Castle: Fidelis Ad Mortem

by Michael Seese

So “G.D.S.” the previous week gave us Castle flying solo. Then in “Fidelis Ad Mortem” we had Beckett working a case sans Rick.

I thought “Fidelis Ad Mortem” had a cool vibe to it, for lack of a better term. Beckett returns to a place from her past, a place instrumental in defining the police officer and person she would become. Yet it didn't seem to carry the weight that burdened so much of her past. In contrast, she seemed quite at peace at the Academy.

Quick aside: I thought it was cool how they went all techno-thriller and introduced us to the cadets by typing out their names onscreen.

And I always enjoy it when they give us a well-developed, wholly realized character. This time, it was Sgt. Ortiz. A tough cookie, the stereotypical drill instructor. Yet, he clearly was human beneath the gruff exterior, as evidenced by his obvious affection for Beckett. And he had some great lines.

“Way to faceplant in front of a superior, Decker. This is Captain Beckett.”

“Respect her, or your ass will meet my boot.”

“Oh, it's gonna take more than a bullet to put me down for the long dirt nap.”

Other great lines:

Castle: “Careful. I made it [the coffee] a little strong this morning.”

Kate Beckett: “Yes, that will wake the dead.”

Castle: “Certainly would make your job a lot easier. One interview. ‘He's the guy who killed me.’ Case closed.”

Martha: “Read the dedication.”

Castle: " ‘For Richard. Without your constant stumbles in life, the advice in this book would not have been possible.’ Constant stumbles?”

Martha: “Let's not make this about you.”

Beckett: “That would be the height of irony, huh? Manage to successfully hide our relationship from LokSat only to get outed by your Mom.” (The disheveled hair in her face was a nice touch as well.)

Beckett: “I have been at the edge of that map and monsters lie there.”

Hayley: “You are a hot mess. I take it your talk with Beckett last night went well?”

Castle: “Less of a discussion, more of an Irish intervention.”

Picky aside: Ryan said the handwriting analyst would have a hard time determining who wrote the threatening notes since they were done in block letters. I'm no expert in graphology. But my understanding is that they could match samples, even if one of them was written while drunk, and using the wrong hand.

Picky aside 2, which contains a small SPOILER: Beckett is an experienced cop. When she got the call suggesting that Ortiz was the killer -- and he was standing right there -- ARMED, she would not have played her hand like that.

And kudos aside to my wife, who called the killer right away.

Please share your thoughts on “Fidelis Ad Mortem.”

Mr. & Mrs. Castle

by Michael Seese
 
It took us a while to get to "Mr. & Mrs. Castle." A pretty good episode overall, though not one of my favorites.

Most of the time, I cite a lot of lines here. In "Mr. & Mrs. Castle," I thought a number of scenes turned out to be more noteworthy. The three which come to mind I could categorize as the good, the bad, and the ugly. Taking them out of order:

The autopsy scene was rather graphic. The victim got a lot of screen time on the table. Then when Perlmutter starts pulling the string from her throat... Eccch!

Good / great was the dance scene on the ship. Castle was hilarious as he faked his way through it.

Picky aside: he's a well-known author. None of the dancers recognized him?

Bad, since I managed to paint myself into a corner, would have been the phone scene between Castle and Beckett, where he's trying to keep her on the line while Hayley works to get a connection to Vikram's system ("Sorry about that. Just taking off my pants. Are you coming up?), and she realizes he's on to something. I suppose I could say it was "bad" because it was sad that they had to resort to trickery.

Picky geek aside #1: "Someone synced a RAT to one of my servers." Vikram called it a Remote Access Tool, though the more common name is Remote Access Trojan. It's a type of malware that gives an attacker literal control of your computer. And you download it, you don't sync it.

Picky geek aside #2: You don't "decrypt" firewalls.

On to the lines...

Martha: "I'm so glad you've agreed to consult with Richard. Maybe this money pit will turn a profit."

Beckett: "Found a floater at the 79th Street boat basin." (Funny, in a gruesome sort of way.)

Beckett: "Well she was shot in the head so unless she tripped and fell on a bullet, it wasn't an accident."

Castle: "Beckett, I think your crime scene's making a run for it."

Castle: "I was a professional square dancer. A lot less cardio."

Beckett: "Got anything?"
Castle: "A pulled groin and a potential clue."

