Castle

Great opening – very cool idea … except for the part where the kids witnessed a murder! Those kids are going to be scarred for life. It was a great con – the fake snow and the 'wind' and the polar bears. The key to a big con is preparation and this guy certainly was a pro. Liked the CIA guy too, very cool.



The con artist story was good and the twist was nice – the con artist being killed *because* he was going straight. Actually being in love, if he signed the prenup, there would have been no money at all. Now that's a motive for murder.



I can understand why Alexis got so upset and she has a point, she is extremely responsible but she should also try to see Castle's side of it. He works with a homicide detective and was specifically working a job about a con artist – it's not a huge leap to see why he reacted the way he did.



A very enjoyable episode.

This week's case revolved around a con artist, whose achievements in his dubious profession were so numerous that the detectives are in a rollercoaster trying to figure out who he was, what were the motives for his actions and which part the people in his life really played - his fiancée, the schoolteacher, his father-in-law, his partner, everyone's a suspect until proven otherwise. After many twists in the plot the actual murderer is revealed, literally at the end of the episode. Which is perfectly fine by me, I like guesswork in police shows, and the more suspenseful the better. This one didn't include chasing suspects or immediate danger like some of the other cases, but made up for it in riddles. The case was very exciting!



The best clues of this episode however, in my opinion, where the scenes with Beckett and the book - especially the "date" where she creates a sexy, relaxing environment that has us guessing she may be expecting some special someone, until she picks up Castle's book! And the other one where Castle surprises her in the toilet - ingenious! Also Castle's troubles as the dad of a teenage daughter, he has his heart in the right place but sometimes his foot is in his mouth as well... Alexis storming into the department and giving her father the third degree was funny, but also moving. I liked the closing line in their next conversation: "Be patient with me, I've never had a teenage daughter before". Can't wait for the next fix!

I thought this episode had the perfect blend of crime story and character development. I've always watched shows for the story and very much enjoy shows like Law & Order where each episode pretty much stands on its own. It harkens back to Perry Mason, the father of the genre. Perry was all about the crime whereas today's shows are a mix of the two.



The more this show goes on, the more I like the characters and find myself looking forward to the character development as much as the next story.



My favorite here was the Richard/Alexis interaction where a loving, concerned and well-meaning father overdoes it and temporarily harms the relationship with his daughter. The scene where Alexis interrogates him at the station and storms out of the room was terrific. It's likely my favorite moment of the show to date. The last scene where Richard says "Be patient with me, I've never had a teenage daughter before" is beautifully done.

This is a common phrase known by most of us and we can surely fill in the blank. It was definitely the statement of the entire episode, when it comes to shams, cons and being fooled time and time again.



From the moment the show opened with a guy who looked like an Eskimo vacationing in the Pacific, well I knew he would have been beheaded if not in front of the children the after wards. It is after all how the best crime dramas are initiated.



'Fool Me Once' surrounded the life of a con man who wanted to change and clean himself up for the woman he loved. Half the time I couldn't care for the characters they threw on our trail to whiff up as the murderer; the woman he coned for her life long savings, the teacher involved in the con (except he was on the other end of the conversation, accessory would have been good enough), his fiancee, her father and the list would probably go on.



I suspected the fiancee at first and the entire partner wanting a piece in the con gone wrong was basically a sham, I couldn't really care who did it after a while. The only thing that actually made this episode interesting was Castle's witty comments and Beckett's desire to make love to Castle's book-that definitely should reflect how she feels about Castle, since she treated his book like a drug she couldn't shake off, even on the job in the bathroom.



Another favorite scene would have been Castle's mysterious CIA contact, the act itself has been done before, but it did the job. I couldn't help but laugh at his 'agent skills' or even 'magical skills' to vanish out of thin air.



This time Alexis' urge to play the violin as a side plot felt out of place. I am usually accustomed to her role as being the little voice in Castle's ear telling him what to do about a dead end case. Aside from her instructor's attractive nature, Castle had every right to be concerned, he didn't even introduce himself properly to 'The Father'. Nothing like the chatter between Castle and Beckett to keep the show going.



Lexa Reviews

http://lexabuti.blogspot.com



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Four Stars



Grade B-



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An entertaining episode full of twists till the very end.



We get to see Castle and Beckett spar a little more. The chemistry is good. I enjoyed the one upmanship between the two. Her date with a bath and the book. His peaking over the stall at the end when he knew she was running to read the sex scene. All very cute.



The case this time was not so cut and dried. Unfortunately they thru the actually killer into the episode late so that when it turned out to be that person it was sort of trite. Was he a con man, was he a spy, how many identities/aliases did he have, did he have a partner, was his fiance in on it, was the teacher really involved, all excellent questions that are dealt with in the episode. Like a number of other episodes that have been really good this one at least keeps you guessing until the end. If I had any complaint it would be the introduction of the actual perpetrator and when were you going to point that person out to us?



I think the best part of the episode overall was the interaction between Castle, Beckett, his family, and the detectives. All of the characters are getting better and better. Next weeks episode looks like it could be really outstanding. I can't wait. Thanks for reading...

This was one of those, "you-keep-walking-and-when-you reach-the-fork-in-the-road-you-take-it!" kind of stories and hugely entertaining to boot. It keeps you guessing, but not in a rocket science kind of way. And that's just fine with me!



I also like the way there is an almost equal balance between the case and the back stories in this series. It has allowed character development very quickly, (except maybe we could see more for Esposito and Ryan), and thus given the viewer "people" to invest in while they live AND solve the case.



In this episode, it was a little weird that such a wealthy woman, who professed to such a knowledge of human behaviour born of her previous experiences with men, was so easily duped by this con man. But presentation is 9/10ths of the viewer acceptance law, and this is the kind of artistic license I can accept. I was quite prepared to make that leap of faith.



But honestly, the best part of the whole show for me was that closing scene! A speechless Beckett caught with her proverbial pants down in the potty of all places...nice symbolism there! Makes me want to read page 105! ;o}