Castle Cliff Notes: Like Father, Like Daughter

Hot off a crazy episode last week full of Alexis debates, Castle and crew jumped right into the controversy with a Castle/Alexis-centric episode with a dash of all of the 12^th precinct regulars.  I’ll admit, I was slightly concerned myself but ended up enjoying the episode.  Sure, it wasn’t the usual Castle format and I definitely missed seeing Beckett and our favorite bromance more but we did get a lot of elements I had been missing such as Beckett/Lanie girl time and finally a little love between Castle and Alexis. Of course all of these got included on the countdown so let’s get started! 

Honorable Mention:

I had to put this in here because I was happy to see a little ending to last week’s daughter/daddy drama.  Panicking about the case and how time is running out, Alexis is desperately asking her dad what to do.  He tries to comfort her saying “Hey I don’t know but whatever happens we are going to deal with it. Alright? Together.”  They hug each other and Alexis says “I’m sorry I was mad at you.”  Castle tells her “No, I deserved it. I’m sorry.”  And just like that, it appears that Castle and Alexis have put their differences aside and started the healing process back to their old relationship, or at least we can hope!  It was also nice to see that even though Alexis tries to act all grown up, she still does lean on her dad for support.  A nice, sweet little moment to get things rollin!

5. Family Love

Castle calls Beckett to tell her that he wants to go away and help Alexis try to solve the case in Pennsylvania.  Castle feels like he has to justify the trip to Beckett and he tells her that it is a chance for him and Alexis to reconnect after their argument last episode.  Beckett says “Castle you don’t have to explain we can look at venues another day.”  Castle double checking asks Beckett is she is sure she is ok with him leaving and she says “yes, I mean she’s practically family I care about her too.”  This earns a sweet look from Castle and he says “you’re pretty great you know that?”  Beckett shares a shy smile of her own and quickly says “yea” before telling him to go spend time with his daughter.  This moment makes the list for obvious reasons.  I love that Beckett considers Alexis family and doesn’t get mad that potential plans are postponed because Castle needs to help his daughter.  I think it’s reassuring to Castle that Beckett is supportive of his relationship with his daughter and that she cares for Alexis too as shown by him telling her how amazing she is.  I’m also hoping that Alexis sees how much Kate cares for her too by showing Alexis that she isn’t going to “steal” her dad away from her and wants to be part of their family.

4. Out of This World Wedding

At the beginning of the episode, Castle is trying to convince Beckett to get married in space.  He tells her he isn’t going to give up on the idea “because it’s the best idea ever!”  Beckett quickly disagrees with him, but Castle continues “why not? We could be the first!”  Castle tries to twist her words and says she wants their wedding to be special and sarcastically Beckett says “yes, because when I was a little girl imagining my wedding day being stuck in a small tin can with a thousand tons of rocket fuel strapped to my ass was exactly what I had in mind.”  She tells him that if he doesn’t want to look at wedding venues this weekend just to say so.  Castle reveals he doesn’t and Beckett says “too bad.”  A few things I loved here:  First we are finally talking wedding details!  I know they haven’t’ officially picked anything but a venue is a huge step.  Also, an outer space wedding?  Only Castle would ever think of this and I had to laugh at the suggestion. Finally, Beckett admitted that she imagined her wedding when she was younger.  I would love to hear about Beckett’s dream wedding and I’m sure Castle would do everything he could to make it a reality.  With those reasons, this moment “rocketed” its way onto the countdown! (Bad pun, I know! haha)

3. Finishing Each Other’s Sentences

Discussing evidence in the car, Alexis and Castle are discussing theories about Kim’s death.  They are talking about evidence related to a farmhouse used to make meth at which Kim went to a party.  Deciding that Kim probably saw the teens making meth they realize that she was debating turning them in.  They theorize that the meth cookers realized she was going to turn them in after she left the party, and went to her house on the bike that made the bike tracks at both the farm and her house. Since this mysterious bike rider knew where her house was, they think the killer was one of the other guys Kim was seeing.  At the same time, Alexis and Castle say “we need to talk to Kim’s mother.”  Castle pauses and says “now that was weird… usually I do that with Beckett.”  Alexis makes a grossed out face and says “eww.”  I couldn’t agree more with Alexis!  I’m not saying “eww” as in gross, but finishing each other sentences and figuring things out at the same time was the earliest version of Caskett love we got and it’s definitely a Caskett thing.  Just like Alexis was probably thinking, it’s a personal thing between her dad and his fiancé so it definitely wasn’t something she and her dad should do.  Her reaction was hilarious though and I found myself making the same face.  Even though it was a little “eww” the moment was pretty funny and a decent moment between Alexis and Castle.

2.  The Ladies in Castle’s Life

Asking Alexis’ if she wants to stay and celebrate, Alexis declines saying that “there’s someone else I need to thank.”  The next scene we see is Beckett and Alexis talking and then exchanging a hug.  Meanwhile, Castle watches on from behind the class and we get a sense of relief and happiness seeing the two most important ladies in his life connecting and possible his new little family for the first time together.  I loved that Alexis came back to thank Kate, especially after Kate’s previous insecurities revealed earlier in the episode.  Also, I have been waiting for a little Kate/Alexis love and would love to see more moments in the future to avoid potential drama when the marriage does occur.  I know a lot of people hated Alexis prior to the episode but I feel like she continued to redeem herself all the way through this episode.

1. Almost Family

Girl!  You bet this moment shot itself up to number one on my list!  I have serious missed my Beckett/Lanie scenes! Beckett walks into the morgue and thanks Lanie for helping with Castle and Alexis.  Realizing that isn’t the real reason behind Kate’s visit, Lanie says “talk to me girlfriend.”  Beckett asks “Do you find it odd that Alexis has gone to everyone but me on this case?”  Lightening to mood, Lanie says “she hasn’t gone to Perlmutter yet” and Kate jokes saying “yea well no one does if they can help it.” Becoming serious Beckett says, “Castle and I are about to become a family which is weird enough as it is… And he and Alexis have this whole history that has nothing to do with me… and it kind of feels like when it comes to the two of them I’m always going to be on the outside.”  Lanie tells her “Perfect families don’t exist. It’s going to be up to you to find a way to make your baggage match their baggage. It’s up to you to make your own history.”  I was very excited to see some girl talk!  Lanie always knows the right thing to say and has the best advice for Beckett.  It’s also nice to hear some of Beckett’s insecurities and realize that she is worried about things like finding her spot in Castle and Alexis’ bond.  I felt bad that Kate was so worried about her spot in the Castle/Alexis dynamic but I’m happy to see it’s something she wants to figure out.  I would love to see Beckett, Castle, and Alexis share some bonding time and allow Alexis to continue to have another great female role model (let’s not forget Martha!) that her mother may not always provide.  I’m also hoping that Beckett brings up this insecurity with Castle because I would love to know his thoughts.  I can just picture Beckett, Castle and Alexis having fun times together to put Beckett at ease.  Put this on my wish list for future episodes!

Did you think Alexis redeemed herself after previous episodes or were you not a fan of this episode?  Are you with me and want more Alexis/Kate/Castle scenes? Join the discussion in the comments section below, tweet me @DenialLove or tweet us at @TwelfthPrecinct!  Follow me, I’ll follow you and we’ll have Castle fun! J

Xo Always ~DenialLove

All screencaps via: Castle-fans.org