Castle “Dial M for Mayor” 

The reason this week’s Castle was so intriguing was because it brought back into play one of the secrets that exists between Castle and Beckett. It all started with a case that threatened to destroy the city’s mayor, who happens to be a FOC. That would be a Friend of Castle. An ex-professor was murdered and no one could explain how her life went from a classroom to working in a sex shop in six short months. What resulted was a web of conspiracies and dangerous alliances. The mayor was innocent but it didn’t matter. The bad press alone was enough to squash any urges to run for governor. Poor guy. He seemed like a good man and he was railroaded out of an election simply because some secret group of people deemed it to be.

While the eventual culprit was a bit predictable, the most memorable moments had to do with Beckett and Castle. They were sort of at odds but at the same time they were both trying to protect the other. Iron Gates confronted Kate about Castle’s connection to the mayor. Beckett wasn’t having it. She said she could handle things. This was great because Castle was definitely worried about what would happen if the mayor went down for the count and ended up being the murderer. If the mayor was no longer around, then Gates would have the perfect opportunity to get rid of Castle. And while Kate told Rick not to make this all about him, part of it really was. Even Ryan and Esposito were thinking about the consequences of the mayor’s possible guilt.

Castle was adamant his politician friend was innocent but Kate still had to do her job. She had to investigate all leads even if said leads painted the mayor in a less-than-flattering light. There came a point where she couldn’t ignore what she thought were the facts:

“Castle, I’m sorry but you can’t be objective on this one so I’m going to have to pursue it on my own.”

This was a little hard to watch but even as Beckett and Castle disagreed, there was nothing to worry about. It certainly wasn’t an overly heated type of situation. What will eventually turn heated is when Beckett finds out about Castle’s mystery man. The one so connected he knew all about this case and back in the Season 4 premiere, he warned Castle to keep Beckett away from continuing to investigate her mother’s murder. He had a bit of a perplexing conversation with Castle after the novelist inquired about needing to know who wanted to destroy the mayor:

“Trust me when I say it’s not your concern.” “It is when it involves Beckett or her mother’s murder.” “You’re a writer, finish this sentence: If Weldon had been run out of office…” “I’d be gone from the 12th Precinct.” “And then who’d keep Beckett from looking into things she shouldn’t? Who’d keep her out of harm’s way?” “So you did this to protect her? Why?”

Yeah, I’m not quite sure what to make of this conversation. Who is this guy? How is he so connected? What does it all have to do with Beckett’s mom? And most importantly, how long is Beckett going to be in the dark? I’m really glad Geoff Pierson‘s mystery man made an appearance. It reminds me that we’re in the second half of the season so that means we have to be that much closer to getting answers, right? Right.

Some Random Thoughts

• Back in Season 3’s “The Final Nail,” he thought his friend Damian Westlake was innocent of killing his wife. And he was. However, he was guilty of killing his own father. In “Dial M for Mayor,” I kept flashing back to this episode. So I was beyond happy the writers thought about it too.

• We got a little character development in the form of some back story on Captain Victoria Gates. We knew she was in Internal Affairs but we did not know she came from a family cops. Suddenly I’m thinking about that Lifetime show that got cancelled called Against the Wall.

• I loved when Beckett called Esposito “Espo.” Don’t know why I just did.

Some Favorite Lines (courtesy of “Dial M for Mayor” writer: Christine Boylan)

• “What girl in her 20s doesn’t have a cell phone?” “Maybe she’s Amish.”

• “Step back? He’s a politician. He can’t order at a restaurant without two compromises and an ultimatum.”

• “She went from professor to janitor? That’s Good Will Hunting but in reverse.”

• “Officer and a gentleman. That could be the name of our crime blog.” “Crime blog? The way that you help me write police reports? Got a feeling I’ll be writing that one on my own.”

• “What is this place?” “I’d say it’s about $4.99 a minute. It’s not a sweat shop. It’s a sex shop.”

• “Some guys need a morning jolt. Some guys need an afternoon pick me up.” “Someone should have told them coffee’s cheaper.”

• “Brown cashmere. So we can narrow our suspects down to rich men with impeccable taste.” “Are you saying you’re a suspect?” “Alexis is my alibi.”

• “Castle, you can’t make this one about you.”

• “In that case, maybe it’s time to phone a friend.”

Rewind and Repeat: Martha’s King Lear Moment by Lisa M.

Our rewind and repeat moment comes courtesy of guest poster Lisa M., who also hosts the podcast, Castle Fan Radio:

I couldn’t stop watching the scene at the beginning with Martha doing her version of King Lear. The first thing I thought was how funny it was and then how Alexis went in to see her dad and asked about doing an internship. It surprised me that this scene was one that I kept rewinding, but there were several Castle and Beckett moments that I re-watched too.

I love how Susan Sullivan brings Martha to life every week. She is always so over the top but I love her character. Her lines and scenes always seem to be well done and well written.

Overall, I loved the episode this week – more so than last week’s episode, which surprised me.

Castle airs Mondays at 10/9c on ABC.