Castle - Rise, S04E01

It's more than good enough.

Castle's season 4 premiere may have been darker than previous seasons...a lot darker - even Ryan (Seamus Diver) and Esposito (Jon Huertas)'s usual banter was sharp and cut short - but I'm pretty happy about that.

Sure, I'm going to miss watching Castle as a feel-good, will they/won't they drama (if that isn't where it returns within a few episodes, with the serious stuff framing the humour, but remaining separate as it is all supposed to be secret), but how else could the show advance?

That ending was incredible. Kate (Stana Katic)'s reveal that she remembers the entire incident (although we cannot say if she does actually remember what Castle (Nathan Fillion) said to her, or if she simply means being shot and tackled) was not as impressive as her return to therapy. Gotta give the woman props for getting the help she needs. What I really loved, though, was Castle's murder board. The computerization was intense, but his own decent into that dark place Kate used to dwell in, done to spare her, is so twisted and chivalric all at the same time.

Can they and we live with this new darkness? I can't wait to see where it takes us. But if you think that all light is gone, than ye have little faith in the universe that is Castle. We'll get our funny. And, we will continue to be reminded to strive for perfection, even if we have to live for a little while with something that is enough.

What are your thoughts?

Castle - He's Dead, She's Dead, S03E02

Richard Edgar Castle (Nathan Fillion) wants to believe. He loves unexplained phenomena, and the possibility of the supernatural actually existing - whether mummy curses or psychic powers - gets his pulse beating just as quickly as any of his convoluted conspiracy theories. Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) is far more interested in catching killers then getting caught up in Castle's excitement over the extremely improbable. Still, she can't help admiring his enthusiasm, and we can't help admiring how awesome that makes their dynamic.

I'd say there a few things more disturbing than finding your mother murdered with an ice pick and stuffed in a pull-out couch, but I'm sure shows like Castle could prove me wrong in a matter of episodes. Still, when she is a psychic, and her daughter has some of those powers, but neither of them saw it coming clearly enough to stop it, that has got to be upsetting. Good thing Momma had the foresight to send the cops a letter predicting her death and leaving some rather interesting clues.

I've always liked the idea of psychics and the supernatural; obviously, as half the shows I watch are in that genre. Still, the ability to believe it could actually exist in this world...I side with Beckett. Until I see some real evidence, I'll continue to believe that Patrick Jane from the Mentalist is what a good psychic really is. I'm pretty glad that, in this show which is supposed to take place in the real world, the cops don't base their cases on the unprovable.

And while the powers to see things on a different plane of existence did not solve the case (thank you hard evidence and intuition, hahaha), they did tell us something we already knew. A man named Alexander is very important to Beckett, and has saved her life more than once. Thank you, Richard Alexander Rogers. Though I will laugh if Beckett's next boyfriend is actually called Alexander.

I want to add the final note that I am not unhappy about where Beckett and Castle's relationship is. I feel like at the end of last season, they missed the boat, and right now, to continue that metaphor, the boat is completely out of sight. It will come back. Of course, it will come back. But for the moment, it's not distracting me or supposed to be the focus of my interest. Is it yours?

Castle - A Deadly Affair, S03E01

Sure, we knew that Castle (Nathan Fillion) wasn't going to end up being a murderer, and that Beckett (Stana Katic) wasn't going to end up shooting him. We really knew that he wasn't going to end up shooting her! Still, watching Castle make himself really look quite guilty because, as always, he gets himself mucked up in things was a pleasure.

I missed Castle about as much as Beckett did, though I was not nearly so annoyed at its absence as she was about his. Seeing his cardboard cutout in the window, just staring at her while she worked that crime scene, really gave the right eerie sensation, and to follow that up with Castle turning up at her next crime scene, gun in hand, well, that was just perfect.

Plus, while we never really believed Castle capable, I did love that Beckett got to take out her anger at him about not having been called. And, as always, I was glad that Alexis (Molly C. Quinn) showed him how much trouble he was in because she was annoyed at her boyfriend for not calling. Men are idiots, and I suppose we women should know this and not expect quite so much from them, but on the other hand, shouldn't they know better?

The case itself was unique. Sure, we've seen counterfeiters before, but to have them get together through the bizarre connection of a strip club, now that is certainly something new. I loved the club - it was so vibrant and fun. Too bad that its owners turned out to be killers. It was absolutely brilliant to have them separate, with one ending up behind Castle and the other behind Beckett so that the two ended up saving each other's lives. Now that was a great start to the season.

