the show's leads (a la so many other great romantic dramedies of yore), and to the writers' credit, they managed to give quite a bit without completely destroying the dynamic of the show. Many a show has been ruined by the will-they-or-won't-they couple finally getting together, so I was a bit apprehensive going into last night's episode, but I was also pretty confident that the writers wouldn't let me down. They've played the Castle/Beckett relationship (Bestle? Cackett? Caskett? And we have a winner.) far better than other similar pairings (House and Cuddy, Booth and Bones, etc) and they didn't tease for five seasons before giving viewers something to work with.I have a feeling that a lot of viewers were probably a bit annoyed with the set-up for the kiss. Don't get me wrong, there's no way the ire is on par with shows that pretend their characters are going to get together in the previews, only to find that it was dream sequence, a fantasy, or a psychotic break. That said, I think there are audience members out there who are just dying for Castle and Beckett to hook up and live happily ever after. I am not one of those viewers. I enjoy the sexual tension as much as the next person (quite frankly, it's the cornerstone of the series), but I'm to see their relationship grow in ways that won't derail the series. As mentioned, the tension between the two is pretty much the foundation for the show, so to have them become a couple would certainly be a game-changer. I would be interested to see what the writers would come up with if they were to become an actual couple, but I don't think we're there yet. But wait, you just berated those other shows for teasing audiences for 5 seasons, and now you're saying you think 2 1/2 seasons is too soon? WTF? It's hard to explain, but with Castle, it's just different. On Bones and House and others, the possibility of a romantic pairing is like some unmentionable, taboo elephant in the room that everyone knows is there, but isn't willing to talk about or even acknowledge most of the time. With Castle, it's more like everyone absolutely adores the elephant in the room, knows it's there, and winks and smiles at it every single episode. That probably didn't
clarify anything at all, but for me, it a small, but important distinction.The Castle writers have done a great job changing up the dynamic of the sexual tension over the course of the series. Not only do their colleagues and the viewers know that there's some inevitable sexual chemistry there, but so do Castle and Beckett themselves. I think this is where that slight difference really makes a difference. At various point, both have been in relationships with other people, but they've also both accepted the fact that they adore the other person. Sure, they might still playfully dismiss their friends and family when they point out the obvious, but it's not the flustered denials of other shows. With Castle, it's usually a cheeky misdirect more than anything. It's a hell of a lot of fun to watch and I was afraid that culmination might tarnish things. Well, with the way the writers played this, I think it will only make things more interesting and squee-worthy than ever.
It's for this reason that the kiss set-up worked for me. Sure we've all see that kind of set-up before (We have to make out so as not to blow our cover!), but I think they'll pulled it off nicely. They gave just enough and held back just enough to elevate the sexual tension rather than quash it completely. Again, the writers didn't exactly reinvent the wheel here with the construct, and I can see where some viewers might feel a bit cheated, but it worked for me, and most importantly, for the story. The kiss was maybe 10% "fool the bad guys." I think it was abundantly clear to Castle and Beckett (as opposed to just the audience) that this was more than just a ploy to combat baddies. Which is exactly what the writers were aiming for. Beckett had been through a hell of a lot by that point in the episode (Castle too, as long as we're counting), and Castle had been by her side the entire time, truly her partner in just about every aspect of her life. Sure the sorta cliche set-up may have given them an excuse, but in the end, I think she just really wanted to kiss him the way he's always wanted to kiss her. It was a satisfying way to advance their relationship without unhinging the show.
