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icepixieCastle
Hmmm. Well, the first three-quarters were better than I expected, but the last fifteen minutes were disappointment after disappointment.
First, the good:
I liked that (at least for a while) they let whether Beckett really remembered Castle's words or not be ambiguous. Between the conversations in the hospital and on the swings, I felt it was reasonably obvious that she remembered, and that Castle knew she remembered but was lying about it, and both of them had a tacit agreement not to bring it up again until they unraveled the conspiracy. However, there was a little mystery left because neither of them admitted this out loud, and Beckett in fact denied everything. Subtlety. It's a good thing. (Joel and Maggie did this all the time on Northern Exposure, so as I'm currently experiencing an NX renaissance, I may just be especially pleased by seeing this kind of thing here.)
They handled the time jump about as well as they could; if they'd spent the entire episode in the immediate aftermath of Beckett's shooting, she would've been unconscious in a hospital bed rather than running around investigating, so hey, three months, whatever.
Gates is a reasonably believable hardass. She doesn't have some kind of unreasonable vendetta against any of the Fab Four; she just thought Castle was annoying, and she doesn't give the rest of them much leeway because she doesn't know them yet. She's kind of like a stonier version of pilot-era Montgomery. (Though I hope she doesn't turn out to be part of the conspiracy. That would stretch believability just a bit too far.)
Re: Beckett and her psychological wall she has to tear down: I do like this particular roadblock on the journey toward Castle and Beckett resolving their UST. Josh and Gina felt manufactured for that one purpose; this is actually growing from Beckett's character. I especially like that she said she had to tear down this wall [/Reagan impersonation] so she could rediscover herself, which coincidentally means she can't be withCastle anyone until she puts the case behind her, instead of jumping straight to the romantic angle.
Martha's hair looks even more amazing than usual this season.
Now the bad:
Well, that last scene sure ended any ambiguity about Beckett's memory! Dammit, where's your faith in your audience, Marlowe?
Castle is making a terrible decision not to tell Beckett about that phone call. First of all, it's damn cruel to not tell her hey, you don't need to be looking over your shoulder for another bullet every moment. Good Christ. Second, he thinks he can steer her away from working on her mother's case, and do so apparently indefinitely? SERIOUSLY?
...On the other hand, this is exactly the kind of terrible decision Castle would make, and at least Martha tried to talk some sense into him. Personally, I wish she had got her mom on and ordered him to tell Beckett, or done it herself, but at least there was some kind of protest. Just...ugh.
The fair-to-middling:
Josh. So the guy gets the most lines he's ever had in an episode, and then...Beckett dumps him offscreen, mentions it once, he's never referred to again. Sure, I never liked him, but damn. That's kind of harsh.
Warehouse 13
W13 was fun again! The past couple have just felt very blah, largely because I DO NOT CARE about this season's arc, not one tiny bit, and they were all about it. But this had zombies, and Claudia thinking the fortune teller from Big was going to kill her (and also joining a band, awww!), and Pete and Myka and Artie being fun and goofy! Also the dog being adorable! And Leena being useful to the plot instead of getting shafted like she usually does!
ALSO IN TWO WEEKS THERE IS HG!!!
Hmmm. Well, the first three-quarters were better than I expected, but the last fifteen minutes were disappointment after disappointment.
First, the good:
I liked that (at least for a while) they let whether Beckett really remembered Castle's words or not be ambiguous. Between the conversations in the hospital and on the swings, I felt it was reasonably obvious that she remembered, and that Castle knew she remembered but was lying about it, and both of them had a tacit agreement not to bring it up again until they unraveled the conspiracy. However, there was a little mystery left because neither of them admitted this out loud, and Beckett in fact denied everything. Subtlety. It's a good thing. (Joel and Maggie did this all the time on Northern Exposure, so as I'm currently experiencing an NX renaissance, I may just be especially pleased by seeing this kind of thing here.)
They handled the time jump about as well as they could; if they'd spent the entire episode in the immediate aftermath of Beckett's shooting, she would've been unconscious in a hospital bed rather than running around investigating, so hey, three months, whatever.
Gates is a reasonably believable hardass. She doesn't have some kind of unreasonable vendetta against any of the Fab Four; she just thought Castle was annoying, and she doesn't give the rest of them much leeway because she doesn't know them yet. She's kind of like a stonier version of pilot-era Montgomery. (Though I hope she doesn't turn out to be part of the conspiracy. That would stretch believability just a bit too far.)
Re: Beckett and her psychological wall she has to tear down: I do like this particular roadblock on the journey toward Castle and Beckett resolving their UST. Josh and Gina felt manufactured for that one purpose; this is actually growing from Beckett's character. I especially like that she said she had to tear down this wall [/Reagan impersonation] so she could rediscover herself, which coincidentally means she can't be with
Martha's hair looks even more amazing than usual this season.
Now the bad:
Well, that last scene sure ended any ambiguity about Beckett's memory! Dammit, where's your faith in your audience, Marlowe?
Castle is making a terrible decision not to tell Beckett about that phone call. First of all, it's damn cruel to not tell her hey, you don't need to be looking over your shoulder for another bullet every moment. Good Christ. Second, he thinks he can steer her away from working on her mother's case, and do so apparently indefinitely? SERIOUSLY?
...On the other hand, this is exactly the kind of terrible decision Castle would make, and at least Martha tried to talk some sense into him. Personally, I wish she had got her mom on and ordered him to tell Beckett, or done it herself, but at least there was some kind of protest. Just...ugh.
The fair-to-middling:
Josh. So the guy gets the most lines he's ever had in an episode, and then...Beckett dumps him offscreen, mentions it once, he's never referred to again. Sure, I never liked him, but damn. That's kind of harsh.
Warehouse 13
W13 was fun again! The past couple have just felt very blah, largely because I DO NOT CARE about this season's arc, not one tiny bit, and they were all about it. But this had zombies, and Claudia thinking the fortune teller from Big was going to kill her (and also joining a band, awww!), and Pete and Myka and Artie being fun and goofy! Also the dog being adorable! And Leena being useful to the plot instead of getting shafted like she usually does!
ALSO IN TWO WEEKS THERE IS HG!!!
no subject
Date: 2011-09-20 08:29 pm (UTC)I liked the idea of having her freeze up, but it was weird--it wasn't like she saw the gun that shot her, so why freeze up at the sight of another gun? Hmm.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-20 11:50 pm (UTC)