Castle: "Boom!" 3/29/10 - Grading & Discussion
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Rewatched Tick, Tick, Tick last night. Hope they explain how the real killer pulled of the "be at the window and gone when the FBI barged in" trick. Really excited about tonight's show!
Looking forward to it as well.
Just saw a new spot for the show while watching DWTS...pool, rd dress, wine, rose petals....and murder WOW
Just saw a new spot for the show while watching DWTS...pool, rd dress, wine, rose petals....and murder WOW
What did the banner say?
I only caught the big words
I only caught the big words
Okay... at first, I wasn't convinced the empty bathtub would save her, but the line about the bathroom door made it more credible. Still, when she heard Castle say the killer was still alive, how did she know that the way to react to that was to immediately jump into the tub? Kind of a non sequitur there. I guess maybe she put the pieces together from the bomb-building materials in the suspect's apartment, but still.
And I'm getting a little tired of the cop-show trope where a character is told to stay behind for their safety, all the heavily armed and armored people move in, then the suspect comes out and runs right by the vulnerable person left outside, so that the vulnerable person has to chase them. I've seen that trope three times in the past eight days, and two of them were in this 2-parter.
Also: thermal sensors cannot see through walls and roofs. Walls and roofs are designed not to be transparent to heat. That's pretty much the primary reason they exist. So you couldn't use thermal imaging to see people moving around inside a building from the outside.
And just to complete the trifecta of cop-show cliches: Who didn't see "I was aiming for his head" coming the instant Castle's shot hit the gun?
And when the guy jumped on the subway, why couldn't the cops and feds get the train stopped and searched?
Still, this was an entertaining episode for the character stuff, I guess. But there wasn't nearly enough Alexis. I'm disappointed she didn't get a scene with Beckett.
And I'm getting a little tired of the cop-show trope where a character is told to stay behind for their safety, all the heavily armed and armored people move in, then the suspect comes out and runs right by the vulnerable person left outside, so that the vulnerable person has to chase them. I've seen that trope three times in the past eight days, and two of them were in this 2-parter.
Also: thermal sensors cannot see through walls and roofs. Walls and roofs are designed not to be transparent to heat. That's pretty much the primary reason they exist. So you couldn't use thermal imaging to see people moving around inside a building from the outside.
And just to complete the trifecta of cop-show cliches: Who didn't see "I was aiming for his head" coming the instant Castle's shot hit the gun?
And when the guy jumped on the subway, why couldn't the cops and feds get the train stopped and searched?
Still, this was an entertaining episode for the character stuff, I guess. But there wasn't nearly enough Alexis. I'm disappointed she didn't get a scene with Beckett.
Excellent.
Castle finally gets to back up Kate in a dicey situation and proves himself useful (even if he's not a good shot
). I thought it was so sweet of him to invite her to stay at his place (no surprise there). Think she'll be there next week? 
It takes time to find an apartment -- especially in NYC -- and then she has to get furniture and household items (hope she had renter's insurance, and if so, did it cover bombings?). And of course she has to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe...
Castle finally gets to back up Kate in a dicey situation and proves himself useful (even if he's not a good shot
). I thought it was so sweet of him to invite her to stay at his place (no surprise there). Think she'll be there next week? It takes time to find an apartment -- especially in NYC -- and then she has to get furniture and household items (hope she had renter's insurance, and if so, did it cover bombings?). And of course she has to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe...
Excellent.
Castle finally gets to back up Kate in a dicey situation and proves himself useful (even if he's not a good shot
It takes time to find an apartment -- especially in NYC -- and then she has to get furniture and household items (hope she had renter's insurance, and if so, did it cover bombings?). And of course she has to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe...
But Castle is a good shot. In season one we saw him put three bullets in the center of a target when he and Beckett were on the shooting range. I wanted to take his line as a joke, but the way he played it said otherwise.
I feel the two parter was in general a let-down. The first episode was a great set up, but this one was a let down. It ususally goes the other way for two parters.
Beckett survived? Shocker! 
Really though, did anybody think she'd really be dead? I will admit though, while I knew she'd be ok, I assumed she wouldn't have really been in the apartment when it blew (I've seen that kind of fakeout on TV before). because honestly, I couldn't imagine someone surviving that.
Yeah, the bathtub saving her did sound silly.
I thought it was obvious that she knew it was a bomb, for the reason you stated.
Yes, a tired cliche.
I never knew that. Makes sense though.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't!
I thought that too, in addition to them perhaps sending people to the following stops to catch him getting out.
Agreed on all counts.
Really though, did anybody think she'd really be dead? I will admit though, while I knew she'd be ok, I assumed she wouldn't have really been in the apartment when it blew (I've seen that kind of fakeout on TV before). because honestly, I couldn't imagine someone surviving that.Yeah, the bathtub saving her did sound silly.
I thought it was obvious that she knew it was a bomb, for the reason you stated.
Yes, a tired cliche.
I never knew that. Makes sense though.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't!
I thought that too, in addition to them perhaps sending people to the following stops to catch him getting out.
Agreed on all counts.
