castle season 7

04 28 2015

Castle 7.21 Review: "In Plane Sight"

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This week’s Castle had all eyes in the sky as Castle solved a mystery on his way to London. After last week’s jumble of an episode, it was refreshing to get a solid plot with great suspense and well used supporting characters. Though I will add in that Castle’s seeming hesitance about solving the crime in the air and possibly preventing a terrorist attack would be easier if he KNEW WHAT HE DID FOR TWO MONTHS. Still not over the ridiculousness that if Castle saved the world, that he would choose to forget. But anyway, check the recap:

As if we didn’t already know, Castle has the Angela Lansbury curse, where murder follows him everywhere he goes. On this week’s episode of Castle, he cashed in his frequent murder miles and solved a case in the sky.
Castle and Alexis are on a trip to London (on a known to be deadly Oceanic Air… no wonder they come across trouble), where Castle will be speaking at the Sherlock Holmes Society. He’s a bit upset that Alexis won’t come with him, but soon they have other concerns as the air marshal is found dead in the cargo hold. The pilot thinks Castle’s assistance is necessary: “You’re the closest thing to law enforcement we have on this plane.” “Which itself is cause for concern.”

04 26 2015

Castle 7.20 Review: "Sleeper": A Disappointing Reveal

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Castle Season 7 Disappearance Thailand
I must say: I’ve never been so disappointed with a plot resolution as I was with the reveal of (parts) of the Castle Disappearance arc. There was so much lead up, and so little focus on a mystery for Castle’s personal life, that the reveal had to be a good one. What could possibly have led Castle to disappear on his wedding day for two months and choose to not remember it? It seems we got an answer for why he was gone for about the span of a week, maybe? And it was not a satisfying answer. It was rushed, jumbled, confused, and had weak links stretching one plot introduced a few months earlier to the hastily added bits of story introduced in this episode.
Typically, Castle is great at reveals. The Johanna Beckett mystery had a lot of twists and turns and while some felt weaker than others or caused more stretches of the imagination, it still made a satisfying ride. So far, this disappearance story makes very little sense. Click through to my TVOvermind review to see what drove me to be so disappointed.
Hint: it has a lot to do with Castle’s ability to keep a secret.

This week’s episode of Castle finally wraps up the Castle disappearance arc, which has been in play since he missed his wedding ceremony in the season six finale. Going into the episode, I felt trepidation; the conclusion to this story must be compelling to be drawn out an entire season but only a handful of episodes. Even the characters seemed determine to put it behind them, decreasing my interest in the mystery. All-in-all, this season has been one of tying up loose ends (due to the show’s fate for season eight still up in the air), so it’s hard to think the show will need another season after this one; with this story, the Caskett romance settled, and Beckett’s mother’s killer caught, there’s not much left to explore. If the show does go on for one more season, I forsee it being its last. But let’s jump into this week’s episode.
As I said, the explanation behind Castle’s disappearance had a lot riding on it and I’m not sure I bought the execution.

10 21 2014

Castle 7.04 Review: "Child's Play"

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In this week’s episode of Castle, Castle accesses his not so inner child to find out who murdered an ice cream truck driver.

Some of my TV Overmind review focuses on what little Castle reveals about the mind of a child, giving us insight into what may have made little Ricky Rodgers become a writer…

“An experience that powerful is going to find a way to express itself and end up on the page. Even the wildest fantasies have a kernel of truth. As a master storyteller, I am able to separate the makeshift from the tell-tale details of thinly veiled facts.”

I am really loving the ways the cases of the week have been, even in small ways, tying into the larger mystery of Castle’s disappearance and his mysterious childhood encounter. I think more than any other season, it will lead to a large fluidity and connectedness between each episode, even the filler episodes. Castle hints here at whatever he experienced as a child that made him want to become a mystery writer. What powerful experience did he have as young Ricky that changed him so powerfully? What kernels of truth exist among his dozens of novels that hearken back to that night in the woods?

Read the rest of my review here: Castle Season 7 Episode 4 Review: “Child’s Play”.

10 07 2014

#Castle Season 7 Clues

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In writing this season’s Castle recaps for TVOvermind, I want to keep track of the clues we’re being given with regard to Castle’s disappearance, crossing them off as we get resolution. So here’s a master post of clues as we build them.
Let’s crack this mystery Castle-style!

