CASTLE: Andrew Marlowe Talks ‘Cuffed,’ Beckett and Castle’s Relationship, His Dream Guest Star and More

In Monday’s brand new episode of CASTLE, Beckett and Castle wake up handcuffed together, locked in a room, all by themselves. Sounds like the perfect solution for those crazy kids to finally work out all the issues that have been plaguing them, right?

Alas, nothing is ever entirely that simple. There’s also the pesky matter of figuring out why they’re in their current predicament and how the heck they’re going to get out.

To try and get some teases about what the duo will be up to while they’re trapped together, I talked with CASTLE creator Andrew Marlowe about “Cuffed,” those looming secrets hanging over Beckett and Castle, Ryan’s upcoming wedding and much, much more…

“Cuffed” puts Castle and Beckett in an interesting position, as they are literally chained together —
Andrew Marlowe: Literally handcuffed together!

How are they dealing with that close proximity, especially given all the secrets they’re keeping from each other?
AM: I think it puts us in a place where it’s really fun for us to watch the dance between the two of them. And when you’re handcuffed together, it’s both a literal and figurative dance. And putting them in that close proximity, I think some really fun things come out of it. It was a delicious episode to do.

We felt like with [having episodes] going to Atlantic City, dealing with the bank robbery and having something that was really focused on the Beckett character, that we needed something that really focused on the Beckett-Castle relationship exclusively and put them in a crucible where all the irrelevances were burned away and they had to deal with each other and the relationship.

Given that they are hiding these massive, relationship-changing secrets from each other, will they be any closer to tipping their hands in this episode?
AM: I think that’s one [thing] the people should watch the episode to find out. [Laughs]

Do you see any way possible these two could enter into a romantic relationship before those secrets are exposed?
AM: I feel like the secrets are going to complicate any relationship and they are honorable enough to deal with them before they get into that situation. I feel like if they acted that way, they would be lying to each other.

I’m glad to hear you say that, because I completely agree. Do you feel Castle and Beckett are on equal footing right now? We’ve talked before about how these two are on a seesaw of power, but do you feel they are about even this season?
AM: Yeah, I do. I think they both have certain strengths in their relationship and certain weakness. I think Beckett really has — Castle has exposed himself to Beckett with the “I love you,” so she knows that. But I think that her behavior, he knows that she has made a promise that she has to deal with some stuff. And I think he knows that promise is about him.

That scene on the swings when she opened up to in the season premiere was amazing.
AM: Oh, thank you, that was fun. That was one of those tricky scenes where everybody had to really get it right: I had to get it right in the writing, Stana [Katic (Beckett)] had to get it right in the performance, Rob [Bowman] had to get it right in the directing, but I thought we were able to communicate that to the audience, so I was really pleased by that.

Going back to “Cuffed” for a second, I know Twitter went a bit crazy when it was revealed there was a closed set for one of the days you guys shot this episode. Can you tease anything about that or would you prefer to let that stand as it is?
AM: I will let that tease lie, but I will add to it, as you know, when we do things on CASTLE, not everything is exactly as it seems and we always have some surprises in store for people.

That is true. Looking ahead, one of the bigger events that you have coming up is Ryan and Jenny’s wedding. Will we be dealing with a case that episode in addition to the wedding?
AM: [Laughs] Of course we are! Of course we are! We can’t stop everything just to have a wedding! There’s got to be a case involved. But the case kind of speaks to the wedding in an interesting way, in that our victim is a bit of a Lothario. He’s a bit of a womanizer and it brings up issues that people have to deal with before they’re ready to walk down the aisle.

And how will the wedding and marriage change Ryan? Or will it change Ryan?
AM: We’ll see! We’ll see. They’ve been in a pretty committed relationship, so we expect that to continue. It’s really clear that Ryan loves Jenny and it’s really clear that Jenny loves Ryan. We’ve known that since the second season when the couple was introduced. It’s been fun to bring the relationship to this point, and it’s nice when you’re dealing with the Beckett-Castle relationship where they long for that, but there are obstacles in the way, to see that as a goal. So I think it’s going to play a nice role in the series having Ryan in that committed relationship.

Lanie and Esposito have recently broken up and, as far as we know, Castle and Beckett will still be doing their will-they-won’t-they dance around the time of the wedding. Since weddings often bring out the romantics in people, are there any particularly special moments either of those fanbases could look forward to?
AM: Aren’t there special moments in all of our episodes? [Laughs]

Well, yes, but I mean extra-special, wedding-themed moments. Dances, perhaps?
AM: Um, I think I’ll leave that for the audience to discover.