And at the end, the über-cute:

Beckett: "Naked punishing?"
Castle: "Very naked punishing."

So this is it UNTIL FEBRUARY 1, TWO THOUSAND SIXTEEN.

Grrrr!

Castle: The Last Seduction

by Michael Seese

So, have we turned the corner on the Caskett separation? Only time (and future episodes) will tell. But in the meantime, we got a slight break in the break (or a "timeout from the timeout") in "The Last Seduction."

I enjoyed this episode a lot. It was replete with both humor and wistful weepiness. (For some reason, my spellcheck wants to make the latter "creepiness.)

Overarching it all was the ongoing spat between Ryan and Esposito. It's been brewing for a few weeks now, and finally the kettle came to a boil. (OK, the worst analogy EVER.)

But a lot of humor came from their pain.

Ryan: "I am not jealous you passed the sergeant's exam."
Esposito: "Tell that to the hole in my ass."

Castle, hearing Ryan's Esposito impersonation: "That was a good Espo. Only you didn't say 'Yo.' "

Then, when Esposito was "praising" Ryan: "Normally, his slow-as-molasses ass is never that fast."

Another great scene took place in the sauna. (And not just because the ladies were walking around in towels.)

I loved Hayley's opening line: "The regals have landed."
Then the scene ended with Beckett lamenting, "Yup, she's running in the towel."

Though my favorite vignette of all had to be Castle's infiltration into Lindsey Trent's office. Specifically, the fallout, as he is being forcefully led down the hall, and Lindsey says, "No way you could fool me." Then the camera pans over to a red-headed woman pushing the mail cart the opposite way. And once the mission has been accomplished, Alexis gives Castle the finger-on-nose sign. I re-watched that bit twice.

A few other noteworthy lines...

Alexis: "He's already on wife number 3."
Castle: "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Beckett: "By sending my husband to the city's top divorce attorney?"
Esposito: "Happy anniversary."

Speaking of the anniversary, I thought it was touching that they decided to forgo their dinner to coach Ryan and Espo. And, yes, it was rather heavy-handed to hear them deliver lines to the boys which applied to themselves. Still, it was nice.

Castle: "They've been through way too much together to give up on what they have."
Beckett: "You're a wise man Castle, with a big heart. And you're rather good looking too."
Castle: "You might want to pace yourself with the flattery. You've got a whole dinner to get through."

And I was glad to hear Lanie give us "lividity" once again, between 9 p.m. and midnight.

Picky aside: why did Scott live in his tiny apartment when he had the penthouse at his disposal?

Until next week... um... tonight.

Castle: The Nose

by Michael Seese
 
Wow. 

I think my jaw is still on the floor. I really enjoyed "The Nose." It was probably my favorite episode this season.

Why?

I don't think it's hyperbole to say that Mia "The Nose" Laszlo was one of the best supporting characters, EVER. I don't care if every word out of her mouth was bitchy. They were all hilarious.

Mia: "Do you always eat kale for breakfast because that is just wrong."

Beckett: "Are you always this unpleasant?"
Mia: "Yup."

Castle: "She [Hayley] likes me a lot. You can probably tell."
Mia: "No."

Ryan: "How did you two manage to lock Liam Hollister in a car trunk?"
Mia: "Because we’re awesome and you two suck. Next question."

Mia: "And you barely stink."
Castle: "Coming from you, that's high praise."

And some of the lines about her are worth citing.

Ryan: "Our witness is threatening to file a complaint against me for assault with a deadly odor. She says that I smell like soiled baby diapers and Javi's cologne is quote, Satan's butt sweat."

Castle: "I think my palette fell asleep."

Something else I noted. Rarely in a 48-minute TV show will you see a supporting character evolve. But she did.

Oh, and I loved her "decontamination chamber," not to mention the tactic Castle used to "smoke her out" of her apartment. (If you haven't seen it yet, prepare to laugh.)

I hope they bring her back. Speaking of bringing back, it was nice to see Hayley pay a return visit. I imagine someone thought she would make a good recurring character. Oh yeah.... I DID!

A few other notes...

The best lines NOT involving Mia:

Castle: "Et tu, Lucy? Is nothing private?"
Lucy: Not without the proper settings."

Martha: "Off, Off Broadway."
Castle: "Mother, that was New Jersey."
Martha: "Off, Off Broadway, as I said."

