Castle: G.D.S.

by Michael Seese

Oh, what a tangled web we weave
When first we practise to deceive!

If you haven't guessed...

SPOILERS FOLLOW!

"G.D.S." picks up where "And Justice For All" left off. Castle, Alexis, and Hayley are in L.A., planning a trip to Koreatown to search for clues from Castle's "missing time." 

Speaking of missing, where was Beckett? They couldn't even get Stana Katic into the studio to film an "OK, be careful" phone call with Castle?


They tied up some loose ends, though I have no doubt we haven't heard the final words on Castle's disappearance.

And like "And Justice For All," "G.D.S." melded that story with the murder, throwing in some nifty side arcs.

I thought the Greatest Detective Society was a clever concoction. And if I really did some digging I might find evidence of a real-world counterpart. (A cursory search yielded the Grand Detectives Society. I'm sure there are others.) Naturally they met in some hidden-away, dimly lit grotto.

Then we also had the side story of Lanie enlisting Ryan to do a background check on a prospective boyfriend.

Picky aside: I would assume she has access to the same online files he does.

And when Ryan's prank came to light, the results were hilarious. Speaking of hilarious, this episode was replete with funny lines.

Alexis: "We were hoping to scope out some man-candy."
Hayley: "Surfers are hot."
castle: "You're a bad influence on her."
Hayley: "Thank you."

Castle: "Look on the bright side. There are worse places to be trapped than a five-star hotel with room service."

Hayley: "And... it's a myth. It's... it's a fairy tale old PIs tell rookies to get them to do the scut work."
Castle: "Said the detective that didn't get an invitation."

Castle: "The G.D.S. is requesting my presence at headquarters. This must mean I passed their test and they want me to join their ranks."
Hayley: "I hate to burst your fanboy bubble, but how do you know this is on the up-and-up?"

Castle: "Not ruined. Destroyed. Terminated. Extirpated, vaporized, eviscerated."
Hayley: "Do you plan on running through the whole thesaurus?"
Castle: "No. I think that'll about do it."

Castle: "As hot as it would be to see you two fight - especially after that kiss - we need to work together on this."

Castle: "Having second thoughts?"
Hayley: "About having a ménage with a trophy-taking serial killer? No! What could possibly go wrong?"

Castle: "Like I'm scared of her."
Mason Wood: "She is a master of Krav Maga. And she is deadly with a sniper rifle from a mile and a half. Good luck."

Hayley (holding up her manacled hands): "Do you think you could...OK."

Esposito: "What did you tell her?"
Ryan: "Bed wetter."

Then tying it all up with a nice little bow was the scene where Hayley confesses to her role in Castle's missing months. It offered a clever explanation for why she keeps popping up. And her remorse at having deceived Castle was so genuine.

"I'm fond of you, Rick, and I adore your daughter. And after a lifetime of caring about nobody but myself, I decided to stick around and keep an eye on you two."

And then the bombshell: we learn that Castle was somehow tied to Locksat, long before (as far as we know) Beckett became involved.

Wow! 

We're all caught up on Castle. Until Monday, that is.

Please share your thoughts on "G.D.S."

Castle: And Justice For All

by Michael Seese

I enjoyed "And Justice For All." I thought this episode strung together a lot of fun individual scenes, and wove them in nicely with the murder investigation. My favorites:

- Castle's "speed dating" with the ESL students, especially when Aida began speaking real French at him.

- Hayley's serving as an interpreter, translating Alistair's "English" to English.

- Castle's classmates throwing up roadblocks as the FBI began tailing Judge Caldwell.

- Castle's "death" at the hands of Hayley.

- NOT among my favorites was Martha's schmaltzy speech at the end about what makes America great.

- And...

(MINOR SPOILERS)

I thought it was VERY cool the way they touched on, in passing, Castle's missing six months by mentioning the letters he had received in response to his plea for information, and then bringing it to the forefront by having him flashback after tasting the Korean food.

And as always, Dr. Perlmutter provided a breath of fresh (or would that be stale??) air. Even before "the break-up," he detested Castle. But now that Beckett (in theory) hates Castle, Perlmutter is free to speak his mind.

"It's because of nitwit pretty boys like you that good men, like my brother Edgar..."

"There's a scalpel and a rib spreader if you need them."

And to back up a moment, when he told Beckett he had a twin, I loved her delivery of the line, "Uh, there's two of you?"

So while we're on the lines...

Castle: "I have a little writer's block, that's all."
Beckett: "So you're taking it out on the laptop?" 
Castle: "Not the laptop. The cursor. Just look at it. Taunting me. It's just blinking on off on off. Like it's so easy to write a bestselling novel. Because I'd like to see you try it, Mr. Cursor."

Castle: "While I do love kissing you Beckett, it's just a little creepy when you do it in front of a dead body. It's inappropriate."

Beckett: "Sounds like our mild-mannered zoo keeper rattled a few cages."

Vikram: "Who is the sexiest digital investigator alive?"
Esposito: "No way I'm saying you, bro."

Castle: "In your position, I would have done the same thing."
Esposito: "No you wouldn't have."
Castle: "No I wouldn't have. I have a soul."

Picky aside: I can appreciate that the new arrivals might not know Richard Castle, author. (Though they could have; last time I checked, they do have books in England, Korea, Senegal.) But the teacher, John Emerson, should have recognized the amazing resemblance between the famous mystery writer and Jean-Luc de la Croix.

Please do share your thoughts on "And Justice For All."