Tonight on ABC, CASTLE’s 5th season comes to a shocking conclusion – with a lot more questions raised than answered. The show was recently picked up for a 6th season, and to celebrate the finale and renewal, I spent some time chatting with Alexis Castle herself, Molly Quinn, about what’s coming up tonight, her possibly controversial take on Caskett, and what she remembers most from her 100+ episodes of the show!

I put a call out for questions today and one of the biggest things that came up were people saying “thank her for a great season.”
Wow, we all really appreciate that, and we hope that next season is even better [laughs]!

Being a part of the show for so long, past the 100 episode mark – what’s it been like to be involved in this long-running series, and what is a favorite memory from the years?
It’s been an honor being on such a wonderful show for so long.  I can’t tell you how humbled I am that so many people love our show, and that we’ve been able to continue our art, and that people appreciate it.  That’s the biggest thing.  Favorite memories?  Meeting Nathan for the first time, and really clicking.  Being such a gracious guy, being a real team leader.  I’ve worked on other shows where people who are supposed to be the leader don’t pick up the mantel. It’s a difficult job, and he does it extremely well.  When we were filming the pilot in NY, Nathan set up a scavenger hunt around NYC, playing CLUE essentially – it was everyone.  Nathan, Stana [laughs], I want to go with “Ryan and Esposito,” but you know who I mean!  It was all of our first time to get together and know each other.  Props to Nathan for doing this, and letting us experience something besides just working on set together.  We had just eaten this Italian food, and it started to rain, so Stana grabs my hand, and we start sprinting down the streets of Little Italy, just skipping and laughing, while the rain is coming down.  We were completely soaked.  It’s one of my all-time favorite memories.  It was a little kid; I was 14. To have these people be so nice, and take you under their wing, it’s so magical!

Coming up on the finale – what can you tease about what we can expect at the end of this season?
Prepare to be shocked!  It’s completely shocking.  Everyone is aware that something is up.  Something does not smell right, and of course Beckett is not going to say what it is, because she’s a very private person, and kudos to her for that, but when you’re in a relationship with colleagues that you work with all of the time, and you’re in a relationship, dating someone, you have to start sharing what’s going on inside your head, and she doesn’t do that and it leads to problems.

Talking about the relationship coming together – as Molly, as a fan of the show, what are your thoughts on Castle and Beckett coming together, and how does Alexis feel about this relationships?
That’s the problem!  [laughs]  As a fan, I more enjoyed seasons 1 and 2 to where as much as Beckett liked this really charming man, she was going to stay professional and she wasn’t going to get into that.  And Alexis really respected her for that as well.  Alexis loves the friendship between her dad and Detective Beckett.  I don’t know that she’s so gung ho on the relationship.  From a selfish point of view, it takes away her time with her dad because he now has someone else.  She doesn’t want to see this great friendship – you know if you have a great friendship and you try to start a relationship, if it doesn’t work, the whole thing gets scrapped.  She knows that her dad kind of marries people and they’re together a year, and it’s over because that’s his personality.  We’re going to have to see if Castle’s point of view on relationships has grown.  And we’re going to have to see if Det Beckett is ready to put her career on the backburner so she can really start a committed relationship.

What conversations have happened about what we’ll see next season, and where we go after the finale?
Ha, no idea!  I can only fantasize – I cannot say!

What would you love to see – if Andrew came to you and said “what would you love to see for Alexis,” what would you say?
I would like to see, and I think everyone enjoyed this, and I know that I absolutely loved it.  I would love to see her working in the precinct with Lainey.  I would like to see a real relationship start between Alexis and some boyfriend and that we actually get to see him, and not just talk about it.  I would like to see something like that come up.

I love the episode with Alexis being kidnapped – is that stuff you’d like to see more of from the character?
That’s a complicated questions – as Alexis on CASTLE, she needs to stay with her dad, and kind of be the backbone of her family.  As an actor, I want to do more roles where I am kicking ass, and getting kidnapped, and overall being like Angelina Jolie in TOMB RAIDER.    That is what I want, but I can’t be both!  I have to think about the character of Alexis – I would love to see her be more of the moral standard, as she always has been.

What else do you have going on during hiatus?
There are some things up in the air.  Right now, I’m doing pre-production. I’m on a scout right now in Montgomery, MA, for a study that will shoot in October, so it’s exciting to be in the beginning stages of a film!

For more information on CASTLE, head to ABC’s site! Don’t miss the fantastic season 5 finale tonight on ABC at 10/9c!