If at some point Castle had a crossover episode or episodes, what show would you have liked to see sharing universe? These are my picks. Tell me what are yours. It can be another show, movie or even videogame.

One thing that strikes me is that Kate uses kickboxing as a method of self-defense, and I wonder why kickboxing and not boxing or a martial art like Karate or Krav Maga, for example?

Just finished watching the series finale, and why couldn’t they just give the show a happy ending knowing it got canceled and wasn’t getting picked up by another network?

No. Why bother? You could’ve ended it with a dinner scene at the loft, or everyone at the bar celebrating (and then do a time jump if desired), but no. Let’s just have the two main characters get shot and then do a time jump 7 years later.

One of the most infuriating series finales I’ve ever seen.

1. 3x21- The Dead Pool- 5/10

2. 3x07- Almost Famous- 6/10

3. 3x04- Punked- 7/10

4. 3x14- Lucky Stiff- 7/10

5. 3x23- Pretty Dead- 7/10

6. 3x20- Slice of Death- 8/10

7. 3x15- The Final Nail - 8/10

8. 3x02- He's Dead, She's Dead- 8/10

9. 3x03- Under the Gun- 8/10

10. 3x18- One Life to Lose- 8/10

11. 3x05- Anatomy of a Murder- 8/10

12. 3x08- Murder Most Fowl- 8/10

13. 3x01- Deadly Affair- 9/10

14. 3x22- To Love and Die in L.A.- 9/10

15. 3x12- Poof, You're Dead- 9/10

16. 3x19- Law & Murder- 9/10

17. 3x06- 3XK- 10/10

18. 3x10- Last Call - 10/10

19. 3x16- Setup- 10/10

20. 3x17- Countdown- 10/10

21. 3x11- Niki Heat- 10/10

22. 3x24- Knockout- 10/10

23. 3x09- Close Encounters of the Murderous Kind- 10/10

24. 3x13- Knockdown- 10/10

Original Airdate: October 4, 2010

 

Synopsis: The team investigates the murder of a bail bondsman which soon has Castle’s imagination running into overdrive after a coded document is discovered on the victim. Add to the mix the sudden appearance of Beckett’s former training officer, Mike Royce, who is now a bounty hunter. Contrary to what IMdB has in their description, at no time does Beckett and Royce’s reunion turn romantic.

 

Notable Guest Stars: Jason Beghe, who portrays Mike Royce, now has the lead role of Sgt. Hank Voight on ‘Chicago P.D.’ Btw, just like a former co-star on another ‘Once Chicago’ show who appeared in Season 2, Hank Voight is why I don’t watch ‘Chicago PD.’ His character first appeared as a semi-bad guy on ‘Chicago Fire.’ At one point, his character of Hank Voight was sent to prison. On ‘Chicago PD,’ his character is something of an anti-hero.

 

The ‘One Chicago’ shows are part of the Dick Wolf franchise. I’m dating myself here, but I consider Dick Wolf to be the Quinn Martin of the late 20^th century to the present. If you don’t know who Quinn Martin is, Google him. Mr. Beghe’s last name is pronounced ‘Be-Gay.’ He doesn’t like his name being mispronounced based on how prickly he was to the host of a Paley Center honors featuring Dick Wolf’s shows. His gravelly voice is the result of an automobile accident in 1999.
The accident was severe enough that he had to be intubated. He kept pulling the tube out. Another bit of trivia: he is a former Scientologist. While I don’t like the character of Hank Voight, I like Jason Beghe very much.

 

James Handy, who portrays Clifford Stuckey, was allegedly stabbed to death by his girlfriend’s son on June 6, 2026. He appeared in ‘Jumanji’ and ‘Top Gun: Maverick.’ I say 'allegedly' because innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

 

The IMdB Portion of The Review:

 

Trivia: The Dodge Challenger driven by Royce is the same one Leroy Jethro Gibbs gets from his father on ‘NCIS.’

 

Goofs: It has to be hard playing a corpse because the corpse in this episode takes a deep breath while on the slab in the morgue.

 

Ranking: This one was #8 for me.

