Castle (TV series)/Tear Jerker

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • The climax of "Sucker Punch", and the sight of Beckett desperately trying to revive her mother's killer.
  • In last five minutes of the season two finale Beckett realizes that she's in love with Castle, dumps Schlemming, and tries to tell Castle that she loves him, only to be interrupted by his ex-wife/publisher/RomanticFalseLead, with whom he's going to the Hamptons for the summer -- with everyone watching.
  • The end of Kick the Ballistics When Ben is Shot by his Brother.
  • She has another private sad face after finding out that her former training officer is one a criminal. To get a trace on his phone, she also has to confess some of her private thoughts to him while everyone else is listening. To avoid a total break down, she then has to say that it was all an act.
  • Martha's reaction to Chet's death makes you feel for a character that never even appeared on screen.
  • In "Setup", Castle sending Alexis to the spa with her grandmother to get her out of the city in case the dirty bomb they're trying to find goes off. Just the look on Castle's face when Alexis looks away and the fake smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes...
  • "Setup" and "Countdown" give us Agent Fallon, whose wife was in the Towers on 9/11. He was on the phone with her when she died. Then at the end of "Countdown", he's on the phone with Castle and Beckett, unable to help them defuse a bomb.
  • "Knockdown" definitely had its moments.
  • "Knockout", the season 3 finale. Captain Montgomery's Dying Moment of Awesome, the Cliff Hanger, Montgomery was betraying them all, Kate gets shot.

Castle: Ssh, Kate. Stay with me, Kate. Don’t leave me, please. Stay with me, okay? Kate, I love you. I love you Kate.

  • The end of "When The Bough Breaks".
    • The interrogation of the victim's former husband rapidly turns into this as soon as he learns she's dead. He's clearly heartbroken when he learns this, and then he explains what tore them apart -- their young son, slowly dying of an incurable disease.

This was my family. We were happy once. Now they're gone from me. Both of them. Gone.

  • During "Kill Shot" when Beckett's worsening PTSD is keeping her from working the case, Esposito takes her into the back room to show her the rifle that shot her and talks her through what helped him.

Esposito: I've been where you are, I know what you're going through....You're not fine, you're just trying to act like you are. This is just a tool; it's a hunk of steel. It has no magical powers and the person that fired it is not some all-powerful god. It's just a guy with a gun. Just like the guy we're hunting now, and like every other bad guy, he's damaged goods.
Beckett So am I.
Esposito That's right, and that's ok. You think it's a weakness? Make it a strength. It's a part of you, so use it.

  • The part in "47 Seconds" where Castle, arriving late to the station and hearing Beckett interrogate a suspect, hears her say something that makes him realize she remembers him saying he loved her after she was shot and has kept him in the dark about it for the whole year. The look on his face is so heartbroken.
  • The look on Beckett's face in "The Limey" when she asks Castle if he's feeling okay - which is her unsure attempt at trying to ask him why he's been so distant the past few days, since she does not know he knows the truth about her trauma - and he says, "Never better" before heading towards the Body of the Week. She really has no idea how to get through to him and it's heartbreaking.
  • The episode "Always" has a large one when Castle reveals his secret deal to keep information from Beckett to save her life, while finally admitting his love for her. He can't stand to see her risk her life and makes the decision to walk away when she chooses her case over him. Also on Beckett's side when, despite her bravado about the case and anger towards him, she's clearly heartbroken and holding back tears when he actually does turn and walk away from her.
  • Beckett's resigning after failing to catch the man who shot her. Equally as tear jerking is a following scene when it turns out she doesn't care about catching him anymore, and simply wants Castle.