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Castle Season 4 Episode 15

Pandora

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AIRED: Feb 13, 2012

8.7

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Episode Summary

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An international conspiracy plays into the case of a killer being pursued by Castle and Beckett. A sexy CIA operative with ties to Castle joins in on the case. (Part 1 of 2)

TV.com Episode Review

Castle: The Best and Worst Episodes of Season 4 (Thus Far)

Will tonight's season finale finally make good on all those wayward half-glances and repeated bouts of unspoken jealousy? Or will we be left dangling until next season? In anticipation of the big finish, let's look back at the season's best…

By Alex Navarro, May 07, 2012

Fan Episode Reviews (6)

It was ok...

8.0

By greysncis2010, Feb 19, 2012

I have to agree with one of the comments earlier that there are quite a few loopholes in the storyline. If the former CIA is one of their best, why only send one person to apprehend him? But I have to say that the storyline about the linchpin is interesting. Hm... just one weak link.. who may it be?

Beckett is funny when she gets insecure about Castle's former short-term partner/girlfriend of one year!!! haha, that was hilarious when Beckett asked how short was short!moreless
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Pandora

7.0

By thefanof, Feb 16, 2012

I like the abrupt ending with the car crash, that was smart as it leaves us counting the hours until Monday's show.

This was a good first part, but it did not feel like the huge TV event ABC tried to pass it off as. It was good as I said, but a little over the top with the whole underground CIA thing. I liked it, I was on the edge of my seat, but let's keep things in perspective.moreless
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Cloak and Dagger

9.0

By sh811a, Feb 16, 2012

Castle and Kate are once again in a high stakes game they both better win because if they lose, it's the end of the world. I always love it when this show throws them in these kind of sittuations because I feel it not just mixs them in a new arena, puts their skills to the test and pushes them to the ultimate limit but it also puts them at their emotional best.

There isn't many laughs in this one, though I really like that one moment when Kate and Castle can't disclose any information to Gates due to swearing to secrecy by the C.I.A./U.S. Goverment, and we see Gates get frustrated. I thought yes, serves her right, I really hate Gates. Or even seeing Esposito getting frustrated at one point which is kinda funny since he use to work for the Goverment himself, that guy just needs to get out more.

The plot is pritty good it does have a slight degree of intrigue and suspense when we see how serious the sittuation is. But what I really like is the tension going on when Kate, Gage (played by Jennifer Beals whom is hot as usual), and Castle are mixed and as we see it's not exactly a good mix, it's pritty much the classic motiff of having two males and one female in the same room together, though here it's the opposite.

There is a bit of a parallel contrast between both Gage and Kate. Gage is similar in a way to Kate, though she is steps above in combat as well as intelegence (she is C.I.A. after all) but also kinda dark both in profession and persona. She also knows Castle pritty well and you can tell both Castle and Gage for their time have a certain chemestry. You can also say that the conflict between both Kate and Gage is also kinda a past and future conflict.

It's a bit amusing seeing Kate's ego threatened as she is having trouble adjusting to working in a field outside of the element she has the most control over. Though this we see her learning the hard way that she needs to swallow her pride and know this is a whole new game with new rules, and she better learn them if she wants to survive and win. But also just seeing her exersise jellously was also amusing, it's obvious she really wants to be Castle's girl, though she really has nothing to be jelious about because even though Castle and Gage had a thing it was in that past Gage wasn't the one, Kate's the future so that ought to be telling her something.

But I feel learning about Castle's past relationship with Gage and his current one with Kate really tells you something about his character. That he respects and has deep admiration and relationships with strong women. The ladies man image he puts on sometimes is just that an image, a mask just to hide his true feelings and persona. On a final note like it when Castle and Kate were once again in an entrapment sittuation along with the sexual overtone, fate just doesn't stop throwing hints.

