'Castle' Review/Recap: "The Time of Our Lives"

Devika Syal ‘18 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

“#CaskettAtLast.”

That’s the hashtag displayed on the bottom left of television screens during the last few minutes of Monday’s episode of Castle, encouraging viewers to tweet along to perhaps the most monumental and long-awaited thing to happen on the show thus far. That’s right, Castle fans. Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Kate Beckett (Stana Katic), otherwise known as Caskett, finally got married! In typical, Castle fashion, it took a lot of interesting and unexpected plot twists before the story finally reached the beautiful moment between the couple.
The episode started out as expected: a man in a taxi in the middle of the night in New York that suddenly gets shot at, killing both people in the car. Back at the precinct, Castle and Beckett follow a lead that sends them to a huge warehouse, where they find an ancient, mysterious artifact that they assume the killers were looking for. An explosion causes Castle to be knocked out, transporting him to an alternate universe where nobody at the precinct knows him. Who saw that one coming?
The good thing about the alternate Castle world is that it was not silly, or a joke. It was serious, and realistic, and gave a look into the characters desires and insecurities. Beckett is the captain of her own precinct. Martha (Susan Sullivan) gets to live her dream of being a successful, Tony award winning actress. Alexis (Molly Quinn) has black hair, lives in Los Angeles with her mother, and wants to save the world. Ryan (Seamus Dever) and Esposito (Jon Huertas), while both very successful detectives, desire love in their lives. Ryan is also portrayed quite humerously as the Martha Rogers superfan, which is why he’s extra nice to Castle even though he doesn’t know him. The way the characters are portrayed show that they are definitely better off in the real world, and teaches the lesson that sometimes it is better to be happy with what one has even if it may not seem perfect. Oftentimes, it is.

The episode was written in an excellent way, dropping hints towards the big picture that did not seem entirely obvious until pieced together, much like solving a murder case. At the beginning of the episode, Castle mentions that he’s been having trouble sleeping. Various lines throughout the episode suggest Beckett’s dismay at not being able to have her dream wedding, such as an invitation to an ex’s wedding, or a discussion between the couple about what their lives would have been like if they had never met. To the viewers, these lines just seem sad, however they all make sense when Castle realizes that he hasn’t been able to sleep because he’s worried that Beckett’s life would have been better without him. Of course, after the day he has, he figures out that that’s definitely not true. Upon this realization, Castle asks Beckett to marry him right then.
The wedding was beautiful, showing a very intimate ceremony with a sunset backdrop, giving the appearance that Castle and Beckett were getting married in heaven. However, only Martha, Alexis, and Beckett’s father were involved in the ceremony. While the point came across that it was to only be a family event, one would think that by now, Ryan, Esposito, and Lanie (Tamala Jones) are as much Caskett’s family, too, at this point. It would have been nicer to see them included in the ceremony, even if they were just standing to the side. Hopefully next week’s episode will feature a mini-reception where everyone can speak before Castle and Beckett go on their adventurous honeymoon.
While the Caskett wedding was definitely the most beautiful moment of the episode, another theme subtly present throughout was just how important Castle is in everyone’s lives. The biggest mention was in regards to Beckett’s mother’s murder. In the episode, Beckett straight up says that she was never able to figure out who killed her mother, strengthening the fact that no matter how intelligent, powerful, and strong she is, she still needed Castle’s help in doing so. In a touching heart to heart with Alexis, he helps her realize that she doesn’t need to be doing things on a large scale to make a difference. He even manages to give Ryan and Esposito relationship advice in a very older brotherly way.

While the episode was wonderful overall, one minor detail that was left unanswered was if they actually caught the murderer. In Castle’s alternate universe, they manage to arrest their suspect, however it was not specified as to whether it was the same in the real world, and if they ended up catching him.
Regardless, the episode once again reiterated the importance of love and shined a light on Castle and Beckett’s relationship and how, even in other universes, they are perfect for each other.
Overall Episode Grade: A+