(The following post contains some spoilers)
Okay, so last night I’m watching the final episode of Season 4 of Caslte and–finally!–Castle and Beckett hook up! It was what every fan of the show has been waiting for over the course of four years! Along with that, Beckett has resigned from the police force after another near-brush with death and identifying the man who shot her (who I’m pretty sure played Paul in Dollhouse). The tension was unbearable, the confession scene was heartbreaking, and when they finally hooked up, ABC couldn’t show us that much because the FCC would fine them. Other than that last part, a great episode. 4.7 out of 5, with 0.3 taken off for leaving us on a cliffhanger ending!
Alright, now onto my predictions for the inevitable season 5 that will occur(I do so love to rant about what I think will happen in a show, I just rarely get to do it):
Now first, Beckett off the force. I know I should cover the relationship of Castle and Beckett, but I have to cover this because Beckett and Castle’s relationship was founded on solving crimes. Well, Beckett will probably go rogue for maybe 3 episodes at the most, but she’ll be allowed back on the force by Captain Gates, with a few conditions. How it’ll happen, I’ll leave that up to speculation.
Second, Castle and Beckett’s relationship: obviously fans might get bored since the romantic tension isn’t there anymore, but I say that it’s fun to see a fledgeling couple who work together figure things out. Caslte and Beckett will have to get used to each other in a whole new way, and they’ll have to learn to work together as lovers and not just partners. Also, expect at least one or two fights along the way.
Third, the cliffhanger: either that Mr. Smith we finally met for the first time at the end of the episode is going to live and find some way to hold the men who want to kill Beckett at bay, or he’ll die, but his information will still be hidden, so we won’t find out who’s trying to kill Beckett till the end of the season at least. Annoying, I know, but they have to hold the best stuff for last or people will lose interest.
Fourth, new episode ideas (I had such fun coming up with these ideas for new cases):
1. A writer friend of Castle’s turns to his help when murders from his book start happening in the real world (Castle could be annoyed that Beckett’s paying so much attention to this writer).
2. A hard-core anime fan gets murdered, leaving a trail of questions, especially since some stuff in his collection gets stolen (so many jokes, so many anime fans to potentially offend, but it’d be worth it).
3. A powerful lawyer gets killed right before a big case, setting off a political maelstrom that impedes the investigation.
4. A new law prevents Castle and Beckett from investigating someone’s murder, which could be racially motivated (I’d love to see the characters’ views on a case like Trayvon’s).
5. A murder brings up an old case for Captain Gates, putting Beckett, Castle, and Gates in close proximity for this case (bullets will metaphorically fly).
6. A series of seemingly unrelated murders are apparently related, as all the victims seem to have connections to Castle’s mother, including her ex-husband and a former rival actress. Could this also mean Castle’s life in danger?
7. A murder leads back to the government, and Castle’s supposed father.
8. A murder brings up an old case of Captain Gates, and puts Castle and Gates in closer proximity than the latter would like.
9. The final showdown with 3XK.
And for minor plot points: Alexis will be around less and have college problems; Castle’s mother will be around more; Gates may actually come to like Castle, especially if he saves her life; Esposito gets a new girlfriend (and gets razzed for it); and old flames for Beckett and Castle keep showing up.
Those are my predictions. Thanks for reading my rant, Castle shippers everywhere. Have a good one.
Rami Ungar The Writer 