Castle: "The Time of Our Lives"

by Michael Seese

I never thought I would TXT-SPK in a Castle review, but...

OMG!

What an episode that was!

And not just because ...

SPOILERS! PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!

... they got married. Personally, I'm basically neutral to that story arc; you knew it was going to happen eventually. To be honest, I'm just glad no one got shot or blowed up at the wedding. 

Quick aside: I was hoping that Castle would say to Alexis something like, "Do me a favor. Don't ever dye your hair."

To start, I think the writers really like coming up with clever segues from the murder to the "Caskett" domestic life. This time, it was knife slashing toward the hand, then another one bisecting the cantaloupe.

Reflecting on "The Time of Our Lives," I think one thing that must really be tough for any alternate-reality episode (of any show) is having the actors act like they don't know each other. Yes, they're professional. But still, Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, et al have been working together for seven-plus years now.

I lost count of how many references to alternate histories were tossed about in the first five minutes. Most notable, both Castle:

"Your old FBI squeeze? You're so lucky I came along and saved you from that life."
"It's like It's a Wonderful Life. Every time your phone rings, a victim gets their wings."

I thought that Nathan Fillion the actor did a great job playing the confusion morphing into recognition, starting with the way he felt his pockets, looking for the artifact after the explosion.

My favorite was:

Beckett: "I've only known you for a day. But it seems a lot longer."
Castle: "I have that effect on people."

Some of the other great lines:

Castle: "Come on! I would never sing 'Let It Go' as a duet."

Castle: "That is awful."
Martha: "Exactly what the critics said."

Beckett: "I expected you to be on your best behavior."
Castle: "Actually, this is my best behavior."

Castle: "I hate this world."

I also jotted down a few nice comic touches:

- Castle's worst mug shot EVER.
- The way he stealthed around the precinct.
- The entire Chelsea scene. (It would be great if she appears in a future episode, and Castle snaps his fingers as if to say, "Don't I know you...")

And a nice touching... um... touch:

When Beckett admitted that she had met Castle at a book signing, and he said, "You never told me that."

Finally, the looks:

- Castle's cocked eyebrow at Esposito's "We were just stuck in traffic" explanation.

- Beckett's glare at Castle after she realized he had brought her to that sports bar in order to catch the perp. "The bitch set me up," said my wife.

One last thing: Did anyone else notice that in the opening scene (so, obviously pre-alternate-reality) the kitchen cabinets looked "different?"

What are YOUR thoughts on "The Time of Our Lives?"