Castle Season 7 Episode 8 Review: Kill Switch

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Castle Season 7 Episode 8 was all about Javier Esposito and it was obvious no one is cooler under pressure than Espo. Whether Jared Stone was holding a gun on him or threatening to blow up the subway car, Detective Esposito looked as though he never broke a sweat. 

Part of it had to be his military training. When he asked Jared for permission to speak, he sounded so darn calm it was almost unnerving and I loved it when he quietly explained what the HRT was going to do when it got there in this Castle quote

You have to turn back Jared because if you don't, here's what's going to happen. HRT, that's the Hostage Rescue Team, they're going to wait for you to get weak and tired. Then a dozen highly trained guys armed to the teeth will breach this car and trust me when I tell you they will not play.

Javier Esposito

Jared Stone was anything but calm. The man looked like he was going to either pass out or loose his own sense of control at any moment. The fact that Jared's shaky hand was all that stood between life and death should have had everyone terrified. 

Jared obviously wasn't a pro at this but then again, taking hostages on a subway wasn't in his plan as Castle himself pointed out with a classic movie reference thrown in…

The Taking of Pelham 123 could not have been his plan.

Castle

Allowing the Hostage Response Team to send in pizzas was a rookie mistake. Granted I make that judgment simply from watching an awful lot of hostage dramas. And how did that pregnant woman carry all of those pizzas down the dark tracks by herself?

It's a good thing Javier's favorite pizza is something no one else in their right mind would ever want to eat. Pineapple, olive and jalapeno? If he loved pepperoni and mushroom those instructions could have ended up in anyone's hands. 

The sales guy on the train offering to get Jared whatever he wanted because that was his job felt like an odd turn. I kept expecting that to go somewhere but it never did. 

Esposito and the Transit Officer were most impressive when they managed to secure the dead man switch with a shoe lace. Little did they suspect their drama was far from over. 

That Jared was just someone else's pawn was a great twist. That his inhaler had been spiked with a deadly virus, an even better one, but the tired plot of a pharmaceutical company releasing a virus or illness so someone could make millions on the cure/vaccine has been done on numerous shows so it disappointed me here. I'm used to the Castle writers coming up with something a little more creative. 

My only other complaint was that there was so little Caskett. Other than their dialogue over solving murders as a married couple, there were really no affectionate moments between them. 

But it was Ryan and Esposito's conversation that was the highlight of the episode as Javi admitted that he had been worrying that he wouldn't make a good father since he never had one himself. Ryan's words were perfect…

Well, you know the thing of it is, you know what it's like to not have a father, you'd make sure your kid never felt that way.

Kevin Ryan

So Javi wants to take their relationship to the next level. Will Lanie get on board that train or will Esplaine stall out once again?

If you missed a moment, you can watch Castle online here at TV Fanatic.

And here is your first look at Castle Season 7 Episode 9, "Last Action Hero."

Kill Switch Review

Editor Rating: 4.4 / 5.0
  • 4.4 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.3 / 5.0 (90 Votes)

C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.

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Castle Season 7 Episode 8 Quotes

You have to turn back Jared because if you don't, here's what's going to happen. HRT, that's the Hostage Rescue Team, they're going to wait for you to get weak and tired. Then a dozen highly trained guys armed to the teeth will breach this car and trust me when I tell you they will not play.

Javier Esposito

Well, you know the thing of it is, you know what it's like to not have a father, you'd make sure your kid never felt that way.

Kevin Ryan