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Post by nathanfan1 on Apr 4, 2016 18:04:44 GMT -5
FINALLY! The long awaited homecoming. Let's hope we all feel warm and fuzzy after the show!
Please come back and discuss afterwards.
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Post by motowncf on Apr 4, 2016 22:08:57 GMT -5
Definite warm and fuzzy. This is the first episode this season that really felt like Castle. Hopefully this is a good sign for the rest of the season.
Castle and Beckett are a team again. And the team was a team again. The four of them together, and looking out for each other.
And our bromance is back. Loved Espo and Ryan tonight.
The only fly in the ointment was Lucy/Linus. That is another annoying "character" that just needs to go away.
That aside, I enjoyed seeing the 3 Castle ladies spending time together.
Was this a new writer? I'm not familiar with the writing team, but it seems like the writer for this episode really gets what the show is about.
Two thumbs up!
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Post by nathanfan1 on Apr 4, 2016 23:08:37 GMT -5
Motown, I had the very same reaction as you did. I thoroughly enjoyed the episode except for the ANNOYING Lucy / Linus story line. For heaven's sake, we have plenty of wonderful human characters who deserve the screen time a lot more than a machine! Please make it go away!
Otherwise, it was a very enjoyable episode and another example of how a well written script could still accommodate more time off for the leads but maintain the feel of the team functioning together.
A couple of things I did enjoy from that first scene at the loft were the continuity of Castle wanting a pinch of nutmeg in his coffee - something Meredith knew but Kate never did - and the realistic response of Kate not being able to go to the body drop because of other responsibilities. It was wonderful though, to see Castle automatically included and hurrying off to investigate. No need for any PI antics any more? Fingers crossed!
I'm still ticked about Lanie blaming Castle for the separation. That's something that just came out of nowhere and has never really been addressed. Imagine that!
I loved the reveal that Javi had been engaged to Sonia and the laughs that they mined at his expense were great. Castle's move to close Javi's mouth and then Ryan later covering Castle's mouth were quite funny, as was Castle and Ryan eavesdropping and many of the other comments and looks that passed between all of them. Jon Huertas did a really good job of acting as he had to waffle back and forth between showing attraction and being a cop. He sold the emotion well. It was also great to get a glimpse into his family life. We already knew his dad was not in the picture so that was good continuity and the weekly family dinner with the aunt and cousin and mom's great cooking was a nice touch. Later, when Ryan was at the house, it seemed as though he'd been included in dinners before too. That speech that Javi gave Sonia as he disarmed her was really wonderful, as was the way they ended it in the bullpen with Javi saying he'd be coming to see her. The story line had a lot of heart in it.
Gotta love Ryan and Espo being there for each other. Ryan totally had Espo's back. It was a highly charged scene when Ryan alerted the bullpen to Javi being in a life and death situation and then the ending, with him calling in sick to spend time with his suspended partner, was very satisfying. Speaking of the suspension, I also loved the way it was handled by Captain Beckett. She was truly doing her duty but the last comment of support for what he'd done took the sting out of it. Twice tonight Espo said, "Yes, Maam," to Beckett!
It was nice to see Martha and Alexis also welcoming Kate home but I thought the situation was made trite by the dumb Lucy nonsense. I'd have much rather seen some kind of heartfelt exchange between the women. I also don't believe for a minute that either of them truly thought Castle and Kate were still separated.
As per my earlier comment, I most definitely would have liked an intimate ending with Castle and Kate perhaps pledging to never let something come between them again rather than dealing with a machine - my only real disappointment with the episode.
