1.08 Ghosts

Summary and spoilers

A married woman is drowned in a bathtub full of motor oil. But she’s no ordinary wife. She’s an FBI fugitive who’s been on the run - and living under an assumed name - for years. Cythia Dern, the fugitive, took part in the environmental protest bombing of an oil tanker that left one of her co-conspirators dead and the captain of the ship paralyzed. Recently, she had hired a ghost writer to publish her memoirs prior to turning herself in. But someone from her past caught up with her before that could happen

Comments

I found myself interested in this week’s story. Cynthia’s backstory - that she planted a bomb to blow up a unmanned tanker as a protest against the Exxon Valdez spill - and that she tried to back out when she found out that the captain was still on board - made her a somewhat gray area character.

Castle Quotes

Richard: Did someone say ‘murder’? Hold one, I’ll get my coat.
Roy: Look at him all excited.
Kate: Yeah, like a kid at Christmas.
Ryan: With a dead body under the tree.

“Look Who’s Stalking.”
- Richard

Kate: If you’re looking for a happy ending, you’ve come to the wrong place.
Richard: Next time I’ll just try that massage parlor on Second Avenue.

Richard: Now we’re even, so what do you say to a little showdown? Head to head; toe to toe; winner take all, mano e mujer.
Kate: Hand to woman?
Richard: Whatever it takes.

1.07 Home Is Where the Heart Stops

Summary and spoilers

A series of home invasions and high-end jewel heights have been perpetrated by a dark thief who tortures and/or kills his targets. Kate takes a more personal interest when the daughter of the last victim gets emotional about losing her mother. There seems to be no connection among the four targeted families until Kate and Richard discover they have all attended the same organization’s charity function. Going undercover in black-tie dress, Kate and Richard discover an inside man who is feeding detailed information to the real killer.

Comments

Castle is sticking to its formula of not revealing the murderer ᾦquot; and also not revealing any meaningful clues as to who the murderer is ᾦquot; until the final third of the episode. There’s no point in trying to solve the mystery, so you can just sit back, let your mind relax, and enjoy the slowly burgeoning relationship between Kate and Richard.

The death of Kate’s mother at the hands of a murderer is once again worked into the plot. Kate takes a special interest in the latest in a series of home invasion crimes when the mother of a young daughter is murdered. Kate is not only passionate about solving the case, but she also offers consolation, guidance, and friendship to the victim’s daughter.

Memorable Moments

• Richard and Kate walking the red carpet
• Richard using the windshield wipers to knock a baddie off the hood of the police car

Castle Quotes

Richard: [fires gun, misses target] Shot too soon.
Kate: Yeah, well…you know, we could always just cuddle, Castle.

Esposito: Man, these guys are guilty of tax evasion, not home invasion.
Ryan: [sees Kate walking down red carpet] Yeah, well…appearances can be deceiving.
Ryan: Nice dress.
Esposito: Yeah, what there is of it.
Kate: I’d let you borrow it, Esposito, but you stretched out the last one.

Kate: Did you know that they call you ‘the white whale’?
Richard: The white whale?
Kate: Uh-huh.
Richard: Not Moby -
Kate: No.

Richard: What happened to the dress?
Kate: You didn’t think I was gonna interrogate him in it, did you?
Richard: We were kinda hoping.

Joanne (victim’s daughter): How do you get over it?
Kate: You don’t. Well, one day you’ll wake up and you’ll find you don’t mind carrying it around with you. At least, that’s as far as I’ve come.

1.06 Always Buy Retail

Summary and spoilers

An African-American man is ritualistically murdered amid elements of the vodoun religion. Further investigations, and a second murder, reveal a connection to a stall on Canal Street that specializes in copycat women’s accessories. At first, evidence points to a young Nigerian illegal alien, but there’s something more sinister – and profitable – that is driving the murderer. Can Kate and Richard find him before he kills again?

Comments

One change Castle needs to make is to shake up the structure of solving the mysteries. Every week, at around the halfway point, Kate and Richard find the most obvious suspect. All the evidence they have found so far points to this person (this week, the suspect du jour is the young Nigerian man living with other illegal aliens). And every week, this person is innocent and further investigation and evidence proves this. They need to shake up and change up this formula; all the suspense is being drained because we know the first person they find is always innocent.

