Castle

Not a very original story but it's atmospheric enough to work with the bet in the background. The bet itself is very funny, with the entire station in on it. The opening scene is hilarious.



There is never any doubt that Alexis is Castle's daughter – there's nothing of her mother in her at all! Solving the mystery of her boyfriend's 'chance' meeting with an old 'friend' – she spends way too much time with her father!



The 'Strangers on a Train' idea is a good one but it never works – it relies completely on trusting a stranger and one of them is bound to crack. Not to mention trusting that the other person will actually follow through. Theoretically, if both didn't talk then the cases would be almost impossible to convict without non-circumstantial evidence. In this case, the only thing that tipped the cops off that the cases were connected was the related water content and there's no way the killers could have predicted that.



A funny episode and though not a very creative solution, it's still an interesting case.

It soon becomes the best way to pass time in the career that tends to suck the soul out from you. It only takes Castle to turn a profession into a dance lesson.



To top it of from a blast of a season premiere, 'Castle' found a way to make it all comedy and a whole ball of fun.



Who knew that placing a bet on two completely different crimes would turn out to be linked. Two complete strangers planning a murder was quite clever, but they must have really hated their counterparts enough to arrange for them to be murdered. I knew the husband axed his wife from the moment he began squirting out fake tears and regretting not professing his love to her. Somehow his words of love for his wife came off cold and lacked any sense of emotion, which was why I was shocked when he was marked at a game around the time of her murder.



We didn't really grasp why he hated his wife so much, nor should we care. These strangers would have to live with the guilt of concocting a slightly flawless plan and going behind bars when all fell through. Be careful who you talk to on board your daily boat detour, you wouldn't really know what stranger you could trust with your life.



It is almost amazing that every mid-life crisis Castle's daughter faces, she always gives an antidote for his poison. She finds a way to give Castle some life changing advice which inadvertently turns out to be the solution to his crime solving problems. It was all for the best she got rid of her boyfriend, he was really becoming a bit of a bore. Props to Castle's mother's acting skills, I really wondered if she finally had a screw loose.



Quotes



Castle: "You know if this was one of those super sci-ency forensic shows you could stick some electrodes in these fishes brains get a fish eyed view of whatever they saw"

(I wonder if he would be the detective on that show)



'The Double Down' was filled with elaborate humor and the title could have easily given away the entire plot, but whenever you've got Castle in a scene, one would tend to crack up rather than focus on the guilty. Who knew such a Romeo could cause you to break out a laugh for centuries. I was really looking forward to see him with that dress and shaved head. Oh Well.



Lexa Reviews

http://lexabuti.blogspot.com

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Five Stars



Grade A-



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Another epi for Castle, which is one of the top 5 shows I've come to look forward to during the week. We really needed a good, solid detective show and Castle doesn't disappoint, in fact it gets more and more entertaining with each installment.



In this one Beckett crumples her strict image a little bit, when she gets carried away to participate in a bet with Ryan and Esposito, as to which duo will manage to solve their murder first. The cases become entangled however, and Hitchcock's classic murder switch hits us when we least expect it to. Even if it's an invention used in police shows many times, the writers and the actors manage to drive the viewer's attention away so that when the revelation comes they don't expect it at all. When Castle, Beckett, Ryan and Esposito look at the board in a puzzled look, we are just as puzzled as them and have no clue as to the solution. Now let's wait for the next one!

I love Hitchcock and I loved "Strangers on a Train." It is truly a unique story, or at least it was the first time when Hitchcock created it. But it seems that every successful crime TV show has to do its own iteration of the "Strangers on a Train" storyline so that now it's become a cliche. "CSI" did it ("A Night at the Movies", "Law and Order" did it ("C.O.D."), and now "Castle" has done it with "The Double Down." Castle acknowledges the connection himself with a subtle line about "strangers on a boat."



The only thing different about this "Strangers on a Train" homage is that it didn't dictate the whole story; in fact, it only emerged in the last 20 minutes of the episode. The rest of the story centered around a bet over whose murder case would get solved first, a bet ironic in that the two murder cases were actually intertwined. So in that way at least, "The Double Down" took an old story and made it new.

Castle is back. I'm not sure if I'm going crazy or something but I remember that scene with the guy on the tree.. I dunno if there were some scenes shown after the last episode or just some new season flashes.. lol



Well, I thought things would be a lot different between Beckett and Castle but as the first season was done in the spring, I assume this episode takes place like a few days after the season 1 finale.



Of couse it was obvious that they wouldn't "break up".. nor would she stay mad at him for too long. I may be over analysing things but some stuff in tv shows just don't make me go all anxious anymore. Like writers won't kill Jack Bauer, Beckett and Castle won't break up their partnership.. or there won't be a show... oh well



Anyways, Castle is back, back again.. he is back.. tell a friend.. lol

I'm glad this show got picked up for a second season. Hopefully we'll see them get more into the interesting Beckett's mom's case..



Cheers!

***** Spoilers *****



Unfortunately the betting gave away the ending before the detectives really got to it. There was no way when they escalated the bet to shaved heads and dresses that either of them were going to lose. Also it's a classic murder story. Hitchcock and a number of writers have told tales similar to this.



Two people meet who both want to get rid of someone. They are totally unrelated in so many ways. They only meet and talk a few times and they plan the murders. Both have iron clad alibi's for the murders they will be suspects for unfortunately for them both there is a slight thing that always connects them in the end. In this case it was the water.



It became obvious when they brought them in to meet and discuss the possibility the murders were connected. Even the negative comments seemed made to throw the police off the trail.



It's amazing that Hudson River water would connect the two men. It's taken less than that to convict people before. You knew they would figure out how to get one to roll and that's all it took.



Enjoyable episode with some good acting on everyone's part. Castle truly is part of the team and really no longer an outsider. Of course he gets sage advice from his daughter on this case which helps him help the detectives solve the case. Next weeks episode looks really good with the models. Till then, thanks for reading...