CASTLE Post-Mortem: David Amann on Closing the 3XK Chapter

[Warning: This post contains major spoilers for the CASTLE episode, “Reckoning.” If you have not seen that, please watch it before you read this post.]

CASTLE has said its goodbye to the 3XK arc…probably.

Jerry Tyson/3XK has been around since the show’s third season episode, “3XK,” and his presence has been felt at least once a season since then. But after he helped orchestrate Beckett’s kidnapping in last week’s “Resurrection,” it ended up being one step too far…Castle, determined to save his wife, figured out how to double-cross him, and Tyson was shot and killed. Elsewhere, a kidnapped Beckett also got the better of Dr. Nieman, Tyson’s girlfriend/accomplice, and was able to save herself.

And so, it seems the show’s 3XK arc is over. I spoke with CASTLE boss David Amann about ending the 3XK arc (probably), Beckett saving herself, Castle (officially) rejoining the team, and more…

After playing with the 3XK mythology for years, what came into the decision to end it now?
David Amann: This is something we started back in season 3, and every season [since] we’ve done a story that touched on 3XK directly or indirectly. In season 4, it was Ryan’s gun [that Tyson took from him] had been used in a homicide; in season 5 it was “Probable Cause” where 3XK framed Castle for murder; in 6, it was “Disciple” where we introduced Kelly Nieman as someone who seemed to be adjacent to 3XK. We felt it was time to have a confrontation with this character. He’s a person we think has been a fascinating character in the show, and a great nemesis for Castle and Beckett.

But he’s also been someone who has been at the periphery of episodes. A couple of scenes here and there, a couple of cryptic exchanges. We wanted to have a storyline where the two of them actually confronted him, and go mano a mano — you could really square off with the guy and get to know him a little bit better, and see what he’s made of. We felt that was a satisfying way [to pay it off], we thought it would be something the audience would appreciate we pay off, and the audience would find a satisfying conclusion to that story.

Is it a conclusion? I realize it certainly looked like Tyson and Nieman are dead, but since Tyson looked like he was dead back in season 5 — and who knows what they’ve been up to since we last saw them — can you officially confirm this arc is over?
DA: I think I can say it’s certainly over for now. But you’re absolutely right, there have been times we thought it was over before, and it wasn’t. So you never want to say never. [But] Castle and Beckett are going to come away from this feeling pretty convinced this was the end.

Fair enough. One of the fun surprises was the show bringing back Lee Tergesen’s Marcus Gates. How did his return come about?
DA: Lee Tergesen is a fantastic actor, and I know I speak for everyone on the show when I say Lee, and the work Michael Mosley and Annie Wersching have done as Jerry Tyson and Kelly Nieman is just phenomenal. It’s been such a privilage to have them on the show, and have them bring the game they do.

Lee’s presence — Marcus Gates’ presence — was an outgrowth of the story where Castle was looking to get purchase on where Tyson might be, and knows that the one person who knows him best is the man who is in jail because of Tyson. We felt it was a good opportunity to revisit some of the 3XK mythology we had already established, and deal with that very interesting character one more time.

While Castle was the one who realized the best way to take down 3XK, what kind of discussions were had about making it so Beckett ultimately didn’t really need their saving, and took care of Nieman herself?
DA: She is a very capable woman and very capable character, and we felt that we wanted to see — and the audience wanted to see — her find her way out of the situation. I wouldn’t say there was a huge amount of discussion about it, but we wanted to give her agency in that outcome.

Now that Castle has been allowed back to work cases with the 12th precinct, how will he adjust back into that world?
DA: I think it gives him — because of his efforts, and because [of] the moves he made [that] results in Beckett’s recovery, to a degree — a little bit of a clean slate. He’s already experienced [the] difficulty of trying to investigate [cases] outside the 12th precinct when he was acting as a P.I. This is a much more preferable way, to operate with Beckett. I think he’s going to be on good behavior…for some time.

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What did you think of “Reckoning”?