History Castle / TropesEToL

* FirefighterArsonist: Subverted. When an arson investigator is killed in the latest of several suspicious files, he is initially suspected of being the arsonist following the discovery of evidence linking him to the earlier one's. However, it turns out he was in fact investigating the fires having realized they were arson, and that the arsonist is actually a city building inspector who felt he was cleaning up "blighted" neighborhoods.

** The episode "A Chill Goes Through her veins", in early season 1 averts Castle's AgentMulder tendencies when the squad is discussing missing persons cases. He is instead insistent that there is a story that allows everything to make sense. Instead it falls to Ryan to come up with the zany theory.

** In "Limelight", the young singer that's the focus of the episode employs a body double to help keep the paparazzi away. [[spoiler:The body double is killed, and everyone thinks it's the pop star. Turns out her mother paid the double and her daughter's ex-boyfriend to break up her daughter and her current boyfriend, then killed the double when she had a sudden burst of conscience.]]

* InstantTurnOff: * In an episode involving a murder in a vampire LARP community, Ryan remarks that he dated a girl once who was into the lifestyle but it didn't work out.

* ItsACostumePartyISwear: In "The Good, The Bad & The Baby", Castle tells Beckett that his family has a tradition of wearing costumes for Thanksgiving. She shows up to dinner in a costume ... but she's also generous enough to bring one for him as well and tells him if this isn't a family tradition, it ought to be.
* ItSeemedLikeAGoodIdeaAtTheTime: In "Secret's Safe with Me" Castle realizes a victim hid evidence inside a female Gemini doll, dolls meant for twins as they are a match set. He gave this one to Captain Gates, who was thankful as it completed her set. So, what does he do? Rush into her office and smash the one on her desk. Unfortuantely this one was Gates' first one not the one Castle gave her. So, what does he do when he sees the one with the evidence? Breaks it without even telling Gates' why.

* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: Some of the people that help Castle and the 12th also happen to be people Creator/NathanFillion has worked with in the past, most notably Creator/DanaDelany in "Tick Tick Tick"/"Boom!" and [[Series/Drive2007 Kristen Lehman]] in "Eye of the Beholder." Castle's first wife, Meredith, is played by Darby Stanchfield, who also played his wife in Film/{{Waitress}}. Alyssa Milano is also apparently a friend of Nathan's, but the two haven't worked together except for "A Rose for Everafter." "Headhunters" finally brought a Series/{{Firefly}} alumnus to the table in the form of Creator/AdamBaldwin. GinaTorres gets in the game in "Reality Star-Struck". Creator/SummerGlau is added to the list in "The G.D.S." And Creator/JewelStaite entered in "Much Ado About Murder". A minor one in "Reality Star Struck" (aka the one with [[Series/{{Firefly}} Zoe]]), but notable as being between two guest stars, rather than a guest star and a main cast member: Patrick Fabian plays the reality show director, and Lachlan Buchanan plays the son of one of the show's stars. They previously worked together on the CMT sitcom ''Series/WorkingClass''.

* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: In "To Love and Die in L.A.", the gang is chasing the guy who killed Beckett's mentor. After shooting one of the guys 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.
** In "Target" Castle resorts to this when [[spoiler:Alexis is the victim of a kidnapping]] and one of the accomplices is less than forthcoming. We don't know [[ScreamDiscretionShot exactly what he did]] but the guy did already have a gunshot wound.

* KarmaHoudini: Played with while the killer in Room 147 was caught she still ended up getting exactly what she wanted.

** Beckett calls Esposito "Javi" when [[spoiler: he's confronting her about her sniper issues]] in the episode "Kill Shot". 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]] in "Linchpin". And again when [[spoiler:he shows her proof that Castle may be involved in the murder they are investigating]] in "Probable Cause".

* LimitedAdvancementOpportunities: At the Season 8 Premiere, Gates has been promoted to Assistant Commissioner so Beckett is made the Captain of the precinct, while Ryan and Esposito are still detectives something which they both lampshade. However they decided to defy this trope by taking the Sergeant's Exam.

** Beckett. Lampshaded a lot. In the pilot, Castle tells her that women like her tend to become [[HelloAttorney lawyers]], not cops. In "To Love and Die in LA", the directer of the Nikki Heat movie tells Beckett she could be an actress.
*** Justified in-universe; Beckett ''was'' going to be a lawyer, until her mother was murdered (with no killer found), prompting her to dedicate her life to bringing the guilty to justice and protecting the innocent.

* FaceDeathWithDignity: when [[spoiler:Castle is infected with a toxin that will kill him in less than twelve days]], initially he is afraid, but then he continues helping with the investigation without complaining over his situation.

