Let’s start with the good stuff. I really liked the way this whole case played out. Bringing Fallon (Adrian Pasdar) in to run things brought a new perspective that broke away from the normal formula. And really, formula is one of the danger words for a show like Castle. It’s why I’ve only seen two episodes of CSI (Charisma Carpenter’s episode and Liz Vassey in the Astro Quest costume) in years. At some point, you really have seen all the cards. Castle has done a good job of avoiding that to this point, and stories like this go a long way to keeping things fresh.
The twist of who the bombers were was also handled very well. The idea that a disgruntled vet is behind the bombing in an attempt to make a point is not particularly novel. It’s been done before. But the setup and the reveal were both great. I particularly liked the interrogation where Fallon went after McCann/Hayes (Lochlyn Munro), and Hayes called the bluff. It did a lot for both of their characters.
Another great bit came in the form of Fariq (Alon Aboutboul). He didn’t really have a lot to do here, despite dropping the bombshell clue in the team’s lap. Even in that short amount of time though, you get what a great character Fariq is. He has all kinds of potential as a recurring player. I’ve no idea if there are plans in that direction, but I would be all for it.
And, of course, we have the big countdown from the episode title. Castle’s last second grab at the bundle of wires might seem a little silly, but I liked it. If nothing else, at least it wasn’t yet another red wire/blue wire moment. After all, despite the concerned looks, we knew the bomb couldn’t go off, so you might as well do it with a little panache.
As for that other thing … if you’ve been playing along with the home game, you may have already guessed that I didn’t like it. You would be correct. And the worst part isn’t that after all of the hints and teasing we were again given a reset. Although, that does just annoy me. The worst part was that after all this time, Dr. Josh (Victor Webster) finally gets an actual scene, and it’s with Castle?! “You can not be serious!” Time with Beckett is relegated to the background, but he gets to actually share a conversation with Castle. Good grief.
And with that, this will be my last post on Castle for the foreseeable future. I’m not giving up on the show, but I’ve learned a couple things after writing some 1300 posts and over a million words about TV. One of those things is that nobody wants to read someone putting the boots to their favorite show every week. It’s becoming pretty clear that I’m about to head down that path with the Beckett/Castle relationship. So, I’ve put the word out. Hopefully, in the coming weeks this space will be filled by someone who is a little more forgiving where the arc of that relationship is concerned.
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Mar 03, 2011 @ 08:33 EST5EDT
I knew you’d hate the Josh resolution and I was waiting for your review to agree with you. I just didn’t know you’d hate it enough to stop reviewing the show. Please don’t, I look forward to your reviews.
I think Andrew Marlowe must have recieved a lot of flack about it because he tweeted that there really was a plan and “I’m heart, not Hart”, a reference to Hart Hanson who has kept Bones and Booth in limbo for 6 season.
*POST AUTHOR*
While I do enjoy anyone taking a shot at Hart and Bones, after all we’ve seen, I’ll believe it when I see it.The funny thing about his tweet is he references Castle shippers as being impatient. I don’t think it’s being impatient nearly as much as it’s just being annoyed.
Agreed, Hanson screws with the fans for fun and may well be a man with a plan but he does nothing to make us feel like we are going to get a pay off.
Marlowe on the other hand tweets he has a plan and we need to be patient however he keeps luring us to the edge only to show us the lemmings below rather than the love affair.
SOME may be patient, I am also done…I guess only those Fillion fan gurls will be left when it does pay off, doesnt Marlowe realize the re-up of Castle was a gift because the new ABC head had no time to put his own stamp on the net lineup? Reading Marlowe and his wife, who oddly, is also a writer on the show (yup sarcasm) you would think they have all the time in the world on a #1 rated show.
Hint: they. do. not.
Another hint: stop screwing with the non Fillion fan gurls, maybe we like the other actors too …
I have to agree with you on the reset. In a way I knew I wouldn’t get a happy end, yet.
But imo it is a little different than before. Every time they got close to a happy end, only one of them wanted it to happen. For example the finale of the second season. In the last scene of Countdown between Castle and Beckett, both knew that they wanted to give it a try, they just didn’t get the opportunity with Dr. motorcycle boy ruining the moment.
The comparison with Bones doesn’t really work for me. That show is over for me for over a year now, because by then I didn’t even want Booth and Bones to get together. Castle and Beckett just belong together with her toughness and his humor.
I was really disappointed with this episode in two ways, first if Castle really thought he was about to die, I think he would’ve blurted out his feelings for Beckett. And then the whole going back with Dr. Josh scheme…gimme a break. What’s next, Castle gets back with Alyssa Milano?
I didn’t see the Beckett-Castle relationship being reset at all in this episode. I saw it as moving forward. Yes, Josh stayed because he wanted to be with Beckett and she said that would give them a chance … what I see is that now Beckett will make a choice. And, she will choose Castle. And … most importantly it won’t be a rebound.
For Castle, he is now at the breaking point.
Their relationship has been building over the last few episodes, Josh is a non-issue. It is following a natural progression based on the events they have dealt with.
I am enjoying their relationship, them getting closer and getting to know each other more each week. I don’t feel it is too slow. It is too bad that because of shows like Bones, fans are impatient and not willing to let the story play out.