Castle: Crossfire (8x22)

Um. What a terrible finale. Sorry... but this was just not good. I know that this was a version of the episode that they had prepared in case they got cancelled. I was expecting a fully rounded ending. Instead, we got what I assume was the originally planned cliffhanger, with an insultingly brief epilogue tagged on to the end to wrap things up with a pretty bow. I'm not happy.

Cons:

This didn't feel like a finale in any measurable way. It barely felt like the end to a season, much less the end of a show that's been airing for eight seasons. I've made no secret of my distaste for the LokSat plot, and the wrap-up was no better than the buildup. In short: Castle gets kidnapped by LokSat's right hand man, and is given a truth serum that forces him to give up the identities of everybody else who knows the truth about LokSat. Beckett and Castle had just revealed the truth to Ryan, Espo, Alexis, and Martha, which means that these four are in danger along with Beckett, Vikram, and Haley. Luckily, Ryan and Espo save Castle from dying, and Beckett realizes that LokSat was actually Mason Wood, the guy Castle had met in LA, who headed the Great Detective's Society. Beckett and Castle defeat him, and all seems well. But then at the last second Caleb Brown, who they all thought was dead, shows up and shoots them both. Beckett manages to kill him, and then she and Castle seemingly succumb to their wounds, holding hands. Flash forward to seven years later, and they're both fine, and they have three kids.

Okay... where to even start with this? The big shocking reveals in this episode were utterly lackluster and nonsensical. If Mason Wood had been a character that we'd seen in more than one other episode, maybe the reveal that he was LokSat would have packed more of a punch. As it was, this reveal was even more of a disappointment than the final reveal of Red John from The Mentalist. And then the Caleb Brown fake-out... there was no attempt to explain why Caleb wanted to come after them after having faked his death. Was he supposed to be the real LokSat? And if so, why risk his life to take out Castle and Beckett, when they thought that they had already defeated LokSat? It made no sense, and it was a cheap way to cause a panic in the last two minutes.

Castle: Hell to Pay (8x21)

It's hard for me to review this episode knowing that next week may be the last of this show ever, and even if we do get a Season Nine, it will be sans Beckett. This entire season of Castle has felt pretty joyless to me, which is a shame because this show used to really brighten my day. Let's take a look.

Cons:

I felt like the humor in this episode was in very poor taste a lot of the time. For the most part, this show can toe the line between offensive and funny, and it avoids making too many jokes at the expense of dead people and their loved ones. This week, we had this weird sort of thing where Alexis and Hayley were set upon by a scary dude with an axe, and then Castle got freaked out that somebody wanted to kill him... and Beckett kept pulling pranks on everyone. She got Castle and then later she got Alexis and Hayley with Castle's assistance. It felt a little cruel for Beckett to take such obvious pleasure in scaring people. I get that it was supposed to be a prank, but let's think about this for a second. People are dead. Even though Beckett obviously doesn't believe in the supernatural explanation that Castle has come up with, it doesn't change the fact that people have died and other people's lives might be in real danger. That doesn't seem like something you should joke about.

Castle: Much Ado About Murder (8x20)

Ugh Castle and Beckett got to see Hamilton on Broadway? How did they snag those tickets? So jealous. But anyway, this was pretty much your standard-issue Castle episode. Nothing to write home about, but nothing bad either. Let's dive in.

Cons:

Jewel Staite should, by all rights, go in the "pros" section, but I have to admit that seeing Fillion's Firefly co-star in this episode made the reveal of the murderer super obvious. It was one of those obnoxious "twist" endings where after dealing with fierce mob bosses and drug dealers and all this stuff, the murderer was actually the woman we saw for just a minute at the beginning of the episode. We never talk to her or build up the reveal in any way, and yet I still knew she was the killer because you don't bring Jewel Staite in to play such a small part unless she gets to have the confession speech at the end. It was just disappointing to waste her on such a nothing part without a lot of meat to it. She and Nathan Fillion hardly interacted at all!

Another point along the same line - Martha showed up in the secret hotel room of the murder victim, and it turns out she was giving him acting lessons. The only problem is that from that point on, she had almost nothing to do in the story. If you want to do something focused on Martha, then great! But don't dangle her character in front of us for just a second and then not have it lead to anything!

