Source: spoilertv.com

Title Castle, P.I.

Two-Sentence Summary As Beckett attempts to readjust to life at the precinct without Castle after he was banned from helping the NYPD, she begins to investigate the murder of a teacher at an elite NYC preschool. The complicated case gets even more complicated when Castle, now a licensed private investigator, tries to solve it, too.

Favorite Lines
Castle: Did I tell you I got pepper-sprayed today?
Alexis: You say that like it’s a good thing.
Castle: Yeah.

My Thoughts Although no TV fan enjoys a hiatus, sometimes they can be the best thing for a show. Castle’s last episode, “Bad Santa,” left me feeling depressed and blindsided by its big cliffhanger ending, but it appears that some time away from the precinct has done both Rick Castle and me some good. Having some distance from the bombshell ending of “Bad Santa” and some time to process what things could be like for Castle as a private investigator allowed me to approach “Castle, P.I” with an open mind. And the result was an hour of TV-watching that made me even happier than I’d imagined it would.

It’s tough for shows to stay fresh in their seventh season, and I think we can all admit that many of the procedural aspects of Castle were starting to feel stale. However, making Castle a private investigator breathed new life into the crime-solving part of this show, and it even added a nice little spark to the romantic part, too. The time in between “Bad Santa” and “Castle, P.I.” allowed the latter to have a light tone even after the former had such a heavy ending. Airing them only a week apart might have felt too jarring in terms of their vastly different tones when it came to Castle’s dismissal from the precinct. However, airing them a month apart made it seem less jarring and more of an example of the kind of tonal shifts only Castle can pull off so fluidly.

In my recap of “Bad Santa,” I mentioned that the case in that episode—which was neither emotionally compelling nor nerdy in nature—was downright boring. Imagine my surprise when I found myself thoroughly enjoying the case in “Castle, P.I.,” which was also without a fun theme or an emotional component tied to one of our protagonists. Instead, it was the pure thrill of good-old-fashioned crime solving that did it for me this week (and did it for Castle and Beckett, too—but more on that later). I really liked watching the different ways Castle and Beckett used their various skills and resources to take steps closer to solving the case. By putting the focus on the actual detective work, this episode reminded me of what made Castle so special even when it was a very young show: It features two main characters who approach the world in very different ways but whose different approaches are perfect complements for each other.

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Source: castlespoilers.blogspot.com

Title Last Action Hero

Two-Sentence Summary The death of a 1980s action-movie star brings out Castle’s fanboy side once again. As Beckett works to solve the case, she also comes to terms with saying goodbye to her old apartment now that she’s a married woman.

Favorite Line “To him, this is just an apartment with creaky floors, but to you—this is where you rebuilt your life, where you solved your mother’s murder, where you fell in love.” (Lanie)

My Thoughts This was one of those “pleasant surprise” episodes that come around a few times every Castle season—episodes that seem like filler from the plot description, episodes with a case that isn’t super memorable, but episodes that have at least one moment that you’ll never forget. “Last Action Hero” had a few unforgettable moments—some of the comedic variety and some that packed an unexpected emotional punch.

The case in “Last Action Hero” was a lot of fun, even if it had a very convoluted conclusion. It was one of those fun Castle cases that brought the nerdy side out of one of the main characters—in this case, it was Castle. Nerdy Castle is the best. Nobody plays childlike enthusiasm like Nathan Fillion, and I love when Castle gets to geek out like he did in this episode. We all have those movies that meant a lot to us in our formative years, and it was incredibly entertaining to get a good dose of secondhand glee from watching Castle get to live his boyhood dream. (It also filled me with glee to hear Castle adorably call Beckett his boyhood dream. Those two have gotten even cuter since they’ve gotten married, if that was even possible.)

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Source: http://www.spoilertv.com

Title Once Upon a Time in the West

Two-Sentence Summary Castle and Beckett visit an Arizona dude ranch to investigate the murder of a young woman. The trip serves as a honeymoon for the couple, who also face the wrath Ryan and Esposito for not inviting them to their spur-of-the-moment wedding.

Favorite Lines
Castle: We did it, Mrs. Castle!
Beckett: We certainly did, Mr. Beckett!

My Thoughts “Once Upon a Time in the West” was the perfect follow-up to last week’s big Castle wedding episode. “The Time of Our Lives” had all of the emotion a great wedding episode should have, and “Once Upon a Time in the West” had all of the fun, sex appeal, and adventure a great honeymoon episode should have.

While “The Time of Our Lives” was filled with moments that demanded deep analysis, “Once Upon a Time in the West” was decidedly lighter—nothing but campy fun. As such, in lieu of my usual review format, I’m just going to list my 10 favorite things about this episode.

1. Lanie’s reaction to the wedding. Every episode of Castle is instantly improved by the presence of Tamala Jones, and this was no exception. Lanie’s reaction was exactly right for her character—from the sass to the sweetness. More than anything, I loved that she was genuinely happy for her friend. In the end, what mattered most to her was that Beckett was happy, but she got to give Castle a hard time about it, too, which is all I could have asked for from her reaction.

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Source: http://stanacatic.tumblr.com/post/102358833728

Title The Time of Our Lives

Two-Sentence Summary While investigating a case involving an ancient Incan artifact, Castle is knocked unconscious and imagines a life where he and Beckett never met. That experience prompts him to not want to waste any more time, leading to a long-awaited sunset wedding in the Hamptons.

Favorite Lines
Beckett: The moment that I met you, my life became extraordinary. You taught me to be my best self, to look forward to tomorrow’s adventures. And when I was vulnerable, you were strong. I love you, Richard Castle, and I want to live my life in the warmth of your smile and the strength of your embrace. I promise you I will love you. I will be your friend and your partner in crime and in life. Always.

Castle: The moment we met, my life became extraordinary. You taught me more about myself than I knew there was to learn. You are the joy in my heart. You are the last person I want to see every night before I close my eyes. I love you, Katherine Beckett, and the mystery of you is the one I want to spend the rest of my life exploring. I promise to love you, to be your friend and your partner in crime and life—’til death do us part and for the time of our lives.

My Thoughts It’s hard for an event that’s been as highly-anticipated as Castle and Beckett’s wedding to live up to the hype, but somehow “The Time of Our Lives” succeeded. And I think it was because it was—like the best weddings—about the marriage and not about the ceremony, about the couple and not about all the other shiny things that can wind up taking center stage at a wedding. This was an episode about the fundamentals of a good marriage, wrapped up in a fun, alternate-universe story. And it was told in the way only Terri Miller can tell a love story.

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Title Meme Is Murder

Two-Sentence Summary The team from the 12th precinct investigates a pair of murders involving Internet celebrities, whose dead bodies were photographed and put online. The case leads them to a victim of cyberbullying who has found a sense of power in creating a legacy of brutal murders.

Favorite Line It’s not a line, but I think we could all use another viewing of this video:

My Thoughts “Meme Is Murder” felt like a filler episode before something huge, which we all now know that it was. It was fairly case-heavy, and we all know those aren’t my favorites. And while last week’s episode was also more about the case of the week and less about the characters and their growth, it got by on its charm and some pretty significant development for Castle and Alexis. It’s not that I need for Castle’s disappearance to be brought up every week in a major way, but after integrating it really well into the lighter episodes so far this season, it felt a bit strange for it to not have any presence in “Meme Is Murder.”

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