Castle: The Human Factor (5x23)

I don't know what it is, but this episode just didn't do much for me. It might have been the extreme political bent involved. The subject of drone strikes is a rather sensitive one, and here it was played for laughs, or as a completely ridiculous and fantastical thing. But it's not. I mean, yeah, I don't think the government is going to be dropping drones on civilian cars any day soon, but the reality of these bombs in a lot of people's lives was virtually ignored here.

The reveal of the murderer was not handled very well either. Sean, the victim's son, was acting sketchy from the minute he was introduced, but they had to go through a few other obligatory suspects before pinning him with the crime. Esposito and Ryan basically got no role this week, and Alexis and Martha were completely absent.

We also have this fancy new character coming in to the mix and messing up their investigation with the government's hush-hush agenda. I liked him at first, but then I realized that I've seen this character before a dozen times. He is charming, he is a bit abrasive, but he's good at what he does. He's also connected to really powerful people, and at the end of the episode he offers Beckett a job working for the attorney general. 

Again, this is a tired storyline. Beckett will obviously consider taking the job but it will put a strain on her relationship with Castle, blah blah blah. Since we know there's going to be a sixth season, I sincerely doubt that Beckett is going anywhere that she couldn't take Ryan, Espo, and Castle with her.

There were some nice parts, here and there. Beckett and Castle's relationship is always adorable and their banter never ceases to amuse me. I liked the theme in here about Castle's cowardice. One of my very favorite things about this whole show is how its protagonist is portrayed as a very typical and a very atypical man. He likes playing video games and he certainly likes women a lot, but he's also something of a wimp when it comes to putting himself in danger. Many television shows don't like to show too much weakness in their protagonists, but Castle seems to show a pretty realistic portrayal of what it would be like to be in these dangerous situations.

It makes for some good laughs, of course, such as when Beckett scares him with the rise of the machines thing, or when he tries to declare himself a hero after shooting down the advancing plane.

The other good part of the episode was the character Warburg. In many ways, he was the stereotypical genius uni-bomber, but he was a funny character despite the cliche. I liked his crazy security system and his moral fortitude.

This isn't the longest or most detailed of reviews, because this episode just didn't have much going for it. I guess I figured that the buildup to the finale would be something a bit more epic, and while I think they were trying to to pick a serious sort of topic, it fell flat due to being played for laughs. The rest of the humor was alright, but it wasn't an episode that I care to remember. I hope the finale is better!

4/10