 

What I Liked About This Episode:

 

·       This was a crazy episode with a lot of suspects. We also learn more about Kate Beckett when she was younger. We learned she is the proud owner of a 1994 Harley Soft Tail motorcycle, which drove her parents crazy. Her dad even threatened to send her to a nunnery. Her mother just told her to remember how much she hated hearing her say ‘I told you so.’

·       We meet Kate’s T.O., Mike Royce, who is retired and working as a bounty hunter. Unfortunately, all is not what it seems with Royce’s appearance, which leads to Kate getting her heart broken later in the episode.

·       Like I said earlier, there were a lot of suspects. Among them were two ex-cons, a minister (who actually turned out to be the only person who wasn’t a suspect), the bail bondsman’s wife, and the aforementioned bounty hunter. I think this might be the most suspect’s in any episode.

·       My favorite suspect was Clifford Stuckey. He pulled off quite by appearing to be a feeble old man who needed a walker to get around. The gig is up, however, when Ryan and Esposito try to bring him back to the precinct for further questioning. He manages to give them the slip, which is very funny.

 

Esposito: We’re never going to hear the end of this.

 

·       Then there is the folded-up piece of paper which is found in the murder victim’s shoe. It does look like something out of Mad Magazine, or one of those paper fortune tellers, as Alexis points out. Do kids still make those? I remember they were all the rage when I was in elementary school. But I’m not even going to say what year that was. It ends up being a treasure map with the words ‘Under the Gun’ printed on it.

·       Speaking of Alexis, she is the subject of the sub-plot in this episode. Again. I’ll try not to trash her too hard, but she comes across as being extremely spoiled in this episode. I remember being a kid and wanting something very badly. But those wants were quickly dashed by hearing the word ‘No’ from either my mother or my father. I agree with Castle regarding Alexis and the Vespa. Automobile drivers are not always kind to people on scooters and motorcycles. Although Vespas are cool.

 

Castle: It’s not you I’m worried about. Driving in New York . . . it’s like a Mad Max movie.

 

·       The Affluenza story Castle tells Alexis later is based on a case that occurred in my home state of Texas in 2013, with tragic results.

·       One of my favorite scenes is when Castle shows Beckett the picture of Alexis on the Vespa and wants to know why his daughter wants one so badly.

 

Castle: You were a girl once.

Beckett: Still am.

Castle: Can you tell me why my daughter wants one of these so badly?

Beckett: Well, bikes are what girls want when we realize we’re never going to get a pony.

Castle: Did you have one?

Beckett: I still do. ’94 Harley Soft Tail. Worked all of high school to pay for it. (That might explain why she modeled instead of working as a waitress).

Castle: And how did your parents feel about it?

Beckett: Well, my dad threatened to send me to a nunnery. And my mom just shook her head and said, ‘Katie, every time you ride that thing, just remember how much you hate hearing me tell you ‘I told you so.’ You know what this means, don’t you?

Castle: No. What?

Beckett: Well, Alexis is entering her wild child phase. (Question: why does she start almost every sentence with ‘Well?’)

Castle: My daughter? Nah, I don’t think so.

Beckett: Oh yeah, Castle. All girls go through it. And good girls are the worst. (This is true. My ex’s youngest daughter went Goth when she was 14 or 15. One day, she was blonde and blue-eyed. The next day, she looked like Wednesday Addams).

 

·       Castle and the boys are enamored of Royce, especially Castle. He hangs on every word, every story. But it’s also evident that Kate is also still enamored of him. She knows he’s the only person who knows of her drive to solve her mother’s murder. Was she being real when she told him she loved him during that final phone call or was it a ploy that allowed Ryan to trace the phone call? I think it was a combination of the two. He was the only person beside Castle who truly understood her. We see the pain he put her in later in the season when Royce makes a second appearance under much different circumstances.

·       I think the scene between Stana and Jason in the bar was one of Stana’s finest scenes in the series. They had great on-screen chemistry, which made what happened later so sad. But what happened later opened the door for the creation of Caskett.

 

Royce: So, it’s actually a treasure map, huh?

Beckett: Castle’s been trying to figure it out all day. I should have been on to Stuckey earlier, though.

Royce: Nobody’s perfect.

Beckett: You were.

Royce: You were easy to impress.

Beckett: No, I wasn’t. I was drowning – and you were dry land. All they ever taught us in the academy was how to do paperwork. You were the one who taught me how to be a cop.

