This episode will always hold a special place in my heart because my friends and I were on location one of the days they were filming. I thought it was so cool that I saw many of the extras multiple times that day walking up and down the street and to then see them on screen was just incredible. It’s experiences like that, that really heighten your love for a show. To see how hard the cast and crew works to put out an episode makes you appreciate them even more.

Beckett had to protect billionaire hottie Eric Vaughn because his life was in danger. Castle was so jealous of Vaughn it was quite amusing. This also brought out a little nutty case solving Castle. At one point he was quite high off caffeine. After Castle pretty much chose a video game over Kate, it was good to see someone show an interest in her. Maybe shake Castle up a bit. (Seriously Castle? You were ignoring Kate while she was trying to seduce you. Are you crazy man?) I thought the whole Castle taking Kate for granted storyline was quite realistic. It has been a year since they first got together. They still haven’t had “the talk” so this isn’t so out of left field.  I had to chuckle at Castle noticing Kate swooning over Eric Vaughn. Why wouldn’t she? He’s gorgeous, rich, and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t choose a video game over her. I was even swooning over him! Damn that smile and accent. And ladies, I saw him while on location… really gorgeous in person.

We all know Kate Beckett would never cheat on Castle, but the moment after Vaughn hit himself in the eye with the cork from the champagne was a little too close for comfort for me. Maybe Kate was feeling like Castle wasn’t appreciating her and here’s this amazing billionaire obviously interested in her. It actually hurt me a little when Beckett hesitated when asked by Vaughn if her and Castle were serious. I’ve analyzed this “almost” kiss more times then I’d like to admit and you can disagree with me if you want, but Beckett totally let Vaughn come in for a kiss then she pushed him away. Good thing she did because someone shot at Vaughn through the window.

I loved Castle running into the hotel room to see if Beckett was okay after the assassination attempt on Vaughn. Despite Castle being a dope sometimes, he loves Kate and would do anything for her, so my heart totally sank at the sight of Castle’s face when he saw the champagne bottle. I know a lot of people are saying Kate told Castle the truth about the kiss, but it was only after Castle was prodding her story that she told him the truth. I don’t think she was going to lie to him, but she didn’t tell him the truth right off the bat.

I have to say, I really enjoyed the case of the week. I loved how both story lines were intertwined. Just when you thought Mr. Fantastic wasn’t so fantastic, we got a nice little twist. Vaughn’s attorney ended up being the one trying to kill Vaughn. I really did think Vaughn was behind the attempt on his own life. It would have been too easy though. It would make the audience be justified in hating this guy hitting on Beckett if he were the bad guy.

Now to the nitty gritty. That ending! I was absolutely done after that scene. I didn’t like that facial expression Kate made and the change in music. It made me so nervous. You could see the doubts building. In my heart, Kate has loved Castle a lot longer than she has even admitted to herself. Even though she hasn’t said the words, every one knows she loves Castle. Then you  have this handsome billionaire who has expressed interest in her, and on the other hand you have Castle who obviously loves her but could chose a video game over her. They’ve never had the “where are we going?” conversation. I could see why Kate was conflicted. I’m just really happy she didn’t let Vaughn kiss her. It could have been real easy to kiss him. That would have just caused more harm than good. I just hate that she said her and Castle’s relationship is complicated. That statement hurt my heart. Of course Mr. Fantastic came back with:

 “Kate, there’s nothing complicated about meeting a woman like you and knowing what to do.”

All I’ve got to say is Castle better step up his game. I welcome angst, and in this situation it was totally warranted. Nothing is perfect. No relationship is perfect. It’s real. This is what real couples go through. Castle and Beckett are just going to come out of this even stronger. While I understand Kate’s side of this, there’s Castle’s side also. He’s had 2 failed marriages. He has his walls that he’s put up. He’s with this woman whom he loves undeniably and doesn’t want to screw it up. As my genius friend said, it’s easy for an outsider to come in and say it’s simple. Vaughn doesn’t know Castle and Beckett’s history. As a matter of fact, this was less about Vaughn and more about Castle/Beckett. Vaughn was just a tool to facilitate them having these conversations going forward. Obviously Castle is it for Kate. Kate just needs to know Castle is in it with her.

