Castle – “The Time of Our Lives” Recap. Alternate Warped Reality.

Season 7, Episode 6

Air Date: Monday, November 10, 2014 at 10/9c on ABC

Rating: ★★★★★

[warning] SPOILERS AHEAD [/warning]

“It’s like ‘It’s a Wonderful Life;’ every time your phone rings, a victim gets their wings.” – Castle

Parallel universes and strange artifacts take center stage on this week’s Castle. “The Time of Our Lives” explores the variables if Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) had never met.

Beckett and Castle’s day is about to get very strange…

Beckett receives a wedding invitation from her ex-boyfriend Will Sorenson (Bailey Chase) (seen in season one). This invite sparks a playful conversation between Castle and Beckett when he tells her he “saved” her from a boring relationship, “CSPAN boring,” to be exact. Beckett and Castle give each other hypotheticals on where they would be now had they never met six years ago. Beckett would be captain of her own precinct and Castle would be working on his second Pulitzer. Thankfully, that isn’t’ reality…at least not until they get a call about a murder involving a Swiss national and a mysterious artifact.

Mathias Gensler (David Francis Harris) flies in from Switzerland carrying a steel briefcase handcuffed to his wrist. A car service takes him to his destination where they are unceremoniously ambushed, executed, and the briefcase brutally removed from Mathias’ hand. Beckett, Castle, and Ryan (Seamus Dever) are on scene first, with Javier (Jon Huertas) and Lanie (Tamala Jones) following shortly thereafter. They say they were stuck in traffic (wink wink). During the preliminary investigation, Castle notices the dirt on the victim’s shirt isn’t ordinary grime but coal dust.

Following the trail of the coal dust, Beckett and Castle stop by an abandoned coal plant where they find the Mercedes G-wagon used in the murder. They also find the briefcase, which contains a strange circular artifact with mysterious symbols all over it. As a gunfight ensues, the killers throw a grenade. A flash of blue light blinds Castle and the bomb explodes, throwing him, artifact in hand, out of a door into the street. Everything looks the same but it isn’t. Castle is still Castle but he’s not the globally successful writer he thinks he is, and things at home aren’t the same either.

Castle tries to explain to ‘alternate’ Alexis and Martha that he’s been transported to a parallel universe.

I immensely enjoyed “The Time of Our Lives.” Seeing everyone in a different light and having roles reversed can be a great way to liven things up on a long standing series. Seeing Martha (Susan Sullivan) so successful on Broadway and how she completely redecorates Castle’s loft is delightful. I was shocked to see Alexis (Molly C. Quinn) and Castle had grown apart; so much so, she moved to Los Angeles and dyed her hair black. I love Alexis’ strawberry blonde locks. The dark hair made her look full of angst, which is what I think the writers were going for.

At the precinct, Ryan isn’t married to his beloved Jenny (Juliana Dever), and Esposito and a very pregnant Lanie are no longer together. What’s most surprising is alternate universe Beckett. She isn’t the strong, assertive woman we’ve come to know and love. In this altered reality, she’s uncompromising and cold. I didn’t like it. But one thing that stands out is even though she says she’s never seen Castle before, she is reading his books. In the parallel world, Beckett and Castle may not have met when they should have six years ago, but they were always destined to cross paths.

As the mystery unfolds about the “ancient Incan artifact,” Maria Sanchez (guest star Daniella Alonso), a beautiful Peruvian suspect, details how Maria and her cousin were going to steal the artifact from Mathias but something went horribly wrong.

Interesting Moments/Lines

Martha is too fab!

Castle, in an attempt to wake up from this so-called dream, dunks his face in a bowl of ice water over and over, much to Alexis and Martha’s amusement.

Castle explains the strangeness of the new altered reality, stating because he hadn’t met Beckett, his novels were a flop and his mother had to find success to help pay the bills. Of course, Martha sees it differently. “I found success because of my boundless talent.”

The way Castle skulks around the precinct and crime scenes is comical. I can’t describe it but his facial expressions, the way he stands, and the subtle nuances of how he inserts himself into situations are hysterical.

When Castle jumps in front of a bullet to save Beckett, I gasped. Thankfully, this happens in the alternate reality, and is just the jolt Castle needs to activate the Incan artifact that allows him to get back to his world and finally marry Beckett!

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Castle

The Wedding

Yes, the moment we’ve all been waiting for finally happens. It’s now Mr. and Mrs. Richard Castle! I think this is the perfect way for Castle and Beckett to finally move on from the kidnapping and botched wedding day in the season six finale and season seven premiere. Beckett looks lovely – even in that crazy pantsuit thing. It warmed my heart to see Castle and Beckett so in love.

Don’t think I’m letting go of the “Hollander’s Woods” mystery just yet. I need to know why Castle was kidnapped, why he was in Montreal, and why he wanted to make sure he forgot everything during the time he was missing. Don’t you?

What did you think of “The Time of Our Lives?” What did you think of Beckett’s nuptials outfit? I’d love to hear from you. Leave me a comment below and/or tweet me @judybopp.

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.