u/CaskettFan1960

Original Airdate: October 4, 2010

 

Synopsis: The team investigates the murder of a bail bondsman which soon has Castle’s imagination running into overdrive after a coded document is discovered on the victim. Add to the mix the sudden appearance of Beckett’s former training officer, Mike Royce, who is now a bounty hunter. Contrary to what IMdB has in their description, at no time does Beckett and Royce’s reunion turn romantic.

 

Notable Guest Stars: Jason Beghe, who portrays Mike Royce, now has the lead role of Sgt. Hank Voight on ‘Chicago P.D.’ Btw, just like a former co-star on another ‘Once Chicago’ show who appeared in Season 2, Hank Voight is why I don’t watch ‘Chicago PD.’ His character first appeared as a semi-bad guy on ‘Chicago Fire.’ At one point, his character of Hank Voight was sent to prison. On ‘Chicago PD,’ his character is something of an anti-hero.

 

The ‘One Chicago’ shows are part of the Dick Wolf franchise. I’m dating myself here, but I consider Dick Wolf to be the Quinn Martin of the late 20^(th) century to the present. If you don’t know who Quinn Martin is, Google him. Mr. Beghe’s last name is pronounced ‘Be-Gay.’ He doesn’t like his name being mispronounced based on how prickly he was to the host of a Paley Center honors featuring Dick Wolf’s shows. His gravelly voice is the result of an automobile accident in 1999.
The accident was severe enough that he had to be intubated. He kept pulling the tube out. Another bit of trivia: he is a former Scientologist. While I don’t like the character of Hank Voight, I like Jason Beghe very much.

 

James Handy, who portrays Clifford Stuckey, was allegedly stabbed to death by his girlfriend’s son on June 6, 2026. He appeared in ‘Jumanji’ and ‘Top Gun: Maverick.’ I say 'allegedly' because innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

 

The IMdB Portion of The Review:

 

Trivia: The Dodge Challenger driven by Royce is the same one Leroy Jethro Gibbs gets from his father on ‘NCIS.’

 

Goofs: It has to be hard playing a corpse because the corpse in this episode takes a deep breath while on the slab in the morgue.

 

Ranking: This one was #8 for me.

 

What I Liked About This Episode:

 

·       This was a crazy episode with a lot of suspects. We also learn more about Kate Beckett when she was younger. We learned she is the proud owner of a 1994 Harley Soft Tail motorcycle, which drove her parents crazy. Her dad even threatened to send her to a nunnery. Her mother just told her to remember how much she hated hearing her say ‘I told you so.’

·       We meet Kate’s T.O., Mike Royce, who is retired and working as a bounty hunter. Unfortunately, all is not what it seems with Royce’s appearance, which leads to Kate getting her heart broken later in the episode.

·       Like I said earlier, there were a lot of suspects. Among them were two ex-cons, a minister (who actually turned out to be the only person who wasn’t a suspect), the bail bondsman’s wife, and the aforementioned bounty hunter. I think this might be the most suspect’s in any episode.

·       My favorite suspect was Clifford Stuckey. He pulled off quite by appearing to be a feeble old man who needed a walker to get around. The gig is up, however, when Ryan and Esposito try to bring him back to the precinct for further questioning. He manages to give them the slip, which is very funny.

 

Esposito: We’re never going to hear the end of this.

 

·       Then there is the folded-up piece of paper which is found in the murder victim’s shoe. It does look like something out of Mad Magazine, or one of those paper fortune tellers, as Alexis points out. Do kids still make those? I remember they were all the rage when I was in elementary school. But I’m not even going to say what year that was. It ends up being a treasure map with the words ‘Under the Gun’ printed on it.

·       Speaking of Alexis, she is the subject of the sub-plot in this episode. Again. I’ll try not to trash her too hard, but she comes across as being extremely spoiled in this episode. I remember being a kid and wanting something very badly. But those wants were quickly dashed by hearing the word ‘No’ from either my mother or my father. I agree with Castle regarding Alexis and the Vespa. Automobile drivers are not always kind to people on scooters and motorcycles. Although Vespas are cool.

 

Castle: It’s not you I’m worried about. Driving in New York . . . it’s like a Mad Max movie.

 

·       The Affluenza story Castle tells Alexis later is based on a case that occurred in my home state of Texas in 2013, with tragic results.

·       One of my favorite scenes is when Castle shows Beckett the picture of Alexis on the Vespa and wants to know why his daughter wants one so badly.

 

Castle: You were a girl once.

Beckett: Still am.

Castle: Can you tell me why my daughter wants one of these so badly?

Beckett: Well, bikes are what girls want when we realize we’re never going to get a pony.

Castle: Did you have one?

Beckett: I still do. ’94 Harley Soft Tail. Worked all of high school to pay for it. (That might explain why she modeled instead of working as a waitress).

Castle: And how did your parents feel about it?

Beckett: Well, my dad threatened to send me to a nunnery. And my mom just shook her head and said, ‘Katie, every time you ride that thing, just remember how much you hate hearing me tell you ‘I told you so.’ You know what this means, don’t you?

Castle: No. What?

Beckett: Well, Alexis is entering her wild child phase. (Question: why does she start almost every sentence with ‘Well?’)

Castle: My daughter? Nah, I don’t think so.

Beckett: Oh yeah, Castle. All girls go through it. And good girls are the worst. (This is true. My ex’s youngest daughter went Goth when she was 14 or 15. One day, she was blonde and blue-eyed. The next day, she looked like Wednesday Addams).

 

·       Castle and the boys are enamored of Royce, especially Castle. He hangs on every word, every story. But it’s also evident that Kate is also still enamored of him. She knows he’s the only person who knows of her drive to solve her mother’s murder. Was she being real when she told him she loved him during that final phone call or was it a ploy that allowed Ryan to trace the phone call? I think it was a combination of the two. He was the only person beside Castle who truly understood her. We see the pain he put her in later in the season when Royce makes a second appearance under much different circumstances.

·       I think the scene between Stana and Jason in the bar was one of Stana’s finest scenes in the series. They had great on-screen chemistry, which made what happened later so sad. But what happened later opened the door for the creation of Caskett.

 

Royce: So, it’s actually a treasure map, huh?

Beckett: Castle’s been trying to figure it out all day. I should have been on to Stuckey earlier, though.

Royce: Nobody’s perfect.

Beckett: You were.

Royce: You were easy to impress.

Beckett: No, I wasn’t. I was drowning – and you were dry land. All they ever taught us in the academy was how to do paperwork. You were the one who taught me how to be a cop.

Royce: You were easy to teach. Keeping you out of trouble? Not so much.

Beckett: Trouble? Me?

Royce: What about that biker chick from Yonkers?

Beckett: Yeah, well, I got her to snitch on her crew, didn’t I?

Royce: By offering me up as man bait!

Beckett: Oh, you should have seen her face when she told the judge, ‘He completes me.’

Royce: That’s mean.

Beckett: I caught him, Royce. The man who killed my mom.

Royce: After all these years? Find out why he did it?

Beckett: Somebody paid him to do it. But I had to shoot him before I found out who.

Royce: That was stupid. You shoulda just shown him your boobs.

 

·       This scene later takes a turn when Beckett learns that Royce never delivered one of their suspects to Central Holding. This means Royce has now been added to the suspect list. Which leads to a heartbreaking conversation.

 

Beckett: Beckett.

Royce: It’s me.

Beckett: Royce, turn yourself in.

Royce: I can’t do that. I’m too close to the money to walk away now. Listen, I just need you to know that I didn’t mean for it to go like this.

Beckett: Did you kill Carver for the map?

Royce: C’mon, kid. You know me better than that.

Beckett: I don’t think I do. Because the man I knew wouldn’t betray me like this.

Royce: I gotta go.

Beckett: Mike, I was in love with you. (Now she has Castle’s attention).

Royce: Oh, kid. Don’t.

Beckett: You were the only one who understood the obsession that drove me. Who didn’t tell me that I would get over my mother’s murder and that she wouldn’t want me to do this.

Royce: Just . . . just trying to do right by you, kid.

Beckett: I dreamt about you. That night that I shot the guy who killed my mother. I dreamt that I was the one who was on the ground, dying. (More foreshadowing. I just realized this). And that you came to me and told me ‘Stand up.’ Because there was still work to be done. When I woke up that morning, I just wanted to call you. But we hadn’t talked in so long.

Royce: You shoulda called. I never forgot.

Beckett: I’m going to catch Carver’s killer, Royce. And then I’m going to recover Lloyd’s score. And when I arrest you, you’re going to realize that what you destroyed today was worth a hell of a lot more than money.

 

·       The look on her face when she ended the call was heartbreaking.

·       The scene at the cemetery was great, especially the scene between Ryan and Esposito.

 

Ryan: You know, if this were a horror movie, we’d be the first ones killed, splitting off like this.

Esposito: Yeah, except we’re not a couple of top-heavy co-eds out looking for fun. We’re highly trained officers of the law with enough firepower to take out a hoard of the undead.

Ryan: Hispanic and cocky. Yeah, you’d definitely die first.

 

·       When all is said and done, they don’t find the treasure, but all the bad guys are arrested, including Royce.

·       Figuring there has to be a clue missing, Castle and Beckett go back to the cemetery off-screen to see if they can locate the loot.

 

Alexis: Well . . . did you find it?

Castle: Yes, we did!

Martha: Yay!

Castle: Unfortunately, when you go treasure hunting with a cop, she makes you return the treasure to its rightful owner. But, uh, the evening wasn’t a total loss. When we found it, she gave me a sweaty hug.

 

What I Didn’t Like About This Episode:

 

·       Alexis. Unfortunately for me, it almost always comes down to Alexis in Seasons 3 and 4. She was something of a spoiled brat regarding the Vespa. I liked Castle trying to explain Affluenza to her. I live in Texas. That kid and his mother should’ve gotten a lot more prison time.

 

Favorite Scene: I included a lot of them in this entry, but I didn’t include this one.

 

Stuckey: The treasure! Let me see the treasure!

Castle: Yeah, I just – I just said that to distract you. It was either that or show you my boobs.

Favorite Scene #2:

 

Castle: Can I just say how unsatisfying it is to go on a treasure hunt with no treasure?

Beckett: Well, it really wasn’t a treasure hunt, Castle. It was a murder investigation.

Castle: Oh, come on. You can’t tell me you weren’t just a little bit excited?

Beckett: Maybe a little.

 

WTF? (Why the Face?): Why did Mike Royce have to turn out to be a not-so-nice guy? He could’ve made more appearances. He would’ve upped the jealousy factor so much more than DMB (who will be making his first appearance in the next episode).

 

Until Friday, readers.

 

Original Airdate: September 27, 2010

 

Synopsis: Castle and Beckett investigate the murder of a ‘famous’ psychic, who is found stabbed and stuffed inside of a pullout sofa. In the subplot, Martha receives shocking news after Chet Palaburn proposes to her.

 

Notable Guest Stars: Bess Armstrong, who portrays Paula Casillas, was in a lot of stuff in the 70’s. This role marked the first time I had seen her in years.

 

Mercedes Masoohn, who portrays Marina Casillas, is more familiar to me for portraying Ofelia Salazar on ‘Fear the Walking Dead.’

 

Ranking: This one is #14.

 

The IMdB Portion of The Review:

 

Trivia: The exterior used for Alfred Moreno’s house is the real-life home of Stephen J. Cannell.

 

Factual Errors: Lanie says the victim died from blood loss and suffocation. You can only die once, so there can only be one cause of death. (You can’t argue with that kind of logic. I know, because I’ve tried).

 

Lanie said Selenium was a mineral when it’s actually a metal with the atomic number of 34. Minerals are crystals, which have no resemblance to metals.

 

Also, I would like to point out that someone needs to inform IMdB that Lanie’s name is misspelled twice in this entry. They have it spelled L-A-I-N-E-Y. You can tell the author isn’t a ‘Castle’ fan.

 

What I Liked About This Episode:

 

·       Even though I have this episode ranked in the middle of the pack, there are things I liked. The main thing I liked was that this was the first episode where we get serious foreshadowing of events that will happen in the finale.

·       Castle has a lot of fun with the case as it involved the murder of a ‘famous’ psychic. I keep putting famous in quotes because the lady was a legend in her own mind. The murder is also somewhat on the grizzly side with the victim being stabbed in the neck with an icepick before being stuffed inside of her sofa.

·       The secondary story in this episode involved Martha. Chet Palaburn has proposed, but Martha is unsure of whether to accept the proposal or not. The decision is taken out of her hands, however, when Chet suffers a massive stroke and dies. I would’ve cared more about Chet’s passing if we had actually been introduced to a flesh and blood version of him. Don’t get me wrong. I felt horrible for Martha, but I feel I would’ve been more vested if there had been an actor behind Chet.

·       I’m not moving on to the victim’s daughter, Penny. She comes to the precinct twice to talk to Beckett. She tells Beckett at some point someone named Alexander will save her life.

 

Penny: Alexander. I don’t know who he is or what he means to you.

Beckett: I don’t know any Alexander.

Penny: You will. You will meet an Alexander, and he will be extremely important to you. At some future date, he may save your life.

Beckett: Okay. Um – good to know.

 

·       Like I said. Foreshadowing. Only she’s 22 episodes early. I’ll get into Alexander soon.

·       There are several suspects in this episode, each one stranger than the last. First, we have Alfred ‘The Blade’ Moreno, who lost a fortune thanks to Vivien Marchand’s really bad psychic reading. But the universe righted itself, when he was reunited with Loreen, his high school sweetheart. So, it now seems that he’s broke, but happy. Go figure. But this leads to a cute exchange between Castle (the believer) and Beckett (the skeptic).

 

Castle: So, what do you think?

Beckett: Well, I think it’s possible that he killed Vivien before the universe righted itself.

Castle: Not about that. About them. Albert and Loreen, star-crossed lovers, reunited by fate.

Beckett: You mean, reunited by coincidence?

Castle: Oh, let me guess. You don’t believe in fate? Soul mates?

Beckett: No.

Castle: Unicorns? Double rainbows? Didn’t you ever think your dolls used to get up at night and play with your toys?

Beckett: Sorry.

Castle: Mmmm. Let me guess. You were one of those annoying six-year-olds that stopped believing in Santa Claus because you figured out that he couldn’t travel faster than the speed of light.

Beckett: I was three and we didn’t have a chimney. (Wow, I bet she was joy to be around during Christmas).

 

·       The funniest suspect is Toni Johnston. Castle and Beckett learn that she was having an affair with her husband’s boss, and Vivien had called her about it. Only the man she’d been having the affair with was dead, so they couldn’t talk to him.

 

Castle: Did she ever say how she knew all of this? All of this incredibly personal information, the details of which could not be readily found at the Hall of Records or through an Internet search?

Toni: Oh, yeah. The guy I was cheating with? He told her everything.

Beckett: You know, I’m going to have to speak to him.

Toni: Oh, you can’t. I mean, you can’t. He’s dead. That’s why we stopped seeing each other. He died last April. Heart attack.

Beckett: You’re telling me your dead lover told Vivien about your affair?

Toni: That’s right. She said Emilio came to her in a dream.

Beckett: Emilio?

Toni: Emilio Castillas.

 

·       Emilio Castillas’ wife and daughter were the first people Beckett talked to after the murder because they had been Vivien’s last clients. And it turns out that Emilio’s wife, Paula, is the killer. Not only did she kill Vivien, but months earlier she had also poisoned her husband. She was just crazy enough to believe that her dead husband was going to tell Vivien everything. You just can’t make this stuff up, folks.

·       So, the case is now solved, but one mystery remains. Who is the mysterious ‘Alexander’ that Penny told Beckett about.

 

Castle: Oh, before I forget. What did Penny say about Alexander?

Beckett: Oh, nothing. Just some silly stuff that didn’t make any sense. Why?

Castle: Because my middle name is Alexander.

Beckett; I thought your middle name was Edgar.

Castle: Been perusing the personal section of the Richard Castle website again, have we? No, I changed my middle name to Edgar for Edgar Allen Poe back when I changed my last name to Castle. My given name is Richard Alexander Rodgers. What a coincidence, huh?

 

What I Didn’t Like About This Episode: I can’t think of anything I didn’t like about this episode. Most of the higher ranked episodes this season had little in them I didn’t like. I might leave this section off until I write a review that has something I didn’t like. There are a few of those on the horizon.

 

WTF? (Why the Face?): The killer. Really, lady? You seriously thought your dead husband was going to rat you out to a psychic? I can already see her attorney going for the insanity defense. Good luck with that.

 

Favorite Scene/Quote: My Favorite scene and quote from this episode are one and the same.

 

Beckett: Castle, why is it so important that I believe all this stuff about fates and psychics and Santa Claus?

Castle: Because . . . if you don’t believe in even the possibility of magic, you’ll never, ever find it.

 

I had that quote on a Castle shirt that I lost at the laundromat. I have never been able to find that quote on another shirt since CafePress no longer sells ‘Castle’ merchandise.

 

Until Wednesday, readers.

 

Original Airdate: September 20, 2010 (Season Premier)

 

Synopsis: Beckett and Castle investigate three connected murders, but they have trouble figuring out how the three are connected. Beckett finds herself trying to forgive Castle after not hearing from him all summer.

 

Notable Guest Stars: No notable guest stars, but L.T. finally gets a permanent name in this episode.

 

Ranking: This was #15 out of 24 for me. I had a lot of trouble ranking the Season 3 episodes. I knew what my favorite and least favorites were, so I had to juggle everything else.

 

The IMdB Portion of The Review:

 

Trivia: In the first episode of the series, Beckett tells Castle, “Out here, we find a guy standing over a body with a gun, he’s usually the guy who did it.” In this episode, she finds Castle doing exactly what she described, standing over a body with a gun. It turns out this was the exception to the rule.

 

Factual Errors: Beckett says one of their suspects had previously been convicted of manslaughter for trying to run her boyfriend over with a car. She had been sentenced to five years in prison. Manslaughter requires your victim to die, not attempt to kill them. There’s no such thing as attempted manslaughter. Therefore, the charge would’ve been attempted murder.

 

Season 3 Overview: This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think Season 3 was the last great season. While Seasons 4 and 5 are quite good, you can see the quality slipping ever so slightly. There is much less humor going into the remaining five seasons, and the material gets much darker.

 

Season 3 brings us two more chapters in the Johanna Beckett murder arc. One of these episodes will have disastrous results in the season finale as we lose a beloved main character with a twist no one saw coming (at least I didn’t). To this day, I still search for clues leading up to 3x24.

 

Season 3 will also be the beginning of another story arc I consider the best arc of any TV series I’ve watched. The Jerry Tyson/3XK story arc is the best written story arc from any TV series I’ve watched. This includes ‘Bones’ and ‘Criminal Minds.’

 

Beckett gets a new love interest in this season, as well, in the form of cardiac surgeon, Dr. Joshua Davidson, or as the fans refer to him, DMB (Dr. Motorcycle Boy). Unlike Sorensen and Demming from Seasons 1 and 2, this love interest will remain until 4x01. We don’t see Josh in every episode, but he’s mentioned a lot.

 

Castle is also still seeing his ex-wife/publisher, Gina. However, this one ends before mid-season, and we only see Gina in one episode, and she’s mentioned in a second one. It’s obvious Castle is unhappy in this relationship. So unhappy that he finally declares his undying love for Beckett. But is he too late?

