Castle: "Sleeper"

by Michael Seese
 
Something I appreciate about "Castle." The writers aren't afraid to have a story arc which carries across episodes, or even seasons.

We've had the whole backstory of the murder of Beckett's mother which, in reality, was one arc with another -- the Senator Bracken stuff -- mixed in. We've had 3XK. (Which I think we can safely say is now over.)

And now we have Castle's missing two months. So we've probably now heard the last of Henry Jenkins. (But who knows...)

Picky aside #1: The blood is the corner of Henry's mouth, courtesy of Castle's punch disappeared rather abruptly.


"Sleeper" falls to the darker side of the Castle spectrum, which is not surprising. I didn't take a whole lot of notes -- and there wasn't much humor. But I did really enjoy it.

SPOILERS!

I found the opening montage compelling, and thought it did a good job at setting the stage for what was to come. In most (if not all) "Castle" episodes, you start out with a murder. It's pretty cut-and-dried. Or bang-bang. (Both puns intended.) But with "Sleeper," we're not sure. Was it a dream? Or did Castle live through some outlandish adventure? Recalling he fought beside Chuck Norris would support the former theory. (Bolstered by Tory discovering that the license plate he recalled did, in fact, appear in a Chuck Norris movie.) But tracing the plate to Thailand, and then bringing up Castle's exposure to dengue fever makes it all a possibility.

Then we get a murder thrown in (and eventually another) and now there's a real crime in Gotham City. And, we can begin to wonder when the killer will come for Castle, which adds to the tension.

I think my favorite scene was Castle's interaction with Bilal. Just the way Bilal kept moving as he gathered his things, hurried down the hall of his apartment, and out in the alley. (My wife said, "He's going to take a bullet here," and I have to say I thought she was right.) It made the whole climax pretty kinetic.

Picky aside #2: I do have to say, I thought the explanation was a bit contrived. "My safe contact (a trained operative...right?) was killed. So I thought I'd turn to some guy I knew in high school 25 years ago." But I'll overlook it.

Speaking of Bilal, they did give him a great line: "I can't believe they picked Phil Bartlett. What a douchebag."

Others of note:

Castle: "I was in Thailand getting shot at with Chuck Norris?"

Beckett: "Why would you be abducted on our wedding day and end up in Thailand?"
Castle: "Worst bachelor party ever?"

Lanie: "Needless to say, the GSW to the head was the likely cause of death." (Italics mine. And, thank you for the "lividity.")

Beckett: "LT is going to drive you home."
Castle: "And if I refuse?"
Beckett: "Then he'll drive you home in handcuffs."
Castle: "Just for the record, extremely bitter."

The next episode, "Castle & Snakes On A Plane" (or whatever it's called) looks promising.

Castle: Reckoning

by Michael Seese

I think I have to christen a new category of Castle. There are the straight-up murders. There are the Scooby mysteries. And now we have Castle rescuing someone he loves, which is just a whole new level. Like Hunt several years back, Reckoning was a great episode.

Let me launch the SPOILER ALERT by saying I SO CALLED IT!

This episode was less about lines and looks -- in fact, I wrote down one funny line -- and more about exchanges. 

It was great to see Captain Gates warming up to Castle when she spoke with him and told him what Beckett said she saw in him.

I loved the dialogue between Ryan and Castle. "I could have had him," Ryan lamented. 

Castle was great when he met with Tyson's former cellmate and convinced him to share information. A minor kudos to the writers here. When they showed Castle driving out by himself, I screamed, "Idiot!" But then we heard the cellmate say, "When he sees the cops coming..."

The conversation between Beckett and Dr. Nieman was so cool, and cold. Of course, the Dr. Nieman character oozes creepy coldness. And I will cite a line here: "Please do not scream. It's tedious and no one can hear you."

Quick aside: a bottle of Malbec on the table at Tyson's hideout. At least he has good choice in wine.

And finally, the standoff between Castle and Tyson was just breathtaking. Here, I will gloat...

SPOILER

... that the minute they started talking, I said something to the effect of, "Castle set this up." My thought was that he was carrying an unloaded gun (which he knew Tyson would take) and had a loaded gun hidden elsewhere.

