Observations while rewatching Love Me Dead

For me, this was a typical Castle episode. I saw only a little progress in the relationship; it just continued a slow and steady growth in trust and closeness. But there were several good moments. Oh, yes, and a prophetic statement that the writers didn’t know they were making.

Castle is writing, one of the few times we actually see him doing so. I wonder who is on the phone with Alexis? I don’t think it’s Beckett, based on her reaction later in the episode, but she is clearly hiding who she’s talking to. Rick looks nervous.

At the crime scene, Rick appears to be pumping Kate for information, jokingly saying he wants to hear about her secrets, but it is obvious that he really wants Kate’s help in understanding Alexis. His “I’m the cool dad.” gets a look from Beckett, as it should.

For me the most remarkable line comes from Capt. Montgomery, especially knowing what is revealed in Knockout. Montgomery’s “Nobody kills a law enforcement officer and gets away with it” sounds eerily prophetic now, especially as the Captain’s involvement with Bobby Arman killing and cover-up had not been thought up yet.

Rick sure likes his references to classic murder mystery literature and movies. But this leads them (and us) to probably the most popular guest star of the show to date – Norman Jessup (played by J.B. Smoove). We first see him in a bar fight, where Kate tells Rick to not break up the fight. Rick says he was in a bar fight once – a Firefly reference? He didn’t win that one either. Kate stands back, she only takes Jessup down after he hits Rick.

In the station, Jessup apologized to Rick for embarrassing him “in front of your girlfriend”. Kate answers “I’m not his girlfriend”. She doesn’t seem very defensive about that, and she does look very comfortable with Rick’s presence anyway.

In the car, Jessup slips the handcuffs easily, but Kate doesn’t seem too nervous about it. It’s funny how Rick ends up handcuffed in the back seat with Jessup, who is not. But the bigger question for me is, where’s Rick’s extra handcuff key?

When Kate gets the phone call from Alexis, it sounds like their first conversation. Kate is enjoying Rick’s discomfort at his being left out of the loop.

In Paul Cho’s apartment, Rick & Kate get *very* close together when they are bouncing ideas back & forth. Not only almost nose-to-nose, but they become oblivious to whoever else is in the room with them. They do this over and over again. It’s no wonder so many people think there is something going on between them.

I’m wondering if the Buckley-Dantonelli deal is similar to what the “big bad” has done, but on a much larger scale. This is the first hint of corruption in the DA’s office, but seems isolated from the others that we hear about later.

Scarlett is able to draw out Rick’s protective instincts, even though she is just playing on them. He is gradually growing out of his womanizing ways, almost subconsciously. He even tells Kate “It’s not a ‘date’!” But how did she get into his building? Rick will tell Kate later that it’s a secure building (in Boom!). But how secure is it, really?

“Castle, you’re staying here” she says, “No I’m not” he answers. She’s told him so many times, is this the first time he is honestly telling her that he is coming, too? Previously, he would tell her he would stay out of the way, then follow anyway, but now he in telling the truth – he’s coming. She sees the look in his eyes, and can see it. His determination.

Beckett’s Little Elephants make several short appearances, but still no dollar bill…

Even Jessup can see our DD in their shared theory-building. What was that called, verbal fore-play?

At the end, Alexis reveals what her talk with Beckett was about, and tells Rick that she decided to not go to France for three weeks, but we will see in a few months she signs up for a summer program at Princeton, and now we know she is planning to take early admission to Stanford. Rick has been warned… But even at the end of Pretty Dead, he’s still not ready.

As always, these thoughts are intended to spark yours…