Review: Castle: The Complete Eighth Season DVD

THE SEASON — 3.0/5

Season Synopsis: Their fiery love affair has kept your pulse pounding week after week for the past eight seasons. Now, the heartfelt final chapter of Rick Castle (NATHAN FILLION) and Kate Beckett (STANA KATIC) comes to an end as one of the most beloved couples in television history match wits with their ultimate rival in a light that will define their future.

The season begins with a bang as a call from a mysterious stranger puts Beckett on the run and sets off an explosive chain of events. The action heats up when Castle’s daughter, Alexis (MOLLY C. QUINN), joins her father to solve the case of a lifetime. Fresh faces and unforgettable characters from the past join the precinct in a year full of devastating twists and turns.

Quick Hit Review: I’ve enjoyed Castle over the past several years mainly because of the palpable chemistry that existed between stars Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic. However, things changed once the two characters became a couple and even further once they were married. They lost a certain edge which at times was overcome thanks to some interesting storylines. That said, those same stories in the last couple of seasons, this final one included, had a certain “jump the shark” feeling such as, in season seven, when one episode had shades of Face/Off.

And this year the writers, perhaps feeling they weren’t quite sure what to do with the couple (or maybe Fillion and Katic weren’t on the of best terms even then), but a bulk of the season Castle and Beckett were mostly kept apart beginning with the two-part season premiere where Beckett is on the run from numerous hitmen intent on taking out anyone involved with the Attorneys General task force and the drama that occurred during her time there (which if I recall was the sixth season).

For the most part, this eighth season of Castle isn’t bad but the series was showing its age in spots, although with Richard Castle opening his own P.I. firm, with daughter Alexis working for him, it seemed the writers did have some plans for a ninth season had it continued, I just wonder where they could’ve taken his relationship with Beckett beyond her character getting pregnant (the last logical step). For fans, season eight has its moments and while it may not have gone out on top quality wise, personally I was at least moderately entertained by some of the stories.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5

The 5-disc set is housed in a clear DVD case and comes with a slip cover.

Episode Commentaries – ‘Cool Boys’ with Actors Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin; ‘Heartbreaker’ with Actors John Huertas and Seamus Dever & Writer Barry O’Brien

The Great Escape (10:43) is a feature where the cast, sans Katic and Dever, are locked in an escape room and the challenge is to see how well they’ve honed their detective skills to get out.

Deleted Scenes (TRT 1:54) – A few episodes had some scenes removed, though nothing of note.

Bloopers (6:27)

VIDEO — 4.0/5, AUDIO — 3.75/5

The Dolby Digital 5.1 track provides for clear dialogue levels as well as some decent enough depth for those suspense-filled, score-heavy sequences. It’s nothing outstanding but still a (very) modest step up from how it aired.

OVERALL – 3.5/5

Overall, while Castle: The Complete Eighth Season is one of the weaker seasons, there were still some entertaining episodes here and there even if the writing wasn’t as tight and the relationship between Castle and Beckett seemed… off. While it’s probably a good thing the studio pulled the plug, I wouldn’t have minded a 13-episode ninth season to nicely wrap things up, though without Stana Katic, that would’ve been difficult. As for this DVD release, the features are rather weak, not even a series wrap-up featurette.