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.