Castle

Nanny McDead

Season 1, Episode 2, Aired 3/16/09

Episode Summary

Castle and Beckett work together to solve the murder of a nanny found dead spinning in the dryer of an upscale New York apartment building's laundry room.

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Cast & Crew

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Seamus Dever

Kevin Ryan
Nathan Fillion

Richard Castle
Molly Quinn

Alexis Castle

Fan Episode Reviews (9)

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Nanny McDead was another superb episode in this already great series.

9.0

"Superb"

By Jason5550123, Oct 25, 2011 Report Abuse

This was an adventurous episode for new hit show Castle. Nathan Fillion continues to be excellent in his role as Richard Castle, and I continue to look forward to seeing new episodes of this show. Stana Katic is doing a great job as well, and she and Nathan Fillion have great chemistry together. Molly Quinn, the actress who plays Castle's daughter, is also great in her role. This episode had an interesting twist at the end which surprised me. I really want to learn more about Detective Beckett, and what happened to her in the past that convinced her to become a cop. Overall, I give this episode, Nanny McDead, a 9.0 out of 10.moreless

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4 2
A much stronger episode than the pilot, not as predictable with a better story and nice twists.

9.0

"Superb"

By whiteraven2005, Oct 25, 2011 Report Abuse

I'm really not impressed with Beckett as a detective, she didn't even bother to ask about the nanny's belongings, like her bag. Possible contents: address book, apartment keys and oh yes, CELL PHONE! Not to mention the family don't want the dead girl's things in their apartment. As for the theory that this was a stranger-murder, it's ridiculous how many 'break-in murderer's' stuff the dead body in a dryer?!

Though Castle has a good knowledge of crime, he bases most of his theories on what makes 'a good story' and he's often right, because the 'good stories' are ones that are common to human nature. Even when he's guessing, he is still compelling because he talks as he writes, he has a hypnotic style which makes people listen, even if he's completely wrong. Obviously why he's a best selling author. His spiel about the neighbor killing the girl was very good. And his improv is excellent, ringing the cellphone.

The writers have a real grasp on the emotional scenes, touching without being heavy Beckett talking Chloe down, Castle with his daughter, Castle looking at the photo of him and his daughter. Nicely done.

Best quotes:
- "Your mother and I decided if someone was gonna screw you up, it was gonna be me."
- "We could always make it strip poker." "I'm more into mystery than horror."

Again, great soundtrack. Particularly enjoyed Pink's ringtone as they find the cellphone, given the lyrics 'nah nah' plus Castle and Beckett's smirks, it's quite fitting.

A very good episode, stronger than the pilot with some good twists, witty dialogue, great music and some nice touching moments.moreless

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4 1
*** Spoiler-free *** Episodic character development but convincing acting, unauthentic dialogs, déjà vu but twisted enough story

3.0

"Bad"

By goa103, Oct 25, 2011 Report Abuse

The first impression is not always the most objective one but in this case I'm a bit disappointed by Beckett and Castle. In the pilot I found the mix between writing and investigation quite original but watching this episode was just entertaining and nothing more. The acting was good but the protagonists chemistry seemed forced and their dialogs weren't as spicy and funny as expected. In fact I worry that the upcoming episodes are just fillers. So I really hope the writers don't plan to use the same recipe but with a different story everytime. In Nanny McDead the events weren't predictable but not surprising. Even Castle's story telling his new partners wasn't intriguing. I just didn't believe him because what he said wasn't fascinating nor thought out of the box. Despite all these cons from time to time I enjoyed watching them investigate because of some good elements like the outfit design and charming performers. But in the end I'll quickly forget that old Nanny story and really disliked the episodic format. I'm surprised the writers didn't focus on further developing the arc covered in the pilot, about a serial killer using Castle's novels as guidelines.moreless

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2 6
Not as good as the pilot episode

7.5

"Good"

By eva1307, Jun 25, 2011 Report Abuse

After the quite promising first episode, this one was kind of a let-down. What made "Flowers for your grave" so brilliant was Nathan Fillion's character and charm. In this episode, however, he was not given a chance to shine. Other people did not stand out either. It felt like everyone was standing still in terms of character development. The plot itself was not that interesting as well, although I enjoyed how Castle figured out the time delay. His knowledge, wit and perception should be made use of more in upcoming episodes. All in all, I think that this show should not try to be serious in the crime and drama department, but instead focus on the comedy.moreless

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0 5
It's keeping me interested so far.

8.0

"Great"

By lazarius12, Jun 11, 2010 Report Abuse

The First episode got my attention because Castle's character, as I'm guessing a lot of people thought, reminds me of Mal from Firefly, also played by Nathan Fillion. From here on out I was hoping the show would be able to give me something more to keep my interest.

This episode had a few memorable scenes for me, including the well written speech by Castle, as if straight from a page of his new book, along with a pretty interesting murder mystery with a few twists thrown in for good measure. Nothing new or overly impressive was brought to the table, but I think I'll still be interested in giving episode three a go and hopefully others feel the same way.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- When Castle and Beckett are on their way to meet the victim's friend Chloe in the playground, campaign posters for City Counselor Jeff Horn can be seen on pillars and walls. In a later episode, Hell Hath No Fury, Jeff Horn is murdered and Beckett and Castle look for his killer. Edit
- Goof: At the end of the episode, Castle is typing on his laptop. He then closes it and puts it on his desk. Seconds later, when he's looking at the photograph, you can see the laptop open again on the desk in the background. When the camera is panning out, it appears to be closed again. Edit
- Goof: When the detectives are watching the video of the elevator it shows the times Sarah was in the elevator. She went down with the laundry at 12:07PM, came back up at 12:14PM and back down at 12:48PM. The detective then says that no one else went down to the basement in the next hour except the lady who found the body. At home, Castle studies a copy of the video and learns two things, that she didn't have her cell phone with her on the 2nd trip down and that the 2nd trip took five seconds longer. Later when they are looking at the video again, they see Chloe in the elevator going down to the basement at 12:54PM, just 6 minutes after Sarah did. Edit
Notes
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- International Episode Titles: Czech Republic: Mrtvá chůva (Dead Nanny) Edit
- Original International Air Dates: Slovakia: January 13, 2010 on JOJ Germany: February 13, 2010 on Kabel Eins United Kingdom: April 14, 2010 on Alibi Finland: May 5, 2010 on Nelonen Czech Republic: September 15, 2010 on Prima Edit
- Music: "So What" by Pink "Come On In" by Tommy Fields Edit
Quotes
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- Beckett: Exactly how much longer do I have to expect you to be shadowing me on my cases like this?
  Castle: Hard to say, when I'm writing a new character there's no saying when inspiration might strike.
  Beckett: I thought I was your inspiration.
  Castle: Oh you are Detective, in so many ways
  Beckett: Yeah well your inspiration might strike you sooner than you might think.
  Edit
- Castle: Thought you ditched me back at the precinct, didn't you? Come on, Nanny McDead is found in the spin dry and you don't think the Captain's going to let me in on that story? Edit
- Police Representative: Mr. Castle, be advised: if you get injured following Detective Beckett to research your next novel, you cannot sue the city. If you get shot, you cannot sue the city. If you get killed... Castle: My lifeless remains cannot sue the city? Edit
Allusions
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- Castle mentions the soap opera One Life to Live. Nathan Fillion appeared on the soap as Joe/Joey. Edit
- The title is an allusion to the 2006 film, "Nanny McPhee." Edit