* FaceHeelTurn: In "Hunt" [[spoiler: the man Castle hires to help him recover Alexis betrays him after discovering the identity and motive of the kidnapper. When Castle's father, Jackson Hunt, shows up, he isn't surprised the man broke under the pressure when he discovered he was out of his league. That doesn't stop Hunt from (rightfully) killing him.]]

* FailedFutureForecast: A minor example, but in "Pandora" a former CIA mathematician, who specializes in finding refers to his work helping jump start the Arab Spring as a positive thing. Given that these events led to ISIS and the FullCircleRevolution in Egypt, this is somewhat debatable. Made worse by the fact that he was [[spoiler: supposedly able to predict the long term outcome of events like this. So he should have seen the rise of ISIS and the reaction of the Egyptian military and Muslim Brotherhood coming.]]

*** Justified in-universe; Beckett ''was'' going to be a lawyer, until her mother was murdered (with no killer found) prompting her to dedicate her life to bringing the guilty to justice and protecting the innocent.

* FakeShemp: In the latter half of the show's run, a lot of shots of Castle and Beckett together done from a distance or the back using body doubles[[note]]tensions between the two leads meant they'd only shoot together when absolutely necessary[[/note]].

** In the season six episode "In the Belly of the Beast", Beckett is waterboarded by criminals after her cover is blown. The water makes her already tight, black sweater [[SexySoakedShirt so clingy that she might as well be wearing body paint]] (though she's wearing a bra underneath). However, the torture she's subjected takes away from the moment.

** "Murder, He Wrote": Kate Beckett, removing a robe to go into a swimming pool ... and revealing in the process that she 'forgot' her bathing suit. More than a few viewers of various genders and sexual persuasions were no doubt cursing the Victim of the Week for choosing ''that'' moment to burst onto the scene and die in the swimming pool.
** "The Final Frontier": Alexis in full cosplay...as a character whose outfit is a BattleBikini.

** In [[Recap/CastleS8E3PHDead "PHDead"]]: Alexis in a [[SexyWhateverOutfit sexy Angel costume]].

* HotScientist: Lanie Parish.
--> '''Lanie:''' (in a low cut outfit showing lots of cleavage) Quit looking at the girls, Castle.

** See EvenTheGirlsWantHer above.

* FanDisservice: In "Kill Shot", there's a scene where Beckett is dressed only in her bra and pants. This would have been FanService if Beckett wasn't going through a mental breakdown and staring at the surgery scar on her side and the bullet wound on her chest.

* FanService:

** In "The Mistress Spanks Twice" many of the 'quick-cut New York landmark' establishing shots are replaced by shots of attractive young women in leather corsets writhing in various mild BDSM positions.

** To Live and Die in L.A. has Beckett getting out of a pool, in slow motion. Castle's reaction says it all.

** In "Law and Murder," after [[spoiler:a DA is found to have covered up a crime committed by the family of his biggest campaign contributor]], the following exchange occurs between Castle and [[spoiler:Captain Montgomery]]. Notably, Castle's reply makes [[spoiler:Montgomery]] pause for a second:
--> '[[spoiler:''Captain Montgomery:''' I mean, Lou screwed up; he did. But that doesn't take away from all the good he's done.]]\\

** An in-universe example occurs in "To Love and Die in L.A.", when Castle visits the set of the movie of his book ''Heat Wave'' and meets the actors playing Raley and Ochoa, the novel's characters whom Castle based on Ryan and Esposito.

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: It's hinted that both Castle and Beckett have at least slightly kinky tastes in the bedroom.
** In "After the Storm", every conversation between Beckett and Castle which is not related to her mother's case hints toward this.
** From "Deep Cover":
--> '''Beckett:''' I don't know, Castle; maybe we're being too ambitious. Maybe we should consider the spring of next year.\\
'''Castle:''' I thought you didn't wanna wait that long.\\
'''Beckett:''' No, I just... I wanna be flexible.\\
'''Castle:''' You already ''are'' flexible! (''laughs mischievously'') See what I did there?\\
'''Esposito:''' (''walking up to Castle'') What's so funny?\\
'''Castle:''' Did you know that Beckett can lift her--\\
'''Beckett:''' No! Nothing.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** The scene where Beckett, to infiltrate an illegal club, strips off all her clothes except her red bra and panties, and then improvises a minidress with AbsoluteCleavage out of her jacket.

* HollywoodNerd: Beckett is enough of a comic book geek to recognize the difference between Creator/FrankMiller's [[ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns work for]] Creator/DCComics and [[ComicBook/SinCity his later]] Creator/DarkHorseComics work.