The last episode of Castle took a more somber, thoughtful approach to serious personal emotional matters (for example, Kate’s back story and why she’s a cop). Unfortunately, this episode returns to a more flippant, sitcom mood. As always, the murder investigation is treated seriously, but the sub-plot (Richard’s ex-wife Meredith is in town for a visit, and is about to move back) is treated purely for risque jokes. Only Alexis gets a couple of brief chances to show a sincere emotional response to this. Richard, on the other hand, seems bothered by the logistics and wackiness that would ensure, but otherwise is emotionally unaffected. It’s an entertaining episode, but I hoped for a little more depth.

On a related note, I question whether your ex-wife is the ideal ‘wild casual sex partner’. Not many people would claim that they spend a wild night every couple of years with their ex. In fact, ex-partners are generally the worst candidates for such trysts, simply because of the history that would accompany it. That’s why people seek out strangers or acquaintances for this sort of thing.

Castle Quotes

Kate: If she’s so bad, why’d you sleep with her this morning?
Richard: Let me tell you something about crazy people: the sex is unbelievable.

Richard: We know he hasn’t found what he’s looking for.
Roy: How do you know?
Richard: The charm in her mouth. Still needs the spirits to guide him.
Roy: Chapter 10.

Meredith: You know, I was his inspiration once.
Kate: Were you now?
Meredith: Still am, from time to time. Right, kitten?
Kate: Kitten?
Richard: I had this dream once, only I was naked, and – far less embarrassed.

Kate: Bailor’s gonna make it. You okay, Castle?
Richard: My first gun battle.
Kate: Your last gun battle.
Richard: You shouldn’t be so pessimistic; I think I handled myself pretty well.
Kate: Yep…probably saved my life.
Richard: Probably? I definitely saved your life, and you know what that means, don’t you? It means you owe me.
Kate: Owe you what?
Richard: Whatever I want. And you know – exactly – what I want, don’t you? You know what I really, really, want you to do? [moves closer, whispers in ear] Never, ever – call me kitten.

Martha: There wasn’t a little part for me in the artsy -
Richard: No.
Martha: No.

1.05 A Chill Goes Through Her Veins

Summary and spoilers

Melanie Cavanaugh is found dead – and frozen - at a construction site; the investigation reveals she disappeared five years ago, was assumed to be on the run, and was murdered soon after – then frozen until the present. Her husband is the main suspect, even though he was killed a year ago in an attempted robbery. Though both the victim and the suspect are dead, Kate is driven to solve this mystery by her disgust that the case was so haphazardly investigated at the time of Melanie’s initial disappearance.

Comments

This episode has a different, more serious and somber mood. There are still some light, humorous moments, but Richard and Kate have begun to respect each other; together, they make a formidable interrogation team.

There are a number of powerful, poignant scenes: the scene with Melanie’s lover, Kevin Henson, when we find out why she had come to see him that last time features a quiet, understated performance by Channon Roe. There’s also an emotional half-confession by Bill Smitrovich as Melanie’s dad, Ben Davidson. And we get some of Kate’s back story; how her mother Johanna was murdered and her father became an alcoholic. Finally, Richard secretly obtains the file on the unsolved murder of Kate’s mother and begins the process of trying to unravel it.

I’ve branded Castle ‘stagey’ in the past; the word I was looking for was ‘theatrical’. While some crime shows aim for a more realistic feel, Castle goes for something skewed more toward fiction: a show where the accused might confess a little too easily. I’m okay with that, as long as the writing and acting are at a high enough level to skill make it entertaining, and in this episode, they are.

Memorable Moments

• The little ‘tweep’ punctuation sound effects that accompany Richard’s spoken words when he opens the door to Kate while wearing his laser tag gear

Castle Quotes

Richard: [deciding which lead to follow] Homeless…White Plains…homeless…White Plains.
Javier: There’s both kinda creepy.

Richard: She was gonna leave Sam. That’s why she came to see you.
Kevin: She found out he was having an affair. She thought he was gonna leave her and get custody of the kids, you know, because of the drugs. She wanted me to go with, take the kids, just disappear.
Kate: So what’d you do?
Kevin: Put her on a bus.
Richard: You sent her away?
Kevin: What she wanted I couldn’t give her. Checked into rehab the next day – I thought if I could get clean – that’s where I was when she disappeared. By the time I got out she was dead.
Kate: How could you be sure she was dead?
Kevin: ‘Cause she stopped callin’. If she was alive, she would have called.

Kate: [in Richard’s home office] Wow! I feel like…Alfred in the bat cave for the first time.
Richard: Hmm. Batman fan. Figures.
Kate: Why?
Richard: Similar origin stories: loss of a loved one leads to a life of fighting crime.
Kate: Yes, well, you are the multi-millionaire crime fighter.

