Season 5 theories - Pre-season start

So, it's summer hiatus and we're still squeeing about "Always." Nevertheless, I'm sure we've all got some thoughts about what season five is going to bring. Post your ideas here!

Marlowe says there's no time jump. The thought that's out there is that we see them waking up the next day. What if it's the same night, but after? It occurs to me there might be some discussion that might need to happen before daylight.... Thoughts?

I dunno my head just went to them opening the season premier with another steamy kiss and I can't think past that now.

*huge sigh*

I love this show.

Been thinking about the start of Season Five...

I'm taking Caskett off the table here to talk about the conspiracy at large. When we last left S4 Smith and Maddox were having an interesting conversation about the "information" Smith had been given (from Montgomery) about Maddox's "employer."

Let's leave them having that conversation and return instead to the start of S4..."Rise" contained some pretty good information to help us with furthering the conspiracy plot...

In "Rise" Castle had information on the money trail (connected to Montgomery/Raglan/McCallister and The Dragon) it was THIS plot thread that made Beckett seek Castle once again. Beckett wanted the information (& to see that ruggedly handsome face again...but I digress )

Marlowe and the gang could have left that plot thread there. Beckett meets Castle, Castle says the money trail went cold, Beckett had no solid information as a lead, the case grinds to a halt.

But Marlowe & Co DID NOT leave the plot thread there...oh no!

Castle tells Beckett that the money trail (the records) were stored in a warehouse in Union City that burned down *cough* how convenient! The person that investigated this mysterious fire was ROD HALSTEAD.

We not only see Rod Halstead's name on the fire investigation report, we also see him when Beckett goes to visit him (and shout at him), his photograph is also included in the information Smith receives from Montgomery.


Halstead (it seems) is clean, nothing can be found to tie him to the case or any wrong doing...it is here the case runs out of steam, here the case grinds to a halt.

What has me wondering is the extra information supplied on Rod Halstead was, essentially, unnecessary. That actor had to be cast & photographed for the part. The small scene that had Beckett shouting at Halstead was not cut from "Rise."

If Halstead was PAID for his "expert opinion" on that warehouse fire then HE would have financial records showing the transaction? (How many times have we heard Ryan come into the conversation at the 12th talking about information he found through "running the financials"...)

I just think that the Rod Halsead plot was left hanging...since when has Marlowe left a door half open with out returning later to either shut it...or kick it down?

Thoughts?

I do think you're correct Tink - Halstead can't be accidental. However4, his financials were clean, which could mean they had something else over him. Maybe the money went to help someone he loved or was in trouble. That way the money wouldn't ever be connected to him - it would be a direct payment. Or they could have set him up like the mayor so if he didn't cooperate they'd ruin his whole career and he'd have gone to jail.

Thing is, it looks like the Dragon is set to kill everyone connected to the case. Why is Halstead still alive anyway? Might he ALSO have some "insurance" on tye dragon? They left Roy alone (so long as Beckett behaved) so maybe Halstead had a similar deal? Better yet, maybe they don't even know he has it, and he's been a "useful" asset all these years. So perhaps when he realizes they are going to kill him also he has the info sent to Beckett?

If you want me to shut up at any time feel free to yell!

I won't hear you...but you might feel better!

First let me say that I love Always as an ep...it was just about as perfect as an episode & season finale could have been! But it straddles an odd position...it is a continuation of Rise but Always itself needs 5x01 to help cement it in place. I watch Always an I love it as it is...but there's a part of me that can't help feeling it needs to be viewed as part one with 5x01 as part two!

Marlowe said (when Cole Maddox was cast) that it would be a recurring role. He's coming back for 5x01 at the very least. There is some part of me that would take great satisfaction in watching Maddox squirm/being beat up/get killed... but I find him an interesting villain! A cool mix of martial arts and sniper skills. His calmness (in stark contrast to Lockwoods rougher menace) is intriguing (that could just be me!)

The Dragon is caught up in a web of money, power & corruption. His weapons are money, blackmail & threat. Coonan, Lockwood & Maddox will all have had their services paid for (directly/indirectly) by The Dragon. Ron Halstead must have been paid for his arson fire cover up (either that or Mr Squeaky Clean Halstead had a few skeletons that the Dragon buried or family that he loved that The Dragon could threaten.)

When we last left Castle S4 information was being used as leverage. Smith was passed the baton by Montgomery. He has Montgomery's legacy (he now holds the leash that was too dangerous for Montgomery to hold any longer.) Smith is in an incredibly precarious position. Maddox was in his offices/suite with a gun (with a silencer attached.) With Smith out of the way and the information secure, Maddox would be onto Beckett next.

Smith is on borrowed time. Indeed, his only decision (if he hasn't outmaneuvered Maddox/The Dragon) may be die fast or die slow. Die quick or die in pain.

Beckett thought she was getting nearer, she thought she was powerful. She was all out for justice and truth. Coonan and Lockwood had eventually toppled. The Dragon had sent them and they were DEAD (Kate forgets here that although they came & she conquered it was at a terrible price. Castle was at gun point with Coonan, Montgomery sacrificed himself with Lockwood.) Beckett was all out to bring the war right to their doorsteps......

