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Post by Queen Of The Castle on May 21, 2013 23:51:05 GMT -5
First off, Mandier, thank you for what you said in your post. I'm glad you enjoyed what I wrote about that scene between Castle and Alexis. Honestly, it's scenes like that which are so short yet so clever that we so often overlook when there are much bigger scenes to discuss. But it really is a testament to the brilliant writing on this show.
I know a lot of people say that they feel the writing is not that good or gripe about certain things with the storytelling and there's always a part of me that cringes when I read or hear comments like that. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course, but I always feel that there's a big difference between simply not liking something and saying so and chalking it up to "bad writing".
I'm not very good at math or science. I'm good with numbers but not really with math, if that makes any sense, and I was always a creative person with a brain for creative stuff and not so much for technical stuff, so math and science are far beyond me. A mathematical genius could show me some really incredible and life-changing mathematical formula and all I would see is a bunch of random numbers and symbols that mean nothing to me. But at least I can recognize that even though I don't understand the reasons why it's brilliant work or why it doesn't appeal to me on a personal level or interest me in any way, it doesn't mean that it's not absolutely genius work.
I feel that way sometimes with the comments about the writing. Sure, you may not like the storyline or you may not enjoy an episode or the way it's been written and/or executed. But that doesn't mean it's not absolute brilliance.
I get a lot of flack sometimes from people who feel that I'm too positive about the show and speak too highly of the writing. All I can say to that is this; I may not be great at math or science, but I do know a thing or two about storytelling and scriptwriting and what it takes to construct and execute a story at the level that the Castle team does every week. So yeah, not everyone will like it and some may not enjoy it, but that doesn't take away from how absolutely brilliant these folks are at what they do.
So a scene like this one between Castle and Alexis is one that I wanted to call attention to because it really was absolutely brilliant writing. It was so perfectly constructed, as was this entire episode, and it was also so well executed in terms of the production as well, all of which made it a truly perfect example of how truly incredible these people are at what they do, so much more so than any other show on network television. It's beyond what most shows could ever hope to put out there and I felt that it deserved to be shown some extra attention to highlight just what was so brilliant about the way this scene was done.
Anyway, I'm continuing on now with the interrogation scene and the quick scene between Kate, Esposito, and Ryan. I'll have to finish this off with the final scene later this week. I'm sorry for taking so long and I really don't mean to drag this out but I've had so much to say about each of these final few scenes and not enough time to write. Lol.
So here we go...
We cut to Beckett in the interrogation room with their killer, engaging in one final interrogation in her career with the NYPD as far as she knows it. It’s a typical interrogation for her, with her knowing full-well that the man before her is the killer despite his denial. She’s more annoyed than usual, though, likely tired of playing this game and just wanting to get this guy to confess so she can wrap up this case and call it a day.
But then he says something to her, something that sparks something in her, as he tells her that she’s wasting her time. Of course, he means that she’s wasting her time trying to get him to confess, but she takes those words in a whole different way.
And yes, this is another line from last year’s finale, again coming from Maddox as he tried to warn her away from pursuing her mother’s case during their fight on the rooftop. Again, I think this was just a keen way for Marlowe to bring the past year full-circle and tie in Kate’s epiphany this year with the one she had on that rooftop last year.
I love this scene because it gives us Kate, once again, at her very best. She’s always on her game when she goes toe-to-toe with the scum of the earth, never backing down from these murderers and never letting them play their games with her. His words have sparked that fight within her, sparked a realization in her that this job that she does, this job that she’s the best at, is ultimately who she is. And in that realization, she not only has her leverage to get to this guy and put him away for good, but she also has the answer to the question she’s been asking herself throughout this entire episode.
I love the way that she processes all of this in her head as she speaks to the killer, talking about how he’s only been in this room for one hour but this room has been her life and her home for so long now. I know some may feel that this was her way of saying goodbye, but I didn’t see it that way. From the tone in her voice and the look on her face, I truly believe that this was her epiphany, her realization that this precinct, this job, these people, this place… this was where she belonged. This was her home, her family, and her life, and she wasn’t about to let that go.
Sure, she could do this job for the FBI and the AG. She could do it blindfolded. It would challenge her, it would give her a chance to take on some much more high-profile cases, and it would be a step forward in her career. But does she really need all of that? Was it really worth giving up the life and the career she’s made for herself here in New York?
Kate became a cop because she wanted to get closure and justice for the families of her victims, closure and justice that she never got herself. She wanted to do her part to stop the murderers out there from getting away with what they did and, in some way, to rid the world of these people and stop them from killing again. That was her goal in life. Not to become a high-ranking officer, not to work for the Feds, not to do her job on a national scale. Yes, she could do all of those things and she’s got that opportunity now. She could help make a difference in other ways, preventing terrorist attacks or protecting the nation from other such things. But would she be living out her goal, would she be honouring her mother in the same way that she does every time she puts a lowly murderer behind bars for his or her crimes? Would she get that same satisfaction in knowing that she gave another family the closure and the sense of peace and justice that she never got for herself and her father?
