'Castle' Season 7, Episode 2 Review: Stana Katic, Nathan Fillion Show Trust And Fear [Watch Castle 7x3 Promo Video]
"Castle" Season 7, Episode 2, titled "Montreal," aired Monday, Oct. 6 on ABC. The second instalment this new season reveals a mysterious reason for Rick Castle's disappearance for two months. As Rick and Kate Beckett, respectively, Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic get to show some complex layers of trust and fear in this week's new episode.
Spoiler alert: This review contains major spoilers on Castle Season 7, Episode 2. Read at your own risk.
Henry Jenkins, or the man who claims the identity, may not be a big villain, after all. Castle goes on air to engage the public in giving out information as to where he had been in the last two months that he was gone. A honeymooning couple comes forward with a photo of Castle and Jenkins in Montreal.
It seems there was a lit bit of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004) in the two months that Castle was away. This much was revealed in Castle Season 7, Episode 2.
Jenkins says Castle had asked for some sort of a memory removal process, during which Castle became convinced he was going to die. So convinced, in fact, that he videotaped himself sending farewell messages to Martha, Alexis, and Kate.
"I'm choosing to trust him," Kate Beckett tells Lanie.
"I wish I could explain," Castle tells Beckett in the video message he couldn't remember filming.
Reports say the ratings were pretty solid for Castle Season 7 opener a week ago. Creator Andrew Marlowe and new show boss David Amann would be vindicated if fans continue to follow the mystery that is now hounding the mystery author.
Setting aside the "new mythology" that Marlowe spoke a lot about during hiatus, Castle is still the same show. Crime-solving, business complications, domestic issues, romantic reunion - all these elements are still present in Castle 7x2. But only one thing mattered to the viewers: answers. Real answers.
What fans do not see often, however, is a rather serious and deeply troubled Rick Castle. He asks Beckett to marry him "tomorrow." She says they need to "find solid ground" first. Perhaps the ground under Beckett's feet is just as shaky as the new storyline.
Earlier spoilers revealed the mystery behind Castle's disappearance will not be fully unraveled until the end of (or much later in) Season 7. Now the Caskett fans are waiting for a wedding, and some real answers.
The new mythology feels a little forced, perhaps because it took too long. The Beckett vs Bracken storyline took over the series for a while. Now that the question is back, it seems a bit inorganic in the grand scheme of things, especially since it came in moments before the much-awaited (and then botched) Caskett wedding.
At any rate, the showrunners are at least trying to spin the show in a way that could be refreshing -- perhaps eventually. Many subtle changes are expected in Castle Season 7, and fans could only hope that this chapter would be just as interesting as the last.
WATCH: Castle Season 7, Episode 3 Promo Video (ABC on YouTube)
Castle Season 7 airs Mondays on ABC.