I've enjoyed most of the serious Castle episodes in the past because they upped the stakes and they were generally well-written episodes. Increasingly, these serious episodes have been changed to add more melodrama and the annoying will-they-won't-they dynamic. This reaches a new height in "Rise," with all sorts of manufactured drama. Kate's boyfriend wants to attack Castle, Beckett explains the wall she has, and finally Beckett tells her psychologist Worf that she remembers everything, which would include Castle's admission of his love. Oh, the drama!
The problem is, Castle isn't a show built upon these "moments," but its charm, something severely lacking in the episode. The episode in Los Angeles was intense at times but could fall back on humor. In "Rise," however, things are too dark to find the funny.
Score: 8.2/10
