TV Recap: Castle 6-23 - For Better or Worse

I wish I could say I was super surprised by the end of the season finale.  But this is Castle.  It just didn't seem to be a natural fit for them to end the season as advertised.

But most of the episode was as advertised.  They had fun.  I laughed.  Yes, it was out there and probably not that realistic, but I enjoyed it.

You see, with just three days to go before the wedding, Castle and Beckett go down to get their marriage license only to discover that Beckett is already married.  At 19, she went to Vegas, got drunk, and went through a drive through wedding chapel.  She thought it was a big joke, only it was real.  So for the past 15 years, she's been married.  Now, she has to track down her husband and get it annulled in 3 days.

The guy is a scumbag who has been in and out of jail for various schemes and frauds (including passing himself off as an FBI agent).  But he's been out of jail for 5 years and is living in upstate New York.  Beckett heads up there to get the papers signed, only he wants Beckett to do something for him first.  She does that only to watch as he is kidnapped.

That's when Castle joins her and together they start tracking him down.  No one in town seems to like his much, including his ex-girlfriend who he ripped off getting money for a failed scheme.  Then there are the bikers who stole a camera for him and show up demanding payment.  The camera is from a local stripper who just happens to be blackmailing the local pastor who went into the club one night.

And that stripper just happens to be the girlfriend of a mobster who is hiding on the outskirts of town.  Beckett and Castle realize that when they go to free the husband.  And the reason he stole those pictures?  He wanted the money from the pastor to pay his ex-girlfriend back.  However, it looks like all three of them might get killed by the mobster.  Since he's in hiding and there are some pictures of him on the camera, he wants it back.  Castle tells him it is in the husband's apartment, and they all go back - only to run into the bike gang who has come back for the rest of their money.  Beckett convinces them to take the mobster instead, and everyone walks away happy.

Meanwhile, the wedding has been falling apart.  The venue almost burned down, Beckett's dress gets ruined (yes!), and Ryan's tux is the wrong size.  Fortunately, the rest of the characters are able to move things to the Hamptons and get Beckett a new dress.

So we are finally ready for the wedding.  However, Castle is cutting it close since he had to file the paper work so they can legally get married.  He's 20 minutes out when he spies a big, dark SUV.  It is obviously following him.  Then it pulls up next to him.  We cut to the wedding where everyone is waiting impatiently on Castle to show up.  Then Beckett gets the call.  She rushes to the scene of the accident where Castle's car is on fire, but there is no sign of the writer.

The first thing that went through my head?  The talk of the characters getting married in September was more than just talk.  It was a clue that they wouldn't get married in May.

Honestly, I think if this had been anything other than a season finale, we would have gotten a real wedding episode.  But since they like to give us cliffhangers, Castle had to vanish.  And it was his turn since the last time one of them was in danger at the end of a season, it was Beckett in season 3.

I know a lot of fans are up in arms over this ending.  I'm not saying I like it.  But I will reserve judgment until I see where they go next season.  I know this is just a delay, not a real end of their relationship.  After all, the show is called Castle.  It's not like he's dead.

I've also seen people point out that there is no way Beckett would have gotten the job she had at the beginning of the episode with this guy as her husband.  Plus, she would have found out at that point.  They're probably right, but I don't care.  It was a very fun episode, so I can forgive a lot of stuff that isn't realistic.

Now I'm not saying I loved the ending.  I would have much rather seen the wedding we were promised.  I just expected them to pull a switch on us like that.  As long as they are married by November sweeps, I'll be fine.  Well, they had also better not introduce clones like Lois and Clark did.

What did you think?  I'm curious who was behind this.  Any theories while we wait out the summer?

And please feel free to keep visiting over the summer since I'll continue to offer new content even if it isn't on Castle.