[Cappuccino]

Originally Posted by Michele22 (View Post) I feel like the more Alexis there is the less we see of caskett. We were so spoiled in the beginning so now it just feels like we are getting deprived and I know there can't be a lovey caskett scene in every episode but at this point it just seems the only reason we don't get much is because of Alexis.

I just hope they are done with the Alexis drama. I thought I'd be totally repulsed by the episode but it wasn't as bad as I tought. I could still bang my head against a wall thinking about certain scenes but well I wasn't really expecting much taking all those interviews beforehand into consideration. They missed out on some really good opportunities here.

Alexis was done for me a long time ago. She just pissed me off with her drama and behavior this season but I seriously hope she goes back into hiding now. I can live with that and just erase the last two episodes from my mind (concerning her storyline).

The Beckett/Alexis scene....oy this probably gets the same label as kissing Caskett --- Privacy and leave it up to our imagination. Again I didn't expect much or better yet I thought Alexis would dump her bs on Beckett at one point too -- so I'm thankful that didn't happen.

Lanie/Beckett I loved.

I had a little moment when they tried to pull a little Beckett minime on Alexis/Castle. So not my cup of tea but well I blame it on my dislike for Alexis.

The killer of the week....wasn't really that big of a surprise to me.

If Alexis hadn't given Castle that little speech last week, I might have found more joy in this episode. Damage done so just please move on to a storyline that's more believable, planed out and convincing.

[Michele22]

I agree it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I did enjoy Lanie and Beckett and hope we see more! The actual case was interesting but like you said it wasn't a shocker to find out who the killer was. Hopefully that is it with the Alexis drama and we can move on from here. I'm going to put my question in spoiler tags since I don't want to ruin it.

Spoiler:

As PI wasn't in this episode, do we figure he is gone now or do you guys tink he will continue to make appearances? I hope that Alexis goes back to school and that is the last we see of them for a while

[tbbtftw]

The storyline was 100% believable to anyone who is from, or has been around, a broken home where the parents are divorced and remarried. The children of the first marriage will almost always act out in out-of-character ways. It definitely needed to happen to flesh out the integration of a new member into the existing family unit. That being said, it would have been nice to actually hear some of the Alexis/Beckett reconciliation.

[Michele22]

Originally Posted by tbbtftw (View Post) The storyline was 100% believable to anyone who is from, or has been around, a broken home where the parents are divorced and remarried. The children of the first marriage will almost always act out in out-of-character ways. It definitely needed to happen to flesh out the integration of a new member into the existing family unit. That being said, it would have been nice to actually hear some of the Alexis/Beckett reconciliation.

I agree! I think that is the part that I was looking forward to and then I was not impressed by the ending because I was hoping to actually see the reconciliation. I mean they built up the drama over a few episodes it would only have been fair to allow us to see how it it resolved because we didn't get to see it, part me thinks that this is still not completely resolved as of yet.

[Ron_Beckett]

Ignoring all the posts as to not be spoiled

~*~*~

I so badly want to watch the ep!

I know it's online but I'm afraid if I do that I won't stay up for it as that's what happened last week.

Less than 7 hours till it airs here in the states.

[hopeless romantic]

Originally Posted by Michele22 (View Post) I agree! I think that is the part that I was looking forward to and then I was not impressed by the ending because I was hoping to actually see the reconciliation. I mean they built up the drama over a few episodes it would only have been fair to allow us to see how it it resolved because we didn't get to see it, part me thinks that this is still not completely resolved as of yet.

I know that it would have been nice to see a complete and total reconciliation at the end, but that's just not the truth of blended families.

I found myself crying when I listened to Lainie's speech to Beckett about how important it was for people joining a family where dysfunction has been ingrained to learn to make that dysfunction their own. (I guess I just know too many dysfunctional families, or maybe the way that the show has always dealt very honestly with the fact that Castle's mom, Castle, and even Alexis have never lived "normal" lives).

The fact that Beckett has so authentically been shown to the audience as a person who has faced tremendous dysfunction in her own life only added to the authenticity of that moment.