Hayley: "You're not too bad for a cop."
Beckett: "And you're not too bad for... what exactly do you do?"

Picky aside: Ryan shot his partner because he shot at a silhouette. That would earn a cop an administrative leave.

Nice aside: I thought touching that Beckett and Castle smelled each other's clothes at the end.

Please share your thoughts on "The Nose." Oh, and...

Three weeks until the next Castle? WTF?

Castle: What Lies Beneath

by Michael Seese

Sorry, Castle fans, but I think I have to say that overall I thought "What Lies Beneath" was only so-so. To underscore, consider that we watched it Friday night, and this morning when I made writing this review a mental to-do item list, I thought, "Now, what happened again?" I'm not saying it was BAD; only that it wasn't stellar.

 













I imagine a SPOILER or two will pop up below.

It's good too see Beckett is "suffering" a bit from her exile from Castleland. When Martha hugged her, clearly she was saddened. And she let slip a little smile when Castle told her she looked gorgeous.

I think the strong point of this episode was a few good supporting players. Specifically:

- Billy O'Rourke, who made fast friends with Castle, and who couched every supposition about his involvement with "hypothetically," coached by Castle.

Quick aside: Though I harbor no delusions of being an actor, if I did ever act on stage, on TV, etc., it would be fun to play a character like that.

- Eric Logan, who decimated Castle, Esposito, and Ryan with his blunt truths.

A few lines of note:

Alexis: "Dad, when it comes to your sex life, how about we stick with the Afterschool Special version?"
Castle: "Fair enough."

Quick aside 2: I remember the ABC Afterschool Specials. Are they still around? If not, the reference is a stretch for someone born around 1995.

Castle: "Did you know that before writing a single word of The Butcherbird Song, Moffett spent seven years living as a drug-addicted Eskimo."

O'Rourke: "Neither of us ordered pigs wrapped in Kevlar. Get out."

Followed closely by...

Castle: "They're my cops."

Alexis: "Should we?" (run after the allegedly blind priest)
Castle: "Damn it. Yes."

OK, I think I have to close with a nitpick. I get that P.J. Moffett was supposed to have led a reclusive life after publishing The Butcherbird Song. But in this day and age, there would be photos of him somewhere. The point being, if a world-renowned author started courting me (were I single, of course), I imagine I would run a Google search or two. I'm just sayin' ...

Feel free to share your thoughts about "What Lies Beneath."

Castle: PhDead

by Michael Seese

OK, so it wasn't what I thought it would be. At the end of "XX," I thought Beckett was going underground, and in my review opined about "Caskett On The Run." Instead, she was just moving out of the apartment in order to protect Castle & family.

And in an obvious effort to lighten the tone from the previous two installments, "PhDead" was a really funny episode. I loved the subtle humor in the imagery of the dozen or so arrows stuck in the door frame, as Castle practiced his archery. 

We also FINALLY got "lividity" from Lanie. Of course, the first two shows this season didn't have "found" bodies, so there wasn't the opportunity.

I nearly ran out of room writing down the lines.

Great concept: The CDRK, aka, the Castle Depression Rescue Kit which, per Alexis, contained "video games, Sumatra coffee beans, enhanced Blu-Rays of the original Twilight Zone, and this..."
Martha: "9 Woof Woof?"
Alexis: "Puppies at your doorstep in 30 minutes or less."

Castle: "I can't recall if I saw things other than a body with a gruesome wound."

Scott Powell: "You didn't really think you could Jump Street the prime suspect, did you? Your partner is growing ear hairs right before my eyes."

(I had to cite the IMDB entry for the show, since it was MUCH better than the movie.)

Castle: "You, in the printed non-ironic tee, beside the too-friendly blonde."
 
Alexis: "I'm getting fitted for an iron lung in the morning."

In the bondage room...
(Castle's look)
Alexis: "What? I read 50 Shades, and so did Peter."
Castle: "I'd say this is less 50 Shades, and more Fatal Attraction."

Castle (over the walkie-talkie): "In your face, Frankenstein."
(Beckett's look.)
Ryan: "We can explain."
Beckett: "I ask one thing of you guys."

Quick aside: Maybe things have changed since I went to college, but Halloween didn't last a month back then.

Frankenstein: "You're pretty hot for a cop."
Beckett: "I have a gun."

