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Castle: Murder, He Wrote

“I’m not going to deny that I’ve brought other women up here, but none of them were you.”

Castle has whisked Beckett off to the Hamptons for their first romantic weekend away together. It doesn’t take long before a man stumbles into their lives and falls dead into Castle’s pool. A direct homage to another brilliant ABC show, this case is about someone exacting revenge.

The case itself was a bit better than the previous couple have been, but still relatively standard fare. Once again, the killer was the one person who had been on screen for the shortest amount of time. I’ve decided that this is how the writers are going to do it now; find the one character who is never on screen and he or she will be the criminal. For one brief, shining moment I thought they were going to give us a really good twist and have Brady be guilty, but oh no.

Although the case itself was weak, I loved the way the roles reversed during it. Beckett, for once, is the more insecure of the two. She is obviously taken aback by the house (as well she should be -- it’s gorgeous), not to mention the thought of all the other women who have been there before her. It’s Castle who is reassuring her that she is the one he wants to be with.

Once she has that reassurance, all Beckett wants to do is relax, skinny dip in the pool and have sex. Castle, on the other hand, couldn’t let the murder drop. He had to know what the story was and pulled a very reluctant Beckett along with him. It’s difficult to imagine this scenario back in seasons one and two. There was a great mirror moment; first Castle turns down sex because he is thinking about the case; later it is Beckett who does the same thing.

The whole subplot of who knows about Caskett continues to unfold. Martha and Alexis (what is she doing home already?) are freely giving Castle relationship advice, most of which he refuses to listen to. The boys, on the other hand, are determined to find out whom Beckett is dating. The scene in the morgue with Lanie was hilarious; Beckett nearly picking up the phone even more so.

The scene where Ryan finds out the truth is exactly what I’ve been waiting for. I just sat and laughed out loud as the shoe dropped. But, that is nothing to how hard I laughed at the next scene. Feet up on the desk while he talks to Castle on the phone, Ryan slyly lets it be known that he has interrogated Lerner who has told him “everything he knows.” I watched it three times, laughing harder each time.

I liked the fact that Ryan didn’t tell Esposito that he knew the truth and, as a result, showed a great deal of respect for both Castle and Beckett. Although last week Beckett was convinced that Ryan would be the one to spill, we know he can keep a secret (as he did for most of last season). Seamus Dever hit it out of the park this week, both as a comic and as a friend.

Finally, an episode I liked again. Three out of four red sharks with red eyes.

Tidbits:

-- Does it make me a bad person that as soon as I saw the shots of the Hamptons I was immediately in the world of Revenge? But, then I felt justified as it became clear that this entire episode was about that very subject with a myriad of allusions to the original show. I started to list them, but there were too many.

-- One of the issues I hope the writers deal with moving forward is the enormous disparity in Caskett’s financial situations.

-- I still ship Lanie and Esposito. They belong together.

-- Beckett was eating in a lot of the scenes she was in. Should we speculate or let it go?

-- I thought it would be Esposito who found out the truth first. Oops.

Soundbites:

Castle: “You are in a room full of detectives and not one of them has a clue.”
I wouldn’t be so sure about that.

Lanie: “Is this how you interrogate people? ‘Cause you ain’t doing nothing but pissing me off.”

Beckett: “Oh, so we’re Brangelina now?”
Castle: “No, no, no. We’re… Rick-Ate. No, we’re… Kate-Ick.
Beckett: “Mmm.”
Castle: “Cas-Kett? Ooh, that’s good ‘cause of the whole murder thing. Caskett."
Beckett: “Mm-hmm.”
This show does meta very well.

Beckett: “Dead bodies, meth heads, monsters. Is that what you meant by a romantic weekend?”
Castle: “May I remind you that it was murder that brought us together in the first place.”

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.

14 comments:

  1. This episode was so much better than last week's. I loved Loved LOVED Ryan interrogating Lerner about Castle's mystery woman and the whole Caskett thing. If only the writers wrote the murders as well as they do these cute little moments, the show would be nearly perfect.

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  2. The first 3 minutes were LMAO.

    The house was wow, spectacular (and I'd rather live there than in the city).

    Having never seen The Revenge, I obviously missed all the shout outs. But it was a nice change of pace from New York, and it was very enjoyable.

