Home Featured TV Shows All TV Shows Movie Reviews Book Reviews Articles Frequently Asked Questions About Us

Castle: Clear and Present Danger

“Invisibility is science fiction. Cloaking, however, is science.”

There are several reasons I keep watching this show, even when it disappoints me. I love the Castle charm; I love the interactions among the folks who people the 12th Precinct; I love Martha; I love the Caskett romance. This episode gave me all of what I love and reminded me just how good this show can be when it ramps up the crazy.

And, let’s just get this out of the way at the beginning. This episode was beyond crazy. An invisible person is running around attacking people and killing a guy who works in a top secret government facility. Throughout my first viewing, I kept wondering how on earth this was all going to come together at the end.

What made this episode work so well, even the second time through, was the fact that the writers took so many of their standard tropes and turned them around. I spent the entire episode trying to figure out what the real world answer around the invisible person was going to be. It never occurred to me that the answer would, indeed, be invisibility.

Similarly, I spent the episode convinced that Henry was the guilty party. He was, after all, the first person interrogated and he had so little screen time. The actual guilty party surprised me as did the motive, especially since the motive was an actual motive. As we know, that’s not always the case.

In addition to a much better than average mystery, we got a quite a bit of Caskett. It turns out that they have not had sex since Castle came back, each worrying that the other was “not ready.” Well, they are both more than ready and they spend the hour trying to get into bed.

After all the angst of the first two episodes this season, it was fun to take a more lighthearted approach to the Caskett relationship. Every time they were interrupted by something as mundane as a ringing phone, I smiled. Castle’s reaction when Beckett promised him the Valentine’s Day gift was straight out of the beginning of the series. I grinned like an idiot.


Once again, however, Martha had the moment of the episode. So freaked out by their earlier encounter with the invisible person, Castle hangs up pots and spoons around their bed. While I suspected that someone would barge in on them, Martha’s reaction was comedy gold. As was Castle’s as he climbs out of bed to help his mother, hair completely mussed.

This, my friends, was old-school Castle and I loved it. Yes, I still want to know what happened to Castle and I like a long-term arc, but more episodes like this would be fine with me. Three and a half out four cuttlefish.

Tidbits:

— Castle and Beckett peering at each other over their tablets reminded me of their peering at each other over the fan mail in the pilot.

— “He told me he went down to the crossroads, made a deal with the devil for his talent… The other night he looked nervous, I mean downright scared… He said it wasn’t a joke. He said his time was up, that he was about to lose his soul.” Last episode, it was a plot straight out of Alias. This one, Supernatural.

— Kevin Ryan is a good guy. He’s working two jobs so that Jenny can stay home and Sarah Grace can go to college when she’s ready. Esposito’s reaction to what his second job is was hilarious as was the exchange when Esposito thought Ryan was cheating on Jenny. Esposito's gift was classic. I wonder if it's a hint that Ryan is, in fact, dancing and not bouncing.

Soundbites:

Beckett: “Our killer is not Spiderman.”
Castle: “Agreed, because it’s the devil.”

Castle: “And you thought zombie apocalypse survival camp was a waste of time.”
Beckett: “You just kind of make nerdy sexy.”
Castle: “That’s true.”

Ryan: “Ladies be crazy, Javi.”

Castle: “I so missed these mind melds.”

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. I really love your reviews and that you recognize the little details - like Castle's hair. thank you!

    ReplyDelete

We love comments! We moderate because of spam and trolls, but don't let that stop you! It’s never too late to comment on an old show, but please don’t spoil future episodes for newbies.