CASTLE: Andrew Marlowe Teases ‘The Final Nail,’ Lanie-Esposito, Upcoming Cases and More

On tonight’s brand new episode of CASTLE, it’s Castle vs. Beckett.

True, the duo normally share fun banter and fights. But when Castle’s old friend is the main suspect in a murder, the disagreement gets much more serious.

What kind of drama can fans expect? CASTLE creator Andrew Marlowe previewed “The Final Nail,” what’s to come for Lanie-Esposito and Ryan-Jenny, and teased which cases might be revisited soon…

What can you tease about “The Final Nail”?
Andrew Marlowe: Castle and Beckett end up on opposite sides of the case, where Castle has been called [in] by his best friend from boarding school — his best friend has come home and has found his wife killed. And all the signs point to Castle’s friend [as the murderer]. And Castle is convinced his friend is innocent because he knows this guy, he grew up with this guy. This guy couldn’t commit murder. Beckett is convinced he is guilty. And Castle is biased on the case. He accuses Beckett of being biased, but he has a bias as well. And it leads to heated words and Beckett not knowing whether she can trust him on the case. It’s interesting to look at the [Castle-Beckett] relationship through that lens as well: when the case comes between them instead of pulling them together.

The show obviously explored that a little bit with the third season premiere (when Castle was the suspect in a murder), so it will be fun to see that tension revisited.
AM: I knew our fans wanted us to punish Castle for walking away at the end [of season two]. I had to give them that scene where Beckett was interrogating him, and just torturing him.

That was actually one of my favorite scenes of the premiere. Not because she was torturing him, but their chemistry and banter was perfect and it seemed to sum up so much of what makes the show great in that one scene.
AM: Well, thank you for that. I loved that one line when he was talking about the relationship he had with the victim and she goes, “Did you sleep with her?” It was so not relevant. [Laughs] She just wants to know. That’s where the jealous girlfriend comes out.

Speaking of past cases, will the 3XK serial killer be revisited this year?
AM: It’s something we’ve been talking about. But because of how our season is playing out and because of some of the places we wanted to go with the Beckett-Castle relationship by the end of the year, now that we know we have a fourth season, that’s storytelling we may pick up in early [next year]. It just felt a little more appropriate for us, given where we’re accelerating to.

We’re going to be ending this season with what we think is going to be a tremendous episode and we don’t want to steal its thunder by going to a significantly dark place before that. I think anytime you deal with a serial killer that has that sort of weight with Castle, you end up going to a dark place. And I know that our job is to deliver the audience balance. We know the audience likes these serious episodes, but they certainly don’t want to see it every week. They also want the typical CASTLE, [where] we’re having fun with the case and going to a new world. So our job is really to strike some balance.

Are there any upcoming lighter cases you can tease?
AM: We’re still in the process of breaking some of the stories and we haven’t completely landed all of them. So anything I give you now, in a week they may have changed a little bit. [Laughs] With those, we are taking a look at filtering those through the Castle-Beckett relationship and where we want to land [with them] at the end of the season. And touching on the conspiracy around Beckett’s mother’s murder by the end of the season, too.

Is that case something you’d like to play out for the remainder of the series? Or do you intend to wrap it up at a certain point and move on to another important case?
AM: You know, it’s such an important issue for Beckett. It really is to find who she is. And I think there is certainly great storytelling to be had after it, but it’s not something I think — I think when her character has all the answers, we really have to confront some issues about who she is. So I think we’re going to get to a really interesting place at the end of the season that will provide some real resolution on some fronts. But just like we did in “Sucker Punch,” just like we did in “Knockdown,” hopefully there will still be aspects of it the audience is looking to explore. I don’t think we’re going to wait until the end of the series to resolve [the case]. I don’t think it would be fair to the fans, I think it would be disingenuous.

But I also think it’s something worth wrestling with for a bit because Beckett and Castle, when they approach those cases, Castle is at his finest and it allows Beckett to see him in a more mature light. And it allows us to push their relationship in a way the standard everyday cases don’t. He doesn’t make fun of those cases. He doesn’t use those cases to have a good time like he does in other situations. So it really allows Beckett to see him at his best when she’s at her most vulnerable. And I think that’s a great combination. But that being said, there are some real surprises around the corner as we head to the end of the season.

Will that include the trip to LA?
AM: We plan on doing it in May sweeps. [That episode should be] our third to last episode [of the season]. We’re in the process of breaking a story. My intention is to do it. If we do it, I want to do it well. We haven’t yet landed on a story that I think is worthwhile, but I think there’s a 90% chance you’ll see that.

If that happens, will we be introduced to the actor playing Jameson Rook?
AM: Potentially. If we don’t do that [LA episode] this season, it’s something I want to do next season. It’s something I’m still looking at.

Very cool. Looking at the other characters, will we be seeing any more episodes centered around the supporting cast this season?
AM: We have a great supporting cast and we like bringing [them] in — in an organic way. And as you’ve seen this year, we’ve done shows that have highlighted our characters. We’ll continue to do that. We know our bread and butter is the Castle and Beckett relationship and that’s what people are invested in, so everything we do with our supporting characters has to support our primary relationship of the show.

That being said, I think we’ve seen some fantastic moments with our characters. Certainly Ryan and Jenny getting engaged. Esposito and Ryan carrying a lot of the storytelling in [“Knockdown”]. Captain Montgomery and Beckett’s relationship with him basically looking out for her. I think we’ve done a pretty good job. I’ve been trying to figure out a great story that gets Lanie out of the morgue, but I haven’t found one that’s good enough yet. I’d love to see her do more casework. I’m not sure if we’re going to get to that by the end of the year, [but] I hope so. But if not, next year. It’s been on my mind since the middle of the second season.

Lanie is also in a fairly new relationship with Esposito. Will they be a solid couple or will they have some ups and downs?
AM: For a while, they’ll be solid. It’s inevitable with any relationship that you’ll explore that relationship. We have some fun storytelling coming up where Lanie and Esposito go out with Ryan and Jenny — and Lanie and Jenny don’t get along. And what strain does that put on the Ryan and Esposito relationship when their significant others aren’t best pals? So we’re going to be playing with a lot of different elements. We have plenty of storytelling, especially with the Beckett and Castle relationship, that we don’t need to put undue stress on the Lanie-Esposito relationship. We let that one develop slowly. We check in with Ryan and Jenny and see how those girls inform these guys. Inevitably with any relationship, complications will arise, but it’s something we plan on playing with for a while.

Will Jenny and Ryan be getting married this season? Or will it be a longer engagement?
AM: Not this season. Can you really plan a wedding in three months? It was just January [when they got engaged]. [Laughs] Carry off a wedding in May? That’s a lot of work! Ryan would have to miss a whole lot of episodes because he’d be cake tasting! [Laughs]

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Related:

CASTLE: Andrew Marlowe Teases the Castle-Beckett Relationship and Debunks the MOONLIGHTING Curse
CASTLE Scoop: Third NIKKI HEAT Book on the Way

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