 

Some of these episodes are episodes I can’t wait to dissect. I may have a guest writer for one of these episodes because it’s a favorite and she’s been begging me. I’ll explain more later.

 

What I Liked About This Episode:

 

·       The opening scene with Ryan and the autumnal equinox was funny. We learn that no one has heard from Castle since he left for the Hamptons in May. They don’t even know if he’s completed his book. Total radio silence.

·       Beckett tries to act like she doesn’t care, but Esposito knows this isn’t true. He knows how she feels about Castle.

·       As we soon find out, Castle is back in town. Is he ever! The team finds him standing, gun in hand, over a murder victim.

·       The interrogation scene between Beckett and Castle is interesting. Castle doesn’t understand why Kate is so upset with him. As Alexis once told him, “How can a man who spends so much time around women be so clueless?” But Castle also brings up a good point. Kate also could’ve called him to see if he was back but didn’t. As I told my father once, the phone line runs both ways. My favorite part of the interrogation was when the talk turned to their significant others.

 

Castle: I’m in a relationship.

Beckett: With who?

Castle: Is that a new lipstick?

Beckett: Castle.

Castle: You know with whom.

Beckett: How should I know? I haven’t seen you in months. You could have been in dozens of relationships with women since then.

Castle: You sound jealous.

Beckett: Jealous? Of you dating your ex-wife and publisher? Tell me, does she make you do everything on a deadline? (Ouch!)

Castle: So how about you? You still with that cop boyfriend of yours? What was his name again? (Beckett’s face falls). You broke up? (Yeah, dumbass. Before you went to the Hamptons with your ex-wife. If you had been paying attention, or if Beckett had said what she was feeling quicker, you would’ve noticed this. Completely clueless).

 

·       Since ballistics proves that the second murder victim was killed with a different gun than the first victim, Beckett is reluctantly forced to release Castle. But he wants to help with the case. Beckett doesn’t want this.

 

Beckett: Castle, go home! Go back to your Hamptons, your ex-wife, and your book parties! I’ve got work to do.

Castle: What did I do?

 

·       I will try to cut down on the Alexis bashing, but it goes against my nature. So, here we go. Back at home, Alexis is having a crisis. Because she’s Alexis. But at least she’s finally acting like a normal teenage girl. At least like the teenage girls I know. The boy . . . or rather, young man from the Princeton summer program hasn’t called her back. The horror! He had promised to call her when he returned from Europe with his parents. Apparently, he has returned, but he hasn’t called. How did she know he had returned? Stalker much, Alexis? I have to admit, however, that the penguin video she was watching with Martha was very cute. What can I say? I’m a sucker for animal videos.

·       This case had a lot of twists and turns. One of those twists involved a third murder victim. A young man that once again finds Castle standing over the dead body. By now, Kate is fed up and is seconds away from slapping the handcuffs on Castle before Esposito informs her that the latest victim has been dead for hours.

·       Before we go further, we have to have our weekly dose of Lanie. The writers gave Lanie the best lines. This episode is no exception.

 

Lanie: Hey, I hear you made an interesting arrest today. You want to talk about it?

Beckett: No.

Lanie: Okay. You keep holding that stuff in, you’re going to get an ulcer.

 

Why doesn’t Kate realize she’s not fooling anyone?

 

·       After finding Castle at the scene of the other dead body, Kate tells him she’s sorry about his friend. But if he had really wanted to come back, he would have. Which leads to this interesting quip.

 

Castle: Did you ever stop and think that maybe I was waiting to hear from you?

 

·       After insisting that these three murders are a sign from the universe that they are meant to work together, Beckett allows him to return to the team. Under the condition that he does what she says, when she says it. Yeah, we all know how well that works out, don’t we?

·       I now have to return to Castle’s real life, and one of the funniest Castle/Alexis exchanges ever. I love the bond between Castle and Alexis (see, not bashing Alexis). He walks into the kitchen to find his daughter staring blankly into the refrigerator.

 

Castle: What is it about the refrigerator? Is it the cold? The light? Or, a combination of the two?

Alexis: I can’t sleep.

Castle: Ah, the boy.

Alexis: He finally called.

Castle: Great!

Alexis: I didn’t answer.

Castle: Why not?

Alexis: I was mad. I thought he’d leave a message, but he didn’t, so now what do I do? He knows I know he called, but if I call back right away then clearly I’m admitting I was waiting for his call. How long do I need to wait before I call him back? A day? At least a day – maybe two.

Castle: Maybe you should get a new boyfriend and start over.

Alexis: You’re not very good at this, are you?

Castle: Apparently not.

 

·       I think this is the episode where coffee begins to mean love. Castle brings Kate a cup of coffee, and she smiles. All is almost forgiven. And this is when the bet for this episode is born.

 

Castle: Maybe they were top CIA operatives targeted for termination.

Beckett: CIA is a popular theory with you.

Castle: Yes, well, law of averages demands that eventually I’ll be right.

Beckett: I’d forgotten how helpful your insights can be.

Castle: Oh, yeah? I bet I figure out how they’re connected before you do.

Beckett: All right, you’re on. But if I win, you have to promise to go away, and never interfere with my cases again.

Castle: Fine. If I win, you have to take me back as your partner.

Beckett: Deal.

Castle (Glancing over at Ryan and Esposito): What if they figure it out first?
C & B (together): Nah.

 

·       The first time I watched this one, I didn’t clue in to the counterfeit motive. It was only after repeated viewings that I now kick myself for not seeing it. I’m not sure when Beckett figured it out, but I’m glad she let Castle claim the credit. No way was she kicking him off the team. I also liked how Esposito was aware that Beckett had given Castle the credit.

 

Esposito: So . . . how long before Castle did you know this was about counterfeiting?

 

·       I know I’m jumping all over the place, but can we just for one minute talk about Kitty Canary’s club? I’m with Castle on this one. But we also learn another tidbit about Kate Beckett.

 

Castle: This place! It’s like the circus with alcohol! How have I never been here before?

Beckett: You think this is crazy, you should see some of the clubs I’ve been to.

 

·       When they go to arrest Kitty and Earl, Kate gives Castle her back-up piece since the suspects have split up. Which later leads to an interesting quip from Montgomery.

 

Montgomery: Nice work, you two. Very impressive. But tomorrow I want you to tell me the story about how Castle got your gun.

 

·       I have one small issue with that comment. In ‘Boom,’ Kate gave Castle her gun to protect SSA Shaw in case Scott Dunn came back. Montgomery had nothing to say about that. Hmmm. Someone help me out here.

 

What I Didn’t Like About This Episode: Actually, very little. The Alexis-In-Crisis subplot wasn’t the best part of the episode, but I didn’t dislike it.

 

Favorite Scene: When Montgomery pops into the interrogation room with the ballistics report on the second murder victim. Ruben Santiago-Hudson always had that expression with his eyebrows, and he uses it to great effect here.

 

Montgomery: Beckett, a word?

Castle: Hey, Captain! How’s it going? (Castle gets the eyebrow look) What? You, too? Really? C’mon you guys!

 

Favorite Quote: The ‘Annie Oakley’ quote from Castle in the interrogation room.

 

Castle: . . . That’s when you, Esposito, and Annie Oakley came bursting through the door.

 

The boys and Montgomery are on the other side of the mirror.

 

Montgomery: Annie Oakley?

Ryan: I kinda almost shot Castle. What? He had a gun.

 

I do have a second one, because, come on! How could I not?

 

Esposito: If you ask me, you should’ve locked him up out of spite.

Beckett: No, that would be unethical. Making the people down in holding deal with him.

Esposito: True.

 

Beckett/Castle Scorecard: After the takedown of Kitty and Earl, the score is now tied 4-4.

 

Until Monday, readers. When we get the first episode with foreshadowing in it.

 

Original Airdate: May 17, 2010 (Season 2 finale)

 

Synopsis: Nothing is as it seems when Castle and Beckett investigate what appears to be the assassination of an intelligence operative. Meanwhile, Beckett’s romance with Demming threatens her relationship with Castle, forcing them to confront their feelings for each other. (Excuse me? I didn’t see anybody confronting their feelings for anybody in this episode except for Castle and Gina. Well, Beckett did confront her feelings for Demming, also).

 

Notable Guest Stars: Stephen J. Cannell, Michael Connelly, and James Patterson make another appearance as Castle’s poker group. This will be the final appearances of both Stephen Cannell and James Patterson. Stephen Cannell passed away on September 30, 2010, just a few months after this episode aired. There will only be one more Mystery Writer’s Poker game toward the end of Season 3.

 

Monet Mazur makes her second appearance as Castle’s second ex-wife and publisher, Gina. She will make a few appearances during the first half of Season 3.

 

Mitch Pileggi, who plays Hans Brauer, has appeared in Basic Instinct, The X-Files, and the reboot of Dallas.

 

The IMdB Portion of The Review:

 

Plot Holes: Demming tells Kate that the little place around the corner from their house just had a reservation open up. If they have a beach house, there would be no need for a reservation around the corner. Also, they obviously already had plans to go to the beach house, so his last-minute announcement they could go doesn’t fit. Her conversation with Castle confirms the fact they had prior plans to go to the beach house that weekend.

 

Beckett kicks in the hotel door causing damage even though there’s a hotel employee present who could’ve used a pass key. Kicking in the door is very dramatic, but no police officer would do that when there’s a better way to gain entry which doesn’t make the police department liable for damages.

 

Everyone calls the party a “surprise” party, but since Castle is aware of the party, technically it’s not a “surprise.”

 

Ranking: This episode was #13 out of 24. (I know, guys. I’m as shocked as you all are).

 

What I Liked About This Episode:

 

·       The spy game was an interesting twist. I liked the twists and turns until a weird twist led straight to the killer. I always like Rob Bowman-directed episodes (until Season 8, but those weren’t his fault. I’ll get to them when the time comes). He knows how to turn in the twists and turns. I never saw the husband of Roger Farraday’s affair partner as the killer. In the end, it was a little pedestrian, but still a nice twist.

·       Alexis is going to Princeton for a summer program for high school students. Castle is less than thrilled about this for several reasons. The main one being she’s going to miss their annual summer trip to the Hamptons. Second, he learns the dorms are co-ed. Third, the R.A.’s are all over the age of 21.

 

Castle: Oh, so the one person in charge is conveniently old enough to buy alcohol.

Martha: Darling, don’t be such a prude. Remember that trip you took to Italy with your class? You were younger than Alexis is now.

Castle: Mother, if you had any idea what happened on that trip, you would never let me leave the house again.

Martha: Sometimes, the less you know, the better.

 

·       Alexis will also get the award for having one of the most ick-inducing moments of the episode. By this point, Alexis is beginning to develop something of a smart mouth. We’re beginning to move into the version of Alexis Castle that I didn’t like. That would be Season 3 and 4 Alexis.

·       The fact that Alexis has been able to get into a summer program at Princeton. This is impressive, and she has every right to be proud. However, she does a few things in this episode that would cause any parent to have cause for concern. First, she bring home a boy . . . rather, a young man when no one is home. Not only that, but Alexis has met this young man online. This won’t be the last time Alexis brings a boy, or man, home when no one is there. She does this in Season 3 with Ashley, and Season 6 with Pi.

·       The incident that earns Alexis ‘ick’ status happens toward the end of the episode when she learns that her father isn’t going to be alone in the Hamptons, after all. Alexis is thrilled about this, but then she just has to open her mouth, and I’m groaning.

 

Alexis: Oh. Is it anyone I know?

Castle: I don’t kiss and tell.

Alexis: Well, it looks like I’m not the only one getting lucky this summer. Kidding. Kidding. I’m just – I’m just kidding.

Castle: That’s not funny. Oh, that’s so not funny.

 

·       I don’t have kids, but I learned from my ex that fathers don’t like to acknowledge or even think about, their baby girls having sex. Not even after they’ve given birth to grandchildren. As far as fathers are concerned, their little girls will remain pure until the day they die.

·       Alexis will be off to Princeton, and Martha has gotten a part in a summer stock production, so Castle invites Kate to join him in the Hamptons as a friend. Of course, he still has to make innuendos.

 

Beckett: Wow, Castle. You’re working really hard to see me in a swimsuit.

Castle: If you are not comfortable in a swimsuit, you can always skinny dip. (She will, Castle. Just wait a little while longer).

 

·       Unfortunately, this leads to a huge continuity error. In this episode. Castle explains to Kate that his home is right on the ocean. However, in 7x01 ‘Driven,’ Castle makes a point of saying he bought his Hamptons home on the inland side of the island after a Derek Storm novel he started but then trashed after saying his research gave him nightmares about hurricanes. As I have stated repeatedly, continuity isn’t that hard, writers! It really isn’t that difficult. And if you can’t remember a detail, I’m sure the fans will remember. We remember every obscure detail. And if we get a detail wrong, another fan will be quick to correct us. No matter how small the detail is, we will remember.

·       Let’s move to Beckett and Demming. While Castle has invited Kate to join him in the Hamptons, there’s one small detail Beckett has neglected to mention to her partner. Tom Demming has already invited her to join him in Asbury for Memorial Day weekend. When Castle learns this, he’s understandably hurt. Kate explains she just didn’t want things to get ‘weird’ between them. I get that. But this also sets up a recurring pattern of Kate lying to Castle, which continues through to Season 8.

·       Since Castle has learned Kate is going away with Demming for the weekend, he throws a bombshell of his own. One that none of us saw coming.

 

Castle: What with my book due, I was thinking that it’d be a good time for us to take a break.

Beckett: A break?

Castle: Yeah. God knows, you got to be tired of me following you around all the time, and I really do need to get some work done. With everyone gone, I figured, why not just stay in the Hamptons, you know? Get away from the city for a while.

Beckett: Well, for how long?

Castle: The summer at least. I thought this would be our last case.

 

·       The boys decide to throw Castle a going-away “party,” and this is when Espo does something he’s very good at. He tells Beckett exactly what he’s thinking. He never fails to tell her the way things are. There is no sugarcoating things in Espo’s world.

 

Esposito: Ryan and I thought we’d do a little going-away party.

Beckett: Yeah, well, it’s not like he’s leaving forever.

Esposito: You sure about that? Why do you think he’s been following you around all this time? What? Research? The guy’s done enough research to write 50 books. Look, whatever the reason, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t include watching you be with another guy.

 

·       Castle spends most of the episode hiding from his ex-wife/publisher, Gina. He is avoiding her like the plague. In desperation, Gina reaches out to Beckett, which leads to one of the funniest exchanges of the episode.

Beckett: Oh, yeah, and your ex-wife called. She said that you’ve been avoiding her because you’re late delivering your manuscript of ‘Naked Heat.’ That’s a catchy title. When were you going to tell me?

Castle: Well, I was waiting for the perfect time. It just never happened.

Beckett: She’s naked on the cover again, isn’t she?

Castle: Kind of, yeah.

Beckett: That’s great. No one’s gonna make fun of me.

Castle (Sighing): Good.

 

·       I really wish they hadn’t found each other. Castle and Gina, I mean. Because now I have to seriously dislike Gina, like I seriously have to dislike Demming. And I didn’t feel that way about Gina before. Beckett broke up with Demming because she decided she was going to accept Castle’s invitation to go to the Hamptons. Only her timing was bad. As in very, very bad. And I really felt bad for Demming. Someone was asking me in a previous entry why I disliked Demming. Here’s your explanation. It was obvious that Beckett liked Demming, but unfortunately, Demming had one flaw. He wasn’t Castle. I have often asked myself when it was that Beckett fell in love with Castle. I believe it started in this episode. Unfortunately for Beckett, Castle and Gina ended up talking for hours on the phone, and suddenly, Gina is going to the Hamptons, leaving Beckett all alone in the city. This sucks for us viewers because now we have to deal with the new couple for the first half of Season 3. And it’s so obvious that Castle wasn’t happy with Gina, but I’ll get to that in Season 3.

·       The Mystery Writer Poker Group makes its third of four appearances in this episode. This will be the final appearances of both James Patterson and Stephen Cannell. RIP, Mr. Cannell. Your TV shows were a huge part of my teenage years. There will be one last appearance of the poker group toward the end of Season 3. Castle and Michael Connelly will be joined by Dennis Lehane, the author of ‘Mystic River’ and ‘Shutter Island.’ I had a FB friend who went to high school with Dennis Lehane. She said everyone knew he was destined to be an author, but he’s kind of a strange guy. No, she didn’t elaborate. The writer’s group led to one of the best lines in the episode. Martha informs her son that James Patterson has called to say he’s running late.

 

Castle: Probably wants to use the time to write another book.

 

·       No kidding! I love James Patterson, especially his ‘Women’s Murder Club’ series, but this guy churns out so many books that it boggles the mind. Of course, he has about a dozen co-authors who write most of the books for him. Isn’t that kind of cheating? Maybe I should get a dozen writers to write my fan fiction stories for me. It would leave me more time to play ‘Final Fantasy VI’ and watch ‘Survivor,’ and ‘Big Brother.’

 

What I Didn’t Like About This Episode: Alexis. It always comes down to Alexis. She did so many things in this episode that I didn’t like. I’ve already listed them, so I won’t list them again. Her actions in this episode are a precursor of what’s to come in Season 3.

 

Favorite Scene: Lee Copley and Melissa Farraday are comic relief in this episode. They are the business partner and wife of the murder victim, Roger Farraday. Lee Copley proves it is possible to shock the usually unflappable Kate Beckett. She and Castle bring Copley in after they learn he has recently filed for bankruptcy and will thus inherit the business from his deceased partner.

 

Beckett: Where were you the night that Roger Farraday died?

Copley: I was home in bed.

Beckett: Really? Then do you care to explain these? These are photos of you leaving your apartment garage at 8 o’clock the night he was murdered. And these are photos of you returning the following morning at 7 a.m.

Castle: Kind of blows a hole in your whole ‘in bed’ thing.

Beckett: You lied to me, Mr. Copley. Do you care to revise your statement? 8 p.m. That’s plenty of time to drive to the city from Stamford.

Castle: What’d you do, Lee? Wait for him at the hotel? Follow him until he was alone?

Copley: No, I didn’t.

Beckett: And then you used the game as cover.

Copley: No. Look, I swear I didn’t do it.

Beckett: Right. You were home in bed.

Copley: No. I wasn’t at home, but I was in bed.

 

Castle and Beckett’s reaction to the revelation are priceless.

 

Copley: I was in bed with Roger’s wife.

Castle: Let me get this straight. You – your alibi for killing your friend is you were doing his – his wife?

Copley: Yeah.

Castle: Wow.

 

Now we move on to Melissa Farraday. And let me say this woman has her priorities perfectly straight.

 

Melissa: What? You want me to say I’m sorry? You want me to be embarrassed? I’m not. Do you know how long it had been since Roger and I made love? All he cared about was work and his extreme vacations. So, yeah, I was seeing Lee. Yeah, I was with him that night.

Beckett: Well, if things were that bad, why not just get a divorce?

Melissa: Are you serious? My house is too nice.

 

WTF? (Why the Face?): At first, I didn’t think I had an entry for this one. But the more I thought about the episode, the more I realized my WTF moment was the killer. Ken Fisher killed Roger Farraday simply because he was having an affair with his wife.

 

Until Friday, readers. When we begin Season 3.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Original Airdate: May 10, 2010

 

Synopsis: When Beckett asks for Demming’s help in solving a murder with possible robbery components, Castle sets out to solve the murder first.

