BONES: The Predator in the Pool
April 22, 2010 by Sarah Curtis
Ah, as Dr. Brennan would say, “Excellent”. Of course, when she said it, she was trying to convince herself, but we know the truth, and it tastes kind of bitter. Unlike last week, where I felt nervous, this week I felt very good with where things were left at the end of the episode. Not to skip to the end, but WHOA…how about B&B still sharing an after-case beer with one another AFTER their respective dates? I did not see that coming, but I loved it.
As far as Hacker and Catherine go, well…they are pretty much likable. Catherine (the lovely Rena Sofer) more than Hacker, I think. He just rubs me the wrong way, but Catherine seemed great. Not that I’m a Booth and Catherine shipper or anything. She’s like Sully to me; whom I loved but will not miss when gone (power of positive thinking, haha!). THOUGHTS???
I thought maybe Smiley/Flirty!Booth would make me nervous, but in reality, it just made me very, very happy. More on that later; but first…
THE CASE:
A self-help and self-helped motivational speaker, Jazz Gunn is revealed to be the victim when a human skeleton is found in a local aquarium. (Quick question: Does anyone know if that was the Aquarium of the Pacific?) Suspects include Dr. Stoddard of the aquarium’s animal husbandry department, Catherine (somewhat), Aquarium employee Ben, local school teacher Grace Redmon, and Jazz Gunn’s somewhat begrudged assistant, Tad.
Meanwhile, the aquarium’s facilities had an expensive filter stolen, leading Booth into contact with a mob boss who may or may not have ties to the murder. And Booth was awesome.
It was Ben who stole the filter for the mob boss, but it was the school teacher who shoved Gunn’s face into the fish and then his body into the tank. She has fibromyalgia and believed Jazz when he said the power of positive thinking would heal her; but grew disillusioned by the lack of health. When she found out that Jazz was getting treatments and passing them off as positive thinking, she used her own elementary students as an alibi, and a field trip as a method for murder. Her confession was kind of creepy!
THE SQUINTS:
Clark is good as squintern of the week, although to be fair, I don’t think he’s a grad student, right? He’s a blue coat, which I think means doctor! Also to be fair, at least he brings the science; that’s always appreciated on the show. I liked that he genuinely gave Hodgins some advice re: Angela and then begged not to hear the results, haha. It also made me laugh (and sort of yearn for the Zack days) when Brennan shoved his face into the water.
Cam: It’s interesting to me that she hasn’t really weighed in with Booth on the whole ‘moving on’ thing. I guess it’s possible that she doesn’t know, necessarily. But I want to see that happen. She’s called him out on stuff in the past, work, Jared, even Brennan sometimes, and their chat in the season five premiere and her reaction to Brennan outside the diner in Pudding lets us KNOW Cam’s invested in this.
Sweets: Likewise, VERY pleasantly surprising that Sweets was used professionally in this episode. Normally he would be all ‘truth-zone’-ing it up, especially with the idea that BOTH of them were seeing other people romantically (specifically work related people romantically). It was very refreshing that he was used as a profiler for the case. I laughed when he kind of messed up with all the kids and the cameras. I also want to see how Booth makes him thank him for saving him!
Angela & Hodgins: Ah, okay…so, I’m back together with them. Haha. All it takes apparently is a romantic aquarium visual and we’re all back together it seems. And here’s why, and maybe you agree…I still think Hodgins is too good for Angela at this point, but he really loves her, and he really wants her and wants to be happy with her, and so, as Dr. Wyatt would say, ‘The heart wants what it chooses’, and if he wants her in order to be happy, then I want him to have her in order to be happy. The two of them felt very season two in this episode, and that can only mean good things. They were also very science in their individual entomology and artsy ways and dedicated to actual work, and that is always a plus. I liked Hodgins and Brennan in their scuba suits; I also liked the conversation Angela had with Brennan about whether they really ‘belonged’ to any person. That felt very ‘them’. Thoughts? Are you back on the Hodgela wagon? Were you ever off?
