Head Case

I’m really late with my review this week due to the death of a loved one. Tonight’s blog will probably be shorter than usual since it’s been an emotionally exhausting time for me. With that said, I’d like to dedicate this to my friend Jan. She was a relatively new Castle fan and I will miss her dearly.

I know not everyone agrees but I’m really enjoying the “thinking outside of the box” cases that have been on Castle lately. I thought them trying to solve a murder without the body was a nice comical twist in “Head Case.”

The first thing that jumped out at me was the intro that took us from a view of space to a New York alley. I was impressed by that from the get go. It’s not how I am used to seeing a Castle episode being introduced and I love how they are starting to change things up a bit.

When Castle was going through his mail in the beginning of the episode he mentioned a catalog called Sky Mall. Now, I don’t travel much at all so I had never actually heard of it until it was brought up in the show. I’m sure you can imagine my surprise when a friend/co-worker of mine who had just returned from a trip to Canada, brought me a copy of Sky Mall the day after Castle had aired because she got it on the plane and thought I would enjoy looking at it. When she gave it to me I had this de ja vu feeling and had not remembered they had mentioned it on Castle until I got home that night. This weird coincidence made me giddy and the catalog is so much fun to look through.

Alexis not getting into Stanford was a bit of a surprise although I kind of expected it because I figured they would want to keep her a constant figure on the show for at least the rest of the season. It was a little bit hard for me to relate to since she the main reason she was having such a hard time was because she is so used to getting what she sets her sights on. I never seem to get what I want and it’s a rare thing when I do so part of me thought she was being just a tad bit melodramatic about the whole thing but maybe that’s just me and maybe I’m just bitter. ;-)

It was a special treat to see William Atherton, well known for the 1980’s movie Real Genius with Val Kilmer, as the Doctor from the Cryonics lab. I thought he was a perfect fit for the character.

There were many scenes in “Head Case” that had me cracking up, the first of which was Castle’s double take at Beckett’s recognition of the man who runs “College Girls Gone Crazy” I also very much enjoyed a more playful Beckett as she joked with Castle about not needing implants. And last but not least, that wonderful moment in the morgue where Lanie had to turn on her bone saw in order to interrupt Castle and Beckett during a moment of building theory where they once again got lost in the moment and in each other.

This is the second episode in a row that had a parallel story of people acting on impulse as a result of being in love and in this case, madly in love. There was a nice moment where Beckett and Castle seemed to want to acknowledge each other as the victim’s wife talked about being so in love that one lifetime together wasn’t enough. I also loved the implication that Castle and Beckett would still be together in some form ten years from now. While Castle was talking about getting an implant to add ten years to their lives, Beckett says she wouldn’t want it because if she knew she had more time she might waste it, in which Castle replies “But if you don’t get the implant you’ll be older and ten years from now I’ll be the same.” I loved that Beckett didn’t really argue the point either. It was as if the implication that they will still be together in ten years was just an unspoken fact.

  

Castle’s jump into the dumpster to save the head was Castle slapstick at it’s best. I laugh out loud every time I see him shaking that cryonics container saying “I think it’s OK,” followed by him losing his footing within the giant mound of garbage. 

The ending was so tragic as we find out that it was his wife that was responsible for the murder in order to save his brain from deteriorating due to illness. It was even more tragic when they found she had killed herself with a cyanide pill that was hidden in her poison ring. (Those rings are super cool by the way and I desperately want one but that’s beside the point.)

I was once again able to feel Castle and Beckett’s love for each other during the ending scene. Beckett says, “I hope they make it.,” with a response of “Me too” from Castle and it was quite clear that under the surface they were talking about each other and their own future together.

I also loved the score by Robert Duncan in that scene. The music was extremely moving and it made it feel more like an epic movie than a TV show. 

One other thing I've noticed is that Beckett seems happier this season. She's definitely smiling more and she is more relaxed around Castle than she's ever been. I'm sure this has a lot to do with the fact that she knows Castle is in love with her. The only down side to that is that, with the knowledge she has, she still has all the power. I'd like to see that turn around at some point this season to give Castle the opportunity to tease her a bit. I also wish that they would show their physical attraction for each other more than they have been. 

I know this blog is shorter than normal and I'm sure I've left out some things but like I've said before, it's been an emotionally draining week. But hopefully, I'll be able to make up for it with a review for "Kick The Ballistics" which airs tonight. I'm really excited to see Seamus Dever's performance. 

