Castle Season 5 (including Spoilers)

[Admiral_Young]

I'm also assuming they were arrested as part of the episode's motif of ex's as a joke. The score was positively playful during the entire sequence, especially during the breaking of the vases, etc. It wasn't meant to be taken seriously, even as part of their investigation and it would get paid off later on when they revisited Walter again.

[Neroon]

Poor Castle. He never stood a chance, fair or otherwise. I'm on his side because despite Beckett's protests to the contrary... it's her who can't stay in the same place as Meredith.

[Admiral_Young]

Meredith was awesome and made the episode for me

[TheSeeker]

Christopher wrote:

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I didn't care for this one. Too much focus on contrived relationship angst to the detriment of the mystery. This is the sort of writing that makes so many romantic shows go downhill once the unresolved sexual tension turns into an active romance -- the writers just have to contrive all sorts of crises and turmoil in the relationship to keep generating conflict, and it gets too melodramatic.

And even the parts that weren't about Castle & Beckett weren't very funny. The whole art-smashing sequence between the divorcees was broad to the point of camp. And I have to wonder about Beckett just standing there and doing nothing. I mean, if the property had been divided between them already, then the ex-wife no longer had any ownership rights to the property she destroyed. I looked up New York State laws, and given that the cumulative value of the destroyed property was surely well over $1500, that would make both ex-spouses guilty of criminal mischief in the second degree, which is a Class D felony and carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison. I know Beckett's a homicide cop, but she's not supposed to just stand there and watch while someone commits a string of felonies right in front of her.

I have to say I was thinking almost exactly the same thing as I watched the episode last night. I can't say it was one of my favourites.

[Aragorn]

I don't know about you, but the lack of realism in a show where an untrained, unarmed writer is allowed to be the partner of an NYPD detective and solves 22 murders a year for free just takes me out of the storytelling.

[Christopher]

^It's like they say -- "The key is sincerity. If you can fake that, you've got it made." Unrealistic premises can be made to feel convincing enough that the audience is willing to suspend disbelief. But that suspension of disbelief is not an obligation on the audience's part. It's something the storytellers have to earn. And if they fail to earn it, then viewers are entitled to complain.

In this case, the implausible premise of Castle helping out the police has been repeatedly justified over the show's history through the conceit of Castle's frienship with the mayor -- plus the fact that he's genuinely helpful to the police. So it's an implausibility that's been sold to us, that's sufficiently justified to earn our suspension of disbelief. They didn't just shove an unrealistic situation in our faces and demand that we accept it; they convinced us to buy into it for the purposes of the story. But that was not the case here. They didn't justify the implausibility of a police officer ignoring the felonies being committed right in front of her. More likely, they didn't even realize that it was a felony, so they didn't know there was anything to justify. Research failure is not the same thing as poetic license.

[Admiral_Young]

Well...I did post the article regarding the plummeting ratings this season (the winter hiatus episode being the lowest rated episode ever) . I haven't checked the ratings for Monday's episode yet. I have a suspicion that "Castle" could end either this season, or perhaps be granted one last season next year. So far though I've not really had a problem with this season. Monday's episode was clearly a filler episode. I'm still convinced that the second half of the season will refocus on the JB murder case, we will be revisiting the Senator as well, and possibly be introduced to Rick's dad finally.

[Nick Ryder]

Aragorn wrote:

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I don't know about you, but the lack of realism in a show where an untrained, unarmed writer is allowed to be the partner of an NYPD detective and solves 22 murders a year for free just takes me out of the storytelling.

Say's the poster with Kate as an avatar

[Vendikarr]

Admiral_Young wrote:

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Well...I did post the article regarding the plummeting ratings this season (the winter hiatus episode being the lowest rated episode ever) . I haven't checked the ratings for Monday's episode yet. I have a suspicion that "Castle" could end either this season, or perhaps be granted one last season next year. So far though I've not really had a problem with this season. Monday's episode was clearly a filler episode. I'm still convinced that the second half of the season will refocus on the JB murder case, we will be revisiting the Senator as well, and possibly be introduced to Rick's dad finally.

My gut tells me that declining ratings this season is due to Castle and Beckett finally getting together. Since the show began, we have been teased with those two characters getting closer. There were a lot of fans invested in "Caskett" and I wouldn't be surprised if they got their payoff in the final episode of last season.

All that would await those fans this season is watching what kind of obstacles the writers would put in the way of the happy couple. Those invested in the relationship may not have stayed to see that.

So while the show may not have creatively collapsed because the leads got together (ala Moonlighting), the relationship's fans may have decided to leave before it happened.

[Forbin]

Nobody watched this week?

[Admiral_Young]

I ended up going to bed early and forgot to record it! LOL.

[Greg Cox]

It was mostly an Esposito ep, with guest-appearances by Beckett and Castle. Not bad as a change of pace, but perhaps not something to inspire much on-line chatter.

[TheSeeker]

I enjoyed the focus on Esposito, but somehow I had a feeling we'd find out that he had a checkered past.

[Forbin]

I have a striped past, myself.

[cardinal biggles]

Mine's a bit more plaid.