CASTLE EPISODE 6.23 - FINALE - "FOR BETTER OR WORSE" - Recaps & Reviews

For Better or Worse - here are the reviews for the Castle season 6 finale.   

From: Den of Geek:

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Castle comes close to delivering one of the series' best episodes, then falls at the final hurdle. Here's Laura's review...

Okay, I take it back. In last week’s review of Veritas, I praised the conclusion of the Joanna Beckett storyline, saying that now that that’s resolved, “Series seven will be a whole new ballgame.” This week’s episode not only put the kibosh on that but was more than a bit of a “get bent” to its audience. Which is particularly annoying given how well the episode was doing until the last few moments.

Read more at:  www.denofgeek.com

From Spoiler TV:

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This review took me a while to write because I really didn’t know how I felt about this episode. “For Better or Worse” had its up and downs, and maybe I had set my expectations too high for a season finale. The episode we are usually delivered before any hiatus is supposed to blow our pants off. They decided to go for cliché, extremely cliché, accompanied by some unoriginal “twists” and it actually makes me sad for the show, because I’ve loved it for quite some while now, but have they really run out of original storylines? (Even the title lacks Castle originality…)

Read more at http://www.spoilertv.com

From: Showratings.TV

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This finale brought to you by the letter “C” for “character assassination.

Let’s take a walk down memory lane.  Stroll back to a simpler, happier time:  Kate Beckett had that short, choppy hair and constantly pretended like she couldn’t stand one Richard Castle, even though we all know what she really wanted was to rip his clothes off and font all over the table in Interrogation One.  Let’s stroll all the way back to the second episode of the series, one “Nanny McDead.”

“I’m not an ‘if at first you don’t succeed kind of girl, Castle.  When it comes to marriage, I’m more of a ‘one and done’ type.” — Kate Beckett

Where is that Kate Beckett today?  Where is the Kate Beckett whose “one and done type” characterization was constantly reinforced over the past six seasons, in multiple interviews and in all of the little ways that she just lit up when dreaming about her perfect wedding?  I’ll tell you where:  She has been assassinated by her own creator.

Read more at: http://showratings.tv/

From TV Fanatic:

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I'm still reeling from Castle Season 6 Episode 23 - but I'll start writing anyway. It's hard to know where to begin, so I suppose the beginning will do...

Read more at www.tvfanatic.com

From Gossip and Gab:

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The best way for me to explain how it felt watching “For Better or for Worse”  is to say that it reminded me of a certain football game.  In 2012 the Baltimore Ravens were in the NFL playoffs, but were eliminated because their kicker – who’d had a perfect record of 16-0 doing while doing much longer kicks – missed a 32 yard field goal.   No one could believe it!  How could a team play so well, fight so hard to win and then have someone screw it up so badly?   I vaguely recall that it was a really good game overall.  However,  what stays vividly imprinted in my mind, and what has gone down in NFL history, is that the Ravens lost the playoffs because the kicker missed an easy field goal.

Read more at http://gossipandgab.com

From: TV Over Mind:

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After this season of television, I can never trust a wedding ever again! I hereby declare this the… Orange Wedding? We’re quickly running out of rainbow…

I am still in a state of shock as I write this. This will depart from my usual Castle recap format and just talk about the episode as a whole, theories as to what it might mean for the premiere and season 7, and reasons why I should have foreseen that ending.

Read more at /www.tvovermind.com

From: Screen Crave:

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We don’t know if you’ve heard, but there just might be a wedding this week on Castle. The title “For Better Or Worse,” suggest nuptials of some sort, but Castle’s been set on a space wedding, so maybe it refers to something else.

Read more at www.screencrave.com

What I've noticed in trying to post all the reviews - which are different than recaps - most of the big mainstream blogs chose to not review. TV Guide, Entertainment weekly, Buddy TV, and E! either did recaps, or short blurbs.  TV Guide basically just interviewed Andrew Marlowe.  The Huffington post did all the finale spoilers, but didn't do anything about the finale itself. I'm guessing with the big blogs it's, "if you don't have something good to say, don't say anything."   
Anyway, from here down I'll post the recaps and blurbs, etc.  

From USA Today:

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We made it! All the way to the end. We started the season here in my neck of the woods, in D.C., with Lisa Freaking Edelstein … and after a lot of ups, a few downs, and far too much Pi, we end up getting rewarded for our patience with … a wedding! OK, OK, so maybe not right off the bat. There will be complications. Because, well, it's Castle. Getting married. But have heart. And maybe a bowl of popcorn. We'll get there!

Read more at www.usatoday.com

From Entertainment Weekly:

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We always knew that Beckett and Castle’s road to getting hitched would have, well, a few hitches. A last-minute quickie divorce from a past flame. Venue drama. Maybe some dress drama. But we didn’t expect what actually happened in the final minutes of season 6. (Warning No. 2: Oddly, there’s a Downton Abbey spoiler below, too…)
In sum: There was a wedding. But Castle never got to see it.

