photo: abc

Original Air Date: Mar 29, 2010

Karen Belgrad – TwoCents Reviewer
karenbelgrad@thetwocentscorp.com

This week took a decidedly darker turn than any episodes to date. We began where we left off last week: Castle in the street racing to Beckett’s apartment, Beckett getting out of the shower to answer her phone clad in a towel, and her apartment going ‘boom’ after the ominous voice said “Goodbye Nikki”. All viewers were left hanging for a week wondering if Beckett would survive!

But really, were we? Was there actually a single viewer who thought Beckett wouldn’t survive? It almost would’ve been more plausible for the bomb to be set at Castle’s with Alexis and Martha, as they are not the entire premise of the show! And if you weren’t convinced she survived, did those smoking hot ‘Beckett playing pool in Castle’s mind’ ads that aired during Dancing With The Stars convince you?

As the show opened, Castle raced into Beckett’s burning apartment and found her naked in the tub. Our witty gal knows where to take cover in a bomb blast! One of the few humorous scenes last night was her trying to cover herself in the tub while directing Castle to find something to cover her up with. Towels, burnt. Robe, burnt. Castle’s jacket, ready and available. Now, I’m no arson expert, but after that blast I was surprised to hear it was only her living room that was severely damaged. Didn’t you think that half the building would’ve been blown to smithereens? I did adore Castle’s eagerness to tell Beckett about busting down her door.

Once the crime scene was secure, Castle explained how Ben Conrad had been seen in the window with the gun in his left hand, but his body had been found with the gun in his right hand. This led them to realize that the killer was there the whole time and hiding when the police arrived. Finding his secret, false-wall closet place, they realize he’d held Conrad hostage while killing in his image. Beckett gets another call from the killer. Angry that she’s still alive, he kills a random woman while on the phone with her.

Contemplating how the killer knew Beckett was alive, Agent Shaw realizes he has been watching the whole time, not from the side lines, but as a cop. They review photos and discover one police officer obstructing his face in all photos. They begin to look for his connection to Ben Conrad and find it in a local pub. The killer’s cab ride home from the pub gives them a neighborhood to begin searching. Now that they realize the killer did not commit suicide, Shaw re-profiles the killer and feeds all the data into some hi-tech computer thing-a-ma-bob that spits out suspect names in a matter of seconds. And one of the names it provides is Chris Dougherty, who happens to have died six years prior.

The group decides to waits outside for the killer to return to his/Dougherty’s apartment. During surveillance, Shaw realizes he’s watching them from the roof and everyone but Beckett and Castle (told to stay put) scurry off to catch the killer. Beckett sees the killer coming down the fire escape and takes off after him. She catches up to him as the doors close between them on a subway car. He points a finger gun at her and smiles as he rides away.

Using the fancy computer again and a photo still from subway security, they ascertain that the killer is arson-convicted, institutionalized, juvie-record-sealed Scott Dunn. They group arrives at his apartment to find his manuscript ‘Dead Heat’ decorating the place and a collage of Beckett/Nikki Heat articles shaped as Beckett on his wall. Souvenirs from other cities help them, to surmise this is not his first killing spree. Shaw hypothesizes that the killer is memorializing and distancing by turning fact into fiction, feeding his psychosis. She orders Beckett off the case as she is now too personally involved. Just now? Really?

With no apartment left, Beckett reluctantly agrees (when ordered) to sleep at Castle’s. She turns the tables on last week’s breakfast by cooking for him. It seems her mother was quite the brunch master chef. It’s a cute moment, made cuter when Martha arrives and Castle recalls that her breakfasts were largely ice packs and Bloody Marys.

Meanwhile, Shaw gets into her SUV when Dunn appears in the backseat with a gun. The next morning they realize she’s been kidnapped. Dunn calls Beckett to taunt her with a trade and sends a video of Shaw to her phone. Using some more FBI fancy-schmancy technology they realize exactly where the video is from and descend upon said location. Castle and Beckett are once again told to stay in the van.

In the van, Castle begins to think it’s all too easy and theorizes what he would’ve done in his book. He thinks the killer is watching from another building and setting a trap for the FBI agents. Beckett believes it’s plausible and the two decide to scout the other building quietly, not drawing attention to themselves. Beckett gives Castle a gun, not to hold while she ties her shoes, but because he is her only back-up. Awwww! Seriously, it was an Awwww! moment.

They find Dunn with Shaw tied to a chair. Beckett distracts Dunn. He believes that only one of them can live. They struggle. He knocks her to the ground. As he’s going to shoot, Castle shoots the gun from his hand. It’s over.

Shaw: Hell of a shot Castle.
Castle (pouts): I was aiming for his head.

This episode was definitely a more ominous episode than Castle’s past. I prefer the more light hearted episodes as opposed to the grimness of these past two hours. Luckily next week looks to have a much lighter, Indiana Jones-esque tone to it.

So those are my TwoCents. What are your TwoCents? Do you want a Fed Mobile like Castle? And how incredible is it that ABC just announced Castle’s Season Three renewal?!?!?

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