Castle: Still

By Michael Seese

"Still" pretty much was what I expected. "I'm going to die, so let's talk about the good times." Of course since Richard Castle was involved, "the good times" would have to wait...

Beckett: "Castle, I'm going to be fine. I feel fine."
Castle: "That would be great if you were a reliable judge of your own feelings, which clearly you're not."
Beckett: "What does that mean?"
Castle: "I'm sorry. Exhibit A. According to you, you felt nothing for me when we first met, which we both--"
Beckett: "Are you out... Oh, I get it. I know what you're doing."
Castle: "What?"
Beckett: "You know, Castle? Forget it? I'm not going down that path. You can just leave now."
Castle: "Fine. I'll leave. If you admit to me that you had feelings for me when we first met."
Beckett: "Fine. I did have feelings for you when we first met. I couldn't stand you."

(Yes, it took quite a while to get all of that written down.)

Since I didn't start watching Castle until the third season, or thereabouts, it was nice to see scenes from some of the older episodes. (Not to mention Beckett's "array of hair styles over the years.")

Still, there were a lot of nice touches wholly or partially in "the present."

I think my favorite bit came after they had recounted their near-death adventures (though they somehow forgot the nuclear bomb episode) and Castle said, "You're forgetting the scariest of them all." Then they showed the scene where Martha nearly caught them in flagrante delicto after their first night together.

My second favorite was blaring Billy Squier's The Stroke to lead into the "hot outfit" flashbacks. 

I thought Castle's motivational speech to Beckett was excellent, if not short.

And in the past, the number of times that Castle and Beckett said the same thing, together, was mind-boggling.

Back to the lines:

Beckett: "You said you had a chapter due."
Castle: "Yes, which is writer-speak for all procrastination welcome."

Castle: "What about the old Indiana Jones bag of sand golden idol trick?"

Castle: "I'll admit I found you...not unattractive." 

Beckett: "I can't help it if you get off by putting things in my mouth."

The best look was Castle's slight pout when Beckett ran off without drinking his coffee. "Did you see the hearts? Took me like, six minutes."

Though I'll give extra points for an oldie: Castle's raised eyebrows when Beckett said, "Look, please put this thing in and get it over with."

Picky comment: I am not a policeman. But if I had cornered a bombing suspect -- a bombing suspect who the previous night set off an explosion which leveled  a building -- and he reached into his pocket, pulled out an electronic box and started punching numbers...as they they say, "Shoot first and ask questions later."

And did I miss something, or did Beckett never tell Castle "the thing," that is, the thing she needed for him to do, rather than sit with her and get blown up?

Please share your thoughts.

Could you sit STILL while watching Castle this week? Click to tweet.

Castle: The Squab And The Quail

By Michael Seese

This will be a slightly discombobulated review, because my viewing "experience" was a bit off. At the conclusion of "The Fast And The Furriest," the previews for the coming week indicated a tense episode in which Beckett has stepped on a bomb trigger. "The Squab And The Quail" begins with an unseen hand spraying some liquid onto a plate of food, and moves quickly to some rich guy keeling over in his haute cuisine. The team starts interviewing the victim's associates, to see if he had any enemies. Then Castle hears that the poison had been sprayed on the mushrooms (poisoned mushrooms...nice touch), and realizes that the tainted food was meant for the OTHER rich guy at the table, the wealthy (and handsome) Eric Vaughn. So the gang has to begin again, probing to see if he had any enemies. They find the killer, and then find him killed. (I thought it was pretty cool when Esposito looked down, saw feathers blowing out from underneath the killer's apartment door, and knew something was up.) So now the team has to race to find the real killer. Of course, they were racing primarily because Castle led the charge, since Beckett had been ordered to serve as Vaughn's personal bodyguard, and they were holed up in a posh hotel. (I mentioned that Vaughn was wealthy and handsome...right?)

The point to all that (other than offering you, dear readers, a summary) is that I kept wondering, "OK, when is Beckett going to step on the trigger?" I later learned, through the Internet, that the show's producers opted to delay that episode in deference to the victims of the Boston Marathon attack. Perfectly understandable. But as I said, I felt somewhat confused throughout the whole episode.

Overall, there were a lot of funny lines.

When Castle, thoroughly engrossed in an online combat game, ignored Beckett's proposition, she lamented, "Oh my god! You actually have to think about this!"
And then he had to tell his gaming partner (via phone), "No, it's not my mom."

Also:

Castle: "I was in the zone, like Gretzky."
Beckett: "At least Gretzky knew how to score."
Castle: "Ouch."

Castle: "It's poetic, diabolically speaking."

Castle: "The guy won a MacArthur Genius Award. Do you know who they give those to? Geniuses!"

Castle: "I can't believe that the department is forcing her to hang out with some womanizing rich guy against her will."
Ryan: "Unbelievable."
Esposito: "Yeah, she's never done that."

After that exchange, Ryan and Espo shared "the look."

So Monday brings us "Still." (Of course, for me, it will be on Tuesday, or Wednesday.) Also, I found it telling that the previews downplayed the bomb, and played up that "Still" will be one of those "I'm going to die, so let's look back and recall the good times" episodes. 

Feel free to share your thoughts on  "The Squab And The Quail."

Does anyone know what a squab actually is? Castle does. Click to tweet.