Rick headed back to school once again only this time he wasn’t the teacher, but the student on Castle Season 8 Episode 13.

I can’t say I’ve heard a lot of French Canadian accents, but for some reason Castle’s kept reminding me of Kermit the Frog. That’s not a bad thing, per se. I love Kermie.

As much as I’m sure two NYPD detectives probably deal with plenty of people who don’t want to talk to them, I was glad Castle was sent in to gather information on this linguistic mystery.

First, because people seem to naturally open up to Castle. Second, because who else would you trust to decipher someone’s grammar in order to solve a case?

I wish we had spent more time on the victim being killed at the zoo. That seemed like such a cool plot point, yet it was dispensed with a little too quickly. I wanted to see more fun with the snakes.

I couldn’t help but laugh when Rick explained to Hayley and Alexis why he opened his P.I. business in this Castle quote…

I didn't open this place to make money. I opened it for the exciting cases.
Castle

Permalink: I didn’t open this place to make money. I opened it for the exciting cases.

Well, that was an epic failure for both Castle and for viewers. I’ve made no secret how much I dislike the P.I. aspect of this season. Not only does it take away from Castle and Beckett working together, but it’s also just plain boring. The quicker they get rid of it, the happier I’ll be.

At least this time I felt as though Hayley had a real reason for being a part of the case, especially when she helped translate British into American for Esposito and Ryan. It also made for a funny scene.

Unfortunately, Vikram kept popping up for no particular purpose. On the upside, he wasn’t actively trying to keep Castle and Beckett apart, so I didn’t completely loathe him like I have in previous episodes. Still, if he disappeared entirely, I’d be more than happy.

There were a few fun ’80s TV references in this episode, including The Equalizer and Miami Vice, which made me smile.

Speaking of Crocket and Tubbs, Ryan and Esposito were having a tough day between getting shot at and then ending up face down in a bus station. Bus station floors are not known for their cleanliness!

I appreciated how Beckett didn’t let the FBI push her and her team around, and Ryan was quick to point out that if they let Marco Sutter go like the FBI wanted, he’d be quick to realize why.

Castle, Hayley and the entire ESL class trying to set up the judge was goofy, but in a good way. If Castle had only held his hand over his supposed bullet hole and played up being wounded a little more, they may have gotten the goods on the judge. Perhaps Rick needed some acting pointers from Martha before pulling off this con.

There were also a couple of other very funny moments, like Perlmutter trying to set Kate up with his twin brother. The thought of him having an identical twin is just mind boggling. And then there was Rick not being willing to kiss Kate in the morgue...

While I do love kissing you Beckett, it's just a little creepy when you do it in front of a dead body. It's inappropriate.
Castle

Permalink: While I do love kissing you Beckett, it's just a little creepy when you do it in front of a...

Talk about a role reversal!

In the end, the murder conspiracy was truly despicable, with both a judge and a teacher turning on vulnerable people who needed their help the most. As Castle alluded, they had no souls.

I loved the ending with Castle inviting everyone to his place for a special dinner. I only wish Beckett could have been there. Martha’s speech was heartwarming, and I think Alexis will make a great ESL teacher. That seems more in character for her than being a private investigator.

As for Castle’s flashbacks, I appreciated that Kate realized right away that something was bothering Rick but I still have mixed feeling about revisiting this story.

Rick's abduction was such a huge let down in Castle season 7 that I’d almost be willing to let it go and never think of it again. Hopefully the writers will give us a much better ending to this tale.

I’d almost say they couldn’t give us worse, but then I’m reminded that this is the same team that broke up Caskett for the first half of Castle season 8, and I realize that anything is possible.

So Castle is off to L.A. I can’t say I’m happy that he doesn’t appear to be headed there with Beckett, especially considering all that happened between them the last time they were on the west coast in Castle season 3 episode 22, but I’ll try and hold off on any judgments until I actually see Castle Season 8 Episode 14.

Check back on Wednesday to see what our Castle round table team has to say, and if you can’t wait until then, you can always watch Castle online here at TV Fanatic.