I know this episode is more than a few weeks old, but I'm just catching up, and damn it, I have to start writing about something other than mediocre sitcoms, or I'll just end up burning this blog to the ground and collecting the insurance.
This week our mystery gets a few
twists and turns, does a little
bob and weave, pulls a couple
o'switcheroos. I have no idea why I'm talking like this. Writing three recaps in a row plays tricks with your mind grapes). A run of the mill mob execution turns out to be a murdered co-ed who turns out to have been shot with the gun that our least faovirte serial killer, 3XK, took from Detective Ryan last season, but turns out to have dumped off on a frenemy he made in the joint, hoping he'd use it and get caught, cause, no matter what, 3XK is a fucking dick. All those turns make one dizzy. They also don't leave Detective Ryan feeling too good about the whole thing.
Ryan's taking the fact that an innocent girl was shot with his gun very badly and more or less takes the lead on this, following every the clues, even as they lead straight into a Triad stronghold. 3XK's frenemy was the son of a big time Chinatown boss. He was also the brother of a relatively innocent young student recieving tutoring lessons from our victim. They fell in love, he tried to leave, Big Brother (literally) found out, and shot her. Ryan gets to wear the Big Damn Hero (tm) pants this episode, and manages to get his gun back,the shooter to confess on tape, and the little brother out of the life and into Witness Protection, and finds justice for the victim. It's a pretty alright end, despite there being no clue to the current location of 3XK (a clue the shooter tried to use to get himself some leniency). That's alright though, like Castle says, "We'll get him right." Man, everyone's manning up today.
So, guys? Holy shit that was intense.
It never ceases to amaze me how a god damn procedural that should have more in common with Psych and Monk continues to be (has turned into?) one of the most emotionally satisfying dramas on network television. Then again, if you can't name even one episode of Monk per season that brings a tear to your eye, then you're a soulless bastard. Not that it brought tears to my eyes. I mean other folks. Less manly folks.
Shut up, he loves Trudy!
Every fiber of my being is always just dying to constantly mock the well-manicured, has-to-be-there-for-the-metrosexual-demographic Detective Ryan, but I'll be damned if I can find a legitimate reason to. Ryan and Esposito are anything clueless Chief O'Hara's, frquently contributing legimate insights into the investigations. And neither are they interchangeable, stoic filler cops like...pretty much everyone on Without a Trace who isn't Anthony LaPaglia or Eric Close, or everyone on Numb3rs who isn't Dr. Flieschmann or Diane Farr. And on top of that, if this episode proves anything (as if last season's finale didn't prove it enough), it's that the actors can fucking bring it. In the hands of any lesser actor, Ryan's "I'm not going to rest until you feel that weight too" speech would've induced involuntary facepalming and horrendous embarrassment. But not only did he bring that, he managed to turn in a particularly touching heart to heart with Ben right after. Props all the way around this episode.
Speaking of which, a Tim Jo's Ben Lee performance was also stand out here. I'm not sure whether I'm more impressed with the actor's performance or his character's in that last scene with his brother. That hit all the right notes in what I expected to be a completely run of the mill confession scene. Touching, horrible, raw, I loved it. I could actually feel the pain from both brothers as they processed the other's betrayl's but Jo's performance really shone. Awesome.
Aside from the awesome performances and writing, this episode just makes me all the more nervous for when Castle's betrayal from the premiere comes to light. Beckett is warmning more and more to Castle, being more open, even flirting. And not just flirting in her usual "say something hot/allude to something sexy and watch him get flustered" way, but actual sweet things like "you read my mind" when he brings her coffee in the beginning. You watch, she'll work her way to liking him back, she remembers he said he loved her, she's going to finally want to be with him, and them boom, she'll find out Castle's been trying to lead her away from investigating the conspiracy, and Shit Will Get Real. Not looking forward to that.
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