Castle: 47 Seconds

On tonight's 'Castle' things started with a bang. Literally.

At a protest clearly based on the Occupy movement, an explosion is shown on national television as a bomb explodes behind a news reporter. Five people die and eleven are wounded.

Castle, Beckett and co. investigate. Initially the Chief gives them a list of 300 protest attendees and they start randomly interviewing suspects. Not surprisingly, this doesn't really get them anywhere.

Lanie helps a little. She finds blue canvas embedded on the victims, so the bomb must have been encased in a backpack or suitcase.

Eventually the Chief, who apparently has friends in really high places (like, really, really high), gets the GPS coordinates of all of the cell phones of the attendees. This is pretty ridiculous, because although the government does have access to that information, there is no way anyone would get it so quickly. Clearly none of these people have ever tried to get a real warrant. Anyway, disbelief needs to be suspended to accept the rest of the episode.

Right, so GPS. They have it, we're dealing with it. They managed to track a phone that was right next to the bomb when it went off--it must belong to the bomber! It belongs to Andrew Haynes, a political activist. They all think Haynes is the bomber, but we know otherwise. It's only half an hour into the episode...way too early to find the criminal.

The FBI decides Haynes is their man, but Beckett and Castle are more hesitant. It occurs to Castle that they should ask a drummer who is in the background of the video from the bombing. The drummer is initially hesitant to give them any information, because he is afraid of immigration. Beckett assures him that she doesn't care about that, and he is soon talking. He tells them that he saw a man drop off a blue backpack. He describes the man. Beckett believes that he is telling the truth, because they didn't tell anyone about the blue material.

Castle is thrown by the bombing, because it makes him think about how short life is. He decides to tell Kate how he feels about her. He starts to say something, and from Beckett's expression she knows what's coming, but he is interrupted before he can finish. He says they'll talk when the case is over.

The Chief sends Castle home with hundreds of witness statements to look over, since he is a speed reader.

While Castle is at home, Esposito and Ryan identify the man with the backpack. He is brought in for questioning. Castle comes in as Beckett is in the middle of questioning the witness. He stands behind the window listening, and Beckett has no idea he is there. The man with the backpack tells Beckett that he is in shock and can't remember the bombing at all. She yells at him that she was shot and that she remembers everything. Castle hears her and is shocked and hurt. This means that Kate has known all along that he told her he loved her. Also, Kate did recently lie about her memory (need a reminder?).

He meets his mother at the memorial for the bomb's victims. He tells her that he find out that Beckett knows, and she tells him that maybe he needs to move on. He tells her that he'll move on from Kate, but that he has to keep working at the precinct--it gives him purpose. And he needs to keep doing it for the victims.

Beckett leaves the witness in holding and sees a coffee (Castle's normal token of affection) on her desk. She asks Esposito where he is, and he tells her that Castle was there but said that he quickly had to leave. God I wish that A) Esposito tells her that Castle was listening to the witness or B) that she puts it all together. But she doesn't.

Castle returns to the precinct, and is quite icy towards Beckett. She appears puzzled each time he directs a snide comment her way. (Seriously, this woman is a detective?)

They soon figure out that the man with the blue backpack was actually a pick pocket. He stole the backpack from between two dumpsters. They realize that if it had exploded there it wouldn't have hurt any of the protesters.

After looking at more witness statements, they realize that the organizer of the protest was the actual bomber. When the man stole the blue backpack the organizer chased him, and tried to stop the bomb from going off. This tells them that he didn't have control of the detonator.

Re-watching the footage of the bombing, it occurs to Castle that the news reporter set off the bomb. Beckett looks at him proudly, but he doesn't smile in return.

They bring the reporter in for questioning. During the questioning Castle talks about standing up and telling the truth, especially if other people get hurt. He is clearly talking about himself and Beckett (and she still doesn't get it!). The reporter caves, and she is arrested.

At the end of the case Beckett asks the guys to come with her and grab a drink. Esposito and Ryan turn her down, and she looks expectantly at Castle. He says no, and starts to leave. Kate stops him, and asks him if he wants to tell her what he started to tell her earlier. He shakes his head and leaves. She seems slightly hurt and surprised.

