Fraud

Last night, I was watching Castle for the umpteenth time. You know, it’s one of those shows you can binge and not even notice you’ve burned through an entire season because you’re so engrossed in the crime-solving, Rick’s witty banter, and Beckett’s no-nonsense attitude. It was just a typical night of unwinding, beer in hand, wrapped up in my blanket burrito when a line from Rick Castle hit me out of nowhere.

He said something about how irony is one of the most misunderstood concepts. People throw the term around like confetti at a New Year’s party without actually knowing what it means. Castle even mentioned how the Alanis Morissette song drives him up the wall because it misuses irony. I laughed because, let’s face it, Alanis was basically just talking about unfortunate situations and calling them ironic. But then, something dawned on me.

My ex used to say the exact same thing. That’s when it hit me like a ton of bricks. I’d always thought my ex was clever, sharing thoughts and opinions that aligned with mine. We’d have these deep conversations about random stuff—art, movies, music, life—and he seemed to just get it, you know? So when he went off on a rant about Alanis Morissette misusing irony, I thought, “Damn, this guy is on my wavelength!”

But last night, as I sat there watching Castle, it finally clicked. He was just quoting the show like some unoriginal parrot trying to impress me with words that weren’t even his own. All this time, I thought we had this intellectual connection. Turns out he was just taking lines from a TV show and passing them off as his own. Like, come on dude, get your own material!

In that moment, I realized my ex was kind of a total fraud. I loved him for many reasons, sure, but looking back, he wasn’t really the deep thinker I thought he was. He was just a copycat, pulling quotes from a detective show and trying to make them sound profound.

It’s a strange feeling, having the wool pulled from your eyes by a fictional character. But hey, at least I got to discover it while doing something I enjoy—watching Castle. As I watched Rick’s antics, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at the irony of it all. I was getting the real deal from the TV while my ex was just stealing lines. Let’s just say, that ship has sailed, and I’m glad it’s long gone.