Castle: Bad Santa (7x10)

Oh noooo! I wasn't expecting that. This is going to be interesting. Let's start with a plot summary.

A man is killed by someone in a Santa costume, which is an odd way of starting things off. Very quickly, the victim is identified as a doctor who worked (in secret) for a mob family. Castle actually knows Dino Scarpella, the Don, because the man helped him write his novels. So, Castle goes to talk to Dino about the murder, thinking that he can help them solve it.

Very quickly, it looks like Dino's right hand man is the guilty party, but Dino is convinced that this is not the case. He makes Castle swear a blood oath that he will track down the real killer. Castle investigates further, and for a while it looks like it might be Dino's daughter who did the killing. Dino is furious at Castle for accusing his daughter, and he nearly kills Castle on the spot. However, the daughter comes forward and tells the truth: she didn't kill the man, but she was there at the scene of another murder, that of her boyfriend. This boyfriend, it transpires, is in a rival mob. The two of them were in love, and planning on running away together.

Eventually, after a few more twists and turns, the real murderer is apprehended - it was another detective, who had been investigating mob activity for so long that he wanted in on the action. Shocking! Unfortunately for Castle, his connection to the mob and his cooperation with them means that the NYPD is nervous about him. Captain Gates sadly tells Castle that he is no longer allowed to work at the NYPD.

Meanwhile, at the beginning of the episode Castle reminds Beckett that she has to write a poem to add to the family Christmas card. Beckett is dismayed to discover from Alexis and Martha that this is a big deal. She doesn't know what to write. Eventually, however, she comes up with a rough draft to share with Castle. Unfortunately, her timing is awful. She reads the following to Castle, right after Castle learns he can't work with the NYPD:

"This has been an epic year

Full of joy and tears

Solving crimes and catching killers

Just like Castle's famous thrillers.

We share a passion every day,

As partners go, we're here to stay."

Oh no! This is going to be so sad.

There's also a subplot with Esposito and Lanie. Lanie's parents are coming to town, and Lanie tells Javi that she needs a favor. Turns out, Lanie's parents had been getting on her case, so Lanie lied and said that she and Esposito were engaged. Espo has to go along with the ruse. He does, with a bit of help from Ryan in coming up with a story for how he proposed. However, after pretending to be engaged, both Espo and Lanie realize that they don't have that in their future. They don't feel about each other the way Ryan and Jenny do, or Castle and Beckett. It's not just in the cards for them. They part ways amicably.

Complaints? Actually, despite the fact that I enjoyed watching this episode, I have sort of a lot to complain about. Sorry.

First of all, the Romeo and Juliet parallels in the case were way too strong. It was like I was watching West Side Story, or something. Somebody has already turned Shakespeare's play into a mob story, guys! I wasn't a fan of these obvious elements.

Also, this episode just felt a little bit crowded. The mob case was one thing, then there's this silly little Christmas card deal, and then there's all the stuff with Javi and Lanie... it just felt like you could have stretched some of this stuff out more and fleshed out the ideas a bit more thoroughly.

Then there's the fact that Castle can't work for the NYPD anymore. On the surface, I love this idea. I saw the promo for the first episode back from the break, and it looks like Castle is going to become a private investigator, and compete with Beckett and the others to solve cases. That seems like such a fun idea! I just have one concern: is this going to be like Beckett with the FBI? A few episodes and then somehow we get back to the status quo? I want this show to pull something like The Mentalist, or even Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., where when the show switches gears, it really switches gears. I just hope they don't immediately go back to giving us more of the same.

However, I did ultimately enjoy this episode quite a bit.

The detective was the killer! This is one of the few times I've been genuinely surprised by the identity of the killer, in a good way. Usually, it's either very obvious, or the murderer comes so far out of left field that it's not really a proper mystery to begin with. In this case, I didn't suspect the detective at all, but when the truth came out, it all made sense. So, that was very nice!

The idea of a Castle Christmas poem is just so sweet. Martha and Alexis didn't have a ton of screen time in this episode, but they did get to make an appearance in order to tell Beckett about the competitive nature of poetry writing. I love little Christmas family traditions. They're the best. Beckett's poem was really precious. I think the willingness to embarrass oneself in front of someone is the truest sign of love. You could tell Beckett was squeamish about her poem, but she wanted to make Castle happy, so she did it anyhow. Also, I loved learning that Beckett was in to slam poetry. These little details are what round out a character.

Even though I didn't like the obvious Romeo and Juliet parallels, there were a few things about the mob plot line that wokred nicely for me. I loved Rita, the cyber criminal. She was just such a fun character, and she worked along the same wavelength as Tory, only for the bad guys. Very fun. I'm always a fan of bringing in more female characters.

The subplot with Lanie and Espo was surprisingly wonderful. Back in the Espo-centric episode, I wanted some further exploration of their relationship. I really wasn't expecting the exploration to go this route, but in all I'm glad it did. I wouldn't want them to force anything between Esposito and Lanie. They obviously care for each other deeply, but I agree with both of them in that there wasn't a lot of long-term love built between them. It just wasn't meant to be.

I got surprisingly emotional when I learned that Castle would have to leave the NYPD. It was sweet that, despite all her animosity in the past, Captain Gates seemed genuinely upset to say goodbye to Castle. It also made sense why Castle wouldn't tell Beckett right away. She just seemed so happy, and they make such good partners, both on the job and in life. It's heartbreaking to separate that team.

I think that is where I shall leave it. Here's hoping for some fun after the break! Again, I hope they don't just revert back to the status quo within a couple of episodes.

8/10