Castle: Valkyrie (6x01)

Castle is back! And I really loved this opening episode. It was an unusually strong example of a show that has been going downhill over the last season or so.

We start off with Beckett accepting Castle's proposal. I really liked the way they did this - Beckett totally freaks out because she thought she was being dumped, and then she gets all excited about the proposal. But then she doesn't say yes right away, because she wants to tell Castle that she got the job in DC, and she's taking it. After much floundering, the two officially become engaged.

We cut to two months later. Beckett is in DC, and Castle is at home. Beckett is working on a case with her new partner - and hey, it's Dr. Cuddy from House! I mean... it's Lisa Edelstein. Her character's name is Rachel McCord. Anyway, they're working on a case, and Castle comes out to DC to surprise Beckett. They haven't seen each other in quite some time, and they are very... enthusiastic about reuniting.

The next morning, Beckett has to go work on a case. She can't tell Castle anything about it, of course, but he takes a peak at a piece of paper that Beckett accidentally left behind. He begins investigating the case, which involves a power outage and a robbery of a high security location. When Beckett and McCord catch him at a golf course talking to potential witnesses, things go wrong. Beckett could get in serious trouble because of Castle's meddling. McCord, however, who remembers a slip up she had when she first started, chooses to let Beckett off the hook.

Beckett was a bit upset at Castle at first, but he immediately says he'll back down. Just after getting off the phone with Beckett the next day, he his held at gunpoint by a man who had seen him talking to the Feds at the golf course. Castle gets in the car with the guy, of course, and the man starts yelling and talking nonsense, asking Castle if the Feds knew anything about him or about Valkyrie. Then... the guy dies. Right there behind the wheel. 

Castle gets brought in for questioning, but it's obvious that he has nothing to do with this. He agrees to go home, since he keeps getting in the way of the case.

To make a long story short, (too late) Beckett and McCall follow a woman who was dating the dead guy from the car, and through her they learn that the entire thing has been a setup. The thing that they thought the bad guys were after was just a distraction for what they were really after: some kind of deadly chemical weapon. That's what killed the guy in the car.

And... Castle has been exposed! As the episode ends, we find out that he only has one day left to live.

Before I comment on that, I'll briefly mention the subplots.

Ryan and Esposito don't have much to do this week. They help Castle out with Beckett's case (before they realize that it's a real case) and Esposito offers some new information about a ghost base that might have something to do with this whole mess. Ryan, meanwhile, is starting to prepare for impending fatherhood by practicing diaper change son a doll. So. Cute.

Alexis is home from her trip, and she brings a boy with her: Pi, a fruitarian. This guy cracked me up. Castle was really disturbed by his presence in the house, especially when he learned that he might be staying for quite a while... this subplot was a cute little hint at Alexis and Martha, but it didn't get a lot of time in the episode, because there were more important things to think about.

So. What do I like/not like about the main plot? Well, I love McCall. We needed another bad ass cop lady on this show. I liked the case. It was complicated without being too confusing. It focused a lot on the high-tech stuff and didn't go into crazy conspiracy theories like cases with Castle usually do. I liked all the plot twists. Mostly, I loved Castle and Beckett's relationship here. Castle interferes, Beckett is upset, Castle apologizes, and then actually stays out of it when he's asked to. When he gets pulled back in, it's through no fault of his own. I liked that Beckett didn't get all crazy mad at him. She understood that her fiance missed her and was feeling nostalgic for the good old days. She was feeling the same.

What don't I like? Well... the ending. Okay, so Castle's going to die? Yeah, I'm really sure that's going to happen. Given that the show is called Castle and we know there's going to be a full Season Six? I felt like it was an unnecessary way to up the drama here. The story was pulling itself along quite nicely. I was really enjoying seeing Beckett struggle with her new job, but still to good work. I was enjoying trying to piece together the case. And suddenly... oh no our main character is going to DIE! Because, please. No he's not. Beyond just some cute scenes of Beckett freaking out, what is this going to give us? It seems like an unnecessary path to take.

I suppose I'll attempt to reserve judgment until I see exactly how this plays out. Suffice it to say, I was a bit disappointed with the twist here. Other than that, this was a solid episode!

8/10