Heroes and Villains

The Castle season finale "Knockout" had a more dramatic tone to it as did "Rise" and in between we had a very long hiatus we had to suffer through before we were gifted with more episodes. So, after seeing last night’s Heroes and Villains, it almost felt like seeing an old friend for the first time in a long time that I had desperately missed. That is one of the things I love about this show though. It is multi-genre and can change tone constantly and still manage to remain consistent.

Heroes and Villains probably had one of the most gruesome murders we’ve seen on Castle in a very long time, if ever but sometimes the more gruesome ones end up being some of the best. As Allison Nichols, a TV reviewer from examiner.com, had pointed out, the victim’s death was very much like the death of Nathan Fillion’s character Caleb from Buffy the Vampire Slayer as they were both completely sliced in half.

I loved the superhero theme this time around. Storylines like that always give the opportunity to bring out the inner geek of all the characters involved. I especially loved hearing Beckett’s nerdy confessions which makes us see that her and Castle aren’t so different after all.

Considering the fact that Castle had issues letting his ex wife Gina get involved in the parenting side of Alexis, it really says a lot that he seeks out Beckett’s opinion in the issues he has with raising his daughter. Her opinion is very important to him and he always seems to take her advice to heart. When he asked Beckett what he should do, she responded, “Let her go. Trust me, if you hold on too tight you’ll just drive her away.” I don’t know about you but I saw a lot of subtext in that piece of dialogue. I think Castle will relate that to Beckett as well and keep a careful distance throughout the first part of the season.

As far as Captain Gates is concerned, I’m starting to warm up to her a bit but I’m not quite sure I’ll ever get over the loss of Captain Montgomery. I’m missing him terribly, even more than I thought I would. It’s definitely a case of “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.” I am, however, enjoying seeing Castle try so hard to win Gates over. He’s been unsuccessful thus far but he seems determined to keep trying. 

I always get excited about the scenes where Beckett is still trying to deny that she’s a fan of Richard Castle. I also get excited when she gets caught in a lie about it such as the scene where it is revealed that she pre-ordered a copy of the new Derek Storm graphic novel immediately after she said she wouldn’t be reading it. I love the playfulness of that scene and the fact that Beckett really doesn’t flinch that much after the truth is revealed like she used to. At this point, I think she just enjoys teasing Castle above all else.

I’m also a big fan of pop culture references in TV shows. It makes it feel more as if these characters live in the same world as we do. I’m sure the Game of Thrones reference was an utter joy for Nathan Fillion to deliver considering the fact that he is a big fan of the show which he has made no secret of. I also laughed out loud at Castle’s line “Except for last night’s episode of two half men.” while he was talking about the sliced in half victim of the episode.

I want to give a big shout out to the people on Twitter. As a collaborative effort, they never miss a thing. As observant as I’d like to think I can be, there’s always something I miss but no detail will ever be lost on me again thanks to the awesome Castle fandom. I never would have realized that they gave Beckett an Elektra style look during the yoga scene without the help of my Twitter followers. They also pointed out, that during the season premiere when Castle was fixing his hair before going to visit Beckett, that the man Captain Montgomery sent those files to just happened to walk by at that moment. I think my heart was too busy turning to goo at that endearing scene of a nervous Castle to notice at the time. 

The possibility of Alexis going off to Stanford in January in order to attend college with her boyfriend Ashley was brought up again. She was clearly upset in "Rise" that her father seemed to be putting his life in danger by helping homicide detectives solve murders, namely Kate Beckett. By the end of "Rise" she had almost seemed to be accepting of it all as she asked her dad if Kate "made him happy," his answer of course being "yes." Though that may have calmed her for a short time, Alexis is clearly still not ok with her father's decisions. 

After Alexis confided in Castle about the classes she had planned on taking, he realized that she based her decisions solely on the classes her boyfriend took so she could spend more time with him. That little tidbit of information reminded me of the fact that the sole reason for Castle's continuing assistance with the police department is so he can spend time with Kate Beckett. 

I definitely feel like Alexis messing with her dad's head on purpose due to the fact that the choices he has been making are very upsetting to her. It seems as if she is finding her own way to show him what it feels like to be on her side of things. She has to continuously watch him do whatever he wants and put his life on the line when she has absolutely no control over it. 

This is definitely her version of being rebellious while attempting to teach Castle a lesson at the same time. This was clear after she informs him that she has decided to take classes she is interested in after all because she will still be able to spend plenty of time with her boyfriend after they move in together, a fact she knows with certainty will drive her father crazy.