And for anyone who has complained that Alexis has been acting OOC in recent episodes, I truly hope that you were rewarded by the sight of Castle's daughter being just as passionate (more so, in many ways) about justice as/than her father. Her determination not to give up until the final moment (even though the person she was trying to help begged her to give him the space to prepare for his own death and to prepare the woman he loved at the same time) was every bit of the girl who wouldn't accept an "A" when she thought she deserved an "A+" and transformed her (at least in my mind) from someone who thought mostly about herself and her own family (that harrowing scene of her entering the home of the man she believed -- at the time -- to have been the real murderer made me truly admire the guts she shares with her dad, not to mention the recklessness she seems to have inherited despite her best laid plans) into someone who was willing to put her own life on the line to ferret out the truth.

IOW, the final scene may not have shown her fully in sync with either her dad or her prospective step-mom, but to me, the entire episode proved that she has learned more from Kate Beckett about how to live in the world than she ever learned from her mom's shopping addictions, and that gives me tremendous hope for the family's future.

[Ron_Beckett]

Review time!

The Case:

I'm going to start off with this. Normally I don't, I save it for later but I have to start here for several reasons. Easily the best case of the season for me!

1.) The actor that played Wyatt on Charmed. I seriously thought the second I saw him in the court room that he was the guilty party. Nicely played team!

2.) I really liked how the case was not at all what it seemed. When I heard what this episode was about I just thought it was Alexis getting in over her head over some guy she had been talking to who really was guilty. I guess because we've seen those storylines played out time and time again where a young woman starts communicating and tries to get him out only to have him turn and really be evil.

That was so not the situation here! And I didn't even consider that cop. I just figured he was a young guy who thought it it was crazy to get mixed up in a cold case. It never occured to me that he could be the guilty one.

And the fact that Frank had taken the fall for his brother to protect him was truly incredible; feeling like he had to be punished because he caused his brother's injuries during the accident.

Alexis/Caskett:

The girl has been redeemed in my eyes. While I still have reservations over her boyfriend it was incredible to see her so passionate.

I have to agree with BlueBellian here:

the entire episode proved that she has learned more from Kate Beckett about how to live in the world than she ever learned from her mom's shopping addictions, and that gives me tremendous hope for the family's future.

I couldn't have said it better! The entire time I was watching Alexis I swear she could have been not just Castle's offspring but Beckett's too combined with even a bit of Lanie. While they may not give us many scenes, it's clear now that there could have been off-screen interraction where Alexis learned even more things from the two women. It's because of them and her dad that she's become this investigator type of person, wanting to get justice just like Beckett.

And while I would have loved to have seen the actual conversation between Alexis and Beckett, what we got was enough for now and the hug clearly spoke volumes between step-mom and step-daughter.

These two are going to work at that and this was a great start. And I definately see Beckett being a better step-mom than Gina. I never got a Gina/Alexis vibe. Too me Gina always felt more like she belonged with Castle and tolerated Alexis but I dont' get that with Alexis/Beckett. To me they really do seem like family. And I loved how Castle looked on.

Which brings me to my next bit.

Lanie/Beckett:

So glad we got a girl talk scene. I really enjoyed seeing Beckett's insecurities especially since from Beckett's perspective that's how I've seen things lately too- we've seen it since season 1 how Castle and Alexis have this long history and how while Beckett has become apart of their lives at the same time she still feels kind of like on the outside. Really liked the advice Lanie gave about the dysfunction and how no family is perfect.

And given the Castle family dysfunction and Beckett's own dysfunction, it will be nice to see them meld together and that's what I saw happen throughout the episode when Beckett was on speaker phone with Castle and Alexis and also at the end with Alexis and Beckett and Castle watching. It really felt like their worlds were melding into one now which is great.

Quotes:

Though there were many, these were just a few of my favorite quotes.

"She's practically family, I care about her too."

~*~*~

"I'm here for both of you."

~*~*~

"Wow, that was weird. Usually I do that with Beckett."
"Ew."

~*~*~

"It's up to you to make your own history."

Final Thoughts:

Overall a very pleasing and satisfying episode!

