This episode will always hold a special place in my heart because my friends and I were on location one of the days they were filming. I thought it was so cool that I saw many of the extras multiple times that day walking up and down the street and to then see them on screen was just incredible. It’s experiences like that, that really heighten your love for a show. To see how hard the cast and crew works to put out an episode makes you appreciate them even more.

Beckett had to protect billionaire hottie Eric Vaughn because his life was in danger. Castle was so jealous of Vaughn it was quite amusing. This also brought out a little nutty case solving Castle. At one point he was quite high off caffeine. After Castle pretty much chose a video game over Kate, it was good to see someone show an interest in her. Maybe shake Castle up a bit. (Seriously Castle? You were ignoring Kate while she was trying to seduce you. Are you crazy man?) I thought the whole Castle taking Kate for granted storyline was quite realistic. It has been a year since they first got together. They still haven’t had “the talk” so this isn’t so out of left field.  I had to chuckle at Castle noticing Kate swooning over Eric Vaughn. Why wouldn’t she? He’s gorgeous, rich, and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t choose a video game over her. I was even swooning over him! Damn that smile and accent. And ladies, I saw him while on location… really gorgeous in person.

We all know Kate Beckett would never cheat on Castle, but the moment after Vaughn hit himself in the eye with the cork from the champagne was a little too close for comfort for me. Maybe Kate was feeling like Castle wasn’t appreciating her and here’s this amazing billionaire obviously interested in her. It actually hurt me a little when Beckett hesitated when asked by Vaughn if her and Castle were serious. I’ve analyzed this “almost” kiss more times then I’d like to admit and you can disagree with me if you want, but Beckett totally let Vaughn come in for a kiss then she pushed him away. Good thing she did because someone shot at Vaughn through the window.

I loved Castle running into the hotel room to see if Beckett was okay after the assassination attempt on Vaughn. Despite Castle being a dope sometimes, he loves Kate and would do anything for her, so my heart totally sank at the sight of Castle’s face when he saw the champagne bottle. I know a lot of people are saying Kate told Castle the truth about the kiss, but it was only after Castle was prodding her story that she told him the truth. I don’t think she was going to lie to him, but she didn’t tell him the truth right off the bat.

I have to say, I really enjoyed the case of the week. I loved how both story lines were intertwined. Just when you thought Mr. Fantastic wasn’t so fantastic, we got a nice little twist. Vaughn’s attorney ended up being the one trying to kill Vaughn. I really did think Vaughn was behind the attempt on his own life. It would have been too easy though. It would make the audience be justified in hating this guy hitting on Beckett if he were the bad guy.

Now to the nitty gritty. That ending! I was absolutely done after that scene. I didn’t like that facial expression Kate made and the change in music. It made me so nervous. You could see the doubts building. In my heart, Kate has loved Castle a lot longer than she has even admitted to herself. Even though she hasn’t said the words, every one knows she loves Castle. Then you  have this handsome billionaire who has expressed interest in her, and on the other hand you have Castle who obviously loves her but could chose a video game over her. They’ve never had the “where are we going?” conversation. I could see why Kate was conflicted. I’m just really happy she didn’t let Vaughn kiss her. It could have been real easy to kiss him. That would have just caused more harm than good. I just hate that she said her and Castle’s relationship is complicated. That statement hurt my heart. Of course Mr. Fantastic came back with:

 “Kate, there’s nothing complicated about meeting a woman like you and knowing what to do.”

All I’ve got to say is Castle better step up his game. I welcome angst, and in this situation it was totally warranted. Nothing is perfect. No relationship is perfect. It’s real. This is what real couples go through. Castle and Beckett are just going to come out of this even stronger. While I understand Kate’s side of this, there’s Castle’s side also. He’s had 2 failed marriages. He has his walls that he’s put up. He’s with this woman whom he loves undeniably and doesn’t want to screw it up. As my genius friend said, it’s easy for an outsider to come in and say it’s simple. Vaughn doesn’t know Castle and Beckett’s history. As a matter of fact, this was less about Vaughn and more about Castle/Beckett. Vaughn was just a tool to facilitate them having these conversations going forward. Obviously Castle is it for Kate. Kate just needs to know Castle is in it with her.

Moments I loved

“My mother loves your novels.” Eric to Castle

“He’s not you.” Kate to Castle

“And unlike you, his helicopter doesn’t need a remote control.” Javier to Castle

Lanie with a fake British accent

“Beckett is over the moon for you.” – Alexis to Castle

“Vaughn is way sexier than George Clooney.” Martha

Martha mentioning there’s no ring on Beckett’s finger.

Moment that drove me nuts

Vaughn: “You know that’s an extraordinary woman you have there.”

Castle: “I know.”

Vaughn: “Do you?”

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Laughs is definitely what we got. Martha started us off with her comment to Castle about pigging out on leftovers and sleep eating and Beckett added to it with her “Mystical ape man.” Christine Roum (the writer of the episode) and Jonathan Frakes (who directed) totally nailed it.

