You Do What Wanna Do, And Say What You Wanna Say, So, Come On And Be My Light, Come On And Lead The Way

--"Do What You Want To Do", Acid House Kings

Back when I was watching Veronica Mars regularly I was always amazed at the dynamic between Keith Mars and his daughter Veronica. There's wasn't the cantankerous and prickly relationships most shows would like us to believe occurs between fathers and daughters. For the bulk of the show the relationship was somewhat healthy, apparently stable, and, what was more, undeniably loving. They had no stoic reservations about showing their affection for one another as often as possible. Yes, theirs wasn't a perfect family. Veronica hid the truth and outright lied to her father on more than one occasion--even so far as costing him the sheriff position. Keith was often too trusting of his daughter at the expense of often being blind to what else might have been going on in the larger world. Yet at the end of the day, I would like to say that their relationship stands as a shining example of how parents ought to raise and treat their children.

I'm reminded of this relationship every time I see a new episode of Castle (again, one of my new favorite shows ever). Every time I see the interplay between the titular character and his daughter Alexis I immediately remark to myself (or anyone nearby) that it's this pair that is the most interesting relationship on the show. It's also the bulk of the reason I watch. So far the chemistry between Beckett and Castle hasn't developed to the point of being interesting. It's becoming more believable with every episode, but it still has quite a distance to go in terms of developing real legs. At best, it's cute and an intriguing sub-plot for later. And, yes, so far the mysteries have all been well-choreographed and thought out. However, the same twists have all been seen before on shows like CSI and Law & Order. What truly makes this show stand out is that it displays a father and daughter that rather enjoy each other's company. I daresay this is even more true than it was on Veronica Mars.

I find it refreshing to see how, despite his impish persona, deep down Richard Castle is a loving and protective father. He absolutely dotes on Alexis, while at the same time acknowledging that she is his superior in a lot of ways. Even at fifteen, he can see she's already more responsible, more intelligent, and more deeply rooted in doing the "mature" thing than he is currently. In a lot of ways, she takes care of him instead of the other way. Yet it's how often the writers have the two of them connect that makes their interplay almost magical. They don't just agree; they see eye-to-eye on a great many things, whether it be to drugs, the importance of family, loyalty, or even something as simple as bed times. Again, it's nice to see a show where the parents aren't pitted against the children to provide fodder for drama or conflict.

As I mentioned in an earlier review of Castle I see a lot of Penny from Inspector Gadget in Alexis as well. On almost every episode, it's an insight she's given her father that provides him the clue that's needed to solve the case. That isn't an oversight. It establishes a pattern of just how involved they are in each other's lives. Not only that, but I think it establishes how much respect he shows for her. Rather than treat her like a subordinate like most fathers would, in certain instances and in certain cases he almost treats her like an equal. At the very least it shows how much he values her opinion.

I've talked it over with Breanne on several occasions about why I'm so obsessed with this facet of the program. Aside from the fact, yes, Alexis is a redhead--which is always enough to raise my antenna just a bit--she says it's because I've been friends with enough people who have grown up in households where they felt like they weren't just that important. Whether it be Nancy Drew who was abused regularly by her brother, to Kerri Ray who was practically ignored by her parents, to Lucy herself, who felt like she was living a life for her mother and not for herself, to even myself, where I still don't feel like I've yet to make my own choices without some criticism; Breanne thinks that I've always been interested by the culture of functioning families. Providence knows there's enough dysfunction on television and movies these days. I just think it doesn't take much to make a family not work, to show how people can sour on one another. What I want to see, what I think a lot of people are clamoring for, is to see an example of how it's supposed to work. What people want to know is what the recipe for managing a healthy, independent child is. It's easy to fuck up a kid; it's hard to know how to raise him or her to be everything you hoped they would be.

Castle may be the only show currently on the air which shows this very thing, episode by episode.

Yours Swimmingly,
mojo shivers