Written by Kelly Duncan
There is nothing I like more than a television show that doesn’t waste time and gets right down to business. In the Season Six premiere of Castle, it takes only one minute for Beckett and Castle to get engaged. However, before accepting his proposal, Beckett informs Castle that she was offered the Federal job in Washington DC that she had interviewed for in last season’s finale. I’m not completely sure how I feel about the engagement. I like them as a couple, but somehow a marriage just seems like it will be a little more difficult to deal with plot-wise. We hadn’t even made it to the opening credits and I couldn’t help but wonder a few things. How are these two going to be together while one is in New York and the other’s in DC? And where are Ryan and Esposito going to fit into everything? Before I can even finish my thoughts, we flash forward two months and the answers start pouring in.
When Castle comes back from a book tour, he discovers that Alexis is back from her Costa Rica trip early and she’s not alone. This is one of television’s biggest clichés for when anyone goes on a trip to foreign lands. Alexis has come home with a weird, hairy boyfriend named Pi. Pi is planning on staying at their loft for an undisclosed amount of time due to a missing passport. This new guy is so completely different from Alexis, who’s always been such a goody-goody, that I’m curious to see how his presence changes her. He’s clearly going to be around for a while and she already invited him to stay at their place without asking Castle first. That’s a very non-Alexis thing to do. Typically, Castle is filled with comic relief, but this episode is far more serious. The most humorous bits of conversation occur when Pi offers Castle a “papaya-steak”. Castle teases him, rightfully so, and Pi informs him that he’s a “fruitarian.” That pretty much says all you need to know about him. I see these two having many funny run-ins.
Now, not only does Castle have a strange boy staying at his house, but Beckett has canceled their weekend plans. Not being able to go another week without seeing her, he heads to DC to surprise her. Poor Castle, he just wants to spend time with Beckett and the best way he knows how is by solving her cases for her. Unfortunately, she’s no longer working for the NYPD. She’s a Fed now which makes all of her cases classified. Despite her warnings, he starts digging around when she accidentally drops an evidence photo on her way to work with her new partner Rachel McCord, played by Lisa Edelstein. I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised with her character. After Castle’s first guffaw when he’s busted questioning witnesses before Beckett and McCord get there, McCord gives Beckett a warning to keep Castle out of the way instead of arresting him and getting her fired. At first, she seems like she’s going to be a total hard-ass, but then she manages to show a softer side. Plus, it’s nice to see the House M.D. alum back on TV.
After Beckett emphasizes how important it is for Castle to stay away from the case, he backs down and decides to simply make dinner for her instead. Unfortunately, things don’t go quite as planned and he gets himself dragged back into the case against his will. Beckett’s suspect abducts Castle while he’s walking down the street and starts grilling him about the information that the Feds have. The interrogation ends rather abruptly when this guy drops dead and their car crashes.
Throughout the episode, Castle is realizing just how difficult things are going to be with Beckett and her new job. I predict that she doesn’t make it the whole season in DC, or rather, I hope she doesn’t. Things are all a little too serious in the country’s capital. There’s nothing particularly bad about the DC team, but they’re no Ryan and Esposito. I much prefer their light-hearted banter.
This episode gave them two scenes, and frankly it just wasn’t enough.
Realizing the best way for Beckett to get her case done is to leave the city, Castle heads back to NY. Almost as quickly as he arrives, the Feds are taking him back to DC. This time, it’s for much different reasons. The car that he was abducted in was laced with a deadly toxin that killed the driver of the car and it is now in his system. Beckett informs him there is enough of the toxin in him to kill him in less than 24 hours. Obviously he’s not going to die, there’s no show without him, but I’m sure that next week’s episode will be a crazy roller-coaster of emotions for each character and will probably bring all hands on deck to find the cure.
This was definitely an amazing premiere episode with jaw-dropping moments. However, I still prefer the funny Castle to the serious one.
