Castle: Dreamworld – A Good Cop/Bad Cop Review
She lost her freakin’ gun AGAIN! And that’s all I’m saying for now. Take it away, Melanie, before I say something that’s not suitable for the young eyes and ears that often visit this site. I’ll be back. First, though, I’ve got to cool off. This gun-losing garbage has gone far beyond ridiculous…
Yes, the plot was far-fetched, but I still loved this episode of Castle. Kate’s frantic race to save Rick’s life had me on the edge of my seat, especially at the end. I love how much she loves him. Even faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, she fought for him, battling higher ups in the federal government — even the Secretary of Defense — without caring if she lost her job.
Rick was worried about Kate, too. His concern when he asked Rachel McCord, her partner, how she was doing in her new position, made my heart melt. McCord said Kate was doing fine and had a lot of potential, and he asked, “So she’ll be okay?” He wanted to make sure she’d be all right even if they didn’t find the antidote in time and he didn’t make it.
Martha’s and Alexis’ concern got to Kate as well. I know she wanted to tell them more, but she hung back because Rick told her not to say anything. Later, I think she didn’t tell them because of time constraints. She refused to let anything stop her from finding Parker and saving Rick.
Thank goodness they found the antidote in time. The last scene in the hospital room made me smile. The whole family, plus Pi, who is starting to get on my nerves, had Rick surrounded as he recovered from the toxin. Kate is part of that family now.
Even so, Kate and Rick are still struggling with her being in DC while he spends most of the time in New York. Kate gave voice to the problem, and Rick said, “Sometimes the hardest things in life are the things most worth doing. Just because we haven’t figured it out yet, doesn’t mean we won’t.” I believe they will make it… as long as Kate can learn to accept that everything, especially in that hotbed of politics, isn’t always black and white.
I’m not so sure she ever will. And truly, I hope she doesn’t, so she can return home to Rick and go back to the work for NYPD giving closure to families who need it. Go Kate!
Bring on next week’s episode. I can use a little light-hearted fun after this week’s race against time.
I’ll get to the “losing of the gun” BS in a moment. First, I’d like to ask if anyone else paid attention to Beckett’s demeanor throughout the entire episode? Didn’t you find it a bit bizarre that she totally lacked emotion, knowing that Castle had a mere hours left to live? Think about it. How would you react if doctors told you that, before sunrise, your significant other would cease to exist. You’d never, ever see them again. Dead. Gone. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. Castle no more.
Beckett never shed a tear. Not even a moist eyeball. And, to top it off, she continued to work on the case instead of spending what could’ve been her last 720 minutes, or so, with the love of her life.
I know. She’s supposed to be as tough as a handful of rusty nails. But even MMA fighters feel pain and show emotions from time to time.
– Is there any need for me to go into the foolishness of the agents having a lone computer nerd who has access to every single camera in D.C., and that he’s able to, within a snap of the fingers, locate one person out of the thousands who travel the sidewalks in our nation’s capital?
– Did anyone else immediately know that the Parker guy was going to be the villain of this two-part episode? If not, then you haven’t kept up with the “Castle Boiler Plate Script” formula, because Parker couldn’t have been any more obvious if he’d worn an “I Have The Deadly Gas” t-shirt. Same thing for the Secretary of Defense. It was soooo obvious that he wasn’t the bad guy. Well, he was a bad guy, all right. Just not the main bad guy in this show.
– Okay, so Beckett kicks in Parker’s front door, which is totally goofy, but it adds a bit of action and tension (aren’t we all supposed to add a little tension here and there in our writings?).
But I have a better scenario in mind. To save us all from the suspense of wondering at exactly which point in each episode will Beckett lose her weapon, why not have her kick in the door (with the appropriate amount of wood splinters flying throughout) and then toss in her pistol ahead of the entry team? Yep, a nice, big ‘ol heave-ho right to the middle of the room. Or, she could hide it in a city park frequented by bad guys, and each of the henchmen could enjoy an afternoon of frolicking and playing a cheerful game of “Find Beckett’s Gun.”
Puhleeze, Castle writers, we’ve had enough of the gun-losing-kidnapping scenes. At this point in the game, even losing her gun once per season is too much to bear.
– A deadly toxin has already killed one man and Castle is soon to be number two. Yet, when Beckett and “new crew” raid the apartment where the toxin is probably stored, they wear no protective gear. Not even a pair of gloves.
Well, as much as I hate it, we’re now at the actual point where Parker takes Beckett’s pistol. He points it at her and, like all silly TV bad guys, doesn’t shoot right away. First, he has to talk to her, which, as we all know, gives another good guy time to show up to save the day. In this case the other good guy was Beckett’s partner, Agent Somethingorother (I can’t seem to warm up to this character enough to remember her name).
