I have mixed feelings about this "Castle" segment, not a jump-the-shark outing but clearly a departure from the series' various premises. The IMDb leads off with "Comedy" among the show's genres, but by design there were zero yocks this time out.
Also missing in action are Castle's family, his mom & daughter who add so much life to the series, probably a calculated scripting ploy. Instead we have intense, quite melodramatic focus on Beckett and her life-sapping neuroses recovering from a near-death shooting, and having to hunt a sniper on the loose in Manhattan.
Stana Katic carries the story -she looks different (careful makeup & hairdo work to achieve the effect) and her acting is strong. I was surprised to see that Jon Huertas was elevated in effect to the male lead -Fillion was present and doing his thing, but faded into the background a bit as Huertas asserted himself and literally saved the day.
There's nothing wrong with trying for a serious tone in a series like this, and I particularly appreciated the strong scenes of Katic and her shrink, which pointed towards further examination of the depths of Beckett's character (especially her mania for resolving the case of her mother's killing) in the future.
But eliminating of the banter, romantic innuendo, light touch and self-mocking tone that has made "Castle" a fan favorite was a mistake in my opinion. It would be like tacking on a late '40s entry in the Nick & Nora theatrical THIN MAN series done in classic film noir fashion -one could imagine William Powell pulling it off (just as Dick Powell proved to be an unlikely but memorable film noir hero), but what a horrible idea that would have been!
One more criticism: if the writers are serious about getting serious, I wish they would take the time to beef up or spotlight Penny Johnson Jerald's character. She is merely functional, barking out orders and presenting a strong facade, but this is purely 1-dimensional. Obviously her "24" role of the president's wife was a career peak, but more significantly it permitted her the chance for bravura acting, shading and creating a villain of Shakespearean depth. To waste her in a token "tough-talking boss" walk-through is ridiculous.
Also missing in action are Castle's family, his mom & daughter who add so much life to the series, probably a calculated scripting ploy. Instead we have intense, quite melodramatic focus on Beckett and her life-sapping neuroses recovering from a near-death shooting, and having to hunt a sniper on the loose in Manhattan.
Stana Katic carries the story -she looks different (careful makeup & hairdo work to achieve the effect) and her acting is strong. I was surprised to see that Jon Huertas was elevated in effect to the male lead -Fillion was present and doing his thing, but faded into the background a bit as Huertas asserted himself and literally saved the day.
There's nothing wrong with trying for a serious tone in a series like this, and I particularly appreciated the strong scenes of Katic and her shrink, which pointed towards further examination of the depths of Beckett's character (especially her mania for resolving the case of her mother's killing) in the future.
But eliminating of the banter, romantic innuendo, light touch and self-mocking tone that has made "Castle" a fan favorite was a mistake in my opinion. It would be like tacking on a late '40s entry in the Nick & Nora theatrical THIN MAN series done in classic film noir fashion -one could imagine William Powell pulling it off (just as Dick Powell proved to be an unlikely but memorable film noir hero), but what a horrible idea that would have been!
One more criticism: if the writers are serious about getting serious, I wish they would take the time to beef up or spotlight Penny Johnson Jerald's character. She is merely functional, barking out orders and presenting a strong facade, but this is purely 1-dimensional. Obviously her "24" role of the president's wife was a career peak, but more significantly it permitted her the chance for bravura acting, shading and creating a villain of Shakespearean depth. To waste her in a token "tough-talking boss" walk-through is ridiculous.