Mayor Robert Weldon, Castle's longtime friend and the Mayor of New York City, used his political clout to allow Castle to partner up with Beckett. But now, when a woman is found dead in a car that traces back to the Mayor's motor pool, that partnership comes under fire as the scandal surrounding the investigation threatens to bring down Weldon's administration.
Click the link to see my thoughts for this episode.
There was a lot going on in this episode, with pretty much two parallel storylines running throughout. One was the murder of the week, and the second was a return to the, I guess, series long main story arc of who killed Joanna Beckett. I must say, I know Castle is an episodic procedural and they've always been pretty sparse with the Joanna Beckett conspiracy episodes throughout the series, but I'm glad that we finally got another episode this season about the case. It had been too long, I think, and I had actually forgotten much of the conspiracy stuff that was brought up in this episode. That's not good. I'm still not sure who the mysterious man was that talked to Castle. Speaking of which, those clandestine meetings were beyond ridiculously cliche. I honestly would have expected Castle to make some kind of comment and was disappointed he didn't.
But anyway, this episode was noteworthy if for no other reason than it was an episode where we got to see Castle and Kate at odds. This isn't completely rare, but it's not common either, and it's always interesting to me to see them fight. It adds a necessary dimension to their relationship that I think helps make their relationship more believable and relatable. They are allowed to have realistic reactions to things, and this episode was a good example. Castle stood by his friend, despite how it might lead to him fighting with Kate, and Kate was determined to do her job regardless of the costs. I enjoyed that dynamic and liked seeing how they dealt with the inevitable tension.
Ryan and Esposito didn't have much to do this episode, which was a bit of a disappointment. We got a brief appearance by Alexis and she made me laugh with her overzealous approach to relaxing (also, of course Alexis would be taking theoretical physics). Martha was around to be crazy and offer some sage advice and a good listener.
Gates got some badly needed character development this episode. They actually added some nuance and depth to her characterization. I wish they hadn't taken this long to do that, but what they did give us was effective. Gates came across as more sympathetic this episode than she has all season. I still am not sold on her, but this episode helped me to understand her better, and that's a good step in the right direction.
As for the murder of the week, well...I don't know how I feel about this conspiracy. They never really explained WHY they were trying to destroy the mayor. Actually, I'm not even sure exactly who was doing what. Was mysterious shadow dude responsible for taking down the mayor or saving him? I got confused. Maybe a more perceptive reader can explain to me what was going on. I think I'll blame my confusion on the fact that Kate actually wore decent clothes for once and I wasn't sure what version of Castle I was watching: Blue-Castle or Red-Castle. Heh.
All in all, it was a pretty decent episode. Not as funny as the one last week, which I liked more. But I'm glad we got some movement on the main storyline and I'm looking forward to all of this blowing up in Castle's face. Because you know it will. Kate's not going to appreciate being kept in the dark all this time.
Now that should be fun to see.
What did you all think?
It all tied into keeping Kate from investigating her mother's murder and her own shooting. If the Mayor is gone; then Castle is gone from the precinct - and all bets are off - Beckett returns to investigating both without Castle to rein her in. If the mysterious man helps Castle to clear the Mayor - then Kate remains the "Pawn" - the one stronger than the "King" - Mr. M (Mysterious Man) is using her to keep the "King" in line - Kate's the threat and thus his ace in the hole...as long as Castle can keep her from investigating.
ReplyDeleteHmm...okay, that makes sense. Thank you for clearing that up for me, Anon!
DeleteThat does add some nuance to the episode. Also, I like Mr. M, so I'm going to use that from now on.
To be fair to the episode, Max, you do forget things about Fates all the time, so I don't know if it's fair to use your memory as a proper measurement for when it's been too long since we've seen movement on the JBecks murder case.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, it's been too long since we've seen movement on the JBecks murder case. :-P
I liked the episode. I liked the conflict between Castle and Beckett and that they're allowed to fight without it leading to kidnapping or being the end of the world. Do I think Kate is an adult and should know that Castle is making these decisions for her? Hell yes. Do I think Castle should know Kate heard him at the end of last season? Same. But I'm still enjoying their interactions and do understand why they think they need to do this, unlike other shows where characters randomly lie to people for no reason whatsoever.
Wow, that was subtle, I know.
I liked Gates a lot in this episode. She had several points in her conversation with Kate (who called Castle Rick at City Hall! My shipper heart sighed happily) and I liked that she proposed the compromise. I don't know if it's a sign of character growth or just a more nuanced writer than usual, but I can't wait to see how she fits into this conspiracy. Her last line to Beckett and handing over the eraser kind of convinced me she's involved somehow, but I can't figure out how.
Liked this one quite a bit too even though the clandestine meetings were cliched.
ReplyDeleteIs it still a given that the Captain would give Castle the boot though if the Mayor had moved on? Feels to me like Castle had proven his worth to her.
Wonder how long the series is going to keep Kate from finding out that Castle is with holding info from her. The longer it goes the more problematic it will be for the audience to have their attention too focused on it.
Next week's episode looks like a return to the light and funny.
These clandestine meetings were completely ridiculous. Hehe. Calling to meet like this and Mr. M tell Castle one sentence (during the first meeting)? Couldn't he do that over the phone? LOL.
ReplyDeleteThe squintern's involvement, Jordan I think was his name, was telegraphed again, but heh. That was a good surprise to have the case linked to Beckett's mom case.
It's been way too long. Also, what happened to the Tron poster?
Finally, I liked Gates.