Castle – “I, Witness” Recap. It Isn’t the Butler.

Season 7, Episode 13

Air Date: Monday, February 2, 2015 at 10/9c on ABC

Rating: ★★★★★

WARNING!! SPOILERS AHEAD

“What do all cocky men do?” – Castle

If that isn’t a loaded question, I don’t know what is. What I do know is “I, Witness” is chock full of red herrings, suspects, and a whodunit fit for superb mystery novel. When Eva Whitfield (Brianna Brown), Castle’s (Nathan Fillion) former classmate, asks him to find out whether her husband Cole (Ivan Sergei) is cheating, he gets more than he bargained for. Turns out his new client ends up dead! Queue dramatic music.

While “I, Witness” falls in line with the murder cases seen on Castle, it sure does keep you guessing until the very end. I thought I had it all figured out but I should have known better. It’s never the obvious suspect—in this case, Cole, the lying, cheating husband. No, I thought it was someone else, perhaps his mistress Taylor (India de Beaufort). She annoyed me, especially with her very condescending answers. But I was wrong. This tale of lies, betrayal, and murder has more than enough twists to make that knot in your string of Christmas lights look like child’s play.

L-R: Cole (Ivan Sergei) is being questioned about his wife’s whereabouts by Castle (Nathan Fillion), Beckett (Stana Katic), and local West Chester police Det. Neely (guest star Suleka Mathew)

When Castle drives to West Chester to drop off the incriminating photos of Cole and Taylor to Eva, he gets an unexpected shock. A piercing scream coming from inside the huge mansion leads Castle to jump fences and run like the wind to find out what’s going on. He looks through the window and sees Eva’s bloody, lifeless body being carried away on a sheet, dragged down a hallway. Castle desperately tries to reach the unknown assailant, who shoves Eva’s body into the back seat of the car and speeds off. Castle’s in hot pursuit but when he gets out of the car to look around, someone hits him from behind, knocking him unconscious.

Without evidence or proof of the alleged murder, Castle implores his wife, NYPD Detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic), to look into the case. It’s out of her jurisdiction but she does what she can, as usual, to help her hubby. Besides, who can resist those puppy dog eyes Castle gives her?

Cole is rich and well connected, but he has quite an interesting back story. Turns out his first wife died while on a hiking trip and the only witness to the accident was Cole. He inherited all her money, which he used to fund his business ventures on Wall Street. Enter the multiple red herrings. Could Eva’s killer be Scott Galloway (Gregory Zorion), Cole’s business partner who’s neck deep in debt? Or is it his other partner, Robert James (Trent Dawson), whose wife is having an affair…with none other than Cole!? Yes, Cole certainly is a very busy man; I wonder where he gets all his energy.

Castle (Nathan Fillion) putting his P.I. skills to work spying on Cole.

But here’s the twist – is Eva really dead? If she is, how could she have called Cole the night after her alleged murder telling him it’s over and then wiped out their joint bank account? The plot thickens. Cole lawyers up and has his attorney, Aubrey Haskins (Audrey Marie Anderson), represent his lover Taylor as well. Castle does his best to piece the puzzle together but before he can slap the cuffs on Cole, another snag in the case pops up. Cole is found dead, hanging from his banister. And then Eva’s body is found in the Hudson River. So, the murderer not only killed Eva, they killed her husband Cole too? It doesn’t make sense.

Now it’s time for the run down: Cole’s first wife was Aubrey’s sorority sister in college. Distraught over her death, Aubrey got a job with Cole’s firm to get close to him and his second wife Eva. Together, Eva and Aubrey, with Robert’s help, plotted to make Cole pay. They staged Eva’s fake murder knowing Castle would be there to witness it. Then Eva began having second thoughts. One thing leads to another and after all is said and done, Aubrey turns out to be the killer.

Ryan (Seamus Dever) had good intentions when trying to set up his BFF Esposito (Jon Huertas) on the blind date. It’s a couple’s ski trip!

In the other story line, Lanie (Tamala Jones) returns but only for a couple of scenes. During a conversation Ryan (Seamus Dever) and Esposito (Jon Huertas) have about their upcoming couple’s ski trip, we learn Esposito and Lanie have broken up “again,” as Kate so lovingly puts it. We knew this would happen after the incident with Lanie’s parents showing up in “Bad Santa.” Here’s a horrible thought – Do you think Lanie is going to quit working for the NYPD because she and Esposito have broken up yet again? Jones has been absent from the show recently but I hope she stays with Castle. I love Lanie and she’s Beckett’s BFF. We need girl power to stay strong.

So like a good best friend, Ryan signs Esposito up for a dating site and sets him up on a blind date. I mean, you can’t just have anyone going away on their couple’s ski trip weekend, right? Esposito’s expressions kill me. His blind date doesn’t go too well since he thought she was a stalker. Then again, Esposito has no idea Ryan set up a profile, complete with photos, for him on an online dating site.

Overall

I truly enjoyed “I, Witness.” The plot twists, surprises, and strange turn of events all had me guessing and rethinking what the heck could possibly be going on. The writers are ramping things up this season and by the looks of the promos for next week’s episode, the past is coming back to haunt in a major way. “I, Witness” also puts into question Castle’s future as a private investigator. I hope he sticks with it. After all, it’s only been a month since he got his P.I. license. He can’t quit now.

What did you think of “I, Witness?” Did you know who did it before the big reveal? 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.