 

Notable Guest Stars: William R. Moses, who portrays Blake Wilder, previously portrayed Cole Gioberti in the prime-time soap opera ‘Falcon Crest’ for five seasons. In his real life, he was married to singer/teen idol Rick Nelson’s daughter, Tracy, from 1987-1997.

 

Stephen Full, who portrayed Benny, the hotel desk clerk, was married to Anne Werschling, who played our favorite psycho, Dr. Kelly Nieman from 2009 until her untimely death in 2023.

 

The IMdB Portion of The Review:

 

Factual Errors: At the conclusion they say there were two murderers. However, the second person who bludgeoned the victim didn’t commit murder since the victim was already dead. You can’t murder a dead person. At most, the second person might be guilty of some minor crime such as desecration of a body, or whatever the New York Penal Code has for that type of crime.

 

Pop Culture References: There are a couple of references to ‘Sex and The City.’

 

Ranking: This was #22 out of 24 for me.

 

What I Liked About This Episode: There was only one scene that I liked a lot, and I’ll be getting to it later. But there were a few more highlights, so here we go:

 

·       It was fun watching the competition between Castle and Demming as to who would solve the case first. It was one giant pissing contest from the first moment to the last.

·       Castle using Alexis as his beta/editor was also cute. I think I could use Alexis from time to time. I remember the scene between Rook and Nikki that she was editing. I agree that Castle needs to lose the new robbery detective. But who knows? Maybe Schlemming would’ve been better than Sharon Hinds. Also, wasn’t Castle afraid that Demming would notice the similarity between his name and the name Schlemming? Demming might’ve been a douche, but he wasn’t stupid.

 

Alexis: I do have one note, though. This new character, the, uh, robbery detective . . .

Castle: Schlemming? What about him?

Alexis: Well, he seems like he came up out of nowhere.

Castle: Yeah, well, I can’t argue with that.

Alexis: He’s coming off like a bit of a doofus.

Castle: You think?

Alexis: I think you should lose him.

Castle: If only it was that easy.

 

·       The secondary storyline fits in perfectly with this episode. We have Castle’s jealousy of Demming, and Martha’s jealousy of a rival actress. She is attending the theater with Chet to see a play she auditioned for. Only her rival got the part. Martha’s plan is to go and see how badly her rival can fall on her face. Only it backfires when Martha discovers that her rival is the only good thing about an otherwise dreadful play.

 

Castle: Hey, how was the play?

Martha: Oh, awful.

Castle: Well, that must’ve made you happy.

Martha: You know what the worst part was? It’s badness made Madge’s performance all that much better. She was wonderful. She was . . . like a revelation.

Castle: Oh, Mother. I’m sorry.

Martha: Thank you. You know, I went into the theater thinking, yeah, she kinda snaked that part out from under me. But then . . . I hate to admit it. She deserved to get it.

Castle: I’m sure you would’ve been terrific in that role.

Martha: Aw, you are so sweet. But you know something, darling? In life, you just have to accept that not everything is gonna go your way.

 

·       The time of the murder plays a huge part in this episode. The fact that there was one victim and two killers was a unique twist. Except that technically they didn’t both kill him. At least, not according to my BFF, IMdB. Picky, picky, picky.

·       The best line award in this episode goes to Lanie. Castle discovers that the murder victim owns a line of boutique men’s skincare products. One of these products is a shaving cream called ‘Barber in A Can.’ It comes out of the can hot (which is proven to be a problem later in the episode). Ryan and Esposito are all excited about this. Lanie and Beckett are standing off to the side, watching the three men gush over this shaving cream. On a side note: I remember as a nine-year-old in the late 60’s that my father got this gadget for Christmas where you could insert your shaving cream and it would come out hot. I don’t remember if he ever used it.

 

Beckett: Guys . . . a man has been murdered here.

Castle: And we are . . . honoring his legacy.

Lanie: Hmm. It’s like ‘Sex and The City,’ only with boys.

 

·       And can I just add that I loved Beckett’s hair in this episode. The final two episodes of Season 2 is when you can see she’s going for the longer hairstyle she would sport from Season 3 onward. I thought this was when she was filming ‘CBGB,’ but that movie came on in 2013. By the way, excellent movie! I bought it because Stana was in it but fell in love with it because of Alan Rickman. RIP, Alan Rickman.

·       Several different motives turn up during the murder investigation. The theft of some first edition books, animal rights activists, a jilted girlfriend (who is a piece of work).

·       The two people who took the blackmail money from the sleazy motel were hilarious. The first was the hotel clerk, Benny, who had the best weekend in Atlantic City ever with the 75K he found under the bed. I’ll be getting to the second thief later.

·       Castle, who is feeling insecure and jealous over the whole Demming/Beckett situation, comes home only for his mother to announce she’s going to write a note to her rival, Marge, complimenting her on her performance in the awful play.

 

Castle: Oh, don’t do that.

Martha: Why not?

Castle: Mother, she’s your rival. You should be crushing her, not giving her comfort.

Martha: Are you all right?

Castle: Yes. No. Give Marge my best.

 

·       Let’s go back to Benny, the motel clerk for a moment. This was one of the funniest interrogations ever. This episode might be #22 on my list, but Benny’s interrogation is easily Top 10. They should’ve brought this guy back for a future episode. This interrogation is the second-best thing in this episode.

 

Beckett: Do you recognize this man?

Benny: Yeah. That guy’s a total nut bar. Last week – I think it was Thursday, matter of fact – he pulls into the motel in a fancy foreign job. He goes straight up to the corner room on the second floor. Couple minutes later, he charges down, starts asking me all the same questions you were asking me. Who rented the room? What did she look like?

Castle: He didn’t know?

Benny: That’s what I said. I told him if he had to ask whose room it was, he shouldn’t be going there in the first place. He stomped off, got in his car. He left. Boom! Never saw him again.

Beckett: And you won’t either. He was murdered Sunday night.

Benny: With that kind of attitude, this is not surprising. Well, if I’ve answered all your queries to your satisfaction, am I free to go?

Beckett: Just one more query if you don’t mind. According to the Atlantic City Police, you were arrested in the Diamond Lounge of a strip club for trying to set a rodeo clown on fire. (Now this is funny. Especially if you don’t like clowns. I don’t like clowns).

 

·       In the end when the killer(s) were caught, Beckett had to concede and give credit to both Castle and Demming. They were both right about both suspects being part of the murder.

 

Beckett: Castle and Demming were right about the two of them all along.

Montgomery: Nice of you to give both the satisfaction of taking down their suspect.

Beckett: Oh, well, it’s the least I could do. Male vanity being what it is.

 

What I Didn’t Like About This Episode:

 

·       By this point in the series, Castle has had several opportunities to ask Beckett out. It’s clear there’s attraction between the two of them. Hell, she was a guest in his home after her apartment blew up. That would’ve been a prime opportunity to ask her out. But no. Castle doesn’t ask her out, but he expects her to sit home and knit or something. This is a pattern that’s going to play out over the next 20+ episodes or two more seasons.

·       I didn’t like Castle much in this episode (I know this is becoming a pattern with me. As I said in my last entry, Beckett’s turn is coming). Anyway, he’s acting like a jealous schoolboy. I know Marlowe didn’t want Castle and Beckett getting together too soon, but sometimes I think he dragged it out far too long. I think the jealousy between Castle (and Beckett starting in Season 4) ruined what could’ve been better episodes in Season 3 and 4.

 

Favorite Scene: Rebecca Strong. The recipient of the second bag of money. Castle got a lesson in cry talk. Or, as my ex used to say, ‘Would you stop crying for two seconds so I can understand you?’ For the record, I’m not a big crier. I have to be very angry, and then I just blow up. It’s not pretty. I even had security called on me once for having a blow up in public. Like I said, not pretty.

 

Castle: What did she say?

Beckett: ‘What was I thinking?’ ‘I should’ve stayed out of it.’ It’s cry talk. There’s not a girl who hasn’t heard it from a sobbing, heartbroken girlfriend. What should you have stayed out of, Rebecca? The blackmail? You tried to do the right thing? Well, who wouldn’t listen? Did you have an accomplice?

Rebecca: Was just me.

 

Favorite Quote: Castle and Beckett in the department store.

 

Beckett: I cannot believe that you asked for samples.

Castle: She said anything we needed. Besides, it’s not for me. It’s for Ryan and Esposito.

Beckett: Don’t you mean Charlotte and Miranda?

Castle: Wait a minute! That would make me Carrie.

 

WTF? (Why the Face?): This ties into what I don’t like about this episode. Castle doesn’t agree about the theory regarding the stolen books simply because the theory came from Demming. The jealousy shows itself big time during this exchange with Beckett.

 

Castle: I’m not sure why everybody’s jumping to the conclusion that this murder was about the stolen books.

Beckett: Maybe because they’re missing.

Castle: The message on the mirror suggests an intention to kill, a motive of some kind. Stealing books – just a crime of opportunity.

Beckett: And now who’s jumping to conclusions?

Castle: I just hate to see anybody waste their time. The key here is the message, not the books.

Beckett: I think we should pursue both lines of investigation.

Castle: Well, he’s your boyfriend.

Beckett: Excuse me?

Castle: I’m sorry. Am I jumping to conclusions again?

Beckett: It’s none of your business.

 

Until Wednesday readers when we get to the Season 2 finale.

 

Original Airdate: May 3, 2010

 

Synopsis: The death of a popular chef reunites Beckett with her high school best friend, who owns the restaurant the victim was working at.

 

Notable Guest Stars: Julie Gonzalo, who portrays Beckett’s BFF, Madison Queller, portrayed Parker Lee on ‘Veronica Mars,’ and portrayed Rebecca Sutter on the TNT reboot of ‘Dallas.’

 

Rocco DiSpirito, who portrays himself, is a well-known chef and restauranteur.

 

The IMdB Portion of The Review:

 

Factual Errors: It is true that liquid nitrogen can freeze flesh solidly enough to shatter. However, it would take a lot more than would’ve been available in a restaurant kitchen to solidly freeze a body and would require full immersion for a period of time. (You can stick your finger into LN2 and hold it there for some time without being more than slightly chilled; it boils away quickly, and the vapor insulates your flesh from the cold liquid).

 

Ranking: This was #21 out of 24 for me.

 

I have another brief comment before I start. I know it may seem like I’m attacking Castle a lot. Believe me, Beckett will be getting her turn. And these are my opinions. I know not everyone is going to agree with me and that’s fine.

 

What I Liked About This Episode: This episode has one of the most quotable lines ever and I’ll be getting into it later.

 

·       We learn a bit about Beckett as a teenager. Beckett, or Becks, as she is known to her former best friend, Madison Queller, liked the show ‘Saved By the Bell.’ She also isn’t attracted to one type of guy. Which makes sense based on who she dates in the first three seasons. First, we have an FBI agent, then a robbery detective, and finally, a cardiac surgeon before she finally settles down with a ruggedly handsome best-selling novelist. Of course, Castle is intrigued about Kate reconnecting with her high school best friend.

 

Castle: High school friend, huh? I bet she knows where all your bodies are buried.

Beckett: You can dig all you want, Castle. My secrets are safe with her.

Castle: How can you be sure?

Beckett: Because whatever she knows about me, I know worse about her. We used to hang out. Big group of us. Had a good time.

Castle: And . . . what’s a good time?

Beckett: Well, if you don’t know by now, I’m sure it’s too late to show you one. (Ouch!)

 

·       We get insanely jealous Castle in this episode. In fact, Castle is insanely jealous through most of the final three episodes of Season 2. He walks into the precinct to find Kate acting all giggly with Tom Demming. Castle is quick to point out to Kate that he bought the cappuccino machine for homicide, not the whole precinct.

·       I have to admit I thought the murder in this episode was cool (no pun intended). Not realistic, as I learned from my Internet BFF, IMdB, but still cool. I’m a fan of ‘Top Chef,’ and I have seen many chefs create things from LN2. The show that Big Bad Wolf won is a knockoff of ‘Top Chef.’

·       There’s a reference in this episode to another of my former guilty pleasures. When Castle tells Alexis she looks like someone who was just voted off the island, he is clearly referencing ‘Survivor.’ I was once a huge fan of ‘Survivor,’ but that changed when it went from 39 days to 26 days and started adding way too many twists. Plus, I can’t stand Jeff Probst. I wish he would stick a sock in his mouth during challenges.

·       Seeing Rocco DiSpirito makes me wonder if he’s also a fan of ‘Firefly,’ because I seriously can’t see any other reason why he would make a cameo. They could’ve used any chef as a guest star. I won’t say more about Chef Rocco, other than I’m not a fan. My mom was, but not me. And yes, I used to watch way too many cooking shows and reality shows. Right now, I’m binging old seasons of ‘Big Brother.’

·       Perlmutter is the acting ME in this episode, which is the highlight of the episode.

 

What I Didn’t Like About This Episode:

 

·       Once again, Demming. He’s smugger than ever now that he seems to be dating Beckett. Showing off with the Chinese food is just one example.

·       Alexis and her dilemma. If she were a normal teenager, this wouldn’t be a dilemma. Go to the Hamptons with your friends and blow off studying. There you go! Problem solved!

 

Favorite Scene/Moment: The interrogation of Madison. This scene has one of the most quoted Castle lines ever. I’ve even used it in a past fan fiction story with the person who originally said it.

 

Madison: Okay. Next time I’m hitting on a guy you like, come clean with me before I go out with him, so you don’t have to arrest me to break up the date.

Beckett: Madison, that’s not—

Madison: No, no, no, no, no. I get it! You’re hot for Castle! You want to make little Castle babies! Why couldn’t you just be honest?

Beckett (whispering): Maddie?

Madison: What?

Beckett: He can hear us.

Madison: Oh, really?

Beckett: Yes.

Madison: Rick’s behind the mirror?

Beckett: Yeah.

Madison: Oh, like on TV? (waving at the glass) Hey there! Sorry we missed the pumpkin gnocchi! They’re really good! (Castle taps the glass in response) I have to tweet about this.

 

Favorite Quote: Maddie and Rick at the restaurant after Maddie makes an attempt to set Rocco up with Kate, much to Castle’s dismay.

 

Rick: You . . . you really think he’s Beckett’s type?

Maddie: Well, Becks never had a type. She dated a guitarist in a grunge band, a med student, and this French guy, but I’m pretty sure he was some sort of royalty. Who is she seeing now?

Rick: Oh just . . . some guy. I don’t see it going anywhere.

 

WTF? (Why the Face?): I had a couple for this one. One I mentioned earlier about Alexis and her stupid dilemma (I haven’t even begun to start in on Alexis. Just wait until Season 3 and early Season 4).

 

The other was the killer, David. He learned that his girlfriend, Cecily, was pregnant with Wolf’s child, so he killed him. Wow! Talk about brotherly love. Or as Maddie said, very Cain and Able.

 

Until Monday, readers.

Original Airdate: April 19, 2010

 

Synopsis: After an ex-con is found tortured and murdered, Beckett and her team find a connection between the victim and Esposito’s former partner.

 

Notable Guest Stars: Michael Ironside, who portrays mobster Victor Racine. He is a popular character actor who has been appearing in TV shows and movies since the 1980’s. He has more than 282 acting credits on IMdB. Some of his more notable roles include ‘Top Gun,’ ‘Total Recall,’ ‘Starship Troopers,’ and ‘ER’ among many others.

 

Michael Trucco, who is making his first of four appearances as Robbery Det. Tom Demming formerly appeared on ‘Battlestar Gallactica’ as Ensign Samuel Anders.

 

The IMdB Portion of The Review:

 

Factual Errors: Alexis says her three nines lost to Castle’s three Jacks on the river, but one of his cards is not a jack. There can’t be two jacks on the board because then Alexis would have had a full house.

 

Plot Holes: Demming, Ike Thornton, and Esposito all worked at the 54^(th) Precinct at the same time (Esposito transferred after Thornton went missing, and they all have the key fob). Demming should be well aware of a cop from his former precinct going rogue, and then seemingly getting killed. In addition, a picture of the mysterious piece of metal is shown on the “murder board.” Both Demming and Esposito have every chance to see a picture of something they carried on their keys every day.

 

Revealing Mistakes: The phone’s ‘SIM card’ that Ryan puts into the computer is actually a micro SD card.

 

Ranking: This is my least favorite episode of Season 2 and is in my bottom 20 least favorite episodes of all time. And the hate I feel for this episode isn’t even because of Demming.

 

Before I start, I want to address something that happened after the previous post. While I try to beta read and make corrections when I see them, I will sometimes miss mistakes. I’m old, so therefore, I have old vision. There’s no need to point out an error more than once. I check Reddit several times a day. I read the comments. And no, I’m not being thin-skinned.

 

What I Liked About This Episode:

 

·       Very, very little. I think the only episode of ‘Castle’ I dislike more than this one was ‘The Final Nail’ in Season 3.

·       I enjoyed watching Kate working out at the beginning of the episode. I also enjoyed the scene where she was sparring with Demming later in the episode. Stana Katic can definitely kick ass and take names.

·       We learn a bit about Espo in this episode and his time at the 54^(th) Precinct. He transferred to the 12^(th) after his former partner, Ike Thornton, was presumed to have bene murdered. It seems he knew Tom Demming from Robbery when he worked at the 54^(th). However, I found it funny that neither of them recognized the broken piece of the key fob that was found on the victim’s body. But if they had, the murder would’ve been solved in like . . . five minutes. That means they would’ve had to fill the remaining 37 minutes of the show with . . . something. Most likely, we would’ve seen half an hour of Alexis and her father playing Texas Hold ‘Em. No, thank you. I’ll pass.

·       Michael Ironside is good in just about everything. And he was probably the only shining part of this episode. He always plays a good bad guy.

·       This episode contains a line of dialog that is so good that it is easily Top 10. I’ll get to it later.

·       Instead, right now, I’ll use one that showcases a very angry Esposito. We don’t see Angry Espo very often, so this was shocking.

 

Castle: Hey, you guys rounding up the usual suspects?

Espo: Yeah, and every hood this side of Harlem says Finch has been out of action for years. Where’s Beckett?

Castle: Oh, she and Captain America are in there with Fred Cana.

Espo: Fred Cana?

Castle: Yeah, he’s the guy who rented the safety—(Espo’s expression changes, and he stops talking. He and Ryan follow Espo to the Interrogation Room).

Cana: Officer Esposito!

Espo: Actually, it’s Det. Esposito now, Fred.

 

After he lunges at Cana, Beckett orders him from the room.

 

Beckett: What the hell was that all about?

Espo: He works for Victor Racine!

Beckett: So?

Espo: Victor Racine killed my partner!

 

·       Since I disliked this episode so much, I’ll probably stick with lines of dialog. Castle had some gems in this one. It’s the best thing I can say about this episode.

 

Demming: Yeah, but how did he get to Finch in the first place?

Castle: Maybe he recognized the great smell of Brut.

 

·       That line reminded me the line quoted by Daniel Stern in the movie ‘Breaking Away,’ after he gets his ass kicked by a bunch of preppie college kids.

 

Mike (Dennis Quaid): You want to tell me who did it?

Cyril (Daniel Stern): It was dark . . . all I can tell you for sure is that they all wore Brut aftershave and reeked of Lavoris.

 

·       Damn, I love that movie. Not as much as Tombstone, Goodfellas, and Tootsie, but pretty close. I’m known to quote all four.

