Castle 5-18: The Wild Rover

So last night it was Ryan’s turn for a spotlight episode. And I knew from the previews this would be a more suspenseful one. Once again, Laney got a scene, but other than that, the only main characters we saw were the Core Four (Castle, Beckett, Esposito, and Ryan).

The episode opens in a bakery. We pan across until we find the body of Jimmy the Baker face down in a vat of melted chocolate.

However, it wasn’t a case of death by chocolate. Laney is quick to confirm that he was actually killed by gunshots. Much to her dismay, Esposito has narrowed down the time to death to 11:30 to 12, the time when the delivery boy was gone. (And from Esposito’s comment, I take it he and Laney are still giving their second try a chance.)

The delivery boy has only been there a couple of weeks, but he could tell something was up. When Jimmy had spotted a car go by, he’d immediately sent him out on a delivery. And Jimmy was taking a briefcase full of money out to Staten Island on a regular basis.

Back at the precinct, they track down a number that has been calling Jimmy regularly. Her name is Siobhan, and she runs a bar. She plays it cool until she learns that Jimmy is dead. While she is obviously freaked, she won’t say anything.

That’s when the Feds come in. Siobhan is their informant inside the Irish mob. Members of the mob hang out quite regularly at her bar. She is looking for the “Bible” the leader of the mob has which holds all kinds of information that could get them all arrested. If she can turn it over, then she will be allowed to enter witness protection. Otherwise, she is on her own.

And this is now when Ryan enters. He’s been at an appointment with Jenny to try to learn why they haven’t gotten pregnant yet. (Haven’t they only been trying for a couple of months? Isn’t it a little soon? Oh, and can anyone else call where this sub-plot is going by the end of the episode?) Jenny stops by because he’s forgotten his lunch just as Siobhan walks by. She immediately recognizes him, but not as Kevin Ryan. She walks up and kisses him. When she finds out he’s married, she slaps him. And when she finds out he’s a cop, she slaps him again.

It turns out before Ryan joined homicide, he spent 14 months undercover with the Irish mob. During that time, he and Siobhan had a relationship. Because of their past, Ryan agrees to go back undercover to try to get the Bible. He’d been very close to the leader of the mob, so he figures it will be no problem to go get it.

From here, the episode splits. While Ryan is working his way back into the mob, Beckett, Castle, and Esposito are working to pin down the murder on the leader so it will stick. The only problem is, he has a perfect alibi. He was at the track betting and winning on the ponies. So it must have been his Number Two trying to frame him to take over the mob.

Ryan, meanwhile, has worked his way back in. Number Two seems suspicious, but the leader is happy to have him back. In fact, Ryan is invited to a pool game at the leader’s house. And the Bible is in a safe in the leader’s house, so this is his opportunity to get it. He gets the safe code from Siobhan.

The leader of the mob doesn’t trust cell phones, so Ryan doesn’t have his on him, so he can’t get the message from Beckett to watch out for Number Two. Ryan sees his chance and breaks into the safe, only to almost be caught by the leader of the gang.

Meanwhile, Number Two has figured out that Ryan isn’t who he claims to be. When Ryan comes back to the room, Number Two confronts him and, after a brief scuffle, they leave.

Back at the precinct, Jenny has come in asking if there is any news on her husband. She is obviously very worried, which is only natural. As Beckett is talking to her, Esposito comes in holding his phone. “You’re going to want to hear this.”

Number Two has taken Ryan down to the dock, and Ryan knows it is to kill him. But he is shocked when he sees the leader show up with Siobhan. They’ve figured out her role as a snitch. For Ryan to prove his loyalty, he needs to kill her.

Of course, Ryan can’t do it. Turns out the gun wasn’t loaded anyway, something he learns after turning the gun on the leader. He confirms that he’s a police officer and has been all along. But Ryan isn’t as worried as he might be. See, when he and Number Two scuffled before leaving, he grabbed Number Two’s phone and called Esposito, leaving the phone on speaker, so his partner knows where he is.

He calls to Esposito, and there is a dramatic pause. Now Ryan is looking a bit worried, but he then smiles when Esposito comes out holding his gun. Then he calls out to Beckett, who also comes out holding a gun. Then he calls to Castle, who is a bit upset. “I’m not even wearing my vest,” Castle says. (Even my roommate laughed at that line.) More police come in to arrest those on hand. As the leader says they’ll never make the charges stick, Ryan reveals he’s gotten his hands on the Bible.

And the next scene confirms that the entire mob is going away. However, Number Two didn’t kill the baker. He was also at the track with his boss. And that’s when they figure out the killer is…

…Number Two’s wife. She wanted the money that would come with her husband taking over the mob, so she was taking care of a snitch and framing the leader in the process so he’d be sure to go down for the crime.

We get a nice scene of Ryan saying a proper goodbye to Siobhan, then he heads home. Jenny is barely holding something back. They’ve gotten the test results back, and it turns out they didn’t need to get them. She’s pregnant. And they both rejoice at the news.

Meanwhile, Castle and Beckett have a sub-plot involving a name that Castle says in his sleep. Turns out, it was the name of someone he paid to write a paper for him back in his boarding school days. When everyone praised the paper, he was so embarrassed he set out to become as great a writer as everyone thought he was.

There were certainly some light moments, but on the whole, this was a more serious, more suspenseful episode. I enjoyed it, even though I pretty much knew how things would end.

What did you think? Let me know in the comments.