Castle Review S1E1: “Flowers for Your Grave”

“Sir, he is like a nine-year-old on a sugar rush, totally incapable of taking anything seriously.”

-Det. Kate Beckett on Rick Castle, Castle S1E1: “Flowers for Your Grave”

Brief synopsis: When the murders that are portrayed in Richard Castle’s books start being imitated in real life, the police department takes him on as a consultant as they track down the killer.

Title significance: “Flowers for Your Grave” refers to the title of Castle’s book that featured a murder victim covered in rose petals, the same way Alison Tisdale was found at the beginning of the episode. There are two other murder victims in this episode, but Alison is the one who gets the episode title. This makes her stand out as important to the viewer, just as she stands out to the detectives as being slightly different from the other two victims.

The title also evokes certain images. It is usually family and close friends who put flowers on people’s graves. It shows both respect and sadness for the departed. Alison seems like a wonderful person. She wanted to be a social worker. She didn’t want to rely on daddy’s money. The title represents how not only will she be mourned, but also her close, personal connection with the killer.

IRL and the Story: Here we’ll be talking about how Castle’s story-writing experience changes his view on things and how it affects or parallels the case. In this episode, Castle’s instinct that the case was solved too easily was correct. Of course it was. This is a television show, not real life. Its primary function is entertainment. So when the case is wrapped up neatly, Castle becomes the mouthpiece of the viewer when he says, “It’s too easy.” He begins searching for the twist because without one there’s no payoff, and he (and all of us) have been trained to expect that payoff.

I’m not going to go too in-depth with this one. It’s the first episode and the audience eagerly expects a twist. One is delivered.

Success of story-mystery parallelism: Does the fact that a twist is expected make it less of a twist? Regardless, it is delightfully meta to have a character be the mouthpiece for the audience.

What “Flowers for Your Grave” does right:

• Imagery – Those first few moments, if you ignore the overly dramatic voiceover, are magic. The red of the roses, the yellow of the sunflowers, and the stark blackness of the background create a gorgeous scene. Later, when the scene changes from Castle living the life of a celebrity to Kate walking down the hallway revealing the scene of the crime, I got chills. It creates a certain image of the victim, even though we have not heard anything about her. The flowers act as a symbol of youth and purity and goodness. Their vibrancy seems to speak of the vibrancy of Alison’s life. This color/flower motif is repeated by the drawings of Kyle. The drawings are creepy, colorful scribbles depicting the murder scene. They are clearly the work of an unhinged mind, and once again cause a reaction in the viewer.

• Secondary Characters – While most of the secondary characters were good, there was one who stood out. Laney was  a delight. She was snarky, but friendly. I like it. Her second line is what sealed the deal for me. Kate says something obnoxious about being forever alone. Laney responds with telling her maybe she should wear lipstick, which was kinda the verbal way of rolling her eyes and dismissing Kate’s overdramatics. The audience will not believe that a woman like Kate cannot find a date. Neither can Laney. God, this show is so meta. I also appreciate her interactions with Castle. She doesn’t feel threatened, and seems to enjoy how he knows things.

• Family Interactions – I do not like redheads. It’s a dislike that has been handed down through my mother’s side over the generations. I don’t trust them. Castle’s family, made up of his mother Martha and daughter Alexis, is composed of redheads. So, they must be really something to get me to like them. Most teenage daughters on TV are rebellious and go through the same rebellious problems. Alexis reminds me of myself at that age: Straight-laced and refusing to drink, even with her family. I find her wholesomeness and lack of stereotypical problems refreshing. Miranda isn’t as much of a success in this episode, but her comment about Mousetrap made me smile.

What “Flowers for Your Grave” could have done better:

• Castle – Maybe it’s because I got used to Castle being a more interesting character in later episodes, but he just rubbed me the wrong way in the pilot. Frankly, he’s a douche. He signs women’s chests, makes cracks about liking spankings, and at one point says “Boys will be boys will be boys.” Nathan Fillion once referred to the character of Castle and mentioned how he would not like to be friends with him. I agree, especially in this first episode. He was more annoying than charming and was only bearable while with his family.
  

• Melodrama – “Murder. Mystery. The macabre.” I wince every time I hear this (and I had to hear it several times as I was watching the beginning for my portion on imagery). I know melodrama is part of the noir genre. I know it was Castle’s publisher speaking at his party. It was to be expected. I think the part that bothered me most is that it started before we cut to the actual scene. It’s okay to do nods to the genre. Don’t push it too far. The melodrama continues with the previously mentioned scene where Kate claims romance is dead because she spends Saturday nights alone. This line made me dislike Kate immensely, and definitely colored my view of the character throughout the entire first season.

• Realism – I’m not talking realism in the strictest sense. I am perfectly willing to suspend the majority of my disbelief for the sake of being entertained. I’m talking about one hugely obnoxious instance. Castle knows how to question people better than Kate does. It’s perfectly feasible that Castle knows how to question people. What is not realistic is the fact that Kate, who has already been convinced that they have the wrong guy, is so unwilling to question Alison’s father. This begs the question: Why was she even going there in the first place if she wasn’t going to do any digging? Was she just going repeat the same questions and offer her condolences? The scene annoyed me because she should have been the one asking the questions that lead them to the answer. You’re a detective, Kate. Act like it. She redeems herself later, but this should not have happened.

Overall: A bit of a lackluster episode. They have a good foundation with Castle’s family life and I appreciate its meta nature, but the rest of it wasn’t that great.