·       The final thing I liked was how Lanie obtained the fingerprint from Paul Finch’s eyelid. I was right up there with Castle. It was cool. This scene also contains my favorite Lanie quote.

 

Castle: This is so cool. Do you mind if I take pictures?

Lanie: Knock yourself out. But if any of them end up on the Internet, I will hunt you down and hurt you. So . . . what’s up with the handsome robbery detective?

Beckett: Demming? Oh, we’re just working the case together. That’s all.

Lanie: Mm-hmmm. But then again, you have been working with Castle for a year and a half and not a damn thing has happened, so . . . we had a pool going. I lost a lot of money on you two.

 

What I Didn’t Like About This Episode: So much. So very, very much. Here we go:

 

·       The supposedly dead cop who isn’t really dead? Really? Hasn’t that plot been done to death on other shows?

·       I also didn’t like the supposedly dead cop’s wife. Although I liked the kid. Who doesn’t like a kid who collects baseball cards?

·       I didn’t like Demming. That dislike increases over the course of the next three episodes. By the season finale, I really, really didn’t like him.

·       While Castle had a lot of good lines in this episode, he also has one of the worst, most cringe-inducing, misogynistic lines ever. I think this was when I started disliking Demming.

 

Demming: Castle, can I ask you something? You and Beckett – is there, uh, something going on?

Castle: Me and Beckett?

Demming: Yeah.

Castle: No.

Demming: Look, man, if I’m offsides—

Castle: No flag on the play.

Demming: Great. Okay. Good.

 

·       To be fair, Demming was the one who started it with the stupid football analogies. Ughhh!

 

WTF? (Why the Face?): The IAB guy, Holliwell, was a real piece of work. I know that most IAB guys are douchy, which is why they’re usually stuck in IAB. But to be a douche and then to be on the take is a special kind of lowdown scumbag.

 

Favorite Quote: The scene where Beckett and Demming are going in to interrogate Cana. This is in the Top 10 of all Castle quotes, and I read somewhere that Nathan Fillion ad-libbed this line, as well. The funny thing is that I don’t know how many times I watched this episode before I finally caught what he was saying.

 

Beckett: Meanwhile, I’m gonna need you guys to hit the street and see if you can scrape up any of Finch’s associates – maybe someone he’s taken scores with in the past or people that he owes. Thank you.

 

Castle: What can I do?

Beckett: You can watch.

Castle (under his breath): Two weeks ago, I saved your life twice.

 

Favorite Scene: When Alexis beats her dad at Texas Hold ‘Em.

 

Alexis: So, it looks like I owe you one night of solo dish duty. And you owe me four days of bed-making duty, three spa treatments, two pairs of sunglasses, and a Bulgari purse for Gram. (Castle doesn’t respond). What’s wrong?

Castle: I’m not used to losing.

 

We all know he was referring to losing Beckett to Demming. Newsflash! You can’t lose something you never had in the first place, Castle! Jeez!

 

Until Friday, readers.

 

Original Airdate: April 12, 2010

 

Synopsis: A late-night talk show host drops dead just hours after telling Castle after his show that someone wants him dead.

 

Notable Guest Stars: Tom Bergeron, who portrays Bobby Mann, the murder victim, is more widely known for hosting ‘Hollywood Squares’ from 1998-2004, ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos’ from 2006-2015, and ‘Dancing with The Stars’ from 2005-2019. He is a fan of ‘Firefly,’ which might explain how he got this role. That, and DWTS was the lead-in show for ‘Castle’ on Monday nights. More on him later.

 

Amy Aquino, who portrayed Janine Marks, played Lt. Grace Billets on ‘Bosch.’

 

French Stewart, who portrayed Zack Robinson, portrayed Harry Solomon on ‘Third Rock from the Sun’ from 1996-2001. He was the best part of that show, IMO. French is his real name. It’s a family name, and he’s the fourth French in his family.

 

Nicholle Tom, who portrayed Cindy Mann, one of Bobby’s many ex-wives, might be better known to some of us for portraying Maggie Sheffield on ‘The Nanny.’ I thought she also portrayed Victoria Newman on ‘The Young & The Restless,’ but that was her older sister, Heather.

 

I don’t know why he wasn’t listed, but Fred Willard, who portrayed Hank McPhee, has been on just about every TV show out there for the last 30+ years. He passed away in 2020.

 

The IMdB Portion of The Review:

 

Goofs: Ryan informs Beckett that Bobby left Barbara’s apartment at 1:15 am. However, this is already listed on the whiteboard timeline.

 

Character Error: Ellie Monroe claims to be a huge fan of Castle’s, having read Heat Wave three times. Yet she states, ‘I didn’t know you worked with law enforcement’ while seated beside him on The Bobby Mann Show.

 

Continuity: Lanie says, ‘Secondary tox panels detected traces of tyramine, which is harmless . . . ‘ Actually, in cases of dangerous MAO inhibitor/food interaction, it is the elevated tyramine levels that cause catastrophically high blood pressure.

 

Revealing Mistakes: When listening to the tapes, the headphones are still plugged in even though the sound is coming through the speakers.

 

Blooper: Tom Bergeon smiles at one point when he’s supposed to be a corpse.

 

Ranking: I have this one ranked at #11. It might seem a little high to some of you, but there were scenes in this episode I did like. My rankings for future seasons are going to be better.

 

What I Liked About This Episode:

 

·       We get more shades of jealous Kate. This will start happening more as the show moves into Seasons 3 and 4. I liked how Castle tried to downplay his relationship with Ellie Monroe.

·       The murder was unique. I found it interesting how many pharmaceuticals are affected by what we eat and drink.

·       There’s very little Alexis in this episode. Just at the beginning and the end. And no Martha. This episode needed Martha quips. Her quips are always good for a laugh and to make you think. I’m sure she would’ve had advice for Richard, and I’m sure she would’ve told him that Ellie was only sleeping with him in order to get considered for the part of Nikki Heat in the movie.

·       The President of The Network scene was hilarious when he learned about the murder of Bobby Mann from a rival network.

 

Weisberg: Hell, I’ll sic God on you! (to Castle) And you? I don’t ever want to see you on my network again! (to Beckett) And you? I don’t know you! You’re all a bunch of nobodies! I could buy this precinct!

Montgomery: Howard Weisberg, president of the network. He just found out about the search warrant for Mickey Reed. And he also found out that we think Bobby Mann was murdered.

Beckett: How?

Montgomery: Breaking news on a different network. The guy got scooped on his own guy’s murder

Beckett: So much for keeping the press out.

 

·       I also found it funny when Castle learned that Ellie wasn’t only sleeping with him for the part of Nikki Heat, but she was also sleeping with Howard Weisberg. I definitely would’ve said ‘I told you so,’ if I had been Beckett.

 

What I Didn’t Like About This Episode:

 

·       How clueless is Castle? I mean, seriously? I can’t believe he didn’t see why Ellie was so interested in him.

·       One date, and he’d already assigned her a ringtone on his phone? I was with my ex for over 20 years, and I never assigned him a ringtone. I mean, we didn’t always have cell phones, but still . . .

·       I’ve never been a fan of Fred Willard, but I especially didn’t like him in this episode.

·       Tom Bergeron should stick to hosting TV programs. He’s not the world’s greatest actor.

 

WTF? (Why the Face?): Bobby Mann sleeping the Kayla. The girl was practically a child. Can we just say ewwww?

 

Favorite Scene/Moment: I have two this week.

 

Castle gets a text alert on his phone. He looks at it and starts giggling.

 

Beckett: Text giggling? Really?

Castle: It’s Alexis. She just saw a loon feeding. (He takes a bite of food).

Beckett: Funny. So did I.

 

My other favorite is later in the episode.

 

Castle (sullenly): Morning.

Beckett: It’s okay, Castle. You don’t have to pretend to not be in a good mood for my sake.

Castle: Why should I be in a good mood? I mean . . . I’m a writer. We . . . famously brood. We . . . I should brood more.

 

Favorite Quote: When ‘How Much I Feel’ by Ambrosia plays on Castle’s phone. Beckett sees a picture of Ellie and Castle flash on his screen.

 

Beckett: I believe this is for you.

 

Until Wednesday, readers. When we get to the final four, and the arrival of Beckett’s new love interest, Tom Demming.

 

 

 

Original Airdate: April 5, 2010

 

Synopsis: While investigating the murder of a museum curator, Castle finds that he has been ‘cursed’ after gazing on the face of a sarcophagus.

 

Ranking: This is my 4^(th) favorite episode of the season and is my Top 10 List of Favorite episodes. It is my ex’s second favorite episode of all time. When he was on Facebook, his profile pic was Castle facedown in the elevator.

 

Notable Guest Stars: Currie Graham, who portrays Sanford Raynes, was in the remake of ‘Assault on Precinct 13’ and also appeared in 21 episodes of ‘NYPD Blues.’ I always thought he resembled Kevin Spacey, who was one of my favorite actors until he had his career blown up by certain accusations.

 

Gil Birmingham, who portrays Cacaw Te, was born in my hometown of San Antonio, Texas. He later portrayed Thomas Rainwater on ‘Yellowstone.’

 

Navi Rawat, who portrays Rachel Waters, is married to Brawley Nolte, the son of Nick Nolte. As a child, Brawley portrayed the son of Mel Gibson’s character in the movie ‘Ransom,’ which is one of my favorite movies of all time and my second favorite Mel Gibson movie.

 

The IMdB Portion of The Review:

 

Trivia: Mayans did not mummify their dead. The kings would be laid out and covered in jewels and other adornments. They didn’t have sarcophagus. Therefore, Castle couldn’t have seen a mummy’s face; if anything, he saw a face plate that covered the king. Mummies, sarcophaguses and curses are all Egyptian, not Mayan.

 

Guest stars Gil Birmingham and Navi Rawat are part of the Joss Whedon-verse. Birmingham appeared in a minor role in Season 2 of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ and Rawat appeared in the final season of ‘Angel.’

 

What I Liked About This Episode:

 

·       I noticed a trend in ‘Castle,’ starting with this episode. After a particularly hard-hitting, gut-wrenching episode, there will always be a lighter episode. And it just doesn’t get much lighter and funnier than this episode. Unfortunately, this is also the last good episode of Season 2. The final five episodes are complete stinkers, especially after the introduction of Tom Demming.

·       As a child who grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons in the late 60’s and early 70’s, I appreciated the references to ‘Scooby Doo.’

·       Everybody had fun in this episode. I always love the episodes where every character got to play a part, no matter how small. And in this episode, everyone’s role made this episode a lot of fun.

·       I had several favorite moments in this episode. And every character had a favorite moment for me. So, I’m going to go down the line.

·       **Beckett—**I had two from Beckett. The first was her staring at Castle’s ass after he had his pants torn by the dog. The second were the two practical jokes she pulled on him. It was great seeing Beckett finally having fun.

·       **Martha—**Her story about the Scottish play (MacBeth). Susan Sullivan is such a consummate actress. I could listen to her stories forever.

·       **Alexis—**I enjoyed her teasing her grandmother about actors curse. I also liked her teasing her dad about the curse.

·       **The Boys & Montgomery—**This was my favorite scene in the episode, and it involved all three guys.

 

Esposito: Dog attack? Icing on the cake.

Ryan: Yeah, it was sort of a little bonus, wasn’t it?

Montgomery: You had to mess with the curse, didn’t you? Trying to be funny. You know what kind of hell I’d catch if Castle got eaten in the line of duty? (I died laughing the first time I saw this episode after he said that).

Ryan: Don’t tell me you really believe that stuff, sir.

Montgomery: You know what I believe in, Detective? There’s no upside to screwing with things you don’t understand. First year of homicide, right? My partner tackles a suspect through the window of a Gypsy Smoke Shop. Owner’s furious, threatens all kinds of hexes on our houses if we don’t personally go and clean it up, and we tell her ‘Yeah, take it up with the city.’ Two hours later, my partner drops dead – heart attack.

Esposito: And you think it was the hexes?

Montgomery: No. The man ate bacon with every meal. I went over there, and fixed that window, and you know why?

Ryan & Espo: Because there’s no upside with screwing with things you can’t explain?

Montgomery: And don’t you ever forget it.

 

·       **Castle—**Castle’s favorite moment was the faceplant in the elevator. I have one more, but it’s coming later.

 

What I Didn’t Like About This Episode:

 

·       Rupert Bentley, the co-financier of the exhibit. All he worried about was selling tickets to his exhibit. The fact that two people associated with the exhibit died meant nothing to him just as long as he could sell tickets and make money.

 

WTF? (Why the Face?): Stanford Raynes, the murderer, was a piece of work. He killed Will Medina because he knew Medina knew the truth about the missing mummy. And he’d murdered Nicole months earlier just because she wouldn’t sleep with him. Breaking his leg at the end was the best thing that could happen to this guy. He was a villain indeed worthy of ‘Scooby Doo.’

 

Favorite Scene/Moment: Castle asking Beckett to look out for Alexis in the event something happens to him. This was funny and sweet at the same time.

 

Beckett: Rogue archaeologists. Mayan death threats, drug dealers claiming to deal in antiquities and missing mummies? There’s gotta be a story that makes all of this make sense. (noticing Castle staring at her). What?

Castle: Nothing.

Beckett: Castle?

Castle: If something were to happen to me, I want you to watch out for Alexis. She looks up to you, and if her boyfriends get frisky, you can shoot them.

Beckett: Nothing’s going to happen to you.

Castle: But if it does—

Beckett: Okay.

Castle: And would you also go into my closet and get rid of my porn collection before she finds it?

Espo: Don’t worry, bro. I’ve got you covered.

 

Favorite Quote:

 

Castle: Is he actually . . . running away?

Beckett: Yeah. It’s primal instinct. Fight or flight.

Castle: Should we run after him?

Beckett: Eh, no need.

 

Until Monday, readers.

 

 

 

Original Airdate: March 29, 2010 (This aired on my birthday)

 

Synopsis: The serial killer continues taunting Castle, Beckett and the FBI.

 

Ranking: This episode is #5, one notch higher than ‘Tick . . . Tick . . . Tick.’

 

The IMdB Portion of The Review:

 

Trivia: This is the most watched episode of the series, with 14.5 million viewers.

 

Incorrectly Regarded as A Goof: In Season 1 (Home is Where the Heart Stops), Castle and Beckett are at the shooting range, and he gets three shots in the 10-ring with ease. However, in this episode, when Castle is aiming for Scott Dunn’s head, he shoots him in the hand instead, which leads to the Firefly-referenced ‘I was aiming for his head.’

 

While Castle is shown to be an excellent pistol shot on the range, he’s not a trained police officer or a skilled/experienced fighter. Therefore, it’s plausible that shooting under stress would affect his marksmanship. This happens even to experienced officers and soldiers.

 

What I Liked About This Episode:

 

·       The Castle/Beckett scorecard gets two entries for this episode. This is the first entry since 2x01. Castle saves Beckett’s life twice, and even comments on it in ‘Den of Thieves.’

·       This episode begins where the previous episode left off after Beckett’s apartment blows up. Castle manages to kick in Beckett’s door where he finds her naked in the bathtub, much to Beckett’s horror, and Castle’s chagrin. He reminds her that there’s no time for modesty since her apartment is on fire.

·       Beckett finds her mom’s ring but can’t locate her father’s watch. Somehow Castle finds it and has it repaired. He gives it to her at the end of the episode. This is the second gift he presents her with after the signed Derrick Storm book in the pilot. He gives her one more present in Season 3.

·       Shaw kicks Beckett off the case after she disobeys orders by going after Dunn. When Montgomery tells her to go home, she reminds him she doesn’t have a home. Castle vehemently disagrees.

 

Beckett: Sir, I don’t have a home!

Castle: Yes, you do. It’s a secured building, with an extra bedroom, with people who care about you, with a federal detail at the door. It’s the safest place in the city.

Beckett: Thank you, Castle. But I couldn’t.

Castle: You can and you will.

 

·       We see Beckett at her most vulnerable when they find the apartment of serial killer Scott Dunn. It’s your typical serial killer lair with photos of Beckett posted all over the room as well as newspaper articles of his other murders. You can see the terror in Beckett’s eyes as she takes in the surroundings.

·       Castle wasn’t the only person who was unaware of the word ‘un-ass.’ I guess I’ll be adding that word to my vocab list for future reference.

 

Shaw: For future reference, it means ‘get the hell out and don’t touch anything.’

 

·       There’s a ‘Firefly’ reference in this episode, only I was unaware of it when I first watched. Keep in mind, I’ve seen exactly two episodes of ‘Firefly.

 

Beckett: Hell of a shot, Castle.

Castle: I was aiming for his head.

 

·       For the first time, Beckett places all her trust into Castle by giving him her gun when they go into the warehouse to rescue Agent Shaw. This is a trend that will continue from this point forward. She knew that Castle had her back and vice versa.

·       We learn that Beckett’s mom was a great cook. We learn that Beckett also cooks. Which is something Castle conveniently forgets in Season 5, Episode 4. I’m sorry, but the continuity errors drive me crazy. Even something as minor as not knowing that your partner, and eventually girlfriend, can cook. For someone who supposedly pays attention to every other aspect of Beckett’s life, you’d think this would be an easy one to remember.

 

What I Didn’t Like About This Episode:

 

·       For some reason, I didn’t like the chase through the subway station. I don’t know why, but that scene bugged me.

 

WTF? (Why the Face?): Martha. Did she move out? Did she move back in? Does Chet really exist? While she appears to move out in this episode, she doesn’t really. It’s like being divorced and having shared custody of the kids, but your ex is still living under your roof.

 

Favorite Scene/Moment: The scene between Castle and Beckett at the loft. I would say the deleted scene between Beckett and Alexis, but I’ve already talked about how much I like that scene. Btw, that scene can be found on YouTube, but it’s not in the deleted scenes on the Season 2 DVD’s, which I find very weird. For those who’ve never seen it, look it up. It’s a sweet scene.

 

Beckett: Well, who thought I’d be homeless and caseless in one day?

Castle: I know I’m the king of going rogue, but you were right to chase after Dunn.

Beckett: And Agent Shaw was right for kicking me off the case. I would’ve done the same thing if I was in her spot. I’m too close to it.

Castle: I’m sure you, after all this, you’re a little sorry you let me follow you around.

Beckett: No, not this. All the other annoying things you do, but not this.

Castle: Hmmm.

Beckett: What about you? Are you sorry that you ever wrote Heat Wave?

Castle: The way I look at it now, if it wasn’t for Nikki Heat, this guy would’ve just gone on killing because he wouldn’t have met anyone smart enough to catch him. I’m speaking, of course, about Agent Shaw.

 

Favorite Quote: After rethinking a few things, I have two favorite quotes. The first is when Castle and Beckett are going into the warehouse to rescue Agent Shaw, and Beckett hands Castle her gun.

 

Castle: You want me to hold it while you tie your shoe?

 

The second is at the end when Agent Shaw is getting ready to leave.

Shaw: He cares about you, Kate. You may not see it. You may not be ready to. But he does.

Beckett: Yeah. Well, the situation with Castle is . . . complicated.

 

Castle/Beckett Scorecard: The score is now tied 3-3.

 

Until Friday, readers.

Original Airdate: March 22, 2010

 

Synopsis: Castle and Beckett are investigating murders committed by a fan of the character Nikki Heat. This is part 1 of a two-part story line.

