by AnnaMariaCrum | Mar 27, 2013 | plot, writing | 0 comments
I love it when characters make smart choices. The other night I watched Castle. Once the story got going it developed along pretty obvious lines. I did like that they presented a new side to Kevin Ryan, one of the homicide detectives, who went undercover with the Irish mob. However, as the climax approached you knew the bad guys were on to him. The second-in-command took him for a ride out to the docks where they met up with the head of the mob and Ryan's old girlfriend who they had fingered as the informant. Kevin was given a gun and told to prove his loyalty and kill her. A friend asked me what I thought would happen next. I said he'd refuse to shoot her and would turn the gun on the mob boss and then he'd discover the gun was empty. It was a test and he'd fail, then Castle and company would arrive in the nick of time to save him. Which is what happened, except for a smart twist. Kevin had lifted the second-in-command's cell phone (there was a scene where he tried to leave and they grappled for a minute) and called the station. They'd been listening in to the entire conversation and had surrounded the area. Smart move and it made the somewhat predictable climax much more interesting. Especially when Kevin started calling out for his support. He called for Esposito who steps out from cover with a rifle trained on them. Next comes Beckett. She pops up also with gun in hand. Then he yells for Castle, who pops out from behind Becket and says, "Who, me?" Quite delightful. I always appreciate it when they take the time to change up the expected and present something different. And the surprises weren't over. Back at the police station it turns out it was the second-in-command's wife who was guilty of the earlier homicide (the inciting incident). That one I never saw coming.