Welcome, fellow Castle fans, to my first episodic review of the season. I can’t wait to discuss every twist and turn along the way with all of you, because if this premiere was any indication of what’s in store for us, it’s going to be an emotional roller coaster!
Title Driven
Two-Sentence Summary As Beckett, Ryan, and Esposito embark on a two-month investigation into Castle’s wedding-day disappearance, they come across some disturbing evidence that points to him faking his own abduction. Castle’s reappearance raises more questions than answers when he wakes up with no memory of the two months he was missing.
Favorite Line “We’ll get there. We’ll find our way home.” (Castle)
My Thoughts I was in the camp of Castle fans who did not like last season’s finale at all. In fact, I disliked it so much that it made me approach this premiere with extreme caution. However, I would like to go on the record and say that I loved this premiere. It wasn’t perfect, but it genuinely captivated me. As I’ve said so many times, as long as I care about the characters, I can handle unanswered questions and even plot holes. And one thing “Driven” did remarkably well was make me feel for these characters—especially Beckett.
I can see where some might be frustrated at the plot of this episode. Like I said, it wasn’t perfect. My biggest complaint was the way everyone was so willing to believe the only explanation for Castle dropping the money in the dumpster was that he was doing this of his own free will. Did no one think he could be coerced in any way to do this stuff? You don’t need to have a gun pointed directly at your head to be threatened enough to do the things Castle did in this episode. I would have thought a group of detectives and the FBI would know enough to at least consider that possibility.
Also, Castle is a show that often likes to put its overarching plots on the backburner and balance them with “fun” episodes, which is usually okay, but won’t work in this case. This is one of those things that needs a presence in every episode until the mystery is solved. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to see lighter Castle episodes, too (although I do favor the heavier stuff), but even those lighter episodes need at least one reminder of this mystery. I have faith, though, that it’s going to happen.
If nothing else, “Driven” was something new. It genuinely left me guessing from beginning to end, and for a show to still be able to do that in its seventh season is no small feat. All of the uncertainty felt a little much at times, but in the light of day after the episode aired, I think it’s cool that the mystery writer is now part of his own mystery. And let’s just get this out of the way now—it has to be 3XK, right? Who else would mess with these characters on such a personal, emotional level? The twisted nature of everything that happened—not just to Castle but even more so to Beckett—points towards 3XK, at least in my opinion.
Although “Driven” felt like something new for Castle, as an Alias fan, the last act of the episode felt like a story I know all too well. Were any fellow Alias fans having “The Telling” flashbacks, or was it just me? From Beckett telling Castle he was missing for two months (in almost the exact tone Vaughn used when he said, “You’ve been missing for almost two years.”) to Castle’s lack of memory, I just wanted it to be revealed that his name while he was missing was “Julian Thorne.” I suppose I just need to thank my stars that Beckett didn’t get married while he was gone (forever bitter about that little Alias twist). Maybe that’s why I wasn’t so worried about all of the plot stuff in this episode: I’ve been down this road before; I’ve watched shows with more questions than answers so many times. And they’ve been some of my favorite shows ever because—like “Driven”—they made me feel things beyond just confusion about the plot.
Nerdy Girl Notes 