Castle: "You're indoors and it's dark. Take off the sunglasses. You look stupid."

Castle: "When you say it in that tone, I sound like a bad parent."

A few nitpicks (with a SPOILER) thrown in:

- Regarding Beckett, Castle was being a baby. (Much like a few seasons back, when Beckett decided to move to DC, and he thought it would be the end of them.) I get the whole "we're a team" thing. But she's not talking about separating; she's talking about protecting,

- Castle was far too easily rattled by Scott Powell. Richard Castle is a multi-millionaire, best-selling author who has faced death many times, and he lets a 20-year-old punk dress him down? I DON'T THINK SO.

- Likewise, the initial prison scene had a few issues. Let's see, Castle and Alexis find a prison in the middle of Midtown, staffed by obviously young people. One takes his wallet and phone and shoves him into a cell. And Castle lets him? And the "guard" didn't think, "You sure don't look like a student." Not too mention, Professor Lillstrom was video monitoring it all; she didn't see it?

- You mean to tell me that Emily, an emotionally broken 110-pound girl, threw a man onto the tree branch with enough force to impale him? Uh-huh.

Still, the above were not so egregious as to tank the whole episode.

What did you think about "PhDead?"

Castle: "Hollander's Woods"

by Michael Seese

"It's about time!" I know you're saying. Two words: summer vacation.

 











Speaking personally, the wait was worth it. "Hollander's Woods" was a taut thriller. First of all, anything with "woods" in the title can't be good. And like many of the darker Castle episodes, the directors used lighting and camera angles as an effective mood element. The two scenes that stand out in my mind:

So I should say... SPOILERS!

- The interrogation. To me it looked as though the characters were lit from below, which always gives the demon-face effect. (For example, Baltar from the original BattleStar Galactica). Though it's possible the lighting was from directly overhead. Hard to say. And as always, I'm too lazy to go back and re-watch.) Plus, the way they shot Noah from slightly below was creepy.

- The scene where Castle and Beckett were interviewing Dr. Holtzman. Though better said, Castle was interrogating him. Here, they used tight camera angles and side lighting, if memory serves. And I loved Holtzman's measured responses to Castle's questions as he commented on the mask being the true face of the killer, while face he wears every day being false the false one.

Kudos to me, and my wife: as soon as they showed Dr. Holtzman we both called him out as the killer.

And though I recall nothing cool about the lighting, the scene where Beckett was being grilled about her conduct was awesome, and her rebuttal was even better.

Poor Lanie. This week she didn't get to say "lividity." Just decomposition.

Being that "Hollander's Woods" was the season ender, I was worried that they would give us a cliffhanger. They did not, and I was glad. As I've often said:

1. Even if you put Castle (or Beckett) in seemingly inescapable jeopardy, you know the writers are not going to kill off a main character, and 
2. I'm a fan. I'm going to tune in to see the season premiere. (Or record it, and watch it at my leisure.) You don't need to keep me wondering.

But when Castle entered the barn (and what a creepy barn), and Beckett was sitting in the unlocked car, I couldn't know there was no cliffhanger forthcoming, so I assumed something bad would happen. But it all worked out. I thought it was a neat idea to have Castle dispatch his personal bogeyman, and the way that scene was shot -- with the slow-motion grab of the gun -- was fantastic. Though when Holtzman had Castle on the ground, near the door, I wondered why Castle didn't just say, "Kate! Shoot straight in one foot up." Oh well the end result was still the same.

The awards dinner was a nice conclusion, and a great way to end the season on an up note. I especially liked Castle's reference to his mother and Alexis being his "red-headed pillars of unconditional love." Though I admit part of me was worried that something nefarious would happen, and give us a true cliffhanger.

Sometimes I think I think too much.

So, the lines...

Martha: "I love both of my son's big heads equally."

Castle: "There's the death-as-opportunity spirit we all love."

Castle: "It's your mannniversary? And I didn't get you anything."
Esposito: "There's still time."

Castle: "One day you'll look back and you will realize that every experience you ever had, every seeming mistake or blind alley was actually a straight line to who you were meant to be."

Until next season...which isn't too far away.

