CASTLE recap: “The Limey” – or – UncompliKATEed

First off, all credit goes to Indrani for the term ‘uncomplikateed. Brilliant.

Secondly, I know the entire fandom is in an uproar about this episode (I’m looking at you Frea…), but I rather enjoyed it. Castle showed his bitchy, vindictive side, and I thought it was a normal ‘guy thing’ to do. Kate’s still perplexed about his coldness, and again, I can definitely see that happening as well. She doesn’t know he knows, and hasn’t figured out how hard to push a confrontation. At least that’s my take on it.

Of course, I was also distracted by my love of foreign accents. Charles Shaugnessy must have made a deal with the devil, because he still looks like he did ten years ago. And Brett Tucker? Holy shneikies!

Before I get too carried away, I suppose we should talk about “[easyazon-link asin=”B007R1IFNO”]The Limey[/easyazon-link]”. There was actually a case this week, but I spoke with some of my Castle-fan pals, and none of them could remember any details. I teased, but they told me that I only remembered because I watch like a hawk so I can do my recap on Tuesday. Hmph.

Inspector Colin investigates the death of Naomi Allen, a young British model. She was killed for uncovering the details of a weapons smuggling ring. Because I had a general idea about what would be happening, I thought for sure the whole ‘Doctors without Borders’ thing would lead us back to a mention of Doctor Motorcycle Boy, but it was apparently a red herring.

Colin asks to help to solve her murder in return for a piece of evidence the victim left for him. When Kate talks to Gates about letting him in, she acquiesces quickly. Poor Castle will never catch a break with her. He realizes she doesn’t have a problem with outsiders per se, just him.

The inspector hands over the evidence, which is a key to a locker in a local gym. She left a note for Colin, a mysterious grouping of letters and numbers. While they try to decipher whatever code is in that clue, they discover a link from the victim to Nigel Wyndham, a foreign dignitary. Rick comes up with a ‘brilliant’ plan to get more information about the suspect, and when he’s laying it out to Rysposito, Kate and Colin walk in – dressed to the nines – ready to do things the easy way.

Since Colin had gotten them into the party underhandedly, they were bound to be found out at some point. Nothing ever goes right that early in a Castle episode. So, as Kate is trying to get Nigel’s tumbler (with fingerprints) to Colin, he is taken away by security. She is also escorted away, but shows Colin that she managed to swipe Nigel’s business card holder. She’s a crafty one, that Kate.

Back at the precinct, they learn that Nigel’s prints aren’t a match for the print Lanie found on the victim’s neck. Whoops! Luckily, Rick is dating a Flight Attendant – who recognizes the picture of the note he took from his cell phone (umm Castle? Gates might like you more if you stop swiping pics of evidence) as the tracking number for a diplomatic pouch. If you’ve also watched [easyazon-link asin=”B002U0KHMY”]White Collar[/easyazon-link], you may know that it’s a container in which to transport materials out of the country without going through customs. One thing that I didn’t know, is that the ‘pouch’ can be any size.

Armed with that info and the tracking number, Colin barges into a very restricted baggage area at JFK airport (with a fairly awful Texas accent) and finds a crate containing stinger missiles. He’s summarily apprehended and the crate is confiscated. Double whoops!

Of course, since they obtained the evidence that Nigel might be connected to a weapons smuggling operation illegally, they’re back at square one.

They turn back to the original murder board evidence, where they notice a similar SUV in pictures with Nigel and another suspect, Biggie Slim. They connect the two men to a meeting between the two, Biggie’s cousin, and some weapons found in Uganda. They compare the rapper’s prints to the print lifted from Naomi’s neck – and BAM said the lady, murder solved and smuggling ring foiled!

The side-story is a continuation of the season-long Kate/Rick relationship arc. After overhearing Kate’s confession last week, Rick has given up on Kate. In his frustration and need to get away from the situation, he takes a weekend trip to Las Vegas, and meets ‘Jacinda’ – one of the First Class flight attendants – on his way home.

He kinda flaunts her around, but dudes and dudettes, I ask you – mightn’t you also do the same if you’d waited on someone who continually teases about having feelings for you, but turns out to be a (seemingly) dead end? Yeah, it’s childish and small of him, but understandable.

Kate has a couple of girl talks with Lanie and she does try to talk to him, but he runs off on a date. Probably a little truth mixed with a little avoidance. Kate turned down the offer of a drink with Colin, but after Castle leaves for Jacinda, she calls him back (we’re led to believe it’s him anyway) and accepts.

Oh angst, how I’ve missed you.

Welcome to another, albeit brief, two-week hiatus. It’ll be worth it, I promise, because when Castle returns on April 16 with “Headhunters”, we’ll get to see Nathan Fillion reunited with his [easyazon-link asin=”B0000AQS0F”]Firefly[/easyazon-link] co-star, Adam Baldwin. Fellow [easyazon-link asin=”B007AFS0N2″]Chuck[/easyazon-link] fans – let’s hope for some grunting! I’ll see you then, but I leave you with proof that Colin is a decent fellow…