Moments I loved

“My mother loves your novels.” Eric to Castle

“He’s not you.” Kate to Castle

“And unlike you, his helicopter doesn’t need a remote control.” Javier to Castle

Lanie with a fake British accent

“Beckett is over the moon for you.” – Alexis to Castle

“Vaughn is way sexier than George Clooney.” Martha

Martha mentioning there’s no ring on Beckett’s finger.

Moment that drove me nuts

Vaughn: “You know that’s an extraordinary woman you have there.”

Castle: “I know.”

Vaughn: “Do you?”

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Laughs is definitely what we got. Martha started us off with her comment to Castle about pigging out on leftovers and sleep eating and Beckett added to it with her “Mystical ape man.” Christine Roum (the writer of the episode) and Jonathan Frakes (who directed) totally nailed it.

The case of the week was quite intriguing and kept me guessing right until the very end. Our victim Anne Cardinal was quite gruesomely murdered and of course Castle believed she was killed by Bigfoot. Beckett, the skeptic didn’t believe Bigfoot was the culprit. I love that it’s Beckett and Esposito vs Ryan and Castle when it comes to crazy theories against the more logical explanation. The show has amazing consistency. Speaking of consistency, I loved when Castle said “that is not good for my knee” when him and Beckett fell into that trap. It was only last episode that he was down for the count from his skiing accident.

I love Lanie and I really think she should be featured more, but we got some great zingers by Perlmutter this episode. His B-Team reference to Ryan and Espo was gold. He’s one of those characters that sorta gets under your skin, but you love him anyways. I also loved that we got a little Martha this episode. She was so smooth with her little zingers at Castle. “Pigging out on leftovers” and “Sleep eating.” Was I the only one who took that as a little crack at Nathan? It’s no secret I thought Nathan was looking a bit unhealthy last season and a little bit this season. To be honest, he’s looking a lot better these days. I was in L.A. a couple weeks ago and got a quick look at Nathan while I was on a Castle location shoot. Nathan was looking quite good. We also met the awesome NYPD Officer L.T., who took the time to chat with me and my friends. I love that we got to see him at the end of “The Fast and the Furriest” when they were releasing Kurt Wilson.

Now for that bedroom scene. You can’t see the facial expression I’m making, but I’m pretty sure you can guess it. I really think Marlowe and Co. have installed listening devices in all our homes. They are seriously giving us fans exactly what we want. I just love that they were asking what each other believed in. It’s truly amazing that after all these years there’s still so much these two don’t know about each other. That’s what makes them being together so great. They’re still learning so much about each other and totally crushing that stupid “Moonlighting curse.” Some shows get boring after the leads get together, not this one. We even got another well lit kiss!

Moments from the episode I loved:

Moonshine threatening Castle.

Castle: “I know who the killer is. Did you see how that gorilla looked at me?”

Beckett: “Yeah I think it was lust actually, Castle. You are ruggedly handsome.”

Alexis turning into a smurf after she was caught stealing Castle’s food from the refrigerator.

Beckett: “Come on, Castle. Why don’t you pop a squat, we’ll do a cheerleader move.”

Castle: “Shouldn’t you be wearing a short skirt for this?”

Beckett:

Castle: “It’s the rules.”

Beckett: “No, I’m scared I might murder you and then I’d have two crime scenes.”

Beckett: “You know, there is one inexplicable mysterious phenomenon that I do believe in still… us.”

Castle: “I can appreciate the everyday but why not live in the possible? There world just doesn’t have as many mysteries anymore. There’s no new continents to explore, there’s no more deepest, darkest Africa. Everything is mapped out by satellites and sonars and yet, still, people reach for the unknown. That’s what makes us grow. Coltrane wouldn’t have had that saxophone if Antoine Sax hadn’t imagined it. Isn’t that what separates us from, say, moonshine?”

