Throw us a Curve, Castle

Last night marked yet another episode centered around some aspect of the adults-with-juvenile-taste industry.

This episode included a bow to the fact that the industry is ugly, exploitative, and evil. Of course, people in it were (generally) more sympathetic than “moral crusaders” . . . redeemed only by the love of daughters that evidently all people share, including people who exploit other people’s daughters when they are drunk.

Castle is always worth watching if only for Nathan Fillion, almost Jimmy Stewart in his likeableness though no James Stewart in his acting range. The show, however, is becoming a bit stale and so needs to throw us, the fan base, a curve or two not found in the porn industry.

Let Beckett have a moral crisis and refuse to sleep with Castle anymore until they are married.

As a character Castle is a lovable rogue, married twice before he meets Beckett but such a lad that even the ex-wives club is tolerant. He is emotionally constipated, sharing nothing about himself beyond bon homme. Castle is one of those guys you know really well in ten minutes and no better in ten years and that is a problem for him.

Over the course of the show, Castle has matured in his views toward parenting, women, and marriage. Seeing his daughter grow up in an immoral culture has helped . . . though he still foolishly believes that giving his opinion about things to his daughter and refusing to pay for “her life” would be a form of tyranny. Evidently turning eighteen magically gives a young adult the powers to avoid life-destroying errors and any “interference” by a community will threaten individualism. It might take a village to raise a kid in the world of script writers, but it only takes me to make my own decisions for me (insert Gollum voice here.)

But here is thought: Beckett’s character (like the actor who plays her) has shown signs of old-fashioned rectitude in the past. Why not have her join the sizable number (though a minority!) of Americans who don’t have sex outside of marriage. After all, no shacking before packing (as my wife calls it) is one of the best way to preserve a relationship.

I am told that the viewership of Castle skews right, so here is an idea: Let Beckett have a renewal of her (let’s say) childhood Catholic faith. Let her be the one person on television who is normal, but decides to obey the teachings of the Church. Let Castle wrestle with it . . . and decide she is worth a mass. Let them get married.

There must be at least two seasons of good writing in that. Yes?

If we can show a sympathetic porn magnate, surely in all of television we can have one sympathetic traditional Christian. Yes?