And what about Ryan and Esposito? Gates? Lanie? Martha and Alexis? And, of course, Castle? She lost her mother, lost her family, and lost all sense of being a part of something greater than herself the night her mother was murdered. But it was these people, this job, that gave her all of that back in a way. They became her family, they gave her a sense of purpose and a sense of being a part of something special again. Could she really leave all of that behind?
So she does what she does best. She uses all of her emotion and throws it into her work, pushing her killer to confess to his crimes and doing what she set out to do all of those years ago.
I love when she puts it all out there for him, telling him that she already has enough to convict him and says to him, “So the question is, how many years of your own life are you going to sacrifice for someone else’s future?” Of course, she’s pushing him to confess and, perhaps, take a lighter sentence in order to implicate anyone and everyone involved in his crimes. But really, she’s speaking about herself as well, as if she’s finally realized that taking this job would be her sacrificing her life for a future she doesn’t even really want. She knows the future she wants, the future she could have, and that future is here in New York with Castle, her partner in work and in life, and with the life she’s built for herself here.
Now, I think when she says “someone else’s future” that she’s referring to, perhaps, her old self, the version of herself that would always retreat into her work and throw herself into her job to avoid facing those aspects of life that could leave her feeling heartbroken or abandoned, just as she was when her mother was murdered. The version of herself that continuously sacrificed her own life to honour the life and future that her mother was robbed of. She never allowed herself to live her own life and enjoy everything good that this world was capable of providing to her. But she’s come a long way in the past year or two and she knows what she wants; she wants the life she has, a life with Castle, and a life with the family and friends that have come to mean so much to her. Work is work, it’s not life, and she is finally ready to accept, 100%, the life that she deserves and wants for herself.
She could also be referring to “someone else” as being all of those families that she’s worked so hard to obtain justice and closure for. She’s sacrificed her life, her future, for them for over a decade, all in the name of honouring her mother’s memory. But, as Jim said to Castle two years ago, words that will always stand out in my mind… “She won’t stop until someone can convince her that her life is worth more than her mother’s death.” Castle helped her to realize that a year ago when she was ready to give up her job and her mother’s case for him. And now she’s ready to give up this job offer for him as well, for the future that she wants to have with him. After all, Montgomery said it best when he told her that, “We speak for the dead. We are all they’ve got once the wicked rob them of their voices. We owe them that, but we don’t owe them our lives.” So, in a way, perhaps Kate realizes that in all of this time of her committing herself to seeking justice and closure for all of these other people, something that has shaped who she is and what her life has been about, she’s truly sacrificed everything for them. Heck, she was even ready to sacrifice everything with Castle to take this job, all because it would give her the opportunity to “do more”. But hasn’t she done enough? Hasn’t she sacrificed enough?
I think she’s realized that what she does is more than enough. And she can continue to do her job with the NYPD, here in her home and amongst her family and friends, and continue to get justice and closure for those people. She can give them that. But she no longer has to give up her life and her future to do so. She can stay, she can do her job, and she can still live her life and work towards her future with Castle. And she’ll have no regrets.
I love the way she walks out of the interrogation room, looking around at the precinct, at her desk, and then at Ryan and Esposito as they approach. Again, I think the Castle team did well to give us the sense that maybe this was Kate saying goodbye, looking around for the last time before she left for the job in D.C. And while that may have been how some saw it, I didn’t see it that way at all, not even at first glance.
To me, even the first time I watched this episode and more so now that I’ve seen this ending again and again, I believed 100% that Kate made her final decision in that interrogation room and that she chose to turn down the job offer. To me, this walk out of the interrogation room was her accepting that decision, seeing everything around her in a whole new light. She had finally come to realize that this place was her home and that these people were her family. While I’m sure she’s always felt that way deep down, I think this is the first time she’s really realized how wonderful this life is that she’s built for herself. She’s always been so distracted by everything else that she never really had the time to take it all in, and now she’s looking around and seeing this place for what it really is to her, what it really means to her, and she is so at peace with her decision because she can feel that it’s the right choice.
I love that she brushes off how much she’s gotten their killer to confess to and so wistfully hands it over to Ryan and Esposito to finish off. Again, I think this is a good sign that this wasn’t her last case at all because she’s not even committed to finishing it off herself and getting that sense of closure. She’s treating it like any other case, just doing what she needs to do and letting her team handle their part of it. And she has more important things to deal with right now, namely telling Castle what she had decided and trying to make amends with him.
