"The Fast and the Furriest" was a wonderful combination of both funny and sweet moments.

It was another Perlmutter episode and as much as I love Lanie, Perlmutter is a completely different kind of fun. Here, he was definitely the perfect foil for Castle's Big Foot theories. Added points for making me laugh when he called Esposito and Ryan The B Team.  

I liked that they didn't jump to Big Foot right away. First they went with the crazy monkey theories, which led to Ryan's adorable revelation as he shared his childhood love for his favorite primate in this Castle quote…

Ryan: I always wanted a pet monkey when I was a kid. Big Curious George fan.
Castle: Wait 'til George grows up. An adult chimpanzee can reach 200 lbs, tear off a man's face, hands, and naughty bits. | permalink

When Ryan corrected that George would never do that, I just wanted to give him a hug.

Castle's interactions with the gorilla behind the glass were downright hysterical. It made me wonder how much unused footage might exist of Nathan Fillion and the giant primate making faces at one another. Fingers crossed we get to see some of that on the Castle Season 5 DVD in the fall.

Of course,it was hard to argue with Beckett's assessment of the interaction…

Castle: Did you see how that gorilla looked at me?
Beckett: I think it was lust actually Castle. You are ruggedly handsome. | permalink

As much as certain things have evolved throughout the series, some things never change... like Castle's inability to keep his hands to himself. The man simply has a visceral need to touch things, even gross looking petrified yeti toes.

Once again we had Castle and Ryan as the hopeful believers and Beckett and Esposito as the doubting skeptics. For this one I was on Team Beckett. How exactly would a giant, hairy apeman get around New York City completely unseen? Especially now that everyone has a camera phone attached to his/her hand and traffic and security cameras on almost every block? It would take actual magic to pull that off.

Castle and Beckett's trip into the woods made me laugh, mostly because of Castle's ridiculous outfit. Did he stop to buy that on the way or was the bright orange turtle neck and weird camo overalls already in the back of his closet for some reason?

Beckett has climbed on Castle's shoulders before but this time may have been my favorite. It's probably because now that they're a couple, they can openly flirt about it which makes it all the more fun.

Castle: Shouldn't you be wearing a short skirt for this? That's the rule. | permalink

We were even gifted with a bedroom scene as the two debated the importance of everyday magic over the mystery of possible magic. I loved that Beckett admitted the one mystery she undoubtedly believed in is them and then kissed him, only to stop because of the crash in the kitchen.  

Honestly, sometimes it feels as though 90% of their kisses get interrupted. 

Which leads us to Alexis, otherwise known as the loft's super rat. 

I was surprised it took Castle so long to figure it out. If there's food missing from the fridge, the culprit is usually the college student. But then again, Alexis did lie to him and that's not the norm. Granted, the girl has been through a lot this year and most kids, even young adults, will do almost anything to avoid a lecture from a well meaning parent. 

Castle, being the best dad ever, not only took Alexis out to dinner, he offered to check out her friend's project that needs funding. I have little doubt he'll be pulling out his checkbook before it's over. If Alexis believes in people, it's only because she's gleaned that trait from her father.

The last thing that should be mentioned is Beckett's stunning zippered black jacket. That's definitely going on my list of must-haves along with most of her collection.

After a week's hiatus, it was great to see Castle come back with one if its classic, light hearted mysteries to brighten our Monday.

C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.