Castle: 47 Seconds

[Let's give a warm welcome to ChrisB, who will be reviewing Castle for us! -- Billie]

“To sin by silence, when they should protest, makes cowards of men.” Abraham Lincoln

After several weeks of a weaker show, this one came back all guns blazing, or bombs exploding. I loved this episode and, for the first time in quite some time, I got so caught up in the story that I stopped taking notes and just watched.

The case itself was better than many have been. It was good to have Gates back at the helm again. Unlike many on the boards, I have been a fan of hers from the beginning and I think she adds a nice touch of realism to the precinct. She was great here, and I like to think that she is beginning to thaw, just a bit, towards our hero.

What was really well done isn’t evident until the second viewing. Throughout, we get flashbacks as people are talking about what they experienced at the bombing. The second time through the episode, you’re able to see and hear the others’ experiences as well. It effectively ties together the 47 seconds very well. And, for a change, we are shown quite a bit of the true bomber. Unlike last week, the denouement did not come out of left field.

The bombing was incidental to and was the catalyst for a very big, long awaited Caskett episode. We got two almost conversations, both interrupted. Unfortunately, this seems to be the writers’ fall back scenario (they’ve been using it since season two) and I have stopped hoping that any big speech is going to happen at the station. Where, arguably, it shouldn’t. But, those almost conversations were just the beginning.

The big change in this episode is that secret number one has (finally!) been revealed. I was pleasantly surprised at how it happened. It felt organic and real to me, not at all contrived. What I found very interesting was Castle’s response to it.

On the one hand, is it me or was there a touch of ret-con? In episode four of this season, as Beckett and Castle walk up to a crime scene, Beckett winces. Castle asks Beckett if she has remembered anything from the shooting and, when she says no, he looks at her askance. I’ve always taken that look to mean that he suspected she remembered more than she was saying, but here he seemed utterly surprised.

On the other hand, I thought his response was wonderfully human and flawed. Rather than just confronting her with the truth that he knew, he just assumed that she does not love him and started acting a bit immature and passive-aggressive. Completely understandable. How many of us can say we haven’t done something similar when we’ve felt rejected?

Castle’s interactions with Alexis felt very human to me as well. He knows that she’s an adult, but like many parents I know, he wants her to remain innocent and untouched by the world for as long as possible. I believe it was Alexis’ conversation with him about doing something real that propelled him back to the station – he very nearly quotes her directly before heading back in.

Some of my favourite Castle conversations have been between Martha and Castle. This week, we got two. As mad as she is, Martha deeply loves her son and wants him to be happy. While I think she is the biggest shipper around, she will support Castle in whatever decision he makes. She is consistently the voice of reason, putting into words what Castle should hear, even if he doesn’t want to.

The last ten minutes were really well put together. Castle solved the bombing, in spite of being so angry. His anger and hurt are just below the surface (well done, Nathan Fillion) but he won’t say anything to Beckett. Beckett is trying to figure out what went wrong; although, I would guess that she sort of suspects. She does know that Castle was in the precinct during the interrogation, but some part of her doesn’t want to go there.

But, now, Castle is the keeper of not just the one, but two secrets. This is not going to end well. Why, oh why, will these two just not talk to each other? I guess it’s because we’ve still got four more episodes left in this season, and it’s looking more and more as though another one at least.

Four out of four happy face pancakes.

Tidbits:

-- Gates writes the number seven like the Europeans, with a slash through it. Wonder where she picked that up?

-- West Side Wally’s sign: Will work protest for food. And, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all see Beethoven? I was so pleased that it all made sense at the end.

-- Loved the screen showing all the cell phones on it. A touch of Big Brother, but very cool.

Soundbites:

Castle: “You know, most of our victims, they … they die for a reason. You know, there’s a logic behind it. It’s a twisted logic at times; but, at least it makes some kind of sense.”
Beckett: “Yeah, but in this case, these people were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Castle: “And their future, and all their plans – everything is just gone in a flash.”
Beckett: “It makes you think about all those things in your own life that you don’t want to put off anymore.”

Martha: “It’s complicated, so you say. Only it’s not. It’s not. Nobody’s tomorrows are guaranteed, right? Wouldn’t it be better to tell her even if the timing is wrong than never to tell her at all?”
Castle: “And, what if she isn’t ready?”
Martha: “Then she never will be. Then you move on.”

Gates: “I believe you’re my best bet.”
Castle: “I think she’s finally beginning to like me.”
Gates: “No, I’m not.”
Castle: “Wearing her down.”

Castle: “These are emergency cheering-up pancakes. I mean, these are usually reserved for after break-ups or ‘Dancing with the Stars’ eliminations.”

Castle: “You’re a pretty smart kid, you know that?”
Alexis: “Well, they say genius skips a generation.”
Castle: “Apparently, so does funny.”

Beckett (in the interrogation room): “I was shot in the chest and I remember every second of it. And, so do you.”
Castle (behind the glass): “All this time... you remembered?”

Castle: “I really thought we could have a future together. You know, I was... I was willing to wait. Come to find out, it’s all just a big joke. She knew. This whole time, she remembered, and she didn’t say anything because she was embarrassed. Because she doesn’t feel the same way. I’m such a fool.”

Martha: “Richard, love is not a switch. You can’t just turn it off. You can’t work side by side with her and not feel anything.”
Castle: “Watch me.”

Castle: “Well, that’s what your friend Jesse would call sinning by silence. It’s not smart. It’s not brave. It’s just cowardly.”

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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