By Moira Kirkland
***Spoilers! If you haven't watched this episode, please go and do so before continuing!***
Kudos to the creative team behind Castle for coming up with so many unique ways for a person to die in just the first season--which had such a quick run, it couldn't even be termed a full season! Here we are, already at the eighth episode, and today's crime scene features a woman drowned in a tub full of motor oil. Seriously, nothing is quite so creepy as a face that appears in what you thought was a black screen.... Stolen identities, ghostwriters, bombs on an oil tanker, environmental activists... and a past that hasn't quite let go like people always assumed.
The "Good Parts" Version:
-Castle's got a new poker crowd! This time, it's the gang from the 12th Precinct who are fast becoming best buds with the "ruggedly handsome" mystery writer--and also getting a dose of Martha! "When he blinks too much, he's bluffing.... Oh, now he's tapping, that means he's got a good hand..." Nobody calls tells like a mother, which is why Susan Sullivan is quite possibly the best actress to ever play the mother figure for somebody like Nathan Fillion; the pair are wonderful, and the wits are perfectly matched, one can't help but sense the fictional genetics in the chemistry.
-Speaking of chemistry, what better way for a guy to show he likes a girl than to fold on a perfectly good hand just so she can win the pot? Things are looking good for the Caskett ship!
-I'll admit, Castle had me hooked with his "soccer mom lover's liaison" angle as to why a woman like the unfortunate victim would be in a sleazy hotel like that one in the first place! It was fun, though, to see that, gradually, Castle is winning the guys--they're not writing him off (no pun intended) as just a crackpot tag-along anymore. Trading theories with Espo--how fun!
-So the identity was stolen--but the layers lead back to a true crime writer that I recognized: Joanne Kelly from Warehouse 13! Joanne doesn't quite pass off the writer-vibe as well as Nathan Fillion does, but that's okay, because she's just a ghostwriter who has been recording the story from the victim's past that she had been running from her entire life, which may have been the thing that caught up with her.
-The woman, Cynthia, had teamed up with two others to plant a bomb on an oil tanker, which blew too soon and injured the captain who was still on board, and killed one of the others. The fact that the killer drowned Cynthia in motor oil was more than just poetic justice--it was personal. So the question becomes: who else knew about the bomb plot and would have the motive and means to kill Cynthia?
-After a brief interview with the one surviving member (and the guy who built the bomb and blames himself for the faulty fuse that caused the early explosion), Castle notices that his account diverges from the story Cynthia wanted to publish. Being a writer, he knows something about how and when to reveal key information, depending on the kind of message the writer wants to send--so why would Cynthia be giving her ghostwriter false information? Or perhaps the ghostwriter is taking creative liberties? If so, why?
-The more leads they find because of the ghostwriter, the more people they encounter who know about the book that Cynthia was going to publish, which gives rise to a new motive--true crime novels are one thing when published under the watchful eye of the perpetrator--but now that Cynthia is dead, the ghostwriter could be sitting on a bestseller, with very few people who would care if she sensationalized the story. Of course, the airtight alibi exonerates the writer--but if she didn't, who did? A connection is coming--but what could it be?
-In talking with the family of the captain who had been on the oil tanker, Castle and Beckett discover that the son had been trying to hunt Cynthia down--but it turns out that was only to find out why she'd been sending regular checks to his mom, accompanied by a note that said "I'm sorry." The trouble is, the ghostwriter--who should have known about it, since it would have aided casting Cynthia in a more favorable light--knew nothing. So if Cynthia didn't send the money, who did?
-Can I just point out how much I miss these poker games scenes? I can't recall exactly when they were phased out, but one just doesn't see them much anymore on the show! It takes a poker game with the "Gotham crew" (the judge, the mayor, and the police chief) to figure out this new twist in the mystery. Plus, Beckett demands in because she is mad at Castle for "throwing" the last game... and yet, when given the chance, Beckett "throws" it right back! Who says romance has to involve kissing and bedroom scenes?
-A well-placed comment in the middle of a flurry of contemplation prompts Castle to come up with another wild theory: what if the conspirator everyone thought was dead, really wasn't? And what if she was the one who murdered Cynthia, after living all this time under a false identity, just like Cynthia had?
-And BOOM. Turns out the writers have one more twist for us: Cynthia had discovered this woman was alive... and Cynthia had invited Susan over to kill her in the motor oil and so the story could be told however Cynthia liked... but Susan figured it out and turned the tables on her.
-As a final wrap-up for the case, Castle figures out the ghostwriter's slimy ploy to publicize the fact that she was in contact with Cynthia, which would only invite more publicity for her book if Cynthia were actually arrested and placed on trial. (And yes, I do believe there is a sleazy "tabloid reporter" based on the ghostwriter as a character in Castle's books!) Lesson learned: don't mess with a writer. Even if you "succeed" in hoodwinking them, you'll more than likely end up as material, and the portrayal will not be flattering.
-Finally, Castle and Beckett confront each other about intentionally throwing the poker games... and decide on a rematch. The pot? Gummy bears.
