Kick the Ballistics

**Writer**: Moira Kirland

**Director**: Rob Bowman

#### DUSTJACKETS BLURB

The latest murder hits close to home when it looks as though 3XK is back and using Ryan's old service weapon. The team bands together to support Ryan as he struggles to accept what happened and deals with the guilt that comes with it.

### Guest cast

* Billy Lush - FINN MCQUEEN
* Ross McCall - SETH CARVER
* Francois Chau - CLIFFORD LEE
* Lanny Joon - PHILIP LEE
* Tim Jo - BEN LEE
* Sam Ayers - BARTENDER
* Stephanie Nash - MRS. HERZFELD
* Nadine Crocker - JANE'S ROOMATE
* Mercedes Colon - PHILLIP'S ATTORNEY
* Joe Martin Thomas - BODYGUARD
* Michael Yavnieli - MARSHALL DROOEN

### Literary and other references

The play *Romeo and Juliet* is actually about the lovestruck children of two warring households, but the lovers in this episode were from two entirely different cultures, so Castle's analogy is a bit far-fetched.

### Memorable moments

* Ryan finding out the gun was his.
* Martha giving Castle advice.
* Ryan interrogating Carver. Beckett making him feel better.
* Beckett giving Gates a two-finger salute as she's shutting the door.
* The Fresh Prince Espo...although that might be more embarrassing than memorable.
* Big Sister Beckett chewing out her annoying little brothers...and everyone trying to hide from Mom.

### Quotable quotes

* CASTLE: And you still don't remember anything from that day?
BECKETT: No, it's blank.
* CASTLE: I'm lookin' at concrete evidence right here.
* RYAN: That weapon was issued to me by the city of New York. I let it out of my hand, so please, do *not* tell me that it's not my fault.
* CASTLE: I like to pretend I'm Beckett's partner, like I'm one of them. But days like today, I realize that I've just been play acting.
* BECKETT: Castle, we just got some bad news, so no hypotheticals. Just give us a name.
CASTLE: Well, I have to start at the beginning-
BECKETT: Name.
CASTLE: Jinhai Li Chang.
BECKETT: Okay, start from the beginning.
* RYAN: To bravery, and commitment. To love and sacrifice.

### Just the facts

* Ryan began as a rookie in Narcotics. His stupidest moment as a cop (until losing his gun) was yelling the name of an informant across the bullpen, which was full of suspects at the time, causing her to have to go into Witness Protection.
* Esposito has done at least one tour of duty in Iraq.
* Alexis is now the executive liason advocate to the administration for the senior class, a job she took over from her friend Chelsea because she wants to beef up her resume before reapplying to Stanford. She's really not enjoying the job.
* 3XK's next reference comes in season 5, episode 5, "Probable Cause", in which Castle is arrested for an intricately executed murder, for which he suspects Tyson is responsible.

### Oops

* This is billed as 'the return of 3XK'. Don't believe everything you read on Twitter.
* Ryan finds what he thinks is his missing gun, then proceeds to get his fingerprints all over it handing it to Esposito, who does exactly the same. Yeah, that'll go down well in evidence, boys.
* Not to mention Ryan has violated the identity of a WITSEC officer, exposed a protected witness by declaring him to be in the programme in a public venue, and given away his witness's new location. Hasn't learned much since his rookie days, apparently. Maybe he needs to watch a few eps of *In Plain Sight*.
* Last, the Fearsome Foursome toast themselves "in secret" -- in the middle of the bullpen, in the middle of the day. Even if Gates is not in her glass-walled office looking out over them right at that very moment, they're all still on duty and in full view of the rest of their colleagues (who presumably are not going to get offered any of the that very nice scotch). Wouldn't they at least have moved into the break room for their little party???
* Shouldn't Ryan and Espo have changed out of their "not a cop" clothing before going back to the precinct if they wanted to keep that little adventure to themselves?

### Branch libraries

* News
	+ TVGuide - What Happens When Detective Ryan's "Worst Nightmare" Comes True? (10 Oct 11)
	+ TVLine - Castle Preview: A 'Deeply Emotional' Episode Explores a Cop's 'Worst Nightmare' (09 Oct 11)
* Reviews
	+ Daemon's TV - CASTLE "Kick the Ballistics" Review (10 Oct 11)