For me, the intimacy between Castle and Beckett has always been deep and playful at its core, so having them actually, physically get together has never been an essential
in my book. While the will-they-or-won't-they of other shows drives me nuts because that seems to be all the writers have to work with week-to-week, with Castle, it's more like, well-of-course-they-will-so-let's-make-it-as rich-and-meaningful-an-experience-as-possible. The show finds ways of building intimacy in a subtle way that matters. I loved that they slipped in first names during the episode. Castle only rarely calls Beckett "Kate" and Beckett almost never calls Castle "Rick," so to put both of them into the episode really helped lay a foundation for the kiss that we all knew was coming. Somehow, calling each other by their first names seems is an intimate act in and of itself. It's kind of adorably Jane Austen-y. Beyond that, they made a point of having the two of them discuss what they are to one another in a very real way. They're partners, both on and off the clock. He's not a cop, but he's someone she trusts. He's much more than a plucky sidekick to her and she's far more than a muse for him. Unlike other shows, the Castle writers aren't dangling a far-off possibility in front of audiences, they're allowing for the slow burn of inevitability. No one asks if they'll ever get together with this show. They just will. Which is what makes the build-up more satisfying--you know that it'll actually pay off. With Bones and House? Good god, it was always a big giant they-might-but-they-might-not, and run into the ground for so damn long 
that by the time anything actually happened, viewers were sick of the whole affair. Man alive, by the time House and Cuddy hooked up, I was so over it that I didn't even care.The kiss was important, so it naturally got top billing in this blog post, but I think the narrative build-up was just as important, and honestly, was what I was looking forward to most about last night's episode. Unfortunately, where the kiss came together in a way that worked remarkably well, the murder investigator of Beckett's mother got a bit muddled. I appreciate the fact that there's an elaborate framework of criminals and dirty deeds that led to her murder, but by the end of the episode, it all seemed murky in a heavy-handed way. It started to feel like the writers were trying so hard to add more layers to the mystery that I lost track of it. Wait, so the drug lord guy hired that other guy to kill her and that cop guy to cover it all up so... the mafia guys... wait, what? I realize that this mystery isn't over and that there's a lot of ground to cover between here and the truth, but honestly, by the end of the episode, I was only mostly sure I even knew what the guy who ended up in jail supposedly did. The story just didn't seem to savor any of the twists and turns, it just threw them in as quickly as possible. I think this was a case of cramming too much story into too little time. At the 45 minute mark, I was sure this would at least be a two parter. With Ryan and Esposito in peril, and the mystery no where near its conclusion, I was ready to settle in for the long haul and let the many layers of the murder unfold over time. Well, I was sure wrong. No, they wrapped things up in an hour, but not in a way that was all that satisfying or illuminating. Indeed, all I really seemed to learn from that episode about Beckett's mother's death is that I don't know a damn thing about it. To a certain degree, I'm guessing that's exactly what the writers had in mind. They wanted to build a network of bad guys and evil motives that would make the fact that "this is so much bigger than you think" really hit home. To an extent, it worked, but to another extent, it unsettled what little we knew and replaced it with a deluge of information that doesn't lead us anywhere at all. I'm totally fine not knowing the details yet, but there were so many characters crammed into last night's episode that I find myself caring less, not more. I can't remember who half those guys are, if they really matter, or if they're going to matter at some point down the line. I knew when the previouslies took us clear back to mullet-country that it was going to be a twisty episode, but I wasn't prepared for having so little to hang onto in the end.
Maybe if I watch the episode again, something will solidify, but at present, it all just seems like a whirlwind of faces with no names. Wait, so who was that guy and what did he do to whom and why? Was he really the sniper, or is this yet another misdirect? Were this a serial, I'd be fine with the jumble of thoughts, but Castle is, quite lamentably, a procedural, which means that we might not get another episode with any kind of insight for ages. I'm hopeful that Beckett's promise to the nameless bad guy she put in jail will ring true. Maybe if she really does visit this guy on a regular basis, the show can have an ongoing C-plot about her mother's murder and we won't have to wait until who-knows-when to follow-up
on this storyline. Seriously, this story arc only crops up on occasion, and by the time it circles back around, I've forgotten most of the finer points. At least this time, I don't really have many finer points to lose.It wasn't an unsuccessful episode by any stretch, but it would have been a lot more successful if it had been a two-parter (at least). I wish this show had more serial elements than it does. They do a good job balancing the A-plots and the B-plots, but it's the ongoing C-plots that get neglected. Somehow Burn Notice makes it work, so I have hope that Castle can do the same. With Burn Notice, you have a procedural client-of-the-week (A-plot) and some sort of family or relationship storyline (B-plot), which is similar to Castle. The difference is that every episode of Burn Notice also has a C-plot looking at why Michael was burned, by whom, or how. My wish would be that Castle would make Beckett's mother's murder the C-plot every now and again, because frankly, I don't know that I want to wait till the season finale to get more information. Of course, there's always the risk that having such a C-plot would temper the playful mood of the show, which wouldn't be good, so maybe the writers know what they're doing after all. This show is my palate cleanser after so many heavy shows, so I'm happy to trust the writers, even if it doesn't always come to fruition the way I might hope.
I'm excited to see where things go from here. The writers left the door open for everything to happen or for nothing to happen. I'm confident that things between Castle and Beckett will only get saucier and cheekier, and I'm more than fine with that. My only hope is that they get back to the murder mystery before I've forgotten what little I think I know. Sigh.
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