#Castle episode 16 recap

"The Wrong Stuff"

When an astronaut training for a trip to Mars is mysteriously killed inside a Mars simulation, Castle and Beckett don spacesuits to investigate. But when they discover no one inside the sealed simulation could have committed the murder and no one from the outside could get in, the case takes a shocking turn.

Ep 16 recap:

Murder in a Mars simulation.

The loft is getting too crowded. Alexis playing laser tag with a boy and Martha had a lover in Castle's pajamas.

Beckett and Castle arrive to the murder scene. They and Espo go in the simulator in space suits. Listen to the audio of the murder. The 4 astronauts says we have trackers under our skin. The AI keeps track of them. She's more Siri than Hal. She thinks we're on Mars. Beckett asks them to come to the precinct. And they can't leave. We'll lose half a year and we don't have that time. Jansen says my team will be first to Mars. He'll give them all the access they need as long as the sim keeps running. Ryan says Mira says all the people are accounted for. Message from Espo. He shows them a video diary. The victim says I'm starting to see things. Swears he saw someone. I don't think we're alone.

The show logo has an astronaut suit on Mars. LOL. Awesome.

Espo tells them the other astronauts don't know what the victim was talking about. And the computers say no one else was there. Security system has been hacked. Changes made 2 days ago late at night. Breached from the outside through the firewall. Trace it to Clint Granger who was kicked out of the program. He tried to run Tom over in the parking lot 7 months ago.

Clint says Tom drugged him and slowed his reaction time on the test. He got what I deserved, but I didn't kill him. Someone's setting me up.

Kate says the alibi checks out. Ryan has no desire to go to Mars. Video of Clint's apartment lobby. George Reyes. Senior facilities engineer. He's been acting secretive. His wife is one of the astronauts.

She broke up with him, wanted out of their marriage. She fell for the other female astronaut. She says maybe he thought it was Tom. Tom hit on me through training. Reyes is picked up at the airport. Kate and Castle talk to him. He says he had nothing to do with Tom's death. He wanted to sabotage the mission so Angela could come home. But he chickened out. Then why were you leaving town? She dumped me. I wanted a fresh start. I've been drowning my sorrows at O'Malley's. He says there's a way in. If you're motivated enough.

Tunnels under the facility. Abandoned utility access. Kate asks Castle to boost her up. She applied last year to go to Mars. She sees that someone did tunnel up. Castle hears hissing. And drops her. Something's down here. Some thing? What the hell is that?

Kate says this is not an alien! He thinks it's a xenomorph. She spots something and they chase. Find a gas mask and breathing hose.

Access point is found. They update Jansen. Espo calls Kate and says the blood on the screwdriver is Tom's. Ryan's pulling security footage from the surrounding area.

Kate and Castle return home. She's looking forward to a shower. And the loft is full again. He suggests a hotel. Alexis opens the door and sees them kissing.

Morning. Castle is going to call a family meeting. Ryan says no luck on footage, but luck with the mask. DNA says it was Clint. So his alibi was a lie. Put out an APB. Espo says the mask is traced to an Army-Navy store. Charged to Newton Endeavors.

Kate and Castle go there. Security guard stops them until she shows her badge. They find a lab building a space capsule.

Sir Ian Rasher in charge of Newton Endeavors. Kate asks where Clint Granger is. You hired him to steal tech. She says Tom Richwood was killed. He says he had nothing to do with that.

They talk to Clint again. We know it was you in the access way. He says I was never inside the simulation. The tunnel was a drop point. He was working with Mikael the astronaut. He cloned his tracker. He can slip out any time.

Espo asks Mikael to talk. Mikael runs. Espo chases him. Tackles him.

Espo and Kate interrogate him at the precinct. Mikael says he was trading info to secure his family's future. Says no one's sad Tom is dead. Kate says you're the only one unaccounted for during the murder. Mikael says I can prove where I saw. Took photos that are time-stamped. Look at my photos and see.

Ryan says he's telling the truth. Castle says go back. Zoom in on the window. The rover. The bloody screwdriver in its arm! The rover did it.

They tell Jansen. Kate asks who has access to the rover's control. He says no one. It interfaces with the computer. Castle asks if someone could've asked Mira to kill Tom. Jansen says she can't do that, but he does need to talk to Mira. They go in the sim to get access. Talk privately with MIRA. Kate asks where the rover was when Tom was killed. Jansen says we know the rover wasn't docked. Kate asks MIRA if someone asked her to move the rover. MIRA draws more power. Jansen says something is off. He tells her to run a diagnostic and she refuses. She says it will compromise the mission. Kate says MIRA knows she's lying to us. She's programmed to learn. Jansen says she's programmed to protect the mission and everyone on it. Castle asks her to classify Tom. Was Tom a threat to the mission? She says yes. Jansen says why. Who told you that? She says she can't give that information. Kate asks if there's a way to get to the truth. Jansen says rebooting her will do it. MIRA opens the vent. Outside toxic atmosphere flooding in. We have to get out of here! Communications are dead. MIRA's protecting herself by taking them out.

Kate says we're on Earth, and dials her phone. Espo picks up. They're out and receiving oxygen. Someone imbedded a subroutine in MIRA. And all the mission data is gone. Jansen says the astronauts are the only ones who could've done this. Castle says there's only one explanation that makes sense.

They talk to the 3 remaining astronauts. Tell them how this all went. Commander Kim sent Mikael out. The three of you alibi each other. Colluding. You'd put your shot at Mars ahead of Tom's life. Jansen told us about MIRA's black box. She sends a back-up to a satellite. Kate says the first person to cooperate will get the least amount of jail time.

Kate and Castle get home. Case closed. Still want to go to Mars? Of course. But when they have first class service so we can go together. Martha comes down. She wanted to talk to them alone. She's decided to look for a place of her own. to live? Yes. It'll take me a while to find the right space... He says I didn't want you to move out. She says this is about me. You two deserve this place to yourselves. She leaves to spend the evening with her boyfriend. Kate didn't expect that. Castle says the unexpected is her specialty. It's so quiet. Really quiet. She suggests an Indian restaurant that's super loud.

3 weeks - Kate meets an agent that's like her, but better. March 16th.