History Castle / TropesEToL

** A less tragic example is the chair beside Beckett's desk. Castle is so often seen seated there whenever Beckett is at her desk that at certain times when he isn't, Beckett is seen looking at it almost as if wishing he was there.

** In "Set Up", Beckett holds up a large pair of bolt cutters (in a rather flirty pose) prior to trying a storage unit door. Castle comments, for reasons he won't explain, that her pose looks quite hot. Strangely enough, that was actually unnecessary, as Beckett had keys to unlock the door.

** In "An Embarrassment of Bitches" the seemingly vapid "celebrity bimbo" Kay Capuccio turns out to be more intelligent (if still somewhat ditzy), sensitive and lonely than expected.

* InsultBackfire: In "3XK", Captain Montgomery is briefing the precinct regarding a serial killer. According to the profile, Castle claims that he may as well be the killer, and Beckett agrees when Montgomery describes the killer as having "a menial, unimportant job." He quips back that "Just for that, my next book will be about Esposito." Beckett gets a rather annoyed look on her face.

-->[[spoiler:'''Beckett''']]: [[spoiler:He got away, and I didn't care. I almost died, and the only thing I could think about was you.]]

--> [[spoiler:'''Castle:''' Because of everything we've been through! Four years I've been right here! Four years just waiting for you to open your eyes to see that I'm right here! And that I'm more than a partner... Every morning I bring a cup of coffee just so that I can see a smile on your face because I think you are the most... remarkable... maddening... challenging... frustrating person I've ever met... And I love you, Kate and... if that means anything to you, if you care about me at all, just don't do this.]]

* FacialDialogue: A significant aspect of the interaction between the characters of the show. There are many, many moments where the character's feelings are written all over their faces, without them having to say a word.

* FreudianSlip: In "The Blue Butterfly" Castle is narrating a scene from an old diary of a tryst between private detective Joe and gun moll Vera. Picturing Vera as Beckett and Joe as himself, he accidentally refers to her as Kate. He insists that he actually said "[[VerbalBackspace fate]]."

* GoodScarsEvilScars: regarding Anton Francis in "The Third Man": "Mr. Francis here, not one to waste such a sinister looking scar, decided to round out the stereotype with a laundry list of criminal activity..."

* IJustWantToBeYou[=/=]IrritationIsTheSincerestFormOfFlattery: In the episode ''Nikki Heat'', the actress who is going to play Nikki Heat in the ''Heat Wave'' movie shadows Beckett for "character research", and becomes more and more like her as the episode progresses, causing Beckett great annoyance (and a certain amount of identity-crisis consternation).

** Somewhat subverted in "Always", when [[spoiler:Castle openly declares his love for Beckett to keep her from investigating her mother's murder, but walks away when it doesn't stop her. Late in the episode, he starts to move on, getting rid of his notes on her mother's case, when she walks in and confesses her feelings for him]].

* InformedAbility: Played with; while Castle is a bestselling novelist who can obviously spin a great yarn, it's frequently made clear (usually via snarky comments from other characters) that he's 'not exactly Shakespeare', meaning that the viewer isn't surprised if, on the few occasions his prose appears, it's not exactly the greatest they've ever experienced. Alternatively, his work may actually be very good, but is considered inferior because he is a pulp/genre writer, which is usually what comments like "not exactly Shakespeare" are about. For what it's worth, however, [[{{Defictionalization}} the "Nikki Heat" novels have made the bestseller lists in the real world]], so someone is obviously doing ''something'' right.

--->'''Lanie:''' (''while Beckett is walking away'') Honey, just because you can't see it doesn't mean everyone else can't see what's going on!\\

'''Lanie:''' Mm-hmm. Cause I see it. (''Talking to the corpse'') You may not, but I do.

-->'''Video!Vong:''' I come to this country on a boat-\\

* FilmNoir: The flashbacks in "The Blue Butterfly" are deliberately done in this style.

* ForWantOfANail: Basically what Martin Blakely did for the CIA, as told in "Pandora"[=/=]"Linchpin": he looked at the current situation, he looked at the desired result, and he determined a small event that would eventually cause the desired result. [[spoiler:It turns out that Blakely determined that the assassination of a Chinese businessman's daughter at the hands of rogue CIA agents would eventually cause World War III, which the United States would lose after 27 million Americans die.]]

'''Castle:''' What? No! And I didn't say "Kate", I said "fate". "Fate's heart quickened". I was being poetic.

--->'''Lanie:''' (''while Beckett is walking away'') Honey, just because you can't see it doesn't mean everyone else can see what's going on!\\

** Averted with Alexis' new boyfriend [[GenderBlenderName Ashley]], who's seen in the first episode he was mentioned... being terrorized by Castle with an old-timey pistol.

** Somewhat subverted in "Always" when [[spoiler:Castle openly declares his love for Beckett to keep her from investigating her mother's murder, but walks away when it doesn't stop her. Late in the episode, he starts to move on, getting rid of his notes on her mother's case, when she walks in and confesses her feelings for him]].

* InsultBackfire: In "3XK", Captain Montgomery is briefing the precinct regarding a serial killer. According to the profile, Castle claims that he may as well be the killer, and Beckett agrees when Montgomery describes the killer has having "a menial, unimportant job." He quips back that "Just for that, my next book will be about Esposito." Beckett gets a rather annoyed look on her face.

