r/CastleTV

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.

One thing that strikes me is that Kate uses kickboxing as a method of self-defense, and I wonder why kickboxing and not boxing or a martial art like Karate or Krav Maga, for example?

Just finished watching the series finale, and why couldn’t they just give the show a happy ending knowing it got canceled and wasn’t getting picked up by another network?

No. Why bother? You could’ve ended it with a dinner scene at the loft, or everyone at the bar celebrating (and then do a time jump if desired), but no. Let’s just have the two main characters get shot and then do a time jump 7 years later.

One of the most infuriating series finales I’ve ever seen.

24. 3x21- The Dead Pool- 5/10

25. 3x07- Almost Famous- 6/10

26. 3x04- Punked- 7/10

27. 3x14- Lucky Stiff- 7/10

28. 3x23- Pretty Dead- 7/10

29. 3x20- Slice of Death- 8/10

30. 3x15- The Final Nail - 8/10

31. 3x02- He's Dead, She's Dead- 8/10

32. 3x03- Under the Gun- 8/10

33. 3x18- One Life to Lose- 8/10

34. 3x05- Anatomy of a Murder- 8/10

35. 3x08- Murder Most Fowl- 8/10

36. 3x01- Deadly Affair- 9/10

37. 3x22- To Love and Die in L.A.- 9/10

38. 3x12- Poof, You're Dead- 9/10

39. 3x19- Law & Murder- 9/10

40. 3x06- 3XK- 10/10

41. 3x10- Last Call - 10/10

42. 3x16- Setup- 10/10

43. 3x17- Countdown- 10/10

44. 3x11- Niki Heat- 10/10

45. 3x24- Knockout- 10/10

46. 3x09- Close Encounters of the Murderous Kind- 10/10

47. 3x13- Knockdown- 10/10

I am a little late watching this series but now I’m feeling a bit betrayed! I really thought that Beckett and Castle had great chemistry only to find out that that Nathan and Stana really didn’t like one another and had totally different acting styles that led to the ending of the series. Anyone else feel this way!? 😆

I started a rewatch last week and Im wondering why did they name the show after castle? When it was all about Beckett ? I thought maybe they wanted to make it about castle especially
in S1 it was more focused on him
His life was detailed and we were watching his pov, but from s2 til the ending it was all about Kate her storyline was building up and thickening every episode, we saw how she developed and changed mentally, emotionally and at all aspects too, she became captain, she worked with the FBI and so much was happening with her, by time the lights were shifting towards her until we started to watch her pov, it got to the point where she basically became the show if she’s gone you could sense something weird, it became all about Beckett till the very end, while Castle’s existence was almost entirely linked to hers. I mean, imagine Beckett gone what would Castle even be doing?, what support this theory is when they decided to remove her character they had to come up with replacement, castle became shallow he couldn’t do it alone
And what makes it even more confusing to me, is that castle life had so much in it you could use it, like his father mysterious life, and his stepmother HELLO!!, she was amazing, she could team up with kate, also Alexis at some point she was gone nothing about her was happening

What do you think?

 

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.

I started watching castle im at season 4 rn and im liking the show but my problem is with the main character castle everytime he makes jokes in a serious situations and that what kinda annoys me i mean yeah i like him being funny but not in every situation and i hope that changes later in the series and also i don’t like how his mom and his daughter and beckett make him look dumb instead him being a cool and know when to joke and when not.

I’ve been bingeing Castle for a while now and thought I’d switch it up with another series. Decided to give The Rookie a go, only to be instantly greeted by the same face!

For me it's when castle catches Kate reading his book on the toilette. That sound she makes and the whole situation. Gets me everytime. I mention this cause I see it every time the show starts.

 

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.

Tell me Castles mother and daughter don't legitimately look like actual genetic relatives? Its so much more then the red hair. Castle directors really impress me sometimes. Like how they can get an adult and child to play eachother at different ages but they legit look like they could actually be the adult actor as a child.

What do we think about Laney?

Do you think the character was strong enough to have carried her own show?

It's ok if it ended up being a different show than Castle was (kinda like how Lou Grant was different from Mary Tyler Moore), but I was just watching an episode of Coroner and it got me thinking about Laney and whether or not there was enough development of the character, as she appeared on Castle, to garner a spin off into her own show.

Now that I write this, I'm wondering if Ryan and Esposito could be spun the same way. Might be more of a "Law and Order" feel to it, but who doesn't love a cop buddy show.

Anyway, random thoughts @ 1:30 in the morning.

What do you think?

Just rewatching the episode where Kate and Castle go to the strip club to interview Hans. Espo gets insecure because the guy told him he wouldn't hire him as a stripper. Made me look at his character again. Anyone see what I see?

I’ve had time to reflect on why Stana won’t be participating in the Castle reunion at Dragon Con, and on her definitive falling-out with the other cast members, Nathan in particular. Aside from the fact that attending conventions isn't really her thing, this was supposed to be the first cast reunion since the final episode aired ten years ago, a sort of tenth-anniversary celebration of the series. The key point is that the participants are the cast members who had signed on for a ninth season, whereas Stana and Tamala, who had been fired, are not; perhaps that is why they no longer feel a connection to the brand (ABC) rather than to the show itself. Reading around, it becomes clear that, ultimately, it was Stana who suffered public humiliation by being fired, not the others. Even though their relationship had broken down and neither wanted to work together anymore, I believe Stana felt professionally betrayed by Nathan. He seemed to prioritize his own interests by renewing for a new season instead of fighting for her, the show, and the fans, who would never have accepted Beckett’s death. After all, they were the two undisputed leads; if the production wanted to fire Stana and Nathan had objected, they likely would have found a compromise for both parties rather than ending the series. Again, it is true that Nathan had no personal reason to defend her. But in the unwritten code of Hollywood, when two co-stars build an empire together, the expectation is that they either fall or succeed together. Nathan’s decision to move forward alone sealed the fate not only of the series but of any possibility for mutual respect in their private lives. For Stana, seeing her long-time equal and professional partner decide to "save himself", agreeing to keep earning millions solo while letting the production dump her as if she were a secondary character, was the final blow. It wasn't a matter of affection, but of professional solidarity between equals. After all, for eight years, Castle''s entire global success had rested on the "Caskett" brand. Stana felt that Nathan's financial success was due to her character just as much as her own was due to his.

If I’m getting anything wrong, I’d be happy to hear your thoughts; I want to emphasize that I’m not a long-time fan, I only discovered and fell in love with this show this year, but I do enjoy occasionally poking around to see what was and what sadly will never be.