Castle Review: “Under The Influence”

To be perfectly honest, I didn’t connect with this week’s case at all. It was a little underwhelming and I was getting a little confused and I didn’t even attempt to try and solve it myself I like usually do. Just because I thought the case was a stinker doesn’t mean the episode wasn’t good. I found it a little bit boring but we got a fantastic performance by Jon Huertas. His performance saved the episode for me. A Javier Esposito centric episode gave Jon an opportunity to shine and he was as bright as can be. The way he kicked that huge guy in the gnads, HOT DAMN! I love it when bad ass Esposito emerges.

While I didn’t get much out of the murder of Holly Rhodes, a.k.a DJ Beat, I did with Joey, the juvenile delinquent Esposito took under his wing. The interactions between the two were great and I loved how Espo stood up for this kid. Joey didn’t make it easy on Espo, but there was no way Espo was going to give up on him. Javier saw a lot of himself in Joey and I’m sure with a lot of guidance Joey will make it. When Javier showed Joey his juvenile record I started to choke up. Espo was quite the delinquent back in the day. It just proved that Joey could have a future, it’s just up to him.

So, who knew Kate Beckett had such horrible taste in movies? Valentine’s Day? Really Kate? I totally agreed with Castle that she should lose a turn. For that movie selection she definitely needs to lose 2 turns. Oh who am I kidding? I’ve seen Valentine’s Day at least 10 times. It’s not my fault it’s on Showcase Diva all the time! Did anyone notice the little smack to the head Kate gave Espo? I wonder if that was scripted or did Stana add that in? I love noticing little moments like that.

I’m just so happy we finally got to see Javier’s apartment. Maybe we’ll get to see Lanie in there with him sometime soon. We need some Esplanie moments! Which according to some spoilers that I accidentally read, we will!

I’m sure by now, everyone knows how obsessed I am with Caskett. An episode like “Under The Influence” without them being the focus didn’t really bother me as much as I thought it would. I love this whole cast so much, that I welcome them all working together. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, right? This show is so great when it’s firing on all cylinders from all it’s cast members. It’s also great when an episode focuses on another cast member and we get a little more background on them. I personally want to see more about Det. Ryan and Lanie. I’m happy to report we will in fact be getting more about Ryan and his wife Jenny very soon.

So wish me luck, as I will be refraining from watching any sneak peeks for the next episode. As long as I distract myself with old episodes I’m sure I’ll be able to do it.