A Castle thought
May. 14th, 2013 04:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
osprey_archerA few posts back ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ladyherenya asked me who my five favorite female sleuths are, and naturally I mentioned Kate Beckett, which led me into musings about all things Castle. One of the things I really like about Castle and Beckett's relationship is that, while it draws on the Holmes-Watson paradigm for detective partnerships - there seems to be a law that all detective partnerships in pop culture have to draw on that - the relationship is reciprocal: they are both Holmes to the other's Watson, and vice versa.
They're both Holmesian in that they're good at solving crimes, although Beckett is more likely to use classically Holmesian reasoning while Castle does...I don't think there's a name for what Castle does...Castle comes up with wild theories that he sometimes discards and sometimes refines down to fit the facts.
Castle's penchant for wild theorizing provides Beckett with her Watsonian role: once she decides he's worth it, she runs interference for him for other people, who don't necessarily appreciate his unique social skills and brand of police work - at least till they see him in action.
But Castle also acts as Watson to Beckett's Holmes: he helps keep her emotionally grounded, because Becket is inclined to put a wall between herself and the world. And, of course, he fulfills the traditional Watson role of chronicler.
***
I should add the caveat that I haven't seen any of season five yet. (I wish they released the DVDs more quickly after the season ended. They always seem to keep them till just a few days before the next season starts. Doesn't that seem like a bad way to lure in new viewers?)
I've heard there's less Alexis, which is probably unavoidable - she's going away to college - but still sad, because Alexis is pretty much my favorite. I should write a post about Alexis and Martha sometime...
ladyherenya asked me who my five favorite female sleuths are, and naturally I mentioned Kate Beckett, which led me into musings about all things Castle. One of the things I really like about Castle and Beckett's relationship is that, while it draws on the Holmes-Watson paradigm for detective partnerships - there seems to be a law that all detective partnerships in pop culture have to draw on that - the relationship is reciprocal: they are both Holmes to the other's Watson, and vice versa. They're both Holmesian in that they're good at solving crimes, although Beckett is more likely to use classically Holmesian reasoning while Castle does...I don't think there's a name for what Castle does...Castle comes up with wild theories that he sometimes discards and sometimes refines down to fit the facts.
Castle's penchant for wild theorizing provides Beckett with her Watsonian role: once she decides he's worth it, she runs interference for him for other people, who don't necessarily appreciate his unique social skills and brand of police work - at least till they see him in action.
But Castle also acts as Watson to Beckett's Holmes: he helps keep her emotionally grounded, because Becket is inclined to put a wall between herself and the world. And, of course, he fulfills the traditional Watson role of chronicler.
***
I should add the caveat that I haven't seen any of season five yet. (I wish they released the DVDs more quickly after the season ended. They always seem to keep them till just a few days before the next season starts. Doesn't that seem like a bad way to lure in new viewers?)
I've heard there's less Alexis, which is probably unavoidable - she's going away to college - but still sad, because Alexis is pretty much my favorite. I should write a post about Alexis and Martha sometime...
