Castle: Under Fire

By Michael Seese

Excellent, excellent episode.

Oh, and LOTS OF SPOILERS!

As I have opined in one or two past entries (and probably more, but I was too lazy to look up another post) I often feel  that the episodes where Castle or Beckett face mortal danger sometimes lack tension, because we know the writers are not going to kill off either of them. But secondary characters, like Ryan and Esposito...

After all, Seamus Dever or Jon Huertas could want to leave the show. (Though probably not in mid-season.) Still, you can't rule it out.

For this reason, I thought "Under Fire" was simply great. Two best friends. At first, potentially incinerated. Then, alive but trapped. Finally, passed out after a tearful goodbye. Toss an in-labor, on-site Jenny into the mix, and you have some real emotions flying.

Quick aside: I just noticed that the actress who plays Jenny Ryan is named Juliana Dever. And according to IMDB, she has been married to Seamus Dever since May 27, 2006. Aw, how sweet.

Back to the show. As is the case with many shows or movies where the heroes are trapped in a seemingly impossible situation, you sort of assume things will turn out OK. The fun comes in wondering how -- and then seeing how -- they arrive at a satisfying conclusion. In this regard, "Under Fire" did not disappoint.

Quick aside 2: As I have mentioned previously (still too lazy to look it up) I appreciate episodes of any show where the focus is on someone other than the main character; it's nice to flesh out the supporting cast.

So we have Ryan and Espo trapped in the basement of the burning building. There is no way out, no way out, no way out. Then Castle has his flash of insight regarding the arsonist's escape plans. And the pieces fall into place.

I thought the way they filmed the arrest was really cool. The burning building visible in the cell phone-cam, which pans down to reveal Beckett, gun drawn. I also liked her kick-ass approach to getting Kimball to talk.

Also noteworthy was the creepy interview with serial arsonist Adam Ferguson. "He needs to feel the heat. Listen to the music." Brrrr. Chilling!

Overall, this one was low on the humor scale. My favorite line / exchange:

Ryan: "Rather than pick a name for my kid, you should pick a date for your wedding."
Castle: "Pick a date for my wedding? I was planning on bringing her."
Beckett: "Really. When is that? I might have plans."

A close second:

The IT Chick (I've got to find out her name): "Wow. OK, a site which caters to fire fetishists."
Beckett: "I didn't even know there was a fire fetish."
Castle: "The actual term is pyrophilia, for proof that the Internet has something for everyone."
Beckett (whispering): "I'm not going to ask you how you know that."

And the best look / line combo came as Castle beat a hasty retreat from the potenitally dangerous first crime scene. Beckett's jaw drops, and she says, "I'm ... marrying him."

Feel free to share your thoughts on "Under Fire."

Castle: "Kick The Ballistics"

I could get used to writing something about "Castle" each week.

I enjoyed this week's episode. Of course. I liked that this show built upon a previous one, and that the story arc is still not finished, one would assume. I'm not saying a show should be a complete serial, like "Twin Peaks" or "Lost." But having one or two continuing threads keeps the viewer on his toes.

It was nice to see the focus on Ryan. Too many shows devolve into The Star(s), and the spare parts.

At one point, Ryan tells Beckett about the dumbest thing he ever had done as a cop: he had called out the name of a narc informant in the middle of the squad room, which at the time was full of busted drug dealers. Five minutes later, Beckett reveals the name of the undercover cop (he went by "Seth;" I forget the detective's real name) to Mr. Lee, head of a crime family. What's up with that? Careless mistake? Or was she setting him up?

On the downside, they did something that I had seen on several episodes of "Law & Order," which always made me shake my head way back when. In the L&O episode I'm thinking of, the police find a woman who has been tortured to within an inch of death. She's alive, but she's not yet able to talk to them. So they question her ex-husband. His alibi is that he was with a buddy at some high-society fundraiser. The next scene shows (we assume, then learn) the buddy walking out of his swank tennis club, talking back over his shoulder to the police officers. "Yeah, he was with me that night until around 2:00 a.m. Blah, blah, blah." As he gets into his car, one of the officers asks, "Do you know who could have done this?" "No," he says. "And I hope I never meet him. He sounds like one sick bastard." And then he drives off. And I remember thinking, "Well, I see you have decided that the police are done. I hope they feel the same way." The same thing happened on "Castle." At some point, the bar owner says, "You can wait for Seth. I've got to get to work." And then he walks away.

Finally, I liked the surprise ending. If I can some day convince someone that it's worth it to publish "Tarantulas On Leashes," "Swarm Summer Nights," Udopia,"and especially No Strings Attached, you'll see what I mean.