Matt Roush's Take on the Castle breakup from TVInsider

[glo1196]

Wow, that was so true. Tycho, I loved Hart to Hart, great show. I hope they get their heads out of you know where, or we won't even have Castle back after the hiatus.

[CastleFanGran]

Perhaps, lots of watching of THE THIN MAN and the other films AWM mentioned to Stana!!!

[willtcastle]

Matt hits the nail on the head here. In 802 Beckett moved away from Castle to protect him. Even though her reasoning was contrived, I was like okay, she did what she did to protect him (In her mind atleast), because if she stayed with him, the big bad guys would come after him. And also because Castle wouldn't let her take on this ultra-powerful faction (LOCKSAT or whatever) alone.
But then in the very next episode, they are together working on a case. So let me get this straight. They can spend whatever amount of time at the precinct or outside solving cases but these guys would only come after Castle if they are living in the same house and spending time together as a couple. If these guys are powerful and smart enough to take out FBI teams, then if they get a hint that Beckett doesn't believe that the case is closed and is investigating behind their backs, the first thing they would do is look at her history and go after Castle, esp if they know Castle and Beckett are still working together.
When you look at it this way, all it makes you feel is that they are just unnecessarily devising ways to prevent the two from living together/having intimate moments. Haven't we had seasons and seasons of the WTWT? Why can't the showrunners develop stories where the couple in question lead a married life with all the facets that come with it ie. the love, the romance, the fights, the struggles, the planning for a family in the future and the sex(y). Why are they so afraid of taking the plunge (When they are already married for God's sake) and focusing on the romance and the intimacy? For a long while now, it is all the fans have been asking for and the reason why their viewership has halved over the last cpl of seasons because they would give us crumbs every few episodes. I could understand them doing this over the first 3-4 seasons, because they needed to focus on longevity and making money over a good no of years. But now that the show is pretty much on its last legs (Based on ratings, fan opinions over this season and the apparent boredom of the actors), if they harbor any hopes of continuing it (Or atleast making decent money from it this season), then the only way it seems possible to me is to give the fans what they want, which is more moments b/w the lead pair not less and more romantic and sexy stuff.

I am sure the new showrunners and the network execs can't be that naive to neglect this, since the earlier ones were let go because the fans were unhappy with where the show was headed and how the Caskett relationship was played out. So if they continue along these lines, then their are a)either mitigating circumstances at hand out of their control (i.e their might be some truth in the actors not getting along and wanting to avoid intimate moments as much as possible and the showrunners obliging to keep them on board) or b) they are too arrogant and foolish to think most fans would continue feeding on the breadcrumbs and keep tuning in hoping for whatever little payoff they can get (And if the ratings do stabilize over the next 4-5 episodes, maybe they aren't that foolish after all and some of us are so addicted we can't give up no matter what) or c) perhaps they just don't care what happens as they know this season is going to be the last. (But then why give the actors improved contracts and change the showrunners. Could have just let the show die a natural death).

I am left to wonder how long this arc will continue and more importantly after whatever no of episodes, when Castle and Beckett do get back together (And it just pains me to have to write that when they just got married an year ago and we didn't even get a honeymoon romp in the sheets), will it change anything? Will they be like, yeah I love you, you love me, lets kiss a cpl of times, make goo-2 eyes and then repeat the same once every 2-3 episodes. The thing is, after all this while and esp if this IS the last season, their needs to be a bigger payoff than what we saw in Seasons 6 and 7, doesn't it? Their has to be something along the lines of what we witnessed in Always (And what was in the deleted scene, which AWM stated they couldn't include because the cpl weren't that far into their relationship. But then I don't think we saw anything remotely hot like that over the next 3 seasons despite them getting married and going on a honeymoon. Mind boggling huh..). Will the execs, showrunners, writers and the actors come together and deliver something along those lines though?

[Fjordmom]

Welcome, willtcastle!

[CF40]

Welcome wiltcastle!  Great points you've made and I have to agree.  

It's been over a week now and I'm still shaking my head at this separation.  I haven't even watched 8x03 yet and not even sure when I will.  

You mentioned a bigger payoff and I agree there needs to be one, maybe not bigger but definitely one must be provided and it must be meaningful and stay that way.  As it stands now, the other 2 Caskett payoffs are meaningless now..... "One and done" out the window with 6x23 and now "Always".  While "Always" might not be completely meaningless it is most definitely tainted for me.  And both of these contrivances at the expense of the Beckett character.  Contrived angst at the expense of a beloved character you've spent 6 years writing mostly beautifully is lazy and stupid to me.    <jmo>

We all know there were plenty of ways of re-introducing the spark without Beckett walking out on Castle to go down that rabbit hole again but this is what we got instead.  
It will certainly be interesting to see how this plays out and what the long-tern effects will be, if any.  

[nathanfan1]

Couldn't agree more with wiltcastle and CF40. This new story arc makes a mockery of Kate hanging off the side of a building and having an epiphany concerning Castle VS chasing her mother's case. It also blows up the wedding vows - partners in crime and in life, always. 

No matter how they bring them back together now, I will always have the lurking thought that Kate's promises can't be trusted. When the next obsession hits, she could go again. It just destroyed my trust in her character and that will taint any, otherwise beautiful and satisfying, ending. 

[java]

Question: Here's the thing [about the Castle storyline]. Not every relationship is rainbows and unicorns. We've had three years of good times, something had to happen. I am interested in seeing what they do to bring the spark (back) in, because it was missing it. It's easy to criticize people, but these new showrunners are giving it a chance. It's only been two episodes, two awesome episodes. I'm just frustrated with the continued hate toward the show from people who say they are done. I'm looking forward to seeing if it pays off. It might not, but at least they tried. The show needed something IMO, and I'm not sure if it's regression (on Beckett's part), it's who she has always been. She went to Castle and told him to trust her and forgive her. In the past, she would have just left in the middle of the night without a word. That is some progress, she loves him no doubt. — J-Mizzle

Matt Roush: Well, yes, I guess that is progress, that she didn't just vanish. Where I respectfully disagree with this defense of the latest twist is the notion that Castle had somehow grown stale because of the couple's happiness. When a show is this long in the tooth, after all the angst of the past, what would be so wrong with it just settling into an enjoyable groove without rekindling yet more conspiracy nonsense to keep them apart. Whatever.

At least Castle can count on the loyalty of fans like Teri, who wrote: "I will stick with it forever. No show brings me the great entertainment like Castle does. I may want certain other things to happen, but the acting is just so good that I am compelled no matter what. I hope long-term fans stick with Castle because there will be nothing like seeing a happily-ever-after play out. Beckett left to protect Castle and her family, not because she doesn't love them. Beckett always has been flawed and damaged, but we cheer for her, and I will continue to cheer for both her and the show."

Yeah, whatever.

www.tvinsider.com/article/45082/ask-matt-vampire-diaries-grinder-colberts-eclectic-guestscastle/

[castlecrazee]

Nathanfan1 that is exactly how I feel. nor will I ever trust TPTB ever again.