Anyway, the agent sees the guy pointing a gun at Beckett (a use of deadly force situation if ever there was one), yet she chooses to say something to the killer instead of poking his brain with 5 or 6 rounds from her own pistol.
Honestly, this whole D.C./secret agent thing is just not working for me. The show has absolutely lost what made it so appealing in the early years. Sure, the Castle/Beckett relationship was inevitable. However, to reach so far to grab only what we’ve seen in the past two episodes is, well, let’s just say that the good is not outweighing the bad. And, obviously, something’s got to give soon to bring in Ryan, Esposito, and Lanie (groan).
You know, I sure miss the days when Castle was the bumbling tag-a-long author who shadowed Beckett and crew. I miss the poker games. And I definitely miss what this show was once centered around—a famous mystery writer who hung out with a NYPD detective as research for his novels. And the fun. I definitely miss the fun.
*By the way, I can’t stand the Pi character. He adds nothing to the show other than to have a character who’s even more irritating than both Gates and Lanie.
I would have liked to have seen a tender moment between Kate and Castle, even if she was going to be tough. They’d been through a lot, at least they could have had a “moment”. There were tender moments when Alexis was kidnapped. Sometimes Kate is too macho that it’s hard to see any chemistry anymore. I was certain she was going to say “no” to the proposal because she often pushes him away and then wonders where the relationship is going.
Do Martha and Alexis know they’re engaged now? How pissed would they have been if Castle died and they hadn’t had a chance to know about??
I also wonder about Pi and why writers haven’t given enough info on why someone like Alexis would like him. Maybe that will come up in future eps. My guess is that he’s designed to a humorous thorn in Castle’s side. It could be interesting because for the most part Alexis has always made good choices and now, we have to wonder.
I agree, my favorite eps are the ones that don’t involve the feds (except for the bomb one when Castle pulls the wires… I love his facial expressions in the scene). I would like them to return to the way things were and ramp up the chemistry again.
There IS no character more irritating than Gates. Anywhere.
I couldn’t agree more, I miss the poker games and Castle’s goofiness. I miss when it was about a writer following the police around. It’s almost like it’s not the same show.
As usual, Lee, you’re right on – I was disappointed, even bored with this episode. Of course we all knew Castle wasn’t going to die, so the rest had to be better to counteract that inevitability. I did want Beckett to show at least one scene of emotional breakdown before coming back to fight the battle. Missed Esposito and Ryan being involved, too. And Pi? Well, time will tell but right now he’s extra baggage for me.
Agree with a lot here, but I think that is the point of the DC arc, it has got to make Kate not want to leave Homicide again. It has got to lack that which made the show great because if it can recreate that magic anywhere, there is no need for us to be in New York with the boys. But hey, there was old school Castle fun last week, so. They can hardly make an episode with him dying too upbeat.
As for Pi, to the person who called him ‘stupid’, don’t be a judgemental ass. We dom’t know nearly anywhere near enough to be able to judge whether he is stupid and anyone who can healthily survive on a fruitarian diet must have some mental acuity. Sure, i ain’t a fan of his, but he clearly is a bit of a hippy and doesn’t believe in personal boundaries, or spelling. My bet is that he is tied to Alexis’ response to Castle’s engagement. Notice her face when Castle asks to be alone with Beckett at the end. She neither understood nor liked th. She was being pushed out of the room, and I reckon that was also meant to be metaphoric for how she is feeling in his life too. *SPOILER* Apparently we o ly learn in episode 7 about how she feels about it/learnt about it. So give Pi some time, he is there for a reason and it is not like we have seen much of him.
As for Castle being able to work anywhere, he practically begged to keep Alexis near him for uni and hates when she goes away. He isn’t the type to move away and fans really need to understand that about him.
I’m late to the party here.
OMG, Kate lost her gun, yet again. I agree with all of you the writers need to stop doing this.
Didn’t think about Beckett’s emotions when I watched the show, but I agree it was lacking. Pi’s got to go unless the writers show us a reason for him being there.
Glad they will all be back in NYC next week. I kind of agree with everything mentioned here. Hopefully it will get better. I also miss the poker games, Castle writing, but I do like the romance.
Last night was the first time I watched the show, and if it hadn’t been for someone else wanting to watch it, I would have shut it off. Did the writers even research what biological weapons do to the body? All Castle got was a mild case of the cross-eyed sweats. What about retching, pain, convulsions, some foaming at the mouth, or blisters and boils, or just…anything than the Southern Belle Fainting act? But judging by the comments here, now I’m sad that I didn’t start watching the show earlier, because it sounds like it was a lot of fun in the early seasons.
