Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend. Recap: Castle – “A Murder is Forever”

[warning]Warning: Spoilers Ahead![/warning]

Season 6, Episode 8
Airdate: Monday, November 11, 2013, 10/9c on ABC
Rating: ★★★★★

“And if you want to be invited into my territory again, you might want to re-think that.” – Kate Beckett

To be honest, I wasn’t completely thrilled with “A Murder is Forever,” but it was certainly a big step up from last week’s “Like Father, Like Daughter.” I won’t even light that fire again. Although “A Murder is Forever” has a lot of things going for it, including a few good Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic) scenes, one huge action-packed interlude, and an overall twisty murder investigation, there are a few things that fall flat for me.

Unlucky murder victim of the week goes to Alice Clark, a non-fiction author and pseudo therapist for high profile clients, who is found in her car with a GSW (gun shot wound) to the chest. It seems as though Alice was trying to disappear from her life in New York with an unknown valuable, chartering a private jet out of the country. A stranger tries to retrieve that item and prevent her from leaving. That someone is currently one for two.

After reviewing security tapes of Alice’s office building and the surrounding area – courtesy of Tory (Maya Stojan), the tech girl – whom I cannot stand – Detectives Ryan (Seamus Dever) and Esposito (Jon Heurtas) track down and apprehend a new suspect, Barrett Hawke (Anthony Ruivivar). Now, Hawke is a badass fixer. Think Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington, Scandal) meets Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey, House of Cards), throw in some hot, Latino vibe, and then multiply it by ten. Now you have Barrett Hawke. Unfortunately for Beckett, Hawke’s legend proves true, and she has no evidence to hold him.

Luckily, a missing client file in Alice’s office generates a new lead in the form of hotel and real estate tycoon Andrew Spencer (Dominic Hoffman). Has anyone else realized most people on Castle are filthy rich? So far in “A Murder is Forever,” the murder victim, the victim’s boyfriend Matt (David S. Lee), and both suspects are freaking rich! It’s so weird. Anyway, I’ll get off my lower-middle class pedestal…

Spencer is worth billions and was unhappy with Alice. Lying about being a licensed therapist really puts a damper on Spencer’s now public files with Alice during his divorce hearing. Unfortunately, he’s not the killer but he leads Castle and Beckett to a hotel room Alice was secretly using before her death. It is in this hotel room where Castle and Beckett find a gigantic diamond nestled in the closet safe. And let me tell you, this diamond is large enough to rival the Pink Panther! If only the team knew from whom Alice heisted it.

Castle: “She’s Ocean’s Eleven, minus ten. She’s Ocean’s One!”

The diamond baffles the experts. A diamond of that size and caliber should be registered, yet no one comes forward to claim it. On their way back from the appraisal, Ryan and Esposito encounter a tiny problem. Nay, an obstacle of epic proportions! A group of unknown, masked men ram into their Dodge Charger and open fire. Luckily, Ryan and Esposito make it out safely with only minimal injuries! Oh, they are still in possession of the diamond, which we now know is man-made and completely flawless. Price tag = Priceless.

Taking a break from the case, Castle and Beckett discuss sharing territories, in this case Castle’s loft and Beckett’s desk. Castle feels if he honors Beckett’s request to remove the framed artwork, Linus the Lion, from his bedroom, then Beckett should have to get rid of the elephants adorning her desk. Beckett shows her true relationship colors when she says, “If you don’t like the elephants, then I don’t like the elephants.” Really though, I think she successfully uses reverse psychology on Castle. Well played, Beckett.

Here comes the tricky conclusion in summary form.

Steve (Jason Antoon) and Janet Warner (Tina Morasco), another wealthy couple from Alice’s client list, are brought in for questioning after a photograph from a recent red carpet event surfaces, showcasing Janet’s beautiful diamond necklace that looks identical to the one stolen by Alice. The Warners deny the diamond is theirs; the picture merely shows a piece of crystal costume jewelry. It’s Esposito who uncovers this blatant lie. He places Barrett Hawke at the Warner residence the night before. Boom!

At this point, the details are a little muddled in my brain. So much happens in a short time span, it’s hard to explain without writing it scene by scene. I honestly don’t want to do that because I want you to experience it yourself. I’ll give you this, though, some wealthy people will do anything to stay wealthy. Other wealthy people – Alice and her boyfriend Matt – want to do what’s best for the sake of less fortunate souls. Stealing the diamond is one way to end the bloody diamond cartel in Africa, but if the secrets to man-made diamonds are released, someone wouldn’t be very wealthy anymore.

At the end of “A Murder is Forever,” Castle and Beckett go back to the loft where Castle has a surprise waiting. He realizes in order to define their “shared territory,” he needs to incorporate her stories with his. Out with Linus the Lion and in with the seashells they collected on their first walk in the Hamptons. A moment truly squee worthy … until the lion roars. I’m not explaining that, it’s something you need to experience for yourself!

Hits

“NF1945” – This code is found in the victim’s car. I honestly don’t remember what it relates to, but I surmise it stands for Nathan Fillion 1945. I like the writers’ sense of humor.
Ryan: “I don’t know about you but I’m very comfortable in my masculinity.”

Esposito: “You do realize you’re wearing a sweater vest, right?”

Diamond Expert (John Hans Tester): “Detective, you are not tall enough to have pockets deep enough.”
Not one mention of Alexis (Molly Quinn) or Pi (Myko Olivier)!

Misses

A true miss, in my book, is the title of the episode. It wasn’t until almost 24 hours after viewing that I finally pieced together the meaning and how it complements the episode as a whole. I believe the writers made the title a play on the movie Diamonds are Forever and then just switched “diamonds” for “murder.” Yeah, it’s still not blowing my mind in the creativity department.
I honestly cannot give “A Murder is Forever” a four-star rating, but a three doesn’t feel right either. Let’s say 3.5. Sure, I liked the episode but I think there is too much information and backstory shoved into 42 minutes. You really have to be one smart cookie to understand what is going on. I even found myself rewinding certain parts a couple times.

Tune in to Castle, Mondays at 10/9c, only on ABC.

For more on the show, go to http://abc.go.com/shows/castle.
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Emily Reynolds

Hi, you've reached Emily, your TV Goddess. She has an addiction to TV shows, especially crime dramedies and is always available to fangirl with you! She also loves coffee, sleeping, and tweeting. Read her random but awesome musings on Twitter: @tvgoddess47!!!