Kate Beckett from “Castle” (2009–2016)

Kate Beckett. I fell hopelessly in love with her, as I am sure most of you did.

She’s a young, smart, tough, ambitious cop at the 12th precinct in New York City. She was the topper of her class, and the youngest woman to make it as detective. She’s driven. Extremely driven to get justice, and she does what it takes to get the job done. If that means breaking a couple of laws, not playing by the rule book and insubordination along the way, she’s okay with it. She just wants the bad guys to get their due.

The reason behind this, of course, is the unsolved murder of her mother. This became the turning point in Kate Beckett’s life. It drove her to pursue a career as a homicide detective, and ended up producing the finest one in the city. She gives up hopes of ever finding her mother’s murderer, and buries them away. But I believe she channels all of that frustration and pain into every case she handles, which is why she solves them so well. She knows that nobody deserves the horror and trauma that she experienced.

Kate is so dedicated to putting away bad guys that she is pretty much married to her career. She is afraid to open up. She’s got a great bunch of friends at the precinct who’d do anything for her. Javier and Ryan, the other detectives on her team, are like her brothers who’d take a bullet for her. Literally. Lanie, the coroner, is her best girl friend whom she can run to for any sort of advice or girl talk. But do they really KNOW who Kate Beckett is? Her romantic relationships are vague and short lived. No one quite understands the mystery of Kate Beckett. Until… Richard Castle.

There is an instant attraction and sexual tension, between the two. And as they start working together, the chemistry between them is undeniable. Rick is drawn to the stunningly beautiful, tough, righteous and ambitious, but extremely kindhearted girl that Kate is. Kate isn’t immune to his rugged good looks, boyish charm and wit either. Together, they solve the hardest, most intricately committed murders in the city, and in the process fall hopelessly in love with each other!

Being extremely curious and possessing a strong drive to know about things, Rick starts digging into Kate’s past. He is determined to get close to her, determined to break her, and she is determined to keep him at bay even though she loves him. Being driven by her tragic past has become a way of life for her. She’s so hurt by it, and she let’s it consume and define her. Any other way of life frightens and intimidates her. She’s addicted to her job, and putting away bad guys. Normalcy and love are things she’s terrified of. And yet, when Rick brings up the possibility of solving her mother’s murder after all these years, she is infuriated and is unable to deal with it.

Rick and Kate pull and push each other away throughout the series. And they repeatedly realize that they need each other, and their lives are so much better with each other around. Their is a sweet, sometimes frustrating love story, and is one of the main plot lines of the series. It’s a classic case of opposites attract sprinkled with anticipation, comedy, lots of thrills, sexuality and a little bit of sappy sweetness. Rick changes Kate’s world in ways she never even thought possible, and she realizes that it’s okay to need someone or to enjoy their presence. It doesn’t make you weak or vulnerable.

Throughout the series, we also discover the several other facets of Kate Beckett’s personality. Despite the toughness, she’s kind, compassionate, funny, sweet and can get really possessive and protective about the people she cares about.

She’s ambitious enough to not let go of her individuality and her dreams. No man, not even Richard Castle, could get in her way when she was offered a spot in the FBI. That’s the kind of woman we should all aspire to be, don’t you think? And the right guy will stand by you anyway.

She’s drop dead gorgeous and men are always trying to hit on her. She’s already very tall, but wears high heels to work everyday. She even chases down criminals wearing them…. And actually manages to catch the criminals. Wearing the heels can be interpreted as appearing tall to exert power in a male dominated field, but in one episode it’s revealed that Kate ‘just likes’ to wear high heels.

Other than her mother’s murder, she has a rather colorful past. She’s had multiple, very handsome boyfriends, and even married one of her crazier boyfriends on a drunken whim in Las Vegas. She was also quite a successful model in her youth. It’s revealed in one episode that she was supposed to be in the editorial spread of a really high end fashion magazine, but turned it down. She’s got a penchant for motorbikes and can put the best fighters to shame in a wrestling match. And despite her tom boy nature, she cleans up real good in a cocktail dress. Oh, and she can fight in one too.

In some ways, she’s a little too perfect. Some may argue that she’s a manic pixie dream girl. There are certain aspects of Kate Beckett that are totally not relatable. But you simply can’t help but admire her, aspire to be like her in some ways, and fall in love with her over and over again.

She’s beautiful, has a dark past that drives her, has a few weaknesses, is super righteous, and does what it takes to get the job done. She’s your quintessential super hero. Only without the secret identity and the cape.

(Images and gifs from various sources on Google.)