Major kudos for what I thought was a very cool camera trick. Specifically, the part where Captain Gates is briefing the squad, and Castle looks to his side and whispers, "We're not going to find her. Not like this," ostensibly to himself. Later, the camera pans around, and we see he was talking to Ryan and Esposito. They we get the quick fill-in on the plan.

I do need to serve up a few nitpicks...

- I know Ryan ran up and checked Tyson. Still, he's escaped death before. So I would have liked cold, hard closure, as in someone saying, "He's dead." (Though the red spot in the middle of his chest would largely clinch it.)
- So if I understand it, Dr. Nieman's plan was to cut off Kate's face and then... surgically remove her own, and sew Kate's on?  And do this herself?
- I understand they wanted the "Hollywood ending." But Castle, Ryan, and Esposito were in the middle of nowhere. Unless Beckett was being held at the next farmhouse over, there had to be some other NYPD officer who could have gotten there first.

Still, these little gripes don't detract from the overall quality of the episode.

And let's close with the one funny line.

Castle: "I'm being un-banned?"

Next week looks like another Scooby episode. 

So what did you think of Reckoning?

Castle: Resurrection

by Michael Seese

3XK is back! Or is he...?

I suppose I should start with SPOILERS! Proceed with caution.

One constant in the 3XK episodes is that there is more darkness, and less levity than usual. "Resurrection" fits the mold.

Quick slant rhyme aside: Lanie did say lividity, as in "Based on the lividity, she probably was put in the Dumpster after she was killed. 

This was just an overall good show. 

I really enjoyed the flashbacks to the previous 3XK episodes. I'm sure they were put in to benefit folks who didn't see them. But even though I had seen them all, I thought they added to the overall atmosphere by reminding us of just how bad he is. I also enjoyed Castle's bit at turning the tables, when he visited Tyson down in the tombs.

I did pick out a few good lines.

Martha: "Richard, it pains me to have to admit it, but I am in your debt."
Castle: "Yes. Deeply. But if you want to start paying rent."

Dr. Nieman: "I never forget a face. Especially if I cut it."

Beckett: "What did you expect? Dead animals? Shrunken heads?"
Castle: (pause) "No."

Castle: "Now I have a chance to put the genie back into the bottle. Which is a really terrible analogy. Because who would want three wishes from that guy?"

I really loved the tension at the end, as they kept cutting between Tyson in the interrogation room, Dr. Nieman in the waiting room, Captain Gates in her office, and the boys just outside as they waited for the DNA analysis to come back. Which leads to my...

BIG picky aside: So, they let "Michael Boudreau" go free because the DNA extracted from the tooth (known, or reasonably assumed, to be Tyson's) did not match the DNA taken from a beer bottle they just happened to find at the apartment. Hello! Maybe the real Boudreau did drink from that bottle, before Tyson killed him. But, hey, here's a wacky idea, NYPD Forensics: why don't you swab the mouth or take a hair sample from the guy you actually have IN CUSTODY! And, really, the DA is going to free some guy who looks exactly like a serial killer (and nothing like the man he purports to be) based on the claim that he got plastic surgery which just happened to make him look EXACTLY LIKE A SERIAL KILLER.

Feel free to share your thoughts on "Resurrection." And let's get ready for "Reckoning." Here is a prediction. If you saw the trailer at the end of "Resurrection," Castle finds Beckett tied up in a chair, looks at her face, and says something to the effect of, "No!" I think we are supposed to believe she is dead, or has been scarred. So here it is...

That wasn't Beckett. It was another victim, a woman who resembles Beckett, surgically altered to look like her. 3XK and Dr. Nieman still have Kate. And finding her is what will bring Castle officially back into the NYPD fold.

You heard it here first. Or not.

Castle: I, Witness

by Michael Seese
 
I'm having a hard time with this review...

First the good, which will feature SPOILERS!