The case of the week was quite intriguing and kept me guessing right until the very end. Our victim Anne Cardinal was quite gruesomely murdered and of course Castle believed she was killed by Bigfoot. Beckett, the skeptic didn’t believe Bigfoot was the culprit. I love that it’s Beckett and Esposito vs Ryan and Castle when it comes to crazy theories against the more logical explanation. The show has amazing consistency. Speaking of consistency, I loved when Castle said “that is not good for my knee” when him and Beckett fell into that trap. It was only last episode that he was down for the count from his skiing accident.

I love Lanie and I really think she should be featured more, but we got some great zingers by Perlmutter this episode. His B-Team reference to Ryan and Espo was gold. He’s one of those characters that sorta gets under your skin, but you love him anyways. I also loved that we got a little Martha this episode. She was so smooth with her little zingers at Castle. “Pigging out on leftovers” and “Sleep eating.” Was I the only one who took that as a little crack at Nathan? It’s no secret I thought Nathan was looking a bit unhealthy last season and a little bit this season. To be honest, he’s looking a lot better these days. I was in L.A. a couple weeks ago and got a quick look at Nathan while I was on a Castle location shoot. Nathan was looking quite good. We also met the awesome NYPD Officer L.T., who took the time to chat with me and my friends. I love that we got to see him at the end of “The Fast and the Furriest” when they were releasing Kurt Wilson.

Now for that bedroom scene. You can’t see the facial expression I’m making, but I’m pretty sure you can guess it. I really think Marlowe and Co. have installed listening devices in all our homes. They are seriously giving us fans exactly what we want. I just love that they were asking what each other believed in. It’s truly amazing that after all these years there’s still so much these two don’t know about each other. That’s what makes them being together so great. They’re still learning so much about each other and totally crushing that stupid “Moonlighting curse.” Some shows get boring after the leads get together, not this one. We even got another well lit kiss!

Moments from the episode I loved:

Moonshine threatening Castle.

Castle: “I know who the killer is. Did you see how that gorilla looked at me?”

Beckett: “Yeah I think it was lust actually, Castle. You are ruggedly handsome.”

Alexis turning into a smurf after she was caught stealing Castle’s food from the refrigerator.

Beckett: “Come on, Castle. Why don’t you pop a squat, we’ll do a cheerleader move.”

Castle: “Shouldn’t you be wearing a short skirt for this?”

Beckett:

Castle: “It’s the rules.”

Beckett: “No, I’m scared I might murder you and then I’d have two crime scenes.”

Beckett: “You know, there is one inexplicable mysterious phenomenon that I do believe in still… us.”

Castle: “I can appreciate the everyday but why not live in the possible? There world just doesn’t have as many mysteries anymore. There’s no new continents to explore, there’s no more deepest, darkest Africa. Everything is mapped out by satellites and sonars and yet, still, people reach for the unknown. That’s what makes us grow. Coltrane wouldn’t have had that saxophone if Antoine Sax hadn’t imagined it. Isn’t that what separates us from, say, moonshine?”

“The Fast and the Furriest” didn’t knock off “The Lives of Others” as my favourite episode this season, but it was still great. I’m still giggling just thinking about Dr. Darrell Meeks dressed up as Bigfoot. I’m happy this past episode was a funny one, because the promo for “Still” definitely got my heart pumping and by the looks of it many tears will be shed. Can I just say, bravo CTV! The people that do the Castle promos are amazing. I definitely need to find out who they are and send them an Edible Arrangements or something. They definitely bring it against ABC when it comes to the promos.

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While I didn’t get much out of the murder of Holly Rhodes, a.k.a DJ Beat, I did with Joey, the juvenile delinquent Esposito took under his wing. The interactions between the two were great and I loved how Espo stood up for this kid. Joey didn’t make it easy on Espo, but there was no way Espo was going to give up on him. Javier saw a lot of himself in Joey and I’m sure with a lot of guidance Joey will make it. When Javier showed Joey his juvenile record I started to choke up. Espo was quite the delinquent back in the day. It just proved that Joey could have a future, it’s just up to him.

So, who knew Kate Beckett had such horrible taste in movies? Valentine’s Day? Really Kate? I totally agreed with Castle that she should lose a turn. For that movie selection she definitely needs to lose 2 turns. Oh who am I kidding? I’ve seen Valentine’s Day at least 10 times. It’s not my fault it’s on Showcase Diva all the time! Did anyone notice the little smack to the head Kate gave Espo? I wonder if that was scripted or did Stana add that in? I love noticing little moments like that.

I’m just so happy we finally got to see Javier’s apartment. Maybe we’ll get to see Lanie in there with him sometime soon. We need some Esplanie moments! Which according to some spoilers that I accidentally read, we will!

I’m sure by now, everyone knows how obsessed I am with Caskett. An episode like “Under The Influence” without them being the focus didn’t really bother me as much as I thought it would. I love this whole cast so much, that I welcome them all working together. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, right? This show is so great when it’s firing on all cylinders from all it’s cast members. It’s also great when an episode focuses on another cast member and we get a little more background on them. I personally want to see more about Det. Ryan and Lanie. I’m happy to report we will in fact be getting more about Ryan and his wife Jenny very soon.

So wish me luck, as I will be refraining from watching any sneak peeks for the next episode. As long as I distract myself with old episodes I’m sure I’ll be able to do it.

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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.

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