Fans of ABC's Castle were in for a shock during Monday night's winter finale, with yet another twist rocking the show's world.

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Castle SPOILERS ahead:

Well, Stana Katic (who plays Beckett) did say that the Christmas episode would "change the shape" of the show. The Castle winter finale featured the NYPD officially cutting ties with Castle (Nathan Fillion) after Captain Gates (Penny Johnson Jerald) found out about his ties to the mob.

'Castle' Star Stana Katic Reveals Theme Of Season 7

As for what this means for the show going forward, show runner David Amann did not reveal much, however he did say that Castle would be pursing "the private investigator angle" now.

"And part of that is driven by his desire to work with Beckett, even though he is no longer officially able to do so. He will follow that to its natural conclusion," Amann told TVLine after the episode.

So will this new development allow Castle to investigate the mystery behind his vanishing at the beginning of the season? Not so fast.

"I think that in light of the fact that he is just starting out as a private investigator, he'll be mainly focused on [his new job]," Amann said when asked about this storyline.

Amann said that the vanishing plot would "probably" pick back up again in the two-parter of episode 14 and 15, slated to air in February.

It remains to be seen if Castle and Beckett will be reunited in the workplace anytime soon or if they will be forced to stay apart.

Castle returns for the rest of season 7 Monday, Jan. 12 on ABC.

Watch the promo for the next episode of Castle here:

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Castle, Television, ABC