By Michael Seese
This was my least favorite episode of the young season. I can appreciate that the writers want to shake things up by putting the leads into new locales. But as I've said at least once before, I really consider New York City to be one of the characters. So if you take the show out of the city, it loses something. That's why "Murder He Wrote" left me lukewarm. 
Still, there were many good elements worth mentioning.
Four standout scenes come to mind. The first was the gang's inquisition of Beckett as they sought her boyfriend's identity; you just knew Castle couldn't resist lobbing a beach ball like, "A boyfriend, Beckett? Really?" Also noteworthy was Castle's and Beckett's back-and-forth as they realized that Franklin was the meth king of the Hamptons. Another was Ryan's interrogation of Aaron Lerner, especially the way he ratcheted up the intensity as he drew closer to cracking, not the case, but the Castle-Beckett romance. (Nit-pick: why wasn't Esposito on the other side of the one-way glass providing a second set of eyes and ears? They ALWAYS do that.) Finally, there was the speakerphone conversation between Castle (with Beckett listening in) and Ryan, where the two of them came to the dreadful realization that Ryan knew.
I also love how Castle's Ferrari has become the currency for favors from the boys, as in "Headhunters" last season.
The ending, likewise, was a nice surprise. As was the case with the episodes "Til Death Do Us Part" and "A Deadly Game," the killer was someone who was not even on the radar, but popped up at the last minute.
My two favorite lines were:
Castle: "Call 911."
Beckett: "Really?"
and
"Suspects tend to hold back on stuff like that," said by Castle to Chief Brady, in reference to the affair between Franklin and Natalia Roosevelt.
There were very few "looks." The best was Esposito's quizzical eyebrow arch as Castle and Beckett went their separate ways after the "boyfriend" discussion.
What did you think? Feel free to share your thoughts.
By Michael Seese
I hate being more than a week behind in my Castle-watching. If I had known that kids would get in the way ...
I could write this show! Midway through -- when Castle and Beckett went back to Anjelica's to confront her about the insurance fraud -- I said out loud, "The butler did it." And I was right! Castle was even gracious enough to use my exact words. Then, when they went to commercial I said, "Why commit the fraud? Just sell the $4 million bracelet for $4 million, and pay off your debts." And when they returned, what did Beckett ask Anjelica?
Overall, though, this was a mixed episode. There were a lot of good points. The homage to "Da Vinci Code" was a great way to start.
In my writing, I enjoy throwing in pop culture references. (Did I mention I could have written this one?)
I thought it was hilarious when Captain Gates turned into a giddy child when she saw the "Gemini" doll, and then became a fawning fan of Castle, the author. And I love the quirky characters they throw in. Last week, it was the makeup artists; this week, it was the you-store-it owner who looked at the victim's picture and said, really drolly, "She was a lot less bloody when I saw her."
My primary complaint was the plethora of plot implausibilities, some bordering on deux ex machina. Castle and Beckett wanted the contents of storage unit 317. A lot. Obviously, so did Felix. A lot. They didn't think to question him right then? Really? Wendell was able to take a photo of an artificial eye fragment and actually find the owner? Really? And then poor Wendell just happened to use the subway station which happened to have out-of-order cameras, allowing Kirby the butler to shove him in front of the train? Oh, and no one standing on the platform saw it? Really?
Oh well.
As always, much of the dialog had me in stitches.
Castle: "I learned so much," in reference to the time he and Alexis had "the talk."
Castle: "Mother used her Jedi mind tricks on me." (See pop culture reference comment above.)
Lanie: "Oh, you are in trouble." (After Beckett busted him rummaging through her desk.)
Castle: "I'm not in trouble." (Hangs up.)
Castle: "I'm a best-selling author. Why wouldn't I have two grand in my pocket?"
Castle: "I think my hand's getting sweaty."
Beckett: "I know. It's kind of gross."
And the capper, which was 50% a "look."
Beckett: "Take your hand off your tool."
Ryan & Esposito: (snicker)
Beckett: "Shut up."
My other favorite look was Castle's raised eyebrow when Beckett did not disavow her "kinky past."
Hopefully we will get to "Murder He Wrote"(I think that's next) sooner than next Tuesday night.
PS: You'll notice I added some photos...thumbs up or thumbs down?