I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of Naked Heat. At least there we get a little of the satisfaction of having the two leads getting together. But I don't actually mind as the relationship Castle is in at the moment does actually seem to make sense. Perhaps the moment has passed, and as long as I don't start immediately wishing they would hook up in the next episode, it'll all be all right.

Season's Review - Castle, Season 2

Most people started watching Castle because Nathan Fillion plays the lead. His fan base, mostly drawn from his days as Captain Mal of Firefly, knows that it doesn't matter what he's in, he's going to be great. So let him be a charming and intelligent, famous and affluent mystery writer - he'll do it perfectly.

Once people start watching, they can't really stop. Over the second season, the viewership continued to increase every episode. At the beginning of the season, not whole lot of people tuned in for the amazing and fantastic Hallowe'en episode, even though Fillion's Castle was dressed as a Space Cowboy (brown coat, boots, suspenders, and everything), but by the terrifying cliffhanger during March Sweeps, so many of us were desperate to know if Kate Beckett (Stana Katic), Castle's partner, had survived the explosion of her apartment that the show got an early third season pick up.

Once you watch one episode of Castle, you want to watch all the others. Fillion and Katic have such great chemistry, and so far the will they/won't they tension still makes sense given their relationship and personalities. I suspect that it will not be something simply left in a back corner with the promise that in the last episode our heroes will finally hook up because if they hook up any sooner than that our ratings will crash like they did for Moonlighting. If the couple tension is all that you have going for you ***cough*Bones*cough*** then you've already jumped the shark.

Regardless of how great the leads are, the rest of the cast of characters are equally responsible for the quality of the show. Beckett's other partners, Esposito (Jon Huertas) and Ryan (Seamus Dever), give the police work legs so that we get a sense of what else is going on in the investigation - it's so simple that one person can do it all herself. They also play perfectly off each other, and when you add Castle to the mix, you feel like these are three normal guys just having a laugh at work. Plus, Castle's mother and daughter remind you of his family values, which prevents him from being too smarmy when he decides to turn on the charm. Not that he can ever do it without a sense of humour.

As a season, we only had two episodes regarding the bigger mystery - what happened to Kate's mother. The finale did not touch this subject. But it is there. Plus Castle's writing career also gives form to the series, so it doesn't just feel like we are watching a bunch of slightly interconnected crime show episodes tied loosely together by one romantic connection. The connection is there and is an important part of the whole, but every other relationship is equally important and Castle and Beckett both have personal developments to make in the context of the whole.

My advice, don't change. Continue to advance and develop and make us laugh, but don't wait too long before something happens between Castle and Beckett. If you've read Heat Wave, you know it's possible to keep the show entertaining without only relying on requited but denied love.

Castle - A Deadly Game, S02E24 - Season Finale

Although this season did not end with an episode related to the murder of Kate Beckett (Stana Katic)'s mother, I was still quite satisfied with where it went and what happened. Well, satisfied from an artistic perspective. As an emotional creature who wants Beckett to hook up with Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion), I was beside myself with laments.

There are always a lot of comparisons to Moonlighting whenever a will they/won't they tension is introduced between two characters working together to solve crimes. While the viewers want the couple to hook up, producers seem afraid to allow that to actually happen, certain it will result in rating crashes and show cancellation. The problem with this is that they assume that what makes the show is that dynamic. And that is not right.

Read Heat Wave if you don't believe me. Good writing and good acting (something which was missing from Moonlighting as the leads apparently hated each other and could not maintain a fake attraction to each other once it was out in the open), these two things are what's necessary for any series to continue and to be and remain good. Castle obviously has these two things - Stana Katic and Nathan Fillion can take any script given to them, with any result, and make it work, and the scripts that they are given are already primed for that.

But, we still don't want to throw that tension away quite yet, so we get this year's season finale. I think it sets the show up perfectly for a hook up next season, and as long as they don't hook up in a finale, without guaranteeing to us that the hook up can work for at least an episode or two, Castle is likely to be on the air a long time.

If you watched the episode, you know that Beckett ended things with Demming (Michael Trucco) not because anything was wrong in their relationship, but because being with him made her realize that she would not also be able to be with Castle, and the latter desire won out. Unfortunately, it did so too late. Castle, still trying to finish his second Nikki Heat novel, Naked Heat, ended up getting back together with his second wife. I doubt that reunion will last the summer, but it may allow Castle to get over Kate just enough that she's the one pining next season. We'll have to see.

And while this, of course, was the key focus for long time viewers (all 2 seasons) of Castle, don't think that the case was less interesting. It started out with all the appearances of spies and international assassinations, which turned out to be the most elaborate spy LARP ever! Between the game, the illegal practices of one of the staff, and the personal life of the victim, Castle and Beckett had one heck of a time deciphering who the killer was and why.

