A mocking of Kim Kardashian. Shared custody of a puppy. An intimate moment for Castle and Beckett. It's safe to say that last Monday's "An Embarrassment of Bitches" had it all.

Now, with a week off before Castle and company head to 1947, our Round Table team is here to debate a number of topics from the episode. Take it away Jim Garner, Molly Harper, Courtney Morrison and Chandel Charles...

-------------------------------------------

Were you surprised Beckett was considering getting a dog?
Jim: Not at all, she lives alone in New York. If she's not worried about her safety, she has to get lonely and want to talk to someone (or something).

Molly: Not really, Beckett is becoming more aware of how lonely she is, how empty her life is now that she isn't devoting all of her energy to her mother's case. She's going to look for ways to fill up that space.

Courtney: No, definitely not. Everyone needs a dog, even bad ass detectives like Kate Beckett. And like Jim mentioned, a female living alone in NYC with a dog isn't that bad of an idea.

Chandel: No, I think she is lonely and could use a companion. Plus she really seemed to like the retriever!

Pick the right pet for both Castle and Beckett?
Jim:  Beckett strikes me as the Rottweiler type, something with muscles but brains and is extremely loyal. Castle, on the other hand, was in the right ballpark with a Retriever, loyal, playful and incredibly loving. Of course, the the best dog for Beckett is really the "RICKtriever" - am I right?

Molly: Beckett needs a cat, something low-maintenance that would be OK if she needed to be out of the apartment for long stretches of time. For some reason, I see Castle getting some exotic pet that would eventually cause huge problems for him, like an alligator or a tiger (despite the "trapped with a tiger" episode.) Maybe he'll install a full-sized supervillian shark tank in Alexis's room when she leaves for college.

Courtney: Agreed that a Retriever is perfect for Castle, that or something fun and silly like a little pug. Beckett could totally have a Bulldog - cute but tough if you need it to be.

Chandel: I think a dog would work well for both of them.

The sparks were flying when Castle touched Kate's hand.  So why did he pull back so quickly?
Jim:  I think you gave the answer to the question. Neither Kate not Rick know what to do when the emotions boil up like that. Had she said "Rick" instead of "Castle" I think he would have moved a different direction that backwards.

Molly: Kate will only tolerate so much intimacy before she starts hitting something.

Courtney: There is a lot of unspoken tension lately between these two. The man helping Castle with her mother's case has been brought back into the fold reminding him that he is going behind her back and the fact that she still hasn't addressed his "I love you" isn't helping. Plus he could probably see it in her face that she is feeling something and he doesn't want to mess it up. 

Chandel: I have no idea! That was my favorite moment from the episode! You can tell just how strong the feelings are. It's almost like a bomb about to explode.

Esposito was sparring with Lanie, lusting after Kay and tackling suspects. What's your pick for the most memorable Esposito scene of the night?
Jim: My favorite was his reaction to Beckett mentioning that Kay was with Reggie.. His response was priceless, and I swear Stana Katic's reaction to him was not acting, it looked way to much like a real laugh. 

Molly: Volunteering to sift through gossip rags and insisting that Kay couldn't possibly be interested in a back-up dancer from a music video.

Courtney: Espo was on fire. Every scene he had with Kay was pretty entertaining, especially when he was reviewing the pictures with her. His faces responding to the photos were great. 

Chandel: I think when Kay got real with Esposito about the kind of life she wanted. For a moment he saw her as a more than just a celebrity, which I really liked.

What was your favorite scene overall?
Jim: I really liked Epso and Kay looking at her pictures. She was right that we judge celebrities by the pictures and it was nice to see she wasn't a vapid egotistical witch - that she had feelings and fears just like all of us. I think it would be interesting to see her and Espo hook up, would add an interesting twist for him to have a famous G/F for a bit.

Molly: I always love scenes with Alexis. The "meeting up with boys from Craigslist" line cracked me up.

Courtney: There were a lot of things to like about this episode, but my favorite by far is Beckett and Castle trying to convince the dog to come to each of them. It was something that felt real and not written. A close second goes to the first time Hilarie Burton opened her mouth as Kay. I was losing it and she was awesome in this part.

Chandel: Again, I have to go with the scene in Beckett's apartment when he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. It was definitely packed with attraction that was so thick you could cut it with a knife!