The rooftop changes all this for Beckett. It is BOTH Maddox's attitude and the near death experience that galvanise her actions. Maddox bats her off like a troublesome fly. Nothing she does seems to bother him and he really does give Beckett a battering. When Beckett takes a run at Maddox he uses her momentum to let her continue...rolling across the rooftop and over the side. She is made to feel inconsequential and is LITERALLY left hanging. It is partially this idea of how small she is, how it could all be over and the sense of not Johanna's case being unsolved but Kate's life being unfulfilled.

If I hear one person say that Beckett chose Castle over her Mom's case...I'll be sending Maddox round & it won't be pretty! Hanging from the roof separates Beckett's aims from her wants. Her sense of duty/revenge/justice from her need to live HER life. She did not pick Castle over her Mom's case...she picked Living over existing, loving over striving and followed the want of her heart for the future NOT the past.
Dumbledore said to Harry "it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." The same can be said for the past

Castle asks "Beckett, what do you want?"
Want is a selfish thing. Need is a necessity. Beckett wants Castle. It's a selfish thing, a thing all for herself. She wants him.

I think Coonan and Lockwood worked FOR the dragon - IE I don't think they could go out on assignments for other murders - more like part of a mafia hit squad than hired outside killers. MADDOX, I think may be a hired killer, which could also mean he's on borrowed time...

In terms of Always, yes it is very much like a two-parter. Last year it was Knockout/Rise this year will be Always/S5.01 ep. The premiere's title will be interesting to hear.

However, I DO see season four as part of the journey to Always. I can't see jumping from RISE to ALWAYS. Take out HH and Beholder and the season builds perfectly. (Beholder was a total stall. While the shrink scene was nice, it wasn't necessary. The two-parter is far more efficient at vetting Kate's fears.)

In terms of Kate, I agree she didn't pick Castle over her mom's case. She THOUGHT she couldn't give their relationship what it deserved with her mom's murder over her head. She realizes she's got emotional issues (PTSD) as well and they have to be dealt with. Just like Mom's murder is what Caskett is built through, Kate's healing from the shooting is tied up with Castle's I Love You. In order to deal with Castle's words she HAS TO deal with what happened. Hence she goes back to shrink and admits "I remember everything." She lied about remembering ANYTHING about the shooting, not just "I Love you."

However, at the beginning of Always Kate had moved on - she was willing to start with Castle and NOT have the murder solved. She chose him then - until the new info comes up. Kate reveals that she's been afraid of them coming after HER again. It's not just about her Mom's murder anymore, it's a chance to get them out of her life.

Of course, she doesn't know about Castle's deal and she is down the rabbit hole again. When Castle reveals his secret, she's feels betrayed, manipulated, and she's furious. She REACTS and basically goes after Maddox in defiance of Castle. She thinks she can get this thing out of her life once and for all. However, she DOES have Castle's info about the deal. Maddox SHOWS her what she's really dealing with. Does she go after these people still? Is possibly dying worth solving her mom's case? How important is it that he kept the information from him? One of the things I noticed about the "In My Veins" song is that the line "Nobody is perfect" is when she's thinking about Castle. She DOES choose Castle. She chooses life and that life is with Castle. She walks away from anything that could put her in contact with the rabbit hole. She completely surrenders her past.

Let's talk about Gates for a minute.

What's to talk about, right? We know very little about her. However, we know Marlowe doesn't drop in information - or characters - by accident. So that horrible episode Heartbreak Hotel did give ALOT of information about Gates. The woman bleeds NYPD blue - she comes from "a long line of cops." She also LOVES being a cop, "good old-fashion detective work." AND she knows what happens when cops go bad. Her brother died at the hands of dirty cops.

How the heck Gates know that? She doesn't say they caught the guys and they were dirty cops. Why does someone who loves old-fashion detective work become IA and an adminsistrative bureaucrat? Plus, what pushed her to make Dectective so young - six weeks later than Beckett did?

My thoughts are - Victoria Gates is ALSO searching for justice - for her brother. I think her brother's death and the crew a young Montgomery ran with are connected. Gates is strict because she knows what breaking the rules can lead to. She's especially against vigilante justice, which shaking down small time mobsters certainly could be seen.

I think Gates will be the one to bring Beckett back to the prescient because they are going to talk and realize they have things in common. They have things to teach each other. Gates can teach Beckett how to follow the rules and still get the bad guys. Beckett will remind Gates of her own passion for justice which Gates seems to have lost sight of in the face of trying to climb the ladder to get closer to finding out who INSIDE the NYPD is responsible to what happened to her brother.

Thoughts?

From this Sneak peek



We know Beckett is going to let Ryan into her apartment



But in this pic we see KB & RC having a conversation before Ryan arrives



And in this pic we can see SK's blue marks (could also be from conversation before Ryan comes In?)



I'm thinking...in the TV critics/media review of ATS they said that there's the line "Just… act normal. If that’s even possible for you.” Anyone else think that KB & RC are talking (and possibly "talking" ;P) when Ryan knocks & KB says that line to RC? This would give us the stupidly over acted pose of nonchalance from the sneak peek? What d'ya think?