CASTLE Season 8 Premiere: ‘XY’ You Ask, I Answer

CASTLE’s eighth season kicks off in a unique way: when Beckett goes missing, the first hour of the premiere tracks Castle (and the team’s) quest to find out what happened to her. (We’ll see what went down from her point of view in the second episode of the season, “XX.”)

I had the chance to watch the first episode, “XY,” and was able to answer a few of your questions about the hour. As a reminder, the intention of this is never to ruin the viewing experience, so these are more teases than flat-out spoilers.

Here’s what I can say about “XY”…

Do we get an understanding about what BECKETT is doing? I know this is told from his perspective but is it confusing? – ‏@elmerspears via Twitter

We get more of an abstract idea of what Beckett is doing — we see her, we know a good number of her actions, but the “why” of it all is less clear.

Well, just give me some DETAIL on Caskett, because the showrunners didn’t say anything! LOL Thanks! – @telopidoxfavor via Twitter

The duo share a very sweet — literally and figuratively — moment in the premiere. And while that interaction will provide a vital clue when Beckett disappears shortly after, it’s not the only time they cross paths in the hour.

[H]ow intense on a scale of 1-10 is this season premiere? – @leriam10 via Twitter

Hmm…maybe a 7? There are certainly moments of intensity in the first part of the hour — and one sequence I’d rate at either a 9/10, because yikes, the writers have come up with a creative way to torture someone  — but the episode also gives its character room to exist without it being non-stop stress.

And a few teases…

• Jack Coleman’s return in the first hour is brief, but delightful.
• Castle finds fans in the most bizarre places.
• Castle’s P.I. office also got the most Castle-appropriate upgrade.
• It’s never easy to bring a new character into a long-running show — especially while its core characters are in the midst of a crisis — but I really enjoyed Toks Olagundoye’s Hayley. The writers quickly set up who she is, why she operates the way she does, and Olagundoye brought a fun spark to her interactions with the regular characters.
• Alexis has been very busy having her own adventures off-screen…much to the surprise of her father.