7x15 - "Reckoning" Review

‘Castle’ : The Final Showdown

By Lisa Caputo

2015-02-16

Castle and Beckett’s 3XK nightmare finally comes to an end

Four years ago, Jerry Tyson quickly became the most notorious and cunning serial killer that Castle and Beckett would ever come across. He emerged as a more than worth adversary for Castle, one who could get inside of the writer’s head like nobody else could, and over the years he hid in the shadows and meticulously planned his revenge against Castle, awaiting his prime opportunity to strike with one final fatal blow. Last season, as the newly engaged Castle and Beckett planned their upcoming nuptials, Tyson found himself his own perfect partner in the terrifyingly evil Kelly Nieman. Together, the two became the anti-Caskett, each fixating on their counterpart as they plotted their seemingly flawless plans for revenge. Last Monday, Tyson and Nieman put their plan into action, appearing once again from the shadows and waging a deadly chess match against Castle and Beckett, the heroes failing to see the perfectly planned trap they were falling into until it was far too late for them. Thus, Beckett was abducted and Castle was left with the most chilling challenge of his entire life; outsmart the most cunning serial killers who were always one step ahead or face losing his wife forever.

Monday’s aptly-titled “Reckoning” concluded this two-episode event, and subsequently the entire 3XK storyline, with what was arguably the most intense, stunning, heart-pounding, and brilliantly crafted hour ever witnessed on Castle. Penned by the show’s creator, Andrew W. Marlowe, and directed by longtime Castle legend, Rob Bowman, Monday’s episode was the culmination of this exciting and engaging ongoing storyline, one that evoked every possible emotion throughout the cinematic masterpiece and delivered some of the series’ most shocking and jaw-dropping moments yet. Every element of the episode was pitch-perfect, the Castle cast and crew collaborating beautifully to offer the audience an exceedingly superb conclusion to this ongoing storyline.

Guest stars Annie Wersching and Michael Mosley were once again absolutely incredible as Kelly Nieman and Jerry Tyson, the pair clearly making the most of their characters’ swan song on Castle. The two rose the bar yet again for the Castle villains, proving how deeply cold, evil, and calculating Nieman and Tyson can be. At times, all they needed was a chilling glare to display the depths of their characters’ treachery, perfectly delivering performances that were both terrifying and yet also incredibly compelling.

The ensemble cast was also remarkable in this episode, especially Penny Johnson Jerald as Captain Gates shared one of the episode’s most heartfelt scenes with Castle himself. Jerald shone brighter than ever in this scene with Nathan Fillion, with Gates showing both empathy and respect for Castle beyond anything she has ever cared to share with him before. In fact, it was Gates who gave Castle the advice he desperately needed in order to outsmart Tyson, telling him that he was the only one who could get inside of Tyson’s head and figure out his story. By doing that, and only by doing that, he would be able to save Beckett.

But it was Nathan Fillion who carried the largest portion of the episode on his shoulders, something that allowed the actor to shine and far surpass even his past stellar dramatic performances. With Beckett’s life on the line and a maniacal serial killer hell-bent on revenge, Castle was forced to confront the failures of his past and overcome them in order to save his wife and put a stop to Tyson, once and for all. From sadness to fear to desperation to chilling hatred, Castle struggled with the thought of knowing that they had nothing to tie Tyson to Beckett’s kidnaping, nor any evidence that Tyson truly was Tyson at all. Finally having had enough of playing by the rules, Castle took the law into his own hands and snuck over to Tyson’s apartment to literally beat the truth out of him. This scene in particular showed the lengths and extremes that Castle was willing to go to in order to save the love of his life, his utter desperation taking him into even darker depths than ever before. This scene was just one of many in which Fillion excelled, showing sides to the character that are rarely scene and certainly never to this magnitude.

Another such scene was the one that concluded the first half of the hour, as Castle and the team stormed an industrial building where Beckett was believed to be being held captive. In one of the most gut-wrenching scenes ever, Castle was forced to watch as his wife and partner in all things was seemingly executed by gunfire, a carefully-staged trap that was meant to torment the writer in an utterly horrific way as he believed Beckett was being killed right before his eyes. Fillion’s performance in this scene was remarkable, from his heartbreaking scream and tearful apologies to the woman he believed was his fallen wife, to his hopeful relief after realizing this was not Beckett at all, to his pained horror in coming to understand that yet another life was lost because of his failure to bring Tyson to justice. It was a game-changing scene within the episode as well, as it finally pushed Castle to understand that they could no longer continue playing Tyson’s games, rather they would need to take the game to him instead.

