Castle, Season 5 Episode 15
I missed, and still have not watched, last week's episode of Castle (the 13th ep of season 5 for those keeping track), but because Castle is mostly a crime-of-the-week show, I didn't feel like I had to hold off on watching tonight's episode until I'd seen last week's. I was especially keen to watch tonight's ep as it aired because it's the first half of the usual February two-parter and the two-parters are always heavy on Kate Beckett mythology and/or Castle-Beckett relationship-building. Except that this time, it's not.
We all knew from previews and commercials aired throughout the week (well, okay, all of us except apparently my friend Hunter Martin, who watches the show on Hulu and never sees the previews for upcoming eps) that this episode was going to to revolve around the kidnapping of Alexis and the effect of the kidnapping on Castle, Martha and Beckett (and on the unit overall). We also knew it was the first part of the two-parter and so nothing would really be resolved. The question was, how would they keep the plot moving and keep the tension up? And the answer to that question turned out to be: pretty damned well.
We knew Alexis was one of the kidnapping victims, but the characters didn't. I think the writers did a fantastic job of spooling out the tension -- when will the squad realize that there is more than one kidnap victim in that van? And when will they learn the other victim is Alexis Castle? Turns out both questions were answered at the same time. In discovering where the known victim had been kidnapped from, they discovered who she'd been with: Alexis. Castle calling Alexis' phone and hearing it ring in the hotel ballroom was a small but effective moment.
And then we got to see why Nathan Fillion is often so underestimated as an actor. We're accustomed to Fillion providing the snark and/or romance -- whether it's as Castle, Captain Mal, Captain Hammer, or any number of other characters -- but it's been a while since we've seen him put this much depth into Castle. Rick's anguish, especially in the scene where the crew has discovered the blood-covered van and he has to wait while Lanie types the blood (of which there is an awful lot), but also in the scene were he confronts the injured van driver about Alexis' whereabouts, is palpable and real. There's no hamminess, no winking at the camera, and no overacting. It's real, it's raw and it's painful to watch ... as it should be.
I thought, at about the half-way point, that the writers had mis-stepped by showing us Alexis and Sarah El-Masri. By showing us they were alive and in fact being fairly well-cared for (bathroom, change of clothes, towels and soap, hot food through a slot in the door), they reduced some of the tension of the story. The final scenes, however, showed why this was a necessary move: we need to know the girls are alive and okay so that their failed escape attempt can lead us to the second half of the two-parter.
One moment that wasn't as twisty-shocking as the creators had possibly hoped? It was pretty obvious to me (and to the folks I was chatting with on social media) that the farmhouse in "upstate NY" was not where the girls really were. The intercuts between the precinct, the Feds closing in, and the girls' attempted conversation with their guard were too pat, too perfectly crafted. The cynic in me said "that's not where they are" long before Captain Gates got the call. But that's okay. A predictable twist is not necessarily a mis-step. It's a moment that had to happen to move the story along, and it was crafted as well as it could be.
The rest of the cast did their usual good jobs moving the procedural aspects along and having at least a moment where they acknowledged that this case hits close to home. But like good cops, Esposito, Ryan and Lanie all do their jobs and do their best to keep their emotions on the side. Even Captain Gates, who dislikes Rick with a passion, has a good moment with Beckett about Castle. It's nice to see Dylan Walsh as the Federal agent who takes on the case, but he's not really given much to do to interact with the regular cast.
The intrigue, of course, is in that last scene reveal and in the preview for next week's episode. How the hell did the kidnappers get the girls to Paris in that short period of time is the obvious question, but there's also that faceless snippet of dialogue from the preview for next week: "I'm your father." Apparently, we are finally going to get some detail to the Castle character mythology: what really happened to Rick's absent father? Is he a spy? And how does that tie into the kidnapping? Was Alexis really a collateral victim? (I'm sure the answer to that last question is still 'yes,' but now I'm wondering.)
The first part of this two-parter did not let me down, and I can't wait for the second half.
And there we go. Clearly, I loved the episode.
We all knew from previews and commercials aired throughout the week (well, okay, all of us except apparently my friend Hunter Martin, who watches the show on Hulu and never sees the previews for upcoming eps) that this episode was going to to revolve around the kidnapping of Alexis and the effect of the kidnapping on Castle, Martha and Beckett (and on the unit overall). We also knew it was the first part of the two-parter and so nothing would really be resolved. The question was, how would they keep the plot moving and keep the tension up? And the answer to that question turned out to be: pretty damned well.
We knew Alexis was one of the kidnapping victims, but the characters didn't. I think the writers did a fantastic job of spooling out the tension -- when will the squad realize that there is more than one kidnap victim in that van? And when will they learn the other victim is Alexis Castle? Turns out both questions were answered at the same time. In discovering where the known victim had been kidnapped from, they discovered who she'd been with: Alexis. Castle calling Alexis' phone and hearing it ring in the hotel ballroom was a small but effective moment.
And then we got to see why Nathan Fillion is often so underestimated as an actor. We're accustomed to Fillion providing the snark and/or romance -- whether it's as Castle, Captain Mal, Captain Hammer, or any number of other characters -- but it's been a while since we've seen him put this much depth into Castle. Rick's anguish, especially in the scene where the crew has discovered the blood-covered van and he has to wait while Lanie types the blood (of which there is an awful lot), but also in the scene were he confronts the injured van driver about Alexis' whereabouts, is palpable and real. There's no hamminess, no winking at the camera, and no overacting. It's real, it's raw and it's painful to watch ... as it should be.
I thought, at about the half-way point, that the writers had mis-stepped by showing us Alexis and Sarah El-Masri. By showing us they were alive and in fact being fairly well-cared for (bathroom, change of clothes, towels and soap, hot food through a slot in the door), they reduced some of the tension of the story. The final scenes, however, showed why this was a necessary move: we need to know the girls are alive and okay so that their failed escape attempt can lead us to the second half of the two-parter.
One moment that wasn't as twisty-shocking as the creators had possibly hoped? It was pretty obvious to me (and to the folks I was chatting with on social media) that the farmhouse in "upstate NY" was not where the girls really were. The intercuts between the precinct, the Feds closing in, and the girls' attempted conversation with their guard were too pat, too perfectly crafted. The cynic in me said "that's not where they are" long before Captain Gates got the call. But that's okay. A predictable twist is not necessarily a mis-step. It's a moment that had to happen to move the story along, and it was crafted as well as it could be.
The rest of the cast did their usual good jobs moving the procedural aspects along and having at least a moment where they acknowledged that this case hits close to home. But like good cops, Esposito, Ryan and Lanie all do their jobs and do their best to keep their emotions on the side. Even Captain Gates, who dislikes Rick with a passion, has a good moment with Beckett about Castle. It's nice to see Dylan Walsh as the Federal agent who takes on the case, but he's not really given much to do to interact with the regular cast.
The intrigue, of course, is in that last scene reveal and in the preview for next week's episode. How the hell did the kidnappers get the girls to Paris in that short period of time is the obvious question, but there's also that faceless snippet of dialogue from the preview for next week: "I'm your father." Apparently, we are finally going to get some detail to the Castle character mythology: what really happened to Rick's absent father? Is he a spy? And how does that tie into the kidnapping? Was Alexis really a collateral victim? (I'm sure the answer to that last question is still 'yes,' but now I'm wondering.)
The first part of this two-parter did not let me down, and I can't wait for the second half.
And there we go. Clearly, I loved the episode.