Castle: The G.D.S. (8x14)

Blarghhhh why. Why would you do an episode without Beckett? I'm disappointed. That being said, there were one or two really great things about this episode. In all, I'm sort of torn...

Cons:

The main plot was not a winner. Basically, Castle goes to LA to try and find out what happened during his missing months. He brings Hayley and Alex along with him. While there, Castle is tapped by a secret organization of detectives called the "GDS" to help solve a murder of one of their members. Castle and another potential recruit, played by Summer Glau, are tasked with solving the case in order to win their own spot in the GDS. I really don't even feel like getting into details of the case, since it was mostly stupid. They uncover a bicoastal serial killer whose victims are in New York and Los Angeles. This is all tied up with a movie studio, since the murder weapon ends up being a prop knife. Turns out, there are two serial killers working together. One of them is a studio executive who Castle has a personal grudge against for ruining the Nikki Heat movie. In the end, Castle solves the case, but when the GDS offers him a place among them, he turns it down and tells them they should give it to Summer Glau's character instead. He has his own team to get back to in New York.

What a waste of Summer Glau. I mean, come on. There was this whole bit where she and Hayley went undercover as a couple and went into a suspect's house while Castle looked around for the murder weapon. This could have been played for laughs, and I think indeed we were supposed to find it funny, but it didn't hit the mark at all. And then Castle beat his adversary, because he has to be the best, of course, but then he gets to benevolently bequeath the spot on the GDS to her? So cheesy. For that matter, the very idea of the GDS is ridiculous. The Great Detective Society? Are you serious? In what way would that actually be a viable organization? The reveal of the killer was also painful, because they tried to play it off as a joke. I don't think we had a single moment in the whole episode that portrayed the gravitas of the situation. Both killers were maniacal to the point of total absurdity, and I never felt scared or sad about any of it.

The other reason for the trip to LA was to find out about Castle's missing months. I actually did like a number of things about this plot thread, which I'll get to in a minute... but in the end we get this really insulting bit where Castle watches a video he himself made before he got his mind erased, telling him that he can never go digging for the information he found, because it could get Kate killed. Apparently, Castle found out something about LokSat. I swear I've got like a Pavlovian response to the word LokSat now. Every time they bring it up, the quality of an episode just drops. I guess I just wish we could power through this unfortunate plot device and be done with it, instead of dragging it on and making it even bigger.

Pros:

That being said, I did like the Hayley twist. Basically, Alexis goes poking around in her father's missing months while Castle is busy solving the murder. Alexis finds a picture of somebody involved in Castle's disappearance... and Hayley is in the picture! Dun dun dun... we learn that Hayley had been hired by Richard's father to look after him, and she actually knew all about his secret mission and was keeping tabs on him. Then, however, he went off the grid, giving away the watch with the tracking device Hayley had put on him, and thus vanishing. Castle then found Hayley and told her to never tell Castle what had happened once he got his memory erased. He also gave Hayley the video, to be shown to future Castle if he refused to stop digging.

The revelation that Castle and Hayley knew each other before was really interesting. I liked the part where Alexis found out. She felt so betrayed by Hayley, and can you blame her? Still, the reason that Hayley lied becomes clear before long, and the fact that she stayed around to keep an eye on Alexis and Castle was actually rather sweet. I do like Alexis and Hayley's friendship, and hope we see more of it going forward.

There was also a subplot in this episode that I found quite funny. Back in New York, Ryan and Esposito are investigating the New York side of the serial killer case. Lanie approaches Ryan and asks him for a favor: she's been seeing a new guy, and wants a background check done on him. She asks Ryan not to tell Esposito. Espo finds out, however, and to torture Lanie a bit for trying to hide it, the two decide to mess with her. Ryan tells Lanie that her new guy has a clown fetish, and then later that he wets the bed. Later, Lanie finds out the truth because she confronts the guy about these things. She breaks up with him because he tells her about an actual fetish he has, which freaks her out. She tortures the boys a bit, hitting them with a blast from a fire extinguisher.

I mean I won't lie... there were some problems with this subplot, namely that it related so little to the main plot, and that there wasn't even a flimsy excuse for Beckett's absence. But I don't really care, because at least this comedy actually hit its mark. What with all the failed jokes over in the main plot, I appreciated the opportunity to actually laugh. At first I thought this plot thread was going to follow predictable patterns. Ryan would try to hide the background check from Espo, hijinks would ensue. Instead, they subverted my expectations, and the hijinks ensued after Espo already knew. That was pretty great. And I'm glad Lanie got her revenge on them, too. Seriously, boys. Act your age.

That's about all I've got for this one. Not a good episode, unfortunately. Even with the focus on Alexis, a funny subplot, and a great twist for Hayley, I still wasn't feeling it.

5.5/10