Are we going to see another kiss this season that you could tease?
AM: I would not rule that out.

Hm. You obviously know how the fans react whenever a possible love interest enters the mix, and most recently the show experienced that when Kristin Lehmen was cast in a small part earlier this season. Now that Castle has expressed that he loves Beckett and she heard his confession, are outside love interests a thing of the past for them? Or do you see the potential for a third party to come into the mix and give one of them a run for their money?
AM: Well, if we were to do that, it would have to be significant, and it would not be something that we would do flippantly. But currently, we do not have those plans. And we’re currently planning the back half of the season, and that’s not something we’re looking at. We feel that there’s so much complication in the relationship right now and there’s so many things going on beneath the surface that that’s not necessary.

Now, can somebody come in and knock the balance off? Sure. But if we were going to look at that, it would have to be in a really intriguing way, in a way we haven’t done before on the show because we don’t want to go to the same well. We think the Gina well is dry, we think the Josh well is dry. It’s not just having another person mess with the equilibrium. What was interesting about episode 5 was how differently they handled the potential threat to the relationship than they would have in previous seasons. So you saw an element of jealousy, of grounded jealousy, from Beckett that you wouldn’t have seen earlier, when it was just, “That’s Castle being Castle.” She was really a little bit protective and it got under her skin, and I think that shows a maturity in the relationship. The things that he was responding to in her were the things he responded to in Beckett — a smart woman, an intelligent woman, a woman who can hold her ground. But really, at the end of the day, there was no contest.

Right. At the end of the day, Lehman’s character’s existence shed more light on the layers of Castle and Beckett’s relationship versus anything else.
AM: And that’s our hope. People will read things on Twitter about what we’re doing and often the information that gets out allows people to speculate, allows them to play along and we hope that we still have the element of surprise on our side and delight them and handle things in a mature and interesting way.

I know you’ve commented publicly on the state of other will-they-won’t-they relationships on various shows. Are you actively looking at those couples to see what the writers are doing right and what they’re not handling so well, or are you just trying to concentrate on your own show?
AM: I’ve been a little busy, but I’m rooting for BONES. I actually have the premiere TiVoed, I haven’t had the chance to watch it yet. But [BONES creator] Hart Hanson is making the attempt to make Bones and Booth be a couple this year, I certainly have my eyes on that.

But we’re not going to be dictated by the success and failures of other shows. We are dealing with the rhythm of two characters, who for all of us on the show, have become real people in our lives. And who we are rooting for the same way we root for friends to find true love and overcome the obstacles. So it feels like the rhythm of our storytelling is going to dictate things more than anything else. And we know there are more challenges and more complications, but I also know that when couples do get together, there are still challenges and still complications and it’s still interesting. And if you’re the right kind of storyteller, happily ever after can be the beginning of storytelling, not just the end.

Do you actually have a time frame in mind for when you think Castle and Beckett should get together?
AM: I do. I do. I’m relatively mercurial and I could change my mind at any second, except, what I have in mind really hasn’t changed. I have a sense of what I want to do and how I want to lead up to it. And I know there’s the weekly petty frustration of wanting them to be together because the sexual tension, for the fans, is both uncomfortable and delicious, you know? they want it to be resolved because nobody wants the unresolved in their life. They want to make everything better. But I also know that’s part of the prize. And it’s delicious week to week. I do think that there is the right time for it, and we don’t want to do it just to do it, we want to do it because it’s natural progression in a much larger story.

Looking towards the issues Beckett is dealing with, episode 13 was traditionally devoted to touching on Beckett’s mother’s case, but you’re not following that pattern this season, correct?
AM: No, not this season. Like I said earlier in the season, we’re going to give Beckett’s mother’s case a teaser — we’ve had a number of dramatic episodes in the early half of the season — and we want to give audiences a chance to catch their breaths. I think that when we [went] into the sniper of it all in “Kill Shot,” that’s [brought] up some of those issues. So we will be — how do I put this? Episode 12 will deal with some interesting issues that don’t directly reflect on Beckett’s mother’s murder, but we see the shadow of it hanging over some of the stuff we’re dealing with.

Ah, the case with the mayor. It would seem that Gates’ opinion on Castle might be important in that episode. Most people inevitably fall for the Castle charm, but so far, Gates isn’t biting. Do you see her holding her ground and resisting his ways?
AM: I see her holding her ground, especially publicly with Castle. I think privately, there’s an element where she’s charmed, but it’s doing interesting things to the dynamic to have her hold her ground with Castle.

