'Smells Like Teen Spirit' -- Castle 6x15

Warning: Spoiler Alert

Yeah, let's name an episode after an overrated song by an overrated band. That's right, I said it: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and Nirvana are both completely overrated. I never understood the fascination with that band, and I'm exactly the right age where I should have loved them ... but I never did. But then, I always thought that their music was pedestrian at best, so there's that.

While I kind of liked the episode where there was the dude that was possibly from the future (or possibly, he just was good at hiding at just the right times), I didn't like this episode at all. The ambiguity of the ending should have been something that was right up my alley, cuz when done correctly, the ambiguity would get my brainpan working up a storm (at trying to figure out what the hell was actually going on). But this episode didn't do it for me. It looked like there might have been a bit of a Paranormal Activity thing going on with it, which may have had something to do with why it didn't speak to me (since I don't like horror movies, and that one in particular struck me as being lame). And I would have accepted finding out that what had been presented as a Carrieesk version of TK was really some kid using wires and magnets to freak a bunch of people out. But then, turning around and having Beckett say at the end that there were no wires or magnets found in the house where they had seen the girl using TK ... it felt a little too tacked on at the end; tacked on in an effort to try to seem intelligent and mindblowing (cuz we aren't supposed to know for sure which it actually was). If that last bit had been left out of the episode, I think that I might have not hated it nearly as much as I did. With it on there, I thought that the episode went from being marginally passable to being dumb.

The thing of it is that I don't understand why the writers are trying to shoehorn these type of episodes into the show. That isn't what this show is about. It's essentially a cop/detective show with a healthy helping of comedy. It is not a mindfuck. And I'm sure that there are writers out there who can do the murder mysteries as well as doing the mindfucks, but from what I have seen on this show, I don't think that the writers here are able to do that (at least, not the ones that have done it so far).

The sad thing is that the writing seemed to be the best in season two, and it hasn't been as good since. There have been times when it has almost felt like it might have started to get back to what it was before, but then, it veers off to somewhere else.

And I think that part of my problem with this episode might have also come from the fact that the stuff with the wedding feels like it is what the writers actually want to focus on, but they realize that they have a cop show on their hands, and they are trying to force themselves to keep doing the detective work. If they could somehow get Steven DeKnight to be the new head writer, and he could give the show some its old focus, I think that I might be a bit happier about the whole thing, and might consider sticking around (instead of thinking that I might not stay past the end of the season).

'Dressed to Kill' -- Castle 6x14

Warning: Spoiler Alert

It seems to me that the writers are getting a bit lazy ... or at least, it seems like whoever wrote this episode got lazy. There were too many elements of this episode that felt like they were lifted directly from The Devil Wears Prada. That's fine if they wanted to do something with the fashion industry ... again ... but is it too much to ask if what they present to us doesn't smack of not bothering to think of something original? I don't think that it is.

Also, the whole thing with the employees having their homes bugged without their knowledge ... that does not sit well with me. It's a fucking fashion magazine, not anything important that would warrant needing surveillance. And just cuz the Dragon Lady wasn't the one who had done the killing doesn't mean that she wasn't doing something that was illegal (regardless of what the fine print might have said. Even if the fine print protected them while they were spying on the assistant who was murdered, her roommate didn't sign any employee wavers that would have made it ok for them to listen to her phone calls. So, even if she wasn't the killer, I still would have liked to have seen her have some kind of charges brought against her for all of the phone calls that were being listened to for which they didn't have those wavers for (and for each person who wasn't an employee to be able to bring up charges). Yeah, I'm not at all cool with breaches of privacy (no matter how someone tries to spin it).

It felt far too convenient that Beckett just happened into a dress that fit her perfectly (and which looked pretty good on her). She doesn't seem the type who likes to go clothes shopping (especially shopping for dresses), and the writers may have wanted to try and not waste time on that, but it feels a little too unlikely that she would just happen be given a dress that probably cost a crap ton. Also ... I don't recall her saying anything about getting married while she was in the company of the Dragon Lady, so how would it be known that she was getting married, or that she still needed a dress? I have a feeling that some things just aren't thought all the way through, and it might be a good idea to have a beta reader go through the script before it's presented to the head writer.

'Limelight' -- Castle 6x13

Warning: Spoiler Alert

I'm kind of getting to a point where I'm not sure why I'm still watching this show. I've become more and more bored with the entire thing, and it's not helping itself. Part of the problem might be the fact that the writers have taken away the tension between Castle and Beckett by having them get together ... and part of it might also be the fact that they're no longer doing anything about Beckett's mom's death. Sure, we know what happened now, but there's still HRG William Bracken to deal with ... and nothing's been done about him in ... what? ... around a full season now. That was one of the driving mysteries that was going on before now, and it's just been dropped without Beckett trying to take the guy down for what he did (which I can't see her doing, if it really bothered her as much as the writers made it out that it did before this point).