And that is the end of the episode. How painful was that?!

In the promo for the next episode we hear Kate ask Lanie why Castle is turning away. And Lanie says: "Maybe he just got tired of waiting". Yeah, or maybe he just had his heart broken because he heard you yell that you remembered everything about your shooting (including said guy's professed love for you). And now he thinks you purposefully ignored him and played with his feelings, and has no idea you really like him. Way to go, Kate. Ugh.

I'm guessing they won't be this close again for a while.

Castle: A Dance with Death

Last night's 'Castle' episode (S4,Ep18) wasn't much of a surprise. The return of the show after its brief hiatus had been steadily advertised on ABC, and most of those ads had paired 'Dancing with the Stars' together with 'Castle'. So, we all knew what was coming: a 'Dancing with the Stars'-themed 'Castle' episode! And that's exactly what we got.

'Castle' began moments after 'Dancing with the Stars' ended, and the sets looked so familiar that for a second I thought that Tom Bergeron was going to pop up and tell the viewers that it was all a big hoax, and that we were going to have to suffer through a second hour of 'DWTS'. Thank goodness, this wasn't the case. Instead, we were watching the set of 'A Night of Dance', a dancing competition show that would feature heavily in this episode of 'Castle'.

The host and judges of the show were waiting in anticipation for a dance-off to occur between two competitors, Santino and Odette. Santino stepped onto the stage, but Odette was nowhere to be seen. Of course, since this is 'Castle', we instantly knew that she was dead.

And dead she was. The whole gang arrived at the scene. Odette had been shot in the chest, and Lanie quickly confirmed that it was a recent murder. Lanie also revealed that she was a huge fan of 'A Night of Dance', and that Odette was favored to win the whole competition. Oh, and that Odette had previously been a spoiled rich kid with a shopping addiction and drug problem. Anyway, now we know that Lanie loves trashy reality television, and that she wanted to be a ballerina as a child (um, way to randomly throw that storyline in, I can only assume it is because the writers later want to have Beckett and Castle discuss their childhood dreams).

Castle and Beckett interview all of the judges, and learn that a contestant who was previously voted off the show had been extremely upset. His name was Eddie, he had a problematic past with law enforcement, and he had been cast as the 'bad boy' (now would be a reasonable time to debate why Eddie and Odette, who both had problems with the law, were dealt with so differently on the show...financial backgrounds maybe? But, you know, I'm too distracted by Beckett's hair).

Beckett and Castle interview Odette's brother (I think?), and he says that he was pleased that she had been behaving so much better, and that she had stopped using drugs. She was still rich, but after a recent brush with death (a literal train wreck) she had apparently cleaned up her act. At this point in the episode, I couldn't help but wonder how Beckett would deal with this news---would she be reminded of her "brush with death"? Would it help her realize that she should make changes in her life (i.e. get with Castle)? I was a little disappointed when none of this was addressed, but then I saw the promo for next week's episode and I realized that they are addressing all of those things then. Guess they didn't want to jump the gun.

But, I digress. Odette's financial adviser and a bunch of other people reference the fact that she used to make crazy purchases (paying for a friend's plastic surgery, shopping sprees, etc.) when she was using drugs, and that all of that had stopped after the accident. However, recently those purchases had started up again.

Beckett is not convinced, because she notices that Odette bought only clothing, and that the clothing was in a size four (not Odette's size). Castle remembers his glory, college days, and how he would let other people use the gas card his mother gave him in exchange for cash. He suggests that Odette was buying clothing for her friends in order to get cash so that she could pay for drugs. All this seems rather logical, except that it isn't right. Instead, it turns out that Odette was buying all the clothes for an assistant on the show--because the assistant had overheard part of a fight and Odette was worried she would tell someone about it (can you say blackmail?).

Castle and Beckett approach the guy that Odette was fighting with. He admits that he saw Odette shooting up (presumably heroin), but that he had promised her he would keep it a secret if she stopped. He knew if her drug use was discovered she would get kicked off the show. But, then he caught her again, and when he threatened to expose her she said she would tell the producers he had kept it a secret the first time, and that he would be fired too. Hence, the fight.