I caught the Oz reference. By then, though, I was too weary with the rest of episode to think it was funny. Yeah, and there was Pi.
Several people have mentioned the last scene. I didn’t catch it, but some folks on a Castle board I frequent said it was done that way for a “Wizard of Oz” vibe, I guess when Dorothy woke up back home. Weird. I don’t know about you, but if I woke up after almost dying and saw Pi, I would think I was still in Oz.
Add me to the chorus…I thought perhaps last week I’d ‘missed’ something…turns out I missed the early days when there was banter, word play, and a sense that the world didn’t revolve ONLY around Kate and Castle. I still love watching those early episodes…before they had to make Kate “beautiful” with long flowing locks…when Rick hung out with his buds around the poker table and they actually gave him some cogent advice. I didn’t even think about the science of toxins…I didn’t think I needed to with Castle. And the gun? Well, all I could say was “not again!” and the husband just looked at me and said “what?”. And of course we knew her partner would come to her rescue…Espo, Ryan, even Gates and certainly Montgomery back in the day, all have Kate’s back so thoroughly that some day I’d like to see her get herself out of something. Melanie, the romance is the romance…nothing wrong with that at all…it’s just that something else is missing.
And please….please…deep six Pi unless he IS playing Alexis to get to Rick. Right now everyone thinks he’s a fruitcake.
I know we can’t go all the way back…things change, characters evolve, but it was SO much fun back then.
Also, too bad the supertoxin wasn’t botox. Botox would have been good for a few jokes.
Another bit of unrealism is the supertoxin. Aerosolized toxins are very difficult to distribute. Once they get into an AC vent, they stick to things they get wet and the second time the car is driven, hardly any toxin would get out. And a toxin that is effective both by air and water? Now that’s a supertoxin indeed.
When the show isn’t amusing, it’s downright stupid. And this time it was also boring. Sigh. Where did my show go?
I agree with everyone that the show’s lost much of its fun. I think the show did some shark jumping in season four which was so focused on Kate’s emotional health and keeping the duo apart as much as possible.
As for Pi hanging out in the hospital room with the family, really? I wouldn’t want a near stranger around if I was sick. That’s too much familiarity too fast (we never saw this much of Alexis’ other boyfriends over several seasons).
As for Parker poisoning Reed’s wife, why not just use the regular garden variety of poisons like arsenic or cyanide instead of going to the effort of breaking into a secure lab and framing an innocent person? And yes, I’m annoyed that we’re back to the killer being the first or second person Kate interviews.
Lee, do cops work off “hunches”? Several times Kate said “I have a hunch” and ran off to do something foolhardy, like entering Reed’s house without backup when she knew the killer was there. Maybe she realizes that as the show’s co-star she won’t be hurt.
At the end of the show Kate sounded like she missed having Rick as her partner. I think she’ll go back to NYPD. So far she hasn’t done anything different in D.C. than she did in NYC. She’s still running after baddies, losing her gun, kicking in doors. I don’t see anything “special” about her special agent work.
One other thing, my father was a Baltimore City cop. I vividly remember one night when I was little, he came home and realized he had lost his handcuffs. To this day, I remember the look of panic on his face. He thought he was going to lose his job. My mom and him went out and looked all night for them and finally found them in an alley. I can’t even imagine the look on his face if he had lost his gun. Losing control of your weapons is a huge deal when you are a cop. Beckett would have been thrown off the force years ago at the rate she loses control of her gun, not to mention the cars she’s wrecked.
I did the Beckett eye-roll as well when she lost her gun – AGAIN – and it’s only Episode 2! I liked last week’s episode but didn’t like this one. I’m not sure if it’s Stana’s acting or how she was directed, but Beckett should have shown more emotion. A scene where she broke down by herself in the rest-room or conference room would have helped. And wouldn’t Castle have been in the ICU when he woke up and not a private hospital room surrounded by his family? Nathan’s definitely lost weight and is looking good.
Lee, I totally agree with you on this one. The show has been looking tired for a couple of seasons now, and this did not revitalize it for me. Nathan Fillion’s looking a little trimmer than last year, but that’s the least of the show’s worries.
Like you, I really, really miss those card games with his fellow mystery writers. I miss the show that actually followed the life of a working writer. Sometimes he would actually discuss plotting a book. Sometimes we even saw him AT A DESK WRITING!!!
But most of all, I miss the whole lighthearted atmosphere of the first couple of seasons – small, lightweight mysteries with lots of “Nick & Nora” type repartee from Castle and Beckett. I also liked it better when Rick was a lovable, self-absorbed goof and Kate was someone who could take down a member of the Russian mafia without once losing her gun.