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Post by tycho657 on Apr 5, 2016 0:39:49 GMT -5
Definite warm and fuzzy. This is the first episode this season that really felt like Castle. Hopefully this is a good sign for the rest of the season. Castle and Beckett are a team again. And the team was a team again. The four of them together, and looking out for each other. And our bromance is back. Loved Espo and Ryan tonight. The only fly in the ointment was Lucy/Linus. That is another annoying "character" that just needs to go away. That aside, I enjoyed seeing the 3 Castle ladies spending time together. Was this a new writer? I'm not familiar with the writing team, but it seems like the writer for this episode really gets what the show is about. Two thumbs up! This was Barry O'Brien's 2nd Castle episode. He is one of the new writers this season. His other episode was "What lies beneath" 8x4 |
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Post by tycho657 on Apr 5, 2016 9:16:31 GMT -5
I loved this episode  it is the first episode that felt like the Castle we know and love finally. If they had started with this episode this season would have been a reboot success. Too bad it took them this long to figure that out. Lucy was a good way to have the usually buffer between Caskett. They have always had something between them. I prefer an electronic pyramid to a person. Much easier, as Kate discovered, to reprogram an electronic device than a real person. They must have had this in mind when they chose the name "Lucy" for "her" early in the season. Linus and Lucy are the ying yang and also we know that Castle had the Lion picture that Kate booted from their bedroom called Linus. Let me say I would love this espresso machine that steams the milk for you. I have to get the milk from the fridge and hold the steamer cup to steam it on my machine. But, this is a TV show, not real life  It was nice to finally see some backstory on Espo. We had to believe that Ryan and Espo have gotten to know each others families when they are away from the 12th. Too bad it took them 8 season to let us see this. Again, how nice would it have been to explore this earlier this season instead of the crazy LokSat story line. Jon live tweeted during the west coast airing last night. I stayed up the extra hour and re-watched it when he tweeted. He did all of his own stunts. He said he is starting to feel this stuff and maybe should stop. I think we now know why he could never commit to Lanie. His heart had been taken by this lady and he knew what that felt like to be in love, not like. I think he will be lost as he knows he could never be with this lady but his heart will not let her go. I kept saying as I was watching "poor Espo". You could see on his face how this lady has gotten into his soul. We were both laughing out loud at things that were happening during this episode. It was wonderful to see that kind of fun return finally. Barry is one of the new writers but he seems to understand how to do this better than anyone else so far. |
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Post by angie1379 on Apr 5, 2016 12:04:44 GMT -5
I thoroughly enjoyed this episode, and my quibbles are so small they don't even warrant mentioning.
Seeing the gang back together was the best, and the emotional storyline for Javi gave us some wonderful insight into who he is and what drives him. It wasn't anything we didn't already know, but it was great to see his dedication to doing the right even in the most heart-wrenching circumstances. The emotion between him and Sonia was so deep, and the relationship so complicated and almost tragic, that I thought for sure she was going to end up dying in an effort to save Espo. As it is, he finally got her to do the right thing as well. It was a better ending than I saw coming.
Seeing Kate take on the full mantle of being a captain and suspending Espo was honestly a little jarring for me, as I imagine it was for them. It wasn't unwarranted, but it really underscored how things have changed, and for me, it was tougher than I expected it to be. I've stayed quiet about my feeling about Kate as captain, specifically because they are so mixed. Realistically, yes, becoming a captain was long overdue for someone with Kate's intellect, skill, and ambition. But in the context of the show, I'm not sure it's working for me. It's no longer possible for her to be the rogue detective, to dive into cases, and to do what we have loved seeing her do -- solve homicides by any means necessary. Sure, it's an inevitable evolution of the character, but it's changed the dynamic of the show more than anything else we've seen, and I guess I'm still processing it.
The rest of the episode was a good mix of family, moving on, and welcomed silliness that defines the show. It might not have been perfect, but for a comfortingly typical episode, it felt great to be back in the most familiar territory we've seen in much too long.
