Castle 2.24: "A Deadly Game"

[icepixie]

That was officially THE MOST DISAPPOINTING THING EVER.

FAIL, Castle. Oh, so much fail. I counted on you to walk up to cliches and tweak their noses, not follow them as if they were freaking instruction manuals.

Ohhhhhhhh, I am so disenchanted right now.

Comments

[chiroho.livejournal.com]

Not sure if I'm disenchanted, but I'm definitely very disappointed. I mean, I get it that it's not his fault and he only did what he did because Castle thought Beckett was going away for the weekend with Schlemming (yes, I know that's not his name, but it's how Castle wrote it in the novel), but still. Mucho disappointment.

[orangetango.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I think it would have been worse if they HAD jumped the shark . . .

Also, OMG Agent Skinner! Hooray!

And I am not disappointed that Demming is going, I will miss yelling "ANDERS" whenever he walks onscreen.

[icepixie]

Seriously. Gina, really? The woman he has not said one kind word about for the entire run of the show? O HAI, PLOT DEVICE!

I was using Castle as my example of what Bones could be with competent writing. Was not expecting the PTB to pull a Bonesheaded maneuver like this.

[chiroho.livejournal.com]

I just can't get over the fact that there aren't any writers in US prime time who seem to have figured out how to make relationships work on screen in these sorts of shows. Yes, they seem to write shows like Gray's and ER where everyone jumps into bed with everyone else, but on these shows they have no clue. Can't they all go and watch Farscape or something, and see how to have ship and make it work?

[icepixie]

I dunno, I think it would have been worse if they HAD jumped the shark . . .

I'm just so sick of this "Person A enters a relationship, then realizes they actually like Person B, who has just recently got into another relationship, rinse and repeat ad nauseum," when Persons A and B are obviously even to each other crazy about one another. And people claim spaceships require too much suspension of disbelief. That kind of crap was what put me off Bones, which until now I had been comparing Castle very favorably to. I totally thought the PTB would buck the cliches and not introduce these patently obvious plot devices, but apparently they lost their nerve. Dammit.

Skinner was FRIGGIN' AWESOME, though. I totally thought he was really a spy, and I thought he was hilarious when he crumpled at realizing he was really in jail. Hee!

I admit that I kind of liked Demming, although he too was a plot device. But at least Demming/Beckett made sense, unlike Castle/the-woman-he-spent-the-entire-series-taking-verbal-potshots at. Really? That's so convenient that you kissed and made up RIGHT THEN!

Feh.

[icepixie]

I know! I totally thought this show was going to be the one to do it. Over the past three weeks, I came to believe they would actually be spending season three making the ship work, and making it interesting along the way. It's like opening up a giant, gaily-wrapped Christmas present to find a lump of dog poo, or something.

(And it was such a great episode up until those last two minutes. ARGH ARGH ARGH.)

[chiroho.livejournal.com]

It really was a great episode, right up to the end. The case, the way that Beckett was totally thinking she could have her cake and eat it too with dating Demming, but really wanting Castle to be there because he's the one who makes her laugh. And then the realisation she has with him leaving and what impact that's going to have on her. But that was a really crappy bomb to drop right at the end.

[nickless.livejournal.com]

omg, Skinner had me rolling. I about died watching him go all *wibble* on them.

My theory is A, at least Beckett looked devastated by the turn of events, B, you know Castle's getting text-threats from everyone else at the party ("you IDIOT!") and C, I'm thinking he comes back at the end of the summer and is all "Yeah, that getting-along thing lasted about 3 days. Which for us is a record, actually. She went home right after Memorial Day. So how was your summer?"

Still stupid, definitely, but. I think I'm getting used to stupid. Desensitized, maybe. Like a 10-year old with violent video games.

[icepixie]

omg, Skinner had me rolling. I about died watching him go all *wibble* on them.

HEE! Yes!

Still stupid, definitely, but. I think I'm getting used to stupid. Desensitized, maybe. Like a 10-year old with violent video games.

Alas, I still have a ways to go. I tend to give up on a show when they employ weapons-grade stupid like this. I'm only sticking with Castle because they've been so good in the past, and even this hit didn't completely wipe out their account at the Bank of Not-Sucking.