What I love about this is that based on how they left things, she can’t even be sure that he will take her back, let alone that he wants the same future for them that she wants. But, just like in season two’s finale and just like last year’s finale, she’s prepared to risk it all just for the chance that he’ll want what she wants for them.
As Kate continues to walk away, a woman on a mission, Esposito stops her and asks if everything is okay. Now, this moment will be debated all summer, I’m sure, but there’s a really key part of it that I think tells the whole story in and of itself…
Kate looks down for a second, composing herself as she explains that there’s something she needs to tell them. And yes, for a moment, it seems she’s saddened by that. But I think it’s more so that she feels badly for keeping them in the dark all of this time. After all, this is her family and she wants to be honest with them about everything. So yeah, she looks down and composes herself, but not out of sadness or regret or pain, rather out of a sense of shame that she didn’t let them in on what was going on all along.
But then comes the key… she looks up at them and tells them that she needs to tell someone else first. We know she’s talking about Castle and I love that she wants to talk to him immediately before taking any time to talk to anyone else about it. That’s not the key, though… the key is the look on her face when she tells them that, just before she walks away to talk to Castle.
Look at the smile on her face. Look at the sense of peace and happiness and love in her eyes. This is not a woman who is about to break the news to her boyfriend that she’s moving to another city, with or without him, to pursue a career opportunity. This is a woman who is about to tell her boyfriend that she’s committed to him and their future together, a woman who is so sure of herself and her decision and so hopeful that she’ll see him smile and tell her he loves her when she expresses her feelings to him, sharing those same desires for their future together. She’s a woman who just realized how truly happy she was and she’s on her way to share that with the man she loves.
This is the first time throughout the entire episode that we’ve seen Kate this way. She’s so happy, so full of joy, so in love, and so content with her decision. At no point did we ever see her like this, and certainly not when she told her father that she wanted the job and had decided to take it. What does that tell us about that first decision? It tells us that she knew, even though she was convincing herself otherwise, that it was the wrong decision. This is the first time in the entire episode that we see her so sure of herself, so sure of her choice, and that tells us that she’s made a different decision, one that she can live with for the rest of her life with no regrets, no matter what happens.
I love that she waits until she’s gotten to the elevator to call Castle, a lovely little details that harkens back to how important that elevator has been to their relationship over the past five seasons. I also love that these two aren’t hiding from each other or ignoring each other’s calls, something they would have done after any other fight in any other season. I think it shows that Castle has changed, that he’s ready and waiting to see Kate when she’s ready for him to see her. He knows what he wants and he’s prepared to just throw caution to the wind and go for it, regardless of what she is preparing herself to say to him.
I thought both Stana and Nathan did a great job in this quick exchange to not give anything away. Kate has a somewhat whimsical look on her face but it’s very slight and she’s really giving off more of a poker face, as is Castle. I think that was key to preparing the scene ahead, once again making us feel as though these two are going to part ways in the final few minutes of the episode.
It was a weird moment for me the first time I saw this episode because I was so convinced that Kate had made the decision to stay in New York and commit herself to a future with Castle but the look on his face had me worried that he definitely wasn’t prepared for that and I had to wonder what it was that would happen in these final few minutes. Would Kate have the opportunity to tell Castle what she had decided? Would he talk first and maybe say something that would deter her from telling him how she felt? Prior to the episode airing I did believe that Castle was going to respond to this job offer by asking Kate to marry him, like a last-ditch effort to ask her to stay for him, but I can tell you with 100% certainty that when this part of the episode actually aired, I really did not believe for a second that it would happen at that point.
Just like they did in season two and three (not so much last season), the Castle team really had me thrown for a loop. So much of what I thought would happen did happen and yet I had no idea that’s where it was going or that this is how it would conclude. Heck, in season two I KNEW that Monet was guest-starring in the episode and she hadn’t yet shown up prior to those last couple of minutes but I was so wrapped up in the story and the emotion that I didn’t even clue in that she must be the wrench that would be thrown in at the end that would keep Castle and Beckett from sharing their feelings and moving forward together. I felt like a fool for not seeing it coming but the Castle team really did a great job of keeping me distracted from logical thought at that point.
They did it again in this finale for sure, making me so unsure of how this was all going to play out. I knew what Kate had decided, that much I was certain, but I was unsure that she would get a chance to tell Castle her happy news and I was equally unsure of where Castle’s head was at. What Martha said to him could have easily had him preparing to say goodbye and let Beckett go, something that likely would have pushed Kate not to tell him her decision after all. But could Castle really give up like that after all of these years? I didn’t think he could but I was unsure how this final scene would play out.
All I knew is that this would surely be a final few minutes that we would all be discussing for the rest of the summer!!
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