Ryan and Esposito search Odette's apartment, and discover syringes. Only problem is, Odette didn't have any drugs in her system when she died. And those syringes? They're filled with insulin. Which is bizarre because A) Odette wasn't diabetic and B) Most people don't hide their insulin in false-bottom boxes.

Anyway, we suddenly find out something big! Odette wasn't really Odette. The real Odette died in the train crash, and the faux-dette (I swear, they call her that, I'm not just stealing ideas from 'Fringe' by myself) is really an ex-foster kid named Barbara. Castle immediately posits a "twins separated at birth" story. As he explains, these stories rarely end happily, except for the 'Parent Trap'. Beckett is buying this explanation, because, seriously, the women look identical. But then, a twist! Their DNA doesn't match!

Eventually, our detectives (with much help from Castle) figure out what really happened: Odette was getting arrested a lot, and she was being assigned community service. Clearly, she didn't want to do it. So, when she saw a stripper who looked a lot like her, she paid for her to have plastic surgery (see, not all those drug-addled purchases were nonsensical!) to look more like her. And then, tada!, Barbara looks just like Odette (I can't imagine it's really that simple, but for the sake of this plot, I'll go with it).

Ah ha! Beckett and Castle discuss their childhood dreams. Or rather, Castle asks Beckett about her childhood dreams. And she tells him that she was studying to be a lawyer before her mother's murder. This completely confused me, because I thought Beckett was planning on being an actress. Then I realized I was mixing up TV 'Castle' with trashy book 'Castle' (yes, I've used "trashy" twice in this synopsis, and it was worth it. And yes, I have just admitted to reading these books).

We of course get swept into a big debate about who the killer was really trying to murder; Odette or Barbara? For a while we get flung a red herring in the shape of Barbara's ex-boyfriend, who was a not very good guy (drug dealer?) who turned out to be kind of a good guy (he actually loved Barbara). Basically, he's irrelevant. Clearly didn't do it.

Immediately we think of the money: did Odette's brother murder Odette (or Barbara, thinking she was Odette, or Barbara knowing she was Barbara)? It gets a bit convoluted for a minute. Or was it the butler (Apparently all rich families now have butlers, and why was this man never interviewed before)?

To cut a long story short (way too late, I know) faux-dette wasn't murdered by any of these people! Turns out several years ago she had an affair with the financial adviser, and he helped her murder her grandfather. She then abandoned him for greener (younger) pastures. But he still loved Odette, and when he realized that Barbara was an impersonator, he got angry and shot her. So, that's that.

This episode also had a storyline involving Alexis in the morgue. Come on, people (Andrew Marlowe, I'm looking at you). No police department would ever, ever let an untrained minor handle evidence that might be used in a court of law! Seriously!

We also dealt briefly with Esposito and Ryan recognizing that Ryan's flirting days were over--women could smell the "happily married" on him. Even when he gave Esposito his wedding band to wear, Esposito still got more women. This was one of the weakest episodes this season for these guys. Honestly, I didn't care much if the ladies still like Ryan. Also, I don't care if Esposito gets Ryan's wedding ring stuck on his finger. This is a scenario we've all seen before, and it works way better in romantic comedies ('My Best Friend's Wedding', 'The Family Stone', etc.). Ryan and Esposito can be fun to watch, but in this particular case they just felt like filler.

Another pointless filler in this episode was the subplot involving Castle's mother. Apparently she got a horrible theater review when she was young, but now she wants the reviewer to write something lovely about her acting school. I'm not sure why we're supposed to care, but you can imagine how that goes if it matters to you.

I am happy about one thing. This episode of 'Castle' was light and fluffy, which is something that the show does particuarly well. Considering the fact that next week's episode looks like (excuse my pun) an actual train wreck for our characters, I'm glad we had something a little mindless this week.

Also, did anyone else think dead Odette looked way too much like Beckett?

HIMYM: The Broath

Barney makes Ted swear a "broath" (bro oath, obviously) while wearing a "brobe" (bro robe, for those who haven't caught on). You see, Barney really likes Quinn, and he is going to invite the gang to meet her during dinner. However, he's worried about how the gang is going to react to the fact that Quinn is a stripper, so he asks Ted to promise not to tell them. Of course, Ted promises and then immediately tells the gang.

