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Monday 4 June 2012

Castle - 2.9: "Love Me Dead" Review


Castle and Beckett look into the killing of a supposedly well-respected ADA and the Mayor wants the matter dealt with swiftly. Suspects are piled high but Castle lets himself be played by a beautiful woman.

Castle (Nathan Fillion) overhears Alexis's (Molly Quinn) phonecall and she's keeping something from him which he won't like.  A DB lands on a couple's car, turning out ot be ADA Jack Buckley.  The Captain (Ruben Santiago-Hudson) is at the CS and the Mayor wants it solved.  Beckett (Stana Katic) asks if she hasn't taken Castle away from something, or someone? He says he's "a cool dad." Esposito (Jon Huertas) says there was a fight and Ryan (Seamus Dever) finds his belongings on the roof.  Castle likens the murder to Cape Fear (1991).  Castle is fast becoming Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) in NCIS with his non-stop film references which have become commonplace this season.

The women at work mention Buckley's casefiles which Castle thinks will prove to contain a goldmine of suspects.  Scarlett (Michaela McManus) appears to be upset and they recall a man being brought to the office in handcuffs, a Johnny Knox (Jonathan LaPaglia). He has an alibi, his AA sponsor is a reverend.  That was convenient.  Johnny wonders about Castle and Castle asks if he works out.  Oh finally someone who hasn't heard of Castle.

Ryan doesn't get any leads from forensics but Buckley used to take the subway home, so why did he end up in a garage?  Someone was following Buckley and they have a surveillance camera photo.  The reverend was shifty looking anyway and there's a reason why they didn't show him being questioned.  Castle recognizes the man from the photo since he was in Buckley's casefile. Norman Jessops (JB Smoove).  Castle knew "his file would solve this case."  Ryan comments on Castle's Robert Di Niro send up.

Castle and Beckett go to a bar to apprehend Norman and she doesn't want to get involved in the bar fight since she doesn't want to be hit, which is no surprise as this happens to Castle.  He adds he was in a bar fight once (yeah most likley in Firefly.)  Beckett replies she's not Castle's girlfriend, we're back to those comments this week.  Norman recalls Buckley argued with an Asian man in front of a building and he doesn't want to go back to prison.  Norman isn't a 'wordsmith.'

He rides with Beckett and Castle to find the location of the building and he can get out of his handcuffs which fascinates Castle, well something had to.  Locksmith School turned him down on account of him being a felon.  Beckett is mean to him and Castle agrees.  Norman shows Castle how to remove the cuffs.  Alexis calls Beckett to ask her advice and if she wanted to talk to Castle, why would she call him on Beckett's phone?  Beckett admits keeping secrets from her father.

The Asian man is Paul Cho (oh great, now we're even getting Mentalist names in here.  He was Buckley's ex brother-in-law.  Castle thinks of Family Feud. Cho (Charles Chun) has a penchant for call girls and calls a number.  The girl comes to him.  Cho was attacked by a man in a mask who warned him off Danton.  Castle wants the gir to wear sexy clothes, since there's no reason why they can't enjoy the interview.  Castle positvely salivating when he sees her.  It's Scarlett.  "Did she look like that before?"

Buckley was a client and helped her get a job at the office as an Intern.  She doesn't know Danton. My qualm, she has to know who Danton is especially as she doesn't maintain eye contact when answering this.  Castle ponders why Buckley would investigate a call girl service he was using? Oh and Castle's outburst at seeing her probably gave her the idea to use him.

Castle drops the charges against Norman. He likes him.  Castle then talks to Scarlett who gives him some sob story about being poor and alone in the big city.  Castle asks "What's a nice girl like you...?"  He's old fashioned.  She got into this line of work cos of a friend.

Castle then asks Martha (Susan Sullivan) about Alexis's secret and she's probably talking to Beckett cos women talk to other women.  Castle is aware of this as his depth of female characters was praised by the New York Times.  He should ask Alexis but he doesn't when she returns home.  Martha comments Alexis has more Rick Castle in her and he doesn't like that.

Police detective Navarro (Danny Nucci) couldn't get Danton cos theplace was cleared when they raided.  Dantonelli used to run the service but he's in prison, so the service was franchised out. Navarro comments on Ryan's "honey milk." The business was given to Buckley in return for a shorter sentence.

Ryan and Esposito give Castle more cause to worry over Alexis.  Castle thinks this case isn't just about money.  Beckett believes Buckley wasn't the boss anymore and Scarlett had to have known about Danton.  Scarlett names Johnny after Beckett promises to protect her.  Thing is Scarlett lied once so there's nothing to prevent her from doing it again.  Buckley is dead so she can say whatever she likes and no one will question it.  Castle knows Scarlett is capable of making it on her own, another clue here, cos she just has.  He thinks this is a great story for a book.  Johnny has an alibi.

Scarlett turns up at Castle's beaten up.  She gives him a photo of the reverend with her, thus breaking Johnny's alibi.  Castle is nice to all beautiful women who turn up on his doorstep and she just plays him again, after kissing him.  Beckett is angry Castle didn't call her.  Nor did he tell her about the snog.  Johnny was surveilled, again a clue.  Castle finds Scarlett is misisng from the hospital.  Johnny was under surveillance so he couldn't have beaten her.

Out comes the Writer's vest again for Castle.  Scarlett shoots Johnny and she'll get off with self-defence.  Beckett is wearing a Castle shirt, well it was similar to his.  Norman sees the lock in the CS photos from Johhny's place and notices the dead bolt was open.  Beckett doens't want to write him a letter of recommendation for the locksmith school.

Castle calls Scarlett, he got the number from  apublsiher friend.  Buckley needed Scarlett to run the service. Strangely Scarlett doesn't recognize Castle's voice when he calls her.

Alexis wanted to go on a French exchange student programme but decided against it and wanted Beckett's advice cos she'd been on one.  There's always Oxford for her choice of Unis, which worries Castle.

Michaela McManus was typecast playing a law student here as she went on to play an ADA in Law and Order SVU.  Don't know what to make of the entire handcuff scene with Norman since Castle's already proven he could get out of cuffs in the Pilot and later episodes.  Also all the so-called evidence Beckett had was circumstantial, if that and they were just going on Scarlett's word.  (Appropriate name for her.)  She had the photo too which she could have taken herself with  a hidden camera, proving Johnny didn't have an alibi for her, which added more weight to his being guilty.  Yet I remained unconvinced. It's just my cynical side, ha.

Castle in agony over Alexis's secret and Beckett tormenting him even further was no fun and when I was beginning to like her too.  If he did that to her, she'd be all over him (not literally or otherwise) for interfering in her personal life, as she did with her mother's case, for example.  Not saying she had to break Alexis's confidence but she didn't have to relish treating him like that.  Oh and in The Mentalist territory here, had to get a character called Cho. Must be pretty difficult finding a different Asian name.  Mind you in season 4 of the show, Kimball Cho (Tim Kang) is stepping out with a pro.  Castle getting hit in the bar - a trait too familiar with Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) suffering umpteenth hits to his nose!

 Honey milk was mentioned by Ryan in 2.2 The Double Down.

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