BOOTH & BRENNAN:
Booth has always kind of gotten that stunned look in his eyes when a pretty lady puts the moves on him (like Felicia in season three or after he ‘rolls over’ with Rebecca, then later Cam in season two), so his reaction to Catherine, especially the way she really just went for it, felt very right to me. Interesting that all this time, I guess Booth has felt as if he’s ‘taken’, and now he’s ‘available’. Right? I like that the show sort of admitted that to us fans. Booth IS very private, so we weren’t really sure, you know? As for Brennan, she was in the lab a lot, which I liked, very much. I was nervous that they would keep Brennan sort of drabby/labby in her appearance, as sort of a subliminal message that ‘it’s okay for Booth to date other women, especially prettier ones’, but they so did not. That green shirtdress with the blue belt was divine, and the fact that while in it, Brennan touted her own attributes was just perfect. Interesting that Brennan felt the need to compare herself to Catherine and also interesting that Booth took the bait (Bones, you are the standard. Le sigh…). Even MORE interesting was Brennan’s absolute blurting out to Andrew that Booth was now free to have sex with Catherine, reiterating the FBI’s policy that no fraternization should occur between agents and suspects/consultants. I guess she is still thinking about that, and I am glad. I’ve been feeling confused about this underlying idea that Booth confessed his feelings and Brennan rejected him. I mean, okay, yes, technically, that is sort of what happened, but from where I was sitting, Brennan more rejected HERSELF as just not being good enough for him, right?
Other high points:
1. Booth sneering at an email invitation to a date.
2. Brennan turning down the email sex date.
3. Brennan telling Booth she has realized that Coffee just means coffee (and Booth’s face and our hearts saying,…um, no, it does NOT, haha. COFFEE!)
4. Brennan saying “I may or may not get them back to you” about the Moroccan gift fish.
The only part actually that makes me nervous/sad/anxious is Brennan’s reaction to Andrew and the Rat Pack. Up until now, Brennan’s innocence or pop culture naiveté has kind of been Booth’s. I’m not talking about all the ‘I don’t know what that means’ in BONES history, but…you know what I mean, right? When she kind of gets wide eyed and excited about something, and just very, very…trusting? That part of her is very special to me, and I would prefer if only Booth were the one to see that. I think Hacker has good intentions toward her, but still…I want all of her special discoveries of things a lot of us consider old hat to be with Booth (like Punky Pong, or dominoes & grilled cheese, and mistletoe, and the diner, and a thousand other things). That Brennan didn’t really smile…REALLY smile after Booth talked about laughing with Catherine gives me hope. That Seeley J. Booth is kind of getting his groove back is long overdue; that Brennan will have to watch it happen (and hey…so far, she hasn’t withdrawn from him at ALL!) and try to keep the previous status quo can only result in some delicious tension.
Well, enough from me. What say you? How did you like this case? Do you buy Catherine & Booth? Brennan & Hacker? Favorite moment? Talk to your old pal, Seels!
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Filed under #1 featured, Bones, Posts by Sarah (Seels)
So I saw this last night and again today and was more sad tonight watching it. I agree with most of what you say in your review – my unhappiness is with how they are writing Brennan. I don’t get how her character, who decides that she is not enough for Booth, is throwing herself out into the dating pool so avidly. Why? I get why Booth is doing it – it appears that she gets that too – but her message by dating seems to be that I don’t want you, but I’ll try with someone else. How does that fit into how they’ve written her this season ( and her growth through the show)? I can understand her at the end of the 100th, but this confuses me. Why not just step back and let Booth date and try to move on? I don’t get it, and it’s “making my stomach upset”.
Sorry for the rant – any thoughts to make me feel better would be appreciated!
I actually really liked this episode. I thought the case was interesting. I agree pretty much with everything you wrote. I haven’t cared about the Hodgela relationship in a very long time and thought I was so over that, but now I am back on board too. Angela hasn’t annoyed me in quite some time so I am glad I can like her again.
I definitely saw some subtle signs that Brennan is not totally thrilled with Booth dating and I look forward to more of this.
I also was very happy that B&B still met for their post-case drinks. I really like the way the writers are handling this–showing us B&B trying to move on without ignoring how close they have become. That sort of relationship is not something you can just turn off overnight and I am glad the writers are acknowledging that.
