Season 5 of Castle has been one big “Caskett” milestone after another, and After Hours is no exception. The latest episode of the ABC hit show presents us not only with an entertaining case orchestrated by a psychotic yet hilarious villain, but also with a disastrous dinner during which Castle and Beckett discover that their parents don’t get along very well, if at all, which prompts them to discuss their own unlikely relationship.
The episode starts off with all Castle, Beckett, Martha and Jim settling down for dinner at Castle’s loft. Both Jim and Martha prove themselves to be far from tactful, he insinuating that she’s crazy and she basically calling him boring, and thus the not-exactly-happy couple is very much relieved when the dinner is interrupted by a call that lets Beckett know there’s been a murder downtown.
When the sight of a dead body is preferable to a meal with your significant other’s parents, you know there is a problem you need to work out.
The victim is one Father Joel McMurtry, age 52, who was shot in the chest and left to die in an abandoned building. Once the team begins to investigate McMurtry’s life, they find out that he was best friends with star mobster Michael Dolan, and that they had had a massive fight a couple of days prior. The mobster and the priest. An unlikely pairing, if I ever saw one.
Speaking of which, Castle mentions that they should have realized Jim and Martha wouldn’t get along, given that they come from such different worlds. This particular line doesn’t sit well with Beckett, who spends most of the episode pondering what this means for them as a couple. Meanwhile, however, the pair is too busy hiding from Dolan’s men, who tracked down the witness they were on their way to interrogate and whom they are hell bent on killing, to have a heart to heart. Castle, Beckett and Leo (aforementioned witness) spend most of the episode on the run, with Leo an unfortunate witness of Castle and Beckett’s ongoing argument.
In the meantime, Martha and Jim arrive at the precinct after getting a call from Esposito and finding out that their children are missing. Leaving a very uncomfortable and guilt-stricken Gates behind, they wait in the break room, pacing and having coffee and, finally, bonding over their anxiety for Kate and Rick’s dangerous lifestyle. They both agree that, wherever they are, it’s a relief for them to know that they have each other to lean on.
Back to Castle and Beckett. Leo’s ankle is hurt, making it impossible for him to leave the basement they’re hiding at at a decent speed. Since one of them needs to stay with the witness and Beckett is technically the only cop in there, Castle leaves to make his way to a Chinese restaurant and ask for help, not without sharing an intense moment with an extremely worried Beckett. Unfortunately, he’s then abducted by Dolan’s men.
Except that maybe it’s not so unfortunate after all.
It turns out that Dolan was doing nothing more than seek revenge against his best friend’s murderer. Catching up yet? Yes, Leo himself is the bad guy in this case. A bad guy with a killer sense of humor (no pun intended), but a bad guy nonetheless. Apparently, he killed McMurtry because the family for whom Dolan worked did not see the priest’s influence on their own personal mobster kindly. After attempting to kill our favorite duo, Leo is put away behind bars.
When Beckett and Castle make their way back to the precinct, Castle blows the scene out of the water with a speech à la “that’s what makes you extraordinary”: “You know what? Who cares if they don’t get along? They aren’t us. And, so what if we don’t make sense on paper, we don’t live our lives on paper. And if we did, we’d never be astounded or… surprised.” Surprised, indeed. Because that’s when they see Martha and Jim joking and smiling with each other in a way that took Castle and Beckett themselves months to reach. It looks like these crazy kids could borrow a page from their parents’ book, after all.
I will say one more thing. Martha brought Jim coffee. Make of that what you will.
What did you think of After Hours? Leave a comment and let us know!
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