Stana Katic

his week on “Castle,” Beckett investigates the death of her ex-partner. When she believes the suspect has fled to Los Angeles, she and Castle travel to the west coast against orders.  Along the way, they visit the set of the “Heat Wave” movie based on Castle’s book.  Is Beckett out for justice — or revenge?    Find out more in our review…

The Players:

• Director: John Terlesky
• Writer: Alexi Hawley
• Cast: Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, Jon Huertas, Seamus Dever, Molly C. Quinn, Susan Sullivan, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Tamala Jones, Dominic Purcell, D.B. Sweeney, Ryan Deal, Justice Gamble, P.J. Byrne, Gene Simmons

Episode Title: “To Live and Die in L.A.”After Beckett’s ex-partner Royce is shot, Chief Montgomery assigns the case to someone else, and she takes some vacation days to launch her own investigation.  With Castle along for the ride, they stop by Gene Simmons’ abode, drop by the set for “Heat Wave,” and get arrested by the LAPD. With Ryan and Esposito helping solve the case from New York, they eventually catch up with Royce’s killer.
The Good:

• Beckett’s Acting: Even though Beckett says that she will stick to being a cop instead of acting, her job as a cop requires her to act, for example, when she pretends to be a lawyer to interrogate a suspect without an arrest warrant. But our favorite role? The sexy swimsuit scene, of course!
• Team, or Family?: This week we saw the lines between team and family blur when Ryan, Esposito, and Lanie support Beckett’s renegade quest to find Royce’s killer. Even though their cooperation could cost them their jobs, they don’t hesitate to back her up. The unspoken element of trust between them all makes them more like a family than just coworkers.
• The Movie Set: Using the actual set used to film the show as the movie set in this episode was creative and, as usual, challenged our notion of reality versus fiction. Win!
• Caskett: Castle and Beckett have never been closer: talking about their feelings, joking on the airplane, sexual tension in the hotel. It was good to see Royce encourage their relationship since he is Beckett’s former lover and mentor.
• Justice Versus Revenge: We respect Beckett’s ability to distinguish between justice and revenge.  She has a level-headed awareness that Ganz’s fate lies in her hands, and her decision to take the high road is inspiring.

The So-So:

• Gene Simmons: Guest starring as himself, his acting performance was the weakest in the episode. Did we mention he was playing himself? Luckily, this didn’t take away from the overall awesomeness of the episode, and perhaps made us appreciate the seamless acting skills of the regular cast even more.

The Quotable:

• Esposito: “Hey Girl, how’s the weather…” Beckett: “Sunny, chance of ass kicking.”
• Castle: “In LA for a minute and already she’s spouting out cheesy movie dialogue.”
• Castle: “This is so weird. I dressed up as him for Halloween.” Beckett: “I did too.”
• Beckett: “This is under the radar?”
• Royce: “Putting the job above your heart is a mistake.”
• Castle: “Never…ever…call me kitten.”
• Castle: “You know what I thought when I first met you? That you were a mystery that I was never gonna solve. Even now, after spending all this time with you, I’m still amazed by the depths of your strength, your heart and your hotness.”

Overall:

Perhaps the best episode of the season, this week’s “Castle” episode was funny, sexy, and serious.  Some huge plot developments were made while exploring the notions of justice versus revenge and reality versus fiction.