Castle: Dead From New York

by Michael Seese

This one had a little of everything. Humor. You knew a riff on a popular comedy show (one which runs on another network, mind you) would be funny. Tenderness. Castle's consoling and inspiring his mother was a wonderful scene. Exhilaration. Not only did Castle and Beckett nab the murderer, but Martha wound up the toast of the Twitterverse, "as they say." Oh, and a musical guest. Yes, "Dead From New York" had it all.

Including lividity, which put the time of death between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. Thank you, Lanie.

The opening was a marvelous homage to the current SNL opening, both in terms of the cinematography and the theme song. I also appreciated that Castle noted the show had been on for 35 years, seeing as how SNL has been playing up their 40th anniversary this year. (And, he pointed out that a few of the seasons were clunkers. Art does imitate life, after all.)

I think my favorite scene had to be the one with the actress who would play Beckett in the skit (I don't recall hearing her name) standing there and aping Beckett's movements and gestures, both right to her face (even questioning one of them) as well as behind her back. I could watch that scene again. And I just might.

With regard to verbal humor...

Beckett: "Castle, something's wrong with your mother."
Castle: "You're just realizing that now?"

Beckett: "There's been a homicide."
Martha: "Is he dead?"
Beckett: "Yes, Martha..." 
(Martha waves her off.)

And of course, the whole "Is he dead" shtick was hilarious. Though I didn't write down the setup, I loved Castle's reference to Martha's first-line-only policy, one time long ago, leading to "the most awkward parent-teacher conference ever."

Castle: "How can you not like Dr. Finger?"
Beckett: "Because I'm not a 13-year-old boy."

Liz Ball: "I wanted to be a cop, but wound up a writer. I know... pathetic."
Castle: "Excuse me?"

Unnamed Beckett Impersonator: "Model cop down!"

Castle: "Is this a trick? What answer is not going to have me sleeping on the couch tonight?"

A few nitpicks:

- When Beckett and Castle were interrogating Mickey Frank, he spoke through his "lawyer." Beckett never would have tolerated that.

- The timing at the end. SPOILERS HERE. Let's assume there really was a show like "Saturday Night Tonight." And let's assume the musical guest would go on... I don't know...let's say just after midnight, perhaps following a satirical news sketch. That wouldn't leave them much time to arrest a suspect (Chad, the intern), get him back to precinct, interrogate him, book him (he was being led away in handcuffs), realize he wasn't the killer, and get back to the studio before the show ends at -- hypothetically speaking -- 1:00 a.m.

- And speaking of timing, I know Beckett wanted to bust the murderer. But she was standing there, next to him. Really? She couldn't wait 5 minutes until the show ended?   

What did you think of "Dead From New York?"

And sadness, as next week is the season finale.

Castle: "In Plane Sight"

by Michael Seese

CLAUSTROPHOBIC.

That's the mood you get when you put 200+ passengers, one killer, and a snake** on a transatlantic flight.

** Perhaps *I* read too much into it, but the previews made it look as though the snake had some relevance. NOT!

I definitely enjoyed "In Plane Sight," and appreciated the out-of-the-box thinking on the part of the writers. As I've said in the past (too many times to cite here) I consider the show's setting -- New York City -- as a character in its own right. (Of course, I like New York City.) So I often feel something is missing when a given episode takes place elsewhere. But not this time. Probably due to the aforementioned

CLAUSTROPHOBIA!

And SPOILER on the way!

Bragging aside: I nearly called it. I suspected it was one of the flight crew, though my attention turned to Farrah when she was able to understand what suspect #1 (Aiman) was saying after he locked himself in the bathroom. So I was close.

I really liked the playful banter between Castle and Alexis at the beginning.

Castle: "Air, by nature, should not be bumpy."
Alexis: "You should really focus on something else, or it will seem longer. For both of us."

Castle: "You don't want to miss the home of Sherlock Holmes."
Alexis: "You do know he's fictional, right?"
Castle: "Yes, but his address is real."

That pretty much sums up the humor, other than Castle's look when one of the flight attendants said they even searched the overhead bins for the missing air marshal.

Oh, one more:

Castle: "I saw this on MacGyver. You know, I actually got to meet Richard Dean Anderson once..."

A few other notes:

You gotta love the shout-out to "Lost," vis-à-vis the name of the airline. (But alas... the wrong flight.)

Early on, the captain came out to consult with the flight crew. Then she announced she would go back to the cockpit and stay in lockdown mode. I'm not up on airline regulations, but I would suspect that if the air marshal turned up missing, lockdown mode would start immediately, and the captain wouldn't set foot outside the cockpit.

