Castle: Veritas
May 6, 2014 10:29 PM - Season 6, Episode 22 - Subscribe

Once again, Beckett follows up on her mother's murder

It finally happened, the long arc of Kate investigating her mom's murder over season after season and death after death of anyone connected to the case finally comes to a close.
posted by mathowie (24 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I love Castle the series a great deal. It's dumb, it's fun, it's amusing, and the crimes usually follow a pretty set-in-stone formula. Weird murder happens in the first five minutes, they show up and work the case. 40 minutes later, they get a confession that is almost always the second person they interviewed while working the case. Neat, and tidy, every episode.

But over six seasons, about every 8 or 9 normal episodes, there's a Very Special Episode that centers on Kate's mom's unsolved murder. At first, these breaks from the norm were interesting, but after six years of it, I've grown tired of them, usually to the point where I ask my spouse who usually watches them before me "is this a Normal episode or a Very Special Episode?"

The great thing about watching this entirely Very Special Episode is that it seems the murder is solved, and these multi-season story arcs are finally coming to a close. This wasn't the finale, that's next week, but I hope/assume next week will be a victory lap of sorts for solving this long dead case.

Also, I'd just like to see my old favorite show Castle go back to what it does best, entertain me with oddball murder.
posted by mathowie at 10:33 PM on May 6, 2014 [11 favorites]


I bet they still find a way to revive it next season. :P
posted by Jacqueline at 10:40 PM on May 6, 2014


I call figurehead. The Senator was just the front to a shadowy deep dark group of conspirators.
posted by sammyo at 4:09 AM on May 7, 2014


Please, please, let this be the end of the stupid Beckett's mom plot. I liked it at first, too, but then they did an entire season of serious stuff which was horrible.

No. I want to watch Castle because we have weird cosmetic surgery murders, or fake Antarctic expedition murders, or more murders based on his books, or whatever. I do not watch Castle for long running serious plot arcs (that serial killer who comes back occasionally is on the border).

That said, I have liked how they've dealt with the relationship now that it's no longer UST. I do miss the callbacks to Nathan Fillion's earlier shows, though.
posted by jeather at 5:52 AM on May 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


I have to admit that I stopped watching this show years ago because of the terrible continuity episodes.
posted by selfnoise at 6:18 AM on May 7, 2014


They've been doing about 1-2 episodes a season since the dreadful All Serious season, which is 1-2 episodes too many, but any show can have 2 annoying episodes a year. Last season in particular was very much in the vein of season 1.
posted by jeather at 7:43 AM on May 7, 2014


I started watching Monday's ep, saw that it was a Who Killed Beckett's Mom story, and went to bed instead. I don't mind season-crossing story arcs - I love them, when they're done well - but this is one that's been drawn out for what feels like no good reason except they keep forgetting to close it.

I want more weird murders and Firefly jokes, please.
posted by rtha at 10:02 AM on May 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


rtha, we did the exact same thing. And then again last night went to play it on the DVR, read the description, remembered why we didn't watch it the previous night, and stopped again.

The worst thing about the story arc is that I don't find it memorable enough for me to ever remember WTF is going on. I can handle ridiculously convoluted personal background stories for my procedural characters (see: Bones) but every time a Beckett's Mom episode comes up, I feel like I have to pull up the Castle Wikia page to even remember why I should care (beyond Kate Beckett/Stana Katic being so kick-ass, which admittedly, does buy the show A LOT of good will).

I was really happy to read that this episode seems to wrap it up. But as others have said, I'll believe that when I see it.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:03 AM on May 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


The show definitely seems like they closed it all up, but as (like the rest of you again) I don't remember the details of the story, I can't tell. That said, I think they know it's gone over badly, so I'd be surprised if they kept dragging it out. Maybe I'm being excessively hopeful.

I actually don't even remember how this episode went, except that Beckett arrested the politician guy who came up a few times in the story because she found a tape where he admitted to her mother's murder in some knick-knack. It was wholly implausible in a totally different way than the show usually is, in a bad way, but next episode we get (I assume) Beckett and Castle Get Married Also Murder, and I look forward to seeing everyone in nice dresses. (Not the wedding dress we saw in the earlier episode; that was hideous and also not her style.)
posted by jeather at 11:16 AM on May 7, 2014


Oh, Kate. Are you finally at peace? Can you get married and go back to work and live a normal life now?