I, Witness served up a lot of twists and turns. First, we had the (seemingly) cut-and-dried murder that Castle witnessed. Then, Castle's theory (which my wife called early) that the murder was staged to frame the philandering husband. (Which proved true, of course.) But then the victim turns up dead for real, and we have a whole new slew of suspects. I thought it might be one of those out-of-nowhere murderers which we have seen rarely, though on occasion. But my wife was two for two, as she tabbed the attorney. (Though my theory was it was the first wife, who wasn't really dead; so at least I had the right connection.)

I have to say, Castle's eavesdropping microphone was a cool toy, though I thought he risked blowing his (under)cover by glancing over at Whitfield's table a bit too much.

There were not a lot of lines of note.

The best was Esposito's combination look / line when he took a glance at the picture of his blind date and said, "She's all right."

Beckett: "And when did the affair begin?"
Taylor: "About a week later."

Castle: "What do all cocky men do?"
Beckett: "Make mistakes."
Castle: "Exactly. Wait. You're talking about me now, aren't you?"

Castle: "Something's bothering me."
Beckett: "Yeah, something's bothering me, too."

Now the bad...

I understand this is television, and fiction, blah blah blah. But sometimes there is a contrivance that is so onerous, it just loses me. (For reference, see the Cindy Crawford movie Fair Game.) In this case, Castle hears his friend scream, and rushes up to the house. Fair enough. But once he sees her body being dragged, he's not going to go to another window for a better look. He's going to call 911. And when he's following the car, he's not going to call Beckett. He's going to call 911. Sorry! (BUZZER!) Thanks for playing.

That hit me immediately. What came to me later was that Eva made a similar mistake. On paper, the plan to get Castle to witness the murder looks great. But what if he does call 911? Or, what if one of the neighbors calls 911? That would kind of mess up the performance. A better plan would have been:

- Spread blood
- Scream
- Hop in the car and start driving
- Have the male accomplice call 911 (using a burner phone) and say, "I just heard a woman scream at (address)."
- The police arrive, then wait for the husband to show up to a kitchen full of blood (and no alibi).

Onward. I'm so looking forward to next week, and the reappearance of 3XK.

Castle: Montreal

by Michael Seese

Sorry for the late post; our TV was out of commission last week. But I FIXED IT! Enough boasting.

Richard Castle is back, and I don't mean only from Canada. (The birthplace of Nathan Fillion, in case you didn't know.) No, he's back from his two-month mystery hiatus, back to solving crimes, and back to himself, now that he has a partial explanation of what happened. (Or does he... Personally, I think my theory still is in the running.)

As you might suspect from the previous paragraph, SPOILERS will be everywhere. Proceed at your own risk.

I thought "Montreal"was a pretty good episode. The mystery behind the murder seemed to get stranger and stranger as it went on. But I found the resolution to be plausible, as was the explanation as to why the victim could not go to the police.

(Oh, and true to Castle form, the victim's wife noted that "these last few weeks he had been having a hard time.")

Meanwhile, Castle was freelancing, trying to solve his own crime.

In fact, I thought the "split" near the end -- two minutes of Beckett and the boys on the case, two minutes of Castle in Canada -- was very effective.

And lots of humor. Some great lines:

Castle: "To find a needle in a haystack, do we not first need a haystack?"

Castle: "A tactical smooch is just one weapon in my arsenal."

Quick aside: That "tactical smooch" was out of character and, IMHO, one sign that my theory may be right.

Castle: "You picked up a man at grief counseling?"

Castle: "Tell me again how you got my phone number."
Crazy Guy: "I work for the phone company."
Castle: "Of course you do."

Castle: "Natalie went all Glenn Close on him."

Castle: "Need I remind you I'm a grown man. I don't need to ask your permission. That being said, please, please, please can I go?"

And the looks...

Captain Gate's complete surprise at the "tactical smooch."

And was it just me, or did the bank manager seem a little guilty when Castle asked, "Do I look familiar?"

Funny aside: When Beckett confronted the warehouse manager, "Mac," he bolted. In real life, would someone who (ostensibly) is not a career criminal do that? I mean, the cops know who you are, and probably where you live. Unless you have cash in the Cayman Islands, and a suitcase with your passport in your car, really, do you think you're going to get away?