** Also in "Little Girl Lost," when it's revealed that it was the [[spoiler: mother who "kidnapped" the daughter, she says it is because her husband was a bad father. While her actions may have been overly drastic, she is correct in how he's a jobless painter who let his daughter get kidnapped WHILE he was in the house and didn't even realize it]]. Doubles as a HannibalLecture, as she's still a criminal for what she did.

** In "A Deadly Affair", Castle doesn't appear until well into the first segment of the show. Characters, commenting on his absence, suddenly see... a cardboard standee of him, with the label "coming soon" on the front.

** This even extends to people who've never met one of the pair, it's that obvious. The journalist who writes the article that causes most of the fuss in "The Third Man" alludes to a relationship between the two, having just assumed it was the case because Castle couldn't stop talking about how incredible Beckett was (with his favorite subject in previous interviews being Richard Castle). In the same episode, one of the witnesses for the murder of the week immediately pegged Beckett as "the detective girlfriend"...which was bad for Castle, who was desperately trying to hide the article from Beckett.

** Castle says that this is pretty much what lots and lots of money does to people.

--> '''Castle:''' (''narrating Joe's story'') As they stared into each other's eyes, Kate's heart quickened-\\

** In "Set Up", Beckett holds up a large pair of bolt cutters (in a rather flirty pose) prior to trying a storage unit door. Castle comments, for reasons he won't explain, that her pose looks quite hot. Strangely enough, that was actually unnecessary, as Beckett actually had keys to the door.

** And again in "Always", briefly, as he reassures her about his part in the investigation. [[spoiler:Then later as TheyDo.]]

* IdenticalGrandson: Lampshaded in "The Blue Butterfly," where a 40's mobster (Tom Dempsey) and his grandson (Tom Dempsey III) are both played by Mark Pellegrino. Who, hilariously enough, use to play a vampire on Being Human - a vampire that probably was a 40's mobster at some point.

** Somewhat subverted in "Always" when [[spoiler:Castle openly declares his love for Beckett to keep her from investigating her mother's murder, but walks away when it doesn't stop her]].

* InformedAbility: Played with; while Castle is a bestselling novelist who can obviously spin a great yarn, it's frequently made clear (usually via snarky comments from other characters) that he's 'not exactly Shakespeare', meaning that the viewer isn't surprised if, on the few occasions his prose appears, it's not exactly the greatest they've ever experienced. Alternatively, his work may actually be very good, but is considered inferior because he is a pulp/genre writer, which is usually what comments like "not exactly Shakespeare" are about. For what it's worth, however, [[{{Defictionalization}} the 'Nikki Heat' novels have made the bestseller lists in the real world]], so someone is obviously doing ''something'' right.
** While the writing may not be high art, he does have the skill to back his success up; in only the second episode, when throwing around ideas as to how or why a nanny was murdered, Castle proceeds to monologue a chilling narrative that visibly catches Beckett and the others. He immediately starts to speak normally again, saying "that's how I'd write it" and it takes everyone a beat to shake themselves back to focus.

* InsultBackfire: Beckett quips in "3xk" that Castle's job is menial and unimportant. He quips back that "Just for that, my next book will be about Esposito." Beckett gets a rather annoyed look on her face.

* TheIrishMob: The Westies.

* IWasYoungAndNeededTheMoney: Beckett on her brief career as a teenage model.

** Also in "Little Girl Lost," when it's revealed that it was the [[spoiler: mother who "kidnapped" the daughter, she says it is because her husband was a bad father. While her actions may have been overly drastic, she is correct in how he's a jobless painter who let his daughter get kidnapped WHILE he was in the house and didn't even realize it.]]

** Beckett calls Esposito "Javi" when [[spoiler: he's confronting her about her sniper issues]]. She calls him "Javi" again after [[spoiler:she nearly dies at the bottom of the Hudson River and gets saved by Castle shooting down her seatbelt and the windows in the last second.]]

** Castle also gives one earlier in the episode:
--> [[spoiler:'''Castle:''' Because of everything we've been through together! Four years I've been right here! Four years just waiting for you to open your eyes to see that I'm right here! And that I'm more than a partner... Every morning I bring a cup of coffee just so that I can see a smile on your face because I think you are the most... Remarkable... Maddening... Challenging... Frustrating person I've ever met... And I love you, Kate and... if that means anything to you, if you care about me at all, just don't do this.]]

--->'''Beckett:''' What's the matter? Homicidal fan not soapy enough for you?
--->'''Castle:''' You know, when you say 'soapy,' I conjure up images—
--->'''Beckett:''' Castle, focus.
--->'''Castle:''' I am.
--->'''Beckett:''' On our suspect.
--->'''Castle:''' Oh.

* EasyAmnesia: {{Averted}} in "The Fifth Bullet", especially with the easy recall that comes with it. It's lampshaded:

* EggSitting: in "Vampire Weekend". His name was [[IncrediblyLamePun F]]''[[IncrediblyLamePun egg]]''[[IncrediblyLamePun an]] and was murdered by Alexis' friend after she called her dad after her friend drank too much from a spiked punchbowl.

'''Beckett:''' (''offscreen'') Shut up!\\

** Beckett herself. She pretends to be Russian to save Castle in the Season 2 premiere and says she used to enjoy going to heavily Russian areas and pretending to be from Moscow.

* FirstNameBasis: Castle has been calling Beckett 'Kate' a lot in season 4. For example, in "Kill Shot", he just called out 'Kate!' to her in the hallways, no YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious moment in sight. [[ShipTease The shippers are delighted]].

