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I couldn't believe this week's episode. The show is nothing if not a formulaic procedural, with the two lead characters moving at a glacial rate into a romantic relationship and eventually marriage as the only real change in the formula. Also, it probably could have been called "Beckett" since it is plain that she's the character the writers are really interested in. When the show started, there were suggestions that Nathan Fillion's titular character, despite his irrepressible personality and over-the-top enthusiasm that was often out of place in murder investigations, was an intelligent individual with an eclectic array of skills and knowledge picked up over the course of researching his action and mystery novels. Hell, the depths of his research was the primary narrative conceit of the show, that he was so intense about his interests, and so good at getting his way, that he was able to impose himself into being embedded with a NYPD homicide unit. But over the course of the show, the writers usually seemed to forget that, often treating Castle as if he was a member of the unit, prone to ignoring or forgetting police procedures, who seldom carried a gun, but otherwise someone who drew a paycheck from the city like the rest of them. About halfway in, they shook things up for a couple of episodes bringing in a new boss who disapproved of Castle and his arrangement with the department, but that was quickly overcome, and her role was reduced to the occasional scolding or other straight-man functions. I think it was maybe three years into her run on the show before it was casually mentioned that she had an actual husband, and thus a personality and life outside of work, frowning at Castle or listening quizzically as Beckett reported the latest developments. All the potentially interesting things about the character and his arrangement with the cops faded into the background, because Nathan Fillion is pretty good at self-deprecating comedy and pratfalls, and brought a large sci-fi fanbase to the show from his breakout role in "Firefly", so the producers contented themselves with a dramatic murder of the week, usually involving the rich or famous or an exotic and inexplicable death. Castle would come up with the most outlandish notions, based on conspiracy theories, pop culture or science fiction, go all out and be smug at the superficial details that fit his theory, and then be comically chagrined when the truth comes out, with him stumbling over a piece of that truth or being partially right by accident.

The idea that Richard Castle actually had legitimate brains, physical prowess or useful knowledge and connections pretty much disappeared. He is a wealthy and famous writer with political connections, so his pushiness and drive had to be muted, lest he end up bullying the other characters. Most of the time, his celebrity or fame would be ignored or forgotten during the team's encounters with suspects, when you might expect it to be a bigger deal, either lubricating their encounters with people who would not normally give the time of day to authority figures or look down their noses at working-class public servants, or else distracting the people they are supposed to be getting information from, drawing attention to their presence, and otherwise disrupting the investigation. When he would get involved in the action end of things, Castle usually ended up just bumbling along until the cops showed up with guns, or else contributed in a silly and juvenile manner. Indeed, that very childishness got so blown out of proportion, that it was an occasional shock to be reminded that this is a highly functional middle-aged adult man with a grown child.

So I would watch the show in the background while I did other stuff, because Stana Katic is on it, and Fillion is often amusing, even if that's really only scratching the surface of the range he showed in Firefly alone, which ran maybe a tenth of the length of Castle. But in the midseason finale, Castle helped crack the case by reaching out to a mafioso he had befriended while writing a book (the mafioso guest star he had befriended from early in season 5 was unavailable I suppose), to gain access to the world of the victim. He was able to question people who would not have said a word to his cop friends, head off a mob war and pretty much carry the load on the investigation for once. Granted, there was a lot of silly stuff, like Castle and the other white male cop acting like star-struck school boys over his being inducted into the oh-MARE-ta, as they over-pronounced it in every scene. But it was nice to realize as the episode drew to a close that he actually functioned as something more than comic relief or the bumbling romantic partner of the secret lead heroine. And then the boss came up to him as the other cops celebrated the precinct Christmas party to say that the appearances of his close association with the mob had caused bad publicity and potentially compromised the case, so he was no longer allowed to shadow the detectives or assist with investigations.

Eh. It's a Castle finale. They'll hit the reset button before the mid-season premier episode is over, right? Castle will go out and do something to save Beckett's life, or the Captain's job and everyone will say "Oh, never mind, welcome back ya big lunk!"

That's not what happened. Castle got a PI license and investigated the case on his own, beating the cops to almost every clue, even with a dearth of resources and no official power, his former "partner" turned wife had to come to him for help, with some mildly amusing double-entendres involving their sex life and investigative partnership, and Castle looked like a human being with a functioning brain for the first time in years. If they ever get around to the mystery of last season's cliffhanger ending, which was covered over with amnesia in this season's premier (yes, it's one of THOSE shows), this could get interesting. And the department still did not relent on letting him back, despite his friends missing him, so the show remains un-reset.

It's a bit premature, but I think this show's balls finally dropped. Halfway through season seven is better late than never.