* GenderBlenderName: Introduced in "Punked", Alexis' new boyfriend Ashley. She takes advantage of this fact to get her dad to agree to have him over. Unfortunately, this backfires on her when Castle accidentally surprises them in the act of making out... [[TwerpSweating while holding a pistol]]. An awkward situation ensues for all concerned.

** The episode "A Chill Goes Through her veins", in early season 1 averts Castle's AgentMulder tendencies when the squad is discussing missing persons cases. He is instead insistent that there is a story that allows everything to make sense.

** In "3XK", when Montgomery's profiling the murderer Castle remarks that [[NotSoDifferent he shares several similarities with Montgomery's profile]]. When Montgomery gets to "has a menial, unimportant job," Beckett (slightly snidely) points out that this means the killer is "''definitely'' you." Quick as a flash, Castle casually remarks that in that case, [[InsultBackfire he'll base his next book on Esposito instead]]. Beckett looks genuinely shocked and insulted. You were saying something about "menial and unimportant", Beckett?

* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: Some of the people that help Castle and the 12th also happen to be people Creator/NathanFillion has worked with in the past, most notably Creator/DanaDelany in "Tick Tick Tick"/"Boom!" and [[Series/{{Drive}} Kristen Lehman]] in "Eye of the Beholder." Castle's first wife, Meredith, is played by Darby Stanchfield, who also played his wife in Film/{{Waitress}}. Alyssa Milano is also apparently a friend of Nathan's, but the two haven't worked together except for "A Rose for Everafter." "Headhunters" finally brought a Series/{{Firefly}} alumnus to the table in the form of Creator/AdamBaldwin. GinaTorres gets in the game in "Reality Star-Struck". Creator/SummerGlau is added to the list in "The G.D.S." And Creator/JewelStaite entered in "Much Ado About Murder". A minor one in "Reality Star Struck" (aka the one with [[Series/{{Firefly}} Zoe]]), but notable as being between two guest stars, rather than a guest star and a main cast member: Patrick Fabian plays the reality show director, and Lachlan Buchanan plays the son of one of the show's stars. They previously worked together on the CMT sitcom ''Series/WorkingClass''.

'''Beckett:''' You should hear me say "[[GettingCrapPastTheRadar fallacious]]".

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** In "The Late Shaft": Esposito says "Holy Shift!" in reference to the Bugatti Veyron.
** In "Close Encounters of the Murderous Kind": Beckett says "Let's just stick it in and get it over with", referring to an unlabeled DVD.
** [[PrecisionFStrike Shut the front door!]]
** In "Lucky Stiff", Castle asks the other characters what they would do with if they won the lottery. Captain Montgomery says he would buy a large fishing boat, with two fishing rods on the side. Castle is impressed, to which Beckett comments:
--> '''Beckett:''' Okay, while you guys are fantasizing about the size of your rods, I'm gonna go and interrogate our suspect.
** "Cuffed" has quite a few moments. Some are ShipTease, others... not so much. [[spoiler: For instance, when the two of them are attempting to push the metal crate the first time, it looks and sounds an awful lot like the two having sex.]]
** Season 4, episode 13 is titled "An Embarrassment of Bitches". It's about dogs. And a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed version of Creator/KimKardashian (and [[Creator/ParisHilton other]] [[Series/TheHills celebrities]]).
** In "Secret Santa", Esposito sees Ryan's Christmas gift for his wife, a sexy red negligee. When Esposito runs into Ryan working late at the precinct, he comments, "Shouldn't you be at home, stuffing your wife's stocking?"
** In "The Wild Rover" Ryan and his wife are about to leave for the fertility doctors office. His wife reminds him that he needs to do something, and offers to help. Ryan goes to do it by himself, and it cuts to Castle saying "So, master baker Jimmy Whelan..."
** In Season 5's "Scared To Death", Beckett and Castle investigate a cabin in the woods, and Castle gets spooked by a stuffed bear. Castle exclaims, "Sheez!", partially obscured by a ScareChord; it sounds a lot like something else...

* FiveManBand
** TheHero: Beckett actually.
** TheLancer: Castle.
** TheBigGuy: Esposito, with his military background and [=M4A1=]
** TheSmartGuy: Lanie, being the ME
** TheChick: Ryan, the [[SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan Sensitive Guy]] to Esposito's Manly Man
** TheMentor: Captain Montgomery, [[spoiler:until his death at the end of Season 3]], then Captain Gates

** Possibly inverted in season five, where everyone appears to be oblivious to [[spoiler: Castle and Beckett's RelationshipUpgrade]], despite their [[BadLiar less-than-stellar]] [[LameExcuse attempts to conceal it]] ... [[EverybodyKnewAlready or are they]]?