Devika Syal ‘18 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer Stana Katic, Nathan Fillion and Kim Hawthorne in the Castle episode “Castle, P.I.” Photo Credit: Colleen Hayes/ABC.Castle returned from its winter hiatus fresh off the previous episode’s cliffhanger: Castle being banned from working with the NYPD after altercations with the mob. That, however, didn’t seem to stop Castle (Nathan Fillion) who secretly acquires a private investigator’s license and shows up unannounced at Beckett’s (Stana Katic) crime scene kickstarting a humorous and entertaining episode.
Monday night’s Castle was one of the best episodes made by far. Not only was the murder case an edge-of-your-seat step by step mystery, but the entire structure of the episode was brilliant. Since Castle is not allowed to work with the NYPD at all, he emphasizes that his investigation will be parallel to Beckett, Ryan (Seamus Dever), and Esposito’s (Jon Huertas). The filming and delivery were excellent in themselves. In certain instances Castle would reveal the name of a suspect only for the camera to transition to Beckett making the discovery at the same time. This gave the impression that the two were working together. Seamus Dever, Stana Katic and Arye Gross in the Castle episode “Castle, P.I.” Photo Credit: Colleen Hayes/ABC.
Unfortunately for the characters, Castle and the detectives are forced to lead separate investigations, and are in turn forbidden from combining their information. This becomes a friendly competition between husband and wife until it turns out one group always seems to have what the other needs. Well actually, the NYPD always needs the information that Castle has. Initially a joke made by Ryan stating how funny it would be if Castle were to solve the murder first, it turns out that the precinct relies heavily on the information Castle is able to put together on his own. Adding to that, Castle proves to be one step ahead of the detectives throughout the entire show, and even prevents them from arresting the wrong man at one point.
The “forbidden sharing of information” aspect of the episode also turned into a comedic “forbidden love” sequence between Castle and Beckett who have secret meetings in Castle’s new P.I. office to exchange case notes. They even bring this dilemma home with them, appearing to have forgotten that they are married and are allowed to separate work from life. Arye Gross, Seamus Dever, Nathan Fillion and Jon Huertas in the Castle episode “Castle, P.I.” Photo Credit: Colleen Hayes/ABC.
One small, understated and under-appreciated part of the episode showed Castle sitting in his office with his feet up in a very film noir-esque scene as a voiceover played. It was revealed shortly after that Castle had recorded the voiceover and was playing it to set the scene. A small, funny scene showed the viewers the Castle they know and love in a very typical moment.
This episode worked to show just how much Castle has learned by working at the precinct for so many years. He asked all the right questions, followed the right leads, went to the right places, and reasoned out what to do next. It was inspiring to see Castle back on the crime scenes, although it is doubtful that he will be solving any more murders in the near future, especially considering that Beckett expressed the same sentiment at the end of the episode, advising Castle to take on his own cases. Seeing as this cannot carry on for a long time, Castle will probably be re-administered to the precinct very soon. Overall Episode Grade: A
