Castle said:

Episode 8 – Ghosts

Air Date: April 27, 2009

Summary:

Castle and Beckett investigate the murder of a woman found drowned in a bathtub of motor oil at a transient hotel. But when they uncover a dark secret about the woman’s past, they must unravel a 20-year-old mystery with the help of a true crime journalist who may have been stalking the victim. Meanwhile, Beckett puts her poker face to the test as she squares off against Castle, with her money and pride at stake.

IT LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER GOOD ONE.  HOPE TO GET ON THIS TOMORROW TO MAKE COMMENTS

One of the best aspects of Nathan Fillion's character is that people (including Beckett) underestimate him.  Someone as rich and good looking as Castle could easily be written off as nothing more than a playboy who is looking to add notches to his bedpost, and to a certain extent that's true.  He certainly does enjoy his status among the opposite sex, and he is willing to take advantage, but that side of his personality is only the outermost layer of his character.  Most women won't bother to look past that surface to see what lies beneath, and that's why he's only been married twice…and doesn't have a serious girlfriend.  The scene that really illustrated that fact for me was the M.A.D.T. benefit party in "Home is Where the Heart Is" when the social climber mentions to Beckett that he's a catch, and that almost every woman in the room has tried to land him, though all have failed.  Even Beckett was caught off-guard by that remark, because she tends to think of him as being interested only in vapid, good-looking women who make great arm candy, but are as shallow as he is.  She was surprised because someone who really WAS that shallow would have happily taken every one of those women up on their very generous offers, slept with them, and then set them aside after making another notch on the bedpost.  What Beckett failed to realize is that Castle is very good at seeing through people to their motives, and he wants nothing to do with women see him as nothing more than a meal ticket.

The Anti-Castle, Lee Wax, underestimated him as well and it cost her.  Just like the social climbers in the previous episode, the only thing she saw when she looked at Castle was a potential boost to her own career.  She figured her feminine wiles would be enough to entice him into inviting her into his life, but he saw right through her to her true motives, and he really didn't like what he saw.  Castle is not a cruel person by nature, but at the end of the episode he acted cruelly toward Wax to get a bit of justice for the people who suffered at her hands.  I find it very interesting that he waited until Wax was alone with him where Beckett couldn't see to bring the hammer down on her (and NO, this time the 'Hammer' ISN'T his penis).  I think he did this partly because he didn't want Beckett to see that side of him, and partly because he wanted to settle that particular score "in-house."  Beckett returned in time to see Wax storm out, clearly upset, but Castle didn't elaborate and Beckett didn't ask.  She did give him curious look, but decided that he'd tell her if it was important.

Beckett isn't the only one with layers, and its going to be a tremendous amount of fun getting to the bottom of both characters.

Blackfel         

Linda said:

Great overview of Castle beyond the surface.  I agree tha the hides that side of himself from Beckett.  I think it is his insecurities that make him play the game of Playboy but really not being interested in that long term.  I think when he killed of Derek Storm, he was saying GOODBYE to that side of himself.  Now we are seeing a new Castle emerge.  A caring one. In episode one, Flowers for Your Grave, he really didn't care about the victim so much as why the killer chose those books of his.  Now in Ghosts, he really did not want the Son  to be involved becasue he felt they needed something good to happen to them.  He cares, he feels and it did affect him.   This week, with an ex-boyfriend and a missing little 2 yr old girl, I think Castle will really open up emotionally and we may really see more of this new side of Castle.

As an absolutely devoted father himself, Castle really would pull out all the stops to help on this case.  I don't think he'd see any humor in the case itself, which is why this episode is the perfect time to introduce Beckett's ex-boyfriend.  Without the inevitable competition between the two alpha males to fuel the humor of the episode, it could get far too serious.  The clips they've shown so far have been hysterical…especially Beckett's suggestion that they drop their pants and compare, to which Castle replies, "I'm game!"

Blackfel    

The more I think about next week's episode, the more I wonder how Beckett is going to react to having the attention of not just one good looking guy, but two.  She's clearly extremely interested in Castle, but at this point she's keeping him at arm's reach simply out of pure stubbornness.  It's like the espresso machine that Castle donates to the NYPD:  having it around is a constant temptation, and she'd love nothing more than to sample the foamy richness it promises…but because she's decided to be annoyed by Castle she'll have nothing to do with it.  Unfortunately, her stubborness isn't perfect, and the constant temptation of having that wonderful espresso just sitting there, practically begging her to try it will eventually get to her.  At this point their relationship is a given:  every time he surprises her by doing something thoughtful or brilliant, he puts one more hole in her armor of self-denial.  She's going to cave, and probably sooner rather than later.    

If I had to make a guess, I'd say the catalyst for getting the two of them together will be the underlying plot of her mother's unsolved murder.  He's taken an interest in the case, and if he dedicates even a fraction of his resources and intellect into solving it, he'll succeed where others have failed.  Considering just who the victim was, and how much he's starting to care about Beckett, he's going to find the time to study every aspect of that case until he knows it backward and forward.  And if he does solve it, it doesn't matter what the FBI boyfriend does…she'll end up with Castle.

The only problem is whether or not ABC will give the show long enough to develop.  The show has made enormous strides in bringing the two lead characters together, and the phenomenal supporting cast is really doing wonders to help the relationship along.  In particular, Alexis and Castle's mother are really going out of their way to invite Beckett into the fold, and both of them heartily approve of the relationship…particularly Alexis.  I really don't know how Nathan Fillion manages to surround himself with such wonderful castmates in almost all of his shows, but he really does.  I met him at a signing at DragonCon a couple of years ago, and words cannot describe how much charisma that man exudes.  It's amazing.  But none of that matters if ABC decides not to renew it.

Blackfel

Whether or not Castle recognized the gaffe, he's far to polite to openly correct someone else's grammar or make fun of them for their mistake.  As you say, the use of the word 'whom' seems to be going out of style, and it wouldn't be worth the hard feelings it would generate for him to make someone else feel small just so he can come across as being more intelligent.

Of course, now that he has a good reason to despise Lee Wax, he might not be as polite should they ever cross paths again.

Blackfel