 

Notable Guest Stars: Dana Delaney, who portrays FBI Special Agent Jordan Shaw, is a favorite of mine since her days of playing Lt. Colleen McMurphy on the Vietnam-era drama ‘China Beach’ from 1988-1991, for which she was nominated for four Emmy Awards, winning two. She also played Katherine Mayfair on ‘Desperate Housewives’ from 2007-2012. She also plays Josephine Marcus, the wife of Wyatt Earp, in my favorite movie of all time ‘Tombstone.’ I know every line of dialog in this movie, and yes, it drives people crazy.

 

Ranking: This episode is ranked #6 out of 24.

 

The IMdB Portion of The Review:

 

Trivia: Susan Sullivan is a long-time struggling actress. In one scene, Martha Rodgers can be seen watching herself in the pilot episode of ‘The Incredible Hulk.’

 

Goofs: At the end of the episode when Castle is trying to call Beckett and the bomb goes off; his phone is facing the wrong way when he moves it away from his ear.

 

Pop Culture References: There are a few pop culture references in this episode to Son of Sam, Jodie Foster and the movie ‘Nim’s Island.’

 

What I Liked About This Episode:

 

·       This was the first two-part episode of the series. It’s also the second-best two-part episode in my opinion. My favorite one will be much later. It contains everything that makes ‘Castle’ great. Humor, angst, a truly creepy serial killer, and family drama. Oh, and a little Beckett jealousy. Like I said, the whole enchilada.

·       We learn that ‘Heat Wave’ is going to be made into a movie. Apparently, this doesn’t go well judging by things we learn in both Season 3 and Season 8. However, Castle is super-excited about this, and he wants everyone else to be excited about it, too. And everyone is, except for Beckett. But soon enough they have other things to worry about besides Beckett’s lack of enthusiasm regarding the ‘Heat Wave’ movie. A chilling phone call regarding a dead body at Grand Central Station, for starters.

·       I have two words about my favorite thing in this episode. Jordan Shaw. Dana Delaney instantly takes control of any role she’s in and this is no exception. Jordan Shaw was such a great character that she should’ve been included in more episodes. One of my followers brought up an interesting error. The FBI was brought into this case because of the serial killer element. Why weren’t they brought in to hunt for Jerry Tyson? Wasn’t he also a serial killer? Hmmm. And what about the kidnapped boy in ‘Murder Most Fowl’ in Season 3? Shouldn’t they have been brought in then?

·       The secondary storyline in this episode was very cute. I’m glad since the primary storyline was so dark. Martha’s boyfriend, Chet, has asked her to move in with him. But Martha is torn. Her reasons for not wanting to move in with him are quite funny. One of them causes a raised eyebrow from her son. “I don’t want to live in another man’s house.” Yeah, bud, I feel your pain on that one.

·       The beginning of the episode is also cute when the boys learned about the ‘Heat Wave’ movie.

 

Ryan: What do you think? Can we get James McAvoy for Det. Raley?

Esposito: I’m gonna go with Javier Bardem. (Not a chance in hell, Espo).

 

·       When the FBI is brought in, Beckett finds herself jealous by how excited Castle is by Jordan Shaw. I would think as a detective, Beckett would be familiar with Jordan Shaw and her body of work. Castle gets very excited when the FBI sets up their high-tech war room. I thought their smart board was very cool.

·       One of my favorite scenes was when Agent Shaw, Castle and Beckett are sitting in Shaw’s SUV as her people prepare to arrest Donald Salt.

 

Shaw: So, how long have you two been sleeping together?

Beckett: I’m . . . we’re . . . we’re not sleeping together.

 

Shaw is wrong. This time.

 

·       The serial killer is a piece of work. We don’t learn his true identity until Part 2, so I won’t be mentioning his name in today’s entry. Every time he calls in to report another of his murder’s, the creep factor goes up several notches. Castle begins to feel responsible because if it hadn’t been for the Nikki Heat books, this psycho wouldn’t be killing people. However, Beckett points out that the guy would be killing, even without the books. The books are just a convenient excuse.

·       Because Castle feels responsible, he thinks this also makes him responsible for protecting Beckett. This will lead to the most hilarious scene in the episode. One of my favorite lines is when Castle shows up, expensive bottle of wine in hand, to protect her. “With what? Your vast arsenal of rapier wit?” Ah, so she does find him funny. Interesting. Beckett is quick to remind him that she sleeps with a gun just in case he decides to pay her a visit in the middle of the night. She had first informed him of this fact in ‘The Fifth Bullet,’ but she repeated it just in case he had forgotten.

 

Things I Didn’t Like About This Episode:

 

·       There was just one thing, and as usual, it had to do with Alexis. I felt her reaction to her grandmother moving out of the loft and in with Chet was extreme. She acted as if she was never going to see her grandmother again. Other than that, I enjoyed this episode very much. When I had cable and TNT, I watched it every time it aired. Now that I have the series on DVD, I can still watch it whenever I want.

 

Favorite Scene/Moment: The morning after scene at Beckett’s apartment when they’re greeted by the dead body at her doorstep. This was not only the funniest scene in the episode, but Top 10 Funniest Scenes in the entire series.

 

Ryan: So, you two had just gotten up, right?

Beckett: Yeah. Castle had just finished making breakfast, and he went to the door—

Ryan: What kind of breakfast?

Beckett: Uh, I’m sorry?

Ryan: What kind of breakfast was he making?

Beckett: Pancakes.

Ryan: Well, isn’t that domestic?

Beckett: Anyway, the paper usually arrives at 4:00 and we were up at 7:00. So, that means the killer had a 3-hour window where he could’ve left the body there unnoticed.

Ryan: And exactly what time did you and Mr. Castle go to bed last night?

Beckett: I think we’re done here.

 

Moments later . . .

 

Espo: Dude, I see Beckett in her jammies . . . wine glasses on the table.

Castle: There’s nothing going on between Beckett and me. No more than there was yesterday.

Ryan: Dude, you made her pancakes!

Castle: It’s just breakfast.

Espo: Pancakes is not ‘just breakfast.’ It’s an edible way of saying ‘Thank you so much for last night.’

Ryan: Castle, come on. We’re your friends. Details.

*Castle: All right. (*waving them closer) Come here. There are no details!

Espo: I can’t even look at you right now.

Ryan (writing in his notepad): Witness refuses to cooperate.

 

Favorite Quote:

 

Shaw: So, if you’re not sleeping together, why do you keep him around?

Castle: You know I can hear you?

Beckett: He’s actually proven to be surprisingly helpful.

Shaw: Hmm. Have to take your word on that. (She’s interrupted by Castle powering up the taser behind her) Put the taser down! (Btw, my favorite line in the entire episode).

 

WTF? (Why the Face?): The first phone call from the killer was very creepy. Other than Jerry Tyson, this guy was by far the creepiest killer ever on ‘Castle.’

 

Until Wednesday when we get into Part 2.

 

Original Airdate: March 8, 2010

 

Synopsis: Castle and Beckett investigate the world of BDSM when a woman is found almost naked, suspended from monkey bars in a park.

 

Notable Guest Stars: Juliana Devers, who portrays Ryan’s girlfriend, Jenny O’Malley, is married to actor Seamus Devers, who portrays Kevin Ryan. They have been married since May of 2006.

 

The IMdB Portion of The Review:

 

Goofs: This goof occurs a few times during the first few seasons and it involves Beckett’s badge number. In a previous episode when she requested an APB, she stated her badge number as being 41319. However, when she introduces herself to Lady Irena, her badge is clearly shown as being 0334.

 

Ranking: This is my 3^(rd) favorite episode of the season. However, this is my ex’s favorite episode of the entire series for one scene, which I’ll point out later. His second favorite episode is also in Season 2 and is a little later.

 

What I Liked About This Episode: This should actually be titled ‘What Didn’t I Like About This Episode?’ because, honestly, there’s little about this episode that I didn’t like. When I quote ‘Castle’ (and I quote ‘Castle’ a lot), I use a lot of quotes from this episode.

 

·       This episode started strong and never lost momentum, not for a second. With most episodes, there’s at least one scene I don’t like. Not with this episode. And it had the added bonus of the killer being something of a surprise when I watched it the first time. Although on rewatching, I now see why I should’ve guessed it was the roommate, Danielle, but the writers got me on the first watch. Kudos to them.

·       This episode had so many great scenes. One of my favorites is at the beginning of the episode, at the crime scene when Beckett is commenting about the custom-made handcuffs.

 

Castle: Only a handful of bondage shops? Okay, what aren’t you telling me?

Beckett: So much, Castle. So very, very much.

 

·       The all-knowing smirk gets me every time. (By the way, not my ex’s favorite scene, but it’s coming soon. I promise).

·       We meet Jenny in this episode. We learned that Ryan had a girlfriend in 1x09 when she gave him the World’s Ugliest Tie for their 2-week anniversary. However, we don’t learn her name until this episode.

·       I find it strange that Esposito, who is Ryan’s closest friend, has never met Jenny. So, I can understand why he doesn’t believe she exists. I also remember the days when I worked as a contractor for the Air Force, and we were subjected to browser history checks on our work computers. I completely get Ryan’s nervousness regarding that detail. I would imagine it would be difficult to explain to IAB that you have a legitimate reason for looking at sex toys on a work computer. But this leads to my ex’s favorite scene.

 

Castle: Oh, jeez! How do you even get in that position?

Ryan: Right? It’s not even possible.

Beckett: Oh, it’s possible.

 

·       In a much later episode, Castle comments on how flexible Beckett is, which is way too much TMI.

·       While wandering around The Love Shackle (I love the nod to the B-52’s, by the way), Castle teases Beckett about her imaginary boyfriend, which leads to her threatening Castle with a gag mask. I liked how Beckett showed Barry her own pair of handcuffs when he offered to sell a pair to her and Castle. Later on in Season 5, Episode 5, we learned that they did use Beckett’s handcuffs, on occasion. I like how a lot of these earlier episodes come back as Easter eggs in later seasons.

·       This episode had a lot of suspects. I can think of five right off the bat. We have Jessica’s boyfriend, Tyler, her roommate,
Danielle (who ended up being the killer), two college rivals, Kelly and Matt. And finally, we have Lady Irena, from Lady Irena’s House of Pain.

 

Ryan: Conveniently located for all your lunchtime spanking needs.

 

·       Lady Irena is great! She’s even better than Lady Heather on ‘CSI.’ Castle, of course, is mesmerized by her. She refuses to tell them anything about her dungeon or her girls.

·       Beckett sends Ryan and Espo back to the dungeon later to interview more of the girls. This leads me to what has to be one of my Top 5 RyEspo moments ever.

 

Ryan: Det. Esposito. Bringing crime to its knees.

 

·       Ryan had a lot of good lines in this episode.

·       Before I continue, I should briefly mention the secondary storyline of this episode. Only because it leads to a cute Castle/Beckett exchange. Alexis is trying out to be a cheerleader. Why? I have no idea. I thought cheerleader tryouts were held at the beginning of the school year. But what do I know? I don’t have teenage daughters, and I never wanted to be a cheerleader. Cheerleaders were the girls I didn’t even want to hang out with in high school. (For the ones who were cheerleaders in high school, I apologize).

·       Castle is also a bit concerned about his daughters’ new hobby. If I were Castle, I’d be more concerned she’s acting like a normal teenage girl.

 

Castle: You ever want to be a cheerleader?

Beckett: No. Did you?

Castle: Not me. Alexis. She wants to try out for the team.

Beckett: So?

Castle: So? You see what they wear? She wants to join a team, why not join mathletes?

Beckett: Why can’t she do both? Besides, kids try on personalities the way they try on clothes. It’s the way they figure out who they are.

 

·       I’m sorry if it seems like I’m recapping the episode. I don’t ever want to do that. After they discover Matt has stolen Jessica’s research notes to blackmail her into dropping out of a fellowship prize that she’s contending for, all roads eventually lead to Danielle. Danielle is the Toxic Roommate from Hell. I lived with one of those for three months when I was 21. But I could easily crank out a 300-word bestseller from those three months. Let me put it this way: I will never again have another roommate.

 

What I Didn’t Like About This Episode:

 

·       At first, I was going to say nothing. But after thinking about it, the only thing I didn’t like was the secondary storyline. Like Castle, I didn’t understand why this girl wanted to be a cheerleader. Other than that, this episode was almost perfect. The only reason it’s not #1 was because I liked The Double Down and Sucker Punch just a little more.

 

WTF? (Why the Face?): Matt, the med student, was slimy. He wanted that Fellowship so badly that he was willing to follow a fellow competitor, and then blackmailed her when he learned what it was she was studying.

 

Favorite Scene: Castle and Beckett at Lady Irena’s.

 

Castle: This place looks like a law firm.

Beckett: What’d you think it was gonna be? Torture wheels and women in corsets?

Castle: Well, yeah.

Beckett: That’s in the back.

Receptionist: Welcome to Lady Irena’s House of Pain. How can I serve you?

Beckett (shouting at Castle): Well, answer her! You see what I have to deal with? My boyfriend Ricky has an appointment at 4:00 pm with Mistress Venom.

Receptionist: Will you be joining him?

Beckett: Oh, yes. I’ve been dying to watch him squirm.

Receptionist: Mistress Venom would be delighted to have an audience. Follow me, please.

Beckett: Do you think we could gag him?

Castle: Remember, my safe word is “apples.”

 

Favorite Quote: Castle and Beckett when they’re leaving Lady Irena’s.

 

Castle: Sorry. It’s just hypnotic.

Beckett: It’s not you. It’s her.

Castle: Well, if you’re so upset, we could find someone for you to go medieval on.

 

Until Monday, readers. In the meantime, I’m going to try to erase memories from the summer of ’81. Monday, I’m going to post Part 1 of the first ‘Castle’ two-part episode.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Original Airdate: February 8, 2010

 

Synopsis: Castle and Beckett investigate the murder of a baseball player found dead in Spanish Harlem.

 

Notable Guest Stars: Ray Wise, who portrays Bobby Fox, had roles in Twin Peaks as Leland Palmer and was henchman Leon C. Nash in Robocop.

 

Joe Torre makes a cameo as himself, which leads to a lot of continuity issues regarding a future Season 5 episode.

 

Ranking: I have this one ranked at #18, which is ridiculously high because I hate this episode. I promise when I’m done with Season 2, I will do a post where I re-rank some of these episodes. The best thing about ranking this absolute stinker of an episode is the next three episodes are ones I like very much. In fact, the next episode is my ex’s favorite episode of the entire series.

 

The IMdB Portion of The Review:

 

Trivia: As a baseball fan, Beckett is thrilled about getting to meet Joe Torre. Though he was the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers when this episode premiered, Torre is more famous for managing the New York Yankees from 1996-2007. During those 11 years, the Yankees compiled a .605 winning percentage, made the playoffs every year, won four World Series titles, six American League pennants, and 10 American League East division titles; Torre himself won AL Manager of The Year in 1996 and 1998. (Cited by IMdB).

 

Cuba does not have a consulate in NYC or an embassy in Washington DC. However, they do have an interests section in Washington DC and a mission to the U.N. in NYC. However, Beckett is correct when she states that the head of the “Cuban Consulate” does not have diplomatic immunity, but more limited consular immunity. However, the head of a mission to the U.N. would have full diplomatic immunity.

 

When I used to post for Small Screen Smackdown on FB, I had an editor named John. John absolutely detested this episode. This is a review that I found on IMdB regarding this episode. I will cite IMdB at the end of the review:

 

“I love this show. It is like chocolate; no nutritional value, whatsoever, but a guilty pleasure I cannot deny myself every now and then. And, digested over an extended period of time, not only instantly happiness producing, but quite addictive, as well.”

 

“Usually, I am quite happy with the plot development, since it never is or has been the series main focus, anyway (I would wager a great sum of money that the majority of viewers, or at least the female ones, are more interested in two subplots; 1) when will we learn who killed Kate Beckett’s mother? 2) Will Beckett and Castle ever admit to – and act on – their mutual attraction?”

 

“But this episode is so stupid. I cannot even enjoy the “candy factor” properly. Come on! Who really did not see that one coming? I won’t tell, but I would not need to, because apart from the writers, who clearly and criminally underestimate the intellectual capacities of the viewers, everybody will have figured it out from the very first mentioning of the very first clue. It is a formula that has been done before a thousand times, and has been done much better.”

 

“I am disappointed. But the interaction between Castle and his daughter is sweet, so that, in a way, saves this episode for me. Nonetheless, I hope the writers will do a better next time. No pleasure in eating last year’s chocolate Easter bunny.” (Cited by IMdB.)

 

What I Liked About This Episode: Like the reviewer above, very little.

 

·       I liked the scenes between Alexis and Castle.

·       The only other thing I liked was the scene where Beckett met Joe Torre. It’s so unusual to see the normally calm, placid Beckett turn into a gushing fangirl. I laugh out loud every time I watch this scene.

 

Joe Torre: Rick? Rick Castle?

Castle: Hey, Skipper. I have not seen you since the big move. How are you, Joe?

Torre: Pretty awful. I just can’t believe this whole Vega thing.

Castle: I know. It’s sad. And you two were friends. I’m . . . I’m sorry.

Torre: Yeah, he was a great kid. Uh, he had the ability to be a Cuban Roberto Clemente. It’s just been very sad.

Castle: We’re actually here to talk to Mr. Fox about it. This is Det. Kate Beckett.

Torre: Hi.

Beckett: Beckett . . . Kate . . . Detective. Thank you.

Torre: Very nice meeting you.

Beckett: Okay.

Torre: Well, good luck on the case. And, uh, I’ll say a prayer for you.

Castle: Thanks.

Torre: By the way, say hi to your mom for me.

Castle: Will do, Joe.

Torre: Okay.

Castle: Smooth.

Beckett: That was Joe “Freakin’” Torre. I gotta call my dad.

 

·       So, this scene leaves me with a question that concerns ‘After Hours’ in Season 5. During the dinner with Jim and Martha, Martha makes a point of giving Jim a hard time about his love of baseball, describing it as a boring game for boring people (I’m paraphrasing here). Martha doesn’t enjoy baseball, yet she knows Joe Torre. We know Beckett is a baseball fan because both she and Espo discuss their love for the game at the crime scene.

·       There was one other thing I liked in this episode. The scene at the end when Vega’s wife is introduced to Lara. It was very sweet how Maggie welcomed Cano’s daughter, Lara, into her home with open arms.

 

What I Didn’t Like About This Episode:

 

·       Ray Wise has spent his career playing slimy bad guys. Bobby Fox was no exception.

·       I also didn’t like the comments Espo made at the crime scene regarding Martha and the fact that Castle is ‘famously fatherless.’ Yes, it was the 70’s, but Espo was talking about his friends’ mother. It was just out of line. This won’t be the last time Espo makes juvenile comments, but this was one of the worst. Later in the series, people do occasionally push back when Espo sticks his foot in his mouth.

 

Favorite Scene/Moment: Alexis and Castle discussing him not knowing who his father is.

 

Alexis: You know, mom’s family goes all the way back to the Mayflower.

Castle: What? Her persecution complex is genetic?

Alexis: Hey, those are my genes you’re talking about, too.

Castle: Well, look on the bright side. Now that you know you’re genetically predisposed, you can seek early treatment. Prevent future outbreaks.

Alexis: Doesn’t it bother you that you don’t know who your dad is?

Castle: No. Why? Does it bother you?

Alexis: It’s like . . . I have this family tree, and there’s a whole chunk of it missing. There’s a whole part of my family that doesn’t even exist. I mean, really? How could Gram not know?

