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Castle: Room 147

“If I have to hear that confession one more time, I’m going to shoot somebody.”

Getting one confession is hard enough. Having three different people walk through the precinct door and confess to the same murder is odd, at best. Throw in a struggling actor and a sinister, cult-like self-help group and you have this week’s case.

This episode ticked all the Castle boxes. A weird murder, suspects aplenty, the evil cult leader, Castle’s theories briefly stymied, and a killer who turned up in the first scene. The problem was that it was clear from the beginning that drugs and/or mind-control were at play and that both of these issues would tie into EHI. No surprise at all when they were.

Although the case itself was silly and stretched our suspension of disbelief to the snapping point, there were some good moments. The scene where the three confessors are arguing about the details was fun as was the looks on their faces when they realize that Castle and Beckett are no longer in the room. Poor Dwight never did get to confess. Watching him continue to insist on it was great.

The major problem with this case was the killer. The writers felt the need to have her come out of left field, and she did. While we had been told of her motivation in an aside earlier in the episode, the denouement felt forced. The final explanation was so convoluted as to be comical. We are never told of exactly why she focused her rage on Justin or just how she knew about the poor people under the mind-control situation.

For a show that usually gets it guest stars right on, the killer was one of the worst actresses I have seen in a while. That final scene, with her proclaiming her justification, was so over the top that I giggled. She really needs to be off-off-off, lots of offs.

The highlight of this episode was the conversation between Beckett and Alexis. Treating the situation as an adult should, by sharing her concerns with Alexis, Beckett finally got to the bottom of what has been driving Alexis so hard. It was a lovely moment and resulted in Alexis moving back into the loft.

Not a bad episode, but not a very good one. Two and a half out of four anonymous rooms at the Best Traveler Hotel.

Tidbits:

-- The best news of all is that Alexis has now broken up with Pi and, we can only hope, he has scuttled back from whence he came. This character, who never felt right, was a rare misstep for a show that usually gets its characters dead on.

-- We’ve seen Dr. Holloway before, but it’s been a long time. His last appearance was back in season two’s “The Fifth Bullet.”

Soundbites:

Castle: “Do I smell coffee?”
Beckett: “If you do, it was made by elves.”

Castle: “Eleven seconds to a confession. That’s got to be your personal best.”

Castle: “I think I’m man enough to admit I’m completely theory-less.”

Dwight: “I need to confess.”
Beckett: “Yeah, take a number.”

Castle: “You should know you’re engaged to a genius.”
Beckett: “Yes, a genius at annoying me.”

ChrisB is a freelance writer who spends more time than she ought in front of a television screen or with a book in her hand.

1 comment:

  1. The episode gradually lost my interest until Castle said "I like the weird stuff." Later on Kate echoed the sentiment.

    :-)

    ReplyDelete

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