It was a nice touch to have Alexis diffuse the situation, accompanied by heraldic music.

And finally, I chuckled at Castle's booze grab at the end.

Next week's installment, "Dead From New York," looks hilarious.

Let me know what you thought of "In Plane Sight."

Castle: At Close Range

by Michael Seese

"It's Ryan Time!"

I liked "At Close Range," though I didn't take a lot of notes. Perhaps I was too busy enjoying it. The opening pulled us right in: a bloodied Ryan staring into, then punching, the mirror. Then the "6 Hours Earlier" jumpback. They've used that technique before; though, if memory serves, the opening teaser scene winds up being near the end, instead of pretty much at the beginning, as it was this week. (I have to say, a pox on the folks who developed the trailer shown at the end of "Hong Kong Hustle;" I vividly recall the emphasis being on the scene where a bunch of cops draw their guns and order Ryan to drop his, making it look like he did something.)

And, as I have said on other occasions, I enjoy shows which focus on one of the non-Caskett characters. As an added bonus, we got to meet (as far as I remember, it was the first time) Ryan's sister. 

SPOILERS!

This one returned to the tried-and-true formula of "Is it suspect 1? Or 2? Or 3? No! None of the above." They kept us guessing right up to the end.

Boasting aside: I somewhat called it. As soon as I saw Lopez and Carolyn together, I thought, Affair. When Beckett called Ryan from the hospital to say she died, I announced, "They were having an affair, and he wanted her dead to clean up his act before the Presidential run." So I had it half right.

Picky aside: Like last week, I thought the motive was kind of sketchy. "You were going to dump me from your staff, so I killed your girlfriend."

And while I'm at it...

Picky aside #2: The gajillionaire Carl Shelton said in the interrogation that he funds a lot of groups, and can't know the people behind them all. That makes sense. So why was he talking to Chambers? Especially since, he would have had no way of knowing Chambers would be there, since he (Shelton) wasn't the one who arranged it.

Oh well. I still liked it.

Before finishing up here, I wanted to take a second and call out the scene where Beckett goes through Carolyn's purse. I just liked the way she waxed poetic about getting to know a woman's life by way of the contents of her purse.

The lines (not a whole lot):

Castle: "Ryan, is it One Direction? You'd tell me, right?"
Esposito: "They're in Hong Kong." (Nice back reference, BTW.)

Beckett: "You texted Castle and not me?"
Ryan: "Well, when you have a crazy theory, you don't tell the voice of reason."

Your thoughts, dear Castle devotees?

Castle: The Wrong Stuff

by Michael Seese

Funny. Funny. Funny. Funny. Funny. 

Did I make it clear that "The Wrong Stuff" had some humorous moments in it? It was a thigh-slapper to be sure, though it surprised me with some bonus depth at the end, specifically, Beckett comparing the astronauts' close-quarter plight with theirs.

As is typical, they seem to follow the dark episodes (in this case the deep dark Resurrection and Reckoning, back to back) with a light one. I filled a page with quips before the first commercial break.

Nice touch aside: Replacing the skyline of NYC with Mars.


(Bear in mind, it's not always the words alone, but the delivery as well.)

Castle: "You're playing laser tag without me?"

Castle: "Are those my pajamas?" And though I didn't write down the full line, I loved his follow up which noted that they were his softest pajamas, and now he had to "burn them."

Beckett: "We've got a murder. To solve. Not commit."

Beckett: "We're bound to step on each others' toes."
Castle: "Yeah, but there were a lot more toes tonight."

Beckett: "You signed up to go to Mars? When?"
Castle: "A couple of years ago."
Beckett: "Where was I?"
Castle: "We were fighting."
(And then reversing the conversation later.)

Beckett: "Even when you whisper, everyone can hear you."
 
Then four great cultural references:

Castle: "One small murder for man. One giant mystery for mankind."

Castle: "Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of Castle and Beckett. They're ongoing mission to explore strange, new motives. To seek out new witnesses, new suspects for murder. To boldly go... Oh, right over here."

Jansen: "She's more Siri than HAL."

Castle: "There goes my Rise Of The Machines theory."

(And to make sure everyone got in on the parade.)
Alexis: "Wow, you guys. Get a room."
Castle: "We would if there was any place left."