I don't give this a high rating because this episode I just feel is one that is just setting the standard for what's to come which is most of the time what part one of a two parter does sometimes. Hopefully part two will blow us away. Also there was one moment I didn't like which I thought was out of character for Kate when she stupidly underestimates the rogue agent, points her gun without crating enough distance and then the rogue agent disarms her (which I'll admit was cool and something I can do also, not kidding). It's just when a guy like that has no weapon and comes up to you, you have to know he's up to something, but also when encountering a suspect you always maintain distance. I know the purpose of this was to get them trapped in the trunk but it could of been done better like seeing Kate and Castle physically struggle with the rogue agent and lose, that I thought would have worked better than getting foiled by Kate's incompitance.

We see in the end Castle and Kate are in a "Macgyver" like sittuation, how will they get out, and can they save the world on time? Well, we'll just have to wait till the next episode.moreless
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What remains inside Pandora's Box? Hope?

8.0

By shcashdan, Feb 16, 2012

With the paired metaphors of a linchpin, which holds a structure together and without which the structure will fail catastrophically, and of the myth of Pandora's Box, out of which all of earth's evils escaped when it was opened, leaving only hope, the writers have structured an uncomfortably possible cliff-hanger: if not prevented, an economic disaster the like of which the world has never seen will bring the US down.

Humanizing both the evil machine aimed at destroying the US and the defenders who struggle to prevent catastrophe involves a series of juxtapositions: day and night as times for action; ground level and deep basement settings as backdrops; a gloomy garage and a sunny park as arenas for confrontations; the seriousness and freshness of Alexis and the jaundiced selfishness of Gage; the starkness of a believable doomsday scenario and the humor of jealous co-workers sniping and snapping out their irritation at one another. In places, the plot seems structured like the layers of a Russian matryoshka nesting doll: events within events within events; reasons within reasons within reasons; facts within facts within facts. One is reminded of Ezekiel's "wheel within a wheel" as every event changes meanings with the addition of newly-discovered or newly-admitted data.

Castle, in "Pandora," interacts directly with five different women: his mother, his daughter, the Captain, his old CIA source, and Beckett; most of his interaction with Lanie is at a remove: she shares some comments with Beckett, who tells Alexis, who tells Martha. . . who accidentally tells Castle. For once, Castle savors having been forbidden to discuss a case; it gives him a chance to score against Captain Gates. Reminiscing and flirting with his old CIA source gives him a similar chance to ruffle Beckett's feathers, gently, as she reacts negatively to watching him "partner" someone else until he proves that ONLY Beckett is really his partner. As often before, one of the women in Castle's life suggests a different point of view for a problem puzzling him; this time it is Martha who opines that the chess moves may have nothing to do with the game of chess. Castle's interactions with ALL of the women in this episode reinforce one of his strongest attributes: his respect for women as people. Despite his frequent flirtations and rather bawdy history, Castle is actually a feminist and Alexis and Martha have definitely assisted in his growth.

Although the murder of Dr. Blakely was predictable, the discovery that he is actually one of the "good guys" was not. We are left with questions about the CIA as an organization, about the veracity of its workers, about who is manipulating whom, about whom to believe and whom to trust. Although not excruciating, the suspense is pleasurable most of us will be tuning in next week.

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Boring, Predictable and Stupid

1.0

By YaoEtherealic, Feb 15, 2012

Wow, not only did everybody behave stupidly, this episode was predictable at every turn.

It starts with a mistake:

CIA sends ONE guy to apprehend their best man? How is that supposed to work? Luck?

And ends with sheer stupidity:

Why didn't Castle and Becket call it in when they had the guy everybody was after, the one guy who could tell them whats going on...
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Nathan Fillion	Richard Castle
Stana Katic	Det. Kate Beckett
Molly Quinn	Alexis Castle
Susan Sullivan	Martha Rodgers
Seamus Dever	Kevin Ryan
Jon Huertas	Javier Esposito

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Jennifer Beals	Sophia Conrad	Guest Star
Josh Stamberg	Martin Danberg	Guest Star
Russell Edge	Jones	Guest Star

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Episode Photos

Jennifer Beals on Castle from "Pandora".

© 2012 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic, and Jenn...

© 2012 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
Nathan Fillion, Russell Edge, and Stana ...

© 2012 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic on Castle...