Yeah, but how did she know it would be going off right at the moment Castle called her? She could've had hours before it went off, for all they knew. If you were being targeted by a mad arsonist and suspected bomber, and your colleague called you and told you he was still alive and likely to come after you -- and if you didn't know you were a character in a TV show that was seconds away from a cliffhanger ending -- you wouldn't jump in the tub, you'd run for the front door and get out of the damn building. It would've made more sense if Castle had found Beckett in the hallway outside her apartment, wrapped in the towel she was wearing when he called her.
EDIT: Or, no, wait a minute, I just remembered something from the recap. Wasn't there a taunting voice saying "Goodbye, Nikki" just before the bomb blew? I guess that was what tipped her off. [Emily Latella]Never mind![/Emily Latella]
When they were searching Conrad's apartment and looking at his explosives, they found a detonator and someone clicked it on and it said "Goodbye...Goodbye...." as the countdown.
When Castle called Beckett to say the killer was still alive, we hear the detonator counting down the Goodbyes. That was what got Beckett jumping into the tub.
I agree generally about the helpless person waiting outside and the killer runs past, but this episode was about repeated instances of role-reversal where Beckett was experiencing a day in the life of following around a police detective and being told to stay out of the way. Castle even says at one point "Now you know how I feel". So I think the trope had a purpose, but I agree maybe not all of them were done as well as they could.
Another reversal was Castle shooting the killer('s hand) when Beckett was down. In the back of my mind I always figured the day would come, but the thing was, all of this happened to Beckett at once.
All through the two parter I saw parallels to the pilot episode, with Beckett put into Castle's shoes. It kind of makes a bookend to the beginning of the series, and it has the feel of things changing in the dynamic between Castle and Beckett, she depended on him a lot in this episode, much more than ever before.
So less of a mystery, more action/suspense, but primarily for me a character driven episode that is moving them forward. It did that job for me, so I give it an excellent.
When Castle called Beckett to say the killer was still alive, we hear the detonator counting down the Goodbyes. That was what got Beckett jumping into the tub.
I agree generally about the helpless person waiting outside and the killer runs past, but this episode was about repeated instances of role-reversal where Beckett was experiencing a day in the life of following around a police detective and being told to stay out of the way. Castle even says at one point "Now you know how I feel". So I think the trope had a purpose, but I agree maybe not all of them were done as well as they could.
Another reversal was Castle shooting the killer('s hand) when Beckett was down. In the back of my mind I always figured the day would come, but the thing was, all of this happened to Beckett at once.
All through the two parter I saw parallels to the pilot episode, with Beckett put into Castle's shoes. It kind of makes a bookend to the beginning of the series, and it has the feel of things changing in the dynamic between Castle and Beckett, she depended on him a lot in this episode, much more than ever before.
So less of a mystery, more action/suspense, but primarily for me a character driven episode that is moving them forward. It did that job for me, so I give it an excellent.
True, but this needs to be taken in context: that was an in-joke for the Firefly fans among us (keep in mind that not only was Fillion in the show, but Castle co-exec producer José Molina was also its exec story editor).
I don't recall what FF episode/scene that's from. But as in-jokes go, it's not a very specific one, since it's such a widespread cliche.
"The Train Job" - after Simon dopes Jayne and then the ship is invaded by Niska's henchman, the henchman gets shot in the leg (I think) at just the right moment. Jayne's collapsed on the landing with his gun and someone says, "Nice shot!" and Jayne replies in a stupor, "I was aimin' fer his head ..."
This didn't actually strike me as a cop-show cliché, because I don't recall ever seeing this done in one - maybe I just don't watch enough cop shows. I got it instantly - but then, I do watch Firefly a lot, even now (although apparently I don't watch "The Train Job" as frequently as the rest).
This didn't actually strike me as a cop-show cliché, because I don't recall ever seeing this done in one - maybe I just don't watch enough cop shows
. I got it instantly - but then, I do watch Firefly a lot, even now (although apparently I don't watch "The Train Job" as frequently as the rest).
But hitting dead center on a stationary target in the safe conditions at a firing range is a lot easier from hitting dead center in a real life-or-death situation when the target's moving and you're scared for your life, particularly if you don't have police training to help you stay calm and focused in such a situation. So there's no real contradiction there.
I enjoyed this episode, and overall the 2-parter was very enjoyable. It was cool seeing Beckett cooking breakfast at Castle's place (a nice parallel to the vice-versa scene in part 1), though as Christopher said, it would have been nice if she'd had some interaction with Alexis.
And in other news, the show has been renewed for a 3rd season! Yay!
http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/03/30/abc-renews-castle/#more-7127
And in other news, the show has been renewed for a 3rd season! Yay!
http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/03/30/abc-renews-castle/#more-7127
Shooting at a range under no pressure and shooting a person while you're sweating bullets are two VERY different things.
I enjoyed the two-parter overall, even if the second part wasn't as good as the first. I liked that Agent Shaw (not the Chuck version, thankfully) was portrayed like a real human being and not a cartoon character federal agent. I'm guessing we'll see her again for future big event episodes, like when Castle or his family inevitably get put in harm's way.