I'm glad that it looks like we're getting rid of Pi, cuz he was more irritating than he was an interesting wrench to be thrown into Alexis and Castle's relationship. Yeah, I get the fact that she needs to branch out a bit and figure herself out some, but the thing with him just wasn't working for me story wise. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I thought that he was a complete idiot and a tool. But even if we are getting rid of him, I'm still on her side with being mad at Castle for being a jerk (and pretty much a complete child about the whole thing).

I kind of feel like the character of Alexis has sort of fizzled out and hasn't lived up to the potential that she could have had. This has nothing to do with Molly Quinn, and everything to do with the writers involved with the storytelling. I think part of it may have to do with not really understanding where they wanted to take her character once she got out of high school and started to grow up a bit. There's nothing wrong with a young person having a bit of growing pains and trying to find themselves, but it shouldn't seem as though the writers are even more confused by what may (or may not) happen with a character than the audience is.

'Deep Cover' -- Castle 6x12

Warning: Spoiler Alert

So, we get another episode with Castle's dad. I kind of wish that I could say that I was more interested in these than I actually am, but ... I don't really care all that much. In theory, it should be exciting to have him around, since he's all CIA spy stuffs, but all his appearance really did (at least in this episode anyway) was to throw a wrench in everything. Sure, Martha said that she did get some great things from him (like Castle), and maybe the experience with him this time made Castle and Beckett realize that they shouldn't take their lives for granted (that they should make sure that they make the moments count), but this was after he got Castle lying to Beckett. That I really had a problem with, even if Castle thought that he was doing the right thing by keeping his dad's identity from her. He's supposed to be starting this new life with he, and there was the big deal made about how the two of them are trying to pick the date for their wedding; it just didn't seem that lying about something so huge was a good way to go.

When Dad sent Martha off to get him something to drink, I was almost sure that he was dead when she came back in. Ok, it was more like I was hoping that he was. Again, that was more out of a general sense of blah when it comes to his character. If he was more interesting to me, I might have not been so eager at the idea that he might have snuffed it.

Maybe part of my problem with the episode came not only from a feeling that Castle's dad was a little too late with trying to become part of the family, but also that the writers were trying to create a legit spy for the show to balance out the fact that Castle is kind of a play-spy. Him being a legit spy should make him far more interesting, but ... he's just not. I'm not sure if it's more out of the fact that the writers weren't really able to write him as being interesting (instead of a giant knob), or if he didn't fit in with the overall feel of the show, or the acting wasn't quite what it could of been ... or maybe all of these things put together. I'm leaning toward it being all of those things together.

I also am not sure how it is that Ryan is all happy and awake when he has a newborn at home. Sure, Jenny is probably taking care of the brunt of what's going on with the baby, but damn. How is he not falling over asleep cuz the baby is up every few hours? It's not as though he wouldn't be the active type when it comes to being a father (probably even more so after he very nearly died on the day that she was born). But I'll admit that I was hoping for him being completely frazzled when he came to work, cuz I thought that it would be really funny.

'Under Fire' -- Castle 6x11

Warning: Spoiler Alert

The whole scene with Jenny on the phone with Ryan (while he was stuck inside of the doomed fire!building of doom, and she was about to push out the baby) was very sweet, but (you had to know that there would be a but in there) ... my brain kept going to ST 11 (which did that scene much better, even though I really can't stand the actress that played Kirk's mom), and I kept wanting to say that they should name the baby Jim after her father (and Tiberius after his). But I was glad that the gang was there for the birth. In a way that kind of reminded me of when they got engaged (the important people were there for it).

But speaking of names, I was so glad that in the middle of the boys being in what looked like a completely no win situation, Esposito was still busting Ryan's chops (a white Irish kid name Javier, indeed). And you know, as soon as he said that they should name the baby Javier if were a boy, I knew that they were going to have a little girl ... and I think that it's safe to say that homegirl is going to have daddy wrapped around her little finger. He's sunk, no lie. And in spite of all of his worrying (or maybe because of it), I think that Ryan's going to be a really great dad.

And now that she's around, I have a feeling that the writers might use this as an opportunity to mess with Ryan a bit. I can see them having him get all bleary eyed and tired from the lack of sleep that he's bound to have. I'm kind of iffy about the idea of them writing a baby into the show that might show up in a few episodes. It was one thing when they had Cosmo there, and Castle was looking after homeboy, cuz no one knew where he belonged; it seems to be another thing when it's Ryan bringing the baby to work. I can't see Jenny being ok with the baby being put into danger that way ... even if there might be some comedy gold there (Ryan walking around with a Baby Bjorn strapped to him ... Esposito trying to stop the baby from crying, while everyone else insists that he take care of it ... Lanie being the only one of the gang (besides Ryan himself) who is able to get her to calm down). There may be a bunch of stuff that might be amusing to see, but Jenny realizes how dangerous Ryan's job is, and I don't see her wanting her newborn in that situation (especially when you think back to her reaction in "The Wild Rover," when Ryan went undercover).

