Howdy y'all! Castle returns next Monday!! Can't believe it'll be season 8.

Now, this year, I am going in a bit spoiler free. I have only seen the promo and that it will be a two parter. XY is the season premiere (from Castle's perspective), and XX is the following week (from Beckett's perspective).

Who is excited?

I'm in. got the DVR set. I haven't watched any spoilers yet so I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Can't wait

we're ready!

Picked up Driving Heat at Barnes and Noble today. Yes the books he writes are real (they are actually by executive producers and writers we speculate), and they are good haha

Well that was a confusing, um, intense episode. There was one point I couldn't look at the TV and yall who watched probably know why

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Well that was a confusing, um, intense episode. There was one point I couldn't look at the TV and yall who watched probably know why

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Spiders

Pretty intense show, and next week looks just as intense with guys with guns going after Kate.

I yelled "Oh hell no!!!" at the end!!!!

I must admit..Molly Quinn's (Alexis) acting was pretty bad and over the top at times.

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I must admit..Molly Quinn's (Alexis) acting was pretty bad and over the top at times.

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My 19 year old son didn't care; he thinks she's hot!

good start to the season. I like the darker more intense episodes. I liked that there was no Martha and Alexis should be seen and not heard. I hope she isn't forced down our throats this season.

I heard a little rumor that a certain male lead wanted more Alexis. He's a producer now (along with Stana), so we shall see.

Part two tonight. This time from Kate's perspective. Will be excited to see this.

Solid start

I am still reeling from this episode. As everyone knows, I LOVE Castle to death, but I can't even make a coherent sentence and I am seriously doubting this show and what they're doing now.

Sorry, I love the show too, but they've jumped the shark...

I had a bit of a voice come back from Saturday but I ruined it by screaming at my TV about how idiotic the writers are being. You can tell the original creators stepped away.

I haven't watched last night's episode yet, but I'm kind of bummed about the comments I've seen.

What made Castle stand out to me and the reruns so fun to watch is that the show is usually lighthearted and entertaining. Every once in a while, you would get a serious episode to change it up, but that was not the bulk of the show.

The last few seasons have been different though. Everything is so serious, and the much hyped wedding was just horribly. I wish they would get back to what made this show great, but I don't think they know what that is anymore...

Andrew Marlowe and Terri Edda Miller were the creators of the show. They stepped away at the end of season 7 completely to do their other stuff they were contractually obligated to do under their ABC contract. Different showrunners now (second group since they stopped running show in season 6 but still wrote episodes).

This article is the writers defending it. There is no defending that crap tbh.

Writers defending the show

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The last few seasons have been different though. Everything is so serious, and the much hyped wedding was just horribly. I wish they would get back to what made this show great, but I don't think they know what that is anymore...

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Basically started losing steam when Castle and KB got together. It really seemed to lose the comedic sexual tension that really drove the show.

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Sorry, I love the show too, but they've jumped the shark...

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If this season isn't the final season, I will be really surprised. These first two episodes had final end game story line written all over them. I get the impression that we have seen the beginning of the end for Kate's story in the show. In fact, I get the impression that the majority of this season will focus on Kate. I'm not entirely sure what they will be doing with Castle in the mean time, but strange thing is that he had pretty much sensed that this was coming during the episode. I'm sure he will keep doing his PI business stuff, but will likely let Alexis handle the bulk of the work so he had work on the problem from his angle.

As for Alexis, I guess I had forgotten how different the character is now. I thought we were past the rebel, tell your dad to shove it phase...

I thought last season lost something in the show, and these first two episodes just cement that feeling. Without the banter back between Castle and Beckett, the show to me isn't as enjoyable as it used to be. Hell, Esposito and Ryan's interactions with each other weren't that enjoyable in the episode either. The show has started to become really serious in tone, and while I don't have a problem with that depending on the story, it is a bit of a departure from what the show was before.

As a side note, I wasn't really excited about the start of the season. But, I'll admit that I probably stopped watching mid season last season and picked it up later.

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This article is the writers defending it. There is no defending that crap tbh.

Writers defending the show

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The fact that we have to sit through multiple episodes of angst kills me. We already went through the will they/won't they for multiple seasons. Instead of the characters' relationship progressing, it feels as if it has regressed.

Also, I don't buy this:

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TVLINE | And just to be clear, Rick was never looped in on the stepmother Rita of it all? He also believes Allison Hyde was in fact leading all of this?

HAWLEY | Correct. He thinks that it's over. But he knows that it opened a door that Beckett had closed inside of her. Now she's obviously trying to close it again and he wants to help her, but he doesn't know that she's got a new obsession. He just knows that it all blew up in his face.

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Yeah, I don't buy it that he thinks it's all over.

EXACTLY MY POINT. It is like they took these characters back to season 4 and let's just forget what happened the past three seasons. If I want the angst and will they/won't they, I will watch my DVDs. I already saw that. I don't want to see it again. They can keep the relationship feisty and sexy and fun without doing this bullcrap.

Yeah I'm really disappointed in this direction. While I'm good as letting things slip by, I can't buy into this story line at all. If a NYPD Captain doesn't show up on their first day and then they find their blood at a crime scene, do you really think they are just going to have 2 Detectivies and a PI out looking for them?

The Captain's role in the show has always been a minor character so I wanted to see how they were going to bring Kate into this position. I don't like that she keeps acting like a Detective and if they are going to have her open up this can of worms I would much rather see her do it in the backgroud and use her positon to get some of the leg work done.

I thought this season we would see more of Ryan and Espo using Castle in cases and them going over or right up to the line and Kate being caught in a difficult position between her bosses and her team. I think that would make for some tension between the two and provide the banter we all enjoy about this show. However, now I'm just hoping this doesn't turn into every other cop show.

Season 7 is now on TNT daily. 3pm today is the wedding episode

And I am at work.

Is this the "wedding episode" where Castle disappears, and we still have no real reason why and so no wedding happens?

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Is this the "wedding episode" where Castle disappears, and we still have no real reason why and so no wedding happens?

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Yep

My wife and I watch regularly but I admit I usually forget most of this the next day. Have we found out the complete story about Castle's disappearance?

Also, the British PI was a sexy twist to the show. I expect we see her more. Adding in step mother-in-law was a bit over the top but would have been typical Castle if they would have lightened the mood.

Didn't like Beckett leaving. She could have gone Obsessive/Independent and still slept in her marriage bed.

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My wife and I watch regularly but I admit I usually forget most of this the next day. Have we found out the complete story about Castle's disappearance?

Also, the British PI was a sexy twist to the show. I expect we see her more. Adding in step mother-in-law was a bit over the top but would have been typical Castle if they would have lightened the mood.

Didn't like Beckett leaving. She could have gone Obsessive/Independent and still slept in her marriage bed.

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No. They made some stupid crap up but I think that was a smoke and mirrors thing. I didn't believe it for a second.

I didn't like Beckett leaving either. In fact, welcome the club. You are definitely in a majority.

good episode last night; trying to recapture the magic of the first few seasons.

this week's was better and got back to their bread and butter. It will be interesting if they try and do parallel storylines for the season. Still too much Alexis but I think this will be the norm for the season. Does she not have school or something?

Last night was the type of episode that caused my and wife and me to love this show. Fun, fast, foolish at times and Castle being charming when he wasn't trying to be. Beckett is at her best when she "plays" tough.

Yes. The skype phone call, the normal phone call, calling Ryan and Espo "bozos"...I just want them back together again though.

They are making Espo and Ryan a little more animated this season:

Espo using hair dye, just around the temples