To run with your thought about someone who is not quite as she seems – and was heavily judged by her public persona – was Kay capoccio in EMBARRASSMENT. Surprisingly it was Esposito that got closest to the "real" person by personal contact. Beckett pretty much striped her bare with her assessment in the beginning of the episode.

Indeed, I`ve made the discovery of that story arc, too. It has already begun in season 1 as Castle cold read Beckett. You can see at her facial expression that he fully hit in the black circle. And because of that first a little amused and a little arrogant smile of hers and then from the more serious getting and finally almost hurting eyes of hers you can see that there must be a story behind this reaction. And as they hided it in light cases and only comes full force in Sucker Punch and Knockdown/Knockout… you had almost forgot… that there indeed was something "dark" to come through.

And I recognized that love is often a favorite theme, too. Crimes originated from former love, crimes in the name of love, criminals in love, suspects in love, friends in love … it`s so often shown in a very decent way. Hardly to recognize if you don`t listen too eager. Some watchers – who just watch during doing homework or reading magazines – would most likely overlook that message. Because it`s presented so subtle. As AM just wanted to make a silent point.

grapes said:

At running a huge risk of going offtopic I just wanted to add some reaction.
After having just watched the Dave Krumholtz interview by Kevin Pollack (love the show) he mentioned that all ABC procedurals are required to have a murder case in some kind. So in that regard the need for a corpse during episode is a constant during every episode. That somehow reminds me of this supposedly Hollywood law in the 50ies that the bad guys weren't allowed to win at the end of the movie. I think it's stifling artistic creativity and shouldn't be necessary anyway. But it seems that part of the show will never change.
And he also mentioned that himself being for a 6 year run on a TV show he noticed that in the end the scripts of the show were getting worse. FWIW I don't think this is the case with Castle but I do think in the long run it's incredibly challenging to maintain these incredible high standards. Especially when it comes to scripts it's probably the hardest element to get right on a TV show that's running for a longer time.

Yes, you`re absolutely right, and therefore a show shouldn`t supposed to run "forever". I think finding an end after maybe 5 seasons isn`t such a bad thing. I lost interest in shows because the cases (and the story itself) wasn`t consistent to what they introduced at the beginning because of wanting to run them on and on and on. Best example for me is Dr. House.

But, it`s possible to "rescue" a show after a going-down. I saw it in the X-Files. There I almost lost interest within the seasons 5 and 6 and the story arc doesn`t come around as logical to me as too many strings had been followed. Not before Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish joined as characters I somehow gained interest again. The episodes started to get better and seemed to fit better into the story line. As much as I love Castle, I wouldn`t want a season 7, 8 or 9  .

ACF said:

You're right grapes, that was way off topic… start your own thread!  [Image Can Not Be Found]

 

I like the multiple uses of the "love" theme that someone brought up above.  Beckett is afraid of the "L" word and I'm not talking about orientation.  SHe runs from it because the only love she really remembers as being a good thing (her parents' love for her) was taken away from her.  That famous (and almost cliche now on these forums) wall is her means to keep that "L" thing from ever touching the real person beneath the persona she created. Cops don't need that sort of thing  you see.  They aren't even supposed to think about tomorrow as possibly being a good day.  In fact, hopeful is not even in their vocabulary, at least for this supercop persona that she created.  Her "I'm a cop so I can't…" mantra covered all her bases. 

Some of the cases she deals with reinforce that mindset; love is a dangerous thing that can destroy you.  It can be used as an excuse for so many wrong acts in this world.  It is something that will make you weak. Cynical super cop clings to those cases as a way of justifying her choices.

But then every so often, she gets a case that must slap her upside the head and make her think. Of course, some of those cases came early on in the timeline that we've known her so maybe she didn't think because she still had herself believing in her own Beckett Super Cop image.  And that is where Castle has, based on our own opinion of love, been either a very good thing for her or the thing that threatened to destroy the best of what we loved of Beckett.

His belief and all manner of fairy tales inspired her to take another look at them, maybe not believe in them wholeheartedly, but look again and see that there is something to be said for going for happy-ever-after.  Even with the disappointments of the past, he is willing to try, willing to believe that this time he could get it right.  She awakened in him the need to prove to himself that what he truly believes in and who he truly is beneath the Black Pawn created image is the man he wants to be, the man he can be proud to be.  He doesn't take "I can't" for an answer.  He dares to believe in the possibility of something more.

To my mind, the way they help each other become the best of themselves is the true power of love.

Oh, exactly, ACF!

I think, it was in both of them,… the need to improve themselves for each other. Rick – as he`s one who believes in magic and soulmates and doesn`t deny it from the start only because it may seem "out of date" – is doing it willingly and right away (we were not supposed to witness his epiphany about that) without hesitation because he is that "believing" person (glass-half-full-person). But Kate needed more time to recognize it. And as she`s recognized it, it was her "frozen" self who first stopped her, slowed her down and let her hesitate in doing it because she was not that "believing" person. She was more of the glass-half-empty-person. And for this I think, she has the most difficult and rockiest road of development to do to become again the person she was before that incident which nearly destroyed her. People who make a transformation like this mostly don`t recognize it during it happens. But once they`d completed that transformation, I think, they will recognize that.

If not Rick, who else would see it first, WHAT a change Kate has made in the last few months? Actually, IMO, the whole precinct, every colleague of hers, Lanie, her friends and her father, too, must have recognized "the new Kate". But AM decided not to address that in any way. Some can only guess why. It`s for us to interpret .