Castle - Swan Song

Beckett (Stana Katic) and Castle (Nathan Fillion) must deal with the intrusion of a documentary crew who decide to make the pair their new stars when the NYPD is called in to investigate the murder of the lead guitarist (Hunter Jackson) of the band they were covering. As Esposito (Jon Huertas) and Castle nearly trip over themselves to play to the camera, Beckett worries what else the crew might get wind of the longer they cover the case.

Suspects in the murder include a groupie (Sarah Scott) found in the dead man's trailer, the other members of the band (Brian Maillard, Andrew J. West), and the victim's stalker (Daniel Roebuck). Lanie (Tamala Jones) also uncovers some oddities during her autopsy when she discovers the victim had no immunizations and vaccinations  They also uncover two mysterious meeting, the first with a songwriter and music mixer (Amir Talai) with a troubled past with the victim who had just that day agreed to work on new songs for the guitarist, and the second which cost the victim $25,000 in cash.


Ryan (Seamus Dever) delves into the victim's past and discovers he grew up in a cult in Ithaca  New York, where he escaped to begin his music career. The NYPD tracks down another former member (Kristen Miller) who escaped the cult to get a better handle on their leader (C. Thomas Howell) who met with the victim the day he died. Through a little digging by Ryan and Esposito, they also uncover another member of the cult (Nick Thurston) hiding in plain sight as one of the band's roadies.

Finding the roadie is the final piece of the mystery, and examining the documentary footage a second time Castle and Beckett are able to find their killer which leads a final few goofy minutes involving Gates (Penny Johnson) confronting Castle and Beckett about some of the footage she was perusing, an impromptu sing-a-long with Esposito and members of the band, and Beckett getting the documentary's final word. Although the format limits where the episode can go at times, such as anywhere near Castle and Beckett's relationship, it makes up for it with some great hamming it up by various members of the cast including Beckett finally getting in on the action as the episode comes to a close.