Read more at: www.popwatch.ew.com

From Zap2it:

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The "Castle" Season 6 finale did make a strong effort to get to the wedding in "For Better or Worse." But then Rick Castle got involved in a high-speed chase that left his car burning in a ditch. Was Beckett's complicated divorce for nothing? Is Castle dead? Is this wedding ever going to happen?

At least there's a "Castle" Season 7 coming!

Read more at http://www.zap2it.com

From Buddy TV:

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After the emotional roller coaster that was last week's episode, I kind of thought this week's Castle would be a lighthearted finale in which our central couple would finally tie the knot. Instead, they're forced to deal with hitmen, abductions, uncooperative strippers and possible fiery death. Really, it was foolish to expect anything else.

Read more at www.buddytv.com

E! Online - Watch With Kristen:

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This was going to be an introductory post involving our intent to party, despite the fact that it's Monday. There was supposed to be a wedding tonight, and after all, weddings are to be celebrated. However all our hopes were dashed because Castle threw us all for a giant loop. Other shows happened too, like a WTF-filled Blacklist episode and a Star-Crossed finale that left us quite unsatisfied. At least there was Louie, which delivered a truly brilliant half-hour that everyone should watch, but that's hardly consolation. We are sad tonight. So sad.

Read more at: www.eonline.com

From TV Guide - recap & Post-Mortem interview with Andrew Marlowe:

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Like many TV nuptials before it, the would-be blessed union between Castle's Katherine Beckett and Richard Castle did not go off without a hitch in the Season 6 finale.

www.tvguide.com

From Give Me My Remote (GMMR): "CASTLE Season 6 Finale Post-Mortem: Andrew Marlowe on the ‘For Better or Worse’ Fallout"

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CASTLE spent much of this season plotting Castle and Beckett’s perfect wedding, but the finale threw problem after problem at them: they found out Beckett was accidentally married to an ex-boyfriend (who then tried to blackmail her, and got kidnapped); the wedding venue burned down; Beckett’s dress was destroyed; and then once the duo rejiggered their wedding plans, Castle’s car was seemingly forced off the road, and when Beckett was called to the scene, she saw her fiance’s car in flames. Yeah, it’s going to be a pretty long summer.

Read more at www.givememyremote.com

From TVLine: Post Mortem: Castle Boss Talks Controversial Wedding Day Twist - (and a Viewer Poll)

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ABC’s Castle on Monday night invited viewers to RSVP for the long-awaited wedding between bestselling author Richard Castle and NYPD Detective Kate Beckett. But did the duo’s Big Day go off without a hitch?

Read more at www.tvline.com

From TV.com: "Castle's EP Answers Our Burning Questions About That Season 6 Cliffhanger"

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The would-be blessed union between Castle's Katherine Beckett and Richard Castle did not go off without a hitch in the Season 6 finale.
In fact, there were numerous hitches. For starters, when Beckett (Stana Katic) and Castle (Nathan Fillion) went to apply for their marriage licenses, they were both shocked to learn that Beckett was already married! As it turned out, Beckett had married her con-man ex Rogan O'Leary (guest star Eddie McClintock) 15 years prior, during a drunken trip to Vegas. But when Beckett made a trip upstate to get Rogan to sign a "dissolution of marriage" agreement, things got even worse.

Read more at www.tv.com

Beckstle wrote:

For Better or Worse - here are the reviews for the Castle season 6 finale.   

Found a recap with a full review:   

From Nerdy Girls Notes: Grading the Season Finales 2014: Castle

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What Worked It’s amazing how a good cast can make up for lazy writing choices. There were two specific scenes in this finale where I thought, All of this muddling through clichés was worth it to get this moment. One was the aforementioned scene between Beckett and Martha, which was everything I’d ever wanted in a wedding day interaction between them. The other was the beautiful scene between Beckett and Castle on the bench when they talked about fighting for their happy ending. Stana Katic did a great job of making Beckett’s panic over all of the wedding details falling apart feel realistic. She didn’t collapse, but you could see the stress wearing on her. That’s a different kind of emotional reaction than any we’ve ever seen from her before because it’s a kind of everyday emotional breakdown that isn’t often shown on television because it’s not particularly glamorous. But in Katic’s capable hands, I could feel Beckett’s disappointment in such a real way.

Read more at www.nerdygirlnotes.com

This review is probably the one I like the best.  Even more than the one I wrote!  

Ah ha! I found the TV Fanatic Castle Round Table for the finale!   

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It was a tough finale for Castle fans who were anticipating a wonderfully romantic Caskett wedding and got anything but on Castle Season 6 Episode 23.

Below, TV Fanatics Chandel Charles, Jim Garner, Robin Harry and Christine Orlando are joined by Lisa from The 12th a Castle Fan Forum to debate who abducted Castle, their most disappointing moments and what they want to see in season 7...

Check out these different points of view at www.tvfanatic.com/castle-round-table-for-better-or-worse