Castle - 5.17 Scared to Death - Recap/Review - Spoilers

This week’s Castle starts with a young woman (Alison Trumbull) locking all her doors and calling 911. She gives her address but cannot tell the operator what’s happing to her beyond the fact that "it's coming."

The victim has no external trauma and the door was barricaded from the inside. Castle (Nathan Fillion)notes that the victim called her attacker “it”. She has an uncommon amount of supernatural literature but he doesn’t go so far as to suggest she was actually haunted only that she believed herself to be. Her roommate (Vivian Kerr) walks in and asks “what happened to Val?” before giving a list of symptoms of how scared she was before her death. The ex-boyfriend is considered. Neither Ryan (Seamus Dever) nor Espo (Jon Huertas) have an anomaly in her life. Castle notices that all the supernatural books were bought in the last three days.

The ex boyfriend claims the restraining order was a misunderstanding and that Val had claimed she wanted to get back together before accusing him of sending a package and asking if he beloved in “the power of evil.” The alibi checks out.

The package she got contained a disk which Beckett (Stana Katic) tells Castle to be on the lookout for. Like the film which inspired this film, Castle watches the creepy tape in the victim’s machine. Castle states the premise of the episode that because he watched the disk, he’s next.

Castle reads the group a passage about how the disk is a harbinger of death. Espo is in doubt. Castle mentions The Ring as a reference point. Ryan says he watched the film and Kate uses that as evidence that it’s only a film. Kate can’t find anyone else to watch the video so she takes it. Rick tries to talk her out of it. His precautions include closing the blinds and door so that the whole prescient doesn’t have to suffer his fate. He asks for Beckett’s hand. Kate concedes that the video is creepy because the killer made it so. She tracks thru it slowly and Castle points out the mystical symbols for resurrection saying that it resurrects a spirit from the grave. Kate goes to see Perlmutter (Arye Gross).

“Ah, Kate Beckett and defective Castle.” The victim had a defective heart condition. Castle says that the only explanation is that she saw something so scary it stop her heart and froze her face. He checks his bucket list and Perlmutter says the only thing he knows for sure is that he’s putting the cause of death down to unknown.

Ryan and Espo go to see the box the video was sent from which was owned by a dead man. Ryan suggests that maybe the package was sent from another realm. Espo says it was sent from New Jersey. They go to talk to the man who sent the package and find him dead about two days. He had also received a package. Castle takes this as evidence that he and Kate are on their way to becoming dead.

Castle suggests that maybe they should make a copy of the DVD and send it off to other people if not to save him to save Kate. She says there has to be a better connection than just the disk. Rick thinks they pick out their photos now. Kate suggests the one she took of him the other night in bed before inviting him over to his place to have more sex. Castle states the typical horror trope of sex = death before “removing myself from temptation.” Apparently he has never seen the Scream films by guest star Wes Craven.

At home he waffles as to who to call before deciding to call… Wes Craven. He tells Wes that he’s having a problem with evil spirits and asks if he knows how to stop them in then name of friendly competition. Castle lays out the plot which Wes says is derivative. Wes thinks that it is not so much friendly competition.

They have found no connection between the murder victims. Castle tells them Craven’s advice of finding the origin of the spirit. One of his twitter followers has found a connection that they stayed at the same inn at the same time. “It’s when we get to the creepy old hotel that things really go south.” Castle wants to stay at the precinct while the others go to the inn to watch the video again because “it’s not like I can get any deader.”

At the inn, Kate asks if Espo is buying into the theory to which he replies he’s “a grown ass man” before the proprietor tells them that they’re closed for the season. He asks over the room numbers before telling them that those particular rooms are reserved for the court house. And the trial at the time was the trial of the century – Nigel Malloy. Checking the tape again, Ryan and Castle have found that the images connect to other aspects of the case. The downside to that theory, the killer’s been dead for three years.

Castle briefs the others on the aspects of the case. The two people were witnesses to one of the early crimes. Rick’s found an interview where he said that his victims gave him a unique insight to death and that he would die. Castle thinks that maybe he transferred his essence. The brother is a likely suspect of who could be sending the packages as he’s still alive and was found to be a criminally insane accomplice.

Unfortunately doctor/patient privilege does not allow the doctor to characterize her patient before giving them a list of rule similar to those of Hannibal Lecter. They ask if he sent the package which of course he didn’t and Kate suggests he got someone else to perpetuate his brother’s legacy. He’s appealing his conviction so that he can be released. Kate says that he has the perfect alibi. He retorts it’s perfect because he’s innocent. He asks who he could have sent to dispatch Val or the other witness only they never mentioned the other witness.

Kate tells Castle that he has to be talking to someone and Rick says it was his brother. He then crosses an item off his bucket list by confessing to breaking her vase while playing Wii tennis. Ryan has found a missing report for the brother in jail. His grave plot has been disturbed to the point that the body has disappeared. This was not too long ago in fact.

Rick asks for her explanation of “the dead serial killer’s missing body.” She doesn’t have one yet but is convinced that Leopold Malloy is the killer. Espo has found records that there are no other visitors. Nurse anyone? There’s a third witness who also received a disk. The guy flipped out three days ago outside of Kingston where Kate and Rick go. Rick thinks it’s akin to checking something out outside of the group in a slasher film. Rick has a box of supernatural weapons. Of course he does. They get a distorted phone call from Ryan who tells them the rest of the remaining witnesses haven’t gotten anything yet. There was something else in common too but the tape cut off before we or they could hear it.

Kate says the one of them will likely live which Rick states is why he’s scared. The cabin is covered in dead animals. The third guy it turns out is Mags Bennett’s stupid son, Coover. As luck would have it the lights go out.

Castle wonders if the killer will just off all three of them. There’s someone out there. Kate can’t see its face. She tells him to keep an eye on the intended victim and she goes to shoot the person. In other words, they split up. Kate sees the suspected killer and takes off after it. The third guy tells Castle that they all have blood on their hands but is reluctant to spill as to what. Kate tackles the killer who is in fact Leopold’s nurse. She claims she’s there to save the third guy on Leopold’s instructions. She’s trying to stop the murders. She dug up Nigel’s grave and was the one to find him missing. Kate holds fast the evil spirits don’t kill people. None of the three original witnesses were sure that Nigel was the killer and instead they picked someone else out of the lineup. That someone else electrocuted himself out of guilt. The killer is in fact the first victim’s sister. She comes in and Rick points something at her but she fires a glowy thing at them so they can’t see. Rick hits her over the head with the holy water just as she’s about ready to taser the people.

The electricity is enough to make the facial muscles contract. Nigel’s body was never buried because the police lost it and haven’t regained it. Kate looks at the bucket list and sees that being with her is number one. Unfortunately Rick still doesn’t want to kiss her until after midnight. He trouble holding out for the deadline but as soon as it passes, a wicked grin passes over his face.

Next Monday: we have a Ryan episode!

So, this week, I'm leaving the like/dislike to you. What did you like? What did you hate? Are the cheesy episodes better than the dramatic ones or were you hoping for more drama this week? Were you expecting an episode of Supernatural? I want to know.