Merry
Christmas everyone. I know that this is way overdue, but I’ve been so busy with
school and the exams that are coming up. Which is why I’m not sure when my next
review will be posted. Castle comes back on January 7th and my exams
start on the 11th and last until the 28th so there’s a
very good chance that I won’t post again until afterwards. But those are
worries for later, let’s get to the episode.
The episode
starts with a family making snow angels when they are interrupted by a dead
Santa falling out of the sky. Poor kid, she’ll be traumatized for life. At the
Castle loft it seems that someone really loves Christmas, as the entire loft is
filled with decorations. But Castle’s plans are soon ruined when Martha and
Alexis tell him that they have both made plans on Christmas Eve. At the crime
scene, Castle asks Kate if she’s still coming for Christmas and replies that
she’ll come if she doesn’t have to work. She also tells him to not get her any
presents. Castle’s night gets even worse when he sees that Santa is dead, well
fake Santa at least. Lanie tells them that with that beard and belly he could
be the real deal, to which Beckett reacts skeptically. Lanie also tells them
that the ID won’t help much since it says Kris Kringle. Now I’m not that familiar
with all the Christmas stories so I’m just going to assume that the name has
some Christmas related meaning. Ryan tells them that the family didn’t see or
hear any aircraft when Santa fell which lets Castle conclude he fell out of his
sleigh. Beckett then notices the boots and tells them that they are custom
made.
At the
precinct Ryan tells Castle and Beckett that there’s no record of any aircrafts
flying over the park that night. Beckett wonders how it’s even possible for
someone to fly over New York since 9/11 without there being any record. Castle
says that sightseeing tourists do it all the time and starts to tell a story of
when he took out a Latin “publisher”, but stops when he sees Beckett’s face.
Gates agrees with Castle’s theory and says that her mother-in-law is a pilot
and loves to remind her of that. Apparently Gate’s in-laws are staying with her
and she tells Ryan that if Jenny’s parents ever come to visit, think hotel. I
love this scene, there is no way Gates would have shared this much a year ago.
When Castle and Beckett leave, Esposito asks Ryan if they’ll keep their
tradition going, but Ryan says that Jenny has other plans. Aww poor Espo. At
the morgue, Lanie tells them that Santa was shot. When Beckett asks Castle if
he still believes that he fell out of his sleigh, Castle says that it’s clear
he was shot out of it. Esposito then shows up and tells them that the victim’s
name is Edmund Smith (really, you couldn’t think of a better last name). When
Beckett asks him if he came all the way over there just to tell them that, Espo
reacts evasive. After they leave it becomes clear he’s there for Lanie. But
before he even asks, she tells him that she already has plans for Christmas
Eve. She says that she doesn’t want to be one of those sad holiday hook-ups,
but if he still wants to get together after the holidays, that’s fine with her.
I wish these two would get more scenes together.
At the
victim’s place, Castle and Beckett are let in my his neighbors. They tell him
that Edmund was helping them with their lawsuit to get their house back. They
also tell them that there was an older guy pounding on Edmund’s door and he
told Tim (one of the neighbors) that if he ever saw Edmund again he’d kill him.
Tim then points out the guy in a picture and turns out the guy is a pilot.
Castle and Beckett go to pick up David Dunne and find him teaching a Santa
class. David explains to them that he was just mad that Edmund had stolen one
of his gigs. Back at the precinct Ryan tells them that David’s alibi checks
out. Esposito then shows them a picture of Edmund 5 years earlier, talk about a
makeover, and tells them that the night he died, he withdrew 2000 dollars from
his bank account. Ryan tells them that he also called his ex-wife, who he hadn’t
called in 3 years. The ex-wife tells them that Edmund stopped by to apologize for
walking out on their life. She says that Edmund seemed very nervous and on
edge. She also tells them that after he left, she saw a man on a motorcycle
follow him. At Ryan’s desk, Esposito sees a box on his desk. And even though
Ryan tells him not to touch it, Espo can’t help himself, especially when he
sees that it’s a sexy Santa outfit for Jenny. He then starts to dance with it,
not knowing that Gates is right behind him. Busted!
