Castle Review: Tone Death (Season 8 Episode 9)

It may have all been worth it, you guys.

Castle comes back strong after hiatus with “Tone Death,” for a fun, lighthearted episode that brings the romance back for Castle and Beckett in a whole new way.

Truthfully, there’s still a lot about the situation that doesn’t make much sense to me, but that doesn’t make it any less satisfying to see what it’s like for Castle and Beckett to have to sneak around and pretend to fight. They have the opportunity for stolen moments, which allows their relationship to feel new and exciting all over again — and adds a new layer to their dynamic.

Mostly, the pretending is for the benefit of Ryan and Esposito, who become protective of Beckett after jumping to the conclusion that Castle must have cheated.

It’s sweet. Castle is their friend, but they make it clear where their loyalties lie. I don’t know if I buy that they were still so tolerant of Castle after the confession — I’m actually surprised Castle didn’t come out of it with a black eye, but they do give him a hard time. I just hope they find out sooner rather than later that Castle and Beckett’s “hot dates” are actually with each other.

And though the focus is on Castle and Beckett’s relationship in this episode, there are also some great moments for other characters to shine. Any chance we get to see more of Martha is a good thing. We see the theatrical side of her that we’re used to seeing, and we even get to hear her sing, but this time, we get to see something more complex in her as well.

I actually wish we could have seen more of that — her emotional response to knowing the victim of this week’s murder (and um, seeing the dead body, which is one of the more gruesome scenes we’ve seen on this show in a while) and to helping the other girls in the singing group. Plus, you have to love her reaction to the actual killer — a good old fashioned slap across the face!

Oh, but Martha isn’t the only one we get to hear sing. Turns out Esposito is actually quite talented in that department as well. I could watching his sing-off with the other guys in the group over and over again. I swear, this guy is always full of surprises.

Something else that’s really satisfying about this episode is seeing Beckett in action. Though she’s captain, we still see her in the field plenty, taking down suspects like it’s no big deal.

It’s almost as though she’s a little more on top of her game these days, and maybe that has to do with her reconciliation with Castle.

Other Thoughts:

• There’s a very brief mention of Gates, which I’m thankful for. We didn’t get the closure there that we should have.
• The emoji translation scene borders on being a bit too cutesy, but I have to say, I really enjoy seeing Castle, Martha, and Alexis all working together.

What did you think of this episode of Castle? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Castle airs Mondays at 10/9c on ABC.

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