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Hijinks Ensue
Jul 24, 2007
Yes, once again it's time for my ultra-minimalist, too-lazy-and-technologically-inept-to-do-anything-fancy thread for Castle Season 8.

Basic Premise
Mystery novelist and homicide detective fight crime. And now they're finally married! :woop:

Dramatis Personae

The Married Couple
:words: Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion): Bestselling mystery novelist, cop-helper, and (as of S7) private eye.
:cop: Kate Beckett (Stana Katic): One of the NYPD's best homicide detectives.

The Bro-Mantics
:hfive: Javier Esposito (Jon Huertas) and Kevin Ryan (Seamus Dever): Part of Beckett's detective team.

At the Precinct
:nyd: Lanie Parish (Tamala Jones): Medical examiner and advice-giver.
:rant: Captain Victoria Gates (Penny Johnson Jerald): Outwardly strict captain who we may not see any more (see below).

At Home
:sparkles: Alexis Castle (Molly Quinn) and Martha Rodgers (Susan Sullivan): Castle's daughter and mother, respectively.

Relevant Minor Players
:hitler: Senator William Bracken: Evil politician who ordered the hit on Beckett's mother, now in jail for that and other crimes.
:ninja: Spy Daddy: Castle's super-spy father. No clue if we'll see him again.

Where We Left Off
Season 7 definitely ended on a note of closure, which was kind of nice for a change. Earlier in the season, Castle and Beckett defeated longtime nemesis 3XK. Beckett took the captain's exam and qualified with flying colors, and also is being courted to run for state senate; as of the season finale, she had yet to make a final decision. Castle was also in a place of closure, having found and killed the spooky serial killer from his youth who made him want to be a mystery writer.

:speculate:
Based on promos, it looks like Beckett will become captain of the precinct (no surprise there, as they could hardly have her take the run-for-senate route without turning the show into something completely different). And while things were fairly wrapped up by the end of S7, it's possible that Senator Evil is plotting revenge on Beckett, and there's still the whole matter of Castle's abduction at the end of S6, which remains mostly unexplained. There are new show runners on board (both of whom have been with the show for a while, which is reassuring), some new additions to the cast, and some changes necessitated by Beckett's role as captain.

My hunch is that you'll see much more of an ensemble show this season, which I think is great. The supporting cast has been fairly underutilized the past couple seasons, and it will be nice to see them get more screen time.

S8 starts Monday, 9/21 at 10 p.m. (or some time Tuesday morning if you're like me and have to watch it via Hulu Plus).

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Skychrono
May 11, 2007

I'll make you cry like I did when my daddy died!
Good OP!

I hope the show is either a) fresh and amazing and gets renewed, or b) wraps up everything cleanly, preferably with time travel.

Hijinks Ensue
Jul 24, 2007
Calling it now: This will be the show's last season. Things will wrap up nicely and the last scene will be Beckett telling Castle she's pregnant.

WhyteRyce
Dec 30, 2001

Hijinks Ensue posted:

Calling it now: This will be the show's last season. Things will wrap up nicely and the last scene will be Beckett telling Castle she's pregnant.

Nope. Needs time travel. We all want time travel

hangedman1984
Jul 25, 2012

WhyteRyce posted:

Nope. Needs time travel. We all want time travel

Well we've had a spy dad, old western theme episode, a magical "Its a Wonderful Life" talisman. Time travel is definitely not off the table

cant cook creole bream
Aug 15, 2011
I think Fahrenheit is better for weather

hangedman1984 posted:

Well we've had a spy dad, old western theme episode, a magical "Its a Wonderful Life" talisman. Time travel is definitely not off the table

The reason everyone wants time travel is because there already is a time travel episode which left some plot points hanging.

cant cook creole bream fucked around with this message at 17:13 on Sep 16, 2015

CeeJee
Dec 4, 2001
Oven Wrangler
I can't wait to see what crazy reasons they come up with why a precinct captain and a mystery writer are out on cases and chasing suspects.

This show has also been running so long that in season 3 a Syrian diplomat helped stop the dirty bomb. How times have changed :smith:

Hijinks Ensue
Jul 24, 2007
I don't care what happens as long as we get a Ren Faire episode. Huzzah!

El Grillo
Jan 3, 2008
Fun Shoe
Apparently Nathan Fillion has gotten really fat. So fat that they can't fit him in shots any more. So fat that he ate Stana Katic's cokebaby. So fat that Castle will be the one getting pregnant this series, not Beckett.

That's what the review I of season 7 which I read said about it anyway. That's all it said about anything, in fact. I never watched the season, was it good?

GreenNight
Feb 19, 2006
Turning the light on the darkest places, you and I know we got to face this now. We got to face this now.

It was fine, nothing terrible.

The Red Queen
Jan 20, 2007

You tricked me!

You said dis place was fun, but it ain't!
His character's married now, he's bound to get a little fluffy.

hangedman1984
Jul 25, 2012

The Red Queen posted:

His character's married now, he's bound to get a little fluffy.

