Castle Review: Heartbreaker (Season 8 Episode 16)
Esposito just can’t catch a break.
Castle gives us a much-appreciated Esposito-centric episode with “Heartbreaker,” which allows us the chance to see several different sides to his character. It also proves yet again the importance of his partnership with Kevin Ryan.
It turns out that Esposito was once in a relationship with a criminal. In fact, he was engaged to her. And now, things get complicated since she’s working with the team to solve a murder of an armored car driver.
When Sonia comes walking into the precinct, she’s even wearing the same dress Esposito last saw her in — which happens to also be the same one he arrested her in. It all comes rushing back to him, and he’s clearly conflicted.
He insists he’s able to work with her, and the two of them go undercover together with Ryan and Castle as backup. Even though he swears he doesn’t love her anymore, Esposito is forced to reconcile his morals as a cop with his feelings for his ex.
This gets at the heart of Esposito’s character. He takes being a cop seriously, and its something that’s truly ingrained in who he is. Still, he reveals that once, he almost gave everything up to be with Sonia, and now, years later, he lets his guard down when he shouldn’t. He wants to offer Sonia some form of small comfort — a home-cooked meal with his family, and then, the chance for a hot shower.
Come on, we all knew what was going to happen then, right? Obviously, if there’s a window in the bathroom, the criminal is going to sneak out of it.
Ryan comes to the rescue on more than occasion, and it reminds me how much fun it is to see these two as partners. Ryan tries to help Esposito find Sonia before anyone else finds out, putting his job at risk. But more importantly, he’s smart enough to realize when Espo is in trouble.
Before this season began, I wrote a post about my hopes for Season 8, and one of those hopes was for Esposito to have a new love interest. I’m glad we get the chance to see a glimmer of that in this episode, but I hope what happened with Sonjia will serve as closure for him — an open up some more possibilities. He’s a character you can’t help but empathize with, and I want the chance to see him happy.
Other Thoughts:
- I knew the voice of Linus sounded familiar. It’s Seth Green, you guys! The voice of Lucy is Aubrey Plaza.
- It’s weird seeing Beckett reprimand Esposito, but the nice part about it is that she tells him as he’s walking out that she thinks he did the right thing.
- Esposito’s family dinner is a great detail, especially when Ryan joins and clearly fits right in as part of the family.
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Castle airs Mondays at 10/9c on ABC.
Ashley Bissette Sumerel
Ashley Bissette Sumerel is a television and film critic living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV as well as Eulalie Magazine. Ashley has also written for outlets such as Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, and Insider. Ashley has been a member of the Critics Choice Association since 2017 and is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. In addition to her work as an editor and critic, Ashley teaches Entertainment Journalism, Composition, and Literature at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.