Castle P.I.

by Michael Seese

Castle is back, and he's zanier than ever. You could tell from the previews this would be a wacky one. And "Castle P.I." did not disappoint.

I would be remiss if I failed to cite the de rigueur segue from death to domestic bliss. This week, it was the gunshot blending with the crack of an egg. 

I likewise would be remiss if I failed to note that after countless weeks, lividity has returned, thanks to M.E. Perlmutter, who remains one of my favorite characters, an always-welcome breath of snide air.

IMHO, three scenes in particular were laugh-out-loud funny.

- Castle and Perlmutter playing "ring around the dead girl."
- The interrogation of Spalding Elliott, replete with Castle tossing dog fur in his general direction. 
- The Caskett call, where each tried to figure out what the other knew. The call then morphed into their apartment, and Castle's comically overfilled wine glass. "Let me top that off for you," he graciously offered in return. And I loved the way each took a different route around the couch.

So, on to the lines...

Martha: "It's just that ever since you've been banned from working with Katherine, you and your pajamas have been seeing an awful lot of each other. "

Castle: "Master interrogator like yourself? That's the best one you've got?"

Perlmutter: "How a woman so astute could choose to marry Castle?"

Ryan: "Like Lassie, Sparkles is out there, trying to track down the killer."

Ryan: "Someone has to provide us with out of the box thinking now that Castle's not around."

Esposito: "Baby Castle over here may be right."

Beckett: "He is resourceful. But he's not that resourceful."
Ryan: "He got you to marry him, didn't he?"

Castle: "Did I tell you I got peppered sprayed today?"
Alexis: "You say that like it's a good thing."

Castle: "What happened to that rebellious girl with the leather jacket and the motorcycle?"
Beckett: She enforces the law now and drinks expensive wine."

Castle: "Ryan, you played the C card?"
Ryan: "You weren't around. Somebody had to step up."

And finally, Castle's voice over: "Kicked to the gutter like yesterday's trash."

I have to say, I must note a few picky asides.

- The victim paid for her trip with cash. Really? Can you even do that?
- I thought Esposito was a little too hard on Castle. They've been friends for a long time, and it's not like Espo would be ticked that Castle went around protocol. (And he probably would not mourn the loss of a bad cop.)
- SPOILER!!!!! In the surveillance photo of Nicole fishing the cigarette butt out of the trash, she wasn't wearing gloves. Someone didn't coach her very well.

As a funny aside, I found it amusing that the alley where Castle got pepper-sprayed had a sign on a wall: "Smile. You're On Camera." See? Those convenient surveillance cameras are everywhere.

Then, it all wrapped up quite mysteriously. On some shows, you might think not revealing the killer's motive (i.e., the person really behind it) was lazy writing. With Castle, I'm sure we haven't heard the end of it. 

Based on the previews, it appears we have at least one more week of Castle P.I.

What are your thoughts on "Castle P.I.?"