I’m glad Lee finally agreed with me about the single computer supernerd in HQ that I commented about very same shenanigans last week. This tired cliche of a heavy-set or scruffy-looking geek in front of a dozen screens being able to hack into anything is something I loathe, and blame solely on lazy screenwriters.
That last hint of everyone together solving a case in NY as an upcoming episode is cute, and I suspect it will take next week’s episode or the one after for Beckett to be finally back at the NYPD. Funny how we forget all this, whether it’s NY or DC, is all shot in LA.
Maybe the numbers are slowly dwindling, but I’m still in the company who thoroughly look forward and enjoy Castle, and gunning for the series to continue. But, I’ll be first to say it’s going to take something even more dramatic and – dare I say, arcing – to get it past season 6.
I facepalmed when Beckett lost her gun, and the first thought was, “Lee’s not going to like this.” LOL
And, yes, I hate Pi too. Probably the worst add-on character in the series yet.
I’ve only been watching Castle for the past several months and have been able to catch up by watching every rerun up till now. Melanie, listening to you talk about Castle and feeling your excitement for it is what had me watching in the first place. Thanks! I’ve loved every show.
While I love the show, I don’t like Kate being in DC. I think part of the charm, at least for me, is what made it popular to begin with–Kate working for the NYPD and Castle’s antics as well as his invaluable input into the cases. With Kate being in DC his help now seems stifled. Beckett having a new partner doesn’t hold any excitement for me. And even though they’ve tried ‘sprinkling’ in Esposito and Ryan it just doesn’t feel the same.
I’m on the fence over Kate’s emotional reaction(or lack of)to Castle’s impending doom. I can understand trying to set herself apart from it all so she can concentrate on finding the antidote. I just wish they’d given her one moment where she almost loses it–maybe shedding a few tears at the thought of losing him forever, before bucking up and showing an even more determination to find the guy and the antidote.
Losing her gun doesn’t bother me nearly as much as how they’re writing the show right now. I did get the vibe that maybe Kate is starting to rethink her decision to leave NYPD. Seeing that she goes to NY for a case in the next episode, I’m hoping being back at the precinct with her old team will help her decide she wants to be back there permenantly.
Kate just needs to get shot the next time she gives up her gun and change her attitude if the writer’s are capable of doing that. If this wasn’t TV she’d be fired or dead in an instant. I doubt the FBI is going to go after the SECDEF for something that happened on the battlefield. When you have your target, you shoot! You don’t have time to discuss what you are going to do or not unless the situation radically changes such as civilians entering the target area for example. You don’t have the luxury of time when a potential suicide bomber may be barreling at you in a civilian vehicle.
I must have had a rougher day than I thought yesterday… I didn’t pick up on half of this. 🙁 On that note, I just don’t see Kate staying in D.C., especially after that “you can’t see things in black and white” speech from Lisa Edelstein’s character. Kate’s a mostly black and white person, and I just don’t see her compromising her principles for the job. I think that will be the breaking point, and very soon.
I’m not sure I agree with Janis, with the jump-the-shark. I do think they’re dangerously close, but I don’t think they’re there yet.
And, as for Pi, he’s been irritating since he came down the stairs in the last episode. The papaya steaks killed him for me–he’s crazy. Don’t like him at all. I hope he gets the axe soon.
I suspect that we’ll be back in New York soon. We saw, at the end of the episode, that Beckett isn’t happy with the constraints put on her by the AG’s office. I think that after next week’s “homecoming,” she’ll tender her resignation and magically be accepted back into the NYPD.
As much as I hate to say it, Castle has jumped the shark. A whole school of sharks. On a pogo stick. The DC/agent thing just doesn’t work. Writers can work anywhere. If he wants to be with Kate, why doesn’t Rick just move to DC, even if it’s only temporarily?
I don’t see how a girl as sharp as Alexis could be attracted to a thing like Pi. He’s stupid, he’s scruffy, he’s irritating… If a smart girl dates something like that it’s usually a bid for attention, but Alexis doesn’t have to do that. She and her dad have a tight relationship. Now if they could make Pi a son of someone Castle put in jail, or he’s out for revenge against Castle’s father or something like that who is only using Alexis to get close to Castle to get his revenge, that might be interesting. Hard to do, but interesting.
It seems like the show is trying to turn into something ‘serious’ and ‘relevant’ and ‘dark’ instead of keeping to its light-hearted romantic suspense roots. I think it can still be saved – maybe. If they act quickly enough. Otherwise… sigh.
Oh, and I agree with you about her losing her gun again, too. Ridiculous.
I don’t like Kate being in DC, either, and Pi is quickly losing his appeal. I do, however, understand Kate’s lack of tears. I think she’s in shock and is afraid to face the reality of Rick’s impending death. If she accepts it and breaks down, then how can she help save him?