Midseason review: Is ABC’s ‘Castle’ season 5 delivering the goods?

We’re going to be waiting for a few weeks now before we witness the return of “Castle” season 5 on January 7, and with that in mind the following question has to be asked: are we enjoying it so far? If we were to answer that question in a word, we could do so very easily: yes. While there have been some episodes (“Swan Song,” “After Hours”) that have been a little bit ho-hum, getting Castle and Beckett together has allowed some of the drama to subside, which brings the show back to where we like it best: a fun whodunit with characters that viewers can get behind from all directions.

After starting the season on a dramatic note, executive producer Andrew W. Marlowe did the right thin in revealing the man right away responsible for the death of Beckett’s mother in Senator Bracken. With that monkey off the show’s back, it could place the focus elsewhere on allowing the relationship between our two lead characters to develop … and boy, has it. Who would’ve thought a few years ago that these two characters would be spending Christmas together, and communicating well during investigations?

While some mysteries may have been stronger, clearly the standout of season 5 (and possibly one of the show’s best episodes ever) has to be the stellar “The Final Frontier,” which was a love letter to sci-fi rather than a mockery of it. In addition to the obvious “Firefly” references, it was that rare hour where we had not only a fair share of funny moments, but an opportunity to learn something about all of the characters that we did not know previously. The midseason finale in “Secret Santa” was in many ways similar, since we did not know so much about Beckett or Esposito’s histories with the holiday.

If there is one thing that season 5 could work on moving forward, it would be trying to establish some of the question-mark relationships better. Or Esposito and Lanie ever going to take a step forward, or even a step back? The holding pattern here is getting frustrating. We would also like to see this mystery man that Alexis is starting to see, largely because watching the overprotective Rick deal with another man having his daughter’s affection could be comedic gold.

What do you think about “Castle” season 5 thus far, and what you like to see the show do moving forward? If you want to find out who from the show’s past is going to be returning soon, you can find out by clicking the story over at the link here.

Photo: ABC