Castle: Get A Clue

By Michael Seese

This was an "enjoyable" episode of Castle. I don't wish to damn it with faint praise. It was good. But coming on the heels of "Time Will Tell," it paled a bit in comparison. (Did I happen to mention that I REALLY liked "Time Will Tell?")

I thought the major strength of "Get A Clue" was that it had a lot of good "moments." A lot of well done individual scenes.

The opening grabbed you right away. A rat scampers along a dark alley. The camera, low to the ground, zooms up to something. Flash! A bloody hand. Flash! Another bloody hand. Flash! The victim's (thankfully not bloody) face.

Then we cut to Castle, running at the mouth as he tells his mother everything that he thinks is wrong about the new living arrangement Alexis has with Pi. Castle made no effort to hide his disdain for Pi, and it came back to bite him in the a$$ at the end. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Quick line intermission, because it fits...

Pi: "I don't know, Mr. C. What color is [the couch]?"
Castle (with a look of withering disdain): "Free."

Quick intermission for an observation...

Not one, but two, of the victim's acquaintances reported that she had been "acting oddly lately." Doesn't EVERY victim on Castle do that?

Though early on the show moved a little slowly, I thought the scene in the church (the first time in the church) really got the ball rolling as Castle started fitting the pieces together, and laying out a Da Vinci Code mystery.

Castle's sword fight was another well executed (pun absolutely intended) moment.

And, the writers gave Martha her time in the spotlight when she admonished Castle and told him to, in essence, man up and deal with the fact that Alexis is heavily into Pi.

Then, at the end, Alexis gave her Dad the (deserved) cold shoulder, and went so far as to close the door on him. Very well crafted.

Though I have focused on the pieces / parts of the episode, there were more than a few great lines.

Castle: "It's as though he [Pi] has turned being a charming man-child into a career."
Beckett: "Now that doesn't sound familiar, does it?"

Castle: "It's your job to follow the evidence. You're messing with the natural order of things."

Third intermission...

Though not a great line, per se, I thought the implication -- the breadth of knowledge -- behind Castle's "my Latin is pretty rusty," but then translating some text nonetheless, was pretty cool.

And, saving the best line for last: Beckett's reference to Wade as a "felonious monk."

My favorite look had to be Castle's wide-eyed, "who me?" innocence when Beckett rejoined "the party" after his sword fight, and he stood there, trying to hide the épée behind his back. (OK, it wasn't really an épée; I just didn't want to say "sword" again."

One nitpick: when Castle and Beckett looked through the victim's apartment, they did so without wearing gloves. OK, so it wasn't the crime scene. But, hello! Fingerprints!

Feel free to share your thoughts about "Get A Clue."