The group decides that they will try to figure out if Quinn is really trying to take advantage of Barney and his money. During the dinner they discover a couple of things. 

1. Quinn is super controlling of Barney. Or, at least, the gang sees it that way. Is it possible that they have just never seen Barney take anyone else's opinions under consideration. Remember the past episode when Robin was dating Kevin (Kal Penn) and we saw the gang from his perspective? My point is, on this show you never know if what you're seeing is "real".

2. Quinn is moving out of her rent-controlled apartment. Since Robin and Ted let Marshall and Lily have the apartment, they haven't had a place to live. Of course, they can't live together because of the whole "Ted still loves Robin, and for both their sakes they can't live together" thing. Both Robin and Ted are living in awkward situations (Ted's living in student housing, and Robin is staying with her controlling co-worker), so they really want to sublet Quinn's apartment. It instantly becomes a competition.

3. Marshall loves to tell sex stories. Unfortunately, the only woman he has ever had sex with is Lily, so that makes it a little...awkward...for the rest of the gang.

4. There are tickets for an expensive trip to Hawaii in the apartment.

5. Quinn and Barney are moving in together.

Per usual, the gang holds an intervention (make that a "Quinntervention") to tell Barney that he is making a big mistake moving in with Quinn. In the middle of the intervention ("Quinntervention"), right when the gang is telling Barney that Quinn is clearly taking advantage of his money (note: the Hawaii trip), Quinn walks in. It turns out she bought him the trip as a surprise.

But, when Quinn hears that Barney made Ted promise to hide the fact that she is a stripper, she decides that maybe they are moving too fast. She believes that Barney isn't accepting of who she really is. And she does sort of have a point. 

Quinn and Barney's relationship may be ruined, but Robin and Ted are more devastated about the fact that they've lost the sublet. The break-up does cause Robin and Ted to address their problems. Robin admits that she really misses Ted's friendship, and that she is super stressed at work and may be losing her job. She explains that she lost everything in one day.

The gang feels horrible about ending Quinn and Barney's relationship, and they go to apologize. He makes them do a "broath", while wearing robes, in a darkened room lit with candles. He even makes Lily and Robin kiss, and Marshall and Ted kiss. But, at the end of the "broath", the lights turn on and Quinn is standing there. 

It turns out Quinn and Barney orchestrated the whole thing. Quinn purposefully acted like a bitch, Barney purposefully acted submissive, and they purposefully decided to make Ted and Robin fight. (That last one was really all Quinn, as Barney said, she's "as evil" as he is). 

At the end though, Barney and Quinn decide that they really do want to move in together. Barney admits that he is not necessarily okay with Quinn stripping, and he asks what would make her stop:

"Hypothetically, what would make you stop?"-Barney

"Hypothetically, I would stop stripping if I ever got married."-Quinn

'HIMYM' stop taunting us with the whole "who is Barney's wife" storyline. We already have a "who is Ted's wife" storyline. Must you be so annoyingly convoluted?

Robin and Ted talk, and realize things have gotten really weird between them. They meet at the bar to discuss. Robyn informs Ted that she just got a big promotion, and that she is now Sandy River's co-host. So, yay! Robyn is not fired. Because she is now making more money, she can afford a nicer apartment, and lets Ted take Quinn's sublet. Ted admits that he does miss their friendship, and promises that things will go back to normal. Robyn smiles and thanks him, but things quickly become awkward and she gets up to leave. As he is walking away, Ted's voice-over states that this was the last time he saw Robyn for a long time. But why? Where is she going? I don't think 'HIMYM' would be any good without Cobie Smulders!

Anyway, there is a sweet moment between Lily and Marshall where she gives him permission to make up a third-base thing with a different woman. Believe me, it's sweeter than it sounds. 

So, what's going to happen next week? Will we find out if Robin is gone, or if she and Ted are just estranged? Will Quinn feature as prominently as this week? Becki Newton, who plays Quinn, is only signed up for a short episode arc, so who knows!

It's Season 7, Episode 19 and Lily is still pregnant!

