Castle: The Human Factor

By Michael Seese

Meh.

Sorry, but "The Human Factor" didn't do a whole lot for me. 

Perhaps that's because (SPOILERS! SPOILERS!) I thought the motive and means were a bit of a stretch. Really? Your dad is cheating on your mom, so you call in a drone strike? Really? You can't sit down man to man and talk with him about it? Find out his reasons? Perhaps she knows the marriage is on the rocks, and is ready to move on herself. You could ask. And then, if you're still ticked, poison his coffee. Really? And as long as I'm in an incredulous mood, the U.S. military flies armed drones over New York City? REALLY?

One nice touch: after Tanner's car blows up, the scene cuts to Castle, playing tank. And he says, "Is this incoming mortar fire from above?"

Flashback intermission: I couldn't help but notice a slight similarity between the jacket Beckett wore (the above photo) and the one worn by Rick Springfield in the "Human Touch" video. Human Factor...Human Touch? Yes? No?

 Still, we got our fair share of lines (including cultural references) and looks.

Beckett: "Pervert!"
Castle: "That's Field Marshall Pervert to you."

Castle: "You get this a lot? Agent J? Agent K?"

Castle: "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the explosion originated inside the car." (Accompanied by a smug smirk.)

Castle: "And what is that plan, you ask?"
Beckett: "Actually, I didn't ask."
Castle: "I was talking to the the boys."

Then just a bit later...

Castle: "I was pretty close."
Beckett (disbelieving look): "If by close you mean opposite."

And I have to acknowledge that I loved the scene where Beckett, "under cover," attacked Castle with his own toys. Her laugh as she said "You totally fell for it" was precious.

To wrap up this review, I think I saw something really cool. When the show went to the commercial break, and the Castle logo was shown, I think you can see the new World Trade Center in the background.

Feel free to share your thoughts (if you can recall them after all of this time) on "The Human Factor."

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