Frankly, this show is so good, it makes up for Firefly getting cancelled (almost).

Castle - Food to Die For, S02E22

While the tension between Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) and Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) continues to increase due to Beckett's new interest, Tom Demming (Michael Trucco), the murder mysteries remain consistently interesting and mysterious.

A renown chef is murdered, bathed in Nitroglycerin. Although Beckett and Castle follow multiple money trails, none of them lead to a believable story as to why the man was killed. When they finally realize that the motive was love, Beckett and Castle find themselves talking to other people, yet again, and reaching the same conclusions apart at the same time. There is no denying the bond the two share, nor the similarities is the way their minds process information.

We, the viewers, know how great Castle and Beckett's chemistry is, and we know how great a couple they would make. If you've read Heat Wave, you know that they could become a couple and the writers could still keep their relationship entertaining, and not end up losing their audience a la Moonlighting. Yet, what kind of impression does Castle generally give about his ability to be in a committed relationship? His two marriages don't speak very well for him, and when he speaks about them, the impression only worsens.

And then Demming was introduced. He's hot and passionate and a good guy. There is no reason that Kate shouldn't go for him; their love for Chinese food unites them forever. But in the back of her mind, a little voice is saying "What about Castle?" Which is the right risk to take? Should Beckett commit to Demming, knowing what that relationship is likely to bring to her, or should she throw that away in favour of the adventure that would be a relationship with Castle? Can we really blame the girl that she probably wants to do both?

Castle - Den of Thieves, S02E21

I think Castle was trying to kill me with delight this week. Not only did we get a great Esposito (Jon Huertas)-centric episode, but it was full of great (and attractive) guest stars. And awesome sparring.

When a thief is found tortured to death in his car, homicide and robbery team up, bringing Det. Tom Demming (Michael Trucco) into the lives of Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) and Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion). Oh wait, we met him the morning before, when he was at the gym where Beckett works out, and already demonstrated a clear attraction to her. And she to him.

It didn't take long for Castle to feel left out, and say quietly to himself "Two weeks ago, I saved your life twice."

During the first interview of the first person of interest, Esposito's connection to the case was revealed when his anger over past injustice and the murder of his partner overcame sense, and he had to be held back. His feelings became more confused when his dead partner's prints were discovered on the body of the victim, proving him alive, and proving that his death had been faked 3 years ago so that he could disappear. And Esposito's rage was not abated by the arrival of Lt. Stan Holliwell (Scott Cohen), who had investigate his partner before the faked death and now resumed that investigation.

With so many players in the game, suspicion was hard to nail down, although they determined that a cop, some cop, was a mole, and likely the guilty party. Naturally, Demming, who had just transferred from Esposito's former precinct and who had asked specifically for the case, looked good for it, to Castle's delight. Even Beckett, who was clearly aware of the chemistry, fully planned to prove guilt where it existed.

And then we got the hottest sparring session on television this year, with Kate and Tom at they gym, sweaty and sexy, while Castle, Esposito, and Ryan (Seamus Dever) stole his phone to check his records. But Tom was aware of what they were doing, and let them take the phone before telling of his alibi - couching little league for disadvantaged children.

In the end, in a show down between Esposito, his not-dead-anymore partner, and Holliwell, the murderer was caught, and the man he had tried to take down's name was cleared. It was very sweet when Esposito introduced Ryan as his partner to his former partner, and then introduced Castle as his other partner.

What was even more sweet was the triangle developing between Beckett, Castle and Demming. Demming had the decency to ask Castle if anything was going on between him and Beckett before he made a move. He sensed the chemistry between himself and the detective, but he wanted to make sure he wasn't misinterpreting and that he wasn't moving in on another guy's girl. You have to respect him for that.

But you can't help but feel a little sorry for Castle who clearly has feelings, and who doesn't like to lose, but who still plays fair.

How is this romance going to progress? And how will it affect the connection between Castle and Beckett? So few episodes left, so much excitement still to be had!

Castle - The Late Shaft, S02E20

This week's Castle was a whole new chapter in crime solving. Well, really it was just as goofy and terrific as always. And Castle (Nathan Fillion) is the one who came up with that line, not me. Which is no less than I would ever expect from him.

We did have something completely new this week - Death by Balsamic Vinegar. A rather strange way to go, all things considered, when a normally harmless food combines with medication to give the consumer a heart attack. It would be news-worthy, even if the victim had not been a famous late-night talk show host.

