest to both Castle and Beckett and in the end it works.
• I spent most of the episode, and the previous one, wanting to hug Castle, and from Castle telling Beckett that he wants to take a break I really wanted to hug Beckett. She was just so... crushed. She looked like she couldn’t breathe during her following conversation with Esposito and Ryan.
Hmm. This episode... I’m not completely satisfied here. Even more I’m finding myself actually rather irritated by the direction the show has chosen to go and I don’t like that feeling. It’s kind of unexpected because Castle is generally a happy place for me.
• I really hated (omg, so much) the implication that Castle was only partnering Beckett because he was attracted to her/wanted to be with her.
We get it when Esposito talks with Beckett and tells her – “Why do you think he’s been following you around all this time? What, research? The guy’s done enough research to write a fifty books. Look, whatever the reason is, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t include watching you be with another guy.” – implication being of course that Castle’s only been hanging out and ‘playing’ Beckett’s partner because he wants to be the guy she’s with.
Then we get Castle’s line at his poker game – “I think I’ve gotten everything out of that relationship anyway.” – which is far more than an implication. No, it’s stating straight out that because Beckett has chosen to be with another guy in her personal life her and Castle’s relationship no longer has meaning or is worth pursuing any further. And that is horrible.
That isn’t even jerk behaviour – that is full on ‘Nice Guy’ behaviour. And despite everything Castle is, I would never have thought I would be calling him a Nice Guy. He has always been very firmly a true ‘nice guy’ underneath his charming exterior. Now that is probably not where the PTB meant the audience to go with this story. Castle has serious feelings for Beckett and watching her with Tom is clearly painful for him and so him wanting to take some time off to gather himself both makes sense in a character and a plot sense. But the way they did it... no. That was just wrong.
This is just not an interpretation of their relationship that I have gotten over the last two years, at all, and I am not pleased with TPTB seem to pushing that as truth. This episode’s case is actually perfect because while the victim in the case paid to play spy and live out a fantasy life that is actually exactly what Castle’s been doing for the last two years. He’s playing detective but far more real than the victim ever was as he’s intimately involved in real cases – he’s questioning suspects, following leads, going to crime scene and is helping to solve murders. He has even been accepted by the rest of the police. He has immersed himself in this other life – to the point now where it’s basically a second job, equal to being a writer. I think in the beginning it was very much about him living out a fantasy, being a character like in his books, and he wrapped it up in the tale of Beckett being his muse so he could do it. (Though there was probably truth in that as well.)
What it wasn’t about was Castle using it as an excuse for him to get into Beckett’s pants. And more it quickly became more than just about the thrill as well – though I think that will always be a part of it. There was an attraction from that first episode and over these two seasons it has grown exponentially – but now it’s not just attraction and admiration. Now it’s also like and respect and admiration, and trust, and partnership and perhaps even love. And there is nothing wrong with that. Frankly it’s expected.
What’s wrong is saying that him staying was because of the lust/want and that now that he knows it won’t be returned then the rest of it doesn’t matter anymore. That the partnership was never the goal or the important part of their relationship – it was always about the sex. That is pretty much exactly the opposite of respect – respect that I have always felt Castle had for Beckett and showed clearly and was one of the things I loved best about them. He respects her, he thinks she’s amazing both as a cop and a woman, he loves her intelligence and competence; he thinks she’s the best. Their partnership worked and this *waves hands* this makes it so much less and that in turn makes me so unhappy.
• The second thing I really didn’t like was how the entire Beckett/Castle situation played out. It felt off. It’s been Castle who has been following after Beckett with puppy dog eyes, though he’s never actually said anything, while Beckett has been in denial about her feelings for him. This episode was about Beckett getting a wakeup call – and she took it. She let herself be kicked out of denial – and then showed more courage at the end of the episode than Castle has shown in half a season or more. She figured out her feelings for him – she worked through them and accepted them – and then she immediately went to Castle to talk to him about them. She’s the ‘stereotypical’ closed-off homicide detective and so for her to take that first step with her feelings is all the more amazing to me. Compare that to Castle who I feel has known for awhile now how he feels about Beckett, definitely since she started getting chummy with Tom, and hasn’t said a word. (In fact he gave Tom permission to pursue her!)
It ends up feeling like Beckett is being punished for her opening herself up – Castle is going to play house with his ex for the summer, never mind that he just asked her to join him. Now there is something to be said for accepting when someone doesn’t return your feelings and refusing to mope and angst about it but instead choosing to go on with your life and find your own happiness. It’s healthy! (And, oh, so rare.)
But there was just something about this... it bugged me. Perhaps it’s because of the above point and if I hadn’t got the Nice Guy vibe it wouldn’t have bothered me so much. I mean it really is a classic trope and not one I have a problem with usually and yet I found myself really wanting to smack Castle. Or maybe it’s because he has been playing puppy dog with her, and she chooses him, to the extent that she breaks up with her boyfriend, and he can’t even wait a day of rejection before he’s hooking up with another woman. When the show returns I find that I want it to be about Castle realising what he did, how he messed up, and having to try and actively get Beckett back. I want him to have to put the effort in now. Also I want Alexis or Martha or Lanie or someone to smack him upside the head. Gibbs would work.
• For a moment there at the end I actually thought the show was going to skip over dragging the UST out forever like every other show has done – to let them accept their feelings and get together – and it felt like a breath of fresh air. But of course it wouldn’t go that way. Sigh.
• “It’s sad a man had to die because all the people involved were too scared to say what they really felt.” – Captain Montgomery. As soon as he said that I wondered if it was actually him making a point to Beckett or if it was just the show being unsubtle. I was leaning to the former because the station often seems like a gossip filled school and Roy has several times shown he knows most of what happens in his station. Plus Castle taking a break from partnering Beckett certainly seemed to get around the station quickly.
How the end played out – with them all watching Beckett and Castle, and then their expressions when Gina showed up – confirmed to me that it was probably him giving advice while trying not to seem to. Oh, those little matchmakers. I love how much they all love Beckett, and how they’ve brought Castle into their circle. It felt a little strange at first that it would only be the four of them, surely in the year he’s been there he’s made other friends, but they’re the ones closest to both Castle and Beckett and in the end it works.
• I spent most of the episode, and the previous one, wanting to hug Castle, and from Castle telling Beckett that he wants to take a break I really wanted to hug Beckett. She was just so... crushed. She looked like she couldn’t breathe during her following conversation with Esposito and Ryan.
