"Castle": Less Banter and More Crime is Not a Winning Formula

In a departure from most "Castle" episodes, "Murder Most Fowl," was short on Castle-Beckett banter, Castle family subplots, and the introduction of the killer in the show's first fifteen minutes. In fact, this week's episode dealt less with a murder and more with the abduction of a child.

But let's face it, "Castle" is less about realistic crime drama, and more about the relationship between Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic), or Castle and his daughter Alexis (Molly Quinn), so while I appreciate writers who take chances and change up the delivery from time to time, messing with the chemistry of this show is never a good thing. That said, here is the break down on this week's episode.

The Murder

Loveable Lenny Levitt, an unsung, light bulb changing hero for the city takes one in the chest and two in the back from a Glock 45. Lucky for Detective Beckett and her friends at the homicide division, Lenny doubles as a bird watching aficionado when he is not saving NYC from faulty subway light bulbs. This pastime requires a camera, one which Lenny uses to take pictures of his murderer, a mystery man he catches in the act of kidnapping a 12 year old boy.

The detectives catch a further break when the thug who shoots Lenny conveniently leaves behind the bird watchers camera. This piece of the puzzle is solved by Castle when he realizes that all bird watchers like Lenny usually carry a camera to document their finding.

The Rest of the Plot

After they find the camera with a picture of the murderer and the kidnapped child, the gang is able to piece together a story line which involves the child's father, a building superintendent who is needed by the bad guys to break into an office. Using a clue that the child leaves behind in a proof of life video, Beckett and Castle find the child in a subway utility room. Then, using a breaker box that Lenny designed, Castle pulls a switch that throws the tunnel into darkness and gives Beckett a clean shot at the hood holding a gun on the child. All is wrapped up in the final minutes and the child is reunited with his dad.

Alexis subplot

Typically the show offers a better subplot, but this week time was short, and we are left with a secondary plot in which Alexis is babysitting a white rat for her boyfriend Ashley. Though on most occasions she is a perfect child, Alexis is a horrible rat sitter, and promptly loses her boyfriends pet when she leaves the cage open. Filled with teenage angst, Alexis begins to fear that Ashley will hate her for losing his prized pet. However, Ashley, probably wanting to be a continual guest star on the show, promptly forgives Alexis assuring her she is more valuable than any pet rat.

What were the Writers Thinking Moment

It is revealed that Lenny has changed over one million light bulbs during his public service career. Even if this unsung hero of the city were to change 10 light bulbs an hour every day for a year, it would take him 50 years to change out one million light bulbs. Do writers just not do the math on shows like this?

Castle-Beckett Moment

The pickings were slim this week for a good Castle-Beckett moment. Perhaps the closest they came to having good banter was when Beckett tells Castle that the difference between her and him is that, he sees the subway as "a place to pick up dialog for your novel," while she sees it as a way to get from point A to point B. Yes, I know, this is very weak, but it can't always be about the banter and romantic undertones, after all this is a crime drama darn it!

Sources:

Castle Website