The First Look At Stana Katic's Final Castle Episode Is Emotional

ABC has not yet made a statement regarding whether or not Castle will be returning to the schedule for Season 9. Regardless, whether or not Rick Castle is back on the case next fall, he will be doing so without his partner in crime-solving Kate Beckett, played by Stana Katic. There are only a couple of episodes left to air this season, and this week, ABC released a bunch of information regarding the Castle Season 8 finale, including the emotional photo, below. Check it out.

Castle photo

We’ve known for a while that Castle has every intention of wrapping up the LokSat plotline. We also know that Castle Season 8 was written as a series-ender, so if ABC does decide to cancel the show, the overarching plot will still be wrapped up. And while it is looking like Nathan Fillion and at least some of the show’s cast may still get the opportunity to come back next fall, the Caskett plotline will officially be over and done with, but not before the characters engage in a park smooch for the ages.

It’s a good thing the two leads have spent the time since winter hiatus working to get back on the same page, but all may not end well for the two characters. The finale, “Crossfire,” also has a really ominous-sounding logline, which discusses how Castle and Beckett might be in some major danger:

With their best lead in hand, Castle and Beckett are ready to take on LokSat. But an unforeseen twist puts their case – and their lives – in jeopardy.

Between the logline and a few other pictures that depict Rick Castle and Kate Beckett up against a wall—literally--I’m a little concerned about how this Kate Beckett exit is going to go.

Castle 2

TV has grown fond of killing off characters in recent years, and while Castle has never seemed like a show that is going in that direction, I can’t come up with a ton of theories regarding how Kate Beckett could be written off of the ABC drama. Sure, a lot of times when characters leave procedurals they take on duties elsewhere or whatever but I’m really not certain how Castle will wrap up its storyline in a way that will write out not one but a couple of characters on the show. (Tamala Jones is also being written off.)

Castle airs on Monday nights at 10 p.m. ET, following Dancing with the Stars. The Season 8 finale of the ABC drama is expected to air on May 16. Here's what else TV has coming up this summer.

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.