Nathan Fillion Agreed That the ‘Castle’ Finale Wasn’t a Good Send-off
Actor Nathan Fillion didn’t take long to find work in The Rookie after Castle‘s 2016 cancellation. Looking back on the way the series ended, Fillion might’ve been just as disappointed in it as some of the show’s fans.
Nathan Fillion once shared what he thought about the ending of ‘Castle’
Castle had an ending that wasn’t received well by some fans of the show. As viewers might remember, the very ending of the series showed Fillion’s Richard Castle and Stana Katic’s Kate Beckett as a happily married couple with three kids. This might’ve been the trajectory that some figured the show would be headed in. Even Castle itself teased this outcome throughout the series.
The on-and-off relationship between Castle and Beckett was one of the most captivating parts of the show for fans. Beckett, a straight-laced officer, was initially put off by Castle’s immature behavior and occasional disregard for police etiquette. But overtime, opposites attracted, and the pair found themselves getting closer and closer each season.
But fans might not have been as disappointed by Castle and Beckett’s relationship if it was executed better. Given where Beckett and Castle left off in season 8, there was little explanation as to how they ended up the couple they were destined to be. Instead, their future relationship was up to fans to interpret. The ending was so open-ended, however, that it ironically left little for the imagination to work with.
Even Suicide Squad star Fillion voiced his displeasure with the final product.
“It wasn’t the beautiful send-off that I think maybe you could hope for,” he once told New York Post.
‘Castle’ showrunner Alexi Hawley hoped the show’s final shot never saw the light of day
It turned out that the show’s abrupt ending wasn’t entirely its fault. Castle was canceled with little warning in the middle of production. As much as Fillion enjoyed his time on the series, he wasn’t too heartbroken over its conclusion. He understood that it wasn’t anything personal.
“It’s the entertainment industry, it’s a business, I get it. I don’t take it personally when a show gets canceled — I can’t take it personally, all my shows gets canceled! Look at my resume, it’s a long list of canceled TV shows,” he said.
It also didn’t come off as too much of a surprise for Fillion and series showrunner Alexi Hawley at the time. Hawley seemed to know there was a chance that the show wouldn’t see past season 8. Castle was already experiencing a deep decline in ratings with little chance of recovery.
Apart from that, the show’s network, ABC, took much longer to announce Castle‘s renewal than it did for prior seasons. And the troubles didn’t end there, as it was announced Katic wasn’t going to be a part of Castle after season 8. There were rumors that tension between Katic and Fillion might’ve caused her departure, but these claims have never been substantiated.
Hawley shot the final scenes of the series as a precaution. He was aware it might not live up to fans’ expectations. Still, it was either leave them with a series finale, or leave them with an unanswered cliffhanger that would never get resolved.
“If we hear that we’re not coming back, we have shot something that we can put at the end of the episode as a way to put a button on everything,” Hawley once told Entertainment Weekly. “Obviously that would be a bad thing because it would mean no more. We did it in order to try to protect the fans, because you can’t end the series on a cliffhanger.”
If it was up to Hawley, fans of the show would’ve never learned that final shot of the series ever existed.
“The hope is that it never sees the light of day,” co-showrunner Terence Paul Winter said.
But judging from fan reactions, they might’ve been better off leaving the Castle season 8 cliffhanger unfinished.
