Castle: Fidelis Ad Mortem (8x15)

At this point, sadly, I'm actively hoping that Castle is cancelled after this season. I just get no joy out of it anymore. This episode, which had the theoretical components of a good episode, didn't do anything for me at all. Let's just dive right in.

Cons:

The basic plot is that a police academy recruit is murdered, and it looks like one of his fellow recruits killed him. Further investigation reveals that he had a connection to the Irish mob, and that he was trying to protect his secret girlfriend, also a recruit. The girl was actually the secret daughter of the mob boss. Honestly, this plot thread should have been really interesting. There could have been cool themes explored about loyalty between cops, the corruption in the system, the advantages and disadvantages of this harsh method of teaching... but nope. Just a corrupt cop skimming from the top, and a mob boss thrown into the mix.

Beckett was supposed to have this great connection with the girl whose father was the mob boss, but all of their interactions seemed flat. It wasn't either actress's fault... I just didn't care! Same goes for Beckett's connection to her old teacher. There just wasn't the same strength and bond there that we've gotten in the past with Beckett and other characters.

There was this one moment where Beckett told the recruits to access their emotions and be open with their teammates about their grief. I get the point - it's supposed to show that Beckett has grown as a person and now opens up where before she was closed off. But given her insultingly closed off and emotionless attitude this season, the moment felt very weak.

There wasn't enough Ryan and Espo in this episode, either. Like I said, this could have been a cool opportunity to explore the dynamics of cops and loyalty, but all of that was sidestepped for less interesting concerns.

The subplot this week involved Castle telling Beckett that he erased his memories of LokSat. She's upset, but decides not to take it out on Castle. Instead, the two of them just avoid talking about it and get drunk. Then, they both come to the same conclusion separately: they need to work together on this, and bring LokSat down. I do like some things about this plot thread, but I still hate the LokSat plot overall, and it drives me crazy that it took fifteen whole episodes for us to get to this very basic conclusion: Castle and Beckett should work together. I mean, my God. That simple sentiment really nails in how slow-moving and pointless most of this season has been.

Pros:

I did like a couple of things about the main plot - there was this scene where Beckett taught the recruits about interrogation techniques, and in the process actually interrogated them about the murder. Her psychological mind tricks were pretty good, and she was successful in uncovering a cop who was dealing steroids to the other recruits. Also, at the very end of the episode there was a wonderful moment where Beckett encouraged the recruit girl to stick with the program and become a cop. Like I said, I didn't really buy the connection between them, but this moment worked because Beckett says that the person who helped her get through it was Montgomery. Aw man, how long has it been since they've referenced him? That was very nice.

I also liked the fact that Hayley was Team Caskett all the way, constantly pushing Rick to tell Beckett what was going on and to work with her on the LokSat problem. As annoying as the plot thread is overall, I'm glad that at least Beckett and Castle are finally on the same page, and we hopefully won't have to deal with any more nonsense. The next step is to tell their friends and family that they're still together, and beg for their forgiveness. Seriously - if I were Ryan and Espo, I'd be furious when I found out.

There was a very brief moment with Martha in this episode, where we saw that her book has come out, with a very special dedication to Castle: "For Richard - Without your constant stumbles in life, the advice in this book would not have been possible." That was a charming and funny Martha moment. I want her around more!

So... there you have it. Another disappointing installment. I want this show to end before I become totally disenchanted with it.

5/10