'The Good, the Bad and the Baby' -- Castle 6x10

Warning: Spoiler Alert

First of all ... writers ... Oxford comma. Seriously. It's your friend. The Oxford comma is only one of the best punctuation marks ever. Why? Cuz if you invited the strippers, JFK and Stalin to your party, what you are actually doing is inviting two strippers who also happen to be JFK and Stalin (not that you invited strippers, JFK, and Stalin as three different things). So, please, start using it. It will make me immensely happy on the inside.

I suppose that it was kind of natural that Castle might take some of his previous experiences and bring them into his current life (even if he's dealing with a different person than he was with Alexis's mom). I will give it to Beckett that she at least seemed like she would be willing to be the mom when/if the two of them have kids of their own. But I wonder if she would have even wanted to have kids in the first place if the idea hadn't been put in her head by the supposed time traveler. She doesn't exactly seem like the type who would want to be a mom (a step-mom type, maybe, but not necessarily a bio mom herself). She's always kind of struck me as the type who puts work on the front burner, even though she does love Castle. And when you put work on the front burner that way, it isn't always the best for having a family.

That being said, it's quite possible that if she really decides that she wants to go all in with the whole family things that she would at least try to do her best ... even if her best might not always be completely right. Hell, the way that she treats Castle so much of the time makes me kind of wonder if she wouldn't sometimes need someone to slap her upside the head when it comes to the kiddies as well (since she can be so all about herself, and kind of missing of the point ... to the point that it almost seems like she's doing it on purpose).

Poor Ryan. He really is all thumbs when it comes to babies, isn't he? But I have the feeling that things will be different when it's his own baby, and not just cuz he's going to love the bugger like all get out. It seems like he'll try really hard to get as close to right as he possibly can when it's time. He's just a sweet boy, and I really need to pinch those little cheeks of his ... hard. And if I didn't know any better, I'd almost think that not!Cosmo was doing it on purpose, crying to mess with Ryan's poor little mind. It certainly seems like the way to go to me.

'Disciple' -- Castle 6x09

Warning: Spoiler Alert

I'm not sure why it would make me feel happy to know that Lanie and Esposito are still at least somewhat of an item (even if they aren't exclusive, which I would love for them to be). Maybe it has to do with the fact that them still being at least somewhat together means that they are still at least somewhat together ... and there's maybe a little bit of a chance that they might get back together completely. I would love for that to happen, since I love the two of them being together (they make such an awesome couple, and I totally ship them).

But the fact that the fake Lanie had the exact tattoo that she had, in the exact place that she had it (and not that many people knew that she had it in the first place) gives me all kinds of the creeps. How would 3XK have known that she had it? Did he get to someone would have known (maybe the tattoo artist, or someone else that Lanie is seeing)? Or did he have someone sneak in and make the moves on her so that he could get as much info about her as he could? There has to be something there, seeing as how not that many people knew that the tat was there in the first place.

And the fact that Lanie and Esposito are still somewhat together makes me wonder if 3XK was consciously using their relationship to his advantage ... I would imagine so. And now, he's done things against everyone on the team (going after Beckett and Castle first, then Ryan, and now Lanie and Esposito), and he's made it personal for all of them ... and I imagine that he will make it even more personal for all of them before he's finally caught completely.

I think that it was pretty smart of him to have people pretend to be part of the gang on this so that he could get ahold of the information that they had on him; it will make it that much harder for them to be able to be able to catch him later on, but I have a feeling that if he continues to make it personal for them (and continues to rub their noses in the fact that he's still alive, and they haven't caught him), it will make it that much harder for him to remain free (since he will be the bee in their bonnets, so to speak, and they'll want to make sure that they catch him and get him back in prison ... but for a good long time this time, making it much harder for him to get out).

'A Murder is Forever' -- Castle 6x08

Warning: Spoiler Alert

I have to actually give Beckett credit for this episode for not coming off as completely pushy and horrible when it comes to Castle and the things that make him who he is. Usually, she is so unbelievably impatient with him and does things that make me wonder why he keeps coming back to her, but she was actually kind of cool in this episode. I had almost thought that she was going to force him to get rid of the lion photo, since she didn't like it, but the fact that she didn't made me kind of grateful. Well, ok, she did go kind of sneaky about it and say that she would just sleep at her own place, but even that was kind of low-key for her (usually she's kind of over the top and in your face about stuff like that).