(I'm sure we're going to get some kind of "Yeah, Gina and I definitely did the right thing by divorcing," but I think we're also going to get Beckett being stand-offish, Castle trying to charm his way back into her good graces, and O HAI, FIRST SEASON! Here I'd thought we'd made progress, but here you are again!)

[rensong.livejournal.com]

I waited TWO HOURS to get the last freaking eight minutes to load on Hulu with my stolen wireless, and I was all "Yay, awesome episode!" and then it started buffering around minute 40 and I'm like "OMG, SERIOUSLY?" and was this || close to giving it up and calling it a night, and now I'm kinda wishing I had. Epic fail, Castle... I have never been so disappointed in you.

You've totally given up on Bones, right? So I won't be spoiling you if I say (highlight to see) the last few episodes the writers are finally pulling an X-Files and Booth/Bones, while not quite cannon, there have been feelings admitted on both sides. Still a ton of "Oh my god, just GET ON WITH IT already because Bones has also admitted that she might never be able to do the love thing cause her brain is too darned logical, but none the less, there has been more shippy moments in the last four episodes than there has been in the last five years combined, and even *I* am starting to not hate the idea, which is saying something.

Actually, there has been several times during the last few weeks where I've thought "You know, if Becca hadn't given up on this series end of last season, she probably would've really enjoyed this/these episodes." Not that I blame you for giving up - I almost did myself, and there was a month or two where I had, like, 3 Bones episodes waiting in my Hulu queue because I wasn't in the mood to deal with the disappointment. The last few weeks, though, it's like the Bones writers are taking a page from the Castle book (hee, sorta pun) and getting back to the Weird Case Of The Week kind of episodes that were common in earlier seasons, with a bonus of Booth/Brennan BFF moments.

[icepixie]

I saw your post where you wrote that you were eight minutes away from seeing the ending, and I was soooo close to telling you to just not bother, but I didn't know if you were spoiler-avoidant or not. UGH. Epic, epic fail. I don't even know how they're going to fix this next year. At this point, I'm kind of hoping that Lainie, Ryan, and Esposito all call Castle to tell him exactly how badly he screwed up, and then give him shit for at least seven or eight episodes. Arrrrggghhhh, I hate reset buttons!

I have completely, utterly given up on Bones. The show is dead to me. I'm glad to hear it's gotten slightly less sucky on the ship front, even though I probably won't ever watch it again. (It wasn't just the ship that irritated me--it was making Booth into a great stupid lummox when he used to be a reasonably intelligent FBI agent, and continually resetting Brennan's social skills back to nil, and DEAR GOD, SWEETS, whom I hate like practically no other character ever in the history of ever.)

[rensong.livejournal.com]

Once upon a time I was a spoiler whore, so they usually don't bother me. I don't often make an effort to find them these days, but I'll read them if I'm curious enough and/or they fall into my lap without any effort on my part. Though my plan was to read your spoiler cut after I had seen the episode (which I did), I also wouldn't have minded if you had told me that the last two minutes were Massive Castle Fail. ;)

As for Bones, I will tell you that Angela and Hodgins did finally tie the knot when they were in jail together two or three weeks ago, so at least you can be cheered by that thought. :D

[elflore.livejournal.com]

Y'know, I really wasn't surprised. The whole UST vibe has been pretty strong all along, much like in Bones. It's so annoying--so many TV shows since Moonlighting has been convinced that UST is the only good relationship style, and consummation will destroy it, so they tell the same annoying story over and over again.

There have really been only two police procedural shows I've ever felt were above the cliches: Due South, and Life. Man, I miss Life...

[icepixie]

Angela and Hodgins did finally tie the knot

Awwww. I came to pretty much detest Angela near the end of my time with the show (somewhere...in season four? I think my last straw was that episode where we saw Sweets's scars, literally, from his abusive childhood or whatever it was), but somehow, I still managed to ship Angela/Hodgins. He deserves so much better than her, though, ugh.

when they were in jail together two or three weeks ago

...*headdesk*

[icepixie]

If it had been a lesser show, I would not have been surprised. But Castle had been so good at overturning cliches, or using them, but in slightly different ways, that I was completely blindsided by this. This is something I would expect of Bones, not this show.

If only everyone would take a page from Due South's book.