* ForcedToWatch: [[spoiler: Esposito has to watch Ryan's torture in "Knockdown."]]
* ForeignMoneyIsProofOfGuilt: A victim is suspected to be a spy involved in something highly questionable when his car is discovered with a large quantity of Euros in the trunk. [[spoiler: It's subverted; the victim was actually on a 'spy vacation' and the Euros were part of the game.]]

* FriendsRentControl: Det. Beckett's apartment.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: While on the set for Naked Heat, some nuns with guns can be seen in the background.

** Averted with Alexis' new boyfriend [[GenderBlenderName Ashley]], who's seen in the first ep he was talked about...being terrorized by Castle with an old-timey pistol.

* HappilyMarried: [[spoiler:Joe Flynn and Vera Mulqueen, from "The Blue Butterfly". They threw away the titular prize because of its supposed curse and not once did they consider going back for it because they're more than happy with each other.]]

* HoldingHands: Castle and Beckett as they watch Martha perform her one-woman play. Very sweet.
** And again in "Always", briefly, as he reassures her about the progress of the investigation. [[spoiler:Then later as TheyDo.]]
** First time at the end of 3XK.

** Averted in "Tick, Tick, Tick..." when Beckett theorizes that the killer not only used a silencer, he waited for a train to pull in so it would cover the noise the gun made.

** Mark Fallon comes off as a total douche who is quick to use harsh interrogation methods and resort to racial profiling, but the other characters see that he only does those to get his job done as quick and as right as possible, a job which Castle thinks is extremely harsh given that Fallon has to do it every day. His FreudianExcuse for the racial profiling is because his wife died in 9/11.

* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: Captain Montgomery in "Knockout."]]

** Again, in "The Final Nail", when Castle's old friend is the prime suspect in a murder investigation, he and Beckett have a little spat.
--->'''Ryan:''' What's going on?\\
'''Esposito:''' Mom and dad are fighting.\\
'''Ryan:''' ...Who's winning?

** In "Nikki Heat" Beckett finds herself embroiled in a teeth-grindingly awkward conversation (from her point of view) with Natalie Rhodes, the actress portraying the character based on her, about how Rhodes needs to sleep with Castle because of the relationship Castle wrote between Beckett's character and his own AuthorAvatar. It gets to the point where Rhodes has completely deconstructed the [[EveryoneCanSeeIt relationship between Beckett and Castle]] and is begging Beckett to give Castle 'permission' to sleep with her that Beckett feels the need to flee:

* InformedAbility: Played with; while Castle is a bestselling novelist who can obviously spin a great yarn, it's frequently made clear (usually via snarky comments from other characters) that he's 'not exactly Shakespeare', meaning that the viewer isn't surprised if, on the few occasions his prose appears, it's exactly not the greatest they've ever experienced. Alternatively, his work may actually be very good, but is considered inferior because he is a pulp/genre writer, which is usually what comments like "not exactly Shakespeare" are about. For what it's worth, however, [[{{Defictionalization}} the 'Nikki Heat' novels have made the bestseller lists in the real world]], so someone is obviously doing ''something'' right.

* InsultBackfire: Beckett quips in "3xk" that Castle's job is menial and unimportant. He quips back that "Just for that, my next book will be about Esposito." Beckett gets a rather shocked look on her face.

* IronicEchoCut: "Eye of the Beholder" features a scene intercut between a conversation with Castle and Martha where Castle is singing the praises of the insurance investigator who's temporarily joined their investigation, and Beckett ranting [[GreenEyedMonster jealously]] about the same woman to her therapist.

* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Late in season three, the gang are chasing the guy who killed Beckett's mentor. After shooting one of the guy's involved (not fatally) Ryan and Esposito question him about the situation, threatening not to call 911 until he spills. Then Esposito shoves the still hot barrel of his gun into one of the bullet wounds.

-->'''Ryan''': Carver is a jerk...but he's got a point.

** Subverted in "Tick, Tick, Tick" / "Boom!"; the FBI and the NYPD cooperate remarkably well, and most of the tension stems from Beckett's ill-hidden jealousy of Castle's attention being distracted by the FBI gadgets and his chemistry with the lead profiler.

* KissOfDistraction: In "Eye Of The Beholder", Castle lays one on Serena to let Beckett and Esposito get away. Subverted when instead they interrupt and arrest Serena. Bonus points of making Beckett jealous.

** In "A Deadly Affair", Castle doesn't appear until well into the first segment of the show. Characters, commenting on his absence, suddenly see... a cardboard standee of him, with the label "coming soon" on the front.

** In "Countdown", Beckett and Castle are racing through the streets to reach their destination [[spoiler: where a bomb will explode]] with great urgency... and in the process have an argument about the best route to take as if he were a husband irritating his wife by offering passenger-seat-driver advice

** They also have the 'so in tune with each other's thoughts they finish each other's sentences' part of the equation, much to the amusement of everyone around them.
** In the episode after Beckett finds out about [[spoiler: Castle poking through her mother's murder]] she is really ticked off. After they're called to investigating a corpse in a tree, the following conversation takes place.
--> '''Lanie:''' Castle, what are ''you'' doing here?\\
'''Beckett:''' Don't worry, we're still mad at him.\\
'''Ryan:''' Guy in a tree, mom and dad bickering. Seems like old times.\\
'''Esposito:''' Mmm-hmm.
** Again, in 'the last nail', when Castle's old friend is the prime suspect in a murder investigation, he and Beckett have a little spat.

