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Castle: Resurrection

“I never forget a face, especially if I cut it.”

He’s baaaaack! Or, is he?

Here it is, folks. The now traditional mid-season two parter that is guaranteed to change the game.

In case you’ve forgotten who Jerry Tyson or Kelly Nieman are, plenty of flashbacks were provided to remind you. In effect Tyson/3XK has been haunting our team since the third season. He makes an appearance every once in a while to remind us that he is still out there. Kelly Nieman, every bit as evil and horrible as Tyson, turned up last season in one of the year’s best episodes.

I must admit that, as soon as I saw Nieman, I was disappointed. I’ve been expecting the two-parter to come along any time now (I am a tad OCD about avoiding spoilers), and sighed aloud when I saw what it was going to about. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I invested in this story and how on edge I was. Throughout, I couldn’t figure out who that man sitting in interrogation was. There were moments when I was convinced he was Boudreau, then he would stare at Castle with those cold, dead eyes and I was convinced he was Tyson. I love being kept guessing.

This episode is very much about mothers. Alexis kisses Beckett for the first time; Martha is in a play thanks to her son’s prodding her to audition; Beckett talks about becoming a mother; Gloria turns out to be the “inspiration” for all of Tyson’s kills. All of these hints, along with Nieman’s comment to Beckett that she looks fatigued, feel like foreshadowing to me. Castle has nearly killed Tyson once. God help us if he believes that Tyson is responsible for any harm to his unborn child. We may finally see just how dark Castle can go.

While everyone in the cast was able to show us just how much Tyson has affected them (especially Ryan), none of them comes close to the guilt and the fear that Castle feels. He blames himself for everything that Tyson has done since they met and he does not underestimate the man in the slightest. Which is why that interrogation scene was so frightening. When Castle goes calm and quiet, all is not right with his world.

Tyson and Nieman together are interesting foils to Castle and Beckett. Both couples have been brought together because of the work they do. Both are exceptionally clever and intuitive. Both are out to bring down the other two. Right now, Tyson and Nieman are winning. Her smirk and his wink at the end of the episode made me shiver.

An exceptional beginning of the story. Three and half out of four baby teeth in match boxes.

Tidbits:

— The cinematography on this show is occasionally exceptional. The shot during the cold open of the red robe flowing behind the victim was visually stunning.


-- Interesting conversation about having children. On the second watch, I am more than a little convinced that my foreshadowing guess may not be so far fetched.

-- You know it’s going to be an important episode when the title card is different. We had a scalpel in place of the usual pen this week.

-- In this episode, we had three former stars of another of my favorite shows of all time, 24. Penny Johnson was Sherry Palmer; Stana Katic played a minor role in the fifth season; Annie Wersching played Renee Walker for a season and a half.

Soundbites:

Beckett: “Well, you raised a great person, so...”
Castle: “You say that now. You weren’t here for the beginning.”
Beckett: “Next time, I will be.”

Castle: “It all came to me a second too late. I’ve relieved that moment so many times. Knowing that my mistake set him free and cost people’s lives.”

Castle: “You don’t have to hunt them anymore. You raise them, like livestock.”

Castle: “Only people who keep insisting they’re not terrible parents are terrible parents.”

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.

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