I'd still hit that

GreenNight
Feb 19, 2006
Turning the light on the darkest places, you and I know we got to face this now. We got to face this now.

Maybe he'll be like Bruce Campbell, get puffy during his lazy TV show then lose weight and get toned for action.

GreenNight
Feb 19, 2006
Turning the light on the darkest places, you and I know we got to face this now. We got to face this now.

Q&A with new showrunner:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/castle-season-8-spoilers-824053

Irish Joe
Jul 23, 2007

by Lowtax

GreenNight posted:

Q&A with new showrunner:

Saw the name Terence Winter and got my hopes up for a second.


Edit: Toks is joining the cast! :woop:

Tide
Mar 27, 2010

by FactsAreUseless
Cautiously optimistic for this season. At least I get to ogle Beckett and Lanie

a helpful bear
Aug 18, 2004

Slippery Tilde
Really wishing this was a "mystery of the week" episode instead of more drama around Castle or Beckett. I want crazy Castle theories involving the mafia and aliens and poo poo.

effervescible
Jun 29, 2012

i will eat your soul
I know if I were the one with a bag full of spiders on my head, I'd be freaking my poo poo out, but as a viewer, it's mostly hilarious, since it's not like they can do anything to Castle aside from crawl on him creepily.

Tumblr of scotch
Mar 13, 2006

Please, don't be my neighbor.
First airing here was preempted by sports, second one by news talking about sports. :suicide: Thanks, RTV6. You're really great.

CeeJee
Dec 4, 2001
Oven Wrangler
I like to think Castle and Person of Interest take place in the same universe where SUV's full of heavily armed mercenaries are just a regular thing for New York.

Skychrono
May 11, 2007

I'll make you cry like I did when my daddy died!

CeeJee posted:

I like to think Castle and Person of Interest take place in the same universe where SUV's full of heavily armed mercenaries are just a regular thing for New York.

I hope there's an Uber-like app for it too. I want my mercenaries delivered in a full size from time to time.

Tide
Mar 27, 2010

by FactsAreUseless
I kind of liked it. The pacing was quite good, the writing was solid. Espo going all action hero and sliding across the floor to take out the assassin was neato. The only thing I didn't like was the "why doesn't she trust me" angst.

Mortanis
Dec 28, 2005

It's your father's lightsaber. This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight.
College Slice
I like that they're not even trying to handwave away that a Captain wouldn't be going out in the field and switched to a totally different tactic. Honestly was a pretty decent episode - it flowed well, I'm interested, and all the characters got to do something useful. Even Alexis did something beyond the normal set dressing.

Is the season a full season?

Hijinks Ensue
Jul 24, 2007
As far as I know, it's a full season. It was also cool to see that Fillion and Katic both have producer credits now.

I really liked it. A lot of energy, and the rejiggered roles for the characters have been executed well so far. I'll be interested to see the Beckett-focused episode next week (titled "XX" in contrast to this week's "XY").

Like Hayley; she's a bit of a wild card, and it will be cool to see how she's used throughout the season. So glad to see Alexis have something to do again. Love Castle's remodeled PI office, complete with secret lounge that I'm sure will double as a sex dungeon at some point.

I don't mind spiders, but a whole bagful of them on my head? No thank you. :stonk:

Skychrono
May 11, 2007

I'll make you cry like I did when my daddy died!
Not a big fan of Haley's dialog, nor Alexis. Otherwise, good start, especially knowing what next week brings.

TheOneAndOnlyT
Dec 18, 2005

Well well, mister fancy-pants, I hope you're wearing your matching sweater today, or you'll be cut down like the ugly tree you are.
I can't be the only one who really disliked this episode. Not only do we have the already-too-long Bracken story line coming back after it was supposedly finished, everything in the episode points to Bracken just being part of an EVEN BIGGER CONSPIRACY whose size was already ridiculous in season 5. I'm guessing the chances of spydad being involved eventually are near 100%, too!

Then we have Hayley who is pretty fun when she's all :smug: but turns into a completely different person the second she hears that someone is in danger (as though she's never seen that before in her line of work).

Also Alexis is a detective now because lol I dunno I guess she just kinda felt like it? v:v:v Gotta keep her relevant to the show somehow!

And the cherry on top of the poo poo sundae is even more :qq: oh my god why doesn't my wife trust me :qq: relationship angst bullshit, replete with Beckett pulling the "I can't tell you anything and have to make you hate me because I love you" routine, which I don't think any show has ever done in an interesting way.

I guess I'll at least finish the two-parter, but if things stay this way I don't think this show has much of a future on my DVR.

effervescible
Jun 29, 2012

i will eat your soul
I didn't hate it, but you're not alone. I suspect the Bracken thing is actually a red herring, but all the drama came out of nowhere and we still have no context for it. How I'll ultimately feel about it depends a lot on what we get next week.

Tide
Mar 27, 2010

by FactsAreUseless
Calling it now: Bracken is not part of the :siren: conspiracy :siren:, per se, but is actually going to help solve it.