It’s fun to see her be the boss and not really put up with the antics we’re used to. Are we going to be getting some backstory on her soon?
AM: On Gates? Yeah. As we move forward, we’ll see a little bit more of her character come out, we’ll get to understand a little bit more of her backstory.

Good to know. One of the fun things the show has done in the past is bring back recurring villains, and while you obviously touched on 3XK earlier this season, are there any plans to bring back him or any other foes?
AM: We do plan to touch on 3XK once again by the end of the season, because that character is still out there. We dealt with him earlier this season, but he was a bit adjacent to the story, but it brought up all those emotions. I’d love to have another bite at him as we close in on the season. But there are other aspects of our characters’ backstories and histories that we’re looking to open up as well. So it’s always that balance between revisiting old friends and opening up new doors.

I actually recently spoke to Michael Mosley on the set of PAN AM and he had nothing but good things to say about you guys. Hopefully if you revisit the storyline, we’ll get to see 3XK in the flesh again.
AM: Here’s the thing: we’re rooting for Mike and we’re rooting for his show, and we really want his show to do well. We know that they’re struggling in the numbers and we hope that they can find a really great audience. But that being said, if there’s an opportunity for us to work with him, either while that show’s going or if for some reason it goes down, we’d jump at it. He’s really terrific.

I know you just mentioned characters’ backstories and I have to ask — will we be meeting Castle’s father this season?
AM: We’re spending a lot of time right now talking about the best way to handle that. I think the expectation is we’ll see that storyline make an appearance this season.

Nathan Fillion (Castle) has thrown out his former ONE LIFE TO LIVE costar Robert Woods as a possible daddy candidate. Do you guys have anyone in mind or are you fluid with casting choices right now?
AM: I’m all for Harrison Ford, but I don’t think he does TV work.

What’s he doing these days? Surely he has a few days to spare and can come over…
AM: Maybe. I think there are a number of really great folks who could play the role and it’s just exactly how we want to deal with it and the particular story we’re telling. So we don’t have anyone in mind at this point.

Harrison Ford aside, you guys do get a lot of fun guest stars. Is there anyone you really want to get or are trying to get that you haven’t quite yet snagged?
AM: Well, I’ll tell you what would excite me: I’d love to have Stephen King on the show. There are a lot of great actors out there, there are a lot of people I’d love to have on the show from an acting standpoint, but I’d really love to have Stephen King on our show.

That would be delicious.
AM: Wouldn’t that be delicious? I’d love to craft a story around him, around his material, around his writing style, and really bring him into it if he was interested. So that’s one of my wishes.

Will Nikki Heat be returning?
AM: We don’t have an immediate plans for that, but we have been bouncing some stuff around. But because I haven’t landed on anything, I don’t want to make any promises in that territory.

And how is Alexis holding up now that she’s single? Is she going to be rebounding with a new guy or is she going to take some time for herself?
AM: I think in the immediate future, she’s going to take some time to discover herself.

Will we be seeing any more poker games soon?
AM: I’d like to. The poker games are always a challenge for us because getting all the writers to line up and be in town at the same time — a lot of them have obligations, a lot of them have book tours, some of them live in town, some of them don’t. It’s our intention to give it a good try before we get too far into the season, but some of that is dictated by our production issues.

Should fans look forward to a fourth CASTLE book?
AM: Well, we do have plans for another one that will be out next fall.

Ah, keeping with the tradition of releasing it before the new season?
AM: Yep, keeping with the tradition. Hey, he’s very busy solving crimes and he should be spending more time writing, but he doesn’t, and that’s why he only ends up putting out one book a year.

What a slacker.
AM: I know! But his time is spent protecting New York City now.

He’s saving them from bombs and stuff, so really, they should be thankful for him.
AM: [Laughs] Yeah!

Is there anything else you want to tease before I let you go?
AM: “Cuffed” is a lot of fun. When we come back with “‘Til Death Do You Part,” I think there’s going to be a lot of fun and charm and a lot of great stuff for everybody who is a fan of our characters, because it’s a great case, it’s a fun case, but it’s also a great character piece. And then after that, the intrigue and threat to the Beckett-Castle relationship in “Dial M For Mayor” is really good. So I think we’re really pleased with our creative stuff this year. I think we have a lot of great shows and we have a lot more coming up so stay tuned.

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Related:

CASTLE: Stana Katic Talks About the ‘Kill Shot’ Ending and Previews ‘Cuffed’
CASTLE: Andrew Marlowe Teases ‘Kill Shot’
CASTLE: Stana Katic Previews ‘Kill Shot’ and Teases an Upcoming Noir Episode

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