While the narrative is fairly boilerplate, the pacing is set up nicely as the gang falls deeper and deeper into a secret world of clues and intrigue. Castle is basically channeling his inner Tom Hanks and he is no slouch when it comes to NYC history, Latin, and puzzle solving. However Beckett is her skeptical self and doesn’t believe any of Rick’s crazy theories. Naturally she comes around by the time the episode is nearing the end. Any other show I would probably complain but Stana Katic makes the tough as nails Beckett affable and downright sweet. One thing I found odd in this episode is that although Castle and Beckett are engaged to be married they are all business when they are on the case. It makes you miss the days when there was that unspoken love and longing for each other. The sexual tension that worked so well for them in the first four seasons is gone and it is definitely missed. Alexis has become kind of a drag since being saved in last season’s “Save Alexis” arc. And Pi is just a cliché—a composite of every stoner dude we’ve seen on prime-time TV. Alexis is at that age where everything parents say is wrong and is under the impression that she deserves or has the right to do as she pleases while Daddy foots the bill. I guess I just don’t buy that she would be able to afford any apartment in the city without help from her millionaire best selling father. I’m hoping that this whole Pi thing ends soon because it is becoming really lame. Still despite my small grievances with the episode, it is a fun romp of an hour with a solid case being investigated. It’s always good to see Rick genuinely interested in the case at hand because it always makes for a more fun episode. His theories and speculations are sometimes hysterical and he truly wants to believe. Like his books, Castle needs a good story and this episode really makes the grade. The combination of drama, thrills and the sprinkling of comedy continue to make Castle one of my favorites.