Last, but definitely not least, was the parallel this episode offered between our favorite crime fighting duo and Paul Whittaker, the writer of the  Lone Vengeance comic book, and his muse, Officer Anne Hastings, who ended up being one of the masked vigilantes. 

Paul Whittaker confesses to the murder but things aren't adding up for Castle & Beckett when they realize Paul doesn't know the details of the killing. Later, Castle easily realizes that Paul confessed to the murder in order to protect Anne because he was in love with her. 

It turned out that Officer Hastings had started her life of superhero crime fighting after her father was murdered during a robbery.  She found a certain amount of peace by doing so, defending herself from Beckett's interrogation by comparing her situation to Beckett's mother's murder. Anne ends up successfully convincing Beckett that she did not commit the crime. It actually ended up being a man known by the name "Tony the Butcher" who tried to lead the investigation away from himself toward the beginning of the episode. 

As Beckett hands over Anne's personal effects to her, she gives her one last piece of advice. "You're a good cop and you've got somebody who cares about you. Don't be so driven by your past that you throw away your future." At that very moment, I think I heard Castle fans around the world yell out, "Take your own advice!" 

Castle watches fondly as Anne and Paul walk off together towards the elevator saying to Beckett, "A writer and his muse fighting crime. Just like us." They then watch as the couple enters the elevator and begin to kiss. Beckett is clearly amused while Castle fails to hide his awkwardness and runs for cover. 

I began wondering afterward if there may be a couple scenes of foreshadowing throughout the episode, one of which I am hoping is a kiss. The other, however, may be slightly out there but still plausible. I wonder if, in the future, Castle might end up taking the fall for Beckett for something she does involving her mother's murder case in order to protect her. Only time will tell and I'm looking forward to catching every minute of it. 

Miscellaneous scenes that I enjoyed & something I noticed. 

* Martha's various outfits and the reveal that Castle had asked his mother to make him an E.T. costume when he was 32.

* Tony the Butcher pulling down his pants to show a very embarrassed Beckett and completely nonchalant Castle the mark on his behind that Lone Vengeance made with a sword

* Officer Hasting's bad ass ninja skills as she stole evidence out of Beckett's hand in the alley.

* The long, thin, lengthwise scar on Anne's chest you can clearly see when Beckett is talking to her near the end of the episode. Which reminds me, where is Beckett's scar?

Rise Review

After sharing some of my thoughts with someone today about last night's Castle, I was told that I was insightful, however, this person also told me that they never think that deeply about it, saying "It's just a TV show." But just a TV show it is not, at least not to me. 

I have watched Castle from the beginning and somewhere along the way I fell in love with these characters and became fully invested in their lives and in their story. I am a huge fan of will they/won't they story lines but I have never seen one handled in quite the way they do it on Castle. We have actually been able to witness Castle & Beckett slowly fall deeply in love with each other and that is beautiful.

With that said, I wanted to give a recap and add my own thoughts on "Rise."

I have waited, somewhat impatiently, for the next chapter of Castle to grace me with its presence on my TV screen. Yesterday, what I have been waiting so long for finally happened and it met all of my expectations. 


The first few minutes of "Rise" had me on the edge of my seat. It's not that the fate of Beckett's life was any question in my mind, I knew she would survive, but seeing how she was saved was the important part. I love that they showed her actual surgery. It made the scene that much more intense and made the moment seem even more dire. I felt  more connected to the story by seeing Beckett in the operating room than I would have if they had only shown the worried faces of her loves ones, followed by a Dr. walking up to them to reveal her fate. We were able to experience both sides of the story and I appreciated that.


I was relieved to see Jim Beckett again because not having him in the hospital would have seemed unrealistic. I just hope we get to see more of him in the future. I would also like to know how Jim feels about Castle being in his daughters life. Hopefully, that's something that will be brought up later in the season. 


I never liked Josh. Not because he was a bad person but because I would dislike anyone who came between Castle & Beckett. I actually preferred that they didn't make Josh a bad guy. In spite of his anger at Castle, which I'm sure made most fans dislike him even more, you could tell he actually cared about Kate. His anger stemmed from worry and even though it upset me to see him shove Castle and hear his stinging words, it was actually a very natural reaction for someone in his situation. Although, I did think Josh trying to pick a fight in the hallway of a hospital in front of all of Beckett's friends and family was a little insensitive on his part. 


