Castle Season 5 is still two months away, and it was only this past week that production started on the premiere. Nonetheless, when TVLine visited the popular ABC procedural’s Hollywood soundstage on Wednesday, there was a criminally good amount of intel to be secured, as I spoke to series creator Andrew Marlowe and cast members Stana Katic, Jon Huertas and Seamus Dever.

To kick off our multi-part in-depth look at the new season — which among other things will reveal the aftermath (afterglow?) of the Castle/Beckett coupling, deal with a rather acrimonious break-up and perhaps afford closure on Johanna Beckett’s murder — here are quick answers to some reader questions submitted to our @TVLineNews feed. (Again, there will be much more to come — including but by no means limited to Katic’s allusion to “really wonderful lovemaking” — as Castle‘s Sept. 24 opener draws closer.)

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Q | Will we have a time-jump?

Not really, no. “We’re picking up the morning after” Rick and Kate finally fell into each other’s arms (and his bed), says Marlowe, “and we get to see what that looks like. We see how they both reacted to her coming over and the decisions that she’s made and the situation that they now find themselves in. But as with any great moment you have in a relationship, it can’t last, because real life intrudes.”

Q | What kind of fallout can we expect from Beckett’s resignation?

“The thing about [Captain] Gates and the relationship with Kate,” says Katic, “is that you’ve got two strong women who in a great way really know each other.” As such, the intense emotions that led to Kate’s parting of ways may be tempered by cooler heads. “Gates is very aware of the fact that [Beckett] is a very powerful member of her police force and a valuable person to have on her team,” says Katic. And what’s in it for Kate? “There’s value in working for justice for others until you can fully enact justice for your own,” the actress teases, alluding to Beckett’s new slow-and-steady-wins-the-race mentality about cracking her mom’s murder. “She’s kind of like a cobra lying in wait, and when the moment is right to strike, she will.”

Q | When will Kate be back at the precinct?

It sounds as if Beckett will have her badge back sooner rather than later. “In the first episode she’s not [back on the force],” says Marlowe. “But… there’s not a show if she’s not investigating.”

Q | I’ve heard lots of rumors about Castle and Beckett, but I want to hear about my fave duo, Ryan and Esposito! What’s in store?

For one, a whole lotta bromantic tension that “definitely doesn’t get resolved in this first episode,” says Huertas. “Esposito is a pretty loyal guy, and he and Beckett are like brother and sister, so for Ryan to kind of go behind our backs and show a disloyalty to our team … undermines a trust. It’s going to be quite hard to get back in Esposito’s graces.” Standing up for his own character, Dever says, “The end justifies the means, and Beckett is alive because Ryan told Gates that we were still investigating Beckett’s mother’s murder, and we were able to save her off the ledge.” But with each fella holding his ground, “There’s mending that needs to happen,” Dever says, “and we’re unsure when it’s going to happen or if it’s going to happen.”

Q | Will we see more of Jim Beckett this season?

That is certainly Katic’s hope, to have Scott Paulin (JAG) back as her TV dad, who last surfaced in Season 4’s opener. After all, she offers, “What is better than the comedy between the new boyfriend and the father?” Or taking it a juicy step further, Marlowe proposes a “‘meet the parents’ episode where Jim Beckett and Martha and Castle and Beckett are all together at dinner. What does that look like?”

Q | Will we find out more about Castle’s father this season?

Yes — though Marlowe says there is still “a lot of talking” going on about exactly what that story will involve. As he notes, “It really is delicate territory and we know we have one shot to do it right… We have some ideas, but we have to see how they develop out, and that’s going to take us another month or so.”

Q | Can you tell us more about Jack Coleman’s character on Castle? Will he be in multiple episodes?

Yes, the Heroes alum will appear in multiple episodes as, we originally reported, “a well-liked U.S. senator who finds himself in conflict with Beckett.” Asked to elaborate during my set visit, Marlowe hesitated, only adding: “I can say that Jack Coleman plays somebody who has some knowledge about what may have gone on back in the day with Montgomery, and may have some information as to what actually went on with Kate’s mother’s murder.”

Q | Are any two-parters planned?

Though Castle has a tradition of sorts for uncorking a wowza two-parter every spring, usually fronted by a “name” guest star, Marlowe is iffy on a fourth trip to that well. For one, he says, “Unless a comet’s going to hit the Earth and Castle and Beckett are going to develop super-powers, I’m not sure how you get bigger” than the previous three arcs. So if anything, any next two-parter would be quieter, more personal. “If we do something this year, it’s because we’ve had a really smart, clever idea that we think can really bring something significant to the audience in a new and interesting way.”

Q | Will Maddox (played by Tahmoh Penikett) return, or does he take a well-deserved dirt nap?

The Dragon’s sniper henchman who has vowed to put Beckett “in the ground” will resurface in the first episode, says Marlowe.

Q | When do we get to see Beckett’s bedroom?

You will finally lay eyes on the heretofore-unseen boudoir no later than the season premiere. (And no, her bed is not round. “What is this, Scarface?” Katic quips.)

Q | Will we ever find out if Beckett really does have a tattoo?

Whether viewers are ever made privy to the teased piece if ink remains to be seen, but Marlowe says this much: “I think it’s safe to say that Rick has seen Kate’s tattoo.”

