Melanie here. Sorry for the delay in posting our blog. Yesterday’s storms knocked out my power and caused a lot of damage in the area. I watched Castle, but couldn’t focus on the show enough to critique it. So I re-watched it this afternoon, eager to send my part of the blog to Lee before the next round of bad weather arrives. Storms are building to our west again, and we’re already under another tornado watch. Lovely. Such is springtime in the Deep South.
The plot of this episode centers around the murder of a skateboarder by an unidentified motorcyclist. I wasn’t as interested in the case as I was the by-play between Rick and Kate over a game of Scrabble and Ryan and Esposito’s battle over whom Rick might choose as his best man. Early on, we learn Kate has already asked Lanie to be her maid of honor, and that Lanie loves the dress Kate picked out for her. The boys overhear and go into full-on competition mode, showering Rick with gifts and doing everything they can to ingratiate themselves to him. Instead of figuring out why they’re acting so strangely, he is totally oblivious. So silly, but fun.
The case had plenty of twists, wrong turns, and red herrings. Rick’s crazy theory about a Rollerball-type game conspiracy soon gave way to worries about the Albanian mob and a man named Enver, whom the victim helped send to prison years ago. They had indeed made contact, but Enver swore he didn’t kill Logan. Instead, he gave the kid money. Confused, much? I sure was.
Back to Scrabble, a game that is more my speed. Still reeling over Kate beating him at his favorite game the night before, Rick challenges her to a rematch once they get home… and she wins again. This time, to top it off, she trounces him with the word Quixotic for a huge score. Classic Castle… and so funny. I adored this scene. Rick does not take defeat well.
On Twitter, I learned the Scrabble board held all sorts of Castle “Easter Eggs”, especially in the scene portraying the first game, so I checked it out. Sure enough, most of the words referred to characters in Rick’s books, names of Castle episodes, and the like. I love these little tidbits they add just for fun.
The team searches for a missing duffel bag connected to the case the day after Kate crushes Rick for the second time, and finally locates it at a gym frequented by the victim. From the bag’s contents, they learn the dead skateboarder was apparently also a thief. In addition, he had recently bought a ten-year-old camcorder. This added another odd twist to the puzzle, but no one they spoke with was willing to provide any real answers.
Rick still doesn’t get Ryan and Esposito’s game to get him to pick one of them as best man. He instead believes they are playing up to him because Kate beat him at Scrabble, and they just want him to feel better. He couldn’t be more wrong. Ryan and Esposito try to convince Lanie to ask Rick to pick one of them to stand up with him, but she refuses. They’re at a loss as to how to proceed.
The ancient camcorder turns up with a bullet hole in it. I don’t see how that would help after all this time, because they don’t know when the hole was made. Still, they jump on the clue and manage to dig a piece of old tape out of the device. Tape from a cassette that Tori, the 12th’s resident computer whiz, somehow blows up and enhances so they can use it to help unearth the real killer. They finally nail him and put the case to bed, but I have to admit I didn’t really care.
I savored Ryan and Esposito’s confrontation with Rick about the best man gig so much more. Turns out he’s already asked Alexis to act in that capacity, even though she’s a girl. Like Rick said, next to Kate, his daughter is the most important person in his life. He does, however, ask Ryan and Esposito to be his groomsmen. They grudgingly agree. Too funny. My question now is… who will stand up with Kate besides Lanie? Anyone? Or will the two of them go it alone? Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
The case has now been solved, and Ryan and Esposito’s burning question has been put to rest. Rick sets up the Scrabble board as soon as they get home, and Kate agrees to a rematch… after learning Alexis and Martha are gone for the evening. Instead of settling in to play Scrabble, however, she scrapes the tiles out of the way and pulls out a deck of cards. “New game,” she says with an evil look. “Poker.” “You want to play poker with me?” Rick asks. Kate smiles and says, “Strip poker.” Rick is all too happy to comply. “This is so much better than Scrabble,” he says later, just before diving in for a kiss.
Loved the ending… and Rick’s brick red shirt. Nice. I wasn’t thrilled with Kate’s hair throughout the episode, however. The strange pony tail pulled back so tight made her look too severe.
I liked the suit, but kept expecting to see her sporting a crop and wearing breeches and riding boots. All in all, though, even with the odd outfit, I enjoyed this fun episode. Next week’s show looks to be much more serious. Should be a nail biter. Can’t wait!
First of all, I think I speak for the entire writing community when I say we’re all glad Melanie made it through the storms unscathed. We’re also deeply saddened by the devastation caused by the tornadoes that ripped through the southern states. Our thoughts are with everyone there as they work toward rebuilding their lives and their struggle to find peace in a time when grief overshadows all.
I, too, missed this episode of Castle, but not due to bad weather. Instead, Denene and I opted to watch The Blacklist. Normally, we’d record it and watch Castle. However, we’re without a DVR so recording wasn’t an option. So…I watched Castle last night by taking advantage of my Amazon Prime membership. And I didn’t have to fast-forward through commercials because there weren’t any. Hooray!
Anyway, there’s really not a lot to say about the case since the episode focused heavily on Ryan, Esposito, and Castle. Well, there was that thing with Beckett’s odd outfit and hairdo. I’m not a fan of either, but I doubt Stana Katic has me in mind when she selects her “look” of the day.
Lanie had one line regarding the dead body, and, of course, the writers blew that one for her. There’s no way she could have known, at the scene, that the victim was killed by three 9mm hollow-point rounds.
That’s all I’m saying about Lanie this time. The issue is, after all, one extremely well-beaten dead horse.
We were exposed to a gaggle of possible suspects this week. However, in true boilerplate script fashion, the killer was indeed the one person who appeared on camera for mere seconds, while a red neon arrow flashed and pointed directly at him. Why, oh why, can’t they stray from this pattern, just once? As soon as the rich kid appeared on screen Denene looked at me and said, “He’s the killer.” My reply to her was, “I know.” And we moved on.
Fortunately, the cop-clueless writers didn’t allow the case to overshadow the fun aspects—the banter between Ryan and Espo was that of the good old days of Castle, when the show was a light-hearted comedy with a bit of cop stuff thrown in to add a bit of tension.
Sure, Beckett needed a search warrant to search the locker and duffle bag. But the peek at a well-stocked bag of burglary tools was a nice touch, including the set of lock picks. Of course, in real-life I’ve never seen that many super nice, new, and well-cared for tools in a burglar’s bag. Normally, there’s a dinged-up crowbar, a dollar store screwdriver, and a tired, old hammer with splotches of paint on the handle. And duct tape. They all have duct tape, but I believe that’s in the kit in case a radiator hose in their old ’57 Ford Fairlane springs a leak.
Duct tape is, of course, a staple in every tool kit and kitchen tool drawer. In addition to fixing radiator hoses, it also works well to remove lint from clothing (sticky side out), hair removal (ouch!), repair leaky shoes, in courtrooms to silence unruly defendants (hmm…I wonder if they’ve considered using it on annoying attorneys – sorry Alafair and Dusty), and, of course to make a really nice hat for your cat.
See you next week. Until then, we’re back on the house-hunting mission. We’d made an offer on one but the deal fell through at the last minute, during the home inspection. We withdrew our offer.
Just one nice, decent house. That’s all we’re asking. Just one…
