Castle: That '70s Show (6x20)

Bahahaha. What the hell did I just watch. That was the weirdest thing ever. I'm pretty sure this episode was about gay '70s gangsters. Um. Yeah. Let's go ahead and go through the plot.

So, a construction crew unearths a body that was buried in concrete in the '70s. They identify him as Vince Bianchi, a crime boss who famously went missing years ago. Vince's consigliere, Harold Leon, is still alive, but he is senile and is stuck back in the '70s, refusing to accept that time has passed since his friend's death. So, in order to get him to reveal what he remembers about that night, everyone has to pretend it's the '70s. This works for a while, but when a hit man comes to try and kill Harold, things start going wrong.

Harold remembers that the night Vince died, he went to a specific club, so they take him there to help jog his memory further. Harold then pulls a gun on one of the other old crime bosses, revealing that he understands what year it is now, and that he wants revenge for Vince's death. Eventually, more of the truth comes out: Vince and Harold were in love. Vince was going to propose to someone the night that he died, but he couldn't go through with it because of his love for Harold. Turns out, the woman that Vince was supposed to propose to is the one who killed him. She's now married to someone else in the old crime families.

Along the way, Castle and Beckett have to deal with Martha, who wants to be involved in the wedding and keeps coming up with really extravagant ideas that the future bride and groom both hate. They give her the task of transforming the precinct into the '70s, which she takes very seriously. She goes so far as to hire actors and hand out scripts so that the entire thing will look very authentic.

So... complaints? Yeah, I mean... the premise of this was a bit over the top. And that can be really fun at times, but there were bits and pieces that I really just didn't buy. Like, there's this moment at the very end where they all go out to a '70s disco to send Vince off in proper style. We see Harold dancing, and I think we're supposed to think it's... sweet, or whatever, but it just looked awkward.

And for that matter, it's not like Vince and Harold were upstanding citizens. I felt like this whole episode we were supposed to feel really bad for the two of them, and we're supposed to coo at their adorable, forbidden love or something. These guys were in the mob! They were responsible for a lot of really bad crap! It's annoying, because I feel like it's barely mentioned here.

But you know... maybe I should stop taking everything so seriously. This episode was really silly and really fun. Some favorite moments? Lanie in that dress. Damn girl, you're working it. And I loved how she adopted the lingo and just got into character. Espo's reaction was pretty classic, too.

Captain Gates! She was away from the office and she left Beckett in charge, and when she comes back, it's to find her entire office in full-on '70s mode. She was not happy. It was really funny that she came out dancing with them in the end, though.

Ryan and Esposito dress up as two famous cops from the '70s, taking on the persona of two of the most ridiculously dressed '70s stereotypes you will ever see. It was great fun.

Martha's crazy over-the-top flower arrangements reminded me of the episode of Friends where Phoebe is put in charge of cups and ice, so she does a party entirely themed with those two items. Martha is told she can help with flowers, so she tries to design the entire wedding with flowers in mind. It was pretty funny.

I did like the reveal that Harold and Vince were in love. It was a good twist that I didn't see coming, and it added a lot of complexity to Harold's character.

I guess I'll leave it there. This was one of the weirder episodes of Castle that I've ever seen... but I did get a lot of enjoyment out of it!

7.5/10