Castle, S4 Ep 23

This is it, folks: the season finale, and the culmination of a certain plotline for which we’ve been waiting four years…

Oh no!! Will she die??!

Because this is the season finale and therefore serious business, we open with a shot of Beckett hanging precariously off the edge of a very tall hotel. As one of her hands slips off, we hear Castle’s voice in the distance, calling to her. Beckett yells back to him a few times … but then she loses her grip and starts to fall. That’s when we see a black screen and “Three Days Earlier.” Of course.

So, in case you couldn’t guess after the previouslies, the case of the week is another one related to the conspiracy surrounding Johanna Beckett’s murder. A Hispanic guy is found shot to death in an alley, with two different bullets in him. It turns out that he’s a former thief named Orlando Costas, who’s been on the straight and narrow for years but who used to run with a gang called the Cazadores. When the team finds Orlando’s car, they also find out that Orlando’s phone reveals where he was shot: at Captain Montgomery’s house. Uh oh.

Turns out Evelyn Montgomery shot Orlando this morning, when she discovered him stealing some of Roy’s (the Captain’s) old files and laptop, and he pulled out a gun. When the team gets back to the precinct from there, they discuss how the evidence is making it clearer and clearer that this is part of Beckett’s mother’s murder case. Castle tries to tell them all not to jump to conclusions, but everyone has already jumped. In the break room, Castle tries to persuade just Beckett that it might be something else, but she’s not convinced. She does wonder aloud why she’s still alive, when Montgomery gave his life to save her but “they still tried to kill me”. Castle has no answer for her, although he does look distressed. The next morning, Castle comes into work to see Beckett standing in front of the murder board. After they discuss the case a little bit, they share a sweet moment (I’m just going to mix most of the Castle/Beckett moments into the recap this time, because it’ll flow a lot better): he reminds her, “You’re not in this alone,” and reaches out to takes her hand. She smiles and says, “I know.” And they keep holding hands for several seconds.

If you think the hand holding is awesomely squeeful (and it is!), just you wait.

Next, we have our red herring of the episode: it looks for a while like Orlando’s murder might have nothing to do with Kate’s mom’s case, after all. A high-level member of his old gang the Cazadores, Vincente Delgado, was seen in the alley behind Montgomery’s house — so perhaps he shot Orlando. But of course, the DNA under Orlando’s fingernails doesn’t match Vincente. It does match DNA evidence found at the scene of Kate’s shooting. Which means whoever killed Orlando Costas is the one who tried to kill Beckett.

Beckett gathers Castle, Ryan, and Esposito in a quiet corner of the precinct. She tells them they’re not going to tell Gates this is related to her mom’s case, because then Gates would pull her off the case. Esposito agrees, but Castle tries to tell Beckett that not pursuing the case might be the best idea. Of course she doesn’t listen. “I’ve been waiting a year for [a lead] and I’ll be damned if I let someone else screw this up,” she says. Right, Beckett. Not when you can screw it up yourself just fine. (I love Beckett, but the writers just handed me that one.) Ryan is not comfortable with hiding this from Gates, but reluctantly goes along with it when Esposito points out that Beckett is going to investigate the lead either way, and this way they can have her back.

The mysterious caller from last season, Mr. Smith, calls Castle that night to warn him of the consequences if Beckett continues her investigation. It’s nothing we haven’t heard before, but it scares Castle.