Castle – “Clear & Present Danger” Recap. Cuttlefish and the Invisible Man?

Season 7, Episode 3

Air Date: Monday, October 13, 2014 at 10/9c on ABC

Rating: ★★★★★

“The devil came and got his due.” – Castle

[warning] SPOILERS AHEAD [/warning]

Deals with the devil, unseen entities, and delayed bedroom Olympics make this week’s Castle, “Clear & Present Danger,” a fun and interesting episode. While Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic) begin to get their relationship back to normal, a mysterious murder with even more bizarre roots puts the brakes on their sexy time and raises concerns about the supernatural.

One of my favorite things about Castle is the inclusion of the supernatural and paranormal elements into an episode. With Beckett being a non-believer, I like the way the writers put a playful spin on Beckett and Castle’s difference of opinion on the subject. “Clear & Present Danger” is a wonderful example, especially when doors open and close on their own without any reasonable explanation.

Beckett and Castle learn from Fats Shepherd that Will made a deal with the devil…

A pool shark named Will Fairwick (Nick McCallum) is found murdered in his apartment. Fats Shepherd (Tom Wright), owner of a high end billiards establishment tells Beckett Will “made a deal with the devil” at the proverbial crossroads and with all the windows locked and little evidence to show any signs of forced entry, it leads some to suspect a ghost is at work.

As they continue with the investigation, many things come to light, including Will’s unstable background at M.I.T. With his gamer neighbor Henry (Tate Ellington) looking like a prime suspect after clearing out his apartment, things go from weird to spooky in nanoseconds.

Beckett and Castle go to Will’s apartment to get Will’s swipe badge to Greenblatt Insurance but are nearly thwarted by an unseen force. When Beckett is pushed up against a wall and choked, Castle tries to help but instead, sustains a few slaps and punches to the face himself. This “invisible man” is trying to take the swipe badge, but why?

Back at home, Castle and Beckett try to forget their encounter with the invisible man but can’t seem to shake the feeling they’re being watched. Castle uses his “zombie apocalypse survival camp training” to rig the bedroom with pots and pans on string as a crude alarm system. The only person they catch is Martha (Susan Sullivan). Hilarious!

It always comes down to government conspiracy, doesn’t it? After probing, Beckett and Castle stumble upon a secret military lab working on “quantum engineering.” Apparently, Will was recruited by the government to work on cloaking technology for Dr. Elena Sarkov (Rebecca Wisocky). I wouldn’t want to cross paths with her. She scares me.

Castle and Beckett find Henry hiding out in an underground gaming den

Will, with his neighbor Henry, worked on the project off site and without Sarkov’s knowledge with his neighbor Henry but soon realized this kind of technology is far too powerful for the government to possess. Will isn’t a stand up guy, by any means. He used his girlfriend Donna’s (Camille Chen) cuttlefish research to help perfect the cloaking on the suit and then stopped calling her. Talk about a booty call gone wrong. Hell hath no fury like a cuttlefish researcher scorned.

Aside from the case and lack of naked time for Castle and Beckett, Javier (Jon Huertas) discovers a secret about Ryan (Seamus Dever). Late nights and glitter on his lapel…is Ryan stepping out on his wife? No, he isn’t. How could you think that, Javi? Ryan is working security for male strippers. He needs to make extra money for his baby Sarah Grace’s college tuition. I nearly choked on my drink when Javi gives Ryan his new uniform…a blue g-string with a security emblem sewn on the front.

While “Clear & Present Danger” doesn’t move us any closer to finding out who kidnapped Castle, why he was in Montreal, or what the heck happened in Hollanders Woods when he was 11 years old, it does show the mending of Castle and Beckett’s relationship, giving us some much needed ‘Caskett’ time.

What did you think of “Clear & Present Danger?” I’d love to hear from you. Leave me a comment 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.