[ina_am]

it was a nice episode .. loved the ending

[Imzadi]

i love what everyone has written so far

I have to say out of the last couple of episodes since this season started this one was the one i had a harder time to get into. I dont know why that was but I was watching and it didnt hold my interest as much as the last ones did. The episode was good and it got better after the first ten minutes and hten of course i was invested in the case and in the episode but I think i missed teh castle beckett dynamic and the fact that i am not the biggest alexis fan threw me off. I loved the ending tho and how alexis and beckett talked and all. also that castle and his daughter are good again of course. and I loved the little castle beckett snippets that we got about not getting married in space that was sooo funny

[SwanQueenLove]

lol yes I loved that space wedding stuff

Same here, it wasn't my fav episode but I did get more into it as the case went along and I definitely wasn't expecting the twist and turns of the case. Alexis isn't all that interesting to me either but I was glad that in the end they all bonded. I"m sure they'll be more Caskett in the next episode for us to swoon over

[Imzadi]

lol well i sure hope so and it was fun watching together

[hopeless romantic]

For everyone who had a hard time getting into this episode, I understand.

Alexis has always been a supporting player, along with Martha and with even Espo and Ryan and (IMO, especially unfortunately, Lainie since I love her to bits!).

So we got an episode without Castle and Beckett doing their thing (although we did get an moment of Castle sharing with his daughter a patented Castle/Beckett "thing" and his daughter being disturbed enough to say "ewwww." as a result), but for me, it was not only a great case (if a new show was launched about father/daughter crime fighters based on this episode, I wouldn't object simply because the father/daughter bonds combined with the passion for justice intrigued me -- but that's not what Castle is about, so I'm not going to expect things to change on the regular show anytime soon).

This week, Alexis not only got "her" episode, but it was built up on tremendously realistic issues the child of a broken home might have with her dad when she's trying to spread her wings and he's trying to build a safety net that she knows will only hurt her more if she falls because she's seen his pain too many times to count.

All of which, for me, made this episode one of the best episodes of Castle ever, because they largely threw away the "rules" of episodic television and delved deeply into both the justice system, the reasons people who are caught within that system sometimes submit instead of fighting, but -- in the larger social context, why so many people who are deeply caught up in family issues don't fight for harmony but instead just fight.

I know this episode wasn't for everyone, but if you have it on DVR or can watch the episode at abc.com (or on hulu.com), I hope that you'll do so again. For me, it was up there with Masterpiece Theater (or just a slightly more emotional version of any Agatha Christie remake or an even more emotive version of Perry Mason).

So, Ron, I'm glad that you started with the case and moved on to the interpersonal relationships as secondary. I think they were meant to be both secondary and primary, if that makes any sense. For me, the fact that they showed one sibling being willing to die for the other made tremendous sense given that I think we all know that Castle would be willing to die for Alexis and vice versa. To me, the question, as always, is how will people who are willing to die for each other manage to live with each other.

For me, it was a delight to see a show that wasn't coated in saccharine begin to address the problem of how people who love each other can still manage to live with each other, because I haven't seen much of that (in the news, in politics, or, most especially, in entertainment) for a very long time, even though, to my mind, that's the question of the ages.

[Jerry D]