“The Fast and the Furriest” didn’t knock off “The Lives of Others” as my favourite episode this season, but it was still great. I’m still giggling just thinking about Dr. Darrell Meeks dressed up as Bigfoot. I’m happy this past episode was a funny one, because the promo for “Still” definitely got my heart pumping and by the looks of it many tears will be shed. Can I just say, bravo CTV! The people that do the Castle promos are amazing. I definitely need to find out who they are and send them an Edible Arrangements or something. They definitely bring it against ABC when it comes to the promos.

The post Castle Review: “The Fast and the Furriest” appeared first on TVHackr.

This episode gave us some backstory on Det. Kevin Ryan. I’ll admit I was a little skeptical when I first heard we were getting a backstory episode. Esposito’s backstory episode wasn’t really a favourite of mine. Boy, did my scepticism disappear quickly. I really loved “The Wild Rover” and will probably watch it many more times. We got great Jenny and Kevin moments, a cute Javier moment where he couldn’t pronounce the name Siobhan. I myself had the hardest time pronouncing the name when Ringer first premiered. We got great Kevin moments while he was pretending to be Fenton O’Connell, an undercover role he assumed for 14 months with the Irish mob and of course fantastic Caskett moments.

First of all, damn Siobhan! I haven’t seen a slap that hard in quite a while. Too bad Ryan a.k.a Fenton was on the receiving end of it, both slaps actually. I don’t know why, but I felt a little bad for Siobhan. Here she thought Fenton (Kevin) went into hiding 7 years ago without a word, just a note on the dresser. Now she learns he’s a cop. I totally understood her resentment towards Kevin.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who thought Ryan was looking quite sexy with his new I’m going undercover haircut. I was really feeling horrible for Jenny though. I know we don’t see her that often, but seeing her cry while Ryan left made me so sad. Here they are trying to conceive a baby and Ryan goes undercover in a dangerous situation. I would have been freaking out if I were in Jenny’s shoes.

So, who else googled Luke 15:32? You know I did. “It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.” I’m not a religious person, but I like this.

That close moment between Ryan and Siobhan got my heart racing. I actually said “Don’t do it Ryan, don’t do it!” I really didn’t think Kevin would cheat on Jenny but that moment was a little bit too close for comfort for me. I loved that Beckett and Jenny shared a moment. I get that Ryan wanted to do the right thing and get the bible but Jenny was so scared.

All in all, this episode had me on edge the entire time. I really had no idea where they were going with it and I loved it. I hate when episodes are predictable. I was totally caught off guard by the reveal that Maggie, Liam’s wife killed Jimmy.  I thought Liam would have been revealed as the killer.

I really loved this fearless side to Ryan. I want to see more. Especially Ryan playing pool. Damn, he could play! That whole sequence before Ryan revealed he was a cop was awesome. This episode really showed me what a great actor Seamus Dever is.

Now for some Caskett goodness. I laughed out loud when Beckett rejected Castle’s coffee. Beckett was still asking who Jordan was and Castle wasn’t spilling. Apparently Castle talks in his sleep and was repeating the name Jordan. 14 times to be exact. I loved how Kate said she’d just interrogate Castle in his sleep. This apparently works by the way. Not that I’ve ever tried…

Castle didn’t want to tell Beckett who Jordan was because what if Beckett didn’t like what she saw. Beckett countered with, “what happens if you don’t let me look?” Castle finally told Beckett who Jordan was. Jordan was a defunct car company. Back in boarding school, Castle was on the verge of flunking out and paid someone to write a term paper on the Jordan Motor Company. Castle felt like a fraud and it’s obvious that this is still weighing on his mind. I thought it was quite a role reversal between Castle and Beckett. Here we have Castle with the walls and Beckett trying to break them down. I thought it was so sad that Castle didn’t want this to change how Beckett felt about him. I don’t see how it would anyways, and Beckett told him “Your right Castle. It does change how I see you, makes me like you a little bit more.” If you say that wasn’t the sweetest thing, you’re wrong. Then the moment us Caskett lovers never thought we’d see, a well lit kiss!!!!!!!! FINALLY! Fandom rejoice! It looks like the Castle crew received the 500 light bulbs I sent. (Just Kidding) You have no idea how happy this made me.

