Shana Lieberman: In September of 2013, I wrote an article about Kate Beckett, given the simple title: “5 Things You Need To Know About Kate Beckett.” In it, I professed my love for the character and my admiration for Stana Katic.
Since that article was written, a lot has changed. Too much has changed, really. The series’ eighth season has been more about Richard Castle’s P.I. exploits than about a writer and his muse fighting crime. Controversial secondary characters have received more focus than the leading lady, and the Caskett relationship, which I will maintain until the day I die was the true story of CASTLE, was destroyed.
This past fall, I wrote my angry farewell to CASTLE as a reviewer, saying the series as we knew it was over. I wish I had been wrong. In some ways, I guess I was; I had no idea it would ever come to this. With today’s news regarding the firing of lead actress Stana Katic, CASTLE is no more. The story was about Richard Castle’s muse, seen through his eyes. It was as if viewers were watching his Nikki Heat books come to life on screen. It wasn’t supposed to be about him solving crimes with someone else, while his muse (now wife) was mysteriously absent. Dead? Run off because she just can’t stop tilting at windmills, even though previous series writing proved that she’d put that behind her? Who knows?
Better yet, who cares anymore?
Until today, I thought that there might still be some hope for the series; I thought I might one day love CASTLE again — especially after the Beckett-centric “Fidelis Ad Mortem,” which did its best to return the character to her badass roots. After the sixth season finale that turned her into a joke on what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, the character took a major hit. If series creator Andrew Marlowe had this to say way back in May of 2014, I should have known that “Fidelis Ad Mortem” was a bittersweet farewell to a beloved character instead of a triumphant return: “But she also always occupied the moral high ground with Castle and his previous relationships. And this is a way to humanize her a little bit. To take her down a peg in a way that’s very endearing to Castle.” (Source.)
After a season of “you like being broken” and names like “Captain Hoochie Mama,” I should have known better than to think this character would ever get the respect that she deserved, ever again…But I wanted so badly to have hope. Strike that: I needed to have hope.
Katherine Houghton Beckett was, at least up to and including CASTLE 6.22, “Veritas,” one of television’s most well-written, well-rounded, and well-respected female characters. She fit the mold of the “strong female character” that everyone’s always talking about, and she did it with a certain beauty and grace that should never have been possible in this world or any other. She was physically tough, able to take down criminals at least twice her size (who could forget that smashed interrogation room glass when she interviewed Vulcan Simmons?), and she did it all without sacrificing her femininity.
Beckett’s designer wardrobe, fabulous hair, and less-than-sensible shoes have been the subject of much debate over the years (could she really afford those things, could she possibly take down criminals in those heels, and how did her hair stay that gorgeous after tackling suspects or barely escaping situations with her life, etc.), but the reasoning behind those choices was what was important: Kate Beckett taught us, after years of seeing otherwise, that you could be the top female detective in the NYPD — and one of the top detectives, period — without having to sacrifice who and what you were. It was possible to be powerful in a male-dominated world without becoming more like a man.
I guess that’s not true anymore, though.
Beyond the physical toughness, Kate’s inner strength was what made me fall for her and, as a result, become a fan of CASTLE. She turned the event that derailed her young life — her mother’s murder — into a quest for justice that, ultimately, was fulfilled. Despite the difficulty of unraveling William Bracken’s conspiracy and the danger it posed to her life, Beckett never gave up. Bullet to the chest? That’s nice. PTSD? “You think it’s a weakness? Make it a strength.” Thrown off a roof? Whatever — I’ll just hang out here.
Beckett could’ve taken the easy way out. But she didn’t. She never could.
And yeah, if someone wants to label Beckett as broken? Sure, we’ll go there. Because she was broken at one point, but she worked her designer slacks-clad butt off to repair herself. After her mother’s murder, Beckett erected walls around her heart to protect herself. Over the years, she made some foolish decisions. “But we are more than our mistakes.” Roy Montgomery may have taught Beckett that, but it was Beckett who proved it, week after week. She could be impulsive; she could run headfirst into danger if it meant that her elusive answers may be there. She might break the rules from time to time, but she was always so much more than being “broken,” and she sure as hell didn’t like that part of herself. Nobody does.
Kate Beckett taught me that it was ok to be a little bit damaged. It was ok to fall down every so often, as long as I kept pulling myself back up again. That lesson, more than any, is what women and young girls everywhere needed to hear from a fictional role model. That…and maybe it was possible to have a happy ending after scaling one’s way back off that ledge (literally in KB’s case) time and time again. Maybe after facing the darkness day in and day out, there might be some light left.
What was lost with this news was not just the unparalleled talent of Stana Katic; it wasn’t just yet another “strong female character” getting axed in this year’s abysmal season, either. It was my belief in happy endings. It was my faith in justice, and it was any respect whatsoever for anything that happens at CASTLE after this.
I can’t imagine what Stana Katic is going through right now, considering how difficult the news has been for me to take as a mere fan — a nobody. After eight seasons of long hours on set, of suffering typical injustices toward female talent, of putting her heart and soul into this character…It’s all just gone for reasons that are utterly beyond anyone’s sense of logic.
Apparently, hard work doesn’t pay off. Being the shining star of a series like CASTLE and the reason people continue to watch, despite horrible storytelling decisions, counts for nothing if you’re the female lead instead of the leading man. Because of “budget cuts,” even though everybody knows pretty well by now that women get paid less than men on pretty much every Hollywood set. So, what are the real reasons for ousting CASTLE’s undisputed queen? We may never know the full story.
But here’s what I do know: Stana Katic deserved better. Kate Beckett deserved better. We all deserved better.
I know that whatever words we may write here will never, ever fully describe what this character meant to girls everywhere or how much respect we’ve had for the actress who portrayed her for eight long seasons.
And, most importantly, I know this much to be true: Wherever Stana Katic goes next, I’ll gladly follow. Always.
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