Despite the success of self-published millionaire Amanda Hocking, traditional publishing still works for some people. Well, at least it does on television. Richard Castle is a crime novelist who, at the start of Castle’s first season, had killed off his long-time character. Seeking inspiration for a new series, he convinces NYPD detective Kate Beckett to allow him to tag along on her various investigations.
What began as a rocky relationship has now become one of television’s best crime-solving duos, up there with Booth and Brennan on FOX’s Bones as well as Detectives Benson and Stabler on Law & Order: SVU. What distinguishes Castle from the competition is its light-hearted nature and (generally) happy endings. Simply put, this is a show that makes people feel good — something that the crime genre has lost touch with, as it seems the genre has become increasingly gruesome with each passing year.
In this week’s episode, Kate is stunned to discover that her training officer, Mike Royce, was murdered via a gunshot wound to the head. Though she had previously arrested Royce after discovering he’d been involved in illegal activity, Beckett certainly still had feelings for him — paternally speaking, of course.
After discovering that Royce had moved to Los Angeles in hopes of a fresh start, Beckett takes a few “vacation days” and begins investigating outside her jurisdiction. Needless to say, Richard Castle follows her, too.
The success of Castle has always been the writers’ ability to combine a strong police procedural with the quirky, off-beat relationship between Castle and Beckett. Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic provide consistently good work in their roles, though certain episodes have always been better than others.
While this episode wasn’t necessarily the best in terms of plot, it was unique in that almost the entire episode was dedicated to Castle and Beckett themselves. Gone are Castle’s mother and daughter, and supporting characters such as Esposito and Ryan are given less screen time as well, leaving Castle and Beckett to investigate their lead, dodge the LAPD, and come to terms with the fact that they’re both developing feelings for each other.
But back to the murder! It seems Royce was murdered by a man named Russell Ganz, who murdered Royce with bullets that dissolved inside the victim’s body. These bullets were intended to be sold to the US Military, but the contract was cancelled was the dissolving “defect” was discovered. Though clearly, bullets that dissolve inside a victim could be of great use to a criminal.< Castle and Beckett work in conjunction with the LAPD to prevent the sale of the bullets on the black market, and Beckett tracks down Ganz as well. During the chase beneath the Santa Monica Pier, Beckett did something that seemed out of character: she shot Ganz as he was fleeing her. Nothing fatal -- it appeared to catch him in the leg -- but surprising nonetheless. Shooting a fleeing/unarmed suspect would normally land a police officer in trouble, even if it was a non-lethal hit. True, Beckett could claim that she saw Ganz reaching for a weapon. But this move showed the audience that when her loved ones are threatened, Beckett is significantly less level-headed than normal. The episode closed on a more upbeat note, with Beckett reading a note from the late Royce. In it, Royce confirms what the audience has known all along: Beckett and Castle clearly have feelings for one another, and they should act on them before it's too late. "To Love and Die in LA" was a solid enough episode -- but not for its procedural plotting. Rather, this episode marked a shift in the relationship between Castle and Beckett: soon enough, neither of them will be able to deny their romantic feelings. As to what happens after that, well, we'll have to wait and see.
