That's What Partners Do. Recap: Castle - "Dreamworld"

Season 6, Episode 2

Airdate: Monday, September 30, 2013 at 10/9c on ABC
Rating: ★★★★★

“No one is more motivated than me to solve this and if it doesn’t work out, I’ll be out of your hair by the end of the day.” – Richard Castle

CASTLE - "Dreamworld" - Continuing from the season premiere episode, Beckett races against time to find a stolen toxin capable of killing tens of thousands of people. To make matters worse, Castle was exposed, leaving him with less than 24 hours to live, on "Castle," MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 (10:01-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Richard Cartwright) STANA KATIC

Kate Beckett’s realizes the strain her new job puts on her relationship with Rick Castle.

Previously on Castle, we were blindsided by a surprise two-part episode that threatened Rick Castle’s (Nathan Fillion) life due to a deadly toxin leaving him less than one day to live. As shocking as the last few minutes of last week’s episode “Valkyrie” were, it’s follow-up, “Dreamworld” continues what seems to be a very simplistic and predictable path.

My rating of a 4 out of 5 stars still stands, however, there is no possible way this episode could ever compare to it’s predecessors like “Boom”, “Countdown”, “Linchpin”, or even “Hunt” (which I wasn’t the biggest fan of). I appreciate the fact that Andrew Marlowe and Company finally decided to bring it down a notch when it came to two-part episodes; they were really starting to get out of hand. Castle and Beckett have already saved the world! There’s not much more you can accomplish. In ”Dreamworld,” we really see the emotional anxieties Castle’s loved ones go through, especially the toll it takes on Beckett (Stana Katic). Overall, I thought “Dreamworld” was handled very nicely.

First order of business: I found out that Beckett works for the Attorney General’s Office (AGO). It’s actually a real position within the Department of Justice, I Googled it. I apologize for the confusion I may have caused.

Rachel McCord makes a stand for Castle joining the AGO task force for a day.

In true Castle fashion, after divulging Esposito’s (Jon Huertas) military insight into Dreamworld – a ghost base – to Beckett, Castle joins the ranks of the AGO task force giving them a set of fresh eyes. They track down a reporter named Brad Parker (Warren Christie – Swoon Alert!) who tried to publish an article titled, “Inside Dreamworld.” The team believes he might have useful information about the toxin. When Beckett and McCord (Lisa Edelstein) catch up with Parker, he reveals the Secretary of Defense himself called to kill the article. Even more interesting is Defense Secretary Reed (Glenn Morshower) was formerly the General in charge of Central Command, which ran all missions out of Dreamworld. Do you smell that? I’m thinking we have ourselves a corrupt government official.

After an off the books meeting with Defense Secretary Reed, the task force now believes the stolen toxin is an Al-Qaida retaliation against an United States airstrike from a year ago.

The bad news is the toxin’s versatile: it could be deployed through the ventilation system, it could contaminate a reservoir, it could be detonated with bomb and release a toxic plume over part of this city. And if that happens we’d be dealing with a lot more than just a couple of deaths on our hands and… I am so sorry. – Rachel McCord

Diving deeper into the Dreamworld mystery, Waquas Rasheed (Omid Abtahi) – a Zawari family member, victims of the Al-Qaida air strike – sheds light onto the code word Valkyrie. During mission preparation, the US sent in an undercover agent posing as a servant to the Zawari family. Her codename was Valkyrie real name Farrah Usman. She died during the airstrike at the command of Defense Secretary Reed. Jack Bronson (Jack Kennedy), the dead guy from last week, was ordered to retrieve her body and cover-up her death. I told you, CORRUPT!

Except for the fact that he’s not. It’s a damn shame too because we get to see Beckett go all, in-your-face-I-have-major-federal-agent-badassery-status-skills on him!

In a massive turn of events, the AGO finds out Brad Parker, the reporter, was engaged to Valkyrie. Parker is using the toxin for revenge against the Secretary of Defense. Didn’t see that coming, so I guess the episode wasn’t as predictable as I stated earlier!

Richard Castle’s life is in jeopardy once again.

Castle, who is quickly running out of time, joins the rest of the team to find Parker. With precious minutes to spare, Castle and Beckett do their thing and pursue a last-minute hunch. It turns out they are right! Parker is searching for revenge, but not with the Secretary himself, but his wife. An eye for an eye, they say. With Castle passed out on the ground, Beckett must find Parker and ultimately the antidote. It’s only with a stroke of luck that McCord shows up at the perfect time, saving Beckett and solving the case. Lisa Edelstein’s character has grown on me during this episode. She makes a stand for Beckett and even Castle that earns her several points in my book!

“Dreamworld” ends on a heartwarming note. Castle wakes up in the hospital surrounded by Beckett, his mother Martha (Susan Sullivan), and daughter Alexis (Molly Quinn)… and unfortunately, Pi (Myko Olivier). We see the relief in their eyes and the comfort that his good health has afforded.

I had the strangest dream and you were there. And you were there and you were there…. And you were there. – Richard Castle

This has to be my favorite scene not only because of the subtle Wizard of Oz reference, but because Beckett is actually confronting their relationship complications and starts the road to mending it by apologizing. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that there were several throwbacks to previous episodes, including playful dialogue and our very own ‘Caskett’ (Castle-Beckett) musical motif!

Hits:

I thoroughly enjoyed Castle’s phone call with Martha and Alexis. You can immediately tell these two redheads are concerned about Castle’s behavior. Martha even goes so far as reaching out to Ryan (Seamus Dever) and Esposito.
Anyone want to keep repeating the city name, Jalalabad? I might just settle for listening to Stana Katic say it… over and over again.
“That’s what partners do.” Foreshadowing is coming into play! I can’t wait to get the team back together in New York City!

Misses:

Pi. Enough said.

What did you think of tonight’s episode? Let me know in the comment section below!

Tune in to Castle, Mondays at 10/9c only on ABC.

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Emily Reynolds

Hi, you've reached Emily, your TV Goddess. She has an addiction to TV shows, especially crime dramedies and is always available to fangirl with you! She also loves coffee, sleeping, and tweeting. Read her random but awesome musings on Twitter: @tvgoddess47!!!