Picky aside: I thought it strange that when castle returned to Montreal alone, and entered the (apparently) abandoned building where he recorded the goodbye messages, the faux Henry Jenkins just happened to be there waiting for him. That guy needs a life. Of his own, that is. I'm just sayin'.

With any luck, we'll get to "Clear & Present Danger" (which looks hilarious, BTW) tonight or tomorrow.

Let's hear your thoughts on "Montreal."  

Castle: "Driven"

by Michael Seese

He's baaaaaaack, and so am I. We watched the season premiere of Castle, despite the fact we have not yet seen last season's finale since TIME WARNER CABLE STILL HASN'T SEEN FIT TO RE-RUN IT, despite the fact that a four-hour weather alert interrupted the original broadcast.

But I'm SO over that.

Apparently, last season ended with a cliffhanger as Castle, on his way to the wedding, is run off the road, his car bursting into flames. I'm inferring that, based on the fact that "Driven" starts out with Kate finding Castle's car, run off the road, on fire.

But I won't be sure until TIME WARNER CABLE RE-RUNS IT.

(Still over it.)

This was a serious episode. The lines, the looks, everything was grim. Don't get me wrong. I thought it was a very good episode, and will set up (it would appear from the previews) the next episode, at least. Or, they might string it out.

I have my own personal theory on what happened / what will happen. I can't contain myself, so I will share it WAY at the bottom. Read at your own risk.

I thought it was absolutely brilliant the way the writers depicted the passage of time. Beckett starts with a huge list of leads, then crosses each off. Meanwhile, she puts up a newspaper article which notes that author Richard Castle is missing. Then another headline which says "six weeks." Finally, "Two Months, No Answers."

Quick aside: I love how she later called it "The Murder Board."

Once again, brilliant.

So, the lines...

Duffin: "You're breaking my finger."
Beckett: "Then after that, there's nine more."

Quick aside 2: When Beckett took down Duffin, I said, "Nice tackle, Kate."

Ryan: "What happens if you don't get your money?"
Vinnie (smiling): "That does not happen."

Castle: "A tangled web I fully intend to untangle."

Beckett: "The janitor tried to move your chair. I freaked out and almost shot him."

The two best looks were:

- Martha's fade from hope to worry as she hugged Alexis and said, "Your father will be home before you know it."

- Beckett's temporary elation when Esposito put a coffee cup in front of her.

That's (almost) about it for this week.

Feel free to share your thoughts (and theories).



**** IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ MY THEORY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS, STOP READING ****










**** TURN BACK NOW ****








Here's what I think....

LAST CHANCE!

Castle was kidnapped by 3XK, and brainwashed. Why do I think that?

1. It's 3XK's style.
2. Beckett mentioned three possible past-case suspects: Bracken, 3XK, and someone else. (Sorry, I don't feel like firing up the DVR to see who it was.) Only 3XK was mentioned again.

What's going to happen?

Castle and Beckett will be somewhere. Maybe walking in the park, maybe home. Alone. Castle will answer his cell phone. His face will turn emotionless.

Beckett: "Who was that?"

Castle pulls out a gun.

Beckett: "Castle! What are you doing?"

3XK will step out of the shadows. (Or Castle will walk over an open his door.)

3XK: "He's committing the perfect crime. For me. In jealous rage, noted author Richard Castle kills his fiancee, then turns the gun on himself. Irony-revenge-blah-blah-blah."

Beckett: "You won't get away with this."

3XK: "But I will. Castle, finish the job."

Castle: "I plan to."

Then he plugs 3XK.

Castle: "Disciple"

By Michael Seese

I'll say it up front: SPOILERS!

"Disciple" was the creepiest episode this season. And with a good underlying reason, which I'll go into later.

- The way the victims were hanged...CREEPY!
- The fact that the victims looked like Lanie and Esposito...CREEPY!
- The victims' milky eyes...REALLY CREEPY.
- The doctor...CREEPY!
- The murderer...CREEPY!

So, backing up to the creepies, the doctor, Kelly Nieman, just oozed cool creepiness, during the interview in her office, and especially during her interrogation at the station. 