Castle and
Beckett are having trouble connecting the dots, so Castle starts to throw
around new theories. Ryan tells them that Edmund had gotten himself involved in
a lawsuit (the one including the neighbors) where millions of dollars were at
stake. Castle then switches the subject to Christmas Eve, suggesting a movie marathon
(or a different kind of marathon) but Beckett cuts him off and tells him that
she has to work on Christmas Eve. Castle is clearly disappointed but says that
he understands. After Castle leaves, Espo tells her that Edmund met with
someone at a small airfield. When they go to check it out, Espo mentions that
he overheard that she pulled the Christmas Eve shift again. She tells him not
to eavesdrop and then notices a helicopter that’s cherry red. The same color as
the paint chip they found on the victim. Inside it they find fresh blood. A guy
at the airfield tells them that the fuel in the helicopter was full before it
left. Back at the precinct, Ryan is using his magic math skills to figure out
how far the helicopter flew. Back at the Castle loft, Castle finds out that
Alexis’ plans involve her new boyfriend. Turns out that she can only see him
once before he leaves for London so Castle says she can go. When Castle returns
to the precinct, he gives Gates a Christmas gift, to which she positively responds.
I love that she’s being nicer to him. However she quickly figures out that Castle
wants something. Castle asks if she can give Beckett off on Christmas Eve but Gates
tells him that Beckett volunteered to take the shift. In the meantime Ryan and
Beckett have figured out that Edmund went to Case Commerce. When they get
there, they find out that there was a heist at the Christmas party the night
before. At it just so happened that Edmund was the Santa who was working the
party. One of the employees tells them that all that was stolen was a very
expensive clock. Back at the precinct Castle confronts Beckett about the
Christmas Eve shift. She explains to him that Christmas means something
different to her ever since her mom died. She tells him that she always takes
the Christmas Eve shift because she’s keeping watch over the families that are
celebrating. He says he understands. Ryan then calls them to tell them that he
found some trash on the helipad which includes pipe tobacco. When Ryan and
Esposito go to pick up David Dunne, he attacks them with a ginormous candy
cane. Of course it’s always Espo who gets hit.
When Castle
and Beckett question him it turns out that he doesn’t have an alibi after all.
They also tell him that they found the clock in his apartment. He tells them
that Edmund had asked him to fly the helicopter and had given him 2000 dollars
to do so. Edmund had wanted to know how much extra weight the helicopter could
take. But the plan didn’t go so well because all he had was a clock. When they
took of someone started shooting at them and Edmund was hit. He then fell out
of the helicopter. When they get back to Beckett’s desk, Ryan and Espo show
them a surveillance picture from the party. Turns out Tim (the neighbor) was
there. Gates tells them that it was Edmund who helped get the people who were
now involved in the lawsuit out of their homes. She also tells them that Tim’s
dad died in a car accident on Christmas Eve because he fell asleep after
working 3 shifts to pay off the mortgage that was there thanks to Edmund Smith.
This was 5 years ago, the same night that Edmund left everything behind to
become a Santa and turn his life around. When they go to question Tim, he tells
them that when Edmund told him he wanted to kill him, but he didn’t. He also
tells them that Edmund had asked him to break the lock on the storage room at
the party. According to Edmund, there were files in there that could help them
win the lawsuit. When they question the employee we saw before (who I assume
has some kind of very important position in the company), he denies ever seeing
those files. He says he has no connection to Suncove or Edmund but Beckett
tells him that the clock that was stolen from his office belongs to one of the
families whose house they stole. He says that he didn’t kill Edmund, but he
does know who did. Turns out it was the ex-wife who did it. If Edmund and the
families won the lawsuit, she could lose everything. Afterwards Gates tells
them that the documents went to the D.A. and now all those families have a good
chance of getting back what they lost. When her mother-in-law texts her again,
Gates tells Beckett that if she hears about a homicide at her address, she has
to ignore it. Beckett then walks Castle to the elevator and find themselves
under the mistletoe. But since they’re in the precinct, they are unable to
kiss. I don’t like this at all. We then see Ryan tell Espo why he’s been so
down the past days. He tells him that he’s not sure if he’s ready to bring kids
into a world this hard. But Espo tells him that having kids and starting a
family is what keeps the world together. At the Castle loft, Alexis and Martha
tell Castle that they’ve canceled their plans for the evening. But he tells
them that he was wrong and that there someplace he needs to be. When he opens
the door to leave he finds Kate. Turns out she had Karpowski (is that how you
spell it?) take her shift. He leads her to the gigantic Christmas tree and they
kiss. He then says that he didn’t get her anything, to which she responds with
a “What?”. Don’t men know that when we say “don’t get me anything” you should
still get us something. We then see Espo at the apartment of Edmunds neighbors,
bringing them their clock. They tell him that the clock was handed down in the
family for generations. Just when Espo is about to leave, they invite him to join
them. This way he doesn’t have to spend Christmas Eve alone after all. THE END
Now if this
didn’t put you guys in the Christmas mood, I don’t know what will. Happy
holidays and a happy New Year.
