Castle: Like Father, Like Daughter (6x07)

Well, damn. Last week I was complaining about Alexis' story line, and now I'm eating my words in a big way. This was actually a fantastic episode in my opinion. Flawless? No, but it was probably the strongest episode we've had this season. So, let's get started with the plot.

Alexis and her professor are investigating a death row case in Pennsylvania. Alexis has formed a connection with the accused man and his girlfriend, and is very upset when the exoneration is denied. In desperation, Alexis decides to go to one person she knows is good at finding answers: Castle. She's still mad at her father, but she knows he's good at this sort of thing. Castle is thrilled to be working on a case with his daughter, because he thinks it will give him an opportunity to repair things between them. However, Alexis is all business, and doesn't want to talk about their relationship.

The case is a very interesting one, and because it happened so long ago, they have to deal with unique challenges in attempting to solve it. The accused man says he found the victim already dead, but all signs point to him being the murderer. Castle and Alexis dig into the case, discovering hints that at first point to the accused man's brother being the murderer. Apparently, he had been in a bad accident and had issues afterwards. The accused man, it is revealed, has believed all this time that his brother was responsible for the woman's death, and decided to take the blame in order to spare his little brother. A second twist reveals that it was in fact a member of the local law enforcement who had killed the young girl all those years ago to cover up for a meth operation.

The biggest flaw in the episode was probably the double fake out... I was following it for a while and then I found myself rolling my eyes when some big drug and police conspiracy got involved. It was maybe just a bit too complicated for a plot that was so tightly focused on the characters. Something simpler might have been a bit more appropriate. But... to be honest, that's a nitpick.

Now, let's talk about these characters. First of all, this episode was really light on Esposito, Ryan, and Beckett. They basically just helped out when they could with the case, but had very little else going on. I liked seeing Lanie in this one, and it was nice that everyone was so willing to help Alexis, even if they didn't think she had much of a chance. Beckett and Alexis have a moment where they talk out their relationship and hug, but we see it from Castle's perspective and thus don't get to hear anything. I was happy to see this because I think the Alexis and Beckett relationship has been perhaps a bit too weakly developed in the past. Hopefully this strengthening familial bond will continue between the two of them.

Then there are the guest characters. Normally, I wouldn't have much to say about this, but I was actually more invested in the accused guy and his girlfriend than I think I've ever been for the random one-off characters in a procedural cop show. The accused guy was a really great character. His girlfriend was perhaps a bit ordinary, but her love for her boyfriend was really sincere. The mother of the victim was properly angry and bitter about the past. Even the father of the actual murderer was more than just a corrupt cop. He was a genuinely sympathetic character who seemed truly horrified when he found out what his son had done. And the brother of the accused guy... oh man. When the exoneration went through, the two of them shared a tearful embrace that actually choked me up a little bit. I don't know what it was, but the guest actors in this episode were really something else.

Alexis and Castle were of course the focus of this episode, however, and I think their relationship was handled very well... for the most part. It started off with Castle trying to act like nothing was wrong, but Alexis shutting him down. It then evolved into the two of them working very well together on the case, playing to each other's strengths as investigators in order to come up with new answers. However, I think their reconciliation happened a bit too quickly. As the stress of the case builds, Alexis says she's sorry, and her dad says that he's the one who should be sorry, blah blah blah you know the conversation. Last week, I wasn't happy about the fight between Castle and Alexis. But, this week, I was starting to get excited about the possibilities it provided for the story. Now, it's been wrapped up a bit too quickly for my taste.

Despite ending on a negative, note, I honestly enjoyed this episode immensely. The acting was great, the plot was pretty solid, and it allowed the lovely Molly Quinn (Alexis) to step forward and shine.

8/10