Time: Mondays, 10:00-11:00pm
Cast: Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, Seamus Dever, Jon Huertas, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Susan Sullivan, Molly C. Quinn
While this may not go down in the record books as one of my favorite Castle episodes ever, it was definitely a good one. Frankly, anything that ends with a sing-along is good in my books.
I’ll start with what I thought were the weaker points and go from there. The weakest bit for me was the Alexis storyline. The story seemed more like it was there to fill time rather than develop any of the characters further. It was essentially three scenes long: Alexis sees her old friend again and realizes she’s very different now than when they were in fifth grade; Alexis bemoans this fact to Grams and Dad, which is abruptly cut short when Dad has an epiphany, though not before they make some good points that help Alexis sort everything out; Alexis and her old friend reconnect, and they all live happily ever after. Unless this friend comes back in a future episode, I didn’t really see the point in having this in at all (except it gave Alexis something to do).
Moving on. I had mixed, but mostly positive, feelings about the case. I found the killer to be predictable by nature of being the person least likely to have done it, which is a complaint I had for the most recent episode of Bones as well. It might be nice sometimes for them to suspect the killer early in the episode, think they’re wrong, and then go back to him later, instead of always saving the actual murderer for the final suspect. In real life, the most obvious answer is usually the right one, but it never is in crime procedurals. I understand that the plot twists are there to keep a viewer interested, but that backfires if the answer is obvious by nature of being not obvious (if that makes any sense).
However, the predictability of the killer was outweighed significantly by the awesomeness of the murder. Old-time taverns, corrupt politicians, and Prohibition? It was like I was watching Boardwalk Empire, but with more one-liners. The fact that Castle looked like a little boy every time someone mentioned Jimmy Walker’s scotch, and then bought the bar, was just wonderful. I hope they don’t drop that story, because Castle as a barkeep sounds like it has amazing potential.
Castle himself was easily the strongest part of this episode. He’s really been in his element for the last few weeks, when the episodes have been even more farfetched than they usually are (and therefore closer to the fictional world in which he thrives). Nathan Fillion is a wonderful comedic actor, especially physically. He has good timing, and he and Beckett (and Ryan and Esposito) have such wonderful chemistry that it makes the show that much more fun to watch.
It saddens me that this is the last Castle episode until January (anyone know when it starts up again?), especially because I’ve heard some wonderful things about next year’s episodes (look up “Castle leaked picture” on Google news if you want to know… but it’s a very big spoiler, so proceed with caution). If you don’t watch this show (but read my reviews for some reason anyway), spend the rest of the month catching up. It’s worth it.
For more crime TV news, follow NewarkCrimeTV on Twitter.
Email me at NewarkCrimeTV@gmail.com.
Rating: 4/5
I’ll start with what I thought were the weaker points and go from there. The weakest bit for me was the Alexis storyline. The story seemed more like it was there to fill time rather than develop any of the characters further. It was essentially three scenes long: Alexis sees her old friend again and realizes she’s very different now than when they were in fifth grade; Alexis bemoans this fact to Grams and Dad, which is abruptly cut short when Dad has an epiphany, though not before they make some good points that help Alexis sort everything out; Alexis and her old friend reconnect, and they all live happily ever after. Unless this friend comes back in a future episode, I didn’t really see the point in having this in at all (except it gave Alexis something to do).
Moving on. I had mixed, but mostly positive, feelings about the case. I found the killer to be predictable by nature of being the person least likely to have done it, which is a complaint I had for the most recent episode of Bones as well. It might be nice sometimes for them to suspect the killer early in the episode, think they’re wrong, and then go back to him later, instead of always saving the actual murderer for the final suspect. In real life, the most obvious answer is usually the right one, but it never is in crime procedurals. I understand that the plot twists are there to keep a viewer interested, but that backfires if the answer is obvious by nature of being not obvious (if that makes any sense).
However, the predictability of the killer was outweighed significantly by the awesomeness of the murder. Old-time taverns, corrupt politicians, and Prohibition? It was like I was watching Boardwalk Empire, but with more one-liners. The fact that Castle looked like a little boy every time someone mentioned Jimmy Walker’s scotch, and then bought the bar, was just wonderful. I hope they don’t drop that story, because Castle as a barkeep sounds like it has amazing potential.
Castle himself was easily the strongest part of this episode. He’s really been in his element for the last few weeks, when the episodes have been even more farfetched than they usually are (and therefore closer to the fictional world in which he thrives). Nathan Fillion is a wonderful comedic actor, especially physically. He has good timing, and he and Beckett (and Ryan and Esposito) have such wonderful chemistry that it makes the show that much more fun to watch.
It saddens me that this is the last Castle episode until January (anyone know when it starts up again?), especially because I’ve heard some wonderful things about next year’s episodes (look up “Castle leaked picture” on Google news if you want to know… but it’s a very big spoiler, so proceed with caution). If you don’t watch this show (but read my reviews for some reason anyway), spend the rest of the month catching up. It’s worth it.
For more crime TV news, follow NewarkCrimeTV on Twitter.
Email me at NewarkCrimeTV@gmail.com.
Rating: 4/5
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