I agree with Annie. Why is Brennon dating? She didn’t go with sex. Then I had this thought, maybe Angela is guiding her on how to develop a relationship using Hacker as the test case. When Brennon asked Ang what to wear. Ang came back with ‘clothing’. I think saying you don’t just jump into bed with him.
Take it slower.
I don’t think Brennon thinks she’s not good enough for Booth, I think she thinks she is not right for him. All season she has given examples of how alike they are, but she hasn’t convinced herself.
I thought the episode was very very good.
I thought it was a weak episode and that it was used just to get them both dating for next week’s episode.
Let’s face it, next week we have alot of coupling going on: Booth/Catherine, Brennan/Hacker, Angela/Jack and even Cam is going to get a boyfriend.
IMO, this was the worst episode of the season. The only thing that saved it was the very beautiful shots of the aquarium.
Drippy
I don’t see any contratdiction in Bones dating Hacker and her rejection of Booth. To her Hacker is a casual date. She may have sex with him, but she doesn’t view him as a potential love interest. And it is love that worries her/or she can’t deal with/ or she can’t relate to to. (Take your pick.)
Smiley/Flirty!Booth was even more gorgeous than normal.
I liked and disliked this episode. I thought the case was very interesting… and a murder weapon that hasn’t been used before. When the fish burped up the skull, I laughed out loud, I thought it was pretty funny!!
I am not thrilled with B&B dating other people, NOR did I like them talking about it to each other!! That was just too awkward. I feel like the writers are setting up a scenario where Brennan will discover she is ready to take a chance but then Booth won’t be ready and then we as viewers will have to watch them miss each other again. And that will just be so frustrating!!
I totally agree that Hacker is much more casual and Booth represent love and true happiness, which I don’t think Brennan has ever had. She is also completely afraid of what she has or could have with Booth. Hacker only knows what Brennan lets him know… where as Booth knows everything about her, and that is the difference.
I hope that dating talk can be left out of next weeks episode… at least where B&B are concerned. I hope Angela and Hodgins get back together, I have been waiting for that since they broke up!!
I liked this episode- it continued the B&B storyline along realistically in my opinion. I LOVED how in little ways it showed us that Brennan is fully aware that Booth is moving on without her…like he said in the 100th. (though we all know he’s really not!) I really appreciate how they aren’t trying to work around all that came out in the 100th episode, it’s all still out there and it’s been put upfront!
Bits I liked:
* Booth telling Brennan she’s the standard! Swoon. Ok, really that whole scene was greatness. Brennan gave Booth a compliment too.
* Angela telling Brennan who she thinks she should be with.
* How Booth handled the mob boss. So serious!
Annie-I agree with what John says above, Brennan dating Hacker isn’t a big deal because she is just a casual dater- she’s not out looking for love. And even if she falls in ‘love’ with Hacker, it’s still safer than being in love with Booth (or admitting that she is). Being in love with Booth is dangerous to her because of how much he truly means to her- its more than a romantic love that 2 people share. (wow, that sounds cheesy!) He is the most important thing in her life and there will always be that possibility to her that he might leave or that she can’t love him in the right way. So, it’s better to just keep him in that role of most important person and not risk losing him. But I think that is just what is going to happen…there will be the risk of losing him soon.
The whole “you are the standard Bones” was KILLING me!
sorry, had to add….
Samantha- you make some good points about Brennan and Hacker, he only knows what she reveals to him. And, further, why would she ever feel the need to reveal a lot of herself to a guy when she knows she can do that with Booth, and trusts him completely? IE, she’ll never be as close with anyone like she is w/Booth.
I do however disagree that they will make Brennan come to realize she wants Booth but then he won’t be ready. I think whenever she comes around, he’ll be ready- he’ll have been waiting. There could of course be crazy circumstances thrown in to keep that from happening, which I’m sure they’ll do in some way….
hey annie! Rant away! Don’t apologize! She had already dated hacker some, so it’s not totally ooc for me, but what was interesting is that she was kind of awkward abot seeing him at the diner. She brought up booth again, right away, and was surprised that he wanted to kiss her on the cheek. I think in some ways that phrase ‘moving on’ is so wrong for both b and b. Moving on implies that booth gave her more than 0.2 seconds to be with him, as if he had verbally been saying he wanted a relationship with her. Which hhe had not. That is his issue nd not hers, to be fair, imo. I am not a person who has been hhoping boot would date other women, but I am glad he is doing that, not as moving on but just kind of for once actually doing something.
