The mystery that sparked the world’s best mystery writer! On Monday, May 11, the season 7 finale of Castle chronicled the tale of Richard Castle’s first murder.
Hollander’s Woods
It all started when Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic) happened upon a murder scene identical to the one the mystery novelist saw at age 11. Apparently a pre-pubescent Castle was wandering through the woods in New Hampshire, as ya do, when he happened upon a hooded figure standing over a dead woman’s body with crosses carved into her face.
Moments later the hooded man with a porcelain mask grabbed baby Castle by the throat, hissing, “Tell anyone what you’ve seen here today and I’ll find you and kill you.”
Castle ran and called the police, but the body was never found.
“I’m driven to figure out the story because I could never figure out that one,” Castle explained to a concerned Beckett.
Now a woman has turned up with the same markings and there was a witness who saw the hooded man. The victim was a girl named Emma, who made a trip upstate to find her missing friend Zoey.
Emma’s search took her to a white car registered to 72-year-old Connie Lewis. Caskett and co. checked up on the aging Ms. Lewis, only to find that she’d actually been dead for three years. In her place was her mentally unhinged son Noah (or maybe we should call him Norman?), who gave the detectives the slip when they tried to confront him.
They caught Noah and he seemed clearly off his rocker, but not quite the villain Castle thought he would be. So they decided to meet up with his shrink, Dr. Holtzman, to learn more. Except, when Castle came face-to-face with Dr. H, he suddenly froze, remembering the voice that haunted him for decades.
“When he spoke I could feel the knife at my throat,” Castle insisted to a skeptical Beckett. “I will never forget that voice as long as I live.”
But there was nothing to arrest the doctor on. Knowing how much this case meant to her man, Beckett did a property search and found a barn on some abandoned farmland belonging to Dr. Holtzman. She couldn’t go looking for it, but Castle could. He would, however, be breaking the law. Tsk, tsk, you two!
Of course, the ever-curious Castle went snooping and found the evidence he needed to put the not-so-good doctor away. Unfortunately, he was caught in the act by the masked Dr. Holtzman himself.
Locked inside the shed, Castle was forced to face his own biggest demon head-on. Dr. Holtzman held a knife to his throat, cutting our beloved novelist, until Castle reached under the door, grabbed a gun from Beckett, and took out his OG nightmare. Later reflecting on his tormentor, Castle wondered if he would be where he is today without him.
“Babe, we’re not here because of him,” Beckett assured him. “We’re here because of who we are in the face of people like him.”
Encouraged by his badass bride, Castle then attended a gala where he accepted a major writing honor. In his speech he thanked his family and friends, before including a special note for his wife.
“Seven years ago I thought I’d never write again, and then you walked through the door,” he said. This is because of you, because of us, always.” No, we’re not crying, there’s just a very large onion nearby.
Beckett’s New Badge
After taking her Captain’s exam, Detective Beckett was ready to take her pantsuits to the next level as the captain of her own precinct. But when she was called in for an early review, she was quickly attacked for her methods, her relationship with Castle, and even for Nikki Heat (how rude!).
Naturally, our girl won’t go down without a fight.
“I don’t cross the line, I put myself on it,” she confidently declared. “If you have any other questions, you can ask the victims of the families I’ve served.” All that was missing was a three-snap sendoff and a hair flip.
But it turned out that her reviewers were trying to test her to see if she could defend herself. They were interested in having New York’s finest run for New York State Senate.
Caskett had a secret swing spot pow-wow where they talk about Beckett’s options and her author hubby obviously had her back. These two could easily rule the world — or at least New York.
Ultimately, Beckett never made her decision, but it will certainly leave us guessing and theorizing until season 8 starts in the fall!
Tell Us: What did you think of the Castle season 7 finale?