One of my favorite parts is when Castle checks his reflection and fixes his hair before going in to see Beckett. There is nothing more endearing than seeing him nervous and in love.


Nathan Fillion's performance in the hospital room scene was nothing less than genuinely heartbreaking. When Kate tells him that she doesn't remember anything, including his confession of love for her, his crestfallen expression filled my heart with sadness. I have never so badly wanted to give a fictional character a reassuring hug. 


Side note: Why do TV shows have to glam up their female leads by putting make up on them during hospital scenes? That is just one of my pet peeves. I'd like to see a realistic portrayal of someone recovering after a surgery for once.

After Beckett returns to the precinct, it upset me to hear that she had let so much time pass without calling Castle. I can only imagine that Castle must have been waiting to hear from her for weeks until he began to worry that she had decided not to bother getting in touch with him at all. I did, however, appreciate the fact that Beckett took full responsibility for the reason why her and Castle had not had any contact. I was a bit shocked over the fact that Beckett seemed surprised after hearing that Castle had been with Ryan and Esposito every day trying to help them find her shooter. She seemed touched by it which was nice but you'd think after all this time, she should know by now how much Castle is actually willing to sacrifice for her. I also was happy to see that Esposito was looking out for Castle, wondering if he would even want to come back after Beckett had left him hanging for 3 months.


I'm not quite sure how I feel about the new Captain yet. My emotions are still raw from the loss of Captain Montgomery and so far the only silver lining has been my amusement over everyone calling her "Sir." Yes, she does seem tougher than Montgomery was but still not as much of a drill sergeant type as I was expecting.


When I heard a few weeks ago that there was going to be a scene at a book signing, I immediately put two and two together and couldn't imagine a better scenario than one where Kate Beckett shows up to get Castle to sign her book. But it's the scene before she even shows up that had my emotions swirling. I thought they did an amazing job portraying what Castle was feeling every time he had to glance down at his book, only to be reminded of Kate and everything that had happened. 

It was refreshing to see Castle walk right by Kate, clearly angry, forcing Beckett to be the one who had to chase him down and explain her actions as it has often been the other way around. It wounds me every time Castle clearly wants to say he loves her but keeps holding back now that he thinks his confession of love fell on deaf ears. 


While Beckett is trying to explain why she waited so long to call him, she reveals that her and Josh broke up. I like to call that moment "The SQUEE that rocked the Castle fandom."


Of course, having learned that little piece of information, Castle has no choice but to follow her. I thought it was a sweet location choice to have them sitting on a swing set while trying to sort out their issues. It's in that moment that Beckett gives Castle a glimmer of hope, insinuating that she would be open to a possible relationship as soon as she can put her mother's murder case behind her. 


Kate saying "I really liked him, but it wasn't enough." about Josh was a very telling statement. The fact that she used the word "liked" spoke volumes. She may have liked this guy but she loves Castle and no amount of wishing would have made that relationship successful because in her heart, Josh wasn't who she wanted. That is another reason why I am glad they made Josh a generally good person. If Josh was truly a horrible boyfriend, it would have made her choice less meaningful. In my heart, I believe that her decision was based on that fact that Castle is her "one and done" and not because she was dating a terrible man.


Kudos to Stana Katic for her portrayal of PTSD related anxiety while having a gun pointed at her for the first time after her own shooting. Her ragged breathing, stunned expression and shaking hands really brought her emotion to the forefront. 


When Beckett gets emotional in front of Castle, after getting frustrated that they didn't seem to have any leads left for the investigation to find her shooter, it really showed how close they have become. I've never seen her let her vulnerability show in front of him in such a blatant way. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to see Castle get up and hug her. I am hoping to see more physical contact between them this season even if it's only an occasional hand holding, a kiss on the cheek or a cuddle on the couch. 


I was expecting to see Alexis have a conversation with Beckett during this episode but since it didn't happen, I can only assume that it's something that will come up in the future. I can certainly understand where Alexis is coming from. She witnessed her father jump toward someone who had taken a bullet, putting his own life in jeopardy. I think she realizes how much danger her father is putting himself in. She fears for his life and that is perfectly understandable. I thought it was extremely sweet for her to ask him if Kate made him happy and when he said yes my heart did a somersault in my chest. I can only hope that Kate makes a similar admission at some point.