My guess is no. "Everything you have is because of me." There's going to be some internal conflict based on that, I wouldn't be surprised if we see another job offer in DC, and more relationship drama as she tries to figure out who she is now that her mother's death is solved.
posted by Night_owl at 11:26 AM on May 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


It's dumb, it's fun, it's amusing, and the crimes usually follow a pretty set-in-stone formula. Weird murder happens in the first five minutes, they show up and work the case. 40 minutes later, they get a confession that is almost always the second person they interviewed while working the case. Neat, and tidy, every episode.

But over six seasons, about every 8 or 9 normal episodes, there's a Very Special Episode that centers on Kate's mom's unsolved murder. At first, these breaks from the norm were interesting, but after six years of it, I've grown tired of them, usually to the point where I ask my spouse who usually watches them before me "is this a Normal episode or a Very Special Episode?"


You have no idea how hard I was hoping that the entire show would do a crazy Ivan and become Castle and Kate permanently on the run in exotic locales. Then I realized that Castle is for when I don't want to think too much.
posted by srboisvert at 3:16 PM on May 7, 2014


Yep, exactly srboisvert, it's like a slightly more intellectual version of Monk, which I always felt was Law and Order for Idiots (of which I was one and a fan).
posted by mathowie at 3:58 PM on May 7, 2014


Your hopes for Castle and Kate on the run [and solving murders, obv] cannot compare to my hopes from that one episode with TIME TRAVEL which was somehow CASUALLY DISCARDED like NOBODY NOTICED.
Beckett noticed, and she is a professional noticer of things. Why didn't she care?

Think how much more ridiculous these murders could get with the time travel that already exists in-universe. Tigers? pshaw.
Dinosaurs!
Aliens!
Portals through time leaking ancient and poisonous earth atmosphere!

These, as with all of my TV hopes, were dashed this season.
posted by Acari at 4:04 PM on May 7, 2014 [2 favorites]


That time travel episode was the best episode ever. It made sitting through all the other episodes up until that point worth it. (I watch Castle because it's one of my friend's favorite shows and not because it inherently appeals to me.)
posted by Jacqueline at 4:21 PM on May 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


I need to find this time travel episode. I heart the zombie episode.

I usually like the first half of an ep when Castle is being a goof in that insanely charming way of his - and then they get to the part where they knuckle down and solve the case and I want to scream (as mentioned above) ITS THE SECOND PERSON YOU INTERVIEWED, MR NOT-CHARMING-ME-NOW ANNOYING PERSON.
posted by double bubble at 4:49 PM on May 7, 2014


I love how everyone else here is all, "THANK GOD BECKETT'S MOM IS OVER" too. This show is really suited to geeky fun episodes where Nathan Fillion is totally excited and/or Beckett is hiding her geekery, NOT the dire shit involving harder government agencies or conspiracies. Though I'll give a special pass to Castle's dad's plots.

My favorite episode is "The Final Frontier," in which Kate's covert geekiness becomes overt, Castle for once doesn't like something geeky, and the episode ends with her scaring the boner off of him. Time travel episode is good too.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:57 PM on May 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


The time travel episode is S06E05 "Time Will Tell" and definitely worth hunting down if you missed it.
posted by Jacqueline at 5:53 PM on May 7, 2014


Thx. It's on the list!
posted by double bubble at 7:25 PM on May 7, 2014


Oh, The Final Frontier is a great episode. I also enjoyed the Halloween episode where Castle dresses up as a Space Cowboy.
posted by jeather at 7:38 PM on May 7, 2014


That's also a huge favorite of mine.

I really treasure the days when I can work from home, because if I pick the right day I get Bones until noon or 1 pm and then at least four hours of Castle.
posted by rtha at 7:53 PM on May 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


Okay, I just finally got around to watching "That 70's Show," that was a hoot too. Lainie as Foxy Brown! Gay mobsters in love and denial! Ryan and Esposito finally getting to be in a 70's cop show!
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:05 AM on May 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


The bad guy in "Time Will Tell" is named Garrett Ward. Garrett. Ward. It's an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. crossover too holy shit my mind just
posted by Etrigan at 8:28 AM on May 8, 2014 [2 favorites]


Let me just blow your mind a little more then.
posted by mstokes650 at 6:54 AM on May 10, 2014


Okay, so I finally watched this episode, and though it is all totally ridiculous, the ending was very, very satisfying. Stupid show making me feel stuff about the plots I hate.

Also, I realized it is ridiculous to imagine a world where a man is running for president using money he procured through money laundering drugs after a professional lifetime of having people killed; however, we live in a world with Mayor Rob Ford, so can we really judge?
posted by MCMikeNamara at 5:15 PM on May 26, 2014


« Older Person of Interest: A House Di...   |  Fargo: Eating the Blame... Newer »

You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments

poster