Castle: My first year of college, I, uh, went to a party, met this girl – Allison. In the space of six hours, we met, we talked, we danced, we fell in love. The next morning, she was gone. I spent a year trying to find her, but I never learned her last name. There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t think about her. Your gram told me that she loved a lifetime the night she met him.

Alexis: Don’t you feel like you’re missing out, not knowing?

Castle: No. Oh, no. That’s the beauty of the mystery. Right now, my father could be an astronaut, a pirate, a humanitarian, winner of The Noble Prize. I mean, what one man could live up to all that?

Alexis: You think he ate whipped cream out of a can?

Castle: Yes, and he invented whipped cream.

 

Favorite Quote: Castle and Beckett discussing the possibility of him being psychic.

 

Beckett: Con artists and circus people, huh?

Castle: Yep, and mind readers.

Beckett: Really? So, tell me what I’m thinking?

Castle: Aah! You’re thinking . . . you don’t care, and you want me to stop talking.

Beckett: Ooh, that’s uncanny.

 

WTF? (Why the Face?): Definitely Esposito at the crime scene. Seriously, dude. Shut up.

 

Until Friday, readers.

 

 

 

Original Airdate: January 25, 2010

 

Synopsis: Castle and Beckett investigate the murder of a man found dead in a family’s apartment. In other news, Castle has to deal with the backlash of a rumored romantic relationship with Beckett when he is named as one of New York’s 10 Most Eligible Bachelors.

 

There are no notable guest stars in this one, although I used to think that the actress who portrays Donna Vincennes was the same one who portrayed Aiden on ‘CSI: New York,’ but I was mistaken.

 

The IMdB Portion of the Review:

 

Character Errors: There is no way that Beckett would discuss an ongoing murder investigation with a stranger as she did when she was chatting with her date over dinner.

 

As a best-selling novelist, Castle would’ve known that the correct syntax would have been “They’re gonna forget all about you and me” instead of “you and I” when he was arguing with Beckett about the article in The Ledger. For you writers all there, if you’re ever in doubt about whether it’s “me” or “I,” take out the other person in the sentence. I still find myself doing this when I’m writing.

 

The age of consent in New York is 17, so technically, Alexis’ friend, Sloane, would be safe to date Castle. It definitely would have an ‘ick’ factor to it, but he wouldn’t have gone to jail.

 

Trivia: The newspaper with Castle listed as one of ‘New York’s Most Eligible Bachelors,’ also has several other members of the ‘Castle’ crew as eligible bachelors, as well. Andrew W. Marlow, the show’s creator, is #8, future Showrunner Terrence Paul Winter is #10 and director David Grae is #2. On the ladies’ side, Writer Elizabeth Beall is #2.

 

Beckett does the hair twirling thing twice. Once when she’s setting up the date with Brad Decker, rescuer of puppies, and she does it again when Castle invites her out for burgers at Remy’s.

 

Plot Holes: Smuggling diamonds into the U.S. is almost impossible. The Kimberly process is strictly enforced in the U.S. Without proper Kimberly Process documentation, no one would buy the diamonds from the smugglers. Diamonds from South Africa are usually smuggled from Dubai to China or India where they can then be sold for cutting.

 

Ranking: I’m going to start moving the ranking up top. I have this episode ranked at #17. There were things I liked and disliked about this episode.

 

What I Liked About This Episode:

 

·       Castle being ranked as #9 in The Ledger’s ‘Ten Most Eligible Bachelors’ list and then trying to keep Beckett from seeing the paper since the writer has the two of them ‘romantically linked.’

·       This was the first episode featuring my favorite Beckett Season 2 hairstyle. I thought her late Season 2 hair was very flattering.

·       Alexis’ humiliation at her father being on The Most Eligible Bachelor list is cute. Parents are always at their very best when they’re embarrassing their offspring.

 

Alexis: Thankfully all my friends are beyond ‘print media.’

Castle: What about this is embarrassing?

Alexis: Nothing. It’s a secret dream of every 16-year-old to have their father crowned one of the most available hotties of the year.

 

·       The murder method was unique, although I have seen it in a few shows since this episode. I even used the drug in one of my fan fiction stories. Ketamine, or Special K, is an animal tranquilizer. Used as a club drug, it will mess you up.

·       I have heard of people squatting in vacant houses, but never occupied houses. But I guess if you don’t want to pay rent, and are looking for great restaurants to check out, waiting for someone to go on vacation would work. However, it must’ve been incredibly traumatizing for that little girl to find a dead body in her bed. She’ll be in therapy for years, plus she’ll probably never go on vacation again. Her parents probably had to buy her a new bed. If I was that child, I’d never sleep in that bed again. No way, no how. This was definitely a Goldilocks and The Three Bears opening murder scene. And it was a first for Beckett, as well. My retired cop told me that just when you think you’ve seen everything, you discover you haven’t.

·       The boys have to give Beckett a hard time after they read the article in the paper. They knew what her reaction was going to be when she saw it.

 

Esposito: Ooh, she’s going to kill him.

Ryan: He’s dead. So, Castle, is it true that you’re finally off the market?

 

·       Beckett’s reaction when she learns she and Castle are ‘romantically involved’ is predictable. She doesn’t like it.

 

Michelle: By the way, the photo of you in the paper did you no justice. You’re much better looking in person.

Beckett: There’s a picture of you in the paper?

Michelle: So, are you the detective girlfriend?

Beckett: I’m sorry. The what?

Michelle: He is such a catch.

Beckett: Don’t. Show me. Now.

 

·       That scene was fun just to watch Castle squirm in embarrassment. Apparently, he talked about Beckett non-stop during the interview. This led the reporter to believe that he and Beckett were an item.

·       I liked the apartment with the dead guy in the refrigerator. Of course, I would’ve liked it more minus the dead guy. My dream is to one day visit New York and visit all the places I’ve seen in my favorite movies and TV shows.

 

A little story about me. In 2001, I flew to Washington DC for the first time. At the time, I was a fan of the early 1980’s show ‘Scarecrow and Mrs. King.’ A group of us had originally met online through Yahoo! Groups, so a friend arranged a get together in person. We went on a walking tour of DC and saw many of the sites used for exteriors on the show. The trip was memorable for another reason. It was exactly a month before 9/11. The morning I flew out of DC, I remember seeing The Pentagon as my plane lifted off on its way to take me back to my native Texas. I flew to L.A. a year later, which crossed two cities off my bucket list. New York is still on there.

 

·       Back on topic. I loved Kate complaining to Lanie about her quiet life and how she wanted ‘loud.’ I understand the sentiment. Most of the time, I also like quiet. At home, it’s just me and my homicidal cat. I wanted to name her Beckett, but I was overruled. I get that sometimes you just feel like loud.

·       Who doesn’t love a fireman who rescues puppies? Everybody loves that guy! Let’s face it; you’re not going to turn down a date with a guy who will run into a burning building to save a litter of puppies.

·       Castle being on the list is ruining Alexis’ life as your normal American teenager.

 

Castle: So, how was your day?

Alexis: I had a truly great day. I got pulled out of class and called to the vice principal’s office.

Castle: Why? What did she want?

Alexis: You. Here’s her number.

Castle: Her number?

Alexis: Oh, and my German teacher, Fraulein Sonnenberg, wanted me to tell you ‘Du habes sex appeal.’ She’s two years from ordering off the senior menu, but here’s her number, too.

Castle: Fraulein Sonnenberg?

Alexis: Too old? Oh, that’s okay, because my friend Sloane thinks you’re ‘real choice.’ She’s 17, but she’ll be legal in three months. Hey, maybe we could double.

Castle: Oh, you hate me a little right now, don’t you?

Alexis: Just a little.

 

·       The final thing I liked was after they solved the murder, Beckett accepted Castle’s invitation for burgers at Remy’s. I’m like Beckett. I appreciate a good milkshake. Beckett was even flipping her hair when they left the bullpen. It took me a few viewings to notice that.

 

What I Didn’t Like About This Episode:

 

·       I didn’t like how Espo, Ryan, and Montgomery kept going on and on about Brad Decker, the puppy-saving firefighter. They rub in the fact about the puppies so much it’s obvious they’re getting a rise out of Castle.

·       The killer was kind of a creep. He killed his brother-in-law out of greed.

 

WTF? (Why the Face?): Castle and Beckett constantly getting up during their ‘dates’ was just annoying. You’re on a date. If you weren’t constantly chatting about the case to your dates (which neither of them was supposed to do, by the way), you wouldn’t feel the need to compare notes and talk to the boys. Ryan and Esposito also found this strange.

 

Favorite Scene/Moment: The scene in my favorite apartment.

 

Beckett: We’re not here to admire the place, Castle.

Castle: How can you not? I mean, look at this place. This apartment is pre-war, late 1800’s. Oh, you see this molding? That’s the original wood. Gorgeous. I bet the bathrooms have marble wainscotting.

Beckett: You’re such a metrosexual.

Castle: Yes, well, better than being a pin-up boy.

Beckett: So, you heard? And it’s pin-up man, Castle. Pin-up man.

Castle: Yes, well, have fun with your hose jockey whilst I go out with Nuevo York’s Most Eligible Bachelorette Number Three.

Beckett: Oh, that means she must be slumming it. Her being number three, and you being the lowly number nine.

Castle: And what number were you again?

 

Favorite Quote: Today, it goes to Det. Esposito for doing his best Samuel L. Jackson impression.

 

Esposito: Why do you care about some mother freakin’ snakes on a mother freakin’ plane?

 

Until Wednesday, readers.

 

 

 

Original Airdate: January 18, 2010

 

Synopsis: While investigating the murder of an Irish mobster, Beckett learns that the killer might also be the person who murdered her mother in 1999.

 

Notable Guest Stars: James Cosmo, who portrays Finn Rourke is better known to me for appearing in 12 episodes of ‘Game of Thrones’ as Jeor Mormont, better known as Lord Commander Mormont. He was one of my favorite ‘GoT’ characters and I was surprised he was in so few episodes. He also portrayed Father Keller Ashby in ‘Sons of Anarchy.’ He has also appeared in ‘Braveheart,’ ‘Troy,’ and ‘Highlander.’

 

Scott Paulin is making his first of nine appearances as Jim Beckett, Kate’s father. He has had roles in ‘The Right Stuff,’ and ‘Turner and Hooch.’ He has been married to actress Wendy Phillips since 1981 and they have one child.

 

Robert Picardo is making his final appearance as Forensic Pathologist, Dr. Clark Murray.

 

Danny Nucci is making the second of three appearances as Narcotics Det. Gilbert Mazzara, an old friend of Esposito’s.

 

The IMdB Portion of The Review:

 

Factual Errors:

 

·       Real cops don’t ever taste narcotics with their fingers. This is a common ploy shown in movies and TV shows. For one thing, the drugs could be poisonous, and for another, it’s against police procedure. This is why cops carry drug test kits. (I had a retired cop tell me this. He’s a drag to watch movies and TV shows with, especially police procedurals, but he’s a wealth of information, otherwise).

·       When they’re examining the shotgun at the crime scene, it’s noted that the slugs are ‘hollow points.’ Kate points out that these slugs could stop a Kodiak in Kevlar. This isn’t exactly true. Most level IIIa body armor will stop most 12 gauge shotgun shells (although the wearer will be in considerably pain.)

 

 

Trivia:

 

·       This is the first episode where Castle refers to Kate by her first name, instead of Beckett.

 

·       This is the first episode where Beckett admits to actually enjoying Castle’s presence. The tide changes considerably after this episode.

 

·       The Westies have only been around since the 70’s and most of them are now either in prison or deceased. They are also American born, although they have Irish lineage.

 

What I Liked About This Episode:

 

·       This is the official beginning of the Johanna Beckett murder arc. It’s also one of the better episodes in that arc.

·       Watching this, I was surprised that this wasn’t a Rob Bowman-directed episode. Thomas J. Wright directed this episode, and he did a great job. His directing is right out of the Bowman playbook.

·       There was humor in the episode, along with drama and angst. I love angst! Anyone who reads my fan fiction knows that angst is my specialty. Most of the humor in the episode has to do with Ryan, and the Johnny Vong DVD’s. Ryan is always on the lookout for a way to make a few extra bucks. He thinks following Johnny Vong’s way of making money was an easy way to do it. My favorite Ryan/Esposito moment of the episode was when they went to arrest Johnny Vong for smuggling heroin. Esposito seems to think that Ryan is about to remove his shoes and walk across hot coals. Esposito: Don’t even think about taking them off! If you do, I will pepper spray you! (I had no doubt he’d do it, too).

·       One of my favorite Beckett moments early in the episode was when she was interrogating Trucho Mendoza.

Mendoza: Can I be real with you?

Beckett: Please do.

Mendoza: I had too much to drink, and I accidentally fell.

Beckett: You fell?

Mendoza: I fell.

Beckett: Well, how did you get that mouse on your eye?

Mendoza: I ran into the wall.

Castle: How did you burn your hand?

Mendoza: After I ran into the wall, and I fell, I put my hand out on the grill just to break my fall.

Castle, Well, thanks for keeping it real.

 

·       I felt sorry for Lanie. It was obvious she knew that Jack Coonan’s murder was connected to Johanna Beckett’s, but at the same time you could tell she was conflicted by the knowledge.

·       It seems that Kate had a thing for bad boys when she was younger. There are many references during the course of the series. But it’s always cute when Kate becomes embarrassed by one of these revelations. Such is the case when they pick up Jack Coonan’s girlfriend, Molly, and bring her to the precinct.

 

Molly: Of course I knew Jack’s reputation. It’s part of what attracted me to him. What? You telling me you never had a thing for bad boys, Kate?

Beckett: No comment.

 

·       Every single scene between Castle and Beckett in this episode is exceptional. Like I said earlier, this is the episode where the tide turns for both of them. Are there still funny moments? Oh, yes. Are there still moments when Castle continues to act like a nine-year-old on a sugar rush? Again, yes. But he starts to scale it back just a little.

·       Kate also begins to loosen up and unleash her silly side, too. This becomes evident later in the season with a couple of the funniest pranks of the entire series.

·       The news regarding her mother’s murder hits Kate like a ton of bricks. But you can see that Kate has already guessed what Dr. Murray is going to tell her when he hands her the model of the knife. As soon as she held the knife and looked at the photos of Jack Coonan’s wounds, she knew she had the first piece of evidence regarding her mother’s murder.

·       Not it’s time to talk about Capt. Montgomery. We all know what happens in the Season 3 finale (newbies might want to skip this entry), so I don’t feel the need to use spoilers. I have watched every episode of ‘Castle’ numerous times. Every time I watch, I try to analyze and critique Montgomery. Were there any signs before 3x24? The only subtle sign I see in this episode is when he asked Kate if she wanted to look into her mother’s murder, although there is another sign toward the end of the episode. I’ll get to that shortly. When Kate said she couldn’t work her mother’s case, I couldn’t read Montgomery’s face one way or the other? Was he relieved when she said no? Was he hoping she’d never look into it again? Possibly. I’ll delve deeper into Montgomery in Season 3.

·       We meet Kate’s father, Jim Beckett. The chemistry between Scott Paulin and Stana Katic is amazing. I wish he had appeared in more episodes. His final appearance was in ‘The Time of Our Lives’ in Season 7. I didn’t understand why he didn’t appear in Season 8, although he is mentioned in the finale.

·       I like the advice her father gives her. The truth can never hurt you. It was his way of telling her they both needed answers.

·       Kate is starting to think of Castle as more than just an annoying intrusion into her life. After the meeting with her father, she goes to Castle’s loft. I love the loving embrace by Martha. However, Alexis wanting to remain downstairs annoyed me. Thank you, Martha, for hauling your granddaughter upstairs. There is a great Kate/Alexis moment later in the season, but unfortunately, it’s relegated to a deleted scene on the DVD’s.

·       Castle offering the $100,000 for Rathborne was another great moment in an episode that was full of them. But before that, we got one of the best Castle/Beckett moments of the season.

 

Kate: Ten years since we came home and found that detective waiting for us. Ten years since we crossed that yellow tape and went into that alley and every time I cross the tape at a crime scene, I think of that night.

Castle: That’s what makes you a good cop.

Kate: What if I let her down?

Castle: Do you know why I chose you as my inspiration for Nikki Heat?

Kate: No. Why?

Castle: Because you’re tall. Now go in there and do your job.

 

·       That was Castle’s way of telling her to get out of her head and do her job.

·       The moment when Castle and Beckett realize Dick Coonan is his brother’s killer as well as the murderer of Johanna Beckett hits hard. This guy has been given transactional immunity and is about to walk out of the precinct, free to kill again. Until Kate confronts him. Then all bets are off. When Montgomery comes out of his office, gun drawn, he is fully prepared to kill Coonan. I think he fears if Coonan talks, everything he was involved in will be exposed. That was never going to happen. Coonan knew if he talked and revealed who had hired him, he was a dead man.

·       There was never going to be a choice between Castle and Coonan. Kate wasn’t going to let Coonan kill Castle. I think Castle knew that. Thus, the headbutt. But the ramifications of that headbutt hit Castle hard. Knowing how much Kate needed the answers about her mother’s murder. Now she wasn’t going to get them. Even if Coonan had lived, she wasn’t going to get them.

·       The end scene was sweet, but will also lead to my WTF? Moment shortly.

 

Kate: Montgomery’s post-incident evaluation. You come off like Steven Seagal.

Castle: Should I be flattered or insulted?

Kate: Both.

 

What I Didn’t Like About This Episode: The only thing I didn’t like about this episode was Ryan. This becomes a running theme throughout the series. The constant need to find ways to make more money. What in the hell was he spending his money on? I know the cost of living is high in NYC, especially Manhattan, but still. From what I’ve been able to discover, he made decent money.

 

WTF? (Why the Face?): Castle, you have eaten many meals with Beckett. Those meals include Chinese food. Why didn’t you bring her Chinese food when you brought the other foods? She even tells Schlemming . . . I mean Demming later in the season that Chinese food is her favorite.

 

Favorite Scene: I have a couple, but I’m going with this one.

 

Montgomery (offering Beckett a flask): Poor man’s painkiller. I know your mother’s murder is the reason why you became a cop. And I know how you lost yourself trying to solve her case the first time you tried. I figured sooner or later, when you were ready, you’d want to take another run at it. I just never expected her killer to come around and sucker punch you like this. Kate, listen to me. You’re the finest homicide detective I’ve ever trained, bar none, and I want you to stay on this one. If you can. If you’re up to it. But I wouldn’t be doing my job as your captain if I didn’t ask. Can you handle this?

Kate: I’m sorry, sir. I can’t.

 

Favorite Quote: This was the last funny conversation before Lanie and Dr. Murray arrived to ruin Beckett’s day.

 

Kate: Whoever he’s working for scares him a lot more than prison.

Castle: There has to be a way to get it out of him. We could force him to watch Paris Hilton videos.

Kate: You want me brought up on charges?

Castle/Beckett Scorecard: I forgot to add this yesterday. But the score is now Beckett:3 - Castle: 1.

Ranking: This is #2 out of 24.

 

Until Monday, readers. Have a great weekend.

Original Airdate: January 11, 2010

 

Synopsis: A dead bridesmaid reunites Castle with an ex-girlfriend, much to Beckett’s chagrin.