* LockedInAFreezer: [[spoiler:Castle and Beckett at the end of "Setup".]]

* LongDistanceRelationship: The prospect of one (he wants to go to Stanford, leaving her behind in New York for her senior year) causes Alexis and Ashley to have many a crisis. [[spoiler: First, she breaks up with him. Then, they get back together with Alexis deciding to graduate early so she can go to Stanford with him. However, when her application to Stanform is rejected, although they try the LongDistanceRelationship route, the time differences and lack of time together ultimately ends with Alexis breaking up with him again.]]
** And ''now'' [[spoiler: Alexis is reconsidering her decision]]...
* LoveConfession: [[spoiler:Beckett]] gives us one of the greatest in television history.
-->[[spoiler:'''Beckett''']]: [[spoiler:[My mother's killer] got away, and I didn't care. I almost died, and the only thing I could think about was you.]]
** What? No mention of Castle's previous?: [[spoiler: Because of everything we've been through together! Four years I've been right here! Four years just waiting for you to open your eyes to see that I'm right here! And that I'm more than a partner... Every morning I bring a cup of coffee just so that I can see a smile on your face because I think you are the most... Remarkable... Maddening... Challenging... Frustrating person I've ever met... And I love you Kate and... if that means anything to you, if you care about me at all, just don't do this]]

* LyingToThePerp: ...and ends by the tried and true "Divide and lie about the other one cracking" method.

--->'''Lanie:''' (''While Beckett is walking away'') Honey, just because you can't see it doesn't mean everyone else can see what's going on!\\

-->'''[[spoiler:Castle]] to [[spoiler:Beckett]]''': "When I saw the blood on your shirt, I thought ''you'd'' been shot"

--> '''Castle:''' (''narrating Joe's story'') As they stared into each other's eyes, Kate's heart quickened-

** Jacinda, the blonde flight attendant Castle meets on his way back from Las Vegas, [[spoiler:after discovering that Kate knows what he feels for her but kept silent about it.]]

** In "Set Up", Beckett holds up a large pair of bolt cutters (in a rather flirty pose) prior to trying a storage unit door. Castle comments, for reasons he won't explain, that looks quite hot.

** Not quite full BSOD but when Ryan and Esposito [[spoiler: discover that Montgomery is the 3rd cop, neither one of them takes it very well.]]

** There's lots of layers to the 'Beckett onion', which both Castle and the audience are frequently surprised to uncover, suggesting a more fun-loving, light-hearted and even somewhat wilder personality than the seemingly no-nonsense workaholic cop front she projects; among others, she owns a motorbike, alludes to interests in comic books, magic tricks and soap operas, claims to have piercings and tattoos, etc. Of course, several of these may may also be intended specifically to [[MindScrew mess with Castle's head]] or [[TheTease tease his obvious attraction to her]]. Several of them are also implied to have been part of her personality before her mother's murder [[BrokenBird caused her to become a lot harder and more serious]], some of which having gradually revived the more time she's spent with Castle.

** A tragic one in "47 Seconds". The bomb had been planted by one of the leaders of the [=TakeOver=] Wall Street movement, in collaboration with a TV reporter. The idea was that the explosion would gather further support for the move, but it was going to happen somewhere where it would not cause victims, while the TV reporter would activate it in the perfect moment to have a chance to improve her position. However, a pickpocketer took the bag where the bomb was in and moved it somewhere else, and the leader tried to call the reporter, but she was distracted and activated the bomb. The leader took the explosion head on.

** Averted in "Tick, tick, tick..." when Beckett theorizes that the killer not only used a silencer, he waited for a train to pull in so it would cover the noise the gun made.

* HollywoodVoodoo: totally subverted, since Castle talked to an actual expert on the subject, who comes off as a normal person who isn't off raising zombies. And lampshaded, in that the woman was less than amused that Castle had ditched his research and gone with a HollywoodVoodoo portrayal of her religion.

** And Nurse [=McClintock=] in "Anatomy of a Murder". \\

* HypocriticalHumor: Castle says to his daughter that she shouldn't be at her boyfriend's beck and call, then right in the middle of this speech, he gets a call from Beckett, and heads out immediately.
** [[{{UST}} Castle and Beckett]] talking about [[MakeUpOrBreakUp Esposito and Lanie]]. Break out the [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]].

** How a young woman died in [[spoiler: Law and Murder]].

--> '''Dempsey III''': It's DNA. It's not ''magic''.

** Called attention to in "Mistress Always Spanks Twice." Castle comments "Well I ''would'' drive if you would let me." to point out that Beckett isn't dominating him. He immediately notes aloud that that does not actually prove his point. Beckett just has a smirk on her face.

** There might also be an element of this to a lesser extent for Beckett as well; while she's definitely more of an authority figure than he's ever had in his life and thus is able to exert a great deal of influence over him, and he's more or less happy for her to do so, he's still remarkably free-spirited and independent for a noted ControlFreak like her, and Castle even accuses her at one point of intentionally throwing herself into go-nowhere relationships with men she doesn't love rather than risk opening her heart up to someone she genuinely loves ([[EveryoneCanSeeIt i.e. him]]) and risk the ensuing uncertainty. Ultimately, it appears to be something of a give-and-take situation between them; they're both increasingly willing to let the other take over things if necessary while still being willing to put their foot down and take the lead when they have to, rather than one completely dominating the other... [[FridgeBrilliance just like a healthy relationship should be.]]

