Castle (TV series)/Fridge

Fridge Brilliance

• Fridge Brilliance: In "Knockdown", Beckett confronts Castle and tells him to stop shadowing her for his own safety. He promptly tells her no and that he's not going anywhere because he's her plucky side kick. Beckett says the plucky sidekick always gets killed and Castle responds by sitting down on her couch in front of the window, easily in sight of a sniper if there had been one, and calmly says: "Your partner, then." Thus proving that Castle understands the weight of his decision to continue with such a dangerous case and that he's not afraid of dying.
• I have only just started watching Castle, but has noticed that in several of the episodes watched thus far, Castle and Beckett often seem to wear clothing that coordinates together very well in style, but tends to look quite different in fabric and colour; a subtle way of establishing and underscoring that whilst they're quite different on the surface, once you look closer they nevertheless mesh together very well in many ways perhaps? ~ Doctor Nemesis
  • Also, it took me a while to realize that Beckett usually wears something red and Castle something blue, but when you see her sporting blue, sit tight, because the episode will be a serious one (as much as it gets in this show anyway). This often overlaps with a Wham! Episode - Alantia

• Fridge Brilliance / Fridge Horror: Of a sort; at the end of "Countdown", when the bomb is seconds from exploding Agent Fallon tells Castle and Beckett over the phone that he's sorry he can't help them. By itself, this would be a terrible thing to have to do, admit you're powerless to help someone when they're on the phone desperately needing your help. And then, you remember that earlier in the episode, Ryan revealed that Fallon's wife died on 9/11... and that his last moments with her were talking to her on his cellphone moments before the second tower collapsed. Anyone want to guess what Agent Fallon is feeling at that particular moment?
• Fridge Brilliance: In "Law and Murder", after Captain Montgomery has arrested the District Attorney, an old friend, for perverting the course of justice in tampering with evidence in a case, Castle makes an offhand comment about how unfortunate it is that this one wrong act will overshadow all the genuine good the District Attorney otherwise did for the city. Montgomery seems lost in thought, and we assume that he's mulling over what his friend did. However, in "Knockout", it's revealed Montgomery was one of the three rogue cops who, after accidentally killing an undercover FBI agent while attempting to kidnap a mobster, inadvertently started the dominoes falling that ended with Beckett's mother's murder. On reflection, it suddenly becomes more likely that Montgomery was considering his own wrong act and how that could overshadow all the good he's tried to do since then.
  • It also explains why Montgomery puts up with all the things Beckett does. A combination of guilt and redemption; Beckett is his way of making amends even if no one ever finds out.
• In "Knockout", Kate isn't so determined to save the Cap because he's her boss. It's not because he's her friend. It's because he's effectively her father. She feels the same way about losing him as she would about losing a parent, again, only this time she could save them, but they won't let her.
  • Not just a parent but a personal hero as well. Montgomery was one of a few people that Kate really looked up to. Royce, her mom, Montgomery. And all three of them taken away from her violently and suddenly. Only with Montgomery, as mentioned, she could have saved him.
    • And that's exactly why Castle was whispering, "I'm sorry" so fiercely to her after he carried her out of the warehouse. He knew that she wanted to save Montgomery more than anything, but it would risk her life and neither of them could let it happen.
    • There's also the fact that Castle easily carries Beckett away. Sure, he is bigger and heavier than her, but he's a writer, she's a trained cop, and she was shown in previous episodes easily overpowering suspects much bigger than her. At first it seems to be a usual case of Chickification, until you realize that Castle is desperately trying to save her life. She undoubtedly knows that, which means that she knows that he won't let her go and unless she knocks him out cold or inflicts crippling pain, he'll just go back and try to grab her to safety again. Sure, she's physically capable of doing just that - except that it means that to have a shot at saving her mentor she would have to give Castle the beating of a lifetime. Think how agonizing it must be.
    • Since we're talking Fridge Brilliance here, don't forget: Montgomery also is the only friend she has who knows the entire solution to the mystery of her mother's murder. His death isn't just the loss of a friend/boss/mentor, it's also her best chance at solving the case that defines her.
• In "Knockout", Montgomery discusses the first time he met Beckett; he mentions he was working late and going down to the records room to check out "some old files" when he encountered Beckett looking into her mother's murder files. In light of later revelations about him being the third cop involved in the events that led to Beckett's mother's death, what are the odds that he was going down there to alter files that might implicate him in that?
• Not quite as horrible as the other examples here. In Season 1, Episode 4 (Hell Hath No Fury) the usual catchy modern pop song is playing over the opening. Now this would just seem like the typical Castle Cold Open, shows off the body, plays the cool song, but then the lyrics start. 'You're supposed to be my friend.' Who was it who shot the victim again?
• Richard Castle seems to have partly foreshadowed developments in his real life with his earlier works; the blurb for Storm Fall on his website seems remarkably prescient for what would happen in "Pandora" / "Linchpin": specifically, the bit about Clara Strike possibly being a rogue agent. Remember who Clara Strike was based on...?
• Also on the subject of Castle's 'bibliography'; one of the reasons Castle gives for killing off his previous character, Derrick Storm, was that he was getting bored with him. Looking through the blurbs of several of the Derrick Storm novels on the website, a bit of Creator Breakdown centred around this seems to become increasingly apparent; several of the (presumably later) novels either involve Storm either trying to leave the life only to get drawn back in somehow or are written / titled in such a way that suggests that it should be the last story (Storm's Last Stand). One gets the feeling that after trying to drop several increasingly unsubtle hints that he's a bit tired of Derrick Storm and would like to stop now, please, with the last one Castle's just thrown up his hands and gone "hell with it, I'll just put a bullet in his head."
• Another Linchpin one. Remember when Castle was talking about 'law of averages' saying he'll eventually be right about government conspiracy? He was this time. At least, a little.
• In Season 3, it's revealed that Johanna Beckett's murder was the culmination of a series of events surrounding the activities of three cops who began working outside of the law to deliver justice to those they considered deserving of it. In Season 4 that's exactly what Beckett, Esposito and Ryan become when they launch their own unofficial investigation into the circumstances behind Johanna Beckett's murder and Kate Beckett's shooting, particularly in "Always". However, there's also a couple of notable differences that ultimately serve to break the chain; one, they have a civilian (Castle) involved, who acts as a voice of caution and conscience, and two in "Always" one of the cops (Ryan) realizes that things have gone too far and elects to reveal all rather than have tragedy result.
  • Another difference is that their focus was to bring the criminals in to face justice; the other set of cops didn't and focused their efforts towards showing those outside the law that they were, in fact, touchable.
• Castle has shown himself to be a bit of a Grammar Nazi on several occasions. This is to be expected of someone that makes their living with the written word and is possibly subjected to a higher standard by people that possibly fail to meet grade school standards when lambasting him.

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