© 2012 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- Goof: The former CIA analyst was Dr. Nelson Blakely but on the New York State Police Department Accident Report for his car accident reporting his death, the name reads Dr. Michael Blakely.
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QUOTES (8)
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- Beckett: Is it in?
  Castle: To the left.
  Beckett: Ok.
  Castle: Push.
  Beckett: Scoot down.
  (fiddles with latch) Yes.
  Castle: Nice.
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- Beckett: What are you doing here?
  Castle: I found something. It's about Blakely.
  Beckett: Well, shouldn't you tell Sophia about it?
  Castle: She isn't my partner. You are.
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- Ryan: So...seriously, what's going on?
  Beckett: Guys, I'm sorry. We really can't talk about it.
  Esposito: Come on. This is us.
  Castle: No. Hey, sorry, boys. Classified. Top secret. Our eyes only. Defcon 1. And if I did tell you, well, then I'd have to kill you.
  Esposito: Yeah? Good luck with that.
  Castle: Yeah, realistically, that's not...
  Esposito: I'm gonna go on record and say that this sucks.
  Ryan: It sucks.
  Beckett: And noted.
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- Beckett: Sooner or later, we're gonna run out of air. We gotta get out of here.
  Castle: Well, maybe somebody will find us.
  Beckett: Castle, we are locked in the trunk of a car in long-term parking. It's gonna be hours before anyone realizes that we're missing. Who do you think is gonna find us?
  Castle: I just feel, in situations like this, it's important to have faith.
  Beckett: You pressed the panic button, didn't you?
  Castle: Well, if there was ever a time to panic, I think this was it.
  Beckett: I am...
  Castle: You should be thanking me.
  Beckett: No. I am not gonna be rescued by your girlfriend.
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- Capt. Gates: Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle, good of you to drop by. So tell me about this special assignment of yours.
  Beckett: I'm afraid I can't, sir.
  Capt. Gates: Excuse me?
  Castle: Yes, it's on a need-to-know basis.
  Capt. Gates: And I need to know.
  Beckett: Sir, I think that the chief of detectives would back me up on this one.
  Capt. Gates: Well... we'll see about that. (walks away)
  Castle: Did you see how mad she was? God, that was so good.
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- Alexis: Where is everybody?
  Lanie: We usually beat the uniforms to the scenes. It's not like they want to hurry and stand around.
  Alexis: Just so you know, I'm not letting this victim out of my sight.
  Lanie: Crazy.
  Alexis: What is?
  Lanie: The fact that Richard Castle, a man unburdened by regret and guilt, has a child that carries the weight of the world. It is not on you that a dead man came up missing.
  Alexis: Well, how often does something like that happen anyway?
  Lanie: It never happens, honey. So relax. It was a freak thing. Bodies just don't disappear.
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- Castle: (after seeing Alexis at the crime scene as an intership of medical examiner's office) My worlds are colliding.
  Beckett: You mean Alexis?
  Castle: You knew about this?
  Beckett: Come on, Castle. You're the one who said you wanted to find a way of spending more time with her.
  Castle: Not like this. This is my thing. This is our thing. It's a violation of church and state. This would be like me just showing up at her school and teaching.
  Beckett: I really think that you're overreacting.
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- Lanie: No ID, but lots of causes of death.
  Castle: You mean other than gravity?
  Lanie: Oh, yeah. See that bullet wound?
  Beckett: So he was shot before he fell?
  Lanie: And stabbed.
  Beckett: Shot and stabbed?
  Lanie: And choked, and has a pencil jammed in the side of his neck.
  Castle: Ah. Gives new meaning to the term overkill.
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NOTES (2)
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- Special billing was given to Jennifer Beals (Special Guest Star) for this episode.
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- Original International Air Dates:
  Canada: February 13, 2012 on CTV 2
  Australia: May 13, 2012 on Channel 7
  United Kingdom: June 13, 2012 on Alibi
  Germany: October 19, 2012 on Kabel 1
  Czech Republic: December 12, 2012 on Prima family
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ALLUSIONS (0)
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