Castle: Dead Again (8x19)

Every time the word "LokSat" is said in this damn show, I have a visceral reaction. I freakin' hate the A-plot of this season so much. What a way for Kate Beckett to go out. Yeesh. Let's dive in to a rather confusingly executed episode. I didn't hate it, actually. That being said...

Cons:

The main plot of the week was interesting, creative, and funny. It involved a guy who kept "dying" and then waking up, and the guest actor was great, Castle was great, lots of fun material here. Juxtaposed to that was some forward motion on the A-plot, something that we haven't seen in a long while. Caleb Brown shows up and tells Beckett she's going to end up dead if she doesn't stop poking around in LokSat's business. Caleb ends the episode by giving Beckett a phone that LokSat has been using to contact him for jobs. He hopes Beckett will be able to bring him down once and for all.

My main complaint is not necessarily with either of the two plots, but with the bewildering way in which they fit together. That is to say... they don't fit together at all. The tonal inconsistencies in this episode were off the wall. Alan, the guest character who kept surviving attempts on his life, took a sort of dry optimistic look at his life, and each time he didn't die, there was a lot of comedy through Lanie's exasperation, Alan's bland acceptance, Castle's excited belief that Alan is a superhero, and more. And yet in between these scenes, we've got Caleb making dark threats and Beckett contemplating the possible end of her life. These two things do not gel together. At all. And it showed.

Castle: Backstabber (8x18)

Ugh. Last week gave me such hope. And then this week is just... ugh. Plus there's the fact that ABC is in talks with Nathan Fillion for a Season Nine, but it's now confirmed that Stana Katic will not be returning. If there's another season of this show and Beckett isn't even on it, then I'm not sure how I'm going to keep pushing my way through. Let's just get started.

Cons:

This is a Hayley-centric episode. In short, the plot is that she inadvertently helps a terror attack that causes the lights to go out in London for a short time. She didn't know what she was involved with. Castle and the others all trust her, and she works with them to discover the truth. Apparently, her old partner from MI6, who she believed to be dead, was the one who caused the attack. He wants to run off with Hayley and the millions of dollars he got for the job. Hayley says no, and her former partner almost kills her. Hayley is forced to kill him instead. Hayley's name is cleared, and she decides to decline MI6's offer to return to work for them, instead staying on with Castle's PI business.

This plot thread has nothing terribly wrong with it, exactly, but... what the heck is Hayley doing in this show? Honestly, I like her just fine, but she makes no sense! In this episode, despite the fact that Hayley is implicated in a terror attack, Beckett is totally fine with covering for her and helping her hide from the FBI. I understand that our main four characters have earned this level of unprofessional loyalty... but Hayley? I mean, sure, we've seen her bonding with Castle and Alexis. But not Beckett! Not Ryan and Espo! There were lines in this about how Hayley had found her family and I was just like... what?

Castle: Death Wish (8x17)

Subplot is too cute!!!! Main plot also had lots of fun stuff. In all, this felt like an old episode of Castle, with silly antics and a fun team dynamic. A winner!

Cons:

Alexis popped into this episode a few times to help her dad with the case, but she wasn't really relevant, and I could have done with either a) more of her or b) none of her.

Similarly, Martha had the beginnings of a subplot where she asked Castle for her help in getting Oprah's endorsement for her new book. Castle tries to call in a favor, but the case distracts him, and the subplot is literally never brought up again. Maybe we're seeding this for a subplot down the line, but in any case... it didn't really work.

Castle: Heartbreaker (8x16)

This was the best episode of the whole season. It was Espo-centric and it made me so happy. If only more of this season could have been like this.

Cons:

There was a subplot with Beckett and Castle that I didn't care for. Basically, Beckett has now officially moved back in with Castle, and she finds that Lucy, Castle's weird AI thing, seems to be jealous. Beckett switches the program to a male's voice, named "Linus," at the end, and Linus seems to not like Castle. I guess this plot thread could have been cute, but it detracted from all the much better stuff going on in this episode. I'm super annoyed that Alexis, Martha, Ryan, and Espo all took the news of Beckett and Castle's reconciliation without more than a shrug. I wanted them to get pissed! All the lies, all the weird deceit... I'd be livid if my friends or family members pulled something like that on me. As glad as I am that we can put the stupid separation plot line behind us, it's aggravating how quickly everybody forgot about all the months of idiocy preceding this reunion. This blasé return to the status quo really illustrates how weak and pointless the whole of this season's main storyline has been up to this point.