HIMYM: Karma

I was thrilled with last week's episode for one reason: Ted and Robin did not get back together. Thank God! I could maintain the illusion that Barney and Robin were going to rekindle their relationship. Unfortunately, that illusion was short-lived. In tonight's episode Barney moved closer to a serious relationship with Quinn (Becki Newton), and further away from Robin. No! Say it isn't true!

Oh, wait, look...they're kissing. Okay, so it's true. For now. My guess is that the Quinn/Barney relationship will continue during the rest of this season, but that it will by over by the time the season ends. After all, Becki Newton is one of the lead roles in the new FOX comedy pilot 'The Goodwin Games'. Take that, Quinn! I suppose it should be said that the creators of 'HIMYM' (Craig Thomas and Carter Bays) are also the creators of this new show, so they never designed Quinn to be long-term. I hope this also means that they didn't design her to be Barney's wife (remember that flashback from earlier this season, where we found out that Barney was tying the knot?). Finally, I hope that if 'The Goodwin Games' gets picked up it is less circuitous and irritating than 'HIMYM'.

In tonight's episode, Barney found out that Quinn was a stripper. Not only that, but she was a stripper at the strip club that he frequents.

WHAT?! Eh, it makes sense. I never look at their faces.

"Everywhere I go I see her...I see her dancing on that pole!"-Barney
"I see her dancing on that pole too"-Ted

Quinn manipulates Barney into paying her for multiple lap dances ($900 worth!), while he impatiently waits to see if she will go out on a real date. He refuses to see the manipulation, even though Ted sees it (and come on, it's Ted. He never notices anything). Instead, Barney emphatically states that he is "in love" with Quinn. Ted's a tad shocked, mainly because Barney is stealing his line, but also because Barney has never openly admitted to loving anyone. In his shock, Ted manages to break a chair. But it's all good, because he can probably make the empty bedroom into a woodworking shop. See, ever since Robin left he has been trying to come up with another use of the room...he's already steamed meat, so maybe woodworking is the next logical move.

Barney believes that he is dating Quinn for most of the episode, despite the fact that she pulls almost every move from his own playbook. At the end of the episode, they run into each other at a coffee shop, and have their first real date.

In other news, Robin is living with Lily and Marshall now, since she had to leave her former apartment since she isn't actually in love with Ted, and living with a guy who loves you that you don't love? Awkward. 


Despite the fact that Robin hates Long Island, she feels herself trapped there. Mainly because Lily and Marshall are doing everything in their power to keep her there. Turns out they really hate Long Island, and they just wanted a friend to move out there with them. Robin points out that she'd rather set herself on fire.

At the end of this episode there actually is a twist that will make the whole series look different: Ted moves out of his apartment. But don't worry, the apartment isn't gone! Instead, he gives the apartment to Lily and Marshall, and sets Robin's old room up for their baby. Pretty adorable.

Huh, guess that girl I slept with really is a stripper!

'Castle': "Dial M for Mayor"

Finally what we've all been dreading is coming true...the writers on 'Castle' are awakening the side-story dealing with the mysterious male caller. This man called Castle shortly after Beckett's shooting, and threatened Beckett's life if she didn't stop investigating her mother's murder. For months and months, Castle has kept this phone call from Beckett. In tonight's episode he received a second call, suggesting that this episode's murder is somehow connected to Beckett's mother's murder.

The episode began with a murdered woman discovered in the passenger seat of a car. The car is registered to City Hall, so her death is linked with the Mayor's Office. If you recall, the mayor is a close friend of Castle's, and he is also the reason that Castle is allowed to work with the police.

The murdered woman used to be a successful English professor, but had put her career on hold to (we later learn) write an investigative book. One of her undercover jobs was as a sex call worker.

Beckett is torn about investigating the case not only because of Castle's friendship with the mayor, but also because she knows that if the mayor is kicked out of office her captain won't let Castle work with the police anymore.

Of course, Beckett is always a police detective first (not necessarily a bad thing), and she continues to investigate the murder and the mayor's connection to it. It turns out that the murdered woman was a volunteer at one of the mayor's charities; the charity is being investigated for embezzlement.

