Summary and spoilers
Donny, a rich private school senior, is found dead in a park rowboat. Richard and Kate, now working more as a synchronous team, discover quickly that Donny’s parent’s recently had an economic downturn that ostracized Donny from his circle of friends and pushed him toward using and dealing drugs. Initially, his circle claims that Donny is the only drug user, but other witnesses prove that Donny was shot and killed in the park and his friends were witnesses. But were they more than witnesses? Each time more information is unearthed, the circle modifies their story, and each time, they become increasingly implicated in the crime.
Comments
I like the murder mystery elements used in Castle – like Richard deciphering that Donny’s family recently moved by noticing the out of place oversized oriental screen in their current apartment.
The father/daughter relationship between Richard and Alexis, although undeniably stagey, is also kind of sweet (and would be sweeter if the show’s director and editor would PLEASE tone down the overbearing background music).
The weakest link in successfully creating and then solving a murder mystery within the time constraints of a 42 minute television episode is structuring how to find incriminating evidence and then get the guilty party to confess. Considering how ‘light’ Castle is trying to be, a commendable job is done here of using actual points of law to gain a supposedly binding confession from the murderer.
Quotable Quotes
Richard: Morning, mother. You’re dressed early.
Martha: I have class -
Richard: I believe that’s a matter of some debate.
Martha: - at the New School – funny man.
Alexis: Trying to figure out how to murder someone in their sleep again?
Richard: Not this time. Do you know when you were little, I used to watch you sleep every night before I went to bed – just for a few minutes. It was ridiculous how adorable you were. Who’d a thought all these years later you’re still adorable.
"You know, actually having to prove things is really tedious."
- Richard
You know, I almost never notice background music. I don't know why. It just sails right past me. So I wasn't as annoyed as you were by that scene.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what you mean by "stagey", though. Could you elaborate?
By the way, I found this blog through IMDb (which I'm guessing is how you found mine as well - great minds thinking alike and all that). I enjoy your comments, and I particularly appreciate the quotes. But I'm curious why you started this blog. It doesn't have the kind of built-in devotion that most fan-blogs have. You are viewing this show with a critical eye, and aren't blind to its flaws. What made you decide to start a blog about this particular show?
Drew, thanks for your thoughtful comments and questions. I'm watching Castle purely as a Nathan Fillion fan. I enjoyed his work on Firefly immensely. If he wasn't a part of Castle, I'm sure I would not be viewing.
ReplyDeleteI'm a generally critically-minded person who likes to find flaws in everyone and everything (hopefully without destroying relationships and/or ruining my enjoyment of a television series). I come from a technical writer/editor background; my writing tends to be dry and uninvolved, but I'm trying to skew that a little more towards the fun side. Having said that, I'm sometimes guity of using the incorrect word, and 'stagey' is probably imprecise. I was referring to was that the quick-patter dialogue is styled more like a Broadway play or screwball comedy from the 40s (or Gilmore Girls-style fast talking). Richard and Alexis delivered their lines in this style and yet still managed a sincere scene that touched me as a dad.
Thanks for visiting! I'll keep checking your blog every week and add a link to it in the sidebar!
Typically