Good thing the man was famous - it made tracking his movements the night before his death much easier. Someone twittered that they saw him driving his awesome car into a parking garage. I guess there are even more things to worry about when you commit murder...especially when you are going up against televised cops. They are the scariest, and they are like the Mounties. They always get their man...eventually.

Following the last moments of the victim made me feel quite sad for him. Despite having had a slew of wives who never lasted more than half-a-dozen years, the one women he always went to talk to when he was feeling down, when he needed support, was his first wife. He was a philanderer, but she was always there for him, would always be there for him. The best friend he had.

A better friend than the man he was in Vietnam with who ended up killing him. One man betrays his friend by planning to replace him on his show, the other man gets vengeance by killing the first man. That's friendship for you! No one ends up being happy.

But don't worry, we still got a lot of laughs. Watching Castle be seduced by a beautiful young actress who wanted to play the roll of Nikki Heat in the upcoming film was very sexy. Watching Beckett (Stana Katic) get a little bit jealous, until she realized the woman had an ulterior motive, was even better.

I can't wait to see the next chapter

Castle - Wrapped up in Death, S02E19

After the last two intense episodes, it was nice to go back to a lighter side of Castle, where Castle (Nathan Fillion) feared that he might be under a Mayan Mummy curse, which had already cost the lives of several anthropologists/archaeologists.

Though Beckett (Stana Katic) never gave any credence that the murder she was investigating was caused by anything other than a human, Castle could not be so sure. He had looked upon the face of the Mummy, which supposedly cursed him for all time, and he then he had a run of bad luck - his chair collapsing, a dog chasing him, his coffee cup exploding. That Ryan (Seamus Driver) and Esposito (Jon Huertas) conspired against him to create this illusion was expected; that Beckett helped too was simply brilliant.

Castle, also, got a great line when he was concerned about his life expectancy. He asked Beckett if she would look after his daughter because "if boyfriends get frisky, you can shoot them."

Despite this comic air, the murder victims were still treated with an appropriate amount of respect, and when they discovered that one of the mummies was in fact an archaeologist said to have been killed by jaguars on the dig, the episode took a definitely sinister air. To mummify a person one murdered, and to then plan to put them on display in a museum where she will always remind you of what you did...ugh!

Luckily, when the murderer was being arrested, he gave us a good laugh by giving into his "flight" instinct, and running pointlessly through the museum until he accidentally fell down the stairs. Where did you think you were going to get, buddy?

I'm quite sad the season is almost done, with only 2 episodes left of Season 2!

Castle - Boom!, S02E18

And now, the conclusion. Last week, Beckett (Stana Katic) and Castle (Nathan Fillion) pursued a serial killer bent on "burning" Nikki Heat (the character Castle created based on Beckett). With the help of FBI Special Agent Jordan Shaw, they tracked the killer only to find he had shot himself in the head.

But, just as the episode was ending, and Beckett was getting out of her shower, Castle figured out that it was a trick and the serial killer was still on the loose. As he ran towards Beckett's home, he finally got a hold of her on the cell phone to say a few words before her apartment went up in a fire bomb.

How could she have survived? Castle's warning gave her just enough time to run into her bathroom and throw herself into the bathtub, a good solid old thing. Whether or not you believe her survival, or only slight burning was credible, the part that really got to me as Castle banged down the door to go into her still burning apartment to find her was the way he kept calling for her. "Kate!" he called, "Kate!" Not Beckett, but Kate.

Of course, leave it to Castle (the TV show, not the man) to cut the tension of the moment as soon as possible. Kate was alive and well, and naked in that bathtub. The towels were on fire, the bathrobe was on fire, so Castle had to give her his jacket, while being very very careful not to look. And then Kate asked if it was killing Castle how long he was waiting to tell her about his heroics in breaking down her door to get to her.

So the search for the serial killer was back on. I loved that he wrote his murders down, that those were his mementos of his crimes, and that that was what drew him to Nikki Heat in the first place - part fact, part fiction, just like what he was writing. I also loved that Castle was glad the psycho had fixed on his character because now he was dealing with someone who would catch him and stop him from killing ever again.

But what I loved best was that the show surprised me, again. I suppose I have some sort of thing where when I see a loving workaholic mom talking on the phone to her daughter before getting in her van, I just expect that van to explode. I suspect most people were thinking that, the set up just seemed to be going there, so imagine my surprise when Shaw had a gun held to her head instead.

It made far more sense, though, to use her as bait to get Nikki Heat. Our psycho was not the type to kill without plan or purpose; that wasn't the way he escalated. Instead, he lured the entire FBI team to a location where he had a huge bomb ready to blow them up. And who realized that something was wrong? Castle.

