Castle and the detectives investigate the murder of Dr. Valerie Monroe, whose body was hidden inside of a coffin being prepped for burial. The investigation turns up ties to a corruption investigation, a retired drug lord who the victim served as the personal physician for (and perhaps more) and a prison break. Meanwhile, Castle and his ex-wife Gina are having some problems in their relationship.
Tropes:
- Aborted Arc: The fraud and corruption at the hospital is abruptly dropped as Greg and Amy's prison escape comes to light and it's never revealed who was responsible.
- The Alcoholic: The man whose coffin the body was hidden in apparently died because he "drank like a fish".
- All for Nothing: Combined with Poor Communication Kills. As noted by Beckett, Manuel killed Dr. Monroe for informing on his brother when really she was informing on hospital personnel and the attorney general's office isn't after Calderone anymore.
- Cramming the Coffin: Monroe's body was jammed in a coffin at a Jewish funeral home.
- Finagle's Law:
- It's noted that the plan to dispose of the body only failed because the pallbearers slipped and the coffin spilled open.
- Manolo saw Valerie working with someone from the Attorney General's office and assumes, not unreasonably, she's their inside man to take down his brother. Instead, she was helping him investigate drug thefts at the hospital.
- Greg and his girlfriend plotted a years-long prison break. They were entirely incidental to the drug thefts and the drug lord.
- Florence Nightingale Effect: Calderone fell for Valerie while she was his caretaker. They spent five nights a week together taking long walks to restore his health.
- Foreshadowing:
- When Beckett and Castle meet Maloney, they assume he was trying to use Valerie to bust Calderone. Turns out Calderone's brother thought the same thing.
- Martha tells Castle that breaking someone you love out of jail is a real test of love, and at the end of the episode, Beckett (who wasn't there when Martha said that) says she'd do it for him.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Pausing the episode as a newspaper article on Calderone is shown reveals he has dual American-Columbian citizenship and went From Camouflage to Criminal.
- Girls Behind Bars: Castle perks up at the idea of investigating a women's prison.
- Good Stepmother: Although she's an ex-stepmother at that point, Gina tries to make nice gifts and gestures to Alexis and seems to genuinely get along with her. They also talk about how this apparently goes back to when she and Castle were married.
- Great Escape: Greg broke his girlfriend out of jail using drugs and botox to simulate a heart attack, then faked records to smuggle her past security.
- The Handler: Luther Maloney served as this to Valerie Monroe, having her investigate fraud and drug theft from the hospital.
- Happy Place: Greg and Amy have the burger joint their first date was at, where they are caught revisiting by the police.
- Hospital Hottie: Several of the female doctors, and male nurse Greg who has many of the female residents (referred to by Ryan as "The Galaxy of Greg") feeling deeply connected to him. Lampshaded when Castle is imaging a love triangle when talking about how the nurse Monroe met with is probably hot and when Greg arrives, says that's not what he expected but what he said still stands. We also learn that Beckett's new boyfriend Josh is a cardiac surgeon.Beckett: How much TV do you watch?
Castle: Enough to know that Nurse McClintock will be smoking hot.
Pretty Man in Scrubs: You wanted to see me?
Castle: And you are?
Male Nurse: I'm Nurse McClintock.
Beckett: Care to revise your theory?
Castle: Not what I was expecting, but, no, I'll stand by it. - I Need a Freaking Drink: Calderone pours himself a drink with shaking hands after learning Valerie was murdered.
- Massive Numbered Siblings: The man whose coffin the body was hidden in had ten kids.
- Miscarriage of Justice: Greg's girlfriend Amy was arrested for being the getaway driver in a robbery-murder and sent to prison for thirty years despite her (apparently truthful) claims that her car had been stolen that day.
- Mistaken for Gay: Ryan floats the idea that Greg is gay to explain why he's platonic friends with so many beautiful women, only for Beckett to slap him down with "The way he was flirting with me? No.".
- Oh, Crap!: Calderone Is horrified when he realizes his brother killed the woman he loved.
- Papa Wolf: This episode shows the negative side of that. Castle has always been absurdly protective of Alexis, wanting to be the hero in every possible situation, even though that meant interfering in other possible relationships, like his ex-wife Gina.
- Parental Sexuality Squick: Played straight and inverted. First Castle demands Alexis stops telling the story of her and Ashley's song (it was playing the first time they STOP I DON'T WANT TO KNOW THAT), then Castle reveals his and Gina's song is ACDC's "You Shook Me All Night Long", prompting Martha and Alexis both to ask for the Brain Bleach.
- Pet the Dog: After the case is over, and with some encouragement from Castle, Beckett decides to reopen Amy's case with a high chance of her being found innocent, plus Greg has a chance of probation if she gets exonerated. As a bonus, Castle leaves the happy couple a Burgeropolis meal since they couldn't finish theirs before they were arrested.
- Raging Stiffie: Greg's letter to his imprisoned girlfriend contains the phrase, "My love for you grows harder".
- Retired Monster: Calderone was once a feared drug lord but has been out of the drug trade for years and is now just a man in ill health with a tasteful apartment and polite demeanor who reads Castle's books. He does show hints of his old ruthlessness though, such as vowing the killer will pay and showing real anger when Castle and Beckett are accusing him. His brother Manuel also counts, being implied to be a former enforcer who now simply works as his brother's caretaker. Manuel is still willing to kill when he feels Monroe is threatening them.
- Right Behind Me: As Ryan tells Castle about "The Galaxy of Greg", Castle wonders why Greg would spend time listening to women and buying them gifts if he doesn't want to sleep with them, right as Beckett walks up.
- Starving Student: Dr. Monroe had over $400,000 in student loans and has only been able to pay off a little a month.
- This Is Your Song: Alexis and her boyfriend Ashley have "Mine" by Taylor Swift, Castle and Gina have the ACDC song "Shook Me All Night Long" (to the embarrassment of Alexis and Martha). Beckett also claims that she and Castle have a song: "You Talk Too Much" by Clarence Carter.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Maloney's meetings with Monroe got her mistaken for an informant and killed by Calderone's brother.
- Wrongful Accusation Insurance: Ultimately played straight for Greg and Amy.
