Castle: Once Upon a Time in the West (7x07)

Again with the adorable. Last week was sweet and romantic and just so wonderful, this week was funny and playful and again showcased the strongest thing about this show: Beckett and Castle's relationship. Let's dive right in.

In an unusual move for this show, we actually briefly see our murder victim alive at the beginning of the episode, in the hospital. She is dying, but she manages to drop a few hints before she dies, which makes the doctors believe she might have been murdered. The team is called in to investigate.

In order to do so, Beckett and Castle go under cover as a newly wed couple (funny, that) at a dude ranch in Arizona. While there, they learn that the murdered woman was apparently having an affair with a married man. When they find the man, however, Castle learns that she came on to him and he rejected her. Turns out, it was a ploy to get the man's key, which opened a shed with dynamite in it. What was the dynamite for? Apparently she was searching for some lost gold and needed to blow open its hiding place! Castle and Beckett find the place where the gold is supposed to be, but when they open the crate they find a body instead.

Turns out, the victim was the daughter of a man who, along with two partners, found the gold several years ago. One of the men is dead in the crate. One of them gets brought in for questioning by Ryan and Espo. They believe he must be the killer. But no - it's the third partner, who works at the dude ranch. He and Castle have a showdown, but Beckett turns up in time to save Castle, and the man is arrested.

At the beginning of the episode, Castle and Beckett break the news to Lanie, Ryan, and Esposito that they got married. The three of them are not thrilled that they were left out of the event. Espo and Ryan gripe about it, until finally Captain Gates tells them that they should be happy for their friends. The two of them give Beckett some of their vacation days as a wedding present (Beckett used all of hers up when she was searching for Castle). Now, Beckett and Castle can spend some extra time at the dude ranch for their honeymoon (although Beckett wants to do a nicer trip some time in the future).

So, what did I think?

My only complaint might be that this episode tended to glorify the wild west without delving into any of the complicated parts of the history. Everything was funny and silly and there was missing gold and gunslingers and a tavern and all that. They hinted at a deeper understanding of the time by showing us a Reservation for one brief moment, but this comedic episode could have benefited from a touch of serious consideration alongside the humor.

However, for the most part I was happy to just sit back and enjoy it. I'll just quickly list some of my favorite parts.

Castle's giddy enthusiasm about being married to Beckett results in the following exchange between the newlyweds: "We did it, Mrs. Castle!" "We certainly did, Mr. Beckett!" So great. They were just so adorable this whole episode, as they basked in being a married couple. There was just the right balance of serious casework and silly honeymoon stuff. And I agree with Castle - Beckett looked hot in those cowgirl outfits. Yum. That dress at the end was quite something. And you could see the scar from her bullet wound! Continuity for the win! Castle looked quite dashing as well. The wild west suits them both.

The gay guy was a bit over the top, and at first I was inclined to be offended by their very cliche rendering of a gay man. But, when I thought about it, I realized that every single character in this episode was over the top. They were all silly and fun and there was no real harm done. (In my opinion. Let me know if you thought it was an offensive portrayal, because I'd be happy to be told I'm wrong).

All in all, the humor in this episode was spot-on. As Castle is staring down the murderer, he chooses these words as potentially his last on earth: "If I survive this, I'm giving this place a scathing review on Yelp." At one point, Castle suggests that they approach the case like writers, and Beckett responds: "So, we procrastinate and make stuff up?" Husband and wife banter. Love it. Right before the shootout between Castle and the murderer, the bartender just ducks slowly below the bar to get out of the way. Hilarious! Castle and Beckett get spooked by a snake at one point, so later when they find the hiding spot for the gold, Castle tells Beckett: "You go first, check for snakes!"

Another highlight for me was the little subplot with Ryan and Espo. I was a little bit offended on their behalf that they weren't invited to the wedding, so I was glad to see that acknowledged in the show. However, ultimately Captain Gates was right. Castle and Beckett's friends should try to be happy for them, since they finally managed to achieve happiness after all their hardships. I was glad to see that Ryan and Espo finally came around, and did something nice for Castle and Beckett. Very sweet.

I think I'll leave it there. This was a sweet, simple and fun episode and I had a blast watching it. I do hope that they find a way to balance in the heavier stuff about Castle's disappearance with the more lighthearted energy we've come to expect from this show.

8.5/10