Is "Castle" going in the right direction?

I've really been enjoying this season of Castle, but the recent development in the show has disappointed me. When Beckett got the job in D.C. at the end of last season, I was all for it. After all these seasons of this will-they-won't-they tension, and then Castle and Beckett finally getting together (and the relationship progressing beautifully, in my opinion), I totally thought a long-distance relationship could work between these two. And it did in the beginning of the current season. Yes, it was a strain being so far apart, but both Castle and Beckett are mature adults who have really worked for this relationship. The long distance thing was totally working, Beckett was enjoying her job at the FBI, Castle was generally interfering at the 12th precinct but things were even going okay on that front--and then the writers felt the need to put in the tension of, "Is Beckett really happy at her D.C. job?"

Now, I know the writing on Castle has never been that great, but I thought it was the best it's ever been at the beginning of the current season because of Castle and Beckett being apart. Beckett was off doing her dream job while also maintaining a happy, healthy adult relationship. She wasn't letting a man or woman or situation or anyone hold her back in any way, but she also wasn't a bitch (which is what women are always worried about being when they're strong and independent). It was probably near-perfect writing.

She was the ideal role model for women and girls everywhere, right? I thought so. And then the writers or producers or whoever involved with the show felt the pressure to bring Beckett back to New York so the old dynamic of the show could be established. I love the old dynamic, but I had already gotten used to the new one, and loved it too. It felt right, and more importantly, it felt real. Their relationship was an example of something that could happen in real life.

I wish the writers hadn't written in a contrived way to get Beckett back to New York. Her storyline showed a woman living her own life while also being in a healthy relationship with a man. Castle was always very supportive and respectful of Beckett's wishes and decisions, and taking away what Beckett wanted most with sub-par writing seems like a step in the wrong direction to me.