7x21 - "In Plane Sight" Review

‘Castle’ : Murder At 39,000 Feet

By Lisa Caputo

2015-04-27

Castle and Alexis take the lead in murder investigation on their flight while Beckett and the team show their support and their teamwork from the ground.

Bottle episodes are a television staple; a lower-budget episode relying on one or two isolated sets, one central storyline taking place over a short period of time, no special effects, no wardrobe changes, and a smaller cast of extras, all to allow for the higher-budget episodes throughout the season to expand in all of those areas. Oddly, there is often a stigma associated with these episodes that casts them in a negative light, but for this reviewer, bottle episodes have often been some of the most brilliant episodes of any series, allowing the episode to be focused solely on the characters, their interactions with one another, and the story itself. Monday’s episode was the perfect example of how a bottle episode can bring the very best of the story and the characters to life in a whole new and much more intimate way for the audience.

Penned by the uber-talented Dara Resnik Creasey, her first solo effort on Castle, and directed by the legendary Bill Roe, Monday’s “In Plane Sight” found Castle and Alexis in the midst of an unexpected murder mystery mid-flight, the father/daughter duo quickly being thrust into taking the lead on the investigation of a murdered Air Marshall on their plane. With Beckett, Lanie, Ryan, Esposito, and Tory all lending their skills from the precinct to help the pair, Castle and Alexis were forced to step up and apply everything they had both learned from their work at the 12^th to solve the case and thwart the killer’s master plans. It was a fantastic hour of television, putting the focus of the episode on the characters and their relationships and interactions with one another while also presenting a clever mystery with numerous twists and turns.

The premise itself was unique and extremely interesting in and of itself, with a murder happening mid-flight and the case taking the audience through a number of possible motives, including a terrorist threat, revenge, and even jealousy, all before churning out the final shocking twists to reveal that it was actually a brilliantly-planned jewelry heist with the most unsuspecting character at the center of it all. The suspense of not knowing who the murderer was yet knowing that it was someone isolated on the plane, while also not knowing what the killer’s motive was helped fuel the case throughout the hour, adding a great deal of depth to the fear and anxiety of all of the characters. Investigating a murder is always dangerous enough, yet to investigate one on a plane mid-flight is even more terrifying with the threat of the plane being taken down being something that has become one of our society’s most deeply ingrained fears due to numerous recent events.

But beyond the case itself, and woven so wonderfully throughout the episode, was a brilliant display of how much Castle and Alexis have both grown as characters and yet how much they, like everyone, still rely on their friends and family as well. Castle has long been a vital member of Beckett’s team at the precinct, using his brilliant and creative mind to help them look at the bigger story at play rather than just the evidence in front of them, and he has been challenged in the past to take the lead on an investigation as well, but the raised stakes of having so many other lives in peril, along with his own life and the life of his daughter, added an extra sense of gravity to the situation, one that made even this usually confident character doubt his abilities to solve the case largely on his own. Quite interestingly, just as we began to see Castle struggling to find his confidence in himself, even despite the steadfast support and encouragement of Beckett, Alexis herself jumped headfirst into the investigation with him, outwardly showing her own courage and sense of confidence in her abilities to help her father to solve the murder. It was together that these two shone the brightest, working alongside of each other and turning to the other for support and for guidance along the way, truly showcasing their incredible family dynamic.

It was also quite wonderful to see Lanie, Esposito, Ryan, Tory, and of course Beckett doing their part to help from the precinct. Using technology to bring them as close to the investigation as they could be from that distance, and using their vast resources back on the ground, Beckett and the team were able to provide Castle and Alexis with the backup they needed, doing the grunt-work to investigate the leads that they were able to discover during the investigation on the plane. At times, of course, those left behind on the ground, most especially Beckett herself, felt the helplessness of not being able to be with Castle and Alexis as they faced this danger on their own. Those moments were wonderfully yet so heartbreakingly portrayed by Stana Katic as she took the audience through her character’s emotions, terrified at the thought of losing her husband and her step-daughter, horrified that she could do nothing to truly protect them, and perhaps even angered at herself for not being there to help them because her own case had kept her at work instead of on that flight with them.

But the highlight of the episode was seeing the always-endearing and ever-maturing relationship between Castle and Alexis being showcased. This is something we tend to see done in a big way one or two times throughout the course of each season and it is always such a joy to watch. Being seven seasons in now, it is quite heartwarming to see how the father/daughter dynamic between these two has evolved over the years. At times, the two have been at odds, typical of any parent/teenager relationship, but with Alexis now being a young adult and certainly far past her stages of rebellion, and with Castle now settled down with Beckett by his side and aspirations of adding to the Castle family down the line, the two seem to be in a remarkable new stage in their relationship. Nathan Fillion and Molly Quinn have always brought so much to this side of their characters, immediately pulling us in to the refreshing and incredibly endearing dynamic between father and daughter, perhaps unlike any other on television at this time. Monday’s episode put the spotlight on these characters once again, ultimately allowing Fillion and Quinn to showcase their dynamic together while also highlighting how far this father/daughter pair has grown over the years, both individually and together, the two actors absolutely knocking it out of the part as they always do.

The closing minutes of the episode were absolutely outstanding, bringing a brilliant episode to a climatic finish and pushing Castle and Alexis into more danger than they could have ever expected. With the flight attendant killer pointing a gun directly at them, a confident and extremely understanding Alexis stepped forward, even with her concerned father trying to hold her back. Alexis did her best to get through to Debbie (portrayed brilliantly by guest star Paula Newsome) and attempted to talk her down from her desperation, displaying a fantastic sense of Alexis’ compassion and ability to relate to others. Quinn was incredible in this scene in particular, again showing the maturity and level of confidence that her character has developed over the years while perhaps also displaying to the audience some similarities between her character and the show’s leading lady. Despite their issues at times, it has always seemed that Alexis and Beckett were much more alike than they were different, something that seems to be much more evident in these later seasons as Alexis has grown up before our eyes. With her penchant for solving mysteries and her ability to reach out to others, along with her deep desire to help people, Alexis may find herself following in Beckett’s footsteps one day, something that would likely make both she and Castle quite proud.

In the end, Castle and Alexis were able to solve the mystery and thwart their killer’s plans, the two seemingly closer than they have ever been, sharing a warm hug as they discussed spending some quality time in London once their plane landed. Back in New York, we closed the episode with a relieved Beckett watching the status of their flight to confirm that the two people who meant everything to her had gotten to their destination, safe and sound. Who knows, maybe there is a part of this detective that is starting to see that family comes first for her now and that maybe, just maybe, her job has gotten in the way of that one too many times.