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Post by shutterbug5269 on Apr 5, 2016 12:45:18 GMT -5
To be honest I was hoping for more snark and sass between Lucy and Beckett than the whole electronic overlord moment. It would have been more enjoyable to have Castle and Beckett sort out her issues with Lucy together, rather than Kate retooling Lucy into Linus to shove the problem in his face. That just felt wrong. Though it was a little bit fun to have neither Alexis nor Martha believe Kate that Lucy had it out for her. (A bit of harmless scales balancing for not hearing Rick out when he vented about the separation maybe?)
Though using Seth Green as the voice of Linus was a nice throwback to Mass Effect 2. (His character had to be saddled with EDI the Starship Normandy's operating system who liked to mess with him to get a rise out of him)
It does hurt that Lanie blames Rick for the separation. Kate should really straighten her out on that in their next girls night out.
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Post by nathanfan1 on Apr 5, 2016 14:40:46 GMT -5
Tycho, I really appreciated your thoughts on Espo's inability to commit to Lanie. I hadn't thought about that but I think you've made an excellent point. The acting by both Jon and the actress who played Sonia was outstanding and I was able to feel the strength of their emotions. It sure would be interesting to see where this would go 2 years down the line when Sonia got out of prison.
Angie, I agree with you that making Kate a captain was the single biggest shift in the show this season. I wish it had never been done but I suspect the decision was also driven by the new contracts with the leads allowing for more time off. Making her Captain made it easy to keep their scenes together at a minimum. I've always said that the perfect ending for me would have been for them to play off the comment that Kate made at the close of season 7 when she said that they told her she could have her own precinct within a year. They could have had one last season of Kate as the lead detective and have her become Captain as the series ended. It would have been infinitely more satisfying than what we've gotten in season 8.
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Post by ddcnj on Apr 5, 2016 16:33:54 GMT -5
I got the impression that some time had passed since the last episode, which would account for the lack of discussion with Martha & Alexis, or Ryan and Espo. The "welcome home" gathering seemed to be timed to her having finished moving her things back to the loft.
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Post by angie1379 on Apr 5, 2016 18:05:02 GMT -5
Angie, I agree with you that making Kate a captain was the single biggest shift in the show this season. I wish it had never been done but I suspect the decision was also driven by the new contracts with the leads allowing for more time off. Making her Captain made it easy to keep their scenes together at a minimum. I've always said that the perfect ending for me would have been for them to play off the comment that Kate made at the close of season 7 when she said that they told her she could have her own precinct within a year. They could have had one last season of Kate as the lead detective and have her become Captain as the series ended. It would have been infinitely more satisfying than what we've gotten in season 8. That's a bit how I feel too, though I wonder if putting off her captaincy for a year might have meant ruling out a season 9, which I'm not surprised they were not willing to do. I can see why they made her a captain, storywise, too. She was just too good to stay a detective, especially after her stint in DC. But I just can't tell whether the decision was story-driven, or production driven. In a way, the change in dynamic gives writers a chance to bend the formula of the show; it's just unfortunate they chose to bend it in a way that did not resonate with viewers. Part of me likes seeing Kate with more authority, and I think of all the decisions made this year, this one had the most potential. It's just to bad it got subsumed in the disaster that has been locksat, and therefore, hasn't really has the chance to develop in any meaningful way yet. But I'm willing to see where it goes, as I'm finally enjoying the show again and don't want to be too critical right now. :-) |
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Post by fantasynovelreader on Apr 5, 2016 22:34:14 GMT -5
My overall thoughts. I enjoyed the episode and agree with a lot that has already been said  |
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Post by dyingtime on Apr 6, 2016 14:31:57 GMT -5
The episode was okay for this season, but below what I have liked prior to season 7. My feeling is that if this episode was typical of season 1 and 2, it would not have made it to season three. I daresay it will not make it to season nine. The reason for watching is Rick and Kate tossing jibes and lovelorn looks. That is no longer the case. I watch this show now during the week when daytime TV is dead.
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it is the first episode that felt like the Castle we know and love finally. If they had started with this episode this season would have been a reboot success. Too bad it took them this long to figure that out.
