Castle Season 5 (including Spoilers)

[Scout101]

ABC trying to turn it into "Child Kidnapping Awareness month?"

[Christopher]

And just a couple of weeks ago, CSI and CSI:NY did a crossover 2-parter involving the NY lead character's girlfriend being kidnapped -- less than a year after a 2-parter on the Vegas show where its lead character's granddaughter was kidnapped.

[Forbin]

It's getting personal!!!!

[TheSeeker]

Christopher wrote:

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I think the idea was that he was so dedicated to the girl's protection that he was willing to sacrifice his life if he could ensure that he took out the kidnappers. If he'd jumped out of the way, he might've missed an opportunity to take a final shot that would stop or kill the driver. So he kept on firing right up to the bitter end, not out of stupidity but because he put the girl's life ahead of his own.

It might have been a noble gesture but he probably could have done her more good by staying alive and giving the police a description of the van and its license plate number. Hell, he might have even have been able to give a description of the kidnappers.

Yes, the police were able to get all this information in the end but just imagine if he hadn't been lying in the street dead all night. They might have been able to catch the kidnappers before they made it out of the country.

[Christopher]

^Good point.

[Greg Cox]

Question: When Alexis dialed her dad at the end, with the bad guy's cell phone, wouldn't she have had to dial the country code to make a call from Paris to New York? How did she make an international call if she didn't now she was out of the country?

[Christopher]

As I recall, Alexis first tried dialing his number, which didn't go through, and then switched to using Skype, which I gather is some sort of online videophone service. Maybe with Skype you don't need an international code.

(Ohh, look at us... two professional science-fiction authors struggling to keep up with present-day technology. )

[FPAlpha]

Christopher wrote:

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As I recall, Alexis first tried dialing his number, which didn't go through, and then switched to using Skype, which I gather is some sort of online videophone service. Maybe with Skype you don't need an international code.

(Ohh, look at us... two professional science-fiction authors struggling to keep up with present-day technology. )

Not using Skype but having installed it for my dad i can say that with Skype it's basically a chatprogram you can use with text, voice or video. You log in and then you can contact anyone you have in your list of Skype contacts (provided they have the program running at the same time of course). This works because it's an internet based program and uses Voice over IP protocols (my dad uses it sometimes to call me in Germany because it's much cheaper than using regular telephone).

It's also making sense to try it that way for Alexis because she can assume that her dad is keeping all modes of communication open in case she can contact him (and because of the internet connection/cell tower location it's also dead easy for law enforcement to track her position).

[Greg Cox]

Christopher wrote:

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As I recall, Alexis first tried dialing his number, which didn't go through, and then switched to using Skype, which I gather is some sort of online videophone service. Maybe with Skype you don't need an international code.

(Ohh, look at us... two professional science-fiction authors struggling to keep up with present-day technology. )

It's not just us. John Ordover and I were debating this very issue just last night.

[Sheep]

Christopher wrote:

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As I recall, Alexis first tried dialing his number, which didn't go through, and then switched to using Skype, which I gather is some sort of online videophone service. Maybe with Skype you don't need an international code.

(Ohh, look at us... two professional science-fiction authors struggling to keep up with present-day technology. )

Thank goodness I wasn't the only one wondering about this. Thankfully the writers (apparently) didn't screw up this detail by having Alexis direct dial Castle.

[Vendikarr]

Christopher wrote:

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As I recall, Alexis first tried dialing his number, which didn't go through, and then switched to using Skype, which I gather is some sort of online videophone service. Maybe with Skype you don't need an international code.

(Ohh, look at us... two professional science-fiction authors struggling to keep up with present-day technology. )

As far as I know Skype isn't a standard app on phones, so she was very lucky that the kidnapper had it installed. Otherwise she would have to log into the app store and download it.

And of course she remembered her login and password so she could get her contact list to come up and dial her father. My kids never remember login and password after they have been keyed into their phone and saved.

[Forbin]

My new laptop has Skype on it, and i have no clue what to do with it. I don't even talk on the phone that much these days.

[Neroon]

I think she tried dialing 9-1-1 first. Then she got through on Skype, and told Castle it didn't work for some reason. That was the first clue,

albeit a subtle one, that she was not in the US, which the audience did yet not know at that point in the show.

[Locutus of Bored]

Christopher wrote:

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I hated that part, because it reinforced the dangerous lie that torture is actually effective at getting useful information out of interrogation subjects. There are countless interrogation experts who agree that that's just not true, that there are far more reliable ways, involving making a connection with the subject, winning their trust, offering them positive incentives to talk. Torture generally makes it harder, not easier, to get reliable intelligence.

While I agree with everything you say and regret the decision to allow Castle to use torture (it's understandable that a man in Castle's position would do it to save his daughter, but Kate should have prevented it, even with the Captain essentially giving them carte blanche), I don't think it's unbelievable in this case that the guy would instantly give up the correct information. He's not a soldier, spy, or true believer, he's just a petty criminal turned hired gun, and since he presumably already got paid for his part he doesn't have any reason to show his former employers any loyalty, especially after taking a bullet for his troubles. I think once Castle established that he was going to cross a line the police wouldn't, that was enough for him to spill the beans.

Granted, you run the risk of him saying anything his interrogator wants just to prevent further torture, but at that point it was basically that or nothing, so Castle weighed the risk of getting false information.

Nick Ryder wrote:

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Well for all you know, Rick just poked his belly where he was shot. Wouldn't necessarily call it 'torture' since the dude was already in a lot of pain and scared shitless even before that point - basically it's like when you ask your buddy where you're going and he keeps going "it's a secret man!" and it isn't until you annoy the hell out of him or keep poking him or something that he goes "Alright alright already we're going to a frat party!" or something.

Guy was probably scared that Castle WOULD do something nasty instead of just poking him. Or he hit him in the nuts...

In what world is poking someone in a bullet wound NOT considered "torture" or "nasty"? Jesus. You seriously think it's no different from poking your buddy in his non-wounded stomach to get him to go to a party?

C'mon this is Castle we're talking about - he's got a dark side that's also inspired by comic books, movies and tv shows - BUT he's also got a light side that's inspired by the same thing. He's driven but he probably has it in his head that this is "Liam Neeson" moment where he uses all the skills he learned at Beckett's side to save his daughter, just like a character from one of his novels.

I think the purpose behind showing the torture in this case is to contrast it with the lengths

Castle's spy father will be willing to go in the next episode to complete his "mission," whatever that may be. Castle will see the ultimate extension of his dark side and realize what he's done and that he doesn't want to go down that road again and become like his father.

[Neroon]

In case anyone is on Twitter.... according to the Castle FB page:

Molly Quinn will be live-tweeting tonight's episode East Coast. Follow her @MollyQuinn93 #SaveAlexis