After Hours ~ Scene One
Foggy darkness gives way to sinister light....someone is running…. in what appears to be an abandoned building; being chased by an unknown figure. We get just enough light to see that it appears to be a priest. What or who is he running from, and why? The words… “I came like you asked…” BOOM! Gunshot! At the same moment, the oven door is cracking open at the Castle loft. Martha is pulling out her prized desert in honor of their gathering, with all the larger-than-life voice intonations and dramatic flair that we have come to know and love! We expect nothing less of the eccentric red-head whom Castle calls “Mother”. Thus Castle opens with eerie case intrigue paralleled with the concurrent drama at the loft, precinct or with our darling duo, as we all know, recognize, and have come to love as the opening of classic Castle!
We see that Castle and Beckett have apparently set up a dinner date; a night for their parents to get acquainted, and it doesn’t take long to realize that it is not going as they had planned. In fact, it appears to be a train wreck of an evening, and Martha’s “Death by Chocolate Dessert” is perhaps a better way to go than by being “killed” with cutting remarks and disguised insults!! ROFL! The tension is building as one cutting remark after another flies around with Jim insinuating that being an actress is for those who lack intelligent, discerning taste and Martha throws out that baseball is dull and nothing but boring! Martha and Jim are just two different people, aren’t they? There is nothing lacking in showing the “normalcy” of Martha in her “larger than life” presence and dramatic expression of the grandiose way she lives life! Even her blouse with the royal purple, gold, and large beads, coupled with her flaming red hair and flailing arms cannot be denied!
We have a rather subdued manner in Jim, a somewhat calm and pleasant affect and presence, who just seems to be a man who enjoys the simple things. Like having an intimate dinner with his daughter and talking baseball. His life as a lawyer is enough drama for him by day, and it’s the solace and calmness in the evenings that one might think he would revel in. While Jim may appreciate a lovely, home-cooked meal, Martha finds that not worthy of her time. And she apparently cannot understand why anyone would not appreciate her passion that is acting and thinks that Jim should just cut loose! That everyone should learn to have fun! (I agree with her there!
) It’s so easy to not take Martha seriously (as Jim implies) with the flamboyance that is her! LOL! Yeah, you could cut the tension in the room with a knife! I thought this scene was just hysterical! Susan is clearly having a ball in this scene showing off her dramatic and ridiculous (meant in the best way possible! LOL!) acting chops that she brings so well!
Then, there is Rick and Kate trying to keep the piece and failing terribly. They interject positive attributes about the others preferences into the air, implying that there is something good and positive and worthy in everyone’s passion, and that the differences don’t have to be a bad thing! They are garnering support from the other with that sweet hand-hold amidst the chaos, and trying desperately to change the subject! Awkwardness abounds! Hahahahaha…. Castle suggests digging into dessert… all to no avail! Did you see the sweet hand-hold that took place on the table in the midst of all the chaos? And BAM! Said the Lady! A murder! Just in time to save them from this madness! “You two be good!” ROFL!!
I must take pause here – didn’t Kate look stunning? OMG! WHAT A BEAUTY! Her hair, her blouse, and lipstick! She looked smashing! I think her clothes complimented the warm color of the room perfectly! The gold & black, coupled with the red lipstick – smashing!
The raging fire which provided a most warm ambiance to the loft, was also an obvious metaphor for the raging fire of opposition that was going on in that room! Poor Rick & Kate… they only wanted their parents to share in the awesomeness that is them, but all their parents could do was hit a brick wall at the differences that could divide them.
As Rick and Kate rush off to the victim’s side, Martha and Jim are left to their awkward and opposing selves. SO FUNNY!
At the crime scene, we see Rick & Kate arriving talking about the evening being a total bomb. Castle says it could’ve been worse, and that they just come from different worlds. Kate tells Castle his mom should’ve been more sensitive, and cue Espo! What a hoot. He asks if they had a date night, and our dashing couple reveals that it was dinner with the parents. Espo says, “Wow. Already. How’d that go?” *Awkward silence* as Kate makes an attempt at wiping her mouth to remove the lipstick from her lips. This, to me, says she’s done with that. Done with the evening, done with the lipstick. She’s disgusted. Just the right amount of comic relief! OH, I love this show!
What was the vicitim doing in this abandoned building. Looks like the job was done by a marksman, and that he was careful, too. Three bullets, close together, no shell casings, and NO security cameras – the work of a pro. Priest assassinated – Who would do that? Cue Castle’s crazy theories. Beckett is a little irritated, given the evening’s prior happenings, and gives the usual orders, to look into his life; find anyone with motive. Espo tells of a nun that used to work with Father McMurtury and will be at the precinct. Ryan steps up with info he’s obtained, stops short, and makes the sign of the cross. He went to Catholic school, didn’t he? I am thinking he did. He looks a little nervous! Hahahahahaha… poor Ryan!! Ok, uniforms on canvass…found someone who has information on murder, Jerry Jenkins, owner of a bar, but will only chat with detective. Espo & Ryan will head back to the precinct to talk to the nun, and Espo interjects that he gets to be the “good cop”, and Ryan gets to look like a “bad cop”. ROFL! Castle & Beckett head to the bar, and find the owner.