stephanie…i think brennan hates losing, and I love when she is competitive. That she might now go after booth makes me very happy.
cheryl…good thoughts!! I think brennan has considered hodgins and angela to be proof that work relationships etc do not work. That h and a may be destned and work out will cause brennan to reconsiider.
drip…you must know more than me. I don’t do spoilers and I only know about next week based on last nights promo. I liked that booth said hot blooded was teir song. We will see what happens!
john…exactly. I think she interpreted that booth was asking for happily ever after, when all he asked for was a shot. We will see what happens.
leK…mmmmmmm…yessssssss.
Hmm… well, I really liked the episode as a whole. The case was interesting, and I loved getting back to a very science-centered episode. It’s always fun to really see all the squints “in the zone”. I agree with you, Seels… Hacker rubs me the wrong way. I mean, he’s nice enough, but still just seems awkward and weird to me a lot of the time. Catherine is gorgeous and I admired how she went after what she wanted… but I REALLY wish what she wanted wasn’t Booth.
Although I know that this is good for Booth, it was hard for me to watch him ‘twinkle’ about another woman. I loved how ED perfectly played the facial expressions in this episode to show us the MANY times that Brennan hesitated and was confused by her feelings regarding Booth dating. That happened countless times in this episode, and I’m clinging to that to make me feel better. I agree with several of you, though… I don’t see why Brennan is dating. I think she needs to have to sit back and watch for once… it would make her realize his mistake much faster :).
I was never off the Hodgins/Angela train, and I’m very happy that they’re chugging again haha! They were always a little spot of cute, happy fun that I enjoyed, and I need that right now, honestly. I’m a self-proclaimed angst wimp, so I’m trying to block out Drip’s comment about next week haha… I just want all this angst to be resolved by the finale and for them to both be on the same page and willing to try a relationship.
samantha and beth…YES to that great thought about brennan revealing what she wants to reveal! And I hope I can convey how much I really don’t need booth or brennan dating other people. After last weeks preview for this week I was imagining the worst, with booth starting and or ending the episode in bed, like in truth, or brennan in bed like with sully or michael, ha, remember season one? I think booth started out this ep wanting to prove he could move on, and then it completely worked and fell into his lap in the form of a gorgeos marine biologist. It was almost too easy for him. Once that happened, then he felt confident telling brennan about it at which point, she began to get nervous. Interesting idea that bren will confess her feelings only for booth to not be available or interested. I will have to think more on how I feel one way or the other.
bonnie…wasnt that catch in his voice to die for???!!!??
ashley, pal…i am glad you are feeling somewhat better about it. Thhink of it this way…it is out in the open and and has to be dealt with. Hacker is such a joke. He is like the worst bf bren has had, except maybe the guy who killed his own brother. He is not even booth lite, he is like…sully lite or something. Brennan is always interested in men who are interested in her, even for a second with that goofball racer in season three. Booth just scared her, not his fault, but it haappened. But she will ffigure it out and it will all be good. Haha I ope!!!
I really liked this episode! I think it has a lot to do with the aquarium (LOVE AQUARIUMS!!!).
The “I may or may not get them back to you part” was awesome!! I love how the aquarium lady got really nervous at the end as well when B/B needed to take “Bob” away (she was probably thinking “uh oh….not another dead fish”).
The ending made me really nervous though. Especially when Booth tried to tell Brennan the joke Catherine told him and she didn’t really get it and he said “you had to be there”. I dunno, it just felt as if they’re “drifting apart”? And that’s SAD!!! But all this tension/anticipation is killing me….i think I’ll need moral support after watching the finale!! 🙂
I think that as much as it kills me to admit it, this episode felt just right in regards to where B and B are in their relationship. I hate watching it but I have to hand it to the writers…I think that they are staying very true to character in how Brennan is trying to deal. She is trying so hard to not have that “open heart” that she told Booth she doesn’t have. I think that is why she dates Hacker. She knows that it isn’t going anywhere that is scary for her. She knows that it doesn’t run deep. Maybe she is trying to prove a point to herself. Maybe she is trying to show herself that she hasn’t changed when we all know she has. Rationally, it should not bother her that Booth is dating someone else. She turned him down and he told her that he had to move on. She said she agreed. Rationally, she shouldn’t care so much. But we all know by the look on her face when she says “excellent” and the way she changed the subject in the middle of the ep. when Booth started talking about Catherine that she cares a whole lot. It is so subtle but obvious how hard she is fighting to be rational. I just think it is so in character for her to take this route after what we saw at the end of the 100th ep.
