There was so much to process in Castle Season 7 Episode 20 that it was a bit of information overload. As a matter of fact I think my head is still spinning with all the details. That said, there was an awful lot to like in “Sleeper” so let’s hit the highlights.

Castle had been plagued with recurring dreams for a week that as Martha put it, left him looking ghastly. Worried, Kate suggested he go see Dr. Burke.

Watch Castle Season 7 Episode 20 Online

I just love Dr. Burke. His presence is so calm, firm and reassuring and he deftly led Castle through the process of remembering his dream…which included a trophy, someone getting shot and a Chuck Norris look-a-like saving the day. If it weren’t for a license plate that led back to Thailand, it was hard to put much stock in any of it…

Kate Beckett: But Castle, why would you be abducted on our wedding day and end up in Thailand?
Rick Castle: Worst bachelor party ever?

Permalink: Worst bachelor party ever?

Beckett promised to follow her husband down this road no matter where it led and as he became more obsessed it was easy to see why. Rick began to resemble Beckett when she fell down the rabbit hole into the investigation of her mother’s murder. He couldn’t walk away, even as it consumed him.

Along with Beckett, Ryan seemed completely on board with solving this mystery but Capt. Gates and Esposito had their own issues. Gates was concerned that Beckett was pulling resources to grasp at straws. I understood that it was her job to make sure this investigation didn’t overshadow their other work, but the only way to prove whether Rick’s dream had any truth in it was to continue the investigation.

Espo was another matter. He made it clear that he didn’t buy Castle’s explanation of events last summer and he wasn’t buying it now. I get that it’s a wild tale but did he actually think Castle was making it up to hide something…and if so, what?

On the one hand, I was glad that Esposito was at least consistent in his feelings. On the other, I hate that he distrusted Castle so much, when Castle obviously considers him a friend.

On a lighter note, why doesn’t Castle ever stay put when he’s told? I mean, there’s a Russian assassin running around and Rick decided to head to that cafe on his own. Perhaps Beckett should have taken her backup plan from this Castle quote a little more seriously…

Kate Beckett: LT is going to drive you home.
Rick Castle: And if I refuse?
Kate Beckett: Then he'll drive you home in handcuffs.
Rick Castle: Just for the record, extremely bitter.

Permalink: Just for the record, extremely bitter.

Towards the end, the pieces began to fall into place, perhaps a little too quickly. There was a lot of information to process. Similar to my feelings about Castle Season 6 Episode 22, “Veritas,” last season, it felt as though this easily could have been parsed out into an exciting two-parter.

However, if you were able to catch all of the details, it made for one heck of a story. In a nutshell, Bilal, a prep school chum of Rick’s was about to hand over serious intel about an Al-Qaeda terrorist attack when his contact was killed. Bilal needed to see someone he trusted and someone whose stature made them difficult to simply kill off without serious questions being raised. So he asked for the only famous person he actually knew as a friend, Rick Castle.

So in a race against the clock, Castle was plucked from his car on his way to his wedding and used as a pawn in order to stop tens of thousands of people from being killed.

Did it answer all of our questions? No. Why was Rick shot and why did he disappear for two whole months? What was that money drop? Why was he living on that beach and how did he end up floating in a dinghy? And the question to which I’m dying to learn the answer…What the heck happened to Rick in Hollander’s Woods when he was 11-years-old?

All of that will have to wait. I hear we may get some answers in the season finale on May 11 but until then, check back with us next week for our review of Castle Season 7 Episode 21.

And if you can’t wait to form more Castle, you can watch Castle online now, right here at TV Fanatic.