Castle: "I'm checking you for bites and scratches. Just making sure you didn’t somehow get impregnated."
Beckett: "If you think that’s how I’d get pregnant, we need to talk."

Whew! That's plenty.

Plus there was joy a-plenty. Castle's slow-mo Mars-hop, and Esposito's chase ("Where are you going to go?") come to mind.

SPOILERS NOW.

This may be the first time Castle ever had a triple homicide, though in this case, "triple" refers to the murderers.

I do have to mention my picky aside, since this dances right up to being such a gaping logical flaw that the whole enterprise (pun intended) falls apart. Simple question: why kill Richwood? No doubt the debriefing would include thoughts on the personnel. If everyone (or even 3 of the 5) said "This guy would drive us nuts," he'd be booted.

Oh well. I still enjoyed "The Wrong Stuff." How about you?

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: Private Eye Caramba!

by Michael Seese

It appears as though Castle P.I. is still on the job. Though I may be proven wrong, I suspect the show will remain light-hearted as long as Castle is flying solo. Of course, since the crime in Private Eye Caramba! involved a telenovela -- and Castle's assignment a purloined purse -- what are we to expect?

You knew the writers were having a blast when they put the gang on the set and let them watch the heated exchange between a raven-haired beauty and the open-shirted Fabio, minus the flowing locks and rippling muscles. Esposito's (obvious) total infatuation was a hoot. (As was his puppy-dog gushing over Sofia at the end.)

Also, I thought the contrivance to bring Castle into the fold was plausible enough.

Finally, I was glad to see they still had Ryan playing the C card.

Ryan: "She might have been killed by a psychotic plumber lying in wait."
Esposito: "Is that your Castle theory?"

And as always, I enjoyed the presence of Perlmutter, no offense to Lanie. And if memory serves, no "lividity."

Perlmutter: "Detective Beckett, it's so pleasant to see you and not see Castle."

The other quips of note included:

Castle: "I'll be my own muse."

Castle: "Canvasing? Oh, that thing you get Espo and Ryan to do."

Ronnie: "Oh, wow. I thought you were a writer. What happened?"

Castle: "A little awkward."
Beckett: "Try mortifying."

Beckett: "Do you realize how lucky you are?"
Castle: Extremely lucky. After all I'm married to you."

Esposito: "You do realize it was a prop gun."
Castle: "What?"

And, well, any of Castle's voiceovers.

"My phone was quieter than a dead church mouse."
"I was about to pour a little smile in my coffee."
"Give those gams of yours a rest." (OK, that one wasn't a voiceover. Still...)

So, how long do you think the Castle P.I. thing will last?

Castle: Kill Switch

by Michael Seese

I don't have a lot to say about "Kill Switch." Don't get me wrong; I did enjoy it. But perhaps because of the previously mentioned delays in seeing its conclusion, I felt less invested in it.
 
I thought it delivered what it promised. A tight, confined thriller (unlike the average episode which alternates between "We're in trouble" and "OK, now we're not.") which gave Esposito a chance to shine. So in that regard, it succeeded. 

I really enjoyed the car-ride conversation about parenthood between Esposito and Ryan. Serious stuff.

"What kind of father do you think I'd be?"

Which, of course, they had to deflate.

Esposito: "Can you hear that? That sound?"
Ryan: "No. What's that?"
Esposito: "That's my biological clock ticking. Tick, tock."
Ryan: "We were having a genuine, honest moment, and you had to ruin it by being a jackass." 

The writers somewhat bookended that bro-scene with another equally genuine, honest interaction at the end.

Ryan: "You had me scared."
Esposito: "That's because you're a wimp."

About the only other line worth noting is:

Castle: "We'll take the subway. Too soon?" And of course the bad pun follow-ups, "token" and "out of line."

The take-down was well-staged. When Aragon started unlacing her boot, I wondered why. But when she wrapped the lace around Stone's hand, it made sense.

Picky aside: It seems to me that when Stone stared at the hidden camera for like, 10 seconds before shooting it, that could have been a good time to go. Just sayin'

And I do have to say...

SPOILER!

... I thought the motive was a little iffy, as was the convenient deus ex machina revelation that Jarvis's husband was an attorney in the Erin Wilson case.

Oh well. One man's opinion. What are yours?