My joy from the kiss continued with the news of Jenny’s pregnancy. I’m just so happy for Kevin and Jenny.  All in all, great episode. Lastly, a question for my fellow Chucksters turned Castle lovers. When Beckett said Agent Walker, was anyone else’s first thought Sarah Walker?

The countdown is on for the 100th episode. I am so excited! Is it Monday yet?

Observation of the night: Beckett and her finger wagging.

Comic relief:

” Seriously? I didn’t bring my vest” – Castle

“It’s hard to find a woman for this much man” – Espo

The post Castle Review: “The Wild Rover” appeared first on TVHackr.

So let me begin with the case. Santa was last seen falling from the sky to his untimely death. Castle, the big kid and traditionalist he is obviously was quite upset Santa was dead. Beckett on the other hand is a realist and didn’t believe in all this Santa stuff. Santa otherwise known as James Edmund Smith was shot and fell out of a helicopter. Edmund had an epiphany one night after watching A Wonderful Life, and he left his wife and comfortable life and started a new journey as Santa. The truth was, back in Edmund’s previous life the company he worked for scammed families out of their homes. He was trying to redeem himself so he moved next door to one of the families he destroyed. He came up with a plan to work the Case Commerce holiday party as Santa so he could get the unaltered loan documents that were in the storage room. The murderer ended up being Edmund’s ex wife. She couldn’t let Edmund take away her lifestyle if his swindling came out into the open.

I was so happy we got a Lanie and Esposito scene. I love these two characters and I’m really hoping they find their way back to each other. You really had to feel for Espo. He was alone for the holidays and tried to get with Lanie, but she already had plans. She told him she didn’t want one of those sad desperate holiday hookups. If after the holidays he still wanted to get together, he should call her. It was just so incredibly sweet when Esposito showed up to the Cabot’s with their clock. His face totally lit up when the Cabot’s invited him to spend Christmas Even with them.

We learned Jenny wants to try for a baby and Ryan is scared about it. We got such a sweet moment with Espo and Ryan. Esposito reassuring him he’s ready to have a baby just reminds us how great friends these two are. I can’t wait to see Kevin as a dad.

The funniest moments had to belong to Captain Gates. Her mother in law is staying at her house during the holidays and she makes it quite clear she’s not happy about it. “Detective, if you happen to receive a report of a homicide tonight at my address, do me a favour ignore it.” I almost fell off my bed laughing when Gates saw Esposito holding up lingerie meant for Jenny. Gates said something I thought I’d never hear on television let alone from her. “Let’s finish up this hoochie-coochie thing and get on with it.”  We’re really starting to see a playful side of Captain Gates and I’m loving it. Penny Johnson Jerald is so funny in real life and I’m just so happy we get to see this side of her character.

I’m obviously saving the best for last. Kate told Castle she couldn’t come over to his house for Christmas Eve because she had to work. Castle was obviously upset, which I didn’t blame him. He later learned from Gates that Beckett was the one to volunteer to work that night. I got a little worried how Castle would handle the news. If you recall last season when Castle found out Kate actually remembered everything from her shooting, he didn’t exactly handle things well. I still get upset watching those episodes because I didn’t believe for a second Castle wouldn’t confront her. This time though Castle confronted Kate and she opened up to him. Christmas doesn’t mean the same thing for her as it does for him. Kate associates Christmas with her mother’s murder and it’s hard for her. Stana just killed this scene and Nathan was so great just soaking in all her words. I love these heartfelt scenes between the two of them. It shows me how much these two characters have grown and how much they truly do love each other. I honestly don’t need to hear those 3 little words from Kate just yet. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to hear them soon but she loves Castle, I just see it by her actions. It torn me up to have Castle and Beckett standing underneath the mistletoe at the precinct and not being able to kiss.