I almost thought that I had something when it came to the number that kept popping up on the victim's phone when the camera kept panning over to the number on one of the doors, but maybe that was something that was done consciously so as to psych people out (it certainly seems like it would be a possibility). But good on them for turning it around so that it was something other than what I thought that it was going to be, and not making it too obvious.

It was nice to see that there were a couple of guys involved with the case who looked like they could have been the one who was the murderer, but who both turned out to be ... not decent exactly (since they were both involved with shady stuff at least in some part of their lives), but at least they weren't killers (and that's something, I guess). Mostly it was that by making either of them the killer, it would have been entirely too easy (and would have been kind of sloppy writing). But there did seem to be all sorts of people in this episode that could have been the killer (more than what we normally get in any given episode ... at least that's the way that it seemed).

'Like Father, Like Daughter' -- Castle 6x07

Warning: Spoiler Alert


Hizzah! for getting a slightly Alexis-centric episode. It's always nice to be able to see Alexis-heavy episodes, as she is freaking awesome. And you know what? After this episode, I can completely see Alexis becoming an attorney and see her do all kinds of good in the world.

I'm glad that Castle was willing to help her with her whole thing (and getting dude free from death row), since he could have easily have told Alexis that she had to work on this whole thing by herself ... not that he would have, since that’s completely not his style. And even more than that, I’m glad that the two of them were able to make up (and that he seemed to realize that he had really upset her, and that he was really sorry about the whole thing ... again, even though it’s not his style, he could have told her that he was sorry, but not have meant it). Being able to see them work together was really cool, cuz we haven’t seen this part of their relationship before; up until now, it’s always only been father/daughter stuff (or how that works for them), but them working on a common goal that is outside of that brought a whole new dynamic to their relationship that didn’t seem to be there before.

Also, it would seem that perhaps Alexis really did have an issue with Beckett and the proposal (even though the two of them have been good with each other before this point), but maybe since she spoke with Beckett, the two of them can become friends with each other again ... and maybe the three of them could become something of a family now that the two of them are cool with each other (provided that they are cool with each other, which they seem to be now that they’ve had the conversation at the precinct).

The younger brother of the guy who was on death row was Wyatt on “Charmed,” and I couldn’t stop myself from keeping on thinking about the fact that he was Wyatt (or the fact that he’s such a horrible actor. Horrible, like whoa).

'Get a Clue' -- Castle 6x06

Warning: Spoiler Alert

While I think that Alexis is completely right in putting Castle on blast (since the way that he was treating both her and Pi was completely unacceptable), it still makes me a bit sad that the two of them are in what appears to be a genuine fight. The two of them have always seemed so solid, and it could never be denied that they love each other (not that I think that they don't just cuz they're fighting), but I think that this is the most upset that one has been with the other since the show started. But like I said, Alexis has every right to be upset with him, since his attitude could have made Pi feel like he was unworthy, and make Alexis feel like he doesn't trust her, that he thinks he should be making all of her decisions for her, and that what she wants (even those things that she wants while she's trying to figure out herself) aren't valid.

But the things that she said to Castle when she was putting him on blast made it sound as though she didn't like Beckett, even though she seemed to like her before. But then again, things have changed somewhat (it's different when she was just the woman that her dad a thing for), and that may have changed her feelings somewhat. And to find out over the phone from someone else that he had proposed to Beckett after the fact, that couldn't have been fun (something similar happened to me, and I did not dig it).

It looks like from the preview that the two of them will at least be speaking to each other in the next episode, but that seems like it might be too soon since I'm not sure that he would have learned his lesson (he's kind of thick-headed about stuff sometimes). But if he has, maybe it would be a good thing that the two of them have made up ... provided that he doesn't continue to treat Pi like a bottom feeder, and Alexis doesn't get pissed at him again.

Am I the only one who wishes that The Da Vinci Code would just disappear? It was kind of interesting when it first came out, but too big of a deal has been made of it ... besides the fact that you have all of those people who really believe that Dan Brown researched his book and the things he talk about are real (instead of wild leaps and conjecture mixed in with his fiction ... see what I did there?). It's kind of gotten annoying how much that story has drilled into the public consciousness, but that may be just me.

'Time Will Tell' -- Castle 6x05

Warning: Spoiler Alert

I really badly want to know that the guys that were supposedly from the future really were from the future. I know that the way that the writers are going to write things on this show, they're not going to do anything where they're going to go completely into the crazy when it comes to speculative fiction, but ... I want it. It would be so much fun if that's really what was going on, and this whole thing was a giant ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey. It would make my insides all toasty with the happiness of it. No lie.

Also, love the shout out to "Doctor Who," and the fact that it was Esposito that was watching it (and that he was the one who made the shout out) since he's not the one that you would peg as being the DW fan (that is straight up Castle and Ryan right there).

