"In the Belly of the Beast" - 06.17 Castle

This past Monday's episode was probably one of the most hyped ones of the season, and with good reason. "In the Belly of the Beast" is in my opinion of the best episodes of the entire show. It will definitely go down in the books as the darkest and most intense, or as Terri Edda Miller describes, "Gripping."  As fans we've all believed in the range that Stana Katic has the ability to portray, but with this latest addition to her repertoire, season 6 has seen her as a love struck bride to be, a grieving child, and now someone in a fierce fight for survival. This is going to be a long one!!

Photo Credit: ABC Studios

As the episode opens, we are once again in the loft, with Rick and a very domestic Kate Beckett. (She was making him a sandwich people! How ADORABLE!) Kate has seeming found her niche in the world of downtime with Castle and is reveling in a pajamaed afternoon filled with 'fonts'.  But alas, a call comes in beckoning her back to the 12th and to come alone.....

A narcotics mission gone wrong has led to them needing someone of Kate's certain expertise, specifically, her age, look, and ability to speak fluent Russian. After the rundown of how she is supposed to impersonate Elena Markov, Kate assures Castle by phone that she will be home in time for dinner. In what should have been a heads up moment for Beckett, Gates gives her an opportunity to back out. (WARNING SIGNS!!) I feel like the narcotics division never fully fleshed this out and it seemed iffy from the start! But Kate reassures her that she is capable and that she can, "Handle it."

So with the meet scheduled and Beckett wired up, she heads in for what is supposed to be a simple "In and Out" meeting. And that is where the tenuous plan very swiftly unravels. With all of the officers put in place, no one had suspected the elevator attendant, who pulls a gun on Kate and throws (like literally throws her) bound, into the back of a utility truck.

One of the my favorite things about Castle is the show runner's and writer's ability to draw on parallels. One of the heartbreaking parallels of "In the Belly of the Beast", was that Castle realized something was wrong, only after Katherine didn't show up for dinner, which was the same clue that triggered Jim and Kate to worry about Johanna.

And worry he should, after relaying the last bits of information through her button mic, Beckett has the presence of mind to rid herself of it just in time for a "little too personal" wire check from Mr. Harden. He then brings her to meet his boss, and while they wait Kate becomes more and more uncomfortable and unconvinced that Elena was just a drug mule. Stana puts her amazing linguistic skills to work, as Beckett convinces Mr. Jones that she is indeed a, "true friend." They continue, without giving many more clues to Elena's involvement, only that they would like to retain her services on a more permanent basis, to the tune of $50,000. A. Week. Beckett immediately knows that she is in over her head and makes demands on the new partnership, that she be able to meet "Lazarus." that it is simply a matter of trust, knowing who you are working for. While Harden and Jones step out of the room to discuss her reservations, Beckett gets a phone call out the the 12th, telling Javi to get eyes on her and to track the phone and confirms her previous suspicions that Elena Markov is a bigger piece in this game.

Back to the 12th, we discover that the call is untraceable. Our narcotics Captain has a lot of explaining to do. He admits that he jumped at the chance to use Markov without the benefit of "going deep" and that she only became known to them the day before. A phone call from the hospital comes in informing them that Elena is awake and can be questioned, so Ryan and Espositio jump on any lead that can help bring Beckett home. Without any knowledge of what his betrothed was up to, Castle heads to the precinct to inquire as to her whereabouts, and Gates proceeds to break my heart. She treats Castle like the family of a victim, because that is what Kate is now, the victim of a kidnapping and Lord knows what else. Arriving at the hospital to question Elena, the boys find her guard dead and her bed empty. Either way Beckett's cover has been blown.

Not knowing when or if she will make it out, Kate pens a letter to Rick that is truly devastating and inspiring at the same time. To see how far these two have come, in their partnership and their relationship, was enough to reduce me to tears, and then to add in the fact that she is writing it for his posthumous comfort. I was a sobbing mess.

To further prove herself and to satisfy her captors enough for her to meet Lazarus, Beckett is sent out to perform a hit, to see if she can improvise and "make it clean." I will actually for a minute confess that I thought that Beckett adorned an "It's me or him" mentality and committed the hit. However, in a refreshing turn of events, the supposed 'victim' calls in about "lady that said she was a cop" that made a convincing mixture of ketchup and beet juice. Giving the team just a little more to go on.

With her assumed identity convincingly in place, Beckett finally prepares to meet Lazarus. Beckett steels herself with an affirming, "You're gettin out of here. Alive." Finally put face to face with the boss and with the utterance of a few words, the fandom knows... Vulcan Simmons. The last time we saw Simmons was in Season 3, Beckett was so far down the rabbit hole that was her mom's case, she went at him with blinders on, of which he so casually reminds her. The worst of fears has been realized, Beckett has been made and her cover is blown wide open.

Vulcan proceeds to try to information out of Beckett the best way that he knows how, to torture her. Stana's performance of not only the dialogue in this scene, but the stunts as well, has more than solidified my view of her as one of the most talented and dedicated actresses in the business today. Kate ferociously fought against her captors as soon as they pointed at the parallels between why her mother died and how she is seemingly going to die as well. Only to have them make her torture more intense until she eventually passes out. Simmons instructs his people to take her out and find her a patch of dirt, one where she won't be found. In another plot twist of the evening Beckett's would be assassin is taken out single handedly by one Elena Markov. "You're not going to kill me?"  "He sent me because he owes you. He said he wanted you to live." "Who wanted me to live?" "Lazarus." And with this exchange we can deduce that Lazarus is indeed not, Vulcan Simmons, but someone with a lot more power and pull.

Kate's admission back at the precinct was again one of my favorite moments of the episode: 

Castle: See what happens when I leave you alone.

Beckett: Babe, I wasn't alone. When they were interrogating me, the only thing that kept me going was thinking about you. About our future, the wedding. You were with me the whole time. 

We find out that all the killing and money laundering that has been taking place behind the front of Vulcan Simmons is all going towards funding a political super pac for Future Forward. Fast forward to the loft and Kate is watching a press conference from Senator Bracken, announcing his interest in running for the presidency. Castle questions why, if Bracken is Lazarus, he would let Kate live. Kate then has to tell him about the deal she has previously struck for saving the Senator's life. But now they're even. The next time they confront each other, all bets are off. 

We then see, aside from the relationship development, one of the largest pieces of character development to date. With little to no urging from Castle, Beckett figuratively and literally walks away from Bracken. Instead choosing the safety and security of her relationship with Castle.

Thoughts and opinions?? We all knew Bracken would be back, and until her mother's case is solved and shut, it is always going to be a sticking point for Kate. But, both seeing and hearing her devotion to Rick in this episode was an incredible testament to the relationship that Marlowe set in motion!