Observations while rewatching A Rose for Everafter

Wow. So much that became so clear, now that we have seen what was then in the future for Rick and Kate! I didn’t see this episode as a sea-change in their relationship when it first aired, but looking back, it’s so plainly laid out. We see deeper into Rick’s real feelings and memories of love, romance and marriage than any episode up to his point, and we get so much more. And this is wrapped up in an interesting case – no, not wrapped up in it, the case and the relationship reveals are so integral to one another that they are inseparable.

Right away we see Kyra and her mom looking for the missing bridesmaid, Sophie (who is the VotW) and we can tell that the mom is a piece of work, impatient, controlling and judgmental. The background song “You drive me insane…” seems to be appropriate for her. These traits are reinforced several times through the episode providing a few humorous contrasts as well as a vital piece of gossip that ultimately leads to Uncle Teddy’s scheme with Sophie.

Cut to Alexis duct-taping her dad to a chair… She seems to be enjoying it just a little too much. She says it’s for his “research” for his next book (the title Naked Heat wasn’t revealed yet). Maybe she was anticipating raiding his wallet?

At the scene, we see Ryan & Beckett wondering where Castle is, and hear a couple of comments that sound cynical of his views of weddings. “Death of a bridesmaid – right up his alley” “Heard ‘wedding’ and got cold feet” They are about to get an eyeful of a whole different side of Rick that they didn’t see coming.

When Rick does show up, R & E notice the piece of duct tape on his pants. Rick is rather nonchalant about it, while the boys look at him like he is hiding something rather kinky. We know he isn’t.

When Rick recognizes Kyra first, that grabs Kate’s attention (R & E, too), but it looks like she is masking her surprise.

When Lanie asks her “You OK with that?”, Kate is too nonchalant about it to be believable. Lanie can see.

What Kate can see is that Rick and Kyra talk like close friends, very comfortable with each other. Kate has not seen this side of him before. This prompts her to ask him “I take it she was someone very special?” but he is not ready to talk about it. No veneer of bravado, no playboy persona, just plain and simple Rick, hurt Rick.

We get to see Ryan draw on his Narco background (first mentioned in Hedge Fund), first in identifying Boyd Gambell, then later in knowing about ‘roofies’. It’s good to see some scenes that acknowledge that Ryan has some expertise in areas the others don’t, so he’s not just a junior sidekick for Esposito, or simply ‘the new guy’.

When Kate meets Kyra alone in the elevator, Kate seems uncomfortable, and starts out awkwardly. But Kyra responds with a genuine answer. Kate doesn’t seem to know how to react to it. When Kyra tells her that Rick really cares for her (not just infatuation), it seems Kate is not ready to go there with her heart.

When Rick & Kate meet Sheila (Kyra’s mom), it is Kate’s first exposure to Rick’s getting verbally hammered by a woman. She tries to make a joke about it (“Just think… You’d be spending Thanksgivings with her”), Rick says nothing, but makes the same face we see later in OLTL, when he walks in on his mom & Lance Hastings making out.

We see another case of Kate bossing men around, by taking the hors d’oeuvres from R & E, while they were still eating. They said they hadn’t eaten all day, and there she was, taking the food right out of their hands and telling them to get back to work. Couldn’t she have let them finish their plates?

When we see Rick & Kyra reconnecting, we see a rather tender side of him that has been covered up by his public façade. We can tell that Rick has been disappointed by his previous marriage experiences, and some of the emotional scars that they left. When Kate interrupts, they aren’t doing anything inappropriate. But when Kyra leaves, Kate can see Rick’s reaction, and can see not only the remnants of a close relationship, but a real side if him that had been hidden from her. She is looking at him with the same expression as on the airplane from L.A. after reading Royce’s letter.

When Rick & Kate are on the elevator, he volunteers “three years”, to which Kate’s “I wasn’t asking” mirrors the scene in Little Girl Lost, where Kate is talking about her time with Sorenson. She said Kyra was ‘real’ and she didn’t think Rick went for ‘real’. This apparently touched a still-raw nerve in Rick, for his answer was a simple “That was a long time ago” (before Alexis)

When in the morgue, Lanie tries to pump Kate for her feelings, her “I’m gonna smack you… Don’t tell me you’re not the least bit jealous” Kate is not ready to admit ANYTHING to ANYONE. Lanie’s “I see it. You may not, but I do.” to the corpse is a classic.

Then, for the first time, we see Esposito actually reading one of Castle’s books. Back in Flowers, Espo resisted Kate’s instructions to get familiar with the books, and we only saw Ryan reading them. Here Ryan remembered the dedication, and was showing Espo the A Rose for Everafter book (he probably still has them all).

Throughout, we see that Rick still cares deeply for Kyra, although not holding a romantic attachment to her any more. He shows a fierce and tender protectiveness, that Greg misunderstands as a desire to reclaim what he once had.

When Kate speculates that Kyra may possibly be a suspect, we see Rick’s loyalty show in a big way. We will see it again in Final Nail. But this is the first time Rick’s fierce loyalty to his close friends is revealed, with Kate being on the other side of it.

We see Rick’s first draft of Rose – and it was handwritten. How long did that take him?

Rick’s meeting Kyra on the rooftop was definitely risky. She was reeling from several emotional blows, and was vulnerable (her mom didn’t help any). Martha tries to warn Rick, but he, too, is raw. He is open about wanting her to not get hurt, and he knows that what they had is in the past. They don’t let things go too far, fortunately.

When Rick arrives at Kate’s desk in the morning, Kate scolds him about a relatively benign thing, allowing him to volunteer his meeting with Kyra. This was important for these two: Kate already knew it, but Rick had to admit it without being prompted. Then they get into a verbal scuffle that Espo interrupts: “Everything OK?” KB: “Yes”, RC: “No” Espo: “Ohh… Kayy…” I love these kinds of scenes. Espo clearly knows our DD has something going on that they aren’t admitting.

Rick keeps asking Kate “Do you have any pictures?” How many times so far?

When they have Uncle Teddy is in the interrogation room, with Rick, Kate & Greg in observation, Rick’s protective side reemerges, but not so strongly this time.

When the case is resolved, and Rick has his final meeting with Kyra, he pays Greg the highest compliment one man can give another: “He’s a good man, an honorable man.” And finally releases his final emotional attachment to her. Then Kyra can tell Kate “He’s all yours” Even Kyra can see that Rick & Kate have something going for them.

This is such a rich episode in retrospect; I have trouble keeping my thoughts this short. I’m going to stop and see what you have to add.

skyisblue1 said:

Saw this scene a little differently to H-T-T, Castle did not handle his emotions too well in this one, especially in the interrogation room. After that scene I loved Beckett telling Rick that Richard Castle would “paint a picture”.

Hey skyisblue1! I don't think we disagree as much as it may sound. I agree that Rick didn't keep his emotions in check here. I just saw a parallel with his loyalty to Damian (in Final Nail) where it clouded his objectivity there, too.

I appreciate reading your thoughts, too.