After Castle finds out that he has to keep Kate away from her mother's murder case or her life will be on the line, he convinces himself that he will be successful at keeping her away from it for a while. His theory turns out correct as he easily convinces her to take a break from all of it and focus on helping other people find justice for a while.


Toward the end, Beckett has another gun stand off after they find the real killer of the case their department was working on. Castle's soothing voice is able to calm her down and steady her hand as she tries to control her anxiety. After seeing that scene, one thing is for sure, Castle's love gives her strength. 


Then there is the reveal at the end. I was right about one thing, the end scene ended up being with Beckett in the therapist's office. She admits to remembering everything about the shooting. I think Kate's break up with Josh stems from that very knowledge. It was obvious in "Knockout" that Kate was trying to push Castle to tell her what he really feels. I think that is what she was waiting for all along but now that she has that information, she's too afraid to do anything about it right now. She doesn't want to ruin what they already have and she doesn't trust her own emotional state to jump into anything right now.


As the season goes on, I think her feelings for him will come out more and more. The ball is in her court now. She knows how she feels about him and she knows how he feels about her. Castle is still in the dark about how deep her feelings actually go but as time goes on, I think it will be more and more difficult for her to hide how much she really does love him. 


It will definitely be an interesting season to say the least. They are both hiding secrets from each other that can prove to be devastating when the truth finally comes to see the light of day. Hopefully their relationship can survive the betrayal they will both end up feeling as the truth comes out. 


All in all, I was very satisfied with the season 4 premiere of Castle and thought they successfully dealt with all the issues that needed to be addressed. This review ended up longer than I had anticipated but there were a lot of important factors in this episode. 


I am looking forward to next week's new Castle "Hero's & Villains." As much as I love the dramatic episodes, it will be a breath of fresh air to see them get back to the light hearted fun we all know and love. 

Beckett's Last Words

I am a spoiler whore. Trying to stay away from spoilers has never been a successful endeavor for me. I attempted it once for the "Knockout" finale but I quickly realized that trying to avoid spoilers was more stressful than the thought that an episode might get ruined from me knowing too much, too soon. 


With that said, I wanted to bring up something that I read in a spoiler article a week or so ago. There are a few lucky bastards out there with media credentials who were able to watch the season 4 premiere of Castle early. I am jealous of them all. 


Throughout the "Rise" review articles I've seen, more than one had mentioned that they were not to, under any circumstances, reveal Beckett's last words of the premiere. 
I haven't been able to get that out of my head ever since. 


I already posted part of my theory on Twitter after those articles came out. My theory involved the location of the last scene more than her actual last words. But now that I've had more time to think about it, I finally have an actual guess. 


I think the last scene will probably take place with Beckett inside the therapist's office. I originally thought that maybe it was the swing set scene with Castle but after reading those articles, I thought that Beckett would have more of an opportunity to be completely and shockingly honest while in a therapy session. 


I am wondering if Beckett will end up leading Castle to believe something untrue about her feelings for him while keeping her real feelings bottled up for various reasons that will be revealed throughout the episode. Then in the end, and in my Castle fevered daydreams, the truth will come out and Beckett will end up revealing the truth within the safe confines of the Dr's office. I think and hope that Beckett will finally admit out loud that she is in love with Castle, possibly uttering the words "Castle is the love of my life." 


I know it's probably a far fetched theory but I can't get the possibility of it out of my head. Now that you know my theory, I would like to know yours. What do you think Beckett's final words will be?

I love Castle. Anyone who knows me from Twitter knows this is true. A friend of mine recently started a blog about something she is passionate about and it inspired me to do the same. 


With the new season of Castle right around the corner, I thought it would be a good time to start something new. There are a lot of websites out there that post reviews of TV shows but I thought it would be fun to write and post my own from an average fan perspective. 


I have never started a blog before nor am I a professional writer. I'm just a rabid Castle fan with a serious case of OCD. I am also new to this blog site in general and I am learning to navigate it as I go. If anyone is more familiar with it, any help you could give me would be appreciated.


As of now, the plan is to post my thoughts about each new Castle episode throughout season 4 but as I've said before, I am very new at this, so if anyone has any other suggestions of additional Castle related fun that I could add to this blog, your ideas are always welcome. 


I have no idea if anything will even come of this or if anyone will end up even wanting to read it but I am willing to give this a shot and hope that at least some of you will show some interest. 


I am hoping to get my thoughts down and post each blog the Tuesday after each new episode of Castle airs. I hope you will support me in my new endeavor and leave your own comments and opinions as well.