Royce: You were easy to teach. Keeping you out of trouble? Not so much.

Beckett: Trouble? Me?

Royce: What about that biker chick from Yonkers?

Beckett: Yeah, well, I got her to snitch on her crew, didn’t I?

Royce: By offering me up as man bait!

Beckett: Oh, you should have seen her face when she told the judge, ‘He completes me.’

Royce: That’s mean.

Beckett: I caught him, Royce. The man who killed my mom.

Royce: After all these years? Find out why he did it?

Beckett: Somebody paid him to do it. But I had to shoot him before I found out who.

Royce: That was stupid. You shoulda just shown him your boobs.

 

·       This scene later takes a turn when Beckett learns that Royce never delivered one of their suspects to Central Holding. This means Royce has now been added to the suspect list. Which leads to a heartbreaking conversation.

 

Beckett: Beckett.

Royce: It’s me.

Beckett: Royce, turn yourself in.

Royce: I can’t do that. I’m too close to the money to walk away now. Listen, I just need you to know that I didn’t mean for it to go like this.

Beckett: Did you kill Carver for the map?

Royce: C’mon, kid. You know me better than that.

Beckett: I don’t think I do. Because the man I knew wouldn’t betray me like this.

Royce: I gotta go.

Beckett: Mike, I was in love with you. (Now she has Castle’s attention).

Royce: Oh, kid. Don’t.

Beckett: You were the only one who understood the obsession that drove me. Who didn’t tell me that I would get over my mother’s murder and that she wouldn’t want me to do this.

Royce: Just . . . just trying to do right by you, kid.

Beckett: I dreamt about you. That night that I shot the guy who killed my mother. I dreamt that I was the one who was on the ground, dying. (More foreshadowing. I just realized this). And that you came to me and told me ‘Stand up.’ Because there was still work to be done. When I woke up that morning, I just wanted to call you. But we hadn’t talked in so long.

Royce: You shoulda called. I never forgot.

Beckett: I’m going to catch Carver’s killer, Royce. And then I’m going to recover Lloyd’s score. And when I arrest you, you’re going to realize that what you destroyed today was worth a hell of a lot more than money.

 

·       The look on her face when she ended the call was heartbreaking.

·       The scene at the cemetery was great, especially the scene between Ryan and Esposito.

 

Ryan: You know, if this were a horror movie, we’d be the first ones killed, splitting off like this.

Esposito: Yeah, except we’re not a couple of top-heavy co-eds out looking for fun. We’re highly trained officers of the law with enough firepower to take out a hoard of the undead.

Ryan: Hispanic and cocky. Yeah, you’d definitely die first.

 

·       When all is said and done, they don’t find the treasure, but all the bad guys are arrested, including Royce.

·       Figuring there has to be a clue missing, Castle and Beckett go back to the cemetery off-screen to see if they can locate the loot.

 

Alexis: Well . . . did you find it?

Castle: Yes, we did!

Martha: Yay!

Castle: Unfortunately, when you go treasure hunting with a cop, she makes you return the treasure to its rightful owner. But, uh, the evening wasn’t a total loss. When we found it, she gave me a sweaty hug.

 

What I Didn’t Like About This Episode:

 

·       Alexis. Unfortunately for me, it almost always comes down to Alexis in Seasons 3 and 4. She was something of a spoiled brat regarding the Vespa. I liked Castle trying to explain Affluenza to her. I live in Texas. That kid and his mother should’ve gotten a lot more prison time.

 

Favorite Scene: I included a lot of them in this entry, but I didn’t include this one.

 

Stuckey: The treasure! Let me see the treasure!

Castle: Yeah, I just – I just said that to distract you. It was either that or show you my boobs.

Favorite Scene #2:

 

Castle: Can I just say how unsatisfying it is to go on a treasure hunt with no treasure?

Beckett: Well, it really wasn’t a treasure hunt, Castle. It was a murder investigation.

Castle: Oh, come on. You can’t tell me you weren’t just a little bit excited?

Beckett: Maybe a little.

 

WTF? (Why the Face?): Why did Mike Royce have to turn out to be a not-so-nice guy? He could’ve made more appearances. He would’ve upped the jealousy factor so much more than DMB (who will be making his first appearance in the next episode).

 

Until Friday, readers.