** Averted (slightly) in "Headhunters". Det. Slaughter gives Castle a gun and tells him to raid a bar. Castle, clearly uncomfortable, has no idea what he's doing, says "NPYD" instead of "NYPD", and awkwardly adds, "associate civilian investigator!" Needless to say, the patrons are ''not'' impressed.

** It was established in an earlier episode (See ObfuscatingStupidity, below) that Castle ''is'' a very good shot with a handgun, at least when shooting at paper targets.

** When Ryan mentions a previous relationship with a member of a vampire coven

--->'''Castle''': "I'm giving you the bird"
** Oh, hell, it's quicker just to say that Castle loves the ''hell'' out of these: however, another one from "Hell Hath No Fury", after a councilman has been found wrapped up in a piece of carpet (AND wearing a toupee):

--->'''Capt. Montgomery''': "I didn't want to tell [my wife] that [her favorite pizza] now came in full-bodied flavor."

'''Beckett:''' (''offscreen'') Shut up!

** In "Knockdown", Raglin's blood ends up on [[spoiler:Beckett's]] shirt. [[spoiler:Right where she is later shot in "Knockout"]]

** In "Countdown"
-->'''[[spoiler:Beckett]]''': "I always though being a cop, I'd take a bullet"

** A SmugSnake who narrates each section of his interrogation rather than answering questions.

** Beckett called Castle about the case in the hopes it would lead to a EurekaMoment because she was stumped and three-quarters into the episode. Castle in the same scene because he calls her out on it. Borders on LampshadeHanging.

* GirlOfTheWeek: Three for Castle;,

* GirlShowGhetto: InUniverse. Castle is ''not'' happy about having to read and review a ChickLit novel written by one of his mother's friends.

* GreenEyedMonster: In "Eye of the Beholder", Beckett spends most of the episode seething with badly-concealed jealousy over Serena Kaye's obvious interest in Castle.

* GuiltyPleasures: episode "Always Buy Retail". Castle compares having sex with his ex-wife to a deep-fried Twinkie.
-->Ryan: A deep-fried Twinkie?\\
Castle: Yeah, the guilty pleasure that you know is bad for you, so you only do it once, maybe twice a year for the novelty.

** Lampshaded in "He'd Dead, She's Dead"
--> Beckett: My gut says it’s not him. But we still have to look into his alibi.\\
Castle: Oh, so you don’t believe in fate, yet your gut has magical properties. That’s cool. Scully.

* AHandfulForAnEye: In "Under the Gun", Castle is being forced to dig up buried loot from a grave as part of a MexicanStandoff between the cops and the various criminals after the loot. He calls out that he's found it and, when the criminals peer greedily into the grave, he flings a shoveful of dirt into their faces.

* HappilyMarried: [[spoiler:Joe Flynn and Vera Mulqueen, from "The Blue Butterfly". They threw away the titular prize because of it's supposed curse and not once did they consider going back for it because they're more than happy with each other.]]

* EasyAmnesia: {{Averted}} in "The Fifth Bullet", esp. with the easy recall that comes with it. It's lampshaded:
-->'''"J":''' Is this the point where I start getting all those flashes of memory until it all clicks into place?\\
'''Ryan:''' You've watched too many movies. \\
'''"J":''' That I can't remember. \\
'''Ryan:''' Wow, kind of a chicken-n-egg situation, isn't it?\\

* EmbarrassingNickname: One of Alexis' new friends, Buttons. Even worse when you pair it with her last name, Dutton. Pointing this out backfires on Castle, though:

''Castle's phone rings and he picks it up.''\\

* EpiphanyComeback: Played with; Beckett's fight with the sniper who shot her in "Always" certainly triggers an epiphany -- [[spoiler: but it's got nothing to do with winning the fight. Indeed, she gets her ass kicked. The epiphany is instead about how she is in love with Castle and doesn't want to throw her life away chasing her mother's murderer, but wants to make a life with him.]]

** Lampshaded again in "3xk" when Beckett calls Castle. He notes that usually he gets a call because they (the police) have news but this time, there is no updates and he thinks she's calling because he might have had one of these. The scene just prior to this one is a RedHerring EurekaMoment to boot.

--->'''Lanie:''' I can see it. ''(Talking to the corpse)'' You may not, but I do.

** As does actress Natalie Rhodes in the episode ''Nikki Heat''

** And after a week of trying to woo him, art "recovery" expert Serena Kaye sees it, too:

** As of the season 3 finale, it's pretty clear that [[spoiler:both Beckett and Castle]] can see it too.

* FakeBrit: "The Limey" (s4) is very clearly an Australian.
* FakeOutMakeOut: [[spoiler: Castle and Beckett indulge in this trope during "Knockdown" in order to distract a Mook so they can run in and save the kidnapped Ryan and Esposito.]] As anticipated, it is an '''incredibly hot''' scene. (It's also pretty clear that [[spoiler:Castle's just using the situation as an excuse to kiss the ''hell'' out of Beckett, and equally clear that she's using the situation to kiss right back]].) AndTheFandomRejoiced.

** Played with when Castle tastes a bird feather and declares it a "Bird of Prey." It actually was a red hawk feather, to boot.