The thing though with saying that Castle is going to start righting "serious literature" and that Beckett is going to become a Senator (and that they're going to have three kids together) is that it could turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Since the idea for those things have already been put into their heads, they could start moving toward them as if they were things that they really wanted to do, but in the back of their minds (since they both left the episode with some kind of doubt as to whether or not there was a possibility that either of the dudes were really from the future), they can both have that voice in the back of their minds that tell them that they had little choice in the matter when it came to those things (cuz they were supposed to happen). Temporal paradoxes and all of that. Oh, there's no way that they are going to be able to get away from the fact that if the guys were just crazy, they fully had the choice to do whatever they wanted ... and they still moved right toward what they had been told would happen. This sort of thing makes my brain all happy and cozy, and that is no lie.

Even if Alexis has to liv her own life, and make her own mistakes, I'm really not digging the way things that were left between her and Castle. It felt too much like goodbye forever ... even though it wasn't. Maybe it's just nothing more than the fact that she's in college, and she's wanting (and needing) her own space to grow, but it just seems like she's leaving forever. But part of that may come out of the fact that this episode was all about time and changing things (for better or worse) ... and then, there was the fact that there was a mention of a future family between Castle and Beckett (regardless of whether or not it might happen), and the fact that Beckett even acknowledged the fact that Alexis might be branching out to kind of get away from the both of them (not necessarily as a bad thing, but their relationship can mean that the dynamic of the house changes, even if Castle doesn't stop loving her).

'Number One Fan' -- Castle 6x04

Warning: Spoiler Alert

So, Beckett is back being an NYPD Homicide Detective ... and it only took one episode from her getting fired from her last job. That seemed kind of fast. Sure, it was bound to happen, and I am sure that everyone knew that it was going to happen eventually, but ... come on. Did it really need to happen in the episode directly after she got fired? If Captain Gates was willing to let her come on as a consultant for this case, I don't see how she wouldn't be willing to let her be a consultant for a while longer. Yeah, I know that I was saying that the show didn't feel right unless it was taking place in NYC and the boys weren't involved, but that just felt like it was moving a little bit too quickly. It wouldn't have hurt to let it go a little bit (for at least a few episodes) and have her be a "consulting detective" (a la Sherlock Holmes). And even if she may not necessarily have wanted to be a PI, that doesn't mean that she wouldn't have been good at that either (and still would have been able to help the boys out with their cases, since she still has all of the training).

Yeah, I'm sure this looks like I can never be happy when it comes to this show, and I wouldn't be able to blame someone for thinking that. It's just that there are some things that kind of irk me ... like how much (and how often) I want to shake the hell out of Beckett, or how sometimes things seem to cycle a little too quickly (and without really exploring what some things may do to the characters emotionally or mentally).

That all being sad ... I am glad that the killer ended up being someone other than the brother that it might have been ... especially since that really would have entirely too easy. It almost seemed as if the brother was put in there so that we would think that it might have been him, and so the writers could go "psych!" A red herring is going to be needed every once in a while in these kind of stories (or sometimes all of the time).

I was also really glad to find out that homegirl wasn't the one who killed her boyfriend. She may have done some things that made it look suspicious, and there were some things out of her control that conspired against her, but that doesn't mean that she was a bad person (or that she would have done anything to her boyfriend, who she really seemed to love). It's sad that there appears to be a bit of bias against people who have some level of mental or emotional illness, but the fact that they suffer doesn't make them bad people (they just sometimes need a little more help than someone who doesn't have those kind of issues).

I wonder what's going to happen to the new guy ... the one that took over for Beckett when she left. He's got to go, that much is clear, but I wonder where they're going to transfer him. Hopefully not somewhere too bad; he may not have fit in yet, but he was trying.

'Need to Know' -- Castle 6x03

Warning: Spoiler Alert

Finally, an episode that was based in NYC, and with all of the gang (instead of only part of the gang). Ok, so, it was only two episodes where there was only part of the gang running around (and only the briefest glimpse of the rest of the gang), but it still seemed like it was much longer than what it actually was ... probably since the writers have gotten us so used to being with the greater part of the gang for the majority of the episode. And oh, how I love it when the boys get territorial (and start pushing Castle around); it makes me want to giggle a while hell of a lot.

I'm sure glad that Beckett did what she thought was right with this whole thing, cuz I really wasn't digging her partner's "Well, fuck it" attitude (the one that she seemed to have gotten after being on the job for such a long time ... or maybe even not that long of a time). Even if it looked like at the end of the last episode that Beckett was having some serious issues with the way that things were being run, that didn't necessarily mean that she was going to do anything about it anytime soon (in that it didn't mean that she was going to leave her fed job and go back home to NYC). It kind of makes me glad that she had a bout of conscious, and they ended up firing her. Even while she annoys the holy living hell out of me (and I spend the majority of the time that she's on screen wanting to shake the hell out of her), she is still a vital part of the show, and the show is very much a NYC one.

