CASTLE: The Double Down

The full moon really brings out the crazies.

Beckett and Castle’s case: Girl is killed but whoever murdered her left writing (using horrible grammar) all over her face. Detectives Ryan and Esposito’s case: A garden-variety robbery-homicide case that turns out to be slightly more complicated than they originally thought.

Castle, always the betting man, bets that he and Beckett can solve their case first. But things get a more interesting for both teams, as they race to be the first (as horrible as it sounds) to solve their respective crimes. And to top it all off, Beckett has no idea. A recipe for disaster.

Once Beckett and Castle finish an interrogation with their victim’s friend, Castle sees Ryan and Esposito exiting a room with their victim’s family at the police department. When he tries to pump them for information about the status of their investigation (not because he wants them to find the perpetrator, but to get a read on where they are on their case), Ryan and Esposito confidently roll off some likely suspects (gang members, they presume) who normally hang out at the park their victim was found dead. But, in a fit of desperation and the product of watching way too many detective shows, doles out well-crafted reasons as to why they probably weren’t the guilty ones. Do Ryan and Esposito buy that they’re wrong and Castle is possibly right (and is)? Not for a second, although within seconds of Castle’s not-so-mindless yammering, you can see the wheels begin to turn. And they were thisclose to winning!

Meanwhile, Castle, has 100% confidence that the second person he and Beckett question, a butcher, is indeed the suspect. While Beckett is clueless to Castle’s ulterior motive, he doesn’t hide the fact that he wants to get the answers to the questions that would put this guy in jail for good. Of course, it being only 15 minutes into the episode, Castle’s assumption doesn’t prove so right … and because his ego is on the line, puts all his money on the next guy.

The next time Castle and Beckett are at the station, they go through the victim’s appointment book at work, looking for regularities in therapy sessions that might point them in the right direction. When Beckett steps out for a moment, Ryan and Esposito bring in a cuffed suspect into an interrogation room – much to Castle’s horror and surprise. How can they be bringing in a suspect already?!, he must be thinking as he looks on. Ryan and Esposito, finally getting to showcase their true characters to the viewers after a season of filling in as the obligatory back-ups to Beckett and Castle’s No. 1 fans, double down on their bet with Castle. New terms: Loser has to wear a dress to the station for one week and has to shave his head. Now now boys, let’s play nice.

Of course, Castle being the lovable and extremely sociable guy that he is, wouldn’t leave the entire precinct hanging in the balance. Taking bets while Beckett isn’t looking and making sure everyone keeps it on lockdown are only traits one can aspire to have when one is in his position. The funniest scene – and believe me, there are a lot with Nathan Fillion’s deadpan delivery of some of his zingers – has to be the one where the rest of the precinct is paying a little too much attention to Beckett’s white board for the case, following her every movement, seeing how close (or far) she and Castle are to actually pinning down a suspect … and the payoff was epic, to say the least. No, it wasn’t when Beckett, picking up on everyone’s sudden interest in their case, saw Castle taking bets from fellow employees but when they caught a break in their case – and instead of berating Castle like a 10-year-old boy who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, she took it upon herself to put in some money on herself. Yes, the stakes got a little bit higher.

And in pure “Castle” fashion, the morgue girl calls both competing teams in at the same time, breaking the unfortunate (but good for the cases) news that they might be competing for the same suspects. And because they are working the same case, the bet is officially off … or is it? But after more digging, turns out there was a connection, not between the victims like they usually are, but there was a common thread between the killers. They “criss-crossed” and made sure they had airtight alibis for the crimes they were probably going to be pinned for by the police. Within 10 minutes, both suspects, who took the water taxi in New York City everyday, confess to their respective crimes (the one they weren’t supposed to be pinned for) and the city is down two perpetrators – more like one and a half.

So the real question remains: Is someone going to have to shave their head and wear a dress to the precinct for a week?

Postscript

Normally, I watch “Castle” at the end of a tiring day, when all I want to do is curl up in my pajamas and not think for 60 minutes. Last night’s episode was a great indication of the show trying its hand in actual character building that didn’t exclude some of the supporting characters. The writers must have gotten the hint after a season of almost exclusive Beckett and Castle story building they finally allowed frequent sidekicks Ryan and Esposito – both extremely capable of taking the reins on a case – to showcase more of who they are as people and New York detectives. I truly enjoyed the bets and even some of the twists that were thrown our way by the writers. It wasn’t like the rest of the episodes and because of that, this episode is definitely tops in my book.

Top Castle Moments

• “I’m just saying, whoever killed her also murdered the English language.”

• After Ryan and Esposito prove that Beckett and Castle’s No. 1 suspect has an airtight alibi, he sees his mother’s green and blue printed dress and poses with it in front of the mirror. Perhaps seeing if he likes what he looks like in a dress, hypothetically speaking?

What were some of your favorite Castle zingers? Did you like the change of pace with the two cases and the precinct-wide betting?

Philiana works at an entertainment trade publication in Los Angeles and recently graduated from the University of Southern California. Her favorite new shows are “Glee” and “The Vampire Diaries.”