Castle – The better to eat you with

After the disappointing end to the Castle two parter last week, it is nice to get back to a standard formula show. Murder mystery? Check. Interesting enough guest casting so that the murder isn’t immediately apparent? Check. Cute quippyness between our heroes? Check and check. It’s nice to have the real Castle back.

I know that Castle made light of it, but it is interesting just how much things are changing for him at home. Alexis’ interning with Lanie is a small thing compared to her soon leaving for college. I’m sure that’s an exceptionally big moment for any parent, especially one with the type of close bond Castle and his daughter share. Certainly, Martha’s one act play has nearly the impact as the changes with his daughter, but any growth out of her character has to lead to her gravitating away from the family unit, right? Finally considering the foreshadowing last week with the comment about Castle’s father, his home life will continue to factor into the storylines moving forward.

:45 Minute Guess: It’s great to actually have an episode that’s worth guessing about, even if the guess really came in at the :50 minute mark. The guy in custody at this point in an episode is rarely the murderer, so Darren Morgan is out. His wife didn’t give him an alibi, which almost makes her a little too obvious as well. My guess is Charlotte Boyd, trying to keep the secret of her actual complicity in Owen’s murder seven years ago.

The Answer: It’s nice to stretch that particular muscle again, and get it right on the first try (Though a little later I talk about how easily I jump at shadows on Castle).

There were several recognizable faces in the guest cast this week. Suits’ Meghan Markle played Charlotte (If you’re not watching Suits, start … like right now). Darren was played by Trauma’s Taylor Kinney (Yes, Vampire Diaries fans, I said Trauma … got a problem with that??). His wife Leslie was NCIS‘s and Brothers & Sisters’s Sarah Jane Morris. It must be a rule somewhere in the Castle casting office that there cannot be more than an episode or two without having someone with some soap opera experience, and this week General Hospital’s Jason Thompson meet the quota for the month. Also, some of you might recognize the barista as Graciella the intern (Gloria Garayua) from Grey’s Anatomy.

The first thought I had when the family told Castle and Beckett that the victim was a lawyer was, “She’s totally not a lawyer.” Sometimes you watch a show with mandatory twists often enough that you start to expect to see them where they shouldn’t be.

Oh, and you can’t beat this cuteness:

Notes & Quotes

• “Am I the only one seeing this? Red cloak in the woods, animal attack. She’s Little Red Ridding Hood.” – Castle
  “Great, Castle, I’ll call in an APB for the Big Bad Wolf.” – Beckett
• “Castle that is a surprisingly reasonable and grounded theory.” – Beckett
  “Yeah … I’m a little disappointed with myself.” – Castle
• “Wasn’t he practically my age?” – Castle
  “Honey you know I’ve always loved younger men; they have so much energy, enough to keep up with me … most of the time.” – Martha
• “He covered his bases.” – Castle
  “I know; it’s really starting to piss me off.” – Beckett
  “And you get cute when you’re angry [Beckett gives him a look] but not when you get angry with me.” – Castle
• “He who that hath children hath given hostages to fortune.” – Francis Bacon, though parroted with such injury by Martha
• Is Penny Johnson Jerald still a regular character on this show? Can anyone answer that question?

Clacked by Ivey West
on Feb 28, 2012 @ 21:54 EST5EDT