Speaking of bugging ... even while Mama Rogers is completely right about Alexis and Pi (and that baby girl is going to need to get dummy out of her system (probably even more so since she's typically so responsible, and she fell so hard over her last serious boyfriend), it would still be nice to have him out of the picture. He's kind of annoying and makes one want to pull his hair. So, while I can see things from Mama Rogers' side ... I can also really see things from Castle's side, too.

'Dreamworld' -- Castle 6x02

Warning: Spoiler Alert

Of course Castle survived everything that happened to him, cuz the writers weren't going to be stupid enough to kill off the title character of their money train. That would just be stupid. At a certain point, it just comes off as silly that they would even think that there would be any tension when they put Castle or Beckett in peril, since I don't see how anyone would actually think that they would write either of those characters off the show. That would just be silliness on their part. No lie. The only way that there would be any tension with that sort of thing is if they decided that they wanted to do something with one of the tertiary characters, since those are the only ones that are really in any kind of danger (like when they killed off Montgomery). I would say that the secondary characters might be in a bit of peril as well, but the only one of those that was really in any danger was when they went all Taken with Alexis, and she was actually fine (there was no way that they were going to actually get rid of our favorite ginger pixie).

Again, there was not enough of the boys in this episode, and it was even worse than it was in the last one (since they were really on there for like 30 seconds). But since it seems like Beckett seems to be rethinking her decision to move to DC, it looks like she might be going back to the NYPD pretty soon ... which would make me all kinds of happy. This show is about NYPD Homicide, bitches. It's not about DC or the Feds.

I didn't like the fact that Castle or Beckett lied to everybody about what was wrong with Castle. I know that he didn't want to worry them, and she wanted to back him up ... but they were all genuinely worried about Castle (cuz they care about the big idiot), so it made the lying seem that much more like it was a betrayal of their trust (at least from where I am sitting anyway). It may have only made everyone worry even more than what they already were, but at least they would have been prepared for if something horrible happened, instead of suddenly getting a call to tell them that Castle had died and having it drop out of the air onto their heads without them being able to be ready for it ... but that may come a bit from the fact that my gram (who I was really close to) died really unexpectedly, and I think that I would have preferred being able to at least see it coming (like my mom had cancer, and while it didn't make it not suck when she died, at least we were kind of prepared for the possibility, since we knew it was there).

But so much for giving us a new big bad for the future (since the gang has either taken out everyone that they can, or the one that they can't, they've gotten as close to him as they possibly can). I'd like it if there was an ongoing mystery going on in the background that the gang was trying to deal with, but I'm not sure that we're going to get much on that front anymore. Seems like there's only so much that the writers can do with the ultimate Big Bad that was responsible for Beckett's mom's death without making him seem overplayed and not so mythic.

'Valkyrie' -- Castle 6x01

Warning: Spoiler Warning

Sooooo ... Beckett is now an FBI agent ... and they're gearing the season up as though she's going to be there for a while, cuz it sounds like they're trying to make a new Big Bad for the series (now that they seem to be done with her mom's murder); and it looks like they're trying to have it be whatever this ghost base is. I can understand wanting to bring something fresh into the show, but I don't like that they're taking Beckett away from NYC or the boys (the boys were not in this episode nearly enough, not by far). And the fact that they're having her so far away, and with the FBI now ... Castle and the boys aren't going to be able to help her on cases (which Castle only proved when he started poking around after he got ahold of the picture that she dropped). So, there's got to be a point where the writers are going to bring her back to NYC and have it so that the boys can still work with her.

I don't see her coming back and becoming captain, and not just cuz Gates is still there ... she doesn't seem like she wants to be the captain (at least not yet). She still seems like she wants to be out there solving cases and not have to put up with the BS that comes with the job.

So, maybe realizing that Castle is so close to death, she'll realize that she wants to be closer to him once they find the antidote, and she'll go home? I'd love to say that I think that the writers of this show would be above doing something as pedestrian as that, but I can't. They've proven over and over that they are willing to go for the easy out on stuff. That isn't to say that I don't still enjoy the show (even though I want to pull Beckett's hair in every. single. episode.), cuz I do (and if I didn't, I wouldn't still be coming back). But sometimes there are things in the grander scheme of things that I wish didn't seem kind of predictable.

Also, I'm really hoping that this doesn't prove to be a repeat of season three (where the entire season felt ... off. Kind of like the odd/even thing with ST, but every third with this). That season almost seemed like there were some sort growing pains going on, and they weren't really able to get back in the grove again ... at least not wholly (since there were one or two episodes that still seemed like the show), and it didn't come back again until the next season.

So, here's hoping that things work out this season so that they're kind of awesome.

