Castle – “Kill Switch” Recap. One Flu Over the Coo Coo’s Nest.

Season 7, Episode 8

Air Date: Monday, November 24, 2014 at 10/9c on ABC

Rating: ★★★★★

[warning] SPOILERS AHEAD [/warning]

What would you do in the name of love? When Jared Stone (guest star Will Rothhar) willingly straps a bomb to his chest and hijacks a subway car to help free his girlfriend from federal prison, things go from bad to worse. Suffering from a severe case of asthma, he becomes increasingly sicker by the minute and could lose his grip on the trigger switch he’s holding. Thankfully, one of NYPD’s finest is on board, but will Esposito (Jon Huertas) be able to take down this radical in time?

“Kill Switch” is an exciting and surprising episode of Castle. I didn’t expect things to go the way they went, and I didn’t guess the guilty party until the very end. As with any Castle episode, it all starts with a murder.

Paul Reeves is a medical fraud investigator for the U.S. Government. He goes after large companies that abuse federal funding. When he is found murdered, the case takes a strange and unexpected turn, leading Beckett (Stana Katic) down two very different paths. One leads toward Jared Stone; the other to Latham Pharmaceuticals and a deadly strain of the flu known as “H5N1.”

Will's asthma gets worse with every puff he takes on his inhaler...strange isn't it?

Jared’s asthma gets worse with every puff he takes on his inhaler…strange, isn’t it?

As Esposito and Ryan (Seamus Dever) track Jared, they see him getting on the subway. Esposito decides to follow Jared on foot and gets onto the subway car with him; little does Esposito know, Jared is just a pawn in a bigger game. Ryan uncovers clues at Jared’s house, finding a shredded email with explicit instructions for him to follow. Everything points to Jared trying to free his girlfriend from prison but something doesn’t quite add up.

As the precinct watches everything unfold on the subway’s hidden camera monitors, Lanie (Tamala Jones) notices Jared’s demeanor and alerts Captain Gates (Penny Johnson) and Beckett. The more Jared uses his inhaler, the sicker he seems to get. Someone has tampered with his inhaler, infecting it with the H5N1 virus. Now, all the passengers on the subway car are infected too.

As the case begins to unravel, the mystery person behind the email is revealed. Carol Jarvis (Wendy Braun) stands to gain a hefty sum in Latham Pharmaceuticals stock if Jared is able to get to his final destination and infect a large number of people in one place. The H5N1 vaccine is being mass produced by Latham in anticipation of an outbreak; an outbreak Carol tries to orchestrate using Jared and his love for his girlfriend.

Interesting Moment

The transit cop is pretty but she’s not Lanie.

Esposito seems to be getting comfortable with the transit cop (guest star Jessica Camacho). But when things go down, the name that crosses his lips is “Lanie.” The conversation Esposito has with Ryan moments prior to getting on the subway about settling down with Lanie comes full circle. I think after this ordeal, Lanie may change her mind about moving forward.

Overall

“Kill Switch” is such a great episode! I enjoyed it being more focused on Esposito. He’s so fun to watch. The way the writers twist things around, putting red herrings in front of us leading us to believe Jared is this radical, new age terrorist is refreshing. I liked the unpredictability of this case. “Kill Switch” had me guessing at every turn. And it’s scary to think a pharmaceutical company would do something so deplorable as to purposefully get people sick in order to profit. But I think that scenario is more than just probable; it may have already happened—bird flu, swine flu; the scare tactics the health industry have used to force people to get vaccinated is outrageous.

What did you think of “Kill Switch?” What crazy thing have you done in the name of love? Leave me a comment below and/or tweet me @judybopp.

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.