Castle – The bullet was made of ice!

OK, it really wasn’t, but that was a funny gag. Castle returned this week with another fantastic case in “The Fifth Bullet.” It was helped along right away with the casting of Marc Blucas as Jeremy. I’m enough of a Buffy nerd to always enjoy seeing any of the actors pop up in other things. Except Iyari Limon. I’m sure she’s perfectly nice, but damn did I ever hate Kennedy. Anyway… on top of that nifty bit of casting, the writers also delivered what might have been my favorite case of the season. And you can’t beat that.

Starting with the case, Jeremy’s amnesia was awesome. Well, not for him obviously, but for the viewer, it really delivered. Everything about his story played to get us, as well as Castle and the team, on his side. He was such a nice guy. How could you not root for him, or want to help him? And when the tables looked to be turning, like Jeremy could really be the killer, it made for a very awkward situation. Could we all have misjudged him that much?

Of course, we did ultimately get the happy ending, and he wasn’t the killer. But that bit of misdirection was excellent. They also did a good job with the disgruntled former assistant and the diplomat from Bahrain. I was suspicious of Darius (John Paul Pitoc) right from the start, but Bahir (Carlo Rota) and Rocco (Rider Strong) were both worthy suspects. Carlo Rota is so good as a bad guy that he’s often a worthy suspect on shows that he wasn’t even cast in.

It was also nice to see Anne Dudek on our TVs again. I still hold a bit of a grudge that we didn’t get more from Amber on House, so seeing her in anything is always a positive. The story of Emma and Jeremy possibly starting over was very sweet, and it did mesh nicely with what was going on between Martha and Chet. Although, if I have one complaint about the episode it’s that the ‘Castle at home’ story was one of the weaker ones. The episode needed a little more Alexis and Castle together.

That is one awfully minor complaint though, in the face of what really was another excellent case. I still wouldn’t call Castle my favorite show, but I would say that it’s the show that has gained the most spots on my list as this season has moved along. It really does just keep getting better.

Clacked by Brett Love
on Dec 08, 2009 @ 21:31 EST5EDT