They find video footage of the murdered woman and the mayor at the same event; he is wearing a camel-colored coat. Because the body was found wrapped in a coat Beckett and Castle ask the mayor to hand his over. He refuses, claiming that the murder and embezzlement are conspiracies created to hurt his bid for governor.

Unfortunately, this means that Beckett has to go ahead and subpoena the mayor's coat, which arguably ends his political career.

Castle contacts the mysterious man via a phone number that he was given. He asks for information about the conspiracy involving the mayor. The mysterious man actually meets him in a (mysterious) underground parking structure, and tells him to "listen" to the evidence.

Despite the fact that Beckett and Castle left each other on a bad note re: the subpoena, he calls her and claims he had a brainstorm. He listened to videotapes of the mayor with one of the sex call women, and she identified a voice as one of the people who was a regular caller of the murdered woman. Turns out it's the Assistant to the Chief of Staff (it's also Wendell from 'Bones'! When I saw he was in the episode I knew he'd prove to be connected to the murder, he clearly wasn't just an extra).

Anyway, Assistant Wendell is interrogated by Castle and Beckett, and is about to reveal the name of who he was working for when a lawyer bursts into the room. He has been asked to represent Assistant Wendell by some unnamed power (we assume the same people who were pulling the assistant's strings).

Castle meets in the mysterious man in the same shadowy location. He admits that the called because the mystery is not resolved. He also asks the mysterious man why he helped the investigation. The man tells him that he did it because he needs Castle to keep working with Beckett, because if he doesn't he won't have anyone to stop her from looking into her mother's death. He states that, "there are times when a well placed pawn is more powerful than a king," insinuating that he considers Castle a pawn.

At the end of the episode, Castle says, "I have your number if I need to reach you". The mysterious man replies, "you don't reach me Mr. Castle, I reach you". Well, that doesn't sound good.

I want them to deal with the investigation into Beckett's mother's murder because it is so unresolved, but at the same time, I don't want them too. I am very attached to Beckett and Castle's current flirtatious sparring. All of that is bound to end when she finds out about the mysterious man. What do you think? Should the writers deal with it this season, or should they let it continue into Season Five?

poster designed by: phoenix-cry.tumblr

'Castle' Wedding Time: "Till Death Do Us Part" Recap

Things finally feel right in the world after last night's 'Castle' episode. It seems as though the writers are taking the show back to its roots: a nice light, frothy murder with just a hint of sexual tension between our two main characters. Last night's episode also featured the original cast, so we didn't have to deal with the new captain and the tension she keeps bringing.

The episode opened with Castle, Beckett, and Esposito watching in disgust/admiration as Jenny and Ryan fawned over their upcoming nuptials. There was some cutesy baby-talk, and Ryan admitted to the rest of the gang that he had agreed to do a cleanse before the wedding (honestly, who in their right mind thinks it’s a good idea for the bride and groom to stop eating before their wedding? Apparently planning a wedding isn't stress provoking enough for Ryan and Jenny).

Evidently Ryan doesn't like to be stressed out by himself, so he decides to tell Esposito that Lanie is bringing a plus one to the wedding. Since Espositio and Lanie broke up a hot second ago he is upset.

Beckett and Castle head off to investigate a potential murder. A man fell several stories out of a window. Lanie is already there, and she proves that the man wasn't alone at the time of his death: he has recent scratch marks on his back. Oh, but he wasn't pushed, they're from sex.

Later on, in the autopsy room, we find out that the dead man had sex with two different women within hours of his murder. Both Castle and Beckett instantaneously assume that this probably has something to do with his death (revengeful girlfriend etc.).

Beckett mentions having sex with "a lot" of men, and Castle pounces on this, asking her to give him a number. Kate asks him if he'd really want to know if they were getting married (can this please be some kind of foreshadowing!?). Anyway, Castle claims he would, and states: "you tell me your number, I'll tell you mine". Kate doesn't want to play.