Richard: Alright, so you and I are married.
Kate: We are not married.
Richard: Relax! It’s just pretend.
Kate: I don’t want to pretend.
Richard: Scared you’ll like it?
Kate: Okay…if we’re married, I want a divorce.
Roger: Are you two like this all the time?
Kate and Richard: [together] Yes.

Kate: Why’d you stop paying?
Charles: Look, I’m truly sorry about what happened to Melanie, but what was I supposed to do, keep paying for the rest of my life?
Kate: The D.A. will make sure of that, Mr. Wyler

Richard: You could just leave it like this. Sam’s dead. The Captain’s happy. Those kids look pretty happy.
Kate: That’s the difference between a novel and the real world, Castle. A cop doesn’t get to decide how the story ends.

1.04 Hell Hath No Fury

Summary and spoilers

A city council member named Jeff Horn is found dead in a rolled up rug. It’s a murder, sloppily covered up to look like a robbery. The main suspect is a sleazy club owner and developer, Calvin Creason, who clashed with Horn over a proposed mega-club, and lost millions in property because of it. Creason is openly happy that Horn is out of the way, but also denies involvement and has an alibi. Before long, Kate and Richard discover blackmail and scorn enter into the equation.

Comments

Castle’s exhilarating pace is used enhance the perceived need to move quickly to catch the murderer, and of course to cover up and gaps of logic (the faster they go, the less chance you’ll have to stop and think about what just happened).

Wouldn’t it be nice if real detectives worked as fast and were as clever as Kate Beckett, and had sidekicks as clever and witty as Richard Castle?

In previous episodes, I found the background music to be overwhelming intrusive. It is toned down throughout this episode, and it’s a major improvement.

I really liked this episode! It had the funniest lines, and yet it was also moodier at times – like when the detectives examine the murder scene while Lori Horn’s voiceover fills in the details. The supporting actors are also excellent.

Memorable Moments

• Kate showing up unexpectedly at the book reading

Castle Quotes

Richard: Can’t be easy breaking that kind of news.
Kate: Yeah, well – thanks for not making it a joke.
Richard: Hey, I’m a wise-ass, not a jack-ass.
Kate: I didn’t know there was a difference.

"So…what’s your next move? Last person to see him alive? Establish a timeline? Grab a doughnut? More really bad coffee?"
- Richard to Kate

Kate: That’s the rug! That’s the same rug! Don’t gloat, okay – ‘cause it’s really unattractive.
Richard: Now can we arrest him?

Richard: I gotta hand it to Councilman Horny. He is incredibly flexible for a guy his age. [shows photo] Look at that – you ever do that?
Kate: Would you put those away?
Richard: I’m just saying, he’s gotta do yoga or pilates or somethin’.
Kate: Why is it always the family values guys that get caught with their pants down?
Richard: Because the universe loves irony – and because most people are hypocrites.
Kate: And what was that girl thinking – that he would leave his wife and kids for her?
Richard: That is so sexist!
Kate: How is that soo sexist?
Richard: You assume that just because she’s a woman, that she was after a relationship. Did you ever think maybe she was in it for the sex?
Kate: Yes I did – and then I saw him.
Richard: What was it that turned you off – that he was wearing a rug? [pause] Too soon?

Alexis: So by trying to look smart, they’re actually being stupid.
Richard: I think you just described the human condition.

 "You have the bridge, number one."
- Richard to Alexis

"Flavor country."
- Richard (describing the new coffee)

Roy: Stop running, bro…campaign’s over.
Richard: Ooh…yes.

Richard: Detective Beckett! To what do I owe this very unexpected pleasure?
Kate: I just figured if you were going to bother me at my work, I should bother you at yours. That was – quite a reading – very moving.
Richard: Are you making fun of me?
Kate: ‘Good, she thought, as the wind gathered up her hair. No one will see my tears.’ How does wind gather up hair? I’m just curious.
Richard: Oh, you’re telling me how to do my job?
Kate: Irritating, isn’t it?

Kate: What kind of a name is ‘Nikki Heat’?
Richard: A cop name.
Kate: It’s a stripper name.
Richard: Well, I told you she was kind of slutty.
Kate: Change it, Castle.
Richard: Hang on a second. Think of the titles: ‘Summer Heat’. ‘Heat Wave’. ‘In Heat’.