ABC

Last week, I said that the February two parters often become more about some big adventure than they do a traditional mystery. While I was right – the mystery took a back seat – I felt like the story held together pretty well overall. There were no glaring plot holes, anyway. And it was certainly a fun ride.

I’m jumping right into part two here. If you need a refresher on part one, head over to last week’s recap first.

The episode picks up exactly where the last one left off – Alexis is being dragged off the roof of the building in Paris where she and Sarah were being held. We see three men were up there dragging her off, too.

And then we’re back in New York. The FBI agent is talking about the diplomatic hoops they have to jump through to continue the search for Alexis and Sarah. He also says they’ve narrowed the phone call down to the entire city limits of Paris. That’s a big help. Castle is very frustrated about how long it is going to take when Sarah’s parents get a ransom call. Her parents insist they will get back both Sarah and Alexis, and the kidnappers agree. They set a drop in Paris. Fortunately, Sarah has relatives there and the drop is in a location where we can tap into some cameras to see what is happening.

The man shows up to make the drop. Another car shows up, and men jump out with guns, forcing him to his knees. They take the money and run. He gets up, runs off camera for a few seconds and then runs back on camera with Sarah.

And only Sarah.

I mean seriously, didn’t the characters realize they hadn’t even reached the opening commercial break yet? Did they think they’d get Alexis back so early?Read More »Castle 5-16: Hunt

Every year, Castle has a two parter during February sweeps. (This should not been a shock since I have mentioned it every week for a couple months now. And the first season doesn’t count because they didn’t start until March.) These episodes are always big, involve a major guest star, and leave you with a cliffhanger. They’re usually on the more serious side of things, but this year’s is the most dramatic they’ve had to date. Why? Because the case gets very personal for Castle and by extension the rest of the characters.

It starts out simple enough. Castle is having a conversation with his mom about how much they both miss having Alexis around when he’s called to the scene of another murder. He’s doing his usual freak out thing with Beckett where he tries to be the cool dad but really wants to lock Alexis up to keep her safe and his little girl.Read More »Castle 5-15: Target

One thing I love about Castle is the ability the writers and the cast have to go from drama to comedy and back again without missing a beat. Last week? Very serious drama. Next week? Looks like the first half of the annual two parter is going to be high stakes suspense. (I’m already dreading the cliffhanger.) But this week? Pure comedy gold. Granted, most of the comedy came from the sub-plots, but the mystery was light and fluffy as well.

Before we get to the episode, let’s discuss guest star Gina Torres, who co-starred with Nathan Fillion on Firefly. I was only a marginal fan of that show, so did I miss any references to it? I know Gina better for her amazing work on Suits on the USA Network. This character, one of the wives of Wall Street, was so different from her character on that show, and she was amazing here.  (Not that I was expecting anything less.)Read More »Castle 5-14: Reality Star Struck