 

Notable Guest Stars: Alysa Milano, who portrays Castle’s former love interest, Kyra Blaine, has portrayed Tony Danza’s daughter, Samantha Micelli, on the sitcom, ‘Who’s the Boss,’ and later portrayed Phoebe Halliwell on the series, ‘Charmed.’

 

Mimi Kuzyk, who portrays Kyra’s mother, and Castle’s worst nightmare as a potential mother-in-law, Sheila Blaine, portrayed Det. Patsy Mayo in 26 episodes of the 1980’s police drama, ‘Hill Street Blues.’

 

The IMdB Portion of the Review:

 

Trivia: The scene between Beckett and Lanie at the morgue where Beckett tells Lanie to ‘Shut up’ and Lanie replies to the corpse on her table, ‘You may not see it, but I do’ was improvised. (I had a feeling that it was. It just had that feeling.)

 

Goofs: There are a lot of them in this episode. Here we go:

 

·       When Greg announces to Castle that he and Kyra are needed downstairs because they have guests arriving is a huge mistake. The guests should’ve already arrived since they were looking for the dead bridesmaid, Sophie, to get ready for the ceremony. Therefore, if Sophie hadn’t been murdered, the ceremony would’ve already have taken place. Does that make sense?

·       Skin cannot scratch metal, therefore there wouldn’t have been traces of platinum in Sophie’s wounds.

·       The clock at Grand Central Station is on top of the information stand, so it would’ve been impossible for Rick and Kyra to dance underneath it.

·       At approximately the 33 minute mark of the episode, character Laurie Hill states that the first time she saw Sophie was at the wedding breakfast the previous morning. Since the wedding never took place, neither could the wedding breakfast. The wedding breakfast takes place the morning after the ceremony, regardless of what time the actual ceremony takes place.

 

What I Liked About This Episode: I’ll start at the beginning and work my way through.

 

·       The opening scene with Castle trying to re-enact the escape scene from ‘Naked Heat’ was very cute. I remember reading the scene in the book as he did his re-enactment. And Alexis was actually acting like a normal teenage girl in this scene. But the best part was Martha’s quip, “Hurry up taping up your father. We don’t want to be late. Oh, God, I can’t believe I just said that.”

·       This is the first episode where we get jealous Beckett. I don’t know why she’s so jealous in this episode. It’s not like she and Castle are even thinking about becoming a couple. Well, we know Castle is thinking about it, but anyway. We see more and more jealous Beckett, and later, some jealous Castle, as well, as we move from through Season 2 and onto Season 4.

·       Castle is late arriving at the crime scene, due to literally being tied up. But when he arrives . . . oh boy. We learn that he has a history with Kyra Blaine, a friend of the murder victim, Sophie Ronson. Sophie introduced Kyra to her fiancé, Greg.

 

Castle: Kyra?

Kyra: Rick? Rick Castle?

Beckett: You two know each other?

Castle: That would be an understatement.

 

·       When Beckett tells him that Lanie has something for them, he tells her that he’ll catch up. Which leads to one of the funnier scenes in the series between the two BFF’s.

 

Lanie: So, how’s everything going in the bridal suite? Not the day they had planned.

Kate: Yeah, or the surprise guest. Apparently, Castle has a history with the bride.

Lanie: Ancient, modern, or sexual?

Kate: Seems like all the above.

Lanie: You okay with that?

Kate: Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?

 

·       Kyra introduces Castle to Greg. The tension is so thick, you can cut it with a knife. But Greg excuses himself and Kyra because they have guests arriving. They exit stage left just as Beckett reappears after speaking to Lanie.

 

Castle: Kyra Blaine. Wow.

Beckett: I take it she was someone very special.

Castle: She’s the one that got away.

 

·       I’m guessing that Kyra was pre-Meredith. How different things would’ve been if Castle had married Kyra instead of Meredith. Would we still have a show? Would we still get Caskett later?

·       I liked the scene in the elevator between Kyra and Kate. Kyra finds it amusing that Kate refers to Rick as ‘Castle,’ because she always just called him ‘Rick.’ Kyra then makes a point of telling Kate that Rick only dedicates his books to people he cares about. Hmmm.

·       Another favorite scene was when Castle and Beckett find Kyra’s mother, Sheila, who is an absolute delight.

 

Sheila: Richard. Figures you’d be at the heart of this mess.

Castle: Det. Beckett, this is Sheila Blaine, mother of the bride. So, I guess I didn’t end up homeless or teaching at a third-rate college in New Hampshire.

Sheila: There’s still time.

Castle: I’ve missed our special talks. Sheila didn’t approve of struggling artists. You must like Greg, though. He’s from money, right? (Well, he thought so, anyway. No thanks to Uncle Teddy).

Sheila: It was never about the money, Richard. It was about character. And you would know if you had any.

Beckett: (after Sheila walks away) Wow. Just imagine if things had worked out, you’d be spending Thanksgivings with her.

 

·       Kyra brings up a very thought-provoking question. Is it still wedding cake if there isn’t a ceremony. And for the record, I’ve yet to eat a wedding cake that I’ve liked.

·       In the elevator a short time later, we get the reverse side of a conversation that happened in Season 1, Episode 9, ‘Little Girl Lost.’

 

Castle: We met in college. We were together nearly three years.

Beckett: I didn’t ask.

Castle: Yes. You were not asking very loudly.

 

·       Kyra knew that Beckett had feelings for Castle. Which was why she told her that he was all hers after Uncle Teddy was arrested.

 

What I Didn’t Like About This Episode: Contrary to what my ranking will reveal shortly, there wasn’t much I didn’t like about this episode. But the things I didn’t like were big deals. One of them was a very big deal and still bugs me.

 

·       Greg. The groom was a douche where Castle was concerned, but he did bring up a valid point. Why was Castle in the interrogation room when he had a prior relationship to Kyra. Greg: Why is he here? He’s a writer, not a cop!

·       Which leads me to the main thing I didn’t like about this episode. Richard Castle. His insistence that Kyra wasn’t a suspect drove me crazy. He does the exact same things in ‘The Final Nail’ in Season 3 and ‘Dial M For Mayor’ in Season 4. His friends couldn’t possibly be murder suspects. Only it turned out that one of them was a murderer. For the first half of this episode, he was a constant impediment to Beckett doing her job. I think this is why I have this episode ranked as low as it is.

 

WTF? (Why the Face?): Uncle Teddy. Shame on you. You tried to derail your nephew’s wedding because you had robbed him blind. You’re definitely off everybody’s Christmas card list. But you’ll now always be the subject of family lore.

 

Favorite Scene/Moment: I have two favorites in this episode. The first is the obvious Lanie/Kate scene in the morgue.

 

Kate: Great. Anything else?

Lanie: You tell me.

Kate: What?

Lanie: Don’t ‘what’ me. Castle’s lost love.

Kate: Yeah, what about it?

Lanie: Girl, I’m gonna smack you. You work side by side every day. He writes a sex scene that had me reaching for ice water. (Really, Lanie? You should try reading some fan fiction stories and then we’ll talk about reaching for ice water. The page 105 scene in ‘Heat Wave’ wasn’t that great). Now, Little Miss Bride shows up. Don’t tell me you’re not the least bit jealous.

Kate: Oh, please! You’ve been sniffing too many autopsy fluids!

Lanie: Honey, just because you don’t want to see what’s going on, doesn’t mean everyone else doesn’t see what’s going on.

Kate (Leaving the morgue): Shut up!

Lanie (Speaking to Sophie’s corpse): Mmm-hmmm. ‘Cause I see it. You may not, but I do.

 

My second favorite scene is between Beckett and the boys.

 

Esposito: There’s a lot of detail in this love scene.

Ryan: Mmm-hmmm.

Beckett: Aren’t you guys supposed to be running background checks?

Esposito: We are.

Ryan: On the bride. All day yesterday, I kept feeling like I’d heard the name Kyra Blaine before. And then it hit me. The dedication of Castle’s second book, ‘A Rose for Everafter.’

Esposito: ‘For Kyra Blaine, you make the stars shine.’

Beckett: When I’m not here, do you braid each other’s hair and debate who’s the coolest Jonas brother?

Esposito: No. But it’s mostly Nick.

Ryan: Absolutely Nick.

Esposito: Yeah. Kevin’s the talented one.

Ryan: Yeah. Nick’s the cute one. Joe? (Joe was married to Sophie Turner, who played Sansa Stark on another of my favorite shows, ‘Game of Thrones.’ Unfortunately, they are no longer together).

 

Favorite Quote:

 

Beckett: Do you know how much it annoys me knowing what you’re doing? Touching things that shouldn’t be touched? Yanking on things that shouldn’t be yanked?

 

In this case, Beckett was referring to her chair and not to Kyra.

 

Ranking: I have this ranked at #23 out of 24. I think I was inhaling autopsy fumes, because although this isn’t a favorite episode of mine, it should be much higher than 23. If I were to re-rank this episode, it wouldn’t be Top 10, but it would be middle of the pack in the 15-18 range.

 

Until Friday, readers. We’re about to officially start the Johanna Beckett Murder Mystery arc.

 

 

 

 

Original Airdate: December 7, 2009

 

Synopsis: The murder of a gallery owner is complicated by a witness, who is suffering from amnesia and doesn’t remember what he saw.

 

Notable Guest Stars: Marc Blucas, who portrays Jeremy Prestwick, is another member of the Joss Whedon Universe. He portrayed Riley Finn in 31 episodes of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer.’ In another interesting piece of trivia (to me, anyway) he attended Wake Forest University where he played basketball with future San Antonio Spur and Hall of Famer Tim Duncan. I’m from San Antonio, so I found this to be very interesting.

 

Phil LaMarr is making his second appearance as Dr. Holloway. He will appear one more time in Season 6.

 

Marisa Ramirez, who portrays Angelica Fink, portrayed Maria Baez on ‘Blue Bloods’ from 2013-2024.

 

The IMdB Portion of The Review:

 

Goofs: Lucy, the dog, is clearly shown to be a male dog, despite being referred to as “a good girl” in several scenes. (Uh, I know I’m dating myself here, but the dog that played Lassie was also a male dog, but I don’t remember anyone trying to see his male parts when I was a kid.)

 

Factual Errors: Emma says that Jeremy has a PhD in economics from Wharton. But Economics is a separate department from Wharton, which is a business school.

 

Incorrectly Regarded as an Error: The inhaler in Jeremy’s pocket should’ve revealed his identity if it had indeed been a prescription inhaler. However, the inhaler looked like Primatene Mist, which is available over-the-counter.

 

What I Liked About This Episode: A lot. My ranking later might say otherwise, but I liked this episode a lot. Unlike the previous two episodes, I really liked this episode. I’ll be more careful ranking the episodes when I get past Season 3. I say this because I’ve already ranked the Season 3 episodes. There is so much funny dialog in this episode. I’ll get to my favorite later, but here’s one of my favorites between Castle and the boys:

 

Castle: I’m telling you. Ice bullet.

Espo: Nah, bro. An ice bullet would still make a bullet hole.

Ryan: You mean, ice hole.

Castle: What did you call me?

 

·       We learn that Beckett is Castle’s work wife, even though she strongly disagrees with this. That’s okay. One day, she’ll be his real wife.

·       Victor Fink’s wife was a piece of work. I mean that in a hilariously funny way. When she asked what she was supposed to do with her breast implants, I lost it.

 

Everybody had funny parts in this one. I like how every member of the cast now gets a chance to shine. It will be this way from here on out. I’ll reserve my favorite until the end, as usual, but here are a few of my favorites. We’ll start with Ryan.

 

·       Ryan and Castle have just discovered the missing fifth bullet in a copy of ‘Crime and Punishment’ that Jeremy had in his pocket. Ballistics confirms that it is indeed their missing bullet.

 

Beckett: Not only was he there, but someone tried to kill him, as well. Good thing he reads.

Ryan: Good thing he reads Russian literature. If he was a Nicholas Sparks fan, he’d be dead.

 

·       Now it’s Montgomery’s turn. Beckett doesn’t want to turn their witness over to Social Services for his own safety. She suggests they just let him sleep in the precinct breakroom overnight. After all, her reasoning is Jeremy’s never going to be safer than in a building full of cops. (Some viewers in Season 8 would disagree. Sorry, LT.)

Montgomery: Okay, but my couch is off limits.

 

·       In the secondary storyline, Martha has been seeing her high school beau, Chet Palaburn, only things start moving a little too quickly for her. So, she ends the relationship. I enjoy every scene between Nathan Fillion and Susan Sullivan. I have been a fan of Susan’s for more than 40 years. She is always such a delight on ‘Castle.’ Yes, she is sometimes over the top, especially in Season 6, but for the most part, I consider her a welcome addition to the series. The conversation between Castle and Martha in this scene is one of my favorites. Martha has decided to end things with Chet. At the end of the episode, Castle walks into the loft to find Martha sitting on the sofa taking a trip down memory lane. This scene also has one of my favorite Martha lines of the entire series. A quip that goes to show how invested she was in her son and Beckett getting together someday.

 

Martha: Ooh! Well, well, well. Look who’s doing the walk of shame now.

Castle: I was with Beckett.

Martha: Really?

Castle: Uh, wrapping up a case.

*Martha: Ah. Well, you should kiss that girl while you’re still young. (*Yes, Martha! Thank you!)

Castle: What’s going on with you? What do you got there? (He points to a withered flower in his mother’s hand. It kind of reminded me of the song ‘Delta Dawn.’ For you youngsters, Google it.)

Martha: Oh, it’s from Chet. Isn’t it romantic?

Castle: Chet sent you a dead flower?

Martha: It is the most romantic thing that anyone has ever done for me.

Castle: I’ve been up all night, so I might be a little slow.

Martha: Well, it’s the boutonniere I gave him prom night. He saved it, tucked it into a yearbook, and sent it over last night with a note saying, would I give – give him a second chance.

Castle: Well, there’s a lot of that going around these days.

Martha: And I’m scared. I mean, what if it doesn’t work out? What if it does?

Castle: That’s the cost of living.

Martha: I just don’t want to ruin this.

 

Castle takes the flower and puts it on the table.

 

Castle: This is dead. You are not. Time to start making new memories.

Martha: Boy, how did you get so smart?

Castle: It must be my dad.

Martha (tapping him on top of his head): Dad!

 

·       Okay. On to more things I liked. Emma, Jeremy’s ex-wife. I might have to write a fan fiction story where Castle and Beckett run into Emma and Jeremy at a restaurant or something. I have to admit that these op-ed’s do give me a lot of fan fiction ideas.

·       I know nothing about art, but her story about the painting they’d found in Jeremy’s apartment was a sweet memory. I got in trouble at the Witte Museum in San Antonio many years ago for touching a stuffed tiger. It wasn’t museum staff, but my aunt. So, I completely understood the whole goofing around which forced them to have to purchase an expensive painting.

·       The compassion Beckett showed toward Jeremy when she was forced to arrest him was nice to see. You could tell how much the whole team liked Jeremy. But she understood she had a job to do. Of course, the audience all knew Jeremy was innocent. Planting a weapon is one of the oldest crime drama trick in the book.

 

Things I Didn’t Like About This Episode:

 

·       Tory Westchester, the crazy cat lady. What does this woman do? Sit around and watch the news, hoping to find some clueless guy who’s lost his memory so she can swoop in? It’s a good thing Jeremy was allergic to cats, otherwise he would’ve gone home with the crazy cat lady.

·       Harun. I detest men who treat women like they’re stupid. I realize in his case it’s probably cultural, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

 

WTF? (Why the Face?): Darius Langley, the murderer. What an ass! And to think if Ryan and Espo hadn’t taken Jeremy back to the art gallery, Langley never would’ve known he had amnesia.

 

Favorite Scene/Moment:

 

Castle: You suppose the flea had a gun? A tiny gun with vanishing bullets?

Beckett: Ice bullets and fleas with guns? Do you have writers block again?

Castle: Stephen King wrote stories of bloodthirsty cars and sold millions of copies. I figure, why be limited by logic?

 

Favorite Quote:

 

Beckett: What am I? Your wife?

Castle: Yeah, you’re my work wife.

 

Not yet. But soon. Keep dreaming there, Castle.

 

Ranking: I have this one ranked at #15, which is ridiculously low. I’ll do better starting with Season 4, because I already have the Season 3 episodes ranked. If I were to rank Season 2 again, I can guarantee this episode would be in the Top 10 easily.

 

Until Wednesday, readers.

 

First off, I want to apologize if there are grammatical errors in today's entry. I've been having vision problems lately, so I tried using Speech to Text on Word. It didn't work like I hoped it would. Anyway, here's today's entry.

 Season 2 Episode 10 One Man's Treasure.

 

Original air date: November 23rd, 2009.

 

Synopsis: A man leading a double life. Is found dead in a garbage chute.

 

Notable guest stars: DB Woodside, who plays Lance Karlberg, also guest starred on the final season of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ alongside Nathan Fillion. He is one of several guest stars, who also appeared on Joss Whedon shows. But I know him better as the angel Amenadiel on Lucifer.

 

The IMDb Portion of The Review:

 

Goofs: “The killer used what one of the detectives describes as a “poor man’s silencer” So that nobody heard the shot - sticking the muzzle of the gun. Into the neck of a 2-liter plastic soda bottle and firing through the bottom. This will, in fact work – for a 9mm or smaller automatic pistol. But the gun used turns out to be a heavy revolver – probably a .357, which is too powerful for the trick to work. A revolver cannot be effectively silenced anyway, because the gap between the cylinder and frame allows some of the blast to escape.” (Cited by IMdB)

 

Trivia: Castle mentions a “Desperate Housewives” moment. Nathan Fillion was a member of the “Desperate Housewives” series.

 

Continuity: When Castle hands Alexis her cocoa, she's carrying a pencil that disappears. It's in her hand when she takes the hot chocolate but disappears when they're leaving the room. And we never see her put it down.

 

Factual errors: It would have been impossible for Alexis to reorganize the file room in just a few days. Even in a room that small, it would have taken several people several months to reorganize and update the computers. And, as a former computer operator, those computers shouldn’t have had viruses. IT would’ve been on top of that, no matter how old the computers were.

 

Character Errors: Capt. Montgomery and his missing ‘son.’ We learn in 4x23, ‘Always,’ that Montgomery has a son named ‘Evan.’ Castle mentions him in the episode. ‘Thank god Evan and the girls weren’t here,’ referring to the break-in where Montgomery’s files and laptop were taken. But we never see Evan. He isn’t in the Season 3 finale, but Montgomery’s two daughters are.

 

The mystery son is mentioned twice before the end of Season 3. But we never see him, and he doesn’t attend his father’s funeral.

 

What I liked about this episode: Actually, very little. I felt no empathy for the dead guy. The two women drove me bat crap crazy.

 

But there was one thing in this episode that I did like, and that was Alexis. This is one of the few episodes where I liked Castle's daughter. While doing an internship at the 12th, She finds a photograph album belonging to a murder victim and takes it upon herself to find the victims next of kin. I like the interaction between Beckett and Alexis in this episode. I wish we had had more scenes once Castle and Beckett became a couple. The showrunners missed so many opportunities that show the relationship between Kate and Alexis.

 

What I didn't like about this episode: Everything else that didn't show Alexis.

 

Sarah Reed and Helen Parker were two of the most annoying women I've ever seen on any television show. The constant fights between these two were ridiculous. Especially the last fight at Helen's home. You could tell by this point that Beckett was getting fed up with them too. I think she was ready to take them to jail. Or let them duke it out. I'm sure that Castle would have enjoyed the latter.

