Castle - Target

While investigating a murder of a 24 year-old University of Colombia Freshman with a a full armory, military training, and professional surveillance gear, Beckett (Stana Katic) and Castle (Nathan Fillion) discover the kidnapping of the daughter (Karen David) of a wealthy Middle Eastern business man (Bernard White). The case takes a very personal turn when Castle discovers Alexis (Molly C. Quinn) was with the missing young woman at a science lecture the night of the abduction and hasn't been seen since.

Talking with the parents (White, Katherine Kamhi) of the victim, Castle and Beckett learn their murder victim was hired by the girl's father as a bodyguard. As Esposito (Jon Huertas) and Ryan (Seamus Dever) retrace the movements of the young woman Beckett is forced to turn over control of the kidnapping to FBI Agent Harris (Dylan Walsh) who identifies a mid-level narcotics smuggler involved in the kidnapping raising several questions about the real motives of the abduction.



While Castle and Martha (Susan Sullivan) wait by the phone with the FBI for a call from the kidnappers, Beckett, Ryan, and Esposito track the movements of the van used for the kidnapping narrowing their search area to 20 square blocks. When the police find the blood-soaked van abandoned nothing can stop Castle from racing to the crime scene fearing the worst, but the blood belongs to the getaway driver (Skyler Stone) and not either of the missing young women.

When Beckett and her team track down the tight-lipped driver the detective gives her boyfriend a few minutes alone with the wounded suspect behind a closed door that gives the police the location of a farmhouse where Harris and the FBI strike team raid only to find no sign of Alexis and Sara. Escaping momentarily, Alexis is able to call home as the show ends on a cliffhanger with the young woman's realization that she's being held in Paris, France. A strong episode all around, especially from Fillion who gets to be far more dramatic than Castle's usual jokey self. Next week's conclusion should be a doozy.