Clues up til now:

Remember: “three people.” Castle was seen alone for the rest of the episode, but two people dragged him out of that car. Could Henry Jenkins have been one of those people?
The money Castle took out for the wedding got used for the dumpster drop to trash the car. Who knew about the money? Was that the first thing they did when they grabbed Castle? Made him get the money—where was he holding it that it wasn’t being watched by the cops or the feds?
Beckett tries Paris, no dice.
Lanie’s check-in: ~~The 38 key sewn into the lining of his pants.~~ Dengue fever, tropical climate. Grazed rib wound.
Montreal, the Bank, the suspicious bank manager.
Fake Henry Jenkins again— the willing amnesia, or so “Fenkins” (as Terri Edda Miller put it on Twitter) says.
Where did Castle get those memory cards, camera? Was he doing something else with them before making the videos? Why were the videos so quickly done, who was he expecting to interrupt?
Hollander’s Woods. February. 11-year-old Castle. What happened and why is it coming back to haunt him 30 years later?

Read my other Castle reviews and theories over at TVOvermind!

10 07 2014

Castle 7.02 Review: "Montreal"

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This week’s Castle toys with our emotions and gives us another save the date card for a wedding–where will you be in a month?

I don’t think I was expecting the show to delve back into Castle’s mysterious disappearance so soon. In terms of this “replacing” the Johanna Beckett story, it seemed like we’d get bits and pieces and then every few episodes would be a story dedicated to it—which may well be the case now that we’ve gotten a few more answers (and questions)—but I wasn’t expecting it to go hand-in-hand with a typical procedural episode. In this episode what we learn about Castle’s disappearance is more important than the case of the week, so I’m going to focus more on that.

A rowing team finds a body in the East River just as Castle sits through what is likely the most awkward interview he’s ever done. The interviewer pretends to be interested in Raging Heat (which I read and is great) and Wild Storm, but really wants to know what everyone’s curious about: what happened to Castle for all those months? Castle certainly wasn’t prepared for the interview to become as combative as it did, as the host insinuates a publicity stunt and pre-wedding jitters are the reasons for Castle’s disappearance. Castle barely holds in his outrage that people would think he could do that to his family. Tired of the host dominating the conversation, he takes over and offers $250k to whoever knows where he was during the summer. Kate immediately points out it’s foolish and will just get them a bunch of crazies, but Castle remains ever hopeful.

09 30 2014

Castle 7.01 Review: "Driven"

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Castle 7.01 Review: “Driven”

When the news broke this summer that Andrew Marlowe was stepping down as Castle showrunner, I can’t say that I was actually all that nervous. David Amann was already a Castle writer and I just had a lot of faith in the writing staff to protect Marlowe’s project, especially since 1. He’d still be around (he’s writing 7.02!) and 2. His wife still writes for the show. And after that premiere, I feel safe in my faith in the show going forward. Six plus seasons is a long time to keep things fresh—a typical procedural relies to cycling through “ripped from the headlines” cases and replacing the cast when necessary, not Castle. They somehow brought us fresh dynamics to fuel us throughout the season while keeping the characters the same.

The beginning of the episode was stunning. Kate in her beautiful dress reaching towards the flames, then getting doused in water as she waited for the confirmation that Castle wasn’t in the car. (I’ll forgive them for letting Kate stay that close to a car that could explode at any moment.) After the moment of despaired silence, the action kicks into gear as Kate does what she does best, look for clues. I loved the Sergeant who was so eager to help out, especially after Kate’s “he’s one of our own.” Castle has been granted this treatment before, but it’s always so great to hear. Esposito and Ryan are dashing detectives as they start the investigation still in their tuxes, doing whatever they can for two of their favorite people. Our team finds the SUV that ran Castle off the road, just as it’s being flattened—Beckett takes that to heart as she tackles the junkyard employee flat to the ground.

'Castle' Producer David Amann to Replace Creator Andrew Marlowe as Showrunner – TheWrap

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‘Castle’ Producer David Amann to Replace Creator Andrew Marlowe as Showrunner – TheWrap

Wow! Big news for my favorite show!

Andrew Marlowe hopefully feels very strongly about this decision and the team backing Amann, but Lord knows fans will be in an uproar. Seasons past cries of “In Marlowe We Trust” are being thrown back at us as we face the fear of a new showrunner (even one whose been on the show for so long). After some fans felt disappointed by the season 6 finale (leaving Castle and Beckett pointedly NOT married), for there to be a new showrunner will certainly cause more angst and anxiety as we fans wait for season 7 this summer.

Let’s hope that Marlowe’s presence will still be “day to day” as the article says, though this probably also means no more episodes penned by Marlowe and wife, Terri Miller, which is definitely a bummer for fans of their joint episodes. Hopefully more on this as the writers get back to work in full…

*I guess this means I’ll have to adjust my “Andrew Marlowe” showrunner category!