'Watershed' -- Castle 5x24

Warning: Spoiler Alert

Sooooo ... are we supposed to be concerned over whether or not Beckett is going to say yes to Castle's proposal, or if she is going to break it off and take the job in DC? Cuz like I've said before, the writers of this show don't really do very well with the cliffhangers. There really isn't much of any suspense about what she's going to do ... or at least, not for me. It's not necessarily that I know for certain what's going to happen (even though I have my suspicions), it's more that I think that they don't do that well with this sort of thing ... even though you think that they would, seeing as how suspense/mystery is pretty much the genre of the show.

I am fully going to predict right now that what's going to happen is that she's going to end up not taking the job in DC, but she's also going to say yes to Castle. Why? I have the feeling that she will torn between seeing that he wants to take their relationship to the next level, and realizing that he is only really willing to take that next step cuz he doesn't want her to leave (so, she'll probably see it as him doing it for the wrong reasons). So, NOES ALL AROUND!!

But then, I was wrong about when the writers were going to have the two of them get together (cuz I thought that it would work best if they got together in the very last scene of the very last episode of the series), so maybe I'm wrong about this. Still, I really don't think that they're going to have her leave the show ... and I just can't see them having her say yes quite yet (even though I think it will happen eventually).

Also, good on Martha for telling Castle that he's being a giant dumbie. The man shouldn't only be motivated into action cuz he's terrified of the alternative; he should be motivated to want to do things cuz he loves her, no?

'The Human Factor' -- Castle 5x23

Warning: Spoiler Alert
Ahhh, so, now we've gotten our set up for the thing that we're supposed to be in suspense about over the summer. First it was all about whether or not Castle and Beckett would ever get together, and then, it was all about whether or not she would survive the shooting during Montgomery's funeral, and now, we're supposed to be afraid that she's going to take the job with the Attorney General. The only thing is that the writers of this show do a really horrible job with the suspense between the seasons. It was obvious that eventually the two of them would end up together at some point, and there really was never any danger of her dying (since there's no way that they were going to write her off of the show ... not when she is one of the two leads, and without her the show would fall apart). And there really is no danger of her taking the job in DC, since it's the same thing as when she was shot ... if she leaves the show, everything falls apart, since it's all about the relationship between Beckett and Castle. You can say all you want about how it's a murder mystery show, and in part it is, but the foundation of the show isn't the mystery element; the foundation of the show is the relationship between these two characters (no matter how many times I have wanted to shake the shit out of Beckett ... which is usually at least once per episode, but sometimes more). So, I don't see how they really expect us to feel like there is any danger of her going off and taking another job ... at least not at this point. Maybe she might do it when the show ends, but there is no way that she's going to do it now and only become a tertiary character that only shows up every once in a while.

I suppose that she might try to get the whole team on the payroll, but I don't see that happening; neither her asking, nor the boys wanting to go. I especially don't see it of Ryan, not after Jenny freaked out on in when he went undercover a few episodes ago. But besides that, this is a very New York show, and a very New York homicide show. I really don't see the writers changing the entire format of the show to turn it into something akin to "Criminal Minds," where they go to different sites and try to figure out what the hell is going on there. The only real difference that I see with that would be that they wouldn't be called in by the local PD to help out; they would just go there to try to get things done.

The only thing that I see coming from this is that it might create some kind of stresser in Beckett and Castle's relationship. The preview did show Castle giving her an ultimatum about the job, and I can see her not taking very kindly to that. I have a feeling that something like that would probably come back to bite him in the ass later on, and the two of them would probably have to "work through their issues" in the oncoming season. Not necessarily something that I'm overly thrilled about happening, since I'm so over the whole Beckett and Castle having a tiff that lasts forever thing. That trope has lasted entirely too long on this show.

'Still' -- Castle 5x22

Warning: Spoiler Alert

A clip episode? Really? This close to the end of the season? Really? Aren't clip shows for when you are near the ending of the run of a series, and you want to give a look back at "all the good times" that the characters' had? This close to the end of the season, when we know who the guy was who was behind the death of Beckett's mom, should there really be an episode that's nothing but filler? Shouldn't we go back to the underlying thing that has been driving Beckett this whole time? Figuring out who was involved with that whole thing was so important in previous seasons that it feels weird that it's kind of been dropped. They handed us the final bit of information, and they haven't really been back to deal with it. Sure, the guy is Connected ... but shouldn't that mean that the gang is trying to figure out even more how they are going to make sure that they bring him to justice for what he did? Cuz right now, it really feels like he's been getting away with it, and since Castle and Beckett have been able to get laid, Teh Sex has been overpowering everything else (and all of the motivations that they may have had in earlier seasons).

