Finally, an Explanation for Why the Finale of Castle was So Weird
After eight years and 173 episodes, ABC's show Castle ended with a bang as well as a whimper.
The bang comes in the last two minutes of the finale when Beckett and Castle return home and find Caleb waiting in the kitchen.
He had previously been thought dead – never mind how or why, he's back – and he shoots Castle and Beckett before she manages to squeeze off a kill shot.
With blood pooling on each of their torsos and no help in sight, Beckett and Castle reach for each other on the kitchen floor, slipping into unconsciousness but determined to be together in their final moments…
And then something happens. Voiceover comes in and throws us back to some of the original Caskett banter from the pilot episode echoing through the apartment and Castle saying his signature line, "every writer needs inspiration, and I've found mine."
We're told it's "Seven Years Later", and we see the writer and the detective in a sun-dappled version of the apartment, smiling and kissing and sharing a breakfast table with three little kids. Cut to black, end of story.
Is this a flashforward? Is it a vision taking place in the heads of the dying characters? Is it a fever dream I had when I caught the flu and drank too much Nyquil? (It's not that last one, I checked).
Why is this ending so tacked on? Why show us the characters about to die and then randomly say "nope, actually everything is perfect unless they're maybe in heaven or something!" Why is this ending so… weird?
Well, because it wasn't supposed to be the ending. Back in 2016, Stana Katic was ready to move on from Castle, but the ratings were good enough that the plan was for the show to go on without her.
The dual gunshot wounds were meant to be a cliffhanger ending for season 8, and the next year we would learn that Beckett died from her wounds, leaving Castle to mourn a bit, and then move on to opening a PI agency with a new romantic interest at his side.
Fortunately, producers were smart enough to realize that almost no fans would be on board for this, and the show was canceled instead. The downside?
A panicked, tacked-on 45-second button that served everyone the happy ending they desired, without any of the planning that usually goes into the final minutes of a show. So, yes, this ending is meant to be a flashforward.
We are being shown that there was nothing to fear – someone called an ambulance (But who?) Castle and Beckett somehow survived their wounds (But how?), and they had three kids in seven years without impacting Beckett's slender frame (But… well okay, that's just television for ya.)
If you're a diehard fan of #Caskett, this ending was probably the most satisfying one they could have cooked up on short notice. But if you're a more cynical viewer – or one who's had too much Nyquil – it was just plain weird.