Castle Season 5 Review “Significant Others” – Three is Never Good Company

For a man who is as good with the ladies as Richard Castle, he certainly does manage to get himself into the worst situations with the ones closest to him. In “Significant Others,” this week’s episode of Castle, Meredith, his ex-wife/mother of his daughter, showed up to take care of Alexis during her freshman mono (almost a prerequisite to graduation)…and Castle invited her to stay at his place.

Unfortunately, Beckett was also staying there while her apartment was being fumigated. Three isn’t a crowd; it’s an awkward mess. Beckett made it clear she resented the situation (somewhat understandably), and Castle tried to smooth things over in his usual way (with expensive hotel rooms and champagne), but getting out of the situation proved far trickier than getting into it. Especially when it seemed like Meredith was going out of her way to make Beckett feel like the third wheel.

As it turned out, though, after getting strong-armed into having dinner with her boyfriend’s ex-wife, Beckett found herself charmed by Meredith. And, at least to the naked eye, Meredith approved of Beckett being with Castle. So, because the ex wasn’t the witch she imagined, Beckett had to know why she and Castle hadn’t made it work, not even for Alexis’s sake.

Now, maybe it’s just because we see far more of the show through Castle’s eyes than Beckett’s…we’ve met his mother and his daughter and seen his home life, not to mention having watched his feelings for Beckett evolve from attraction to love…but when Meredith told Beckett that Castle always held back his personal life and his inner-most thoughts from her, I was a tad bit confused. Castle? Holding back??

What I don’t understand is why Beckett let the woman into her head. If anyone holds back, it’s Beckett herself. Why is she always so quick to believe the worst of Castle, after everything they’ve been through together? I sometimes can’t figure out what Beckett wants from him. He’s supposed to be strong, yet soft; available, but not too available; funny, yet only when absolutely appropriate. I think she really does love him, but it’s becoming clear that she isn’t it all confident that he loves her back and that’s probably going to start showing very soon.

But if I’m wrong, and if you really think that Meredith has a point, that she wasn’t just trying to mess with Beckett, let me know in the comments below.

As for the case, it was fairly standard. Divorce attorney was killed by a woman who had staged her own death to punish her ex-husband. The highlight was watching another feuding divorced couple destroy each others art. But it was nice to see a few former soap opera stars, like Jack Wagner, getting some prime-time work.

What did you think about the episode? Let me know below! And remember you can always follow me on Twitter @krieli1 so you never miss a review.