After the excitement of the last two weeks where Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic) single-handedly saved the world (or at least the US economy) from total destruction, it was interesting to see a more down to earth almost quiet episode getting back to the essentials of their working relationship.

Castle Recap: Once Upon a Crime or “I know what you did, once upon a time…”

“Once Upon A Crime” starts off with a young woman dressed as Little Red Riding Hood running for her life through a forest at night (apparently Central Park,) and in the tradition of all horror stories and movies our heroine trips only to be caught by whom/whatever was chasing her. She is found the next day with animal scratches on her face and body, as if she might have been attacked by a wolf.

Castle is thankfully on the scene with Beckett, happy to escape another harebrained attempt by his mother Martha (Susan Sullivan), who has taken over his personal space to write an overly fictionalized version of their life (or her life really) for her new one woman show. There are of course the usual bad quips and puns by Castle and Ryan (Seamus Dever) about the Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood with Beckett making faces and her own quips for both to be more professional.

Back at the precinct, Esposito (Jon Huertas) has discovered the victim’s identity and they find out from the victim’s sister that she was single, a hard working lawyer and barely had a life outside of work. The sister was suspicious when her sibling didn’t call all week but thought she might be busy on a case. Castle suspects the victim may have been involved in some kind of cosplay (Costumed Play Acting for the uninitiated) group dealing with fairy tales, a theory he throws out to Beckett with an almost salacious comment about Bo Peep and the explanation that he studied the craze once.

There seems to be no reason for the killing, being one victim, but Lainie their coroner points out that the claw marks on the body were made by a single wolf claw after death, and the girl had been injected with two high doses of another drug and Oxycotin which killed her. With no other victims or additional clues, the team is lost for a reason behind the murder.

Castle and Beckett are trying to decide what person could have done this, friend or stranger, when Esposito tells them there’s more. Another victim with a similar M.O. has been found dressed as Snow White with an apple in her hand, sitting under a tree with words from the original fairy tale scratched or written on her chest.

The mystery of the case deepens when they discover both women have taken the same amount of money out of their accounts for unknown reasons, on the same day, at the same time. Other than the fairy tale theme and money, there seems to be no connection between the Lawyer, who was the first victim or the second, an Art Gallery owner, making the case more complicated as they try to guess if they are dealing with a serial killer and if more victims are to come.

Meanwhile, Castle is complaining like Cinderella about how he has no privacy or life anymore between seeing his daughter Alexis at work with their coroner Lainie, and his mother invading every inch of his home, and life, with her crazy dramatics and one act plays. Beckett makes a comment about his books and him invading her life but he deflects saying it’s not the same thing.

Meghan Markle (Rachel, from Suits) makes a guest appearance as someone who may have all the answers they need to solve the case.

Some of the scenes that stuck out for me in this episode were:

  1. Ryan at the crime scene, looking at their first victim saying how she looks so much like the way he imagined Little Red Riding Hood in his mind as a child, when his older sister read him that story. Ryan always makes me laugh.
  1. Alexis winking at her dad when she hands him her grandmother’s play. Castle finally sees the script and reads it with a groan at the fiction within. (Apparently his mother bore him while on a subway, after running a marathon the week before and defending herself against a mugger while 9 months pregnant.)
  1. The friendly old woman Ryan and Esposito find when they break into what they think is the killer’s home. Ryan commenting on her creepy dolls and his reaction to them is too funny. Have to love the photography in that scene.
  1. The waitress Ryan and Esposito interview. “I’ve never been questioned by cops before. Can I tweet this?” Can she be any more of a twit? (pun intended.)
  1. Castle saying to Beckett: “You’re cute when you’re angry. (Beckett glares up at him) But not when you’re angry with me.”
  1. Castle sarcastically asking Beckett to protect him from his mother. “You’d use your gun on my mother? I’m touched.”
  1. And my favorite (say it with a Valley Girl type accent:) “The bows? Seriously?”

Written by L. Find her on Twitter @j3nnee

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