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?