The question is: How long can she keep this up?
I LOVED your review. I always love your reviews. I’m not too worried about Bren’s reaction to ‘The Rat Pack’ especially since she brought it up to Booth. I wouldn’t be surprised if Booth introduced her to them before Hacker got a chance to. lol. It seems like a Boothy thing to do.
This episode definitely gave me hope. It was nice to see Booth happy again, but it was even nicer to see Brennan so freaking jealous!
I sort of felt like the episode itself was a bit disconnected. There weren’t any really strong tie-ins for the case– it felt very slapped together (then again, the cases are really just filler we all know the show is all about B&B’s burgeoning relationship), but the subplots (Hodgela, Dating, even the Russian mobster- which we have actively been discussing on twitter) were a lot of fun.
I have and always will be a Hodgela shipper. I was never off that bandwagon and can’t wait for the rest of the season for them! It’s gonna be AWESOME!!!
I can see Booth/Catfish going further than Brennan/Hackjob. I think that Bren will eventually see beyond Hacker and see he really is just a pretentious idiot. Plus, their whole relationship seemed very forced. I’m sad to say, I really didn’t mind Catherine at all. She looked a little scary and manic at times, but overall she was very beautiful and Booth seemed really happy.
I totally buy Booth & Catherine. He lit up at the earring joke, and it was gorgeous to see the twinkle in his eye and the genuine smile. It was interesting that Booth used his knowledge of a certain scientist we know and love when talking to Catherine: “I know, you’re a scientist and that whole intuition thing is a load of crap right?” Ooooh…His knowledge and relationship with Brennan was going to HELP this new relationship and getting to know Catherine…Ack! I could feel my heart clench up.
Brennan & Hacker-ugh. Brennan seemed like such a geek when the 2 of them were at the diner, so much that I didn’t like her at all! What was interesting however, is how B couldn’t resist bringing up Booth while with him, just like she had done in the past while she and Hacker were at the restaurant on their first(?) date. She just can’t get Booth off her mind 🙂
I thought the scene between B&B while waiting for the elevator was great. It was a little awkward since both of them basically said that ‘you’re not going out with me, but a close approximation of me’. As Brennan gets into the elevator, and just before the door closes, she looks down and her smile shrinks a little, perhaps she’s thinking how Hacker can’t measure up to Booth.
I’m looking forward to next week.
This episode was one I could take or leave…not amazing, but not the worst Bones I’ve ever seen either.
I can’t bring myself to hate Catherine…just like I can’t hate Sully. If B&B insist that they are going to be just partners then those two were doing nothing wrong. Hacker on the other hand annoys the heck out of me…he’s just too goofy for me to buy as an FBI director. And Brennan turns into a giggling school girl around him instead of an intelligent doctor. Their date felt really forced…like Brennan was just trying to convince herself that he could live up to the Booth standard. Which of course he can’t which is the only saving grace of the whole thing. I can’t believe Booth fell for the whole comparing Catherine to Brennan. I feel kind of bad for Catherine because in Booth’s mind she’ll never measure up to Brennan and he’ll always be in love with her. She’ll have what happened to Cam happen to her…She’ll be with Booth, but never have his full attention. The drinks after the dates was kind of odd to me, but gave me hope because they still are friends no matter what happens and that is what good relationships are built on.
Yay for Hodgela!!! I never gave up on them and apparently I was right to keep the faith. They’re moving fast toward falling back together…and hopefully they stay together for good. I want Hodgins to be happy and Angela makes him happy. Angela is also improving as the season goes on…she’s been much more useful and professional lately and not nearly as annoyingly snarky and moody.
Seeleybaby, excellent blog as always!
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