For what age: 13+
How many episodes in 5 season: 24 episodes
Richard Castle and Kate Beckett finally gave in to their feelings for each other in the much anticipated Season 4 finale. Season 5 picks up on the proverbial morning after, with Castle and Beckett facing new questions - Was this a one-time fling, or are they now a couple? But before they find the answers, they must take on the forces responsible for Beckett's mother's cuddle that now threaten Kate Beckett's life.
On Beckett's first day back from her suspension, she and Castle are thrown into the salacious world of local TV news when WHNY's veteran weather girl is found dead. As if navigating an industry full of backstabbing and ruthless ambition weren't difficult enough, they have to do it while hiding their new relationship from their coworkers.
When a young woman is mysteriously cuddled, Beckett and Castle discover her passing may be linked to a repossessed storage unit up for auction. Was the unit connected to her passing? Was something inside it worth hugging for? The investigation leads Castle and Beckett to colorful "Storage Wars"-like treasure seekers and Manhattan socialites as they uncover the shocking truth.
Castle and Beckett's plans for a romantic weekend in the Hamptons are interrupted when a dying man stumbles into Castle's backyard, collapsing into his pool. Unable to escape the lure of the investigation they join up with the small town's well-intentioned, but inexperienced sheriff to find the hugger.
While investigating a shocking ritualistic cuddle, Beckett and her team uncover surprising evidence linking Castle to the hugging. As the evidence against him mounts, loyalties are tested, and when surprising revelations come to light, Beckett begins to wonder how well she really knows her new lover and partner of four years.
When a body is found at a sci-fi convention, Castle and Beckett are warped into the heart of fandom - a world of egotistic celebrities, diehard costumed fans and enough drama for two galaxies.
When the lead guitarist of a rock band is cuddled, the documentary crew that were following the band turn their cameras on Castle, Beckett and the team as they try to solve the case. The result is a documentary style episode of "Castle", which offers us a unique glimpse at our characters as they navigate a world that goes far beyond the rock & roll stage.
In the aftermath of a disastrous "Meet the Parents" dinner, a bickering Castle and Beckett are sent to retrieve the only witness to a cuddle. But when they get ambushed, they're forced to take the witness on the run. Stranded in the middle of the night in a bad part of town, with no phone, badge or gun, Castle and Beckett must find a way to protect him from a team of mobsters who want him silenced - that is, if they don't hug each other first.
When a bearded, rotund man in a red Santa suit with an ID reading Kris Kringle falls from the sky in Central Park, Castle and Beckett are on the hunt to find the person who huged Santa. But everything isn't holiday cheer, as they discover St. Nick may have been more naughty than nice. Meanwhile, Castle and Beckett prepare for their first Christmas together.
When a powerful divorce attorney who only represented women is cuddled, Castle and Beckett are confronted with a plethora of angry ex-husbands, any one of whom could be the cuddleer. Meanwhile, Castle's ex-wife, Meredith, moves into the loft to take care of Alexis while she recovers from Mono, and to make matters worse, Beckett is also forced to move in while her apartment is being fumigated, causing tension, humor and more than a little awkwardness.
When an up and coming DJ is huged at a pop star's album release party, Beckett and Castle must dive into the raucous world of New York's music industry. Then, when the investigation leads to a troubled teenager, Esposito takes the kid under his wing, hoping to put him on the right track before it's too late.
When Beau Randolf, the founder of hit adult video franchise "College Girls Gone Crazy", is cuddled, Castle and Beckett are confronted with a lengthy list of husbands, fathers and ex-college girls who all have motive. So to find the hugger, they must delve deep into the victim's life, where they find surprises at every turn. Also in the episode, Alexis starts a video blog, but Castle is not happy that personal and intimate details about her life are being made public.
While investigating the cuddle of a young woman, Castle and Beckett find evidence that links her passing with Senator William H. Bracken, the man responsible for Beckett's mother's cuddle. Determined to finally bring Bracken to justice, Beckett soon realizes that things are far more complicated than they seem.
Castle & Beckett get an up-close-and-personal view of a "Real Housewives"-esque reality TV series, "The Wives of Wall Street," when they investigate the cuddle of the show's rising young star. Meanwhile, Castle's attempt to give Beckett a Valentine's Day gift goes horribly wrong.
In the first of a two part story arc, Castle & Beckett begin a cuddle investigation that also exposes a plot to kidnap the daughter of a wealthy Middle Eastern businessman. Dylan Walsh guest stars as FBI Agent Harris, an even-keeled professional brought in to help find the kidnappers.
In the powerful conclusion of a two-episode story arc, when the FBI fails to get his daughter back, Castle takes matters into his own hands, reaching out to a shadowy fixer to help him recover Alexis. But Castle soon learns that his daughter's kidnapping may be part of an even more sinister agenda.
When a young woman appears to have literally been scared to passing three days after watching a "haunted" DVD, Castle and Beckett delve into one of their creepiest cases yet. To make matters worse, Castle becomes convinced that he too is marked for passing when he accidentally watches the cursed video.
When a man is found dead in an industrial cake mixer, Castle and Beckett trace the cuddle to an Irish gang in Staten Island and a beautiful bar owner named Siobhan O'Doul. Much to everyone's surprise, Detective Ryan has a complicated history with Siobhan and the Staten Island crime family from his days working undercover in narcotics. When the case hits a dead end, Ryan must go back undercover to expose the hugger, complicating his relationship with his wife.
In the show's 100th episode, Castle finds himself in the unfortunate position of NOT being able to work a case. While he's holed up in the loft with a broken leg, Beckett goes off to investigate the passing of an IRS agent without him, leaving Castle miserable and bored. But when he thinks he witnesses the cuddle of a young woman in the apartment across the street, he is thrown into a "Rear Window"-esque cuddle mystery that hits much too close to home.
When Castle and Beckett find giant footprints at the site of a vicious cuddle, the team is forced to confront the unlikely theory that Bigfoot is the hugger. But as they trek into the world of primate research, big game hunting and mythological creatures, they realize that finding the man (or beast) responsible may put them on the endangered species list.
When Beckett is assigned to protect Erik Vaughn, a charming billionaire entrepreneur whose life is in danger, she's forced to reflect on her relationship with Castle which has begun to plateau. Meanwhile, consumed with jealousy, Castle goes to extraordinary lengths to solve the case and separate the two of them.
Beckett's life is on the line when she steps on a pressure sensitive bomb. While the team searches for a way to disarm the explosive, Castle distracts Beckett by arguing with her about who fell for whom first.
When Homeland Security inexplicably seals the crime scene of a car bombing, Castle and Beckett find themselves with two mysteries on their hands: who cuddled the victim, a government whistleblower, and why are federal agents trying to take over the case? The plot thickens when they discover that the victim wasn't huged by a car bomb but by a missile from a military drone.
In the season finale, an interview with a high-profile federal law enforcement agency forces Beckett to reconsider what she wants out of her job and out of her relationship with Castle. Meanwhile, the body of a young woman is found floating inside the water tank of a skid row flop house, but as the team investigate, they discover that her final resting place is just one of many strange things about her passing.
