When Sarah Cutler, the head writer on one of New York's longest running soap operas, is killed with a fire axe, Castle and Beckett quickly discover behind the scenes drama just as scandalous as the fictitious storylines, and most would kill to get ahead.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Esposito gets distracted by the attractive actress.
- In the Back: The victim is killed via a fire axe to her back.
- Guilty Pleasure: A minor example; Beckett admits that she watches Temptation Lane as it reminds her of time she spent with her mother.
- Not So Above It All: Beckett is revealed to be a fan of Temptation Lane. She doesn't just know about shipping, she knows specifically about FoxCan, the Temptation Lane ship to die for.
- Soap Opera: The murder happens on the set of a soap. Bonus points, Martha was on the soap once upon a time.Martha: After my character married his character, she was kidnapped, buried alive, trapped in a cave with bears, ah, kidnapped again, and held hostage in the sewers of Paris.
Beckett: How long were you on the show?!
Martha: Three weeks. - You Can't Handle the Parody: When being interrogated, Lance quotes "You can't handle the truth!", with Beckett even calling it a Jack Nicholson impression. Doubles as Actor Allusion, as this isn't the first time Corbin Bernsen has quoted that line on a murder mystery show.