Another Castle/Beckett moment occurs when Esposito mentions bringing a date to the wedding. He explains that he doesn't want to go solo when Lanie has a guy with her. Beckett says that she's going by herself, and that she'll dance with him if need be. Castle then states that he does have a date, and it's clear that Kate is a little concerned about who he's bringing. She attempts to ask him nonchalantly, and he admits that his date is "beautiful…intelligent…funny", and that "the way she smiles at [him] melts [his] heart". As he's describing this woman Kate looks more and more worried, and I think it's clear that she purposefully decided not to bring a date to the wedding. Luckily, Castle quickly admits that his date is Alexis.

Back to the murder: it turns out the man has lots and lots of girlfriends, and that he was poisoned (probably by one of them) shortly before his death. When Ryan and Esposito reveal that he had a complex fake identity (including a fake driver's license, and websites backing up a false persona), Castle immediately decides that he's a spy. Beckett often shoots down his crazy ideas, but in this case she doesn't have a better one, and she asks the guys to contact government agencies to see whether the murdered man was working for them.

They quickly find out that he wasn't, but they are told by one of his many girlfriends that he was kidnapped right in front of her, in the middle of the day, on a busy street. When Beckett and the rest of the team discuss this she laughs it off, claiming it isn’t possible, and explaining that it fits too much into one of Castle's crazy theories. Turns out she's wrong (for once! Normally Castle's the one who’s wrong). They find video footage of the kidnapping.

Except, they soon learn it wasn't a kidnapping. They find the two men who did it, and they explain that it was an  "exstalksion", designed to get the woman out of their friend's life. He wasn't a spy, he was a pick-up artist. They tell the police that the murdered man kept a diary of all of his conquests.

Back in the office the guys laugh over the conquest diary, which includes photos of hundreds of naked women. Kate gets annoyed at their immaturity (ahh, it’s just like the good old days in Season One). Shortly after Ryan and Esposito leave, Castle asks Beckett when Ryan first started dating Jenny. For some reason she has a incredibly specific time-line in her head (I know, I know, he wore a special tie after their two week anniversary, but why is Kate remembering this?) and she tells Castle a specific date. She also seems really puzzled about why he wants to know (shouldn't she realize by now?). Anyway, he shows her (gasp!) a photo of Jenny in the conquest diary.

This sparks an interesting conversation between Castle and Beckett, as he is emphatic that Ryan needs to be told before the wedding, while Kate insists that some secrets are necessary to have a healthy relationship. I wonder if she'd feel the same way if she knew that Castle is hiding the threats he received during the investigation into her mother's death. I'm guessing no. Esposito later learns about the entry, and also thinks that Ryan should be told. My guess is this has less to do with his morals, and more to do with the fact that he doesn't want his best guy friend to get married.

Anyway, I want to jump past a lot of the rest of the plot, because I think it's sort of irrelevant. Suffice to say, Esposito tries to pick up a woman so that he can get a date to the wedding (this irritates me about 30 seconds after it starts). Lanie is apparently dating some doctor. Alexis and her grandmother go dress shopping for the wedding, but Alexis ends up meeting a cute boy, and decides that a private Lady Gaga concert is more important than going to a wedding with her father (at least she has priorities).

The murder gets solved: apparently the man was trying to use his skill as a pick-up artist to steal corporate secrets, aka take part in "sexpionage". One of the women at the company, who he was also sleeping with, realized this and got mad/poisoned him.

Ryan finally caves and eats solid food (since the cleanse was starting to piss me off, I was relieved). It's Chinese food (excellent choice). Once he has eaten he realizes that he forgot to ask something, "is Jenny in the book?". Everyone else is shocked to learn that a) Ryan and Jenny were not exclusive the moment they started dating and b) that Jenny told him she might be in it.

At the wedding Esposito gets introduced to Lanie's date, and she explains that the good doctor is actually gay. Esposito admits that his date is actually his cousin. Neither of them wanted to show up alone, and they share a moment which indicates that maybe their relationship isn't truly over. I know there's a reason they broke up, but I can't remember it (time to read Wikipedia!).

Castle, dateless now that Alexis has abandoned him for a pop icon, shows up at Ryan's wedding alone. Kate calls him over, referring to him as a "lost puppy". They agree to be each other's dates. Castle admits that Ryan's wedding is making him happy, and Kate tells him that "maybe third time's the charm". They then walk into the church, and down the aisle (okay, you're not supposed to do this during a wedding, but it's still adorable) arm in arm.

