Castle – “Once Upon a Time in the West” Recap. Giddy Up, City Slickers!

Season 7, Episode 7

Air Date: Monday, November 17, 2014 at 10/9c on ABC

Rating: ★★★★★

“So instead of mai-tais, we get murder? Great…no, it’ll be great.” – Castle

[warning] SPOILERS AHEAD [/warning]

A cross country murder sends our dynamic duo, Rick Castle (Nathan Fillion) and his new bride Kate Beckett (Stana Katic), out west to an Arizona dude ranch in search of answers to the age-old question, ‘whodunnit.’ Snakes, tiny bunks, and shared bathrooms won’t stop them from solving this mystery though.

Castle and Beckett invite Ryan (Seamus Dever), Javier (Jon Huertas), and Lanie (Tamala Jones) over to tell them the good news about their impromptu nuptials but the reception is anything but warm. And to add insult to injury, Martha (Susan Sullivan), who was at the wedding, tells them all about how beautiful it was. Thankfully, Alexis (Molly C. Quinn) puts the kibosh on her grandmother rubbing salt into the fresh wounds. Not being invited to your best friend’s wedding can really put a wedge between two women but Lanie’s anger is short lived and she congratulates Beckett. The guys, however – Ryan and Esposito – aren’t so quick to forgive and forget. Their behavior throughout “Once Upon a Time in the West” is hilarious. Ryan and Epsosito are being so childish giving Castle the cold shoulder and making snide remarks, but lucky for Castle, a murder interrupts the bro-bashing.

Beckett and Castle have their hands full in the wild wild dude ranch

When Whitney Williams (Sarah Butler) dies in the ER, her death is ruled a homicide due to toxins found in her bloodstream. But she just traveled from a small ranch in Arizona to New York so when the local Sheriff (Dale Midkiff) isn’t as cooperative as Beckett is hoping, Castle suggests he and Beckett fly out to Arizona and conduct their own investigation. The fact that Whitney was possibly killed at a “dude ranch” is neither here nor there. Yeah right. Castle lights up like a Christmas tree at the idea of going to a dude ranch although Beckett doesn’t like the sound of it at all. That’s because Castle says it will be like a mini-honeymoon for them. Dry desert landscape, rolling tumbleweeds, snakes, and dressing up in old western gear aren’t exactly the “exotic island getaway” either of them envisioned for their honeymoon. But this isn’t really their honeymoon, per se; it’s their cover story so they can infiltrate the “Diamond Back Old West Ranch” to find answers to why Whitney was there and who wanted her dead.

Whitney went to Diamond Back to find out about the notorious “Peacock brothers” and some missing gold bars. She also wanted to find out who killed her long lost father. When the majority of the suspicion points toward the local Sheriff, it’s a guessing game of who killed both Whitney and her father. But the accommodating Gentleman James Grady (guest star Keith Szarabajka), owner of the dude ranch, is hiding something. After all is said and done, the smooth talking Grady ends up being the guilty party.. He may be the fastest draw in Diamond Back but he’s never tangled with the likes of New York’s finest, Det. Kate Beckett…er, Kate Castle…er, Beckett-Castle?

Funny Lines:

Beckett refers to the apartment as “our place” and Castle gleefully says, “We did it, we’re married, Mrs. Castle.” Then Beckett, innocently and lovingly responds, “Mr. Beckett.” The look on Castle’s face isn’t joyful anymore.

Esposito and Ryan are still not happy with Castle. When they tell Castle and Beckett about the dude ranch, Castle tries to high-five them but they’re not having it.

Esposito: “You still suck.”

Ryan: “And you owe us for those tuxedo rentals.”

Talking about being catty…meow!

Interesting Moments:

Just to be clear, they are still going on their exotic island getaway.

Castle rents a horse drawn buggy to take him and Beckett to a Native American village just outside of the Diamond Back ranch and names the horses Ryan and Esposito (purely in jest). On their way back, it’s dark and they’ve camped for the night. Beckett is adorable when she begins to unbutton her blouse, saying it is their honeymoon. Castle quickly jumps up and follows suit. But things go from kinky to slinky when a snake begins to slither its way between Castle’s feet.

Castle and Beckett get to their room, the same room Whitney stayed in, and get a startling surprise in the shared bathroom. Tobias (guest star Tyler Hilton) is hilarious!

Overall

“Once Upon a Time in the West” is just pure fun! While it highlights the fact that Castle and Beckett are finally married, this episode is more for entertainment than to move story lines forward. We still don’t know much about Castle’s time away; although, Beckett mentions not having anymore vacation time left for a real honeymoon since she spent it searching for him while he was missing. Isn’t it nice of Captain Gates (Penny Johnson) to urge Ryan and Esposito to give Beckett some of their vacation days to make up for their previous bad behavior so Beckett and Castle can spend a few more days in Arizona?

What did you think of “Once Upon a Time in the West?” What’s your dream honeymoon location? 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.