Castle: Season 7, Episode 18: At Close Range
I think one of the things I like the most about this show is the supporting cast. Castle’s daughter and mother make his home life seem complete, while Detectives Ryan and Esposito fill out the homicide squad roster. Captain Gates hasn’t had the background strength of Captain Montgomery yet, but I think that’s the point, she’s a straight arrow who cares only about the advancement of her career and the image of her department.
That gives us really good side stories that make the team feel more like family. Their interactions with each other are solid, because we know their characters and what they’ve been through. They all have pasts and those pasts have affected who they’ve become. Captain Montgomery’s crooked past, Captain Gates’ family issues, Ryan’s undercover days, Lanie’s need for quiet and Esposito’s SF days all give the characters real depth. When a show makes you truly care about characters you care about their struggles and triumphs. The narrative matters.
This was a Ryan focused episode. I always like these as Ryan is the most clean cut and straight laced of them all. He wears pastels and lets his wife run the show at home. He constantly jokes and enjoys Castle’s wild theories more than anyone else. He might be perceived as soft, but he’s just as tough as anyone else on the force and has proved it more than once.
This time he gets involved in an assassination attempt while trying to make extra money with security work. He is put through an emotional ringer when a family member gets involved and he has to take him in. Ryan is forced to do the right thing, as he blames himself for his assignment going wrong.
Luckily, he finds the real killer and helps his family and his job at the same time. It gets pretty deep with the twists and turns in this one. A lot of red herrings are thrown at the viewer, but it all makes sense. It’s no small wonder that this show has lasted so long with a formula that seems so predictable. The writing team is superb at introducing fresh ideas.
Jonathan Thomas Jones is a speculative fiction author and founder of geekhavenreviews.com. He has been passionate about all things geek for his entire life. See more about him at jonathanthomasjones.com and follow him on twitter @jtgloryjones.