On the whole, I think this episode was on the weirder side, as far as the mystery goes. There weren't any intensely action-packed chases, a lot of it was subtle, mess-with-your-mind-and-emotions kind of stuff. I liked seeing the relationship between Castle and Beckett develop further, as everyone in the Precinct begins to welcome him more as one of them instead of passing him off. I'd give this episode a 4/5.
Kudos to the creative team behind Castle for coming up with so many unique ways for a person to die in just the first season--which had such a quick run, it couldn't even be termed a full season! Here we are, already at the eighth episode, and today's crime scene features a woman drowned in a tub full of motor oil. Seriously, nothing is quite so creepy as a face that appears in what you thought was a black screen.... Stolen identities, ghostwriters, bombs on an oil tanker, environmental activists... and a past that hasn't quite let go like people always assumed.
The "Good Parts" Version:
-Castle's got a new poker crowd! This time, it's the gang from the 12th Precinct who are fast becoming best buds with the "ruggedly handsome" mystery writer--and also getting a dose of Martha! "When he blinks too much, he's bluffing.... Oh, now he's tapping, that means he's got a good hand..." Nobody calls tells like a mother, which is why Susan Sullivan is quite possibly the best actress to ever play the mother figure for somebody like Nathan Fillion; the pair are wonderful, and the wits are perfectly matched, one can't help but sense the fictional genetics in the chemistry.-Speaking of chemistry, what better way for a guy to show he likes a girl than to fold on a perfectly good hand just so she can win the pot? Things are looking good for the Caskett ship!
-I'll admit, Castle had me hooked with his "soccer mom lover's liaison" angle as to why a woman like the unfortunate victim would be in a sleazy hotel like that one in the first place! It was fun, though, to see that, gradually, Castle is winning the guys--they're not writing him off (no pun intended) as just a crackpot tag-along anymore. Trading theories with Espo--how fun!
-The woman, Cynthia, had teamed up with two others to plant a bomb on an oil tanker, which blew too soon and injured the captain who was still on board, and killed one of the others. The fact that the killer drowned Cynthia in motor oil was more than just poetic justice--it was personal. So the question becomes: who else knew about the bomb plot and would have the motive and means to kill Cynthia?
-After a brief interview with the one surviving member (and the guy who built the bomb and blames himself for the faulty fuse that caused the early explosion), Castle notices that his account diverges from the story Cynthia wanted to publish. Being a writer, he knows something about how and when to reveal key information, depending on the kind of message the writer wants to send--so why would Cynthia be giving her ghostwriter false information? Or perhaps the ghostwriter is taking creative liberties? If so, why?
-The more leads they find because of the ghostwriter, the more people they encounter who know about the book that Cynthia was going to publish, which gives rise to a new motive--true crime novels are one thing when published under the watchful eye of the perpetrator--but now that Cynthia is dead, the ghostwriter could be sitting on a bestseller, with very few people who would care if she sensationalized the story. Of course, the airtight alibi exonerates the writer--but if she didn't, who did? A connection is coming--but what could it be?
-In talking with the family of the captain who had been on the oil tanker, Castle and Beckett discover that the son had been trying to hunt Cynthia down--but it turns out that was only to find out why she'd been sending regular checks to his mom, accompanied by a note that said "I'm sorry." The trouble is, the ghostwriter--who should have known about it, since it would have aided casting Cynthia in a more favorable light--knew nothing. So if Cynthia didn't send the money, who did?
-Can I just point out how much I miss these poker games scenes? I can't recall exactly when they were phased out, but one just doesn't see them much anymore on the show! It takes a poker game with the "Gotham crew" (the judge, the mayor, and the police chief) to figure out this new twist in the mystery. Plus, Beckett demands in because she is mad at Castle for "throwing" the last game... and yet, when given the chance, Beckett "throws" it right back! Who says romance has to involve kissing and bedroom scenes?-A well-placed comment in the middle of a flurry of contemplation prompts Castle to come up with another wild theory: what if the conspirator everyone thought was dead, really wasn't? And what if she was the one who murdered Cynthia, after living all this time under a false identity, just like Cynthia had?
-And BOOM. Turns out the writers have one more twist for us: Cynthia had discovered this woman was alive... and Cynthia had invited Susan over to kill her in the motor oil and so the story could be told however Cynthia liked... but Susan figured it out and turned the tables on her.
-As a final wrap-up for the case, Castle figures out the ghostwriter's slimy ploy to publicize the fact that she was in contact with Cynthia, which would only invite more publicity for her book if Cynthia were actually arrested and placed on trial. (And yes, I do believe there is a sleazy "tabloid reporter" based on the ghostwriter as a character in Castle's books!) Lesson learned: don't mess with a writer. Even if you "succeed" in hoodwinking them, you'll more than likely end up as material, and the portrayal will not be flattering.
-Finally, Castle and Beckett confront each other about intentionally throwing the poker games... and decide on a rematch. The pot? Gummy bears.
On the whole, I think this episode was on the weirder side, as far as the mystery goes. There weren't any intensely action-packed chases, a lot of it was subtle, mess-with-your-mind-and-emotions kind of stuff. I liked seeing the relationship between Castle and Beckett develop further, as everyone in the Precinct begins to welcome him more as one of them instead of passing him off. I'd give this episode a 4/5.
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