So I've just started watching Castle, even though it's been on the air for over four years, and the first thing I'd like to say is that I've been missing out. This is a good series, and it stars Nathan Fillion who is an alumnus of Joss Whedon shows Firefly, and Buffy. How did I let this show go for so long without giving it a try? I think it has to do with the genre, since I'm a little wary of cop shows, but this show is more than that. I think this show succeeds in a lot of areas that Bones fails. It is constantly surprising me, as so far I only have about a 30% success rate with predicting who the killer is, it is very funny with Nathan Fillion hitting the material out of the park, and I think the two leads have even more chemistry than Booth and Bones did, and I was a big fan of them.
First off, I love the initial setup of Castle. It's classic. You've got the main character Rick Castle going through his own personal crisis of having writer's block, and then you're introduced to a serial killer who is using Castle's books to inspire his kill scenes, thus drawing him into the mystery as a person of interest, and leading to him pulling strings to make himself a permanent fixture in the police department as he both attempts to help Beckett and also to draw inspiration from her for his new character Nikki Heat, who is rather blatantly based on her.
Another major part of the show is Castle's relationships with his daughter Alexis and his mother who is living with him, Martha. They both represent a good chance for comic relief, but also round Castle out as a character, and prevent him from just being a single white guy obsessed with murder. Because that would be creepy.
In season one, Castle is presented as being mostly a goofball, although a helpful one. To me, it's his relationship with his daughter Alexis that prevents him from diving too far off the deep end into silly. Her intelligence and conservative nature balances him out, and gives him a foil. It also shows that he's been very successful as a single father which helps us take Castle seriously.
Beckett is presented as the romantic lead, but also as the actual detective, and so far they're walking a thin line of how good at her job she actually is. In order for Castle to be useful, which is important to the show's plot working, she has to need him in some way, which at times weakens her own skills, but I think the writers handle this nicely by making Castle and Beckett often arrive at conclusions at the same time. Honestly they seem more supplementary than complementary in that regard, but I guess he helps provide financial resources, while she seems to specialize at dealing with victims and interrogating suspects.
Detectives Ryan and Esposito don't get a lot of depth in the show, as for the most part they just seem like backup and comic relief, but they're good background players, and I hope we get more of them in the future.
As for an overall arc for the season, or maybe the show in general. That seems to be taken by the mystery of Beckett's mother's murder, which is only advanced a little in this season, and ends with Beckett calling off her partnership with Castle after Heat Wave is finished.
Best Episode: "Hedge Fund Homeboys" I liked the constant twists in this episode, and I thought the young sociopath was an interesting character, and thought we could have gotten more out of him if this show used recurring villains at all.
Worst Episode: "Always Buy Retail" I didn't feel like there was a lot of personal connection with the case and what was going on with Castle and his wife, although I did enjoy their interactions. Honestly I didn't hate this episode, and I've actually really enjoyed the season in general, but this episode was the weakest of the lot for me.
Prediction: Beckett or Castle will enter a multi episode relationship to put an obstacle between the two of them getting together, because it's too early for that.
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