Castle’s P.I. venture continues in this week’s “I, Witness,” in an episode that reminisced “Castle’s” 100th episode. This episode was a classic example of how, keeping its essence, “Castle” can still manage to give us episodes that falls outside of the realm of the typical NYPD murder case, by getting creative in their way of presenting the murder of the week. For a long time I felt like the seventh season had made its mission to shift the focus back to Castle, and let Beckett take more of a backseat, but it’s not really what’s happening. The show’s focus, now more than ever, is on their evolving relationships as partners, as lovers, as husband and wife, this episode a proof of it.
“I, witness” started, with a 12 hours leeway, with Castle, in the woods, getting hit on the head. We haven’t forgotten about 11 year old Richard Rodgers in the woods, and I was hoping their wood be a nod to it, but sadly enough, there was no mention of it. The 12 hours were rewound, to the moment Castle gets a call. The tables have turned between Castle and Beckett because a day of, Beckett’s definition of playing hooky, paperwork and “napping,” gets interrupted by a case, Castle’s case. Contrary to usual, it isn’t Beckett’s phone that rings; she isn’t the one who needs to fly off to a murder scene. Castle is called to his office, to a case; pushed into work by an extremely supportive Beckett.
Castle is less than enthusiastic to take the case of a high school acquaintance, who wants to prove her husband is cheating. The simple, and at first glance, boring case, sends Castle into a murder investigation filled with twists, turns, misconceptions and false assumptions that deemed entertaining enough, though nothing more than that. Maybe I’ve watched too many episodes to truly be surprised by the ending of the episode. Also, I had difficulty seeing why Castle was getting so invested in the murder; it’s not his first experience with death. So, I felt like he was overselling it, just a tad.
Proving the husband’s infidelities proved easy enough, but Castle soon finds himself the sole witness of the woman’s murder. Engaging in the pursuit of the culprit, he is lead to the woods we knew, from the flash forward in the beginning, of the episode, he would find himself in. After his blow to the head, he wakes up groggy, but his memory of the incident intact. He calls in reinforcement, a worried Beckett and the police department.
The rest of the episode had the same feel as the episodes where Castle was allowed to work with the NYPD. With Gates gone, Castle and Beckett work together, in the precinct, even if, at first, the case isn’t Kate’s jurisdiction. The murder wasn’t proven, and she is, in fact, a homicide detective. She helped her husband quench his curiosity, find answers, because she knows him well enough to know that, with his personal involvement in the case, if she doesn’t, he’ll go running off without her, without her protection.
Just like in the rear window episode, Castle has to prove he is a reliable witness, a credible P.I. My theory, from the first moments of the episode, was that, the murder was, in fact, staged, so I was surprised when Castle explored this theory, mid-episode, and was proven wrong, any one else?
This episode had Castle burying himself in a case, in typical, season one through four Beckett, and this episode also had Beckett bringing him some coffee. (Which he, obviously, didn’t need.) It may have been a little detail, and it may not have been the only time she’s done this, but I simply loved it. I loved the whole Beckett persona in this episode, finally evolving. She was understanding, soft, and cuddly, all the things opposite to her season one through four persona. Castle and Beckett have always respected each other, but in this episode, it was shown just how much Beckett supports Castle, when it’s usually always been the other way around.
Theories flew all over the place in this episode, first when the body was discovered, then when the husband was found, hung, in his house. I can’t say I followed all the theories after the mistress was taken off the suspect list, it all happened so fast felt like they were throwing suspects at us, like they had a couple minutes to fill in. In typical Castle everything falls in place when they prove it was the lawyer. It wasn’t the shocking ending I was expected, but it was okay.
My favorite scene of the episode had to be the conversation between Beckett, Ryan and Espo. Jenny and Ryan have been playing matchmaker with Esposito, afraid he won’t be able to find a girlfriend in time for their couple’s ski retreat. After seeing the picture of the girl they’re setting him up on a “blind” date with, Esposito agrees to meet her. He thinks the woman he’s meeting is Jenny and Ryan’s friend when in fact, they’ve signed him up for online dating. Looking at Beckett’s expression in this scene, I like to think she was in on it too. Ryan’s managing the profile, and I could totally imagine him, at home, on his laptop going, “Not good enough. Nope. Cute. Maybe.” Esposito still manages to get the last word in, as, to get back Jenny and Ryan, he goes through his profile, and selects a girl, spoken word poet and exotic dancer, he knows they’ve already discarded. I love the bromance.
Sorry for the delay, guys.
Agree? Disagree?