Castle: Fidelis Ad Mortem (8x15)

At this point, sadly, I'm actively hoping that Castle is cancelled after this season. I just get no joy out of it anymore. This episode, which had the theoretical components of a good episode, didn't do anything for me at all. Let's just dive right in.

Cons:

The basic plot is that a police academy recruit is murdered, and it looks like one of his fellow recruits killed him. Further investigation reveals that he had a connection to the Irish mob, and that he was trying to protect his secret girlfriend, also a recruit. The girl was actually the secret daughter of the mob boss. Honestly, this plot thread should have been really interesting. There could have been cool themes explored about loyalty between cops, the corruption in the system, the advantages and disadvantages of this harsh method of teaching... but nope. Just a corrupt cop skimming from the top, and a mob boss thrown into the mix.

Beckett was supposed to have this great connection with the girl whose father was the mob boss, but all of their interactions seemed flat. It wasn't either actress's fault... I just didn't care! Same goes for Beckett's connection to her old teacher. There just wasn't the same strength and bond there that we've gotten in the past with Beckett and other characters.

Castle: The G.D.S. (8x14)

Blarghhhh why. Why would you do an episode without Beckett? I'm disappointed. That being said, there were one or two really great things about this episode. In all, I'm sort of torn...

Cons:

The main plot was not a winner. Basically, Castle goes to LA to try and find out what happened during his missing months. He brings Hayley and Alex along with him. While there, Castle is tapped by a secret organization of detectives called the "GDS" to help solve a murder of one of their members. Castle and another potential recruit, played by Summer Glau, are tasked with solving the case in order to win their own spot in the GDS. I really don't even feel like getting into details of the case, since it was mostly stupid. They uncover a bicoastal serial killer whose victims are in New York and Los Angeles. This is all tied up with a movie studio, since the murder weapon ends up being a prop knife. Turns out, there are two serial killers working together. One of them is a studio executive who Castle has a personal grudge against for ruining the Nikki Heat movie. In the end, Castle solves the case, but when the GDS offers him a place among them, he turns it down and tells them they should give it to Summer Glau's character instead. He has his own team to get back to in New York.

What a waste of Summer Glau. I mean, come on. There was this whole bit where she and Hayley went undercover as a couple and went into a suspect's house while Castle looked around for the murder weapon. This could have been played for laughs, and I think indeed we were supposed to find it funny, but it didn't hit the mark at all. And then Castle beat his adversary, because he has to be the best, of course, but then he gets to benevolently bequeath the spot on the GDS to her? So cheesy. For that matter, the very idea of the GDS is ridiculous. The Great Detective Society? Are you serious? In what way would that actually be a viable organization? The reveal of the killer was also painful, because they tried to play it off as a joke. I don't think we had a single moment in the whole episode that portrayed the gravitas of the situation. Both killers were maniacal to the point of total absurdity, and I never felt scared or sad about any of it.

Castle: And Justice For All (8x13)

This episode was cute, and actually had a very sweet little message at the end. At the same time, there were a few things that pulled it down.

Cons:

The broken record strikes again - Castle and Beckett's secret relationship is stupid and pointless. Especially since the A-plot is so rarely even touched upon nowadays. The show is straining itself in coming up with plausible reasons to pull Castle in on cases when he and Beckett are supposedly on the outs. And as I've said before, the whole thing is just fundamentally disrespectful to their friends and family, who all believe that Castle and Beckett are messily separated right now.
 

Vikram kept appearing in this episode to help with the main case, but his presence had no real substance and no purpose whatsoever. Rarely have I been so frustrated with a useless character. He just doesn't need to be here at all!

Castle: The Blame Game (8x12)

This was a great episode once you look past the silliness of the concept. And it's not hard to do - this hour was entertaining enough that I didn't roll my eyes at all!

Cons:

Not enough Ryan and Esposito. This episode focused on Castle and Beckett being in considerable danger, and I could have done with more scenes of concern from our two favorite secondary characters. Instead, most of the worrying and trying to find them was done by Alexis (yay) and Hayley (nay). I don't have a huge problem with Hayley, but her presence in the story still hasn't managed to solidify itself into anything that makes much sense. She pops in often enough that they clearly want to make something of her, but not often enough to cultivate a strong character.

