Castle, Series 4

Phantom fireflies

Sometimes it’s good when subtlety goes out the window from the very start. Never a programme known for its quiet contemplation in the first place, Castle enjoys a stonking big machismo filled guest star in the form of Adam Baldwin. Many may recognise him from his role in Chuck recently, but this man mountain first came to many people’s attention as gun toting and mortally bendy space pirate Jayne in Firefly… alongside a certain Mr Nathan Fillion, who now has his very own quirky detective programme you might know – Castle. The power team re-unites!

Obviously there wasn’t the same sparky Joss Whedon dialogue (him that scripted Buffy, Firefly, Angel and this year’s blockbuster Avengers Assemble) but it was good to see them trading blows – sometimes literally – again, the 6’4” guest towering over the usual pretty statuesque 6’1” Fillion. You can just see some power banter between the two, this time Baldwin playing the chief to Fillion’s follower as he guests as the appropriately named Detective Slaughter.

“The Jamaican patois made Tekken’s Eddy Gordo sound authentic”

You see, Rick Castle is a crime writer who has partnered up with New York Detective Beckett for some crime inspiration and unresolved sexual tension. Only this week Beckett is busy getting a case ready for trial and Castle just can’t seem to get his inspiration juices going – until he sees Slaughter on the evening news growling at the camera. After a barter of a coat and a favour, they’re buddying up cosy as ever and tracking down some criminal gang activities involving severed heads, and ropey dialects. Alright, so the ropey dialects were an unspoken crime, but the Jamaican patois made Tekken’s Eddy Gordo sound authentic.

All neatly tied up in an hour (including advert breaks), this was a late season break from the ongoing tension between Castle and Beckett, highlighting that he’s not the Alpha male he thinks he is. Nice touch getting halfway to offering the 100 per cent testosterone Slaughter a cappuccino before realising the error of his ways. Appreciate the rule-keeping, watching-your-back, doesn’t-ogle-your-teenage-daughter partner you’ve got, because there’s a reason the gung-ho giant is called The Widowmaker. Yes, it really is that ridiculous. But fun with it.

When you’ve got a standalone episode with as little impact on the series’ story arc as this one, this far into the series run, it’s pretty clear the next two episodes are going to form the double barrel to a season finale. This was the comic relief, the blank slate, the even ground from which to launch the crescendo. And a very nice one it was too. Especially for those of us that are thankful for a little twist in the casting tale.
Castle, Series 4, episode 21, Alibi, Wednesday 25 July 2012