By Michael Seese
This was a gripping episode. (I decided to come up with a synonym for "intense.") To give you an idea, I stopped taking notes about halfway through, and just watched.
As I've said in other reviews, you knew that Beckett would get out of it. But how? And I must say, her salvation came from a completely unexpected (to me, at least) source, which made it all the more satisfying.
Something else that helped flavor "In The Belly Of The Beast." A year or so ago, "Hunt" put Castle out there, on his own. (OK, he eventually had help from his dad...work with me.) "In The Belly Of The Beast" had Beckett alone, and often unarmed. (Aside from her wits and charms.)
Because of the separation, the episode featured fewer lines and fewer looks than normal. But there were a lot of standout scenes. That is, "gripping" scenes.
(Though I did make note Esposito's, "There's more brass in here than a marching band.")
I enjoyed Beckett's giddiness at the prospect of a day off, culminating in my favorite line.
Beckett: "No goals, other than to waste hours on end."
Castle: "Stop describing my day."
The scene where Mr. Harden scanned Beckett for a wire oozed tension. Then, they set up some confusion when Beckett said, "I'm not a threat to anyone," and he replied, "You can just drop the act."
I also loved Beckett's several furtive attempts to phone / text her whereabouts to her colleagues.
Finally, her letter to Castle was both touching and exciting.
One nit-pick: the baddies all knew that Elena Markov was a slash-assassin. So why did Mr. Harden give Beckett a gun for her first assignment?
Finally, no Lanie, no "lividity" this week.
Next week's show (well, two weeks) looks to be back to the fun.
Feel free to share your thoughts on "In The Belly Of The Beast."
By Michael Seese
I liked "Room 147" ... up until the last five minutes. For most of the show, it played out like "typical" Castle. A murder whose obvious explanation seems completely implausible though, in this case, implausibly easy.
SPOILERS!
As Castle and Beckett start to peel back the layers, the implausible suddenly makes sense. But then they veer off into a motive which, IMHO, felt contrived.
Really, now, SPOILERS.
My main beef with the explanation was that it seemed too convoluted.
- If Pam wanted revenge, why didn't she join Eternal Horizons Inc. as an employee, and look for dirt to expose Bauers?
- Why didn't she join and shoot him? After all, he said he makes a point of meeting each member. Yes, she goes to jail. But she could plead that she was brainwashed.
- Though, I will give kudos for her rant at the end.
OK, so let's ignore that last five minutes.
Quick aside #1: As a nice twist on the ever-present reference to the victim behaving strangely of late, it was fun to hear the "murderers" say things had been fuzzy in the past two weeks.
Quick aside #2: I thought it was a very good touch when Ryan and Esposito looked at Anita Miller's computer, found that the previous two weeks had been deleted, and that those two weeks were indeed those beginning February 3 and February 10. In other words, good attention to detail.
On to the lines...
Beckett: "I think we all just kick-started our day."
Beckett: "A single shot to the chest?"
Lanie: "One is all it took."
Quick aside #3: After missing it last week, Lanie used the term "lividity" once again.
Castle: "I'm man enough to admit I'm completely theory-less."
Castle: "This is now officially outstanding."
Quick aside #4: I liked the psychologist. It's nice to know the UBS guy was able to calm down and find another job.
Carruthers: "I need to confess."
Beckett: "Yeah, take a number."
Carruthers: "Seriously? I killed someone and all you care about is a van?"
Castle: "You didn't even have to drug me."
Beckett: "How do you know what I do when you're sleeping?"
Not much in the way of looks, other than Beckett's discomfort when Castle said there must be another reason Alexis isn't coming home.
So on to next week. My wife opined that it has a La Femme Nikita look to it.
Feel free to share your thoughts on "Room 147."