(Picky aside #1... the aforementioned interview took place at night; it occurred at the same Ryan and Esposito entered the boat. Her office sure seemed to be busy, considering the late hour.)

Then, Matthews was the essence of just-barely contained psycho-creepiness during his interrogation. The way he drummed his fingers on the desk sent chills up my spine. And then, they capped off the scene with the line, "I'll need a pad of paper. Several pads, in fact."

And what was with the milk-eyes of the victims? I don't recall ever seeing corpses look like that (on the show). And they offered no explanation. (Picky aside #2... why did the faux-Lanie have a tattoo? In case the person running the police records room were to say, "Prove you're her. Let's see the ink.")

Back to lines...

Beckett: "I was hoping for something more romantic and less Hobbity."
Castle: "Why does everyone always think those two are mutually exclusive?"

Castle: "Can I say something that will probably annoy you?"
Beckett: "Since when do you ask for permission?"
Castle: "Touché"

Castle: "I love when you get angry, I mean at other people, not at me."

And probably the best look: Castle's crest-fall when Dr. Nieman said his face had "amazing... potential."
 
Kudos to my wife: she asked, if Matthews was the killer, why did he act shocked when he found the body of Pam / Lanie? I suppose it could have been "for show," in case anyone happened to be around. But that's a bit of a stretch. 

Kudos to me: I forget the exact leading line (and I'm too lazy to look it up, today), but when Castle opined that Matthews had help, I said aloud "3XK" literally one second before Beckett did as they walked through the police records room.

Kudos to me, again: I think I caught a gaffe. I could swear Beckett said, "It looks like our victims took files from 26 other cases." 

Question to you all: was there a significance to the song played at the end, "We'll Meet Again?" Or was it just the message 3XK delivered?

Feel free to share your thoughts on "Disciple."

Castle: "After Hours"

By Michael Seese

With all apologies to the Monty Python players, this episode of Castle was defined one chief thing: tension. Tension, and an overriding sense of doom. TWO things: tension, and an overriding sense of doom. And claustrophobia. Three! Three things....

I really enjoyed "After Hours," because it was a radical departure from the norm. Beckett and Castle, usually the hunters, became the hunted. As I've said before, yes, we all know they're going to get out of it. Still, I was on the edge of my seat. This entire episode reminded me a lot of the last five minutes of "3XK," when Castle realizes that he's alone in a motel room (Ryan having been knocked out) with the killer. And in both cases, a carefully worded phone conversation served as the SOS.

 I'll admit to be taken completely by surprise when it was revealed that Leo was the killer, and a smart criminal to boot. If I may pat myself a little on the back, I did figure it out when FBI Agent Lucas said Dolan was not the bad guy, but rather a state witness; but that was about 30 seconds before Leo revealed himself.

Two bits of insight I will take credit for: when Castle said, "It's a Vatican conspiracy," I knew a Da Vinci Code reference was coming; likewise, when Castle started tinkering with the CB radio, I knew the word "MacGyver" would follow.

Along those lines, a few other noteworthy lines included:

Castle: "How about we dive into this dessert? Because honestly that death thing is sounding pretty good right now."

Castle: "I'm just saying there have been worse dinners."
Beckett: "Like what?"
Castle: "Well, the dining scene from Alien comes to mind."

Ryan: "Catholic school is like combat. Unless you've been there, you don't know." (I've heard a lot of people say that.)

Castle: "Dude. Where's your car?"

They even gave one to Leo: "I may be safer outside."

Above and beyond mere "looks" were scenes full of looks: the entire dinner party; Beckett's and Castle's bickering after the dinner party; and Ryan's body language from merely thinking about -- let alone being in the presence of -- a nun.

My only picky little complaint: Castle's speech to Dolan about not shooting Leo being what Father McMurtry would have wanted was nice and touchy-feely; a more direct disincentive would have been Beckett saying, "I'm a cop. If you shoot him in cold blood, I have to arrest you for murder."

All in all, though, I thought this was a great episode. Next week's looks to be a little lighter.

Feel free to share your opinion of "After Hours."

