When a reporter is found dead inside a pizza oven, Castle and Beckett try to determine why he was murdered. They hunt a trail of suspects working for franchises with very similar names. Meanwhile, Alexis has problems to cope with when a "friend" tries to steal her boyfriend.
- Alternate Company Equivalent: All the Nicks are rivals and used basically the same brand name but make it different to distinguish from the other.
- Broken Ace: Roy Burns' editor notes that Roy lost his former drive for journalism after the traumatic death of his daughter in the same accident that left Roy crippled. However, the editor kept Roy on staff out of respect for what he used to be, and assigned him the occasional easy piece to justify his continued presence so that he could continue to receive insurance.
- Continuity Nod: One of the many, many Nicks is connected to the Spelano crime family.
- Cooked to Death: Referenced. As the body is found in a pizza oven at a pizzeria, the investigators naturally ask if he was alive when he went in, but Lanie, the M.E., says that he was dead before he was immolated.
- Didn't Think This Through: Cavallo continues using Themed Aliases and passwords from Film Noir years after failing to kill an Intrepid Reporter who learned about those noir references. Years later, that reporter (and later on, the detectives investigating his murder) are instantly clued in to suspicious activity by hearing the names of noir protagonists and bring down Cavallo's empire.
- The Dog Was the Mastermind: The real estate agent, not the known drug dealer, was the one running the drug ring.
- Embarrassing Alibi: Castle and Beckett are interviewing a suspect who ran a pizza chain competing with one where a body was found in the oven. He told the police initially that he was with his wife, but his wife later said that he was with his mistress. He admits to cheating on his wife to prove his innocence in the murder.
- Femme Fatale: Monica always chose characters from film noire that feature a Femme Fatale as a codeword, likely because she saw herself as one, as noted by Castle.
- Hufflepuff House: Terrific Nick's is by far the least important of the four feuding pizzerias, and Castle and Beckett never even interview the owner.
- Italian-American Caricature: The case deals with a Pizza War between rival New York pizzerias, all run by passionate, bowling-shirt-wearing Italian-American men.
- Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: Roy Burns' story on the 'Pizza Wars' between the four competing pizza joints leads to him finding a new lead into the story that led to his daughter's death.
- Mouth of Sauron: An infamous drug dealer who faked his own death visits lower-ranking dealers on behalf of his unseen employer Cavallo. The team initially thinks that the dealer is Cavallo and pretending to have a boss, but it turns out that he really is just The Dragon.
- Precision F-Strike: Alexis calls her ex-best friend Lauren a note . Castle, on hearing the full story also calls her a note .
- Would Hurt a Child: Looking back on Roy Burns' past reveals that his nine-year-old daughter was killed to discourage him from looking into the ruthless drug dealer known as "Cavallo".
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: When the NYPD gets too close to Monica, she fakes an attack by Harley on herself.
