CASTLE Recap: “Til Death Do Us Part”

Real life converged with fiction as Seamus Dever and his lovely wife, Juliana Dever had their on-screen wedding. This highly anticipated episode ushered in the return of the series after a month’s hiatus.

The Team is investigating the death of a man who seems to be a lothario while given an odd combination of evidence. A Black Book, a bevy of beauties scorned, and a fake identity complicated the case.

There were quite a few moments dripping with Casketty goodness for the shippers, and more laughs than any other episode this season. Kate flashed her brilliant smile at Castle frequently, and the banter was unparalleled. Between a scene with the two discussing their ‘numbers’ and their conversation when they arrived at the wedding ceremony, it seemed that there was more progression towards them becoming a couple. The writers are definitely letting us know that both Castle and Beckett are more comfortable with the thought of a relationship.

There were two B stories, the main one being the impending wedding of Kevin Ryan. It included a comic thread running through the show with Ryan on a ‘cleanse’ and Esposito taking great joy in taunting his partner by eating donuts.

The third plotline was minor, but it entailed Lanie and Rick RSVPing indicating they would each have a date to the wedding. Throughout the episode, Javier searched for his own date when he learned that his M.E. ex-gal wouldn’t be going stag. Castle remarked that he would also be part of a couple, but it was revealed very early in the episode that his date would be his lovely daughter, Alexis.

The show started with a lovey-dovey scene between Kevin and Jenny, where they discussed their pre-wedding cleanse. Esposito threw a few withering looks at the couple, while Castle and Beckett bantered over Rick’s ‘date’ to the wedding.

Next, we move on to the case, where the man died after landing on a fruit cart. Immediately, they realized that the man had been recently involved in an amorous activity. By the halfway point in the episode, the team knew about his playboy ways, and had a diary documenting his many conquests, one of which was Ryan’s fiancee, Jenny. Rick struggled to decide whether to let Kevin in on the secret after seeing her picture.

Over the course of the show, there were scenes showing Kevin and Javier, and we could see that Javi was taunting Ryan by eating donuts, while he had to continue his cleanse by drinking an odd green liquid. It culminated in a wrestle between the two detectives which was broken up by Beckett. Finally, Kevin joined the rest of the team in the conference room while they dined on Chinese food – where he broke down and devoured some of their takeout. Ryan revealed at this point that Jenny’s indiscretion was already known to him, without any intervention from his teammates.

The murder was solved when the fake identity revealed that the victim had been engaging in corporate espionage, and was murdered to protect the company’s secrets. Even though the pick-up artist storyline ended up as a device to drive several plot points, it was humorous and didn’t seem contrived.

Meanwhile, Castle’s credit cards were absconded with by his daughter and mother as they shopped for a dress for Alexis. They ended up at an exclusive boutique where they became friends with the owner and his son. The young man is a student at Columbia, where Alexis had applied, and the two bonded. They were invited out by the men, and this resulted in the purchase of two very expensive gowns and one less ‘plus one’ to the wedding.

We were also treated to a nice ‘Esplainie’ moment when they arrived with their dates. Lanie brought her gay friend, Toby, so she had someone to dance with – and Esposito brought his cousin. They had a good laugh over it, which softened their relationship and made it another step nearer to their reconciliation.

While these lighter episodes are slightly less compelling than the serious story arcs, this outing was enjoyable from beginning to end, and gave us some very entertaining character developments.

“Til Death Do Us Part” Started the 2012 return of [easyazon-link asin=”B001XRLWPQ”]Castle[/easyazon-link]. Another new episode airs January 16th with an episode entitled, “Dial M for Mayor”, in which there may be some peril for the partnership between Rick Castle and Kate Beckett.