Yet another brilliant choice by the writers. Castle knows something is wrong because he wouldn't write it this way. This is not what he would have his characters do, and since the serial killer has a creative flair in the same way, Beckett goes with Castle's instincts, ending up saving the lives of all the FBI members, including Jordan.

Still, the best part for me was when our killer had Beckett at gun point, about to shoot, and Castle, yelling no, fired a shot which sent the gun flying from the would-be-shooters hand. Of course he was aiming for the man's head, we know his aim is not that perfect, but really, it was the screaming "No!" the very obvious love Castle has for Kate. He may not be a tough guy in general, but if you threaten the people he loves, he will shoot you.

I hope this episode satisfied you thoroughly as it did me. What was your favourite moment?

Castle - Tick, Tick, Tick, S02E17

If you have not yet seen an episode of Castle, stop reading this and go do that instead. If you have not seen this episode of Castle, stop reading this and go do that instead. Oh My God!

This episode started off as hilarious. Yes, a serial killer targeting Beckett (Stana Katic) in relation to the Nikki Heat novels was the premise, so some seriousness was required, but for the most part, I was in stitches. An FBI profiler showed up to help catch this guy, and Castle (Nathan Fillion) was totally enamored with her and with all her cool gadgets. At first, she only considered Castle as an odd attachment to the team, but he quickly proved his usefulness - he tasered an escaping suspect, he figured out some of the clues very quickly, and he was Castle, charming as ever.

Even more to my taste were the comments about the potential sexual relationship not actually going on between Beckett and Castle. He spent the night at her house, on her couch, because he wanted to protect her from the killer. He felt responsible because the killer's obsession with the character he created, Nikki Heat, put Beckett in danger. And it didn't matter that she told him that artists cannot be responsible for the crazy people taking their work and using it as an excuse to do evil.

The next morning, when a body was found on her doorstep, questions were asked. Castle was, after all, making her pancakes. What was going on between them? And naturally, Castle, with Fillion's brilliance to make him so charismatic, had the perfect facial expressions to contradict them, but to indicate he might wish it was all true.

But despite all that wonderfulness, the only thing I have left in my head at the end of the episode is the explosion that took out Kate's apartment while, in all appearances, she was in it. I had expected the FBI profiler to get caught in an explosion when she and her team went into an apartment to arrest the suspect, having ordered Beckett and Castle to remain by the cars. Instead, it looks as though Beckett has exploded.

Now, of course, they can't have killed Beckett. That would just be ridiculous, considering the nature of the show. But I can't see how she escaped. I can't wait until next week to see what has happened to her, if she is severely injured or what is going on! How can they leave us with such a cliff hanger!!! Argh!

Castle - The Mistress Always Spanks Twice, S02E16

This show just seems to get better and better every week! And the audience ratings are going up along with it. If you aren't watching Castle yet, don't worry, you will be soon. And you really should soon because it is so funny and clever.

Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic) have such great chemistry and play off each other so well that it is quite impressive for me to state that this episode contained the best interaction between the two yet. Though, perhaps, in an episode where S+M is a huge part of the plot, it is not so surprising. "What aren't you telling me?" asks Castle. "So much, Castle. So very very much," replies Beckett.

In the pursuit of the killer, Kate played the dominating woman multiple times: to tease Castle, to make "Ricky" an appointment with Mistress Venom, and to confront a suspect. While Beckett is usually the most in control of the characters in the show, the difference between her usual competence and when she turned on the domination easily demonstrates the difference between a strong woman and a controlling and manipulative one.

The plot of The Mistress Always Spanks Twice also addressed the issues of codependent relationships. Though the obvious first suspect was the boyfriend who had been completely ignorant of the victim's other life as Mistress Venom, the real murderer was far more original, as well as equally based in the power structure of the relationship. The victim's roommate murdered her because she was leaving her to live with her boyfriend, and because she was hurt that the victim felt that she was controlling. It doesn't matter whether the relationship is sexual or platonic, violence can erupt whenever a perceived weaker party makes a stand.

The lesson is to be strong, but to be cautious. Always be cautious!

Castle - Suicide Squeeze, S02E15

Unlike most shows, Castle's popularity is on the rise. Every week, more people discover this gem and get hooked. Not that any of us are surprised, since I have had nothing but praise for this show from the get-go.

Still, the increase must also be attributed to the episodic nature of the show. It is relatively easy to start watching Castle, knowing nothing about it before hand. Sure, you might wonder about the details of Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic)'s relationship, or who Alexis (Molly Quinn)'s mother is, but the main relationship structures are immediately apparent. And while the banter does not exclude information we have learned previously, it does not rely on it.