Castle: "Probable Cause"

By Michael Seese


One word: intense. (Though I probably should add five more: Sorry this is so late.)

I'll repeat a phrase I know I've used before. "Probable Cause" illustrates why Castle is a great show. You knew Castle wasn't guilty, even in the face of the video evidence. So the fun came from watching the events unfold and wondering exactly what was going on. And when exactly what was going on was revealed, it caught me completely by surprise. Also, I loved that the real culprit came forward halfway through, resulting in a tense cat-and-mouse game for the rest of the show.

And the villain is one horrifying cat. When I first watched "3XK," I said aloud that I hoped they'd bring him back; apparently the writers listened to me.

Though light on humor (I imagine "The Final Frontier" will remedy that), there were so many stellar moments.

The range of emotions portrayed on Beckett's and Castle's faces as she arrested him was spectacular acting. The scene at 2420 Nicholas -- 3XK's workshop -- was pure tension.

But the climax ...

When Beckett and Castle stopped to wait for the bridge, my wife said, "They're ..." Well, I won't repeat it. Suffice to say, the adjective she chose shares a lot of letters with "firetruck." The focused intensity on Beckett's face as she approached 3XK's car, firing, was amazing. So, too, was Castle's determination when he "manned up" and shot. (In sharp contrast to his milquetoast fight-esque in McCrawley's Bar in "Headhunters.")

The perfect coda came from one of the final exchanges.

Beckett: He's dead.
Castle: For now.

My only gripe comes from that final scene. We know 3XK is brilliant. We know he's a consummate planner. So when Beckett marched toward his car, blasting away, I said, "He's wearing armor." In fact, I probably said it loud enough that Beckett should have heard me. Then when Castle picked up the gun, I thought, OK, you know Beckett shot him and he's still alive. He wearing Kevlar. Go for the head. Go for head! But of course, had they done that, he really would be dead, and not able to appear in any future episodes, which now we are guaranteed will happen. (Since I know the writers pay close attention to my ideas.)

Look for my thoughts on "The Final Frontier" soon. 

Castle: "Dial M For Mayor"

What an intense episode! It was dark, moody, and featured a little more tension than usual between Castle and Beckett. I thought that they very effectively heightened the mood with several tight shots--as in, the camera was so close that it lopped off the top of the actors' heads--at key points: when Beckett, Esposito, and Ryan were discussing the evidence against the Mayor, and later when they were interrogating Jordan.

They also employed good lighting, specifically, the use of shadows when Castle met with his "Deepthroat." Obviously, Deepthroat would want to be in the shadows, to obscure his face. But in a real-world scenario, he would have wanted to have Castle standing in bright sunlight. However, the director chose to have them both partially lit. I'm not complaining; I'm just commenting on the effect.

The plot was clever. I, along with the characters, really did wonder why Laura would give up her good job and (ostensibly) comfortable lifestyle for a walk on the seedy side. I thought the reason they provided was believable. It was a really cool "a-ha" moment. (Note to my wife: Don't worry honey, I'm not planning any similar exercises in "method writing.")

I liked the fact that they didn't solve the murder and give us the comfort of closure, like they did before in the episode 3XK. As was the case with that one, this plot line probably will rear its head again in the future. Whether or not they resolve it...

I thought that having Castle and the Mayor shoot the breeze over whiskey at the end was a nice touch. It reminded me of the falling action scene of every episode of Boston Legal, with James Spader and William Shatner sitting on the balcony, drinking and smoking cigars, and recounting their day, or discussing life in general. (I must say, I was glad that Castle didn't look at the Mayor and say, "Sleepover?") As I've said in previous posts, while the interplay between Castle and Beckett is what drives the show, it's nice to let each character have some "me" time. I don't recall seeing any instances of Castle's famous-author poker night this season. So this one-on-one was a good break.

I caught three movie references: Good Will Hunting, An Officer And A Gentleman, and (of course) the title.

And finally, no review of Castle would be complete without my comment about "the looks." The best, hands down, had to be Beckett's expression when, at Dial-A-Goddess, she heard the grandma moaning, "Oh yeah, oh yeah."

Until next week...

Feel free to share your thoughts.