While it was understandably not until after this shocking scene that Beckett’s true circumstances could be revealed, it should be noted that Stana Katic simply could not be overlooked for her limited yet incredibly compelling performance as well. With few words but many telling looks, Katic perfectly conveyed the horror and desperation that would propel Beckett into doing whatever it took, even the most gruesome acts, in order to save her own life.

This beautifully-crafted and perfectly-executed episode went far beyond anything ever seen on Castle within the final act of the hour. With Castle seemingly walking into yet another trap set by Tyson and Beckett quietly and painfully struggling to free herself from her restraints, the Castle team unloaded the twist of all twists, one that would blow the minds of the audience as they watched in amazement as the tables turned on the serial killer couple. Just as Tyson began to truly revel in his brilliance over trapping Castle for the final time, Castle himself confidently and ever so smugly delivered the shocking truth to his nemesis; he was the one who had actually been trapped. With a revealing second look at an earlier scene that now showed Castle plotting with Ryan and Esposito to set Tyson up and lure him to that cabin in the woods in order to finally take him down for good, the stage was set for the ultimate ending to the 3XK saga. Castle finally forced Tyson into a fatal checkmate and did not hesitate to call on former sniper, Esposito, to do the honours with four words that Castle fans will never forget; “then take the shot”.

While Castle and the team raced against the clock to use Tyson’s phone to track Nieman’s location and save Beckett, it became abundantly clear that the resourceful and stoic detective was certainly no damsel in distress. Just as Nieman moved towards Beckett with her scalpel to end her life, Beckett finished freeing herself from her restraints, swerving away from Nieman’s blade and reaching with her free hand to grasp the doctor’s arm. In a moment of absolute conviction and strength, Beckett overpowered the shocked Nieman and quickly turned the tables on her adversary, ultimately turning the scalpel on her as well.

In the end, Castle and the team burst in to Nieman’s secret lab, stunned to find the doctor’s lifeless body laying before a shaken Beckett, the scalpel still clutched in her blood-soaked hand. Doing what she had to do to save herself was understandable, but so was the horrified look on Beckett’s face as she realized she had been forced to kill someone in such a brutal way. With that, Castle pulled Beckett towards him, comforting her as he also embraced this emotional moment that he feared may never come.

The final two scenes of the episode brought the characters back to where they needed to be; first with Castle, Beckett, and the entire team returning to the precinct and then Castle and Beckett returning home together to the loft. As the team existed those infamous elevator doors at the precinct, they were met with a true hero’s welcome, in a beautiful and absolutely breathtaking scene that showed the entire precinct lining the bullpen and showering the team with applause for taking down the city’s most notorious serial killers and making it home safely to tell their courageous story. Perhaps this was all Beckett needed to come to understand that what she did was for the greater good, not something to be haunted by any longer. Then, as Gates herself thanked Castle for a job well done, albeit a reckless and irresponsible one, she also revealed that due to his work on this case, he was being welcomed back to the NYPD to serve as a consultant to Beckett and resume his partnership with her.

While the joy at the precinct was evident, back at home at the loft later that evening, it was clear that Beckett was struggling to deal with her ordeal. But as Castle warmly complimented her strength for having gotten through his two-month disappearance when he nearly broke after two days without her, Beckett revealed to him that she was haunted by Nieman’s face every time she closed her eyes, prompting her to ask how he was able to handle the scars that Tyson had left on him for all of those years. With that, Castle simply told her that she was how he got through it, that all he had to do to chase away the image of 3XK in his mind was to open his eyes and look at her instead. In the final seconds of the episode, the two exchanged a familiar and comforting piece of dialogue as Beckett thanked Castle for coming to get her and Castle lovingly replied, “always”. With that, the two cemented their victory with a pair of tender kisses before laying down in each other’s arms, both being more than content to close their eyes now that their nightmares were over.

“Reckoning” was, in a sense, Castle’s “Veritas”, a satisfying and awe-inspiring conclusion to the case that had haunted him just under the surface for so many years. With Tyson and Nieman now dead and gone, never to threaten Castle and Beckett ever again, the couple would be able to forge ahead and conquer whatever new challenges come their way, including delving deeper into Castle’s disappearance and finding the truth. And while the couple may still have some heavy things to deal with and struggle with internally, this incredible conclusion to the annual two-part event certainly cemented the fact that no matter what horrors they may be forced to face, they would surely do so together; always.