Tuesday, October 29, 2013

TV Recap: Castle 6-6 - Get a Clue

Castle must be loving life right now.  The first two cases back at the 12th have been right up his ally with strange suspects (last week) and real life conspiracy theories (this week).  Frankly, I’ve been loving it, too.  Yes, I enjoy the show when it does something serious, but I love it even more when it is fun.  And you can’t argue that these last couple of episodes have not been that serious overall.

The victim this week is found in an ally with markings on her hands that look like the stigmata.  However, it’s the wound in her throat that actually killed her.  Back in her apartment, she has books on the Middle Ages and pictures of weird symbols on her wall.  She was an accountant who had taken a week off work for something personal, but that was all that was unusual about her life.  Her cousin confirms that when they interview him.

Tracking her movements the night she was killed, they find video of a weird monk following her.  They manage to track him down, and he’s an ex-con.  But he says she got into a taxi and there was someone else following her.  At this point, Castle is in his element spinning theories related to The Da Vinci Code.

While tracking down the monk’s alibi, they visit a church, and this church has some of the same symbols in it that were in the victim’s apartment.  Furthermore, one she had written on her hand was on the wall.


They have also found a letter in her apartment that is from the Revolutionary War period.  The letter contains clues that lead to some of these symbols.  They consult an expert who had talked to the victim and leads Castle to believe they might really be on the trail of something like National Treasure.

Castle figures out one of the clues is related to an old blacksmith shop.  While they are investigating, someone comes out and Castle must fight him in a sword dual.  (How did Beckett not hear it and come running?  That aside, I loved this scene.)  However, when Castle bests the man and they start questioning him, they learn he’s an actor.  It’s all fake.  The victim was participating in a fund raising game based on a real life letter.

A sad Castle goes home and keeps playing with the symbols.  He soon figures out that they all go together around the symbol that was on the victim’s hand.  And that connects to the wall of the church.

Meanwhile, tracing the participants in the game, they find one who registered with a fake name, address, and a cashier’s check.  He matches the man the monk claimed to have seen.

Back at the church, Castle finds a secret room.  Inside is the crime scene and a collection of silver half dimes that are extremely valuable.  When he picks them up, the door closes, but Beckett is able to get cell phone reception and get back up.

Bringing in the director of the “game” again, he explains that it is a game, but that whole based on a real letter thing comes into play.  He was hoping someone could figure out where the half dimes were so he could use them to fund the historic society putting on the game.  They do desperately need money.

But it turns out the victim was a direct descendant of the letter writer.  These half dimes were family lore.  And remember, our victim does have family.

Yep, it’s the cousin.  He knew the victim had been tracking these for months, and he really needed the money (valuable rare coins and all), so he followed her and killed her.  Why he moved the body and didn’t take the money is beyond me.  Maybe he didn’t figure anyone else would find the money and he could go back and get them after things had died down.

My favorite moment of the episode?  Castle is spinning one of his wild theories and Beckett comes up with one of her own.  She’s doing it just to see what his reaction will be (and maybe because she’s a little sick of them), but it so befuddles him it’s quite comical.

On a more serious note, there’s Alexis.  Castle and Martha show up at Alexis and Pi’s new place for dinner.  (Remember, Pi is a fruitarian.)  We also learn that Pi has a new job – counting bees to see how the population is doing.  Castle does nothing but roll eyes and mock the entire time we’re there.

Alexis isn’t happy, and when Castle goes to apologize at the end, she unloads.  Pi makes her happy, and Castle needs to accept that just like Alexis accepts Beckett.  Yes, I do think that Pi might be a reaction to Castle and Beckett getting engaged and Alexis not knowing where she fits in.  But she also has a good point.  Castle has not tried at all with Pi.  At all.

Once again, things end on a downer as Castle offers make up ice cream, but Alexis closes the door in his face instead, saying she needs time to get over being angry and Castle needs time to accept things.

Of course, since it looks like Alexis is driving the cast next week, I’m very curious to see how that comes about and who this friend of hers on death row is.

Still, I like this sub-plot with Alexis.  I don’t see her sticking with Pi long term, but it is really giving them a chance to grow her character and her relationship with Castle.  I’m certainly curious to see how it ultimately gets resolved.

Oh, and counting bees?  Yes, that is actually important because of the part they and their pollination plays in producing food.

I feel like I am the only one who is okay with Pi (in fact, Alexis’ lecture at the end could have been aimed at the fans as much as Castle).  So feel free to let me have it in the comments.

3 comments:

  1. I think a lot of my comments are coming from the father of a daughter, but here we go:
    I am not a fan at all of Pi. They spend 5 years building this character of a smart intelligent teenager and seemed to have thrown it all out the window. I can accept that she is into Pi, it comes with parent territory that she striked differently when choosing a rebel boyfriend and I probably would not have been so visually insulting to Pi during dinner.
    I actually got mad at that speech from her at the end. The relationships of Becket/Castle and Alexis/Pi are not something I would compare from a father perspective at all. Regardless of the jokes, Castle raised Alexis, not the other way around, his vested interest in her relationship vastly outweighs hers. Brutal but there it is.
    She then scolds Castle on not making any effort to know/respect Pi. She should look in the mirror and at Pi before making any accusation like that.
    1. Alexis comes home with a boy (unemployed) to sleep in his fathers house, wthout asking permission (who pays the bills again)
    2. Pi makes 0 effort to sway castle, by forcing him to his eating standards instead of letting castle go with his.
    3. Pi has a complete disrespect for Castle, barging into his room half naked while in bed with Becket to take something he has The mom can do that but Pi is not family, that right is not his to take advantage of.
    4. He makes no effort to be tidy at all.
    These are things that Alexis should (be blamed for) immediatly correct as far as respect goes IN GENERAL PRINCIPAL. You live in someones house for free, you leave the LEAST footprint possible.

    Yes its a TV show, and yes my opinion is skewed (im a dad to daughter). But its show investment. THe Castle writers have taken me somewhere with ese characters. THey have told me that Alexis is smart, intelligent, respectful. SHe said it herself, she is the adult in the family. Yet still they COMPLETELY threw that concept they spent 5 years building all out the window. As far as I know her character is not a teenager anymore so she does not even have that excuse anymore.

    Your thoughts? Too much?

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  2. rar - I agree with you completely and it's very well put. I've been thinking the exact same thing but you have expressed it well. I am a Mother with a daughter and maybe that is why we are coming at it the way we are!

    With regards to the cousin not taking the money. I think he knew where it was - in the coffin (or whatever you call that thing), but remember Castle saw that someone had tried to pry it open but was unsuccessful. And if he had lifted the coins to remove them, then he would have been trapped inside like Beckett and Castle ended up. I guess he figured he could go back to figure it out when everything died down.

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  3. And maybe the fact that I'm single with no kids is skewing my view of the situation. Rar, you certainly bring up some good points. Castle is far from alone in doing wrong in this situation. Alexis and Pi were very inconsiderate. And the writers have done nothing to make Pi anything but a caricature and therefore a plot devise we don't care about. That may be part of why we don't get Alexis' attachment to him - we don't know him and neither does Castle.

    However, Castle's behavior was completely over the line at the dinner in this week's episode.

    Irene, when I was writing my recap the day after watching the episode, I'd forgotten the coins were still sealed in the coffin like thing when Castle and Beckett found them. That's a very good point. That would explain why the cousin hadn't tried to grab them, thereby getting trapped in the room with the dead body.

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