I know I'm crazy, but sometimes, fiction shakes me up.
Sometimes it's a book - every since reading Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, I've learned that I can cry reading a book. That first time was weird.
Sometimes it's a film - the gates have always opened easily for those.
And sometimes, it's on TV. I think the first time this happened, I was 8 or 9 and watching the Sailor Moon anime on TV. I still remember the episode and it was - wow - 20 years ago.
I've had these moments with TV shows every since I became a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Then followed Grey's Anatomy. Right now, I'm really, really into Castle.
Usually, such reactions happen for season finales, or "double episodes" that have a big cliffhanger at the end of the first episode, because those are deliberately epic. But last week's episode of Castle caught me completely by surprise, and swept me off my feet.
>> Assume spoilers from this point on <<
We already had the double ep of the season, and the season finale will be episode 24. So I got completely caught off guard by what begun like a completely normal/regular episode. I was even disappointed at first, because it seemed to repeat the scenario of a Grey's Anatomy episode, so I was kind of sad and thought "oh, no, they copy other shows now, they won't do anything original anymore".
It's quite hard, after 5 seasons, to be original, so that would be understandable, although still disappointing to me. Especially for Castle.
Anyway. Kate steps onto a bomb and cannot move for fear of triggering it (hello, Meredith Grey holding a bomb in a patient's body). Then the flashbacks begin (just like in GA, when Meredith starts imagining McDreamy is here instead of the bomb squad guy). But then...Then I got that awesome feeling I get when I watch a Castle episode that I know they made just for us, the real fans. Those who don't "just" watch Castle because it's a funnier version of CSI or Law & Order. Those who watch Castle because the character building had been too good, the history and the stories too realistic to pass on.
I get these feeling in movies sometimes, when they make geeky references only the true fans can understand. Last week, I got caught up in an episode of Castle that was just like a fan vid. They showed all the good moments from the past seasons, all the good times, as if Kate and Castle were remembering them while talking. That was surreal, and exactly perfect at the same time.
This episode was epic, because it was different, a tribute of the show, yet it stayed very true to the characters.
And that "I love you" confession was simply perfectly worded and perfectly timed, as always.
This relationship could have ruined the show, the chemistry, the tension. It's only made it better so far. So worth the 4 season wait.