And, yeah, the premise for this one is a bit tired and overdone. The protagonists are caught in a puzzle arranged by an insane villain. A few of the twists were painfully obvious, and in fact the villain's motivation, that he wanted to get revenge for the hell he went through as a child, didn't really come together for me either.

Castle: Dead Red (8x11)

I didn't find this episode as solid as Sunday night's, but it was still a definite improvement over the rest of the season. Let's take a look.

Cons:

I found my attention wandering a couple of times during the case itself, which involved international Russian spies and conspiracies, another visit from Castle's mother-in-law Rita, long-held secrets between husband and wife, etc. It wasn't a bad case, but nor was it one that I really felt connected to. I didn't care much for the characters, and didn't feel a focused and vested interest in their story.

And then I'll lodge my usual complaint about Beckett and Castle's ridiculous separation plot thread. Whenever it comes up, I just roll my eyes. I'm so ready for this LokSat thing to be over with.

Castle: Witness for the Prosecution (8x10)

This episode had a rather clever setup! I enjoyed it quite a bit. Let's jump in.

Cons:

The Castle and Beckett sneaking around thing is still a part of the story, unfortunately, and it still drags things down. Luckily, it wasn't as big a part of the plot this week as it has been in the past. But even so, I'm steaming mad for Ryan and Esposito's sake. On top of that, we actually see Vikram this week, and his presence does so very little to advance the LokSat plot that he might as well not have been there at all. It's painful how they're dragging out this whole conspiracy plot so it can all come together for the finale. Really not subtle, guys.

Pros:

But all of that stupid stuff that's been dragging down Season Eight so much was kept to a merciful minimum, and there were a lot of cool things to enjoy.

Castle: Tone Death (8x09)

They're deciding to play the whole "Castle and Beckett broke up for some reason" thing for laughs now, and I guess it does work a bit better than the angst of the first half of this season... but I'm still not liking it much. Let's take a look at an unfortunately sloppy opener for the second half of this season.

Cons:

The murder this week involved Martha, as she was there when the body was discovered at the theatre where she was working on her show. I love Martha, but her presence was totally underutilized here. There was this whole thing about how she felt personally connected to the victim, all because the young woman had talked to her once. It was weak. Now, if the victim had been someone who Martha had known for a while, and had actually bonded with, that would be different. As it stands, it was a bit confusing how personally upset Martha seemed to be.

Castle: Mr. & Mrs. Castle (8x08)

Okay, I don't mean to be so negative but... what the hell was that?

Cons:

Castle and Beckett are back together, proving once and for all that their separation was total nonsense. Nothing but a cheap narrative ploy to mix up things that did not need to be mixed up. Castle learns the truth about Beckett's plans to take down these evil drug people, and he confronts Beckett, asking her why in hell she had to break up with him to do this. Beckett goes on with some nonsense about protecting him, but Castle shoots down that argument just as firmly as I've been shooting it down all season - he points out that Beckett could have told Castle the whole truth and then they could have staged a breakup and took down the bad guy together. Castle says that Beckett is clearly broken, needing the obsession to drive her.

All of this would actually be a good point if Beckett's real behavior had backed it up during the season. But she "pushed Castle away" in name only, continuing to see him on a regular basis, and not fighting very hard against his attempts to fight his way back into her life. How does that indicate a broken person unable to form a good relationship? And how is that supposed to protect him from the baddies? It makes no sense. And if that's the explanation we're going with, why on earth did Castle forgive her so easily? It's pretty weak.

Castle: The Last Seduction (8x07)

This episode was such a confusing mix of annoying and wonderful. I'm really happy with a few things, but still aggravated by a lot. Let's take a look.

Cons:

Hayley was in this episode, and I'm still struggling to figure out what the hell she's doing in this story. This week, she helped Beckett by going under cover at a spa and trying to uncover a woman with an adulterous secret. Was Hayley really the only person who was available for this? Aren't there other women working at the precinct? And what is Hayley, exactly? Is she consulting with the NYPD? I'm confused and I'm struggling to find her character interesting. There was one jarring moment when she asked one of the suspects to tell her the name of her tattoo artist because she really liked her tattoo. No offense, but the tattoo was a really basic pattern on the lower back. It was annoying, because if Hayley was going to make a point of talking about it, shouldn't the tattoo actually look cool?