They arrive at the bar, and Jerry Jenkins says he wanted to talk to a detective, so customers don’t get scared away by uniformed cops. Last night Leo wandered in. Leo heard shots in a building down on 5th, and then saw a guy hustling out of there. Looks like Leo is a witness! He was pretty upset, so Jerry got him a cab and sent him home. Lives in the Bronx. Gives our DD the address.
Meanwhile, Espo & Ryan are back at the ranch awaiting THE NUN! Poor Ryan, having a cuppa joe to calm his nerves! Atta boy Ryan, caffeine will calm the nerves! Sure will! LOL! He & Espo are already proving to be the comedy that is needed in the rather tense overtone of trouble in paradise with our lovely couple. Ryan can be so goofy and I love it! Espo is goofy too, but in a suave kind of way. Ryan is just so adorable! Anyway, so the elevator dings, the nun steps out into the precinct, Ryan is shaking in his shoes! He can’t even drink his coffee! He thinks it’s a bad joke! Ryan straightens his tie while Espo looks at him, like, “Really bro?” and asks him if he wants to borrow a comb or somethin’! CRACKS. ME. UP! Ryan spit-shines his hair and mentally is preparing to go out there and face down his fear. Espo is just cracking jokes about movies of body switchings where the grown man at a crime scene is really twelve! Poor Ryan! LOL! He’s really becoming annoyed at Espo not taking the nun and the gravity of the situation (in Ryan’s eyes) seriously! ANYONE who’s been through ANY amount of Catholic school can feel Ryan’s pain. Especially in the “older days” as my grandma used to tell me her knuckles would be bleeding some days when she went home from school. And my grandmother wasn’t one to horse around! Wow! Anyway, so yeah, Ryan proceeds to tell Espo that Catholic school is like combat! ROFL! I think THAT was NOT the parallel to use for someone who’s been in combat/military training. Espo tells Ryan that combat is waaay worse than some old lady! Ok Ryan, time to steel the nerves my friend, here comes the nun, and she’s LOOKIN’ AT YOU! WOW! ….. SOO FUNNY!
Ok, here we go. You okay, Ryan? Lol…. Sister Mary is telling Espo & Ryan that Father McMurtury was a caring man, and devoted to his parishoners, community and that this is a dark day, that he should meet such a fate. Ryan & Espo start questioning her and she tells them she can tell them anything they want to know! She throws a hard facial jab at Espo, and I THINK I may have seen him flinch ever-so-slightly!
And that she knows who murdered him! She was afraid their friendship would end badly. But the father would always trust him, and remain loyal. Kept trying to save his soul. The darkest of the dark. It was Michael (Mickey) Dolan! The enforcer for the O’Reilly family! They grew up together. She tried to warn him, but always believed he could set Dolan on a better path. They apparently had a terrible fight outside the church a couple of days ago. Father McMurtury was VERY upset. SHE WASN’T finished, ESPO! ROFL! Last night, he got a call about dolan and left during the middle of mass.
In the meantime, Castle & Beckett heading down the dark alley talking about the case, which leads into talk about dinner. They start re-hashing all that went wrong, the bickering ensues about the other’s parent and Kate is becoming more and more annoyed. She starts banging on Leo’s door, telling Castle to watch it. Not because of what he’s saying, but because men are coming up behind him! OH NO! Leo! Let them in!
In classic Castle fashion, things aren’t what they seem to be! The bad buy cronies are there, telling Rick & Kate to drop their things, and they will have nothing of it that Kate is a cop. Leo opens the door and boom! Rick & Kate are there to save him! Or so they think!
Did anyone else get creeped out by Leo from the get-go? Something about him didn’t sit right with me. He looked greasy or something. Like he might be the bad guy. Even though I had that feeling, I didn’t listen well enough to my instincts, because I did not see it coming that he was the murder! Maybe because I was already in Castle overload being out in L.A. while this aired!
Did I see/hear someone say they didn’t like Kate in that coat? I have to say, I am not always a fan of that camel color, but I thought given her dark hair, her up-do, her red lipstick, and the tone of the episode having a lot of dim, dark color – it was well-suited. A nice contrast. I do love the tailored look on her, and think she’s got some pretty awesome coats. I am wondering if all her coats are Burburry, as Luke said he loves her in those.
What did you all think of the cranberry satin-like trim on Castle’s? I thought it was kind of smart. Castle can rock things like that, as only he can do. I thought it was a cheeky, yet a classy choice for him. You know, very stylish, with a whisper of a sense of humor. And they were dressed in what would be "After Hours" attire...
It would appear that this episode is indeed about opposites – how they can repel like two of the same charged ends of a magnet, or how they can indeed attract, and bring together people who never thought they could never share common ground. Jim & Martha, a priest and a mobster – sinners & saints, fear in combat in the military, or combat-fear in going toe-to-toe with a nun. Rick & Kate. Opposition. How does one overcome that? Especially when the differences seem insurmountable. Are they worth the fight? Remember, nothing is impossible to those who believe.
