Castle – Recap & Review – Punked

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Castle
Punked

Original Air Date: Oct 11, 2010

Alexis P – Reviewer
Alexis@thetwocentscorp.com

In this week’s episode Castle and Beckett team up to solve a murder in Central Park. But the clues are confounding. What do a 200-year-old bullet, antique pistols and turn of the century clothing add up to? If you’re Castle the answer is an easy one, a time traveling killer.

In a charming opening we find Castle making breakfast for Alexis and his mother. A new creation he has come up with combining the sweetness of marshmallows, chocolate and…eggs? Eww. Castle says it is a smore-let. Had to laugh at that! And he said it so proud. Alexis tries it and as expected the experiment is disgusting. She asks her dad if she can invite her friend Ashley over that night. And she runs off. Grandma lets it slip that Alexis is in love. Castle is hurt that she didn’t tell him first.

He then meets up with Beckett to look at a crime scene in the park, a gunshot victim in his boxer shorts. Castle apparently wears the same brand and tries to get Beckett to tell him what she wears. Thong, granny panties, anything at all? Ha yeah right. Dream on Castle. They discover that the victim is a young mathematician working on Wall Street named Goldstein.

The bullet that is extracted is a strange clue. It is a lead ball with 200-year-old rust around it. Crazy! This leads Castle to one conclusion. Time traveling killer! That would make a fantastically good plot for a story though wouldn’t it? Beckett lets him run a bit with his theory and suddenly there are Time Ripples and a possible Time Machine involved. Beckett tries to reel him in. If it is a time traveler why would the bullet be covered in rust? Castle wonders “What if time travel causes rust?” Yeah, Beckett replies, on your brain. The lead ball was fired from an 18th century flintlock pistol. Very cool, except for the killing part of course.

But why would the killer steal the victim’s clothes. Castle jumps in again. Time traveling killer went through the time ripple and came out naked and needed Goldstein’s clothes? Really, Castle let it go.

They find out that the victim was involved in an investment scheme that went under causing many investors to lose millions. Sounds like a motive to me.

Ryan and Esposito track down the victim’s car and guess what? It’s a Delorian! It comes complete with a flux capacitor and a reactor core! Back to the Future anyone? I love the feel of this episode with time travel. It is such a fascinating and fun subject. I mean who wouldn’t want to hop in a time machine and take it for a whirl? Give me a stainless steel car or a blue police box, I’m game.

The next breakthrough comes with the recovery of the victim’s clothing. A homeless guy saunters down the street in an 18th century Victorian suit with a bloody bullet hole in the shirt.
Gunshot residue is found on the sleeve and glove that are recovered and it becomes apparent that he was fired on and he fired back. When another lead ball is found back at the crime scene Castle’s eyes light up. Antique bullet, costume, two men at midnight in the park at about 40 paces from each other means a good old-fashioned duel!

That night Castle busts into his front door with a newly acquired antique pistol of his own scaring the daylights out of Alexis and the boy she was totally making out with on the couch. It turns out the boy is Ashley and Alexis’ boyfriend. A fun father meets boyfriend moment happens with a lot of babbling from poor bewildered Ashley while Castle absently waves his pistol around.

So what would be the motive for a duel to the death? Besmirched honor and revenge perhaps? A lead brings them to a club where the door keeper allows entry based on correct answers to questions pertaining to the works of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. I like this place already and they are not even in the front door. What greets them beyond it is 1892 Victorian London, a steam punk club! It is a sub culture of science fiction that combines the simplistic elegance and romance of the Victorian era with the ingenuity of futuristic design. We can see Castle is fascinated. No doubt his love of fiction and the appeal of escapism is irresistible.

They find a co-worker of Goldstein’s there- Adam. Who confesses that they had a duel and he shot him. But it shouldn’t have happened. Goldstein did the math and they shouldn’t have been able to actually hit each other. The duel was to impress a girl.

Are antiques guns so inaccurate? Only one way to find out and in an amusing target practice it is proved that the antique guns are wildly inaccurate shots.

So how did Adam kill Goldstein then? They discover yet another lead ball in the park and find evidence of a third shooter. They track him back to the club. Turns out he was the son of one of the investors who lost millions in Goldstein’s project and then killed himself. So it was revenge and besmirched honor at the heart of the murder after all.

Alexis spills the beans about her thinking she’s in love to Castle and they have a lovely father-daughter moment with Castle in a steam punk get-up.

Then back at the precinct after they wrap the case in walks the gorgeous Victor Webster! Turns out his name is Josh and Beckett’s boyfriend? Where has she been hiding him? Castle looks crushed! Being in love is exhausting Alexis tells him. Tell me about it, he replies.

So we will have to see how this pans out and what we will find out about Josh. The triangle appears again.

I loved this episode and I think it is my favorite one so far this season! What do you think?