Vikram also made an appearance, to annoyingly point out to Beckett that she shouldn't be spending time with Castle because of the ongoing dangers of their illicit research. Go away, Vikram. You make no sense and annoy me greatly. 

Castle: Cool Boys (8x06)

A Beckett-less episode. Strange. Still, this was pretty fun. I'm just going to get straight to it. I apologize for my brevity.

Cons:

Same complaint as always. Beckett and Castle's separation doesn't make any sense, so it's difficult to be emotionally invested.

This episode was so busy focusing on other things that it completely dropped the Ryan and Esposito tension that's been going on. That annoys me - these two were at serious odds over the results of the Sergeant's exam, and now there's no sign of any tension whatsoever.

Castle: The Nose (8x05)

This season of Castle has been enormously frustrating thus far. Each of these episodes seems to have moments and ideas that prove it still knows how to be a good product. But the whole thing is dragged down by a completely nonsensical and forced conflict between Castle and Beckett! This episode had quite a few problems, actually. There were a few great elements, though. It's confusing!

Cons:

Beckett and Castle's separation still makes no sense. I won't rant about this too much, I swear. Suffice it to say, all of the longing glances, and the sniffing of each other's clothes... it would be touching, if I thought there was any good reason for them to be separated in the first place. I'm not buying the whole wistful glances thing. Why the heck aren't you two just together, then, if you both so clearly love each other? Stupid.

Ryan and Esposito's story dovetailed into outright ridiculousness this week. We find out that Esposito passed his Sergeant's exam, but that Ryan did not. That part is fine - I actually find it interesting. But then later, while they're trying to track down a suspect, Ryan accidentally shoots Espo in the ass. This is played entirely for laughs, as the two continue to bicker about it. Eventually, Ryan even bends over and tells Espo to shoot him in the ass to make up for it. What the heck? This is so... weird! The slapstick humor thing is okay occasionally, but shouldn't this be a bit of a bigger deal? I would expect Ryan shooting Espo to be a cause for some serious angst and drama, not a couple of quick lackluster laughs. And shouldn't Ryan get into trouble? This just really bothered me.

Castle: What Lies Beneath... (8x04)

I wanted to like this episode. In fact, I did like this episode in many ways. But I'm still pretty annoyed by one big thing, and it definitely influences my opinion of the whole episode. Let's take a look.

Cons:

Beckett and Castle's separation still makes no sense. I know I already talked about this in last week's review, so I'll try not to go overboard. But honestly - if Beckett's enemies were going to target Castle because they were married, wouldn't they still target him if he's constantly around? And if that's not the reason for the separation, then what is? It's so stupid!

Beckett's search for Vulcan Simmons - I'm fine with this in principle (although I still don't understand why she left Castle). There was a really awkward scene here, though. She calls in a narcotics specialist to ask about testing heroin samples against one another. The guy explains the process to her, and then Beckett repeats pretty much his exact words to get clarification, and then he leaves. It was super stilted and strange, and obviously the scene was only in there so that Ryan and Espo could walk in and notice that she was up to something mysterious. It felt very sloppy.

Castle: PhDead (8x03)

Not as strong as the two-part opener. I think I'm already seeing some problems with mixing this whole Castle and Beckett separation in with the usually somewhat humorous tone of the show. I was pretty disappointed in some parts of this episode. Let's take a look.

Cons:

Both Castle and Beckett seem to have faulty logic when it comes to their relationship. Beckett is staying away from Castle because she can't "let it go," and has to keep hunting down leads on the people who killed her FBI teammates. But if these guys are really so evil, won't Castle be in danger no matter what? Even if he sits passively on the sidelines, which Beckett knows he won't do, he'll still be a target if Beckett keeps digging. The bad guys aren't going to leave Castle alone just because Beckett left to "protect" him or whatever. That's a load of crap.

Then there's Castle, who continually insinuates himself into the precinct's case this week, in order to try and impress Beckett. His logic is that since solving cases was what made her fall in love with him, he needs to solve more cases to impress her! What the hell? Obviously a screw has come loose in Castle's head. Beckett still loves him - he doesn't need to impress her with his smarts. She knows who he is, and she loves him. What he needs to do is respect her desire for space, if he wants a chance of really working things out. Castle's quest to impress his wife felt like a very desperate excuse to get Castle working with the NYPD again. Very weak.