Originally Posted by BlueBellian (View Post) For everyone who had a hard time getting into this episode, I understand. Alexis has always been a supporting player, along with Martha and with even Espo and Ryan and (IMO, especially unfortunately, Lainie since I love her to bits!). So we got an episode without Castle and Beckett doing their thing (although we did get an moment of Castle sharing with his daughter a patented Castle/Beckett "thing" and his daughter being disturbed enough to say "ewwww." as a result), but for me, it was not only a great case (if a new show was launched about father/daughter crime fighters based on this episode, I wouldn't object simply because the father/daughter bonds combined with the passion for justice intrigued me -- but that's not what Castle is about, so I'm not going to expect things to change on the regular show anytime soon). This week, Alexis not only got "her" episode, but it was built up on tremendously realistic issues the child of a broken home might have with her dad when she's trying to spread her wings and he's trying to build a safety net that she knows will only hurt her more if she falls because she's seen his pain too many times to count. All of which, for me, made this episode one of the best episodes of Castle ever, because they largely threw away the "rules" of episodic television and delved deeply into both the justice system, the reasons people who are caught within that system sometimes submit instead of fighting, but -- in the larger social context, why so many people who are deeply caught up in family issues don't fight for harmony but instead just fight. I know this episode wasn't for everyone, but if you have it on DVR or can watch the episode at abc.com (or on hulu.com), I hope that you'll do so again. For me, it was up there with Masterpiece Theater (or just a slightly more emotional version of any Agatha Christie remake or an even more emotive version of Perry Mason). So, Ron, I'm glad that you started with the case and moved on to the interpersonal relationships as secondary. I think they were meant to be both secondary and primary, if that makes any sense. For me, the fact that they showed one sibling being willing to die for the other made tremendous sense given that I think we all know that Castle would be willing to die for Alexis and vice versa. To me, the question, as always, is how will people who are willing to die for each other manage to live with each other. For me, it was a delight to see a show that wasn't coated in saccharine begin to address the problem of how people who love each other can still manage to live with each other, because I haven't seen much of that (in the news, in politics, or, most especially, in entertainment) for a very long time, even though, to my mind, that's the question of the ages.

Excellent review. I loved the interaction between Castle and Alexis and how they solved this case and got an innocent man freed together. I also loved their apology to each other at the end and how Alexis went to thank Beckett at the end. Overall, I agree that it was one of the best episodes of Castle that I've ever seen.

[Ron_Beckett]

Hey Jerry, nice of you to drop by

I completely agree. This definately marks as easily a favorite Castle episode in general for me.

Still too soon to determine if it's my favorite S6 episode but it's definately in my top 3 so far that's for sure.

This season has been amazing in general. And while sure there are many of us who want Caskett 24/7 I like the reality of the show in that it's not simply a fluff show (that's what season 5 was for ) . They're doing a great job this season by giving us a perfect balance of the case and of Caskett.

It still impresses me that the guy was guilty afterall and that he stayed in prison all those years for his brother. Talk about a storyline that didn't go your average way that you would expect. That right there goes beyond perfect story telling!

[Imzadi]

Originally Posted by BlueBellian (View Post) For everyone who had a hard time getting into this episode, I understand. Alexis has always been a supporting player, along with Martha and with even Espo and Ryan and (IMO, especially unfortunately, Lainie since I love her to bits!). So we got an episode without Castle and Beckett doing their thing (although we did get an moment of Castle sharing with his daughter a patented Castle/Beckett "thing" and his daughter being disturbed enough to say "ewwww." as a result), but for me, it was not only a great case (if a new show was launched about father/daughter crime fighters based on this episode, I wouldn't object simply because the father/daughter bonds combined with the passion for justice intrigued me -- but that's not what Castle is about, so I'm not going to expect things to change on the regular show anytime soon). This week, Alexis not only got "her" episode, but it was built up on tremendously realistic issues the child of a broken home might have with her dad when she's trying to spread her wings and he's trying to build a safety net that she knows will only hurt her more if she falls because she's seen his pain too many times to count. For me, it was a delight to see a show that wasn't coated in saccharine begin to address the problem of how people who love each other can still manage to live with each other, because I haven't seen much of that (in the news, in politics, or, most especially, in entertainment) for a very long time, even though, to my mind, that's the question of the ages.

great post and i agree about alexis being the a supportive role most of the times. and lanie too. i wish they would make a case about her. i mean something that we see more of her. i do love lanie and i love the lanie and beckett scenes

the acting from everyone was great in the episode and i also understand that with all the build up around alexis since the beginning of the season they had to make an episode about AND castle to mend their relationship becasue it was kind of breaking. The case itself got really interesting in the end and i liked how it turned out. just like i said I had a harder time to get into it because normally you are thrown into some Castle beckett banter and you just easy into it if you know what i mean

I of course love the caskett scenes but I also understand that it cant be just fluff eventho that would be awesome lol. I also love their cases and everything, maybe I am just not that much of an alexis fan i dont know, but like i said the acting and the case were really good

hey Jerry nice of you to drop by. you can do that more often