| Esposito & Lanie | |
| General Information | |
|---|---|
| Between: | Javier Esposito and Lanie Parish |
| Nickname(s): | Esplanie |
| First Met: | Unknown (Prior to series beginning) |
| Intimacy Level: | On and Off Flirty and Romantic |
| Started Dating: | First revealed early 2011 (Poof! You're Dead) |
- "Esplanie. What? Lanie and Esposito, like Foxcan, we can call them Esplanie. Which is prefect because they're always esplaining things."
- —Castle and Beckett about Javier Esposito and Lanie Parish
The Esposito-Lanie relationship is the on and off flirty relationship between Javier Esposito and Lanie Parish. Their couple name is most commonly referred to by shippers as Esplanie, as coined by Richard Castle in One Life to Lose.
Season 2
In Deep in Death, Esposito teases Lanie about the spotlight shining up on her while she's examining the body in a tree, joking that at least she's not wearing a skirt. This is more of a friendly comment rather than romance, although this may have an early sign of his attraction to Lanie.
Season 3
In Close Encounters of the Murderous Kind, they look into one of the chambers together to find any evidence. In Last Call, Esposito talks to Lanie about the murder weapon being the liquor bottle. In Poof! You're Dead, they were seen together naked on the floor, probably after a night together. They decided to keep their relationship a secret from their colleagues, however in Lucky Stiff, it's revealed that Ryan, Castle and Beckett already figured it out.
In The Final Nail, Javier is initially casual about the holiday, but in the end decides to play it safe and show up with a gift by buying jewelry for Lanie for Valentine's Day. They shared a kiss twice in Poof! You're Dead and To Love and Die in L.A.. Throughout this time Esposito often refers to Lanie as "Chica". In Setup, Lanie accidentally blurted "baby" to Esposito in front of Kate Beckett and Richard Castle. Esposito states that Lanie hated her mother. In Knockout, when Beckett got shot at Roy Montgomery's funeral, Lanie got up but Esposito pushed her down to cover her from the firing.
Season 4
In Rise, after Beckett was shot and struggling to survive, Lanie, shocked and upset, rides along on the gurney with her, telling her not to go out on her, but is told by the doctors to let them do their job and save Beckett. Still upset, she ran up to Esposito, who consoles her in a hug. They starting dating until in Demons on their double date with Kevin Ryan and his fiancee Jenny, when Jenny pop the marriage question, causing them to split up after a megafight. In Heartbreak Hotel, when Esposito and Castle were joking about how the victim could've shot his killer, Lanie snaps at Esposito about showing respect. They were seen arguing again in Cuffed at the crime scene, and Beckett later tells Castle that they're arguing about everything because they both want to be together but neither will admit it.
In Till Death Do Us Part Esposito finds out that Lanie's bringing a plus one to Ryan's wedding, who turns out to be a Captain America-esque doctor named Toby. Esposito works hard to land his own plus one, but at the wedding admits to Lanie that his date is his cousin, a center for the New York Liberty, after Lanie reveals that her date is just a friend and gay. They seem friendly and Esposito then offers to walk Lanie to her seat, an offer which she accepts. In An Embarrassment of Bitches, Lanie joke if Esposito was taking over her work, making Castle and Beckett wonder if something was going on with the two of them. In Pandora, Lanie and Esposito were seen together going over the victim. Lanie tells Kate in The Limey that they still see each other for "Booty Calls".
Season 5
In Murder, He Wrote, when Ryan and Esposito try to figure out who Beckett's boyfriend is (not knowing that it's actually Castle) by asking Lanie, she tells them that she doesn't know and that it's none of their business. She is really annoyed at Esposito for pissing her off, evidenced by the glare she gives him, and then shoves him as she passes him. Neither knows about Castle and Beckett until Probable Cause, when Jerry Tyson accuses Castle of murder, by ruining his reputation. In Secret Santa, Esposito wants to spend Christmas with Lanie, but she tells him she has other plans, promising to call him after. In Under the Influence, Esposito starts talking about Regina King and Lanie glares at him with jealously. In Reality Star Struck, Esposito says that he has Valentine's Day plans, and Lanie turns out to be his date, stating that they're back together. In Target, they both give out some info on the victim to Castle and Beckett. In The Lives of Others, they were seen getting cozy at Castle's birthday party.
Season 6
In Get A Clue, Lanie told Esposito about the size and shape of the murder weapon. Later in Disciple, they were both shocked to see that the two victims, Pam Hodges and Daniel Santos, look exactly like Lanie and Esposito. This makes Lanie worried about them and the others, but Esposito promises that he'll keep her safe. While Lanie gives a statement to Esposito about her look-alike, Esposito asks her if she's been with any other men, telling her that it's ok, since they're not exclusive, and hinting at a current casual relationship between the two. Lanie tells him that she hasn't, and also tells Esposito that he is the only person that she's even shown her tattoo to. The tattoo is 'Inner Strength' in Chinese characters on her left thigh, just below her hip. They decided to take their distances from each other after this horrible story.
In Under Fire, Esposito gets trapped in a burning building with Ryan, causing Lanie and Ryan's wife Jenny to worry, fearing for the worst, but both men make it out and embrace with them. Esposito and Lanie look on as Ryan meets his baby daughter, Sarah Grace.
In That 70's Show, Esposito was staring at Lanie in her 70s outfit.
In Law & Boarder, Esposito calls Lanie baby and Lanie laughs at Esposito for thinking that she'd choose him for Castle's best man after their history, and Esposito calls her mean.
In For Better or Worse, the two were seen talking about their friends' wedding, and Esposito was holding Lanie's hand.
Season 7
In Montreal, the two of them gotten closer since Castle went missing for two months in Driven. Lanie even changed Esposito's ringtone, making him embarrassed in front of Ryan and Beckett. In The Time of Our Lives, the two came to the crime scene late, claiming they were "stuck in traffic". In Once Upon A Time in the West, they, along with Ryan, were shocked and very furious for not being invited to their friends' wedding. In Kill Switch, Esposito was thinking of proposing to and starting a family with Lanie, not before he was held hostage on a train, leaving Lanie to worry for him, and to make things worse, after he tackled and took down the suspect, he was infected and had to be vaccinated, and he returned to the precinct and giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.