Apparently, Richard Castle is five by five. Oh, Nathan—your homage to Joss warms the heart.

This latest episode gave us, and Castle, something new: a rival for Beckett’s affections. With the introduction of a former flame and FBI agent, we finally see a bit of the woman Beckett can be and that Castle can actually be compassionate.

Once upon a time, there was a prince who heard of a princess who had been asleep for years. She walks and talks like someone who is awake. She dances, steals, sings and saves lives. But he knows she is really asleep.

He goes into a dark castle, hidden undergound. As he is about to wake her, he meets another prince who says she is better off asleep. While they fight each other, they fail to notice a third prince who wakes her up, and turns her into someone else. They run off to live happily ever after. As the princes wonder what happened, another princess who was asleep wakes up, and wonders why the first prince didn’t kiss her instead.

Welcome to "Briar Rose", a fractured fairy tale of the Dollhouse.

The story, written by Jane Espenson, cleverly weaves the original version of Sleeping Beauty, Briar Rose, into Echo’s current engagement, helping an abused girl deal with her past, and Paul’s determination to free Echo/Caroline from the Dollhouse, as if he was meant to be Prince Charming. Throw in a guy who is a reluctant sidekick, and one incredible twist at the end, and you have a fairy tale that doesn’t get any grimmer.

Establishing a weekly poker game with Beckett, Castle and the other detectives, would be a welcome edition to “Castle.” They’ve already managed to imbue these characters with terrific camaraderie on the job; the idea of them getting to relax in a more casual setting is attractive to me. And I’m hoping it’s something they’ll continue with. Adding another poker game with the mayor, chief justice and police chief is fun if only because we see that Beckett isn’t worried about challenging her bosses to a friendly game. You go girl!