 

I also wasn't crazy about the killer. Although I figured out early on that it was him. When he started talking about battery technology, I guessed that Lance was a killer. Not a great killer and not a great motive.

 

WTF? (Why the face): The killer dumping batteries into the ocean. Really, dude? You're polluting our oceans and killing marine life to save a few bucks? What an ass.

 

Favorite Scene: My favorite scene was the final scene when Alexis is able to return the photo album to Anna Noles.

 

Alexis: The pictures I found belonged to her mother. She hands the album to Beckett.

 

Beckett: Really? How’d you track her down?

 

Alexis: It was something you said, dad. About me retiring from law enforcement. It got me thinking, what if the officer who had originally worked the case had retired.

 

Beckett: Nice work. I’m very impressed you were able to close this case.

 

Alexis: Thank you. I mean, I know it’s not like the important stuff you do. But I . . .

 

Beckett: You know, when a person loses someone, this is important.

 

I liked this scene because Beckett is letting Alexis know that as a survivor, she would know how important getting something like a photo album would be. I hope that makes some kind of sense.

 

Favorite quote: Again, this episode wasn't a favorite, but this part was. My favorite quote comes when Castle and Beckett are explaining the case to Captain Montgomery.

 

Montgomery: Umm. Ohh boy.

 

Castle: I know. Is it delicious? OK, who do we talk to 1st?

 

Ranking: I ranked this as #20 out of 24 season 2 episodes. The only reason this episode isn't ranked lower is that there are four episodes I dislike more than this one. Otherwise, this would have been #24.

 

Until Monday, readers.  

We were discussing Season 8 yesterday and it led me back to something I wrong on WordPress after the finale in 2016. I went in about two years ago and updated it. I'll add spoiler flare for the folks on here who are first time watchers and haven't completed Season 8.

Let me know what you think.

My Thoughts on The Finale

These were my original thoughts written the day after the finale in 2016. I have had six years to think since then.

Well, it's over. Last night was the 'Castle' series finale and we all survived it. While I don't feel that this was the worst finale I've ever seen, it also wasn't the best. But after the disaster that has been Season 8, I didn't expect last night to be spectacular. I think that Andrew and Terri should've come in to write the finale, but I'm not even sure they could've turned around the train wreck that we fans came to know as Season 8.

I was in the minority last night among the people that I watch the show with. All season we've all been saying that we all felt that Vikram was in on the whole LokSat conspiracy. Well, the other day I had the audacity to say 'What if Vikram isn't the bad guy that we've all been making him out to be?' They looked at me like I had just sprouted a second head. But, as it turned out, I was right. Vikram was on Beckett and Castle's side all along. A more befitting end for him than the one that he suffered on 'The Walking Dead' when he died after catching some horrible super-flu.

I never would've suspected Mason at first. But then, when I started thinking about the episode last night, a lot of things popped out at me. Things that Beckett had voiced, but Castle didn't want to listen to. How did he know that they were at the drop point? And it was obvious that the burner phones that he gave them had bugs implanted in them. How else would he know when Castle was leaving the P.I. office? And it explained how he knew that they were watching Flynn, who had to be the creepiest bad guy on 'Castle' since Jerry Tyson.

The Caleb Brown thing is easy to explain away. He had an identical twin, which is how the DNA to the man in the trunk came back as a positive match to him. However, I wasn't expecting him to show up in the loft at the end of the episode. I'm still blown away by that.

I'm also thinking that if Mason killed Rita (he said that he hadn't, but I don't believe that), I think it's also possible that he could've killed Jackson Hunt. And since Kate didn't kill him, I'm thinking that if there had been a Season 9, it would've had Castle tracking him down and seeking revenge. Because there's no doubt in my mind that if the show had been renewed, the cliffhanger would've been them bleeding on the kitchen floor and then Season 9 would jump ahead to Castle mourning Kate's death. It was clear to me that her wound was much more serious than Castle's. I also wonder if she was pregnant with Lily in that last scene.

I had to watch the end scene on YouTube a couple of times before I learned how everybody knew what the twins' names were. Jake and Reece. A lot of people are confused by the ending. Did they die and this was showing what could've been? Or. Did they recover and this was their future? I think they stayed in the building on Broome Street, but I think it was a different loft. Some things were the same, while others were different.

For the people who suggested last night that someone would've heard the gunshots and called for help, Caleb used a silencer. The only thing that alerted Kate to trouble was when she heard Rick fall to the floor and she probably also heard Caleb's voice. I knew when he gave them the phone that he was setting them up.

I promise that I will write something to explain the ending. It's going to be a part of a much longer story that Kelly and I will be collaborating on. I promise that unlike last night's finale, my tale won't be rushed, and it will make sense. Kelly's very good about keeping me on track so that I don't get ahead of myself. (Since the finale, I have written three fan fiction stories that focus on Season 8. Forgetting, Full Circle and They Move in The Shadows. It’s likely that I will probably write more Season 8 stories. I like trying to fix what was so broken.)

My thoughts on the finale? Like I said, I didn't hate it, but I also didn't love it. Except for those final few seconds of them with their Caskett babies (congratulations, u/Caskettbaby on X). Do I wish that Stana and Nathan had gotten along better? Yes. But it is what it is. We can't change what happened. We'll continue to have good memories via our DVD's and fan fiction. I hope to continue talking to all my followers on Twitter and Facebook. Let me clarify I no longer believe the rumors that circulated before the show left the air. After seeing interviews NF has given over the last several years, I now believe they were both burned out from working 14-16 hour days. Anyone would get tired of that. NF appeared on all 173 episodes, while Stana appeared in 171 total episodes.

As for the people who keep posting, maybe another network will pick up the show; I'm sorry, but that isn't going to happen. Maybe in 10 or 15 years, we'll get a reunion movie, but in the meantime, you just have to accept that 'Castle' is over and we all have to move on.

Here are my updated thoughts:

Alexi Hawley and Terrence Paul Winters ruined 'Castle.' And it's not even Season 8 that I'm talking about. Well, it's mainly Season 8, but the train wreck started with 6x23, the wedding that never happened. The wedding that had fans watching and saying to themselves, 'WTF just happened?' I remember watching with my ex. After the credits, he told me to rewind the DVR. When I asked why, he just told me to wait for it. After we watched the credits a second time, he looked at me and said, 'They're not getting married.' When I asked what he was talking about, he said, 'Where is Scott Paulin? There's no way that Kate is not going to have her father give her away.'

The sad thing regarding the Season 6 finale is that Andrew and Terri were still there. They were gone beginning with 7x01, 'Driven.' Please do not get me started on the first few episodes of Season 7.  This season gave us plot holes. Huge, drive an 18-wheeler truck through them, plot holes. While there had been a few minor continuity errors up to this point, there had never been plot holes. Unless I missed something (and I don't think that I have), Castle's disappearance was never completely explained. 'The G.D.S.' in Season 8 didn't even explain it, although we did learn that Castle had found out about LokSat long before Kate did. But we never found out exactly how. 

Now I'll move on to Season 8. If Marlowe had returned, could he have saved it? Sadly, no. Like I said, Season 8 was a trainwreck. You know that a season is a trainwreck when you have devoted fans who refuse to ever watch it again. There are fans to this day who will not, under any circumstances, watch Season 8. There are a few decent episodes in Season 8. Decent, but not great. None of Season 8 was great. But it was nice to see that Nathan seemed to be getting his way. That's sarcasm, people. 

We wanted to see Caskett happen. We got that with 'Always.' We wanted to see them get their happily ever after. That never happened. It felt like once they got married, the producers and the showrunners didn't know what to do with them. So, they sat around a table and said, 'I've got a great idea! Let's have Beckett backpedal so badly that fans will stop watching the show!' I hung in there. And it got more painful with every passing week. 

LokSat was stupid. Why did we need another Big Bad after the arrest of Senator Bracken? We didn't. But Hawley/Winters needed to come up with something to split up Castle and Beckett. And sadly, this was the best that they could conjure up. 

The Johanna Beckett story arc was great. What made it great was that Andrew Marlowe knew that for it to be an effective arc, it needed to move forward slowly. And most importantly, it needed to make sense. The same thing with 3XK. We knew both of these arcs needed to end, but we got a great buildup toward that finish. I always knew that Bracken wasn't the top of the food chain. But that fact should've become apparent earlier in the season. I think Bracken's murder was added for shock value. It really added nothing to the LokSat arc, except to tell me that I was right all along when I told friends and my ex that Bracken wasn't the main Big Bad. 

A good Big Bad is only going to make sense if the writers take the time and the energy to make it make sense. That wasn't done with LokSat. I really think that the writers and the showrunners just threw stuff at the wall, hoping that something would stick. Sadly, everything just slid down the wall, ending up in a giant pile of goo at the bottom. And things only got worse as the season progressed.

Two new characters were introduced: Hayley Shipton and Vikram Singh. With the introduction of a new Big Bad in 8x02, it would've made perfect sense for one of these new characters to in the end wind up being LokSat. Vikram was introduced in episode 8x02 and we found out that supposedly, he had forged his documents which allowed him to work in the AG's office. But nothing else was ever said about this, and we don't know if it was true or what the real LokSat wanted us to believe. Like I said earlier in this post, I was in the minority of fans who didn't think Vikram was LokSat. However, he went way out of his way to cockblock Castle and Beckett at every opportunity. The worst of these was on their anniversary when he sent Kate a text telling her that he had found something, but in reality, he just wanted to get her away from Castle. Yes, he could be an asshole, but he wasn't LokSat. I liked him (except for the lying to Kate part) because he was, at times, very funny. 

Hayley Shipton was introduced in 8x01. She was former MI6 and got involved in the LokSat mess to protect Rick. We didn't learn this until episode 8x14, 'The G.D.S.' She had been sent to keep Rick from investigating LokSat at the request of Jackson Hunt. A lot of fans didn't like Hayley. I didn't mind her all that much. It became clear, especially in the finale, that she would do whatever needed to be done to protect Rick and his family. She was particularly close to Alexis. I believe that if there had been a Season 9, Hayley would've been a romantic partner for Alexis, not her father, as some have suggested. 

There was two more characters introduced in Season 8. The first was Rita. Rita was supposedly married to Castle's father, Jackson Hunt. She only appeared in two episodes, Episode 8x02 and Episode 8x11. She may or may not have been killed by LokSat in the finale. That was left up to the viewers. 

The last character introduced was Caleb Brown. Caleb Brown appeared in 8x08, 8x10, 8x19 and 8x22. Caleb was an attorney, who at one time had been Vulcan Simmons attorney. Knowing that he was working for LokSat, Kate tried to get him to cross over to their side. In 8x19, we thought he had done just that when he was discovered in the loft when Kate and Castle returned home. It was at that time, that they were set up as sitting ducks. We just didn't know it, yet.

Any of these four new characters would've been a lock if any of them were revealed to be LokSat. It would've worked and it would've been believable. Instead, who was revealed to be LokSat? Mason Wood. Played by Gerald McRaney, he appeared in one episode. One! And it wasn't even that big of a role. Yeah, I will admit that I said, 'Oh, f**k,' when he appeared at Rick's side when Rick was being tortured by Flynn. But, other than that, he wasn't believable as The Big Bad. I have written two fan fiction stories regarding Season 8. In the second one, I revealed Caleb Brown as LokSat. I will stand by the fact that I believe that Caleb Brown was LokSat. I think that Mason Wood was his Right-Hand Man or RHM. 

I met one of my fan fiction followers in early April of 2016. This was when we began putting together the story, 'Forgetting.' Two weeks later, I was sitting at the bus stop preparing to go home from work, when I checked my text messages. One of them was from Kelly, my story collaborator. 'Did you hear that Stana got fired from 'Castle.'" What the holy hell? We will never learn why this happened. We can believe the rumors if we want. Watching Seasons 7 and 8, it was clear that something was amiss. Up until those two seasons, we didn't get that many episodes where Castle and Beckett were separated. Starting with Season 7, there were a lot of scenes where we either saw Castle or Beckett. Not both together. And not only was Stana fired, so was Tamala Jones. If there had been a Season 9, and if it had gone in the direction that I heard that it was going, then there wouldn't have been much need for an M.E. Since Arye Gross, who played Perlmutter, was an occasional guest star, this wouldn't have affected him.

Season 9 would've had Kate dead, and Castle supposedly on the hunt for her killer. Which doesn't make sense on paper, because we all saw Caleb Brown shoot Kate in the apartment in the finale. Does this mean he would've gone after Mason Wood? Possibly. Rumor has it that Season 9 was only going to be 13 episodes, which tells me that the series probably would've wrapped for good at the end of that season. 

I found out last night that it was a total of 30 seconds between the time that Kate was shot by Caleb Brown to the end of the scene showing us the happily ever after that the showrunners presented us with. That's how much you thought of your female lead? 30 Seconds? I was never in my life so happy to be a part of the 'Cancel Castle' brigade. I would go on Facebook and Twitter every day. 'No Stana No Castle' became our war cry. 

Some have suggested that the finale needed to be two hours or two parts. I don't know if that would've helped make sense out of that storyline. Let me put it this way: it took me a year and a half to write 'Forgetting' in order for it to make any kind of sense. I was told that I should've written for the series. Yeah, I wish. If I had, I can guarantee that Season 8 would've made sense. And Mason Wood wouldn't have been LokSat. 

Rob Bowman, who is an exceptional director, couldn't even save the mess that was 'Crossfire.' You can only be as good as the material you're given, and in this case, he was given crap to direct. 

Alexi Hawley has moved on to his pal, NF's, show, The Rookie. I've watched a few episodes, and it's not awful. It's not 'Castle,' but as cop shows go, it's not better or worse than the other ones that are out there. Let's just hope that none of his co-stars piss NF off or they could find themselves out of a job. 

I will probably write more on this topic as thoughts enter into my head. Until then, thanks for reading my ramblings. 

Until next Wednesday, readers.

 

Season 2 Episode 9 Love Me Dead

 

Original Airdate: November 16, 2009

 

Synopsis: After a respected A.D.A. is murdered, Castle and Beckett are thrown into the world of a cyber prostitution ring that’s being run from his office.

 

Notable Guest Stars: Michaela McManus, who portrays Scarlett Price, previously portrayed an A.D.A. herself. She portrayed A.D.A. Kim Greylek on Law and Order: SVU. IMO, she was awful in this role, and a lot of SVU fans will agree with me on that point. Fortunately, she was gone after a few episodes.

 

J.B. Smoove, who portrays Wordsmith Extraordinaire Norman Jessup, is a stand-up comic. He has made appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Spider Man: Far from Home, and Harley Quinn.

 

Jonathan LaPaglia, who portrays John Knox, was the host of Australian Survivor until this past season. By the way, Australian Survivor is about 20 times better than the American version. Hands down.

 

Danny Nucci, is making the first of three appearances as Det. Gilbert Mazzara. He next appears in Sucker Punch and later in the Season 7 episode Last Action Hero. He has been acting for a very long time and acted with Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie ‘Titanic.’

 

The IMdB Portion of The Review:

 

Goofs: Despite saying that the detectives work at the 12^(th) Precinct, at the beginning of the episode, the front door clearly says 9^(th) Precinct. Hang on, guys, because the continuity errors get a lot worse later on in the series.

The title is based on the Beatles song ‘Love Me Do.’

 

Continuity: Norman Jessup’s front teeth appear to be missing and then reappear when Castle and Beckett are talking to him at the precinct. This happens when he’s talking about his cohorts in the bank robber needing a “ride.” When he leans his head back, his front teeth appear to be missing, yet when he starts talking again, they’re back in place.

 

Factual Errors: By leaving Scarlett’s laptop on the table at the end of the episode, Beckett broke the chain of evidence. After all, the laptop contained all the call girl data. I mean, I know we don’t see everything, but that’s a major glitch.

 

What I Liked About This Episode: Although I have this episode ranked higher than the previous episode, there are still few things in this episode that I actually liked.

 

·       I loved J.B. Smoove. His scenes were the best ones in the episode, and much like Westside Wally, who we meet in Season 4, I wanted to see more of the Wordsmith. I wonder if Locksmith School panned out for him. My two favorite scenes with him were the one where he’s in the backseat of Beckett’s car with Castle. And the other is when he points out the deadbolt on Scarlett’s door to Castle and Beckett.

·       Watching Castle squirm as he wondered just what it was that Alexis had confided to Beckett. In the end, it ended up not being that big of a deal. It made me wonder why Alexis couldn’t just talk to her dad or her grandmother about being the possibility of being an exchange student. Maybe even Gina. I doubt she would’ve talked to her mother.

·       Ryan’s nickname of ‘Honey Milk’ has made its way around the precinct from the way Det. Mazzara greets him after Espo introduces him.

·       Speaking of the boys, it’s fun to see them tease Castle when he talks about being worried about Alexis.

 

What I Didn’t Like About This Episode: I have a whole laundry list of things I didn’t like. Here we go.

 

·       Let’s start with Alexis. Do they really have three-week long foreign exchange student programs? I’m seriously asking because I don’t have kids. And if so, why so secretive? All she had to do was talk to her dad and explain what was going on. After all, he’s the cool dad, right? Instead, we get Alexis acting like she’s pregnant or expelled from school. Like my former editor stated in one of his entries, Alexis wasn’t normal.

·       The case of the week wasn’t one of the better ones. At first, we’re led to believe that A.D.A. Jack Buckley is a stand-up guy. He goes hard on the bad guys. Then we find out he’s running a prostitution ring from his office. Wow, talk about turnaround. But this leads us to . . .

·       Scarlett Price. The call girl who deep down really wants to be a lawyer. Yeah, okay. Castle is too nice of a guy in this episode. He’s too nice to see that he’s being manipulated by Scarlett. And her story of how she arrived in New York! Bring on the violins!

 

WTF? (Why the Face?): When they question Buckley’s former brother-in-law, they learn about Danton. When Beckett instructs Paul Cho to call and order one of the girls, Castle’s comment makes me cringe, “And tell her to wear something sexy. No reason we can’t enjoy this interview.” Yuck!

 

Favorite Scene/Moment: Castle and Beckett at the bar looking for Norman Jessup, only to discover their suspect is in the middle of a bar fight.

 

Castle: Aren’t you going to do something?

Beckett: Breaking up a bar fight is a sure way to get hit. Don’t worry. It’ll be over in a minute.

Castle: You know, I was in a bar fight once.

Beckett: Really? Who won? (Jessup hits Castle in the jaw) Let me guess. Not you.

 

Favorite Quote: Jessup in the interrogation room.

 

Jessup: “Stalking” is a pretty damn ugly word. Let’s not use “stalking,” okay? I was just trying to feel the guy out, you know what I mean? Trying to convince him, you know? In case you guys haven’t noticed, I’m something of a wordsmith, you know? A real master of . . . uh, you know . . . of, uh—

Castle: Words?

 

By the way, I hate the use of ‘you know’ in every sentence. It’s right up there with the use of the word ‘like.’ I had a former co-worker who constantly used the phrases ‘You know what I mean’ or ‘You know what I’m saying?’ Yes, I get it! Now stop saying it!

 

Ranking: This is #16 out of 24 episodes. I’m surprised I have this one this high because this is one of the episodes in Season 2 that I really don’t like. But there are episodes that I disliked more. This episode and the next episode are two that I rarely watch because I dislike them both so much.

 

Until Friday, readers.