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.
by Michael Seese
The second part of the Castle season opener, "XX," played out pretty much as I figured it would, albeit with a few twist, otherwise known as ...
SPOILERS.
I thought the way they wove in the backstory of what happened the day of XY -- with Rita saying, "Tell me what went down" -- was a neat idea. And I thought it was a really cool technique to move the camera out into the alley next to the theater and hear the gunshots -- and Beckett's grunt -- through the closed doors. Unfortunately, I missed a detail or two in the laundromat scene, as I had to close my eyes while Beckett was sewing herself up. (Yes, my wife told me I was a sissy.)
Quick aside: I liked Ann Cusack in this role. I didn't even know there was another acting Cusack.
So the first twist was Bracken winding up dead. I guess they figured the character had pretty much done all he could.
The second twist -- which disappointed me somewhat -- was Beckett's decision to leave at the end. Yeah, I get her whole "fight for justice and truth" attitude. But Rita was right. She now has other important people in her life, and the "suicide" gave her the out she needed to walk away. Though I have to say, I will be curious as to exactly how "Caskett On The Run" will play out.
A final note: I enjoyed the goodbye exchange between Alexis and Hayley. I could see her coming back every now and again. (And I STILL could see her and Esposito having a relationship.)
Not a lot of lines, but a few:
Vikram's comment that he didn't expect to be "hunted for sport by the Zero Dark 30 all stars."
Rita: "Oh god, no. I work for a different three-letter agency."
Castle: "OK, so did you guys get lost? Or were you waiting for the last possible second to save us?"
Esposito: "We were distracted in there. You've got a fully stocked bar, satellite TV."
Ryan: "We ordered some sushi on your credit card, so I hope you don't mind."
That's about it. Feel free to share your thoughts on "XX."
by Michael Seese
After a summer of reruns, Caskett is back. Well... sort of, as
SPOILERS!!!!
they weren't really much of a team in the season opener XY because Kate is on the run from bad guys and her friends, not to mention (ostensibly) the entire NYPD.
The show starts with a murder, up close and personal. (Word to the wise, guys: if a woman you've never met crawls into your lap and start kissing you... RUN!) Then on to a scene of domestic bliss at the Castle residence, where we learn she is now Captain Beckett. She goes to work, he stays at home, and then the sh!t hits the fan. (Or is that the blood and bracelet hit the floor?) We then follow Castle as he tries to track down his beloved, putting himself into harm's way several times over, before a hazy reunion at the end. We are left with the setup of a bang-bang beginning to the second part ("XX") as we see a gang of armed men storming Beckett's (no longer) safe house.
What will happen?
Prediction: she doesn't die.
Real prediction: she was enlisted by the FBI to help ferret out an evil insider; they needed her, because she had been trusted and now was the cliched "one person we can trust."
Lighter prediction: I see a future romance between Esposito and Hayley Vargas.
We shall see.
A couple of noteworthy scenes.
I loved the BS routine that Alexis fed the paramedic in order to get him to review the tape with her.
If I may say "loved" again, I loved that Esposito and Ryan updated the child's game to "Knife, Gun, Kevlar."
And finally, kudos to Espo for not just kicking in the door, but knocking it down.
Considering it was a darker episode (of course, any episode with Bracken immediately takes on a midnight hue) I thought there was a lot of humor.
Castle: "What am I going to do, sit outside your office and fetch you coffee?"
Beckett: "Yeah, you're great at fetching. I've trained you well."
Castle: "You've closed four cases? That's more than I have."
Alexis: "I know. Step up your game."
Castle: "You're going to call off your dogs, right now."
Bracken: "Or what? You going to write something mean about me?"
Castle: "I'm going to start a scholarship in your name and offer it to the children of the first inmate who shanks you in the prison laundry."
Assassin (yes, that's how the character is listed in IMDB): "Your earlier stuff was better. You got soft once you met the skirt."
Castle: "Everyone's a critic."
So what did you think of XY? And what do you think will happen in XX? (Please answer within the next 120 minutes.)
by Michael Seese
Another winner!
"Once Upon A Time In The West" is not to be forgotten, lost to the pages of history, or... OK, I think I've beaten that horse to death.
I know in the past I've said that some of the episodes where most of the action takes place outside of NYC seem to be "lacking" because I see the city as a character. But in this case, the Diamond Back was a character all its own.
Picky aside: if someone poisoned you, would your dying words be the place the murder was committed, or THE PERSON WHO POISONED YOU?? It sure would have made the show a lot shorter.
Another picky aside: the fact that the victim was from New York, and keeled over in New York is irrelevant. She was murdered in Arizona.
Final picky aside: Beckett seemed awfully cavalier about discussing the case (via cell phone with the boys back in the City) out in public.
One of the joys in this episode came from losing count of all the Western movie cliches and homages:
- The gun-spinning hotshot. (Followed by Beckett's look of amazement, and Castle's proclamation, "I want to be him when I grow up.")
- Castle's saloon entrance. (And the doors swinging back on him. I completely saw it coming.)
- The burning Bonanza map.
- The rolling tumbleweed.
- The bartender's google-eyed slow descent behind the bar when the gunfight was imminent.
- The gay cowboy neighbor. OK, that was new.
And lines everywhere.
Lanie: "I haven't hard a carb in months, just in case I had to put that damn dress back on."
Castle: "We got married, Mrs. Castle."
Beckett: "We certainly did, Mr. Beckett."
Castle: "I have three theories."
Beckett: "And I'm sure that none of them will be a waste of my time."
Esposito: "You still suck."
(Also, I loved how Captain Gates smacked Espo and Ryan down, calling them "school girls," if memory serves.)
Beckett: "This is so not our honeymoon."
Castle: "We approach this like writers."
Beckett: "So we procrastinate and make stuff up?"
Castle: "Of course I want to go after the gold. It's gold!"
A great look: the dour faces of Lanie, Ryan, and Espo (in contrast to the elation of Martha and Alexis) when Caskett made the announcement.
And I would be remiss if I failed to mention that I thought the Yavapai elder was a great character.
Oh, and...
Applause for the continuity editors, who remembered to put a scar on Beckett's chest at the end.
Whew! What did I miss?
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?"