This latest episode, Suicide Squeeze, demonstrates perfectly the solidity of the writing, with a wonderful family theme tying together an exploration of Castle's feelings over being fatherless, Beckett's relationship with her own father, and the death of a baseball player.

The plot was fairly political. The victim was a famous baseball player who escaped from Cuba about 18 years before. Recently, he had renewed relations with his homeland, which naturally created some controversy. Throw in the possibility that he had a Cuban mistress whom he was trying to sneak off the island, and there are a whole lot of reasons that he might have ended up dead.

The theme, of course, was the answer. The girl was not his mistress, but the daughter his fiancee who did not make it out of Cuba gave him before she died. Not that he knew of her existence until he returned to Cuba. Then, the father ended up dead in a confrontation with his manager, the man who had not rescued the mother and daughter from Cuba, nor told him the truth about them staying behind (or the daughter having been born).

The regret the baseball player felt that his daughter grew up not knowing him, and thinking that he had abandoned her, was a lovely symmetry to how Castle's father may or may not feel about him. Castle, being the writer that he is, feels no pain over not knowing. He has imagined himself the perfect father, who is both an astronaut and a classical musician. And while he is content with this memory, and Alexis is not too upset over not knowing her ancestry on one side, his daughter regrets the most that her father did not have the chance to have a relationship with his dad the way she does with hers.

How could Alexis give up those moments where she tells her dad that, by eating lots of whipping cream out of a can, he'll spoil his dinner, only to be told "This is my dinner." "No," is Alexis unwavering response.

This was an episode that should be watched again, probably on Father's day.

Castle - The Third Man, S02E14

Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic) revealed this week that they have far more in common than we might have previously guessed, and confirmed that they would make a much better couple together than they would with anyone else.

Though dealing with a particularly confusing murder investigation, in which motives and suspects were scarce, Castle and Beckett decided to go out on a date. Not together, unfortunately. Castle, named Bachelor 9, went out with Bachelorette 3 (Sarah Brown), while Beckett dated Mr. July from the Fireman's Calendar. Except it was together because both couples ended up eating at the same restaurant.

Neither Castle nor Beckett paid any attention to their dates, both preoccupied by the particularities of the case. Beckett was so wrapped up in her work that she did not even notice her firefighter's attempts to get her attention, going so far as to ask "Do you want to have sex with me later?" and getting no reply. And when our heroes both solved the case at about the same time, they promptly contacted the other to discuss, leaving their dates to merge so that at least the firefighter and Bachelorette 3 had real dates that night.

Once the case was solved, Beckett and Castle, both starving since they had not eaten at their dates earlier, went to an all night burger joint. Too bad they still don't see how good they are together.

And while I loved their double date, my favourite part of this episode was when they went to make an arrest, Beckett still decked out in a fabulous one shoulder red dress, and she told Castle to hold her purse after she pulled out her gun. Isn't it nice to know that the NYPD can do their job and look fantastic at the same time!

Castle - Sucker Punch, S02E13

Not long ago, I mentioned how many an awesome episode of a great crime show is based on misdirection. Sucker Punch delivered one heck of a fantastic sucker punch that made me ecstatically happy.

A man working in organized crime turns up dead. He's been stabbed multiple times, and things soon begin to point to him being an informant for the FBI. Unfortunately, he had not committed to the informing, and thus no one knows who he was planning on ratting on. Still, it starts out as a fairly straight-forward case, with some amusement on the side as Ryan (Seamus Dever) is fascinated by the possibility of making lots of money through a real estate scheme.

Things got a little more interesting when Johnny Vong (Eddie Shin), an brilliant marketer playing a poor immigrant to sell his scheme, becomes involved as a sort of mule for heroin trafficking - he bundles the drugs into his real estate videos. And he is absolutely terrified of talking, preferring 10 years in jail.

Still, nothing seems out of the ordinary, a regular episode of Castle, which would not be unexpected so closely on the heels of the Alyssa Milano guest spot. The thing is, this episode was not ordinary.

When Lanie (Tamala Jones), the coroner, had the body in her lab, she seemed unhappy about something, but it wasn't until she showed up with Dr. Clark Murray (Robert Picardo, whom I know best from the Stargate franchise) that I figured out what was actually going on.

The stab pattern of the victim was identical to that of Beckett (Stana Katic)'s mother 10 years previous. That's right, it wasn't until the episode was half over that we got the big reveal - this episode was about Kate's MOM!!

