When ABC's Castle last aired in May, Beckett (Stana Katic) lay on the ground, shot. The season four premiere, "Rise," picks up immediately after that moment. Castle (Nathan Fillion) accompanies his partner to the hospital. When she finally wakes up, she claims to not remember anything, and asks Castle to leave her alone for awhile. He reluctantly agrees.
Three months later, Beckett returns to work, having never called Castle. While investigating a new murder, she learns that Castle is working tirelessly to find her shooter, though the new boss, Captain Victoria Gates (Penny Johnson Jerald, 24, Star Trek: Deep Space 9), bans him from the police the station. Having no choice, Beckett must go to Castle to continue to look for her would-be killer, who is still at large. Castle goes over Gates's head to get reinstated, and helps out with both the current case, and Beckett's secret continued investigation into her own shooting.
Gates is certainly a breath of fresh air. While Captain Montgomery (Ruben Santiago-Hudson) finally gets interesting plot right before he is killed off, Gates has a good back story right off the bat. Knowing Gates worked in internal affairs, and is very by the book, Beckett has to sneak around for personal business, something she never does with Montgomery. Also, Castle immediately rubbing Gates the wrong way by going over her head to the mayor means there will be no shortage of friction in the workplace for some time to come. She changes the dynamics of the series completely. Plus, Jerald is a terrific actress, and will certainly bring some dramatic heft in with her.
Castle and Beckett have never been further apart than they are right now. Beckett is lying about not remembering Castle's declaration of love, something she only admits to her therapist (Michael Dorn, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space 9). Castle lies to Beckett about having a lead on her shooter to protect Beckett's life. With such monumental things kept hidden from the other, they are setting themselves up for a major falling out of trust. Both have their reasons, but that doesn't make their decisions any wiser, if they want to maintain any type of relationship, working or otherwise.
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Article comments
1 - Janine
I was disappointed not in the fact that Beckett and Castle didn't start the episode running into each other's arms, but that they completely changed the dynamics of the show. They used to have a camraderie and Castle has always been affectionate with his daughter in the past. She was worried yet he didn't even hug her to tell her he would be okay? How about have Alexis then remind him he may not be? Beckett is intimating she would like a relationship, but not now, yet she doesn't even reach out to cover his hand as she always has in the past? The LA espisode indicated she was moving forward as well as the final episode when they burst into almost discussing things. Yet it didn't really even look lke there was camraderie between the characters. Understandable they had to close out with the last season, but it had the feel of every cop drama on tv. That changes the dynamics of the show and will be what they lose. For Castle now to sleep with anyone as he always had in the past would really make him so unbelievable as a character who knows how to have any depth as to lose more character. I understand the references to moolighting although I was pretty young at the time, but I also know the show Heart to Heart was a couple of bantering married detectives that kept it fresh. Moonlighting died out because they essentially changed the funamentals of the characters. It appears Castle is headed that way. Minimize the overall drama, keeping the show unlike what is already out there. Keep the flirting, keep the slow step by steps. There are too many cop dramas already, Castle hasn't been one of them before now.