And you know what? For a second there, even though I was sure that they weren't going to kill Beckett off (since there really wouldn't be a show without her and the relationship that she has with Castle), I kind of hoped that they really would kill her off ... and I almost had a glimmer of hope that they might (when she was looking up at the camera that was located above her). But the fact that they were able to figure out the code to turn off the bomb within the last two minutes ... convenient. ::eyebrow raise:: There really wasn't any suspense to it, pretty much at all. Even when they found out about the timer, there really wasn't any suspense to the situation. Now ... if they had had one of the secondary characters step on a pressure plate, there might have been some suspense about what might happen. Like, if Ryan stepped on one ... I might actually get a tiny bit worried about whether or not he would be written off the show; but Beckett ... there really wasn't much of any doubt that everything was going to be fine.

I'm tempted to look for spoilers for the next episode, just so that I can see if the next episode will actually have a plot that will take up a full 42 minutes (instead of about 20, so that the other 24 has to be filled up with things that happened in previous seasons), but I have had bad experiences with spoilers in the past (like finding out that Wash died before seeing Serenity. Not only was that awful in the since that he's my favorite character from that show, but then, there was no ZOMG! moment when he died, since I already knew what was going to happen). So, I guess that I'll just have to hope that the next episode won't make me want to shake a bitch (kind of the way that this one did).

'The Squab and the Quail' -- Castle 5x21

Warning: Spoiler Alert

I had forgotten just how lovely that I thought Ioan Gruffudd could be (when he's all swanked out), cuz he really and properly is ... him and his cheekbones. Between him and my imaginary husband (Hiddles), I have a feeling that I should need all kinds of imaginary bandages from those things. Truly.

It was nice to see Castle make at least a little bit of an effort when it came to trying to make sure that Beckett understood that she was important to him ... even if he completely missed the point of what she was talking about when she asked them where they were going (she didn't mean where were you guys going physically right then, stupid. Sometimes he really is clueless). And even if the two of them have been in love with each other for a few years now, yeah, I suppose that they really haven't "defined" their relationship ... it's more them having fun right now (what with the happy sexy time, and him getting to take her places that she hasn't been before that he can try to spoil her every once in a while). I wonder how long it would have taken before Beckett wanted to put that kind of definition on their relationship, if Eric hadn't come along and stirred things up a bit. Probably not very much longer, even as much fun as both of them were having just with the "let's play for a while" mentality that they had going on there.

I was kind of amused with Castle getting so jealous of Eric, but I can't say that I blame Beckett for getting annoyed with him. Being amused by it had more to do with being on the outside looking in on an imaginary relationship; if it had been a real relationship (one that I was a part of, even as unlikely as that is), I think that I'd want to make a point as well about the fact that his jealousy was maybe more of a reflection on whether or not he trusted her (as opposed to someone else). Even if Castle felt like he needed to make clear to Eric that they were in a serious relationship, going past the point of letting dude know he needs to show a bit of respect to the monogamous relationship that they had is overstepping into "make the person I'm with feel like this is about her, instead of the other dude" territory. If he didn't trust Eric, that's fine, but he should know that he can trust Beckett at this point (that she loves him, that she is loyal to him, and that if Eric tried to do anything, she would shoot him down ... just like she did).

'The Fast and the Furriest' -- Castle 5x20

Warning: Spoiler Alert

I think that I might have liked this episode a little bit better if it hadn't revolved around Big Foot, and had been more about Anne Cardinal (the victim) and her life ... since that was far more interesting of a thing to me. But then, any time a show has an excuse to get a bit "ethnic" with what they're doing, as long as they do it correctly (and show some respect), that's what I'm wanting them to deal more about. I do have fun (a lot of times) with Bigfoot stuff, not that I believe that it's real ... but I still have fun watching things where other people believe in the stuff.

But I did have quite a bit of laugh when Ryan found out that some big name Bigfoot researcher was involved, and just the way that Beckett and Esposito said the same words as Castle and Ryan ... and the way that the entire meaning of the question changed by the way that they said it was freaking hilarious. I do love it when they have all kinds of interactions like that with each other.

Speaking of the guy that was supposed to be big named, the actor that plays him is also on "Once Upon a Time," and all I could think whenever he was on the screen was, "Doctor Hopper. Doctor Hopper. Doctor Hopper. Doctor Hopper." So, I really wasn't able to hear whatever it was that he was saying, since the name of his character on the other show was a bit too loud inside of my head.

And like too many of the other shows that I'm watching right now, this felt like it was a little too much like a filler episode, and so I wasn't really engaged with what was going on all that much ... but then, there seems to be a little too many of the filler-type episodes in this show this season (at least from what it looks like to me). It would be nice if there was a bit more going on right now that had me engaged, but it seems like the show has lost a bit of that since they figured out who was behind Beckett's mom's death. Well ... it seems kind of like it started when Captain Montgomery died, but this season it's kind of been amplified.