Skychrono
May 11, 2007

I'll make you cry like I did when my daddy died!

TheOneAndOnlyT posted:

I can't be the only one who really disliked this episode. Not only do we have the already-too-long Bracken story line coming back after it was supposedly finished, everything in the episode points to Bracken just being part of an EVEN BIGGER CONSPIRACY whose size was already ridiculous in season 5. I'm guessing the chances of spydad being involved eventually are near 100%, too!

Then we have Hayley who is pretty fun when she's all :smug: but turns into a completely different person the second she hears that someone is in danger (as though she's never seen that before in her line of work).

Also Alexis is a detective now because lol I dunno I guess she just kinda felt like it? v:v:v Gotta keep her relevant to the show somehow!

And the cherry on top of the poo poo sundae is even more :qq: oh my god why doesn't my wife trust me :qq: relationship angst bullshit, replete with Beckett pulling the "I can't tell you anything and have to make you hate me because I love you" routine, which I don't think any show has ever done in an interesting way.

I guess I'll at least finish the two-parter, but if things stay this way I don't think this show has much of a future on my DVR.

Let me put it this way - I expect a few serious Castle episodes every season. Some are terrible. Some are actually good (like the 3KX). This one was in the middle. With new showrunners and a "is Beckett even coming back" summer, I thought it was good enough.

effervescible posted:

...How I'll ultimately feel about it depends a lot on what we get next week.

Yep.

Xelkelvos
Dec 19, 2012

Tide posted:

Calling it now: Bracken is not part of the :siren: conspiracy :siren:, per se, but is actually going to help solve it.

I'd place my bets on it too. This is probably all part of the missing Castle plot last season and Becket went to Bracken hoping for info since he might've known something (and probably did).

Blazing Ownager
Jun 2, 2007

by FactsAreUseless
God this show is so much better without Beckett being so central. Am I really the only one that thinks that? I kind of hope she's barely in this season even if it's not usually a good sign.

Skychrono posted:

Not a big fan of Haley's dialog, nor Alexis. Otherwise, good start, especially knowing what next week brings.

Alexis looks like she aged 6 years between seasons, I swear.

Tide
Mar 27, 2010

by FactsAreUseless
She's got a mid 30's mom haircut and put on a couple lbs.

Mymla
Aug 12, 2010
Well, I guess there has to be the odd dramatic episode every season for some reason. I wish we got all silly "the killer is a time traveling werewolf who is also santa claus" episodes, but oh well.

Blazing Ownager posted:

Alexis looks like she aged 6 years between seasons, I swear.

Yeah. She got hot.

Pan Dulce
Jan 4, 2011

Beautiful cinnamon roll too good for this world, too pure



I don't know HOW it happened so fast. I saw the actress during Comic Con this year and she looked the same, maybe taller. The short hair cut brings perspective, I guess.

I dunno, I hope they wrap up this noir-ish storyline of mystery wife Beckett and her life-threatening secrets that go DEEP being constantly tailed and lost by pining PI husband, Castle. It's just not the bright, funny yet gritty Castle I signed up for. If I wanted this, I would have watched Bones or NCIS.

ImpulseDrive
Jul 25, 2008
For half a moment at the beginning, I misunderstood and thought that he gave that bracelet to Beckett that morning, and the shoot out where she was wounded happened the previous night. Unfortunately, it's a retread of the My Mom's Dead thing. So tired of their dueling Daddy/Mommy issues.

GreenNight
Feb 19, 2006
Turning the light on the darkest places, you and I know we got to face this now. We got to face this now.

Everything I've read has said that this season will be different and that's why both stars signed up to return.

thrawn527
Mar 27, 2004

Thrawn/Pellaeon
Studying the art of terrorists
To keep you safe

Pan Dulce posted:

I don't know HOW it happened so fast. I saw the actress during Comic Con this year and she looked the same, maybe taller. The short hair cut brings perspective, I guess.

I dunno, I hope they wrap up this noir-ish storyline of mystery wife Beckett and her life-threatening secrets that go DEEP being constantly tailed and lost by pining PI husband, Castle. It's just not the bright, funny yet gritty Castle I signed up for. If I wanted this, I would have watched Bones or NCIS.

I'm not a fan of this plot yet either, but holy poo poo we haven't even gotten close to how bad Bones has gotten. Bones had a cameo from Stewie from Family Guy. The cartoon.

It was a tumor.

And that was years ago. And it's gotten worse.

GreenNight
Feb 19, 2006
Turning the light on the darkest places, you and I know we got to face this now. We got to face this now.

Bones and Sleepy Hollow are having a crossover ep this season.

hangedman1984
Jul 25, 2012

GreenNight posted:

Bones and Sleepy Hollow are having a crossover ep this season.

I...is this a joke?? I can't tell anymore

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GreenNight
Feb 19, 2006
Turning the light on the darkest places, you and I know we got to face this now. We got to face this now.

hangedman1984 posted:

I...is this a joke?? I can't tell anymore

No joke.

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