-->'''[[spoiler:Castle]] to [[spoiler:Beckett]]''' "When I saw the blood on your shirt, I thought ''you'd'' been shot"

* EasyAmnesia: {{Averted}} in "The Fifth Bullet", esp. with the easy recall that comes with it. It's lampshaded:

'''"J":''' Welcome to my world.

* EmptyChairMemorial:

* EnhanceButton:

* EurekaMoment:

* EveryoneCanSeeIt:

** Castle's NewOldFlame, after deciding that she's going to marry her fiancee, kisses Castle on the cheek, walks up to Detective Beckett, and says, "He's all yours."

* EvilLaugh:

* EvilPlan: Each episode is driven by a murder caused by the criminal of the week. On a bigger scale, unraveling the one that killed Beckett's mother ties the seasons together.

* FairCop:

* FakeOutMakeOut: [[spoiler: Castle and Beckett indulge in this trope during "Knockdown" in order to distract a Mook so they can run in and save the kidnapped Ryan and Esposito.]] As anticipated, it is an '''incredibly hot''' scene. (It's also pretty clear that [[spoiler:Castle's just using the situation as an excuse to kiss the ''hell'' out of Beckett, and equally clear that she's using the situation to kiss right back]].) {{And the fandom rejoiced}}.

* {{Fauxreigner}}:
** Johnny Vong in "Sucker Punch" is a Harvard MBA from California who provides legitimately profitable real estate investment advice, but pretends to be a simple Laotian immigrant on {{Infomercial}}s because RagsToRiches stories sell better. [[hottip:*:RealityIsUnrealistic: who's more likely to come up with good investment advice -- an immigrant or an MBA?]]

* FictionalCounterpart: Castle's New York has the "Nick's" (Terrific, Authentic, Authentic Terrific, etc.) pizzeria lines just as the real New York has the "Ray's" (Original, Famous, Famous Original, etc.) pizzerias. This despite the fact that earlier episodes had established both that Ray's exists in the Castle world and is just as ubiquitous. The rivalry among the "Nick's" is far more deadly than the one in ours.
* FilmNoir: The flashbacks in "The Blue Butterfly" are deliberately done in this style.
* FingertipDrugAnalysis:

* [[FinishingEachOthersSentences Finishing Each Other's Sentences]]: Castle and Beckett do this a ''lot'', especially when struck by an EurekaMoment. Lampshaded repeatedly.

* FirstKiss: Finally happens in "Knockdown".

* ForWantOfANail: Basically what Martin Blakely did for the CIA, as told in "Pandora"[=/=]"Linchpin": he looked at the current situation, he looked at the desired result, and he determined a small event that would eventually cause the desired result. [[spoiler:It turns out that Blakely determined that the assassination of a Chinese businessman's daughter at the hands of rogue CIA agents would eventually cause World War III, which the United States would lose after 27 million Americans die.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}:

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: While on the set for Naked Heat, some nuns with guns can be seen in the background.

* FriendsRentControl: Det. Beckett's apartment.

* GeekyTurnOn:

* GenreSavvy:

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:

** Season 4, episode 13 is titled "An Embarrassment of Bitches". It's about dogs. And a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed version of KimKardashian (and [[ParisHilton other]] [[TheHills celebrities]]).

** Also happened on "The Late Shaft." Ellie Monroe, a guest on Bobby Mann's talk show, got to hook up with Castle [[RuleofThree 3 times in one episode]].

** Averted in "Love Me Dead", where a call girl tries to be the GirlOfTheWeek but is rebuffed by Castle.

* TheGhost:
** In the second season, Martha gets a NewOldFlame, "Chet," who has yet to appear onscreen. [[spoiler:And, tragically, never will. Which makes him [[IncrediblyLamePun an actual ghost.]]]]
** Beckett's father held that role for nearly thirty episodes (leading some to suspect that he was going to be someone famous).
** Ryan's girlfriend Jenny was mentioned several times before he introduced her to the team.
** Averted with Alexis' new boyfriend [[GenderBlenderName Ashley]], who's seen in the first ep he was talked about...being terrorized by Castle with an old-timey pistol.

* GrammarNazi:

* GutFeeling:

* HeadTiltinglyKinky:

* HeroesWantRedheads:
** Played with in that quite a few of the women in Castle's lives are redheads (including his first ex-wife), but a succession of love interests shown since are not (Kyra Blaine, Ellie Monroe and of course Beckett are all brunettes (although Beckett was sort of auburn in the first season), while his second ex-wife Gina is a blonde).
* HeroicBSOD:
** Beckett in "Sucker Punch" [[spoiler: upon learning that the killer of the BodyOfTheWeek was also the man who killed her mother.]]
** A minor version occurs in "A Deadly Game" [[spoiler: when Castle informs Beckett that he's leaving the precinct and that this is their last case together. She's visibly shaken to her core by the news, unusually distracted and uninterested when Ryan and Esposito try to tell her what they've discovered about the case, and it takes her a few moments to get her usual poise back.]]
** Not quite full BSOD but when Ryan and Esposito [[spoiler: discover that Montgomery is the 3rd cop, neither one of them takes it very well.]]
** In "Rise" (4x01), Beckett spends most of the episode suffering a slow-burning one, until it breaks the surface [[spoiler:when a suspect points a gun at her and she is unable to raise hers to point back at the suspect]]. From this point on, she begins to act increasingly out-of-control, ranting irrationally at a potential suspect connected to her mother's case, nearly suffering a complete emotional breakdown at the prospect of having no leads in her mother's case, and it takes Castle persuading her to step back from the case to get her back on something resembling an even keel.
** Beckett again during "Kill Shot", when hunting a muderous sniper brings to the fore all of her unconfronted issues regarding her own shooting. Esposito helps her past it.

