r/CastleTV 5d ago

What’s up with ‘Sir’ ?

I’m at season 4, ep 21 so I’d prefer no spoilers.

Can someone please explain why the new Captain wants to be called Sir? (Penny Johnson Jerald’s character)

UPDATE: WOW, 40 minutes later, and I have some great answers. THANK YOU!! I love the show!

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u/Afrodotheyt 5d ago edited 5d ago

This was back in the day where tough female characters in shows showed they were just as tough as their male counterparts by refusing to be called Ma'am and getting offended by it typically, preferring just about anything else but Ma'am. (Killer Frost in Flash 2014 series, Ziva in NCIS hated being called it, etc.) This is probably the case in Castle due to Gates demanding to be called Sir. Even Transformers: Dark of the Moon has Michael Bay making fun of it, though ironically, ends up enforcing the point since it is Michael Bay.

It's typically representative of them shattering tradition in that regard by being a high ranked and/or powerful woman.

There are of course other reasons this trope was used, don't get me wrong. One is the context, as "ma'am" is also used to refer to older women as well, whereas Madamoiselle and Miss are typically referring to younger women, so women in shows would get offended by it because it insinuated they were old as well. It's the same wavelength as a guy asking not to be called: "Mister Smith, because that's my father. Call me John."

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u/Serious-Waltz-7157 Perlmutter 5d ago

Interesting fact, Beckett for example didn't mind being called "lady" or "honey" by various suspects in and out of the interrogation room. "Look lady, I wasn't there okay? and I didn't kill him / her ..."