Rizzoli & Isles: the 2nd Season finale

"Burning Down the House" (S2Ep15) was the final episode of the second season of 'Rizzoli & Isles'. More often than not, 'R&I' is a light-hearted mystery romp. Sure, there have been occasional dark episodes, like this year's "Brown Eyed Girl", but those episodes have always been an oddity. Tonight's episode added one more to the collection.

The episode featured some regular guest starts; Jacqueline Bisset reprieved her role as Maura's mother, and Agent Dean (Billy Burke) returned as a love interest for Jane. 

"Burning Down the House" had an uneven tone. The episode tried to keep some of it's usual bantering humor, while dealing with extremely serious themes. This was problematic to say the least. The multiple storylines didn't help with the flow much either.

One side-story dealt with Jane and Agent Dean's romance and, I have to say, they really don't have great chemistry. Also, I'm sure there were plenty of moments that pleased Maura/Jane shippers (every time Jane and Dean had a second alone Jane cut it short to rush off and see Maura).

Another storyline briefly examined Maura's budding relationship with her mother. It seemed as though they were finally on their way to a true mother-daughter reconciliation (and just how true was brought to light at the end of the episode). Unfortunately, this was cut short because Maura's mother was seriously injured in a hit and run incident where Maura was the actual target.

And on to side-story number three: Maura was the target of said hit and run because of the arson fire/ mysterious firefighter death scenario that she was investigating. Because apparently Medical Examiners are really good at arson work, and know the inner workings of a space heater. Who knew?

Opps, I almost forgot side-story number four: Maura's biological father, Patty Doyle, who also happens to be a mobster, turned up in her mother's hospital room. He promised to protect Maura, and to tell her who her biological mother was, but instead they fought and he left.

Side-story number five: Except he didn't really leave, because when Maura gets back from seeing Jane she finds her biological father at her adoptive mother's bedside. Ostensibly because he is protecting her. But right after he leaves (for real this time) her mother wakes up and says that someone was telling her to hold on "for her daughter", and then asks Maura, "was it Patrick?". Which leads us to the first question that doesn't get answered (there have to be some, this is a finale!): is Maura's adoptive mother actually her biological mother? Did she have an affair with a mobster? And how will this impact the 'true' part of their mother-daughter reconciliation?

At the end of the episode, the detectives decide to set a trap to figure out which firefighter set the arson fire, and murdered his colleague. Maura makes a big fuss in front of the firefighters about collecting data at the burnt building. She's followed by the guilty firefighter, but luckily she is wire-tapped, and has numerous people backing her up...including Frost, Korsak, Jane, Agent Dean, and (unknown to everyone involved) her biological father. It's lucky that Patty Doyle is there, because the law enforcement would have been too late, the firefighter almost shots Maura, but Doyle takes him out just in time. Of course, this means that when the police do enter the room they're faced by a wanted mobster holding a gun. Someone fires at him, and he fires back. He refuses to put the gun down. He gets shot in the shoulder (definitely not a fatal wound), but then fires again and Jane steps up and shoots him in the chest. He falls backwards, potentially fatally wounded. Jane seems shocks at what she has done, but Maura responds instantly, rushing to her father's aid. Jane finally reacts and runs over, yelling Maura's name. She tries to bunch up a coat as a pillow for Patty's head, but Maura swats her away. The look that Maura and Jane exchange shows that Maura is deeply hurt by the fact that her best friend shot her father. And then the credits roll.

So, the questions for next season:
1. Does Patty Doyle survive? this one could go either way
2. Does Maura's mother survive? i think probably yes
3. Is Maura's adoptive mother really her biological mother? i'm guessing yes
4. Will Agent Dean stick around? please no, if there has to be a guy I'd prefer the far-away one who's in Afghanistan, anyone closer ruins the chemistry that Maura and Jane have (regardless of how you choose to interpret that chemistry)
4. How long will it take Maura to forgive Jane? not too long (they won't want to alienate viewers)

Dean: Maybe I'll be gone in Season 3. Or at least I'll get a hair cut.

What do you think?