It took all of two seconds of screen time before we got a Casey grunt/snarl!
Not only did Monday's new episode of Castle make me think of 'Chuck', but it also made me think of how fun this show can be when everything is "clicking" for a lack of better term.
We had Castle being goofy (playing with "action figures"), we had Castle even further out of his element with a new partner, getting into fights, holding a gun and getting messed with by Slaughter, Ryan and Esposito. We got to see Beckett more in therapy and Castle coming into the precinct with a suspect, set to music and a tissue up his nose.
And for you 'shippers out there (yes, I'm talking about you, Maryploppins), we got to see Castle and Beckett working separately, working together and talking about each other with somebody else. This episode re-establishes their working connection moving forward after a brief falling out and moves the storyline forward as something is expected to happen between them in the Season 4 finale. Who knows what it'll be, but should be interesting. What are your predictions on that front?
Per the usual, and for the better, the actual case takes a back seat this week. It wasn't about who killed the kid, it was about further separating Castle and Beckett and then bringing them back together. It was about making Beckett jealous and getting her to worry that she waited too long and messed things up with Castle. It was about Castle realizing, no matter the hardships, that Beckett is worth it to him and that he'll keep fighting for her. Wow, that sentence was lame. Did I really just write that?
But "Headhunters" was also simply about having fun. And it's hard not to have fun when you have Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin together, isn't it? And any time you can slip in a few nods to John Casey and "Chuck", well, that's pretty awesome too, isn't it?
People tend to either like "Castle" for the Castle/Beckett relationship or for just how fun this show can be. I admittedly like both aspects of the show and thought this was a good mix of the two overall.
NOTABLE QUOTABLES:
CASEY/SLAUGHTER: "Rule No. 1, do not use the word awesome -- you're a grown man."
SLAUGHTER: "Man needs a friend, he gets a dog. A woman like that you storm the beaches or die trying, come on!"
SLAUGHTER: "Do you have a skirt that says writer on it too?"
CASTLE: "No."
RYAN: "I feel like he's cheating on us."
CASTLE: "They rejected you and you feel betrayed."
ALEXIS: "How am I supposed to get over that?"
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:
--I'm sure at some point there was an episode with a better first segment before the commercial break, but I cant remember it. I mean, severed heads, Casey, Castle with a gun, Castle in a fight and Castle playing with dolls! Great stuff.
--Loved Slaughter trying to convince Castle to help him get out of excessive force complaints, while stashing someone in the truck and doing doughnuts.
THE SCORE: 88 out of 100
