Castle: Disciple review

OK so I am completely creeped out by this week’s new episode of Castle. Majorly creeped out—big time heebie jeebies with goose flesh. I normally watch episodes that I review three to four times but with this I ceased my viewing at just two. That was more than enough to get me through to write a good review. For those that are Castle-crazy like myself that have been with the dynamic duo of Beckett and Castle since the beginning, this was one of the best episodes EVER period. And why was this episode so particularly delicious? One word: 3XK.

The opening has us at a foggy dock in the middle of the night when a body is found barely hanging from fish wire by the night security guard. When the gang begins to work the crime scene, Medical Examiner Lanie is clearly startled while Esposito consoles her. When Caskett wants to see why she is so upset, it really grabs you. The body is a doppelganger of Lanie; an exact replica of our spunky M.E. Right down to her sexy tattoo the dead woman is donning it is spookily detailed and accurate. In fact, upon further examination of the body, Lanie finds that this is not just some coincidence and that the victim, Pam Rogers even used the same exact beauty products as her. Now I am freaked out, but not as freaked out as when they find the second victim named Daniel Santos that looks exactly like Esposito. The body was found hung like Rogers but this time on a boat with his feet barely dangling off of the ground. Whoa. Santos is a former stripper that like Rogers was set up with a great new job and benefactor that was working on everything to look and even sound like Espo.

While Castle and Beckett follow up a lead with the comely Dr. Kelly Neiman, things get even more confusing. The voluptuous doc runs a high end plastic surgery clinic that is thriving with new clients. Two of her former clients just happen to be Pam Rogers, who was referred to her by Daniel Santos. Dr. Neiman indeed had relations with Santos but she gives Caskett very little to work with forcing their hand to eventually bring her in for questioning. However this is no ordinary doctor and she knows her way around the interrogation box and manages to dodge every one of Beckett’s questions. The bad news is that Ryan confirms that Dr. Neiman is not good for either of the murders making the mystery run even deeper.

After picking up some traffic cam shots of the late Santos entering a car outside Dr. Neiman’s building they are able to nab a shot of an expired sticker for a Miami based marina. But who the heck is the sticker registered to? None other than Carl Matthews, security guard at the waterfront where Pam Rogers was found. (Fun Fact: Matthews is played by Tom Cruise’s younger cousin William Mapother) When Castle poses that Jerry Tyson aka 3XK may still be alive she brushes it off. But remember that when 3XK returned last season, Castle shot him down on an NYC bridge where he plummeted 200 feet into the water the body was never found and when they go to look for the 3XK files they have gone missing. All of them gone into thin air. Upon tracing down the car it is at the Starburst Motel–the same motel and room number that Ryan and Castle housed Tyson when they believed him to be innocent. Coincidence? No way in hell.

After Carl Matthews’ confession, a bombshell is dropped when Ryan figures out that the doctor at the prison where Tyson was housed was none other than Dr. Kelly Neiman! Started the week Tyson arrived and left when he left. With enough probable cause to storm the Neiman clinic, Caskett and company find the place has been completely cleaned out save for a pen with a hand written note that says “Better Luck Next Time.” The final scene that has to do with the pen is remarkably eerie and I actually was shaken up by the haunting audio file that was on the pen that was actually a thumb drive. Vera Lynn’s “We’ll Meet Again” plays in Castle’s apartment and it is absolutely gripping with tension.

This episode goes into my Top 5 with ease. The pacing and sheer eerie feeling that the chapter emotes has you thinking that there is no way that 3XK is dead. Jerry Tyson is behind all of this and he wants Castle and company to suffer. Somehow he has the means to do it and the twists and turns of the episode are masterfully orchestrated. A very well done episode that had my spine tingling like I just watched THE SHINING. 3XK remains the best villain in the Castle canon and this episode delivers in every way. I’m going to lock my front door now because I am seriously spooked. As far as 3XK goes, I guess we will meet again… 

Den of Geek Rating: 4.5 Out of 5 Stars

 

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