Castle Review: Secret Santa

I am head over heels in love with this show. Secret Santa had everything I could possibly want in an episode. The case of the week was entertaining, we got great character development, a little bit of angst and of course great Caskett moments.

So let me begin with the case. Santa was last seen falling from the sky to his untimely death. Castle, the big kid and traditionalist he is obviously was quite upset Santa was dead. Beckett on the other hand is a realist and didn’t believe in all this Santa stuff. Santa otherwise known as James Edmund Smith was shot and fell out of a helicopter. Edmund had an epiphany one night after watching A Wonderful Life, and he left his wife and comfortable life and started a new journey as Santa. The truth was, back in Edmund’s previous life the company he worked for scammed families out of their homes. He was trying to redeem himself so he moved next door to one of the families he destroyed. He came up with a plan to work the Case Commerce holiday party as Santa so he could get the unaltered loan documents that were in the storage room. The murderer ended up being Edmund’s ex wife. She couldn’t let Edmund take away her lifestyle if his swindling came out into the open.

I was so happy we got a Lanie and Esposito scene. I love these two characters and I’m really hoping they find their way back to each other. You really had to feel for Espo. He was alone for the holidays and tried to get with Lanie, but she already had plans. She told him she didn’t want one of those sad desperate holiday hookups. If after the holidays he still wanted to get together, he should call her. It was just so incredibly sweet when Esposito showed up to the Cabot’s with their clock. His face totally lit up when the Cabot’s invited him to spend Christmas Even with them.

We learned Jenny wants to try for a baby and Ryan is scared about it. We got such a sweet moment with Espo and Ryan. Esposito reassuring him he’s ready to have a baby just reminds us how great friends these two are. I can’t wait to see Kevin as a dad.

The funniest moments had to belong to Captain Gates. Her mother in law is staying at her house during the holidays and she makes it quite clear she’s not happy about it. “Detective, if you happen to receive a report of a homicide tonight at my address, do me a favour ignore it.” I almost fell off my bed laughing when Gates saw Esposito holding up lingerie meant for Jenny. Gates said something I thought I’d never hear on television let alone from her. “Let’s finish up this hoochie-coochie thing and get on with it.”  We’re really starting to see a playful side of Captain Gates and I’m loving it. Penny Johnson Jerald is so funny in real life and I’m just so happy we get to see this side of her character.

I’m obviously saving the best for last. Kate told Castle she couldn’t come over to his house for Christmas Eve because she had to work. Castle was obviously upset, which I didn’t blame him. He later learned from Gates that Beckett was the one to volunteer to work that night. I got a little worried how Castle would handle the news. If you recall last season when Castle found out Kate actually remembered everything from her shooting, he didn’t exactly handle things well. I still get upset watching those episodes because I didn’t believe for a second Castle wouldn’t confront her. This time though Castle confronted Kate and she opened up to him. Christmas doesn’t mean the same thing for her as it does for him. Kate associates Christmas with her mother’s murder and it’s hard for her. Stana just killed this scene and Nathan was so great just soaking in all her words. I love these heartfelt scenes between the two of them. It shows me how much these two characters have grown and how much they truly do love each other. I honestly don’t need to hear those 3 little words from Kate just yet. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to hear them soon but she loves Castle, I just see it by her actions. It torn me up to have Castle and Beckett standing underneath the mistletoe at the precinct and not being able to kiss.

Everything turned out amazing though when Beckett came by Castle’s loft just as he was going to rush out to see Kate at the precinct. She knew how much the holiday’s meant to him and wanted to start a new tradition. That kiss near the huge Christmas tree was just perfection! For a split second when Kate started to whisper something I thought she was going to say those 3 little words. It ended up just being “Merry Christmas” but it was just as sweet. Of course Castle had to tell her he didn’t buy her anything which added humour to the scene. In Castle’s defence, Kate did tell him to not buy her anything. Since when does Castle listen anyways?

Usually by a 5th season of a show starts to go in this downward spiral. Not Castle! I feel as though I’m watching a whole new show. This is a true testament to everyone who works on this show. The cast and crew love this show as much as the fans and they want to make it the best show possible. I’m just so happy I’m along for this wonderful ride.