We are mere days away from the Castle season 5 premiere, but that may be far too long for you to wait. Fortunately for you, we here at BuddyTV have seen the premiere episode, “After the Storm,” and can share a few secrets. What five things do you need to know about the Castle season 5 premiere?

WARNING: While none of these secrets give away too much, you might still classify them as Castle season 5 spoilers. Only you can decide whether to read them or not.

In case you had somehow managed to forget the awesomeness with which Castle ended season 4, this is where the show stands: Beckett nearly died when Cole Maddox (guest star Tahmoh Penikett) — the man who shot her in the season 3 finale — came after the detective. Only Ryan’s interference saved Beckett from falling off of a building. After that, Esposito was angry at Ryan for his betrayal, Gates suspended both Esposito and Beckett, and Beckett had a revelation in a rainstorm.

Then she showed up at Castle’s door and fell into his arms…

What happened next? That is the question the Castle season 5 premiere is going to answer for us. Picking up on the morning after Beckett and Castle kissed, both romance and the case of who murdered Beckett’s mother continues.

Obviously, you will need to watch the premiere to get much more information about this episode. But here are five things to hold you until then:

  • The episode begins in bed. Who is in that bed and whether or not he or she is alone will need to remain a mystery until the season 5 premiere. But I can assure you that it is definitely not a dream.
  • Ryan and Esposito still have things to work out. They do speak to each other in “After the Storm,” but they are not friendly.
  • Prepare to see Alexis as you have never seen her before.
  • You know how, every once in awhile, we get to see how truly badass Detective Kate Beckett is? Prepare to experience a whole new level of badass-dom in this episode. It’s almost breathtaking.
  • Despite more than one night’s sleep without time to style it and despite an explosion and despite running all over the city of New York, Beckett’s hair has never looked better.

Is that enough? Probably not, but it’s all I have to offer until Castle returns on Monday, September 24 at 10pm on ABC.

(Images courtesy of ABC)

Laurel Brown

Senior Writer, BuddyTV

Laurel grew up in Mamaroneck, NY, Grosse Pointe, MI and Bellevue WA. She then went on to live in places like Boston, Tucson, Houston, Wales, Tanzania, Prince Edward Island and New York City before heading back to Seattle. Ever since early childhood, when she became addicted to The Muppet Show, Laurel has watched far too much TV. Current favorites include ChuckModern FamilySupernaturalMad Men and Community. Laurel received a BA in Astrophysics (yes, that is possible) from Colgate University and a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies and History of Science from Columbia University before she realized that television is much better than studying.