Castle: "The Lives of Others "

By Michael Seese

They got me. Twice. Which is another way of saying this blog has LOTS of spoilers. Don't even think of reading it unless you've seen it.

OK, admission time: I've never seen "Rear Window." (Hey, cut me some slack; I barely have time for Castle.) But I looked it up in Wikipedia, and expected that "The Lives of Others" would be more of a straight-up homage. It wasn't. But that's OK. It was a fun episode.
 
I especially loved Castle's play-by-play as he spied on his neighbors for the first time. "That better be for a sick child," to the maid stealing cash. And, "Oh, to be young an underemployed" to the paramours.

The murder he "witnessed" was well staged. You see the woman leave the room with the open blinds. You see the husband / boyfriend (we're not sure which) pick up the knife, look at it, then storm to the other room, where the blinds are closed. The shadows indicate some form of struggle. Then something is pushed against the Venetian blinds, and creates a ripple as it slips down. Bravo!

One unique twist: as I commented aloud while watching it, this was the first episode that I could recall which featured two completely distinct murders. So I just knew they were going to somehow tie them together. Then the writers pulled the rug out from under us, which I would call the first "gotcha."

The opening segment was one huge line-fest.

Castle: "I won't think it's because you've forgotten. I'll think it's because you made other plans." (Accompanied by a great "look.")

Martha: "It is a spa trip, darling. Not a guilt trip."

Ryan: "You must be bored. You've actually gone Rear Window."

Beckett: "Unless the body you're looking at is dead, I suggest you drop those binoculars."

And then it all ended with a great homage, courtesy of Castle: "Hey what if I consult by phone? We could pretend I'm Charlie, and you're my angels."

A few other odds-and-ends looks and lines:

Ryan: "Staring at the phone won't make it ring. I learned that in junior high."

Alexis's eye roll after Beckket said, "Or, maybe his girlfriend asked him to keep it in storage until she's ready to pick it up."

Castle: "When you do it, it's an illegal search. When I do it, it's just illegal."

Beckett: "You didn't have to kick down the door."
Esposito: "I was in the moment."
Ryan: "We wanted to be convincing."

Castle: "Where is Captain Gates?"
Esposito: "She couldn't make it."
Castle: "Good."

Wrapping it all up was the second "got me." I really thought Castle was going to blow up over the joke, especially since he would have spent an agonizing X minutes thinking Beckett had been murdered. And the way his face changed from grim to glee when he said, "This is without a doubt...the greatest birthday present of my life!" Spectacular.

And then Beckett solved the real murder. I thought it was a bit of a stretch, but what they hey.

One picky thing. Beckett said that Captain Gates was in on the joke. Perhaps Beckett sold it to her as a birthday prank for "my friend and professional partner" Castle. Still, it should have raised an eyebrow. (Something Captain Gates does exceedingly well.)

Next week (actually, two weeks) looks to be another "Scooby" episode in the vein of UFOs, zombies, and deadly DVDs. 

Feel free to share your thoughts.  

Have YOU been staring in a "Rear Window" with Castle? Click to tweet. 

Castle: The Wild Rover

By Michael Seese

WARNING! Lots of spoilers...

As I have said here and there, I really appreciate the episodes which focus on someone other than Castle or Beckett, since it allows the writers to develop the other characters. "The Wild Rover" may have been the best of the bunch.

Esposito may be the one with Special Ops experience. But Ryan showed a real toughness in this one, a toughness that even his friends may not have appreciated. In fact, when Agent Walker sung Ryan's praises, Esposito positively beamed.

We got our eyebrow-raising moment, when Siobhan walked over and kissed Ryan, then he quietly said to his friends -- and his WIFE -- "I can explain." (Cue the commercial break!)

Ryan's brash, brazen alter-ego served up a nice contrast to the soft-spoken, buttoned-down detective we all know and love. And I thought his whole "I can do this" psych-up was a great scene.

Then the end...

In my review of "Hunt," I called the rescue scene the best two minutes of the show's history. The last ten minutes of "The Wild Rover" is a close second. When Liam confronts Ryan and tells him that they're going for a ride, both my wife's and my heart were pounding. It didn't get any less tense when Bobby S. asked Ryan to put a bullet in Siobhan, a woman who obviously, though never explicitly stated, he had loved. (My wife called the part about blanks in the gun.) Then that scene wraps up with the cavalry arriving, following a plausible explanation as to how Ryan got word to them.

But wait...there's more.

Then we got the satisfaction of seeing the murderer -- a non-suspect, up to that point -- brought in. (Remember? This all started with a murder.)

Next, we had Castle confessing to Beckett about his embarrassment at his college dalliance in plagiarism, which pushed him into his writing career.

Finally, we got to end the show on Ryan's and Jenny's happy note.

Despite the intensity of this episode, humor abounded.

Beckett: "I happen to be an expert on nothing, and this is not nothing."
Castle: "Most of what I say is meaningless. Why would it be any different when I'm asleep?"

Beckett: "Looks like he's not the only one keeping secrets."
Castle: "I'm going to ignore that."

Castle: "Did you see the way Siobhan gave him that flying lip-lock?" In fact, I think "flying lip-lock" is a keeper.

And the looks...

Castle's discomfort at being upbraided for eating the dead guy's cupcakes. "It was free samples," he pleaded.

Castle's anticipation when Ryan said, "It's complicated." "I love complicated," he said, sitting down like a 15-year-old about to hear an older boy describe what sex is like.

And in one big, huge, line- and look-fest...

Esposito gave us a great look when Castle asked, "Where's Ryan." Then, cut to the apartment, where Ryan and Jenny are preparing for their doctor's appointment, and she sends him off to do his duty. Followed immediately by Castle saying, "So master baker Jimmy Whelan..." Gut-splitting stuff.

I'm really looking forward to tonight's episode. As I watched the previews -- which promise an obvious homage to "Rear Window" -- I said, "Is Castle actually in a wheelchair?" Per the pictures on IMDB, he is.

Feel free to share your thoughts. 

It wasn't Castle, but Ryan, who was the "Wild Rover."  Click to tweet.