Everything turned out amazing though when Beckett came by Castle’s loft just as he was going to rush out to see Kate at the precinct. She knew how much the holiday’s meant to him and wanted to start a new tradition. That kiss near the huge Christmas tree was just perfection! For a split second when Kate started to whisper something I thought she was going to say those 3 little words. It ended up just being “Merry Christmas” but it was just as sweet. Of course Castle had to tell her he didn’t buy her anything which added humour to the scene. In Castle’s defence, Kate did tell him to not buy her anything. Since when does Castle listen anyways?

Usually by a 5th season of a show starts to go in this downward spiral. Not Castle! I feel as though I’m watching a whole new show. This is a true testament to everyone who works on this show. The cast and crew love this show as much as the fans and they want to make it the best show possible. I’m just so happy I’m along for this wonderful ride.

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That being said, let’s start off with the case of the week. Our victim is James Swan, lead guitarist of the band Holy Shemp who is found dead in his trailer. The documentary crew that were following the band around end up following the team as they solve the case.

Suspect #1 was Joe Silva. His daughter Butterfly was the groupie Kate, Castle and Lanie found in the closet inside the trailer. All Joe wanted to do was find his daughter. Suspect #2 Sam Spear. He was writing songs for James. Suspect #3 Keith, member of the band. Suspect #4 John Campbell, leader of the cult that James Swan was once a member of. Campbell took $25,000 from James.

It turns out Zeke, member of the band was the killer. He killed James because he told him he was out of the band because of Buck Cooper. Buck was a roadie and Swan’s best friend from back when they were in the cult. He was trying to get away and James was helping him. James wanted Buck as the new bassist and Zeke was not happy about it.

I absolutely loved this episode. I giggled throughout the whole thing. I think if anyone were to watch this show with me, they’d think I was nuts. The documentary style was really different and daring, but it totally paid off. As viewers, got to see a different side of the characters. You just had to know Castle was going love being in front of the camera. The ones that really impressed were Ryan and Esposito. Espo with his “Boom, have you been to the gun show” had me in stitches. Lanie was great too, with her getting Kate and Castle to come down to the M.E.’s office just for something she’d normally just call about,  and then totally flaunting herself to the camera.

Kate was the only one uncomfortable in front of the camera. Stana played it so well tonight. As the episode went on though, Beckett was getting a bit more comfortable. Caskett moment alert! Castle reassuring Kate about the documentary crew filming them solving the case and him telling her “I want them to see what I see.” Let’s all just let out a little “aww.” Second Caskett moment, this one not so monumental but Castle telling Kate to interrogate Keith herself. She asks why and he tells her he wants to give her room to operate and strut her stuff. Such a sweet boyfriend. The third adorable Caskett moment that the cameras caught was Castle putting Kate’s hair behind her ear and caressing her face; stupid camera for ruining that moment! One of the biggest laugh out loud moment for me belongs to Espo, Castle, Kate and Sir watching Keith’s alibi a.k.a – the sex tape. A little zinger from Kate, “It’s not the only thing on this video being faked.”

Sir tells Castle and Beckett she’s going to be reviewing all of the film footage. You know to make sure it reflects well on the precinct. It prompts Castle and Beckett to go to the director pleading with him not to show that sweet moment they had. At the end, Captain Gates calls Castle and Beckett into her office and we assume its because of the footage of them together, but it turns out to be another moment the crew caught. While Gates was making a speech, Castle was behind her doing all sorts of goofy things. Caskett is safe! I wonder what happened to that missing tape…

The ending was quite sweet with Espo singing the new song with Keith and Buck. Jon Huertas can actually carry a tune. Kate then luring the camera man into the janitors closet and shutting door and sticking her tongue out was pure perfection!

Is it next monday yet?

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