* HilariousOuttakes:[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEpxa6EXrOw For]][[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naRN5GEbngk each]] [[http://youtu.be/uej8JbkV1kE season.]]

* HoldingHands: Castle and Beckett as they watch Martha perform her one-woman play. Very sweet.

* HollywoodSilencer:
** Averted in "Tick, tick, tick..." when Beckett theorizes that the killer not only used a silencer, he waited for a train to pull in so it would cover the noise the gun made.

* HospitalHottie: Beckett's boyfriend, Dr. Motorcycle Boy. Also known as Josh.
** And Nurse [=McClintock=] in "Anatomy of a Murder". \\

* ILoveYouBecauseICantControlYou:

* INeedToGoIronMyDog:
** In "Deep in Death", Ryan and Esposito are in the coffee room with Beckett when Castle (having royally upset Beckett) peeks his head in:
--->'''Castle''': Hey.\\
(''Beckett takes one, unwavering DeathGlare at him'')\\
'''Ryan''': Oh, hey, uh, don't we have that thing?\\
'''Esposito''': (''not getting it'') ...no?\\
'''Ryan''': (''as Beckett focuses her gaze on Esposito'') Yeah! You know, that thing with the guy?\\
'''Esposito''': OH! Yeah, that thing with the guy!\\
'''Ryan''': Yeah, excuse us. (''they leave'')
** In "Nikki Heat" Beckett finds herself embroiled in a teeth-grindingly awkward conversation (from her point of view) with Natalie Rhodes, the actress portraying the character based on her, about how Rhodes needs to sleep with Castle because of the relationship Castle wrote between Beckett's character and his own AuthorAvatar. It gets to the point where Rhodes has completely deconstructed the [[EveryoneCanSeeIt relationship between Beckett and Castle]] and is begging Beckett to give Castle 'permission' to sleep with her that Beckett feels the need to flee:
--> '''Beckett''': I need to go. Over there. ''[Points at random and scurries off]''.
* INeverSaidItWasPoison: Used to implicate [[spoiler:the killer of both the BodyOfTheWeek and Beckett's mother]] in "Sucker Punch." [[spoiler:It's only realized belatedly, and it goes by so quickly that it's understandable why they didn't catch it when it actually happened.]]
* IWasYoungAndNeededTheMoney: Beckett on her brief career as a teenage model.
* ImpersonatingAnOfficer: The only thing Castle doesn't get to do is actually make arrests.

** Averted (slightly) in "Headhunters". Det. Slaughter gives Castle a gun and tells him to raid a bar. Castle, clearly uncomfortable, has no idea what he's doing, says "NPYD" instead of "NYPD", and awkwardly adds, "associate civilian investigator!" Needless to say, the patrons are ''not'' impressed.
** Played especially straight in the pilot, "Home is Where the Heart Stops", "Boom!", and "Knockdown", where Castle resorts to fisticuffs to take down dangerous perps. Often accompanied by his 70's-vintage "action theme song".
** ''Beckett'' does this in "To Love and Die in L.A.", where she's out of her jurisdiction and therefore not a cop, despite acting as if she were one. She's caught and chewed out, though plot immunity and the thin blue line saves her from criminal charges. Castle points out that he isn't a cop ''anywhere'' and happily goes along. Just to make the example as extreme as possible, the cast of the Nikki Heat movie gets into the action as well; Castle and Beckett use the studio set to interrogate a real subject; all the other cops are actors.
** Averted in "Deep in Death", "Love Me Dead" and others, where Castle's status as a civilian actually ''helps'' him.
* InsultBackfire: Beckett quips in "3xk" that Castle's job is menial and unimportant. He quips back that "Just for that, my next book will be about Esposito." Beckett gets a rather shocked look on her face.
-->'''Montgomery:''' Feds say he’s a white male, 25 to 45 years old.
-->'''Castle:''' Could be me.
-->'''Montgomery:''' With a dysfunctional relationship with his mother.
-->'''Castle:''' Still me.
-->'''Montgomery:''' He has a menial, unimportant job.
-->'''Beckett:''' Definitely you.
-->'''Castle:''' Just for that, I’m basing my next book on Esposito.

* IrrevocableOrder: At the end of the third season, a major blow is dealt to [[spoiler: whoever ordered Beckett's mother]] killed when his favorite hired gun is killed. The one who did that killing sent off a bunch of info to a fourth party so that there would be no retaliation against [[spoiler: Beckett]]. Unfortunately, that mail arrived too late to prevent a sniper taking a shot at her.
* ItsForABook: Pretty much the excuse for Castle to get to hang around and investigate murders.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
** Castle often comes off as a typically self-centered, thoughtless and narcissistic playboy, but he deeply loves his daughter and his mother, and is revealed to have HiddenDepths of caring and niceness. While he's not shy about flirting with Beckett it's also made abundantly clear that he genuinely cares for and respects her rather than simply viewing her as a potential conquest.
** Mark Fallon comes off as a total douche who is quick to use harsh interrogation methods and resort to racial profiling, but the other characters see that he only does those to get his job done as quick and as right as possible, a job which Castle thinks is extremely harsh given that Fallon has to do it every day. His FreudianExcuse for the racial profiling is because his wife died in 9/11.
-->'''Fallon''': Listen, uh... what I do is not who I am. It's just how I have to be. I hope you understand that.

