It’s Complicated: Four People Tell Rick to Declare His Feelings, Castle “Knockout” 

The waterworks just wouldn’t stop. They started early and no matter what I tried I couldn’t make them go away. But what a great finale. The stakes have never been so high and I’ve never been so worried about everyone’s emotional and physical wellbeing. As most of us guessed (based on the information that leaked out over the past few weeks), it was Montgomery’s time to go. But I didn’t expect it to go down the way it did. I’ll miss Montgomery and I will mourn him. He did the right thing in the end when he took his stand for Kate and against the wrongs of his past. I wonder who he sent those documents to. I guess we’ll have to wait a few months to find out. And we knew there would be an emotional showdown between Rick and Kate. I didn’t expect Kate to call Castle out like that when he went to her apartment. Damn! Why does she expect him to declare his feelings when she’s given no indication of hers? It’s hard for someone like Castle (or anyone) to put their heart on the line or declare their feelings in such a hostile environment. If Kate is so interested in Rick’s feelings, maybe she should do a little sharing of her own.

But I can understand why Kate wouldn’t be the one to say the three words first. Castle was right when he told Kate she’s hiding. She could be happy if she’d find a man she could truly care about, someone like Castle. But it’s hard to make the first move. Even when three different people tell you to.

Kate’s dad goes to Rick’s apartment to have a little chat. He’s already lost his wife and he doesn’t want to lose his daughter as well. He sees the path she’s going down and urges Castle to step in. She cares about him. She’s talked to him about Castle. If Castle doesn’t say or do something, Kate might be lost to him forever.

Montgomery tells Rick he’s the only one who can get Beckett to stand down. Although Beckett is probably the best officer he’s ever trained she wasn’t having any fun on the job until Castle showed up. He’s seen them together and knows how good they are for each other. When he knows he won’t be able to get through to Castle about this case, he knows Rick can.

Kate questions their relationship. When Castle shows up at her apartment to try to talk her out of pursuing this case, he tries to reason with her. The people she loves don’t want to see her dead. She needs to think about her dad or about Josh? But Kate challenges Rick. What about him? Of course Castle doesn’t want to see his friend and partner hurt. That’s all she is to him? Castle has no clue. They kiss and never talk about it. They almost die in each other’s arms and they never talk about it. He knows her so well it make her uncomfortable. And she punishes him for it.

Martha and Rick have a mother/son heart to heart. Rick is at a loss. Beckett has said they’re through but Castle’s not ready to give up on her yet. Of course he doesn’t want to see her hurt or dead. Martha knows he’s going through something and gives him the best advice she’s probably ever given anyone. She said she’s more than halfway through the movie of her life and there’s no point in keeping your feelings to yourself. She urges her son not to waste even one more minute of his life. She sees how he is with Kate and she wants her son to be happy.

And so he does. Rick shows up at the hangar as backup and gets Kate out of harms way when Montgomery tells him to. They all know Montgomery’s going to die but it’s his last wish to make sure Kate’s safe. He’s righting the wrongs of his past. And as Kate gives the eulogy at Montgomery’s funeral Rick sees a flash of light in the distance. He can’t get to her before she’s shot but as he realizes this might be his only change to tell Kate how he feels, he tells her he loves her.

Wow. Now that’s a great ending. I have no doubt Kate will be fine. She probably passed out from the pain of a few broken ribs from her kevlar or from the loss of blood. And they’d better not make Kate have a very convenient case of amnesia. Other than that, I’m excited to see what season four has in store. It’ll be a long, hot, frustrating summer.