And things just escalated from there. Beckett unable to keep things together and Castle (Nathan Fillion) being nothing but supportive of her. When things got really ugly, Castle backed Kate as best as he could, but in the end she had to chose to kill her mother's killer to save Castle, rather than allowing him to live so that she could discover who had hired him to murder her mother and why!

And so, while one little piece of the puzzle was answered, and we know that Mamma Beckett's murderer is dead, we still have no idea as to why she died and what she was involved with. If anything, I am even more interested, because until now, her murder might simply (and I use the term generously) have been the work of a serial killer as opposed to a career criminal.

And so, with all that excitement, I will leave you with this question: Ninja Assassin, isn't that redundant?

Castle - A Rose for Everafter, S02E12

There was a lot of hype about this episode, and the impact that Alyssa Milano would have on the show - both as a very famous guest star and as Kyra, Castle (Nathan Fillion)'s ex. And while hype will often overshadow the end result, I was far from disappointed by this episode, even if in the end, the killer wasn't very interesting.

The episode began with Castle being taped into a chair by Alexis (Molly C. Quinn). Why, you ask? Because Nikki Heat was going to be taped into a chair in his next book, and he wanted the scene to be authentic. Watching Nathan Fillion bounce around a room in a chair, and the delightful little quirk of his eyebrow when he figured out how to escape...can anything be better? Actually, the rest of the episode matched that level of awesomeness.

We had great moments to laugh - like when Beckett (Stana Katic) accused Ryan (Seamus Dever) and Esposito (Jon Huertas) if they braided each other's hair and debated who the cutest Jonas brother is when no one else was around. And the cherry? That they already agreed that it was Mike. At least, I seem to recall them saying Mike...is Mike even a Jonas brother? Not the point! Ryan and Esposito may not get huge plot focus but Dever and Huertas make each of their lines and actions count without taking away from Castle and Beckett.

And there is really the focus of the episode. Yes, Milano and Fillion had great chemistry, easily evoking passion of long ago that still remains, but the development was really a vehicle for Beckett and Castle's relationship. For once, Beckett sees Castle feeling true feelings for someone, to the point that he is vulnerable. She told one heck of a beautiful story when she pointed out that Kyra might in fact be the murderer and the fact that Castle could not even see it proved that he was far too close to the case.

And in the end, when Kyra left Castle to go marry her fiance, asking why of all the crime scenes at all the weddings in the world, he walked into hers, you knew that she was going to be with the right person, and you couldn't help but hope that Beckett, finally, was able to see that there was some possibility of Castle having the right kind of affection for her.

But what did you think?

Castle - The Fifth Bullet, S02E11

Another finale before the Christmas break that was like any other episode. Still, an excellent episode, both comical and playing with the heart strings.

When a gallery owner is murdered, only 4 of 5 bullets fired are on scene. The fifth turns up in a copy of Crime and Punishment, in the pocket of an amnesiac.

Jay, or Jeremy when he finally found out his name (played by Marc Blucas*), was a witness to the murder, but cannot remember the events. Soon, his ex-wife shows up to help him, and though he can't remember her, and she can remember their divorce, there is still a deep connection between the two of him. Jeremy is sweet, self-deprecating, and smart - he is so likable that a crazy lady came in off the street to try to claim him as her husband since he could not remember otherwise.

Liking Jeremy just made it so painful when a gun turned up in his apartment, and all evidence indicated that he had murdered the gallery owner and been shot at in the struggle. And Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic) were pained by the discovery because not only was it harsh that such a likable fellow was a murderer, but he could not remember why he did it in the first place.

I have always feared amnesia, though as long as one is able to form new memories, even if you start your life over at 50, is better than the kind where you only truly understand what's going on for about an hour. Still, to start that new life with a jail sentence based on something you did before you forgot would simply be horrible.

In the end, of course, he turned out to be innocent. And so, while emotional, we did end on a high note. The humour throughout the episode was also a terrific balance. At the start, Castle threatens to get himself a dog named Sherlock to help them investigate, and points out to the disapproving Beckett that she is clearly his work wife. Martha (Susan Sullivan) had it right at the end of the episode when she told Castle to kiss Beckett before they were old.

And tonight, you can catch the first episode of the second half of season 2, guest starring Alyssa Milano. Are you excited?

Castle - One Man's Treasure, S02E10

The quality of the crime investigation plot lines of Castle (as opposed to the personal relationship plot lines) is based on misdirection. There are very few episodes of any crime show where the murderer is not introduced at some point before the truth is discovered, sometimes as a suspect, and sometimes as a minor witness, almost forgotten.