* JurisdictionFriction:

** Castle, at least, has gradually become a lot more comfortable referring to Beckett by her first name more frequently and casually over the course of the third and fourth seasons. This, not coincidentally, has coincided with a gradual awakening and deepening of his feelings towards her. He uses her first name mostly when he's being serious and affectionate.
** Beckett actually calls Castle by his first name ''less often'' in later seasons as she did in seasons one and two. She invariably uses it as a term of mockery or ridicule.

* TheLawOfConservationOfDetail: In "47 Seconds", the characters are inundated with an overabundance of detail. Trope averted, because while most of it does not reach the viewer, enough irrelevant material appears to give the viewer the sense of information overload.

-->'''Castle''': "We should have a signature line. She's armed, he's dangerous! Or how about 'A new chapter in crime solving.'"

** In "A Deadly Affair", Castle doesn't appear until well into the first segment of the show. Characters, commenting on his absence, suddenly see... a cardboard standee of him, with the label "coming soon" on the front.

* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: This observation has been made about Castle and Beckett.

** In "Countdown", Beckett and Castle are racing through the streets to reach their destination [[spoiler: where a bomb will explode]] with great urgency... and in the process have an argument about the best route to take as if he were a husband irritating his wife by offering passenger-seat-driver advice

* {{Lunacy}}: "The Double Down" opens with the station being flooded by crazies on the night of a full moon. And Castle sitting at Beckett's desk with [[PassThePopCorn a bowl of popcorn.]]

* FridgeLogic: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] occasionally by Castle and Alexis. In several episodes ("A Chill Runs Through Her Veins" and "A Deadly Affair", for example), facing logical puzzles or romantic dilemmas, they open the refrigerator and hang mournfully on the door, staring inside. Castle at one point comments, "What is it about the refrigerator? Is it the cold? The light? Or some combination of the two?"

* GotMeDoingIt: "The Final Nail" Beckett accidentally mimics a witness' accent before catching herself. This was actually a mistake by Stana. The producers decided to ThrowItIn.

-->"I'm just saying -- whoever murdered her also murdered the English language"

Castle: Oh, so you don’t believe in fate, yet your gut has magical properties. That’s cool. Scully. \\

%%%
%%% HoYay goes on the HoYay pages, not here.
%%%

** His relationship with the other women in his life tend to be pretty similar too. Heck, his daughter has to order him to order her to stay home for the weekend so she can study (which she wants to do) as oppose to go on a weekend roadtrip.

* IncrediblyLamePun: This show makes these an art. Castle himself seems to love these and tends to encourage the others to do so as well.

--->''Castle''': "Hey look. [[WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog I froze time.]]"

--->''Capt. Montgomery'': "I didn't want to tell [my wife] that [her favorite pizza] now came in full-bodied flavor."

* IrrevocableOrder: At the end of the third season of, a major blow is dealt to [[spoiler: whoever ordered Beckett's mother]] killed when his favorite hired gun is killed. The one who did that killing sent off a bunch of info to a fourth party so that there would be no retaliation against [[spoiler: Beckett]]. Unfortunately, that mail arrived too late to prevent a sniper taking a shot at her.

* GeneHuntInterrogationTechnique: Slaughter's ''modus operandi.'' It is hilarious.

** There might also be an element of this to a lesser extent for Beckett as well; while she's definitely more of an authority figure than he's ever had in his life and thus is able to exert a great deal of influence over him, and he's more or less happy for her to do so, he's still remarkably free-spirited and independent for a noted ControlFreak like her, and Castle even accuses her at one point of intentionally throwing herself into go-nowhere relationships with men she doesn't love rather than risk opening her heart up to him and risk the ensuing uncertainty. Ultimately, it appears to be something of a give-and-take situation between them; they're both increasingly willing to let the other take over things if necessary while still being willing to put their foot down and take the lead when they have to, rather than one completely dominating the other... [[FridgeBrilliance just like a healthy relationship should be.]]

** There's lots of layers to the 'Beckett onion', which both Castle and the audience are frequently surprised to uncover, suggesting a more fun-loving, light-hearted and even somewhat wilder personality than the seemingly no-nonsense workaholic cop front she projects; among others, she owns a motorbike, alludes to interests in comic books, magic tricks and soap operas, piercings and tattoos, etc. Of course, several of these may may also be intended specifically to [[MindScrew mess with Castle's head]] or [[TheTease tease his obvious attraction to her]].

* EmbarrassingNickname: One of Alexis' new friends, Buttons. Even worse when you pair it with her last name, Dutton.

'''Castle''': C'mon! It'd be like calling you Rassle or Tassle or...No Hassle Castle.

* EveryManHasHisPrice: A comically harmless version. The few cops that find Castle annoying for hanging around the bullpen change their tune when Castle buys [[MustHaveCaffeine a quality espresso machine]], no less than a [[http://buckheadcoffeestore.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=187 La Spaziale S5 Compact]]. Castle has good taste in machines. Even Beckett (eventually) partakes.

* HannibalLecture: Castle and the killer exchange these on "3XK", with Castle starting his in reaction to the killer's "Then you don't know me at all."

** As of the season 3 finale, it's pretty clear that [[spoiler:both Beckett and Castle]] can see it too.