Castle Episode 7 Review
Home Is Where The Heart Stops
It all began so well for the sixth episode of Castle. It opened inside a high-rise apartment, where a solitary feather glided into a wrecked room, blood and broken furniture strewn around, before culminating with an incredible shot of a picture swinging open to reveal the wall-safe it hid, with a woman’s mutilated corpse improbably stuffed inside.
But from there, the plot stumbled, following the same old routine Castle has been hammering away at for weeks now. It tried to tug on the heart-strings a little too much as well, and the best moments in the episode were the funny ones, which says a lot about the episode as a whole.
Rich Woman Found Stuffed Inside a Wall-Safe
It was soon discovered that the woman’s murder related to a string of violent robberies and jewel-heists that had been plaguing affluent members of society. Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) were called in to investigate, although it would be Beckett relying on Castle’s knowhow and contacts this time around.
Castle and Beckett would eventually question Caine Powell (Patrick Bauchau), a ‘retired’ jewel-thief who Castle had named and shamed in a Derek Storm novel he’d written. Powell was an interesting character, charming and articulate but obviously dangerous, although the character’s role in the investigation became stale near the end.
Powell did, however, put Castle onto the idea that the thieves investigated their quarries by attending the glamorous dinners and congregations they attend. So Castle and Beckett would have to go undercover to such an event, but under what guise?
Castle and Beckett Get Closer
Richard Castle clearly had a fun time in today’s episode. As well as incapacitating a suspect singlehandedly near the episode’s climax, he gets to take Beckett to a glamorous auction, replete with tuxedo and requisite red-carpet stroll.
Beckett obviously felt uncomfortable walking, arm in arm, with Castle, but the pair got a lot closer in today’s episode than in any of others. Castle’s “Not yet” remark to someone asking if he and Beckett were a couple was priceless.
Castle is Becoming Repetitive
The episode had its moments, but the story just felt flat and predictable. Castle should be applauded for exploring various criminal avenues, from political murders to ritualistic killings, but the structure is so depressingly formulaic that it renders matters uninteresting, regardless of the murder-scene and witty banter.
There was a slight change to the usual Castle-Beckett focus, with Detectives Esposito (Jon Huertas) and Ryan (Seamus Dever) getting a little more attention. Esposito is a likeable character, sharp and witty, whereas Ryan is less interesting.
Castle Episode 6 Review
So Castle has had its first official stumble, but it’s a falter it can hopefully recover from. It’s not the worst episode of the season, but it suffers singularly for the show’s strict adherence to conventional plots and narratives. It needs more than Fillion's charm and morbid crime-scenes if it wants to succeed.
Richard Castle and Kate Beckett
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