A woman is found viciously murdered in a ritualistic-style murder. As the team investigate, evidence begins to point suggest that Castle was involved in an affair with the victim — and that he was responsible for her death. As the case against him mounts, Beckett is forced to consider just how much she knows and trusts her partner.
Tropes:
- The Bad Guy Wins: Castle suspects that things played out exactly like 3XK wanted them to, including faking his death.
- Call-Back:
- We get a nod to "Flowers for your Grave" when Castle asks Beckett if she remembers the first time she handcuffed him.
- Another to "Anatomy of a Murder". In the earlier episode, a willingness to break your loved one out of jail is suggested by numerous characters as a sign of trust and love. In this episode, in a moment of desperation, Beckett floats the possibility of breaking Castle out of jail and has to be talked down from it.
- The Chessmaster:
- The person behind the frame-up job on Castle has executed it almost flawlessly. And that's just the start. Given that the killer is revealed to be 3XK, that's just to be expected.
- Then we find that Castle is not too shabby at chess himself when he arranges his own breakout and pulls it off without a hitch.
- Foreshadowing: Several examples:
- The episode opens with Castle, brandishing a fencing blade, bursting out of his office to confront what he thinks is an intruder he's heard — who turns out to be Alexis, home from college to drop off some laundry and raid the refrigerator. It's a typical cute cold open between the two, no different to any number of 'Castle at home with his family before getting a crime scene call' scenes in the series. Except it takes on a darker tone when we learn that 3XK has acquired the plans to Castle's building and has apparently been sneaking in whenever he wants to stalk him without Castle realizing.
- At the crime scene, Esposito makes an off-hand comment that the elaborate ritualistic murder kind of puts him in mind of some of Castle's novels. The plot of the episode essentially involves the police coming to suspect Castle for the murder, and part of the evidence they find is deleted scenes from a novel he was apparently writing where the killer commits a murder exactly like the crime scene.
- Beckett and Castle also have a flirty moment when she gives him an unsubtle hint that he should consider getting her jewelry for her birthday. Part of the evidence against him is that he is seemingly recorded on a security camera buying a necklace that the victim is found wearing when she dies. It turns out to be a lookalike.
- Before the officers come to take him away and bust him out, Castle reminds Beckett of the first place they met: the New York Public Library during a book signing. Guess where Beckett finds him after she realizes he's gone?
- Frame-Up: It appears someone is pulling an elaborate frame job on Castle. That someone turns out to be Jerry "3XK" Tyson.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: When Castle is in the precinct's jail after the frame up, 3XK appears wearing a police officer uniform. If you look carefully, for a second you can see the star says J. Rook. As in Jameson Rook, Castle's alter-ego in the Nikki Heat books. And all things considered, it was probably justified too. 3XK certainly would not have randomly picked a name like that, so he likely did it to needle Castle and to make fun of the police.
- Genre Savvy: Castle expresses doubt that 3XK is gone and suggests that he's faked his own death — after all, if anyone knows not to fall into the Never Found the Body trope trap, it's a mystery writer.
- Hero Insurance: Played with; even after the proof that Castle has been framed is located, Gates informs Castle that he will still need to surrender himself to the DA's office and will face charges for escaping from police custody, but notes that under the circumstances (i.e. being framed by a serial killer with a vendetta, namely 3XK, and facing the very real probability of being murdered in jail), he'll most likely be let off with time served.
- Hollywood Law: Flip-flopped with Castle's escape from custody. The law recognizes your right to protect yourself even if you're a prisoner. You're generally allowed even to escape from prison, like Castle did, if you have reason to believe someone will kill you. You do have to turn yourself back in once you believe the threat is past, though.... which Castle does. Since he was innocent of all charges and was under threat from a serial killer, even time served is too much.
- Impersonating an Officer: Played straight when 3XK pays a visit to Castle in jail to reveal that he's the one that has framed him in the murder of the Body of the Week. Also suggested of the 'cops' who help break Castle out.
- Internal Reveal: Ryan informs Esposito of Castle and Beckett's Relationship Upgrade after only figuring it out himself in the previous episode.
- It's Personal: 3XK hates that Castle figured him out. He wanted a clean get-away, he wanted to be able to keep killing with no one the wiser. But Castle ruined that.
- Never Found the Body: Castle believes that 3XK has pulled this. Beckett is less convinced.
- No One Could Survive That!: 3XK is shot and falls off a bridge into a river. Most people think he's dead, but Castle, who is Genre Savvy, thinks otherwise, especially since they Never Found the Body. He'll almost certainly be back.
- The Power of Trust:
- Ultimately, although she is clearly shaken by the evidence provided against Castle (both of the murder and that he was unfaithful to her), Beckett never doubts Castle or loses her faith in him. Castle even lampshades that she had plenty of reason to doubt him on either score, both due to the faked evidence and his own history and reputation.
- The other detectives and Lanie as well, to a lesser extent — they're a bit less certain than Beckett on this score, but still nevertheless keep the faith.
- Red Herring: To the Genre Savvy viewer, the DA handling the case looks a bit too overeager to lock Castle up and throw away the key, is hostile towards Detective Beckett, and on the whole seems suspiciously like she's involved in the plot to frame Castle. She's just a woman doing her job, and has absolutely nothing to do with the frame-up.
- Spanner in the Works: 3XK tells Castle that the plan he had made in "3XK" would have allowed him to continue on his killing spree, but Castle's intervention forced him to hide away.
- Spoiler Opening: Averted. Since most astute Castle viewers know that actor Michael Moseley plays Jerry Tyson, AKA 3XK, that particular credit is not in the normal opening guest credits.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: In the final showdown on the bridge, both Castle and Beckett, when given the opportunity, open up on Tyson with Hell's own fury. Unblinking, unflinching, half a magazine first from one then the other. Eyes open, no words, Tranquil Fury.
- Tranquil Fury: Beckett in the final confrontation with Jerry Tyson AKA 3XK; after a brief gunfight, she ends up stalking towards his car firing shot after shot into it/him with a terrifyingly blank expression on her face, Terminator-style. Apparently, she didn't appreciate the whole 'frame Castle for both cheating on her and murder' thing he was responsible for.
- Wham Episode: And one unrelated to the Beckett's mother arc, for once. It's actually the return of 3XK.
- Wham Shot: "Tyson?!" "I prefer 3XK, actually."
- Wrongly Accused: Castle. Framed by 3XK.