In One Man's Treasure, the misdirection was not about laying the blame at the feet of one suspect so that another would go unnoticed, as was the case in episode 9 of this season, but to direct the focus of the crime towards the personal relationships of the victim rather than his work.

When a man is murdered, both his wife and his fiancée show up to identify the body. Naturally, the suspicion is that someone discovered his deception and murdered him out of vengeance. Abigail Spencer, whom you may know as the obsessive school teacher on Mad Men, played the wounded fiancée with an equally obsessive fervor. She masked her role of preventing the victim from performing corporate espionage by being the distraught wronged woman in love with a man who lied about being married.

The poor wife, who could not believe what her husband had done, suffered the persisting interference of a woman who did not actually care but was trying to recover corporate secrets. In the end, she learnt that her husband loved her and died protecting the environment, but the roller coaster of her emotions, which were elegantly portrayed, makes the fake fiancée quite the bitch.

In the end, Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic) sifted through all the information and worked out who was doing what to whom, and with all the misdirection, I was not able to work out the motive or the murderer any faster than they were. Kudos for that, and also for making an episode that, while punny as always, focused more on the crime and the victims than it did on the ongoing character development of Beckett and her police force and Castle and his family.

Castle - Love Me Dead, S02E09

Corruption, prostitute rings, and secrets are often the make up of great storylines. Such was the case of the 9th episode of season 2 of Castle.

Despite various warnings throughout the episode that people are not always what they seem - mostly to increase the worry of a fretful Rick Castle (Nathan Fillion) in regards to a secret his daughter, Alexis (Molly C. Quinn), was keeping from him, I did not pick up on who the brains behind the killings was until the end reveal.

The story began with an allusion to Cape Fear, a DA was found murdered, thrown off a parking garage, and Castle was convinced that the murderer would be found in the files of the criminals that DA had previously put in jail. A known set up, which I'm sure the writers could have gone with to make a good story.

Instead, they took a different route. Our paragon of justice, the murdered DA, was apparently also a pimp. Responsible for a ring of call girls, his death was the result of a take over by his enforcer. Sifting through the information, Beckett (Stana Katic) and Castle are able to build a case against Knox, the enforcer and murderer of the DA, with the help of a hapless call girl, Scarlett (Michaela McManus). Though scared for her life, she reveals that Knox faked his alibi.

Scarlett had Castle utterly convinced of her vulnerability, and when Knox kidnapped her, Castle and Beckett came to the rescue, just in time for Scarlett to kill Knox, protecting herself. As she collapsed to the floor in shock, the performance seemed genuine. She appeared truly frightened and unable to comprehend the events that brought her to the point where she had to take a man's life.

Despite her brilliant acting, certain mistakes she made in the staging of the kidnapping were revealed, and Beckett and a disappointed Castle arrested her.

We all want so much to believe in the goodness of people, that a DA is completely law-abiding, that call girls all really hope to become lawyers and came to their present situations through tragedy, that people are what they seem and what they present to us. But one must face the facts, and if the facts say that someone is a criminal and their story is false, it doesn't matter how good their story is. Though, of course, it might still get published.

Castle - Kill the Messenger, S02E08

I want to start by saying it's awesome that Martha (Susan Sullivan) refers to her online networking site as My Face. What a brilliant combination; far more interesting that...oh, let's say, slapface, for instance.

It was delightful to watch her have her life taken over like the rest of us.

I really enjoyed this episode. I was highly entertained by the coroner (Arye Gross), who's sense of humour and terrifically timed comments rivaled Castle (Nathan Fillion). Sitting in the morgue, eating, and claiming it was the cleanest room in the city while Castle's face turned green, he dominated his scenes. Which is hard to do when you're in the same room as Fillion or Stana Katic.

The only issue with the episode was that it was hard to relate to the victim. Or, victims I should say. It was brilliant how a murder took place today, two in fact, but to solve them, the focus had to be on a murder which took place 10 years ago. Since the present wouldn't solve the crime, we were trying to find the murderer of a woman who has been dead 10 years. It's hard to relate.

It's not hard to relate with the cause of the murder - money and reputation. In the end, Castle and Beckett (Katic) proved that a fixer of the Wellesley family had murdered the girl and covered it up. And then you felt really badly for someone - her father (Mark Moses* aka Duck Phillips) had no idea she existed, and finds out 10 years after her death that his family killed her. Ouch.

And while he stepped up to help the son of one of the other murder victims, you can't help but feel terrible that 3 families were broken over 1 family's pride.

What did you think?