    I'm so glad that Ryan and Esposito finally buried the hatchet, even gladder that the former will keep his discovery a secret. Very delightful episode.

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  3. LOVED Ryan interrogating Lerner! Dog with a bone for sure!!! The moment Lerner mentioned Castle and a woman interrogating him you could see that Ryan had pieced it together (what other woman could be in a police interrogation room with Castle and a suspect?!) and was just pushing to get confirmation. LOVED his three little words! :o)

    How will Esposito react when he finds Ryan hasn't told him?

    MAJOR laughs from all of Esposito's detective work into Beckett's exes, also their "justification" for looking into her personal life... for her safety?! Yeah... guys can be such gossips too! :p

    I thought Kate's reaction to the house was going to be more about the financial disparities than "other women"... you're right they should at least acknowledge that at some point.

    And Alexis being home is no big deal... she is studying in the same city after all! Plus this weekend is a "big deal" for the couple, so how could she not be there to join in with Martha in giving Castle some advice? They both care about Beckett so I'm sure they don't want Castle to screw this one up! ;o)

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  4. Having Martha and Alexis giving Castle relationship advice is definitely fun, but I still feel like we got shortchanged on what should have been a fun couple of scenes early on this season. I think the fact that Castle & Beckett are finally together should have been a much bigger deal for Martha & Alexis. I would have liked to see more of a reaction from both of them in their first scenes with Castle talking about it an episode or two ago. Granted it's not NEARLY as bad as the rush job the writers did with Booth & Bones over on their show, but it's still disappointing.

    I agree that Ryan's reaction to discovering what Castle & Beckett have been hiding was definitely one of the highlights of the episode, the season, and possibly the series as a whole. And when it comes to speculating why he decided not to spill the beans, I think the answer is very simple he's a romantic. He's found the love of his life, and I think he knows that Castle & Beckett aren't just some fling, that what they have could be real. I think he's just happy for them, and wants to let them enjoy it. Plus, he knows that when Esposito & Lanie find out, they'll never hear the end of it. Not to mention the potential headache with Gates.

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  5. CChris,

    yes guys can be gossipy. I know. Look at me.

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  6. Patrick

    You have an excellent point indeed. Ryan's interrogation is now part of the top 10 moments of the entire Castle series. Now, all we have to do is find the remaining nine.

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  7. Castle dressed up like a 'space cowboy' definitely has to be up there, right?

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  8. Why not.

    But we'll have to go through all the DVD's and make a list. And by them, we should replace the top 10 by a top 20.....

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  9. The interrogation scene is in my top ten, no doubt, but I would include the following scene with Ryan on the phone with Castle.

    Some others, in no particular order:
    --Esposito, dressed as "Elvez." I don't why that amuses me as much as it does, but I laugh out loud every time I watch it. It also made Frozen Heat.
    --Agree with sunbunny about the space cowboy outfit.
    --The apology in episode one, season two.
    --Beckett on the swings in the finale of season four.
    --Pretty much any time Martha is on the screen.
    --Natalie Rhodes coming on to Castle.
    --Most of the interactions between Castle and Slaughter.

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  10. I forgot about Slaughter! That was a hilarious episode. What about Castle realizing Kate remembered him telling her he loved her?

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  11. The top ten was going to be replaced by the top 20. And now, I'm changing that to a top 30.

    Do I hear 40 ? Anyone ? 40 ?

    I have to contribute :

    Caskett handcuffed together and close to death in which season ? Too tired tonite to look it up.

    The tension about the one with the bomb in the crowd (last season ?). Totally blew my mind.

    And any poker games with famous TV authors/creators.

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  12. Oh, sunbunny - good call! Love that one.

    Marc -- it wasn't so much them being handcuffed I liked as that final moment when she says, "Next time" and then walks out of the precinct throwing Castle a look over her shoulder. Classic Beckett moment.

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  13. ChrisB,

    In regards to the Natalie Rhodes episode, there are other moments that I find funnier like when Natalie Rhodes asks Beckett if Castle is gay and she almost spits out her coffee, everyone observing her from a distance when Natalie is method acting in front of the murder board.

    Wasn't her nickname evil Beckett or was it creepy Beckett?

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  14. I'm late, but I just wanted to add that I loved this one, too. Especially Ryan finding out, and keeping it to himself.

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