GothWatch: Gracie

[Contains old-timey, rat-infested tunnels and B-plot SPOILERS!!!]

Ch5 are working through the third season of Castle, and this week’s episode (#3.10, “Last Call”) saw Alexis (Molly C. Quinn) reuniting with an old grade-school gal-pal, who was in town to visit colleges. They hadn’t seen each other in years, so Alexis was rather shocked to open the front-door to find a black-clad, lip-ring-sporting Goth stood waiting to greet her. Oh noes! The next time Papa Castle touches base with his daughter, she’s kvetching about how far she and her former friend have drifted apart, and how Gracie seems to sneer at everything she holds dear… but her wiser elders suggest this is just the out-of-towner’s defensive strategy for dealing with how all-around awesome Alexis is. And wouldn’t you know it, they’re right! One shopping trip later, and Gracie’s shields have been worn down by our heroine’s all-conquering adorability, and they’re back to being besties again! Hurrah! Hugs and ice-cream and antique-speakeasy-scotch for everyone!

Gracie was played by an actress named Jillian Clare, who (sadly) doesn’t look the least bit Goth-y in real life… but, rewatching her first scene, I think she did a great job of playing her character’s initial snarkiness as a nervous reaction, rather than a casual or callous attack, so kudos to her for bringing such a small part to life. According to Wikipedia, Clare is best known for her role as the pre-teen version of ‘Abigail “Abby” Deveraux’ on Days of our Lives, and for her lead role as ‘Victoria “Tori” Archer’ in an award-winning web-series called Miss Behave (which she also produced).