This was my least favorite episode of the young season. I can appreciate that the writers want to shake things up by putting the leads into new locales. But as I've said at least once before, I really consider New York City to be one of the characters. So if you take the show out of the city, it loses something. That's why "Murder He Wrote" left me lukewarm.
Still, there were many good elements worth mentioning.
Four standout scenes come to mind. The first was the gang's inquisition of Beckett as they sought her boyfriend's identity; you just knew Castle couldn't resist lobbing a beach ball like, "A boyfriend, Beckett? Really?" Also noteworthy was Castle's and Beckett's back-and-forth as they realized that Franklin was the meth king of the Hamptons. Another was Ryan's interrogation of Aaron Lerner, especially the way he ratcheted up the intensity as he drew closer to cracking, not the case, but the Castle-Beckett romance. (Nit-pick: why wasn't Esposito on the other side of the one-way glass providing a second set of eyes and ears? They ALWAYS do that.) Finally, there was the speakerphone conversation between Castle (with Beckett listening in) and Ryan, where the two of them came to the dreadful realization that Ryan knew.
I also love how Castle's Ferrari has become the currency for favors from the boys, as in "Headhunters" last season.
The ending, likewise, was a nice surprise. As was the case with the episodes "Til Death Do Us Part" and "A Deadly Game," the killer was someone who was not even on the radar, but popped up at the last minute.
My two favorite lines were:
Castle: "Call 911."
Beckett: "Really?"
and
"Suspects tend to hold back on stuff like that," said by Castle to Chief Brady, in reference to the affair between Franklin and Natalia Roosevelt.
There were very few "looks." The best was Esposito's quizzical eyebrow arch as Castle and Beckett went their separate ways after the "boyfriend" discussion.
What did you think? Feel free to share your thoughts.
I thought it was a fun episode. I especially loved the scene when Ryan figured out who Beckett's boyfriend was. Cracked me up!
ReplyDeleteHave you read any of the books? They're very entertaining, too.
I wonder if Ryan will even tell Castle and Beckett that he knows. My bet is no. And he certainly won't tell Espo.
ReplyDeleteWith regard to the books, I have not read them. A few months ago, one of my colleagues first showed me they existed. I think it's a GREAT idea.