BONES: The Boy with the Answer
May 14, 2010 by Sarah Curtis
BONES lovelies, please tell me that in the exact moment Brennan said she might need more than time that we ALL knew she meant time…and space. Booth knew. I knew. We all knew, because we are so cool like that. B&B have their own little language sometimes, and we are all fluent!
What did you like about this ep? I think my favorite part was the look B&B gave one another after Angela said “This is love”.
THE CASE:
It’s a moment we’ve been waiting for since the team discovered what looked like two aliens in season two: the GraveDigger trial. Federal prosecutor Heather Taffet is on trial, and defending herself against counts of kidnapping and murder. But when she proves that the evidence the team found in a storage locker was gained through improper means (AKA Jared in Hero in the Hold), that evidence becomes unable to be used against her. She also gives Brennan a clue to the location of her first victim, Terrence Gilroy. When B&B find his body, they begin to investigate. But Caroline tells them that they can’t work the case because they are part of the charges against Taffet. In a gutsy and heart wrenching scene, Brennan, then Hodgins, (and then later Booth), decide to drop their charges against Taffet so that they can investigate Terrence’s murder. But Taffet shows no mercy and calls their expertise, personal lives and experiences to the carpet on the stand. Caroline Julian represents the prosecution, and it’s up to her to convince the jury that Taffet is guilty. This episode is a complete nail biter, and up until the moment the judge read the verdict, I felt like it could honestly go either way. Hodgins discovers a dust mite from between the boy’s teeth and it contained human female cells belonging to Taffet. I haven’t been this nervous about a BONES episode ever. Ever! And as Taffet was carted away, saying “This isn’t over,” I got a chill up my spine.
Can we talk Taffet? Just a moment is all I need, and I don’t really want her in the squint section or the B&B. Seriously…evil. Up to this point, Epps was always the villain that creeped me out the most, but Taffet is SO AWFUL! I want bad things to happen to her until she loses that smirk. I know there’s at least one person who would agree with me…
Max. Oh, Max! I knew he was going to do something, but a rifle? Another Booth & Max fistfight was made of win. Those two are pretty similar, especially when it comes to Brennan. I liked the hug between Max and Brennan at the end, and that she didn’t bail him out of jail in the middle. Sweets MIGHT say that Max wanted Booth to catch him so he could stay around Brennan, but the fact that she didn’t bail him out proves that she didn’t want HIM to do anything that would prevent him from being around.
Caroline Julian: She might be the most consistently ‘in character’ character written in BONES history. She is so funny to me. I liked her entire approach and that she totally did what she did for HER team. She never said it, but it was there. She loves those SQUINTS! And justice, etc, etc…but mostly the squints! Quick Q: Who was she referring to about Booth’s girlfriend? Brennan? Catherine? I wasn’t sure if it was their way of telling us that Catherine is not Booth’s girlfriend, but she’s still around, or if it was Caroline teasing Booth about the way he looks at Brennan and then him backpedaling to say, “She’s not my girlfriend” after he answered that Brennan was okay. Thoughts from you?
THE SQUINTS:
Hodgins is so awesome, and TJ Thyne was AMAZING in this episode. He should have his own section, but when I thought about it, I realized Hodgins would prefer to be with his team. I loved his challenging Brennan’s emotions; I liked his actions and reactions with Angela and during the trial. Angela was great too, and so was Cam. Her scene with Sweets was interesting to me, and I liked that she said they were her people. As far as Sweets…I’m so intrigued that he still seems to be laying off Booth & Brennan emotional-wise. I don’t know if he is feeling ramifications from his book, or if the writers just aren’t feeling him, or what. But he didn’t really analyze either of them. Interesting.
Booth & Brennan:
Ah, Brennan. She is so awesome. I love this progression showcasing her removing herself from Booth’s life romantically to protect him to the idea that she might even break off their partnership to keep him safe. Completely in character. She isn’t running away to protect herself; she’s trying to protect Booth. But not just Booth’s body either…also his heart and soul, as he would see it. Stay with me. Epps, EMT Geller, Gormogon, Dr. Leacock…they all went after Brennan in some way, and Booth shot them (okay, not Epps, but you know what I mean.) She knows what it costs him to kill people, and she knows that the odds of him having to do it again increase if they work together; she’ll be putting him in a greater risk of having to kill FOR her, and she’s hurting because of it. Not that I don’t want them to be partners or that I don’t want them together romantically, because I do & I do. But what I also want is this idea we have been discussing that Brennan can no longer rely on complete logic and rational thought. And she’s tired. Oh, wasn’t she so beautiful in this episode? When she said she was tired the first time, I gasped. I liked that she admitted she has nightmares to Booth. I also thought her confession to Hodgins was fierce! She gave five hugs in this episode, and they were all unique and special.
Booth sort of ‘fed’ her what her reactions should be this entire episode, which was interesting. Did anyone else notice that? I know he does that sometimes, but in this episode, I couldn’t help but notice that he just continued to tell her what she was feeling, thinking and going to do. Not in a jerk kind of way; Booth isn’t like that. That’s their usual give and take; I think I just noticed it more in this episode. Perhaps it’s because she pulled away from him at the end. I think at that point, he was just desperate to keep her from doing anything rash.
I liked him encouraging her throughout the episode, even if Brennan found it to be unrealistic optimism. How about the mirrored scene from the 100th episode with the cab! Probably my second favorite part was the shared horror and empathy and emotion and professionalism between B&B when they uncovered Terrence’s remains. Even though Booth kind of joked about their livings being about death, we all know that it does affect them.
Here are my final thoughts: Brennan attempting to sever their working relationship doesn’t bother me because I feel they have BOTH been hiding behind it for a long time. Remember in season three when Booth asked her, “You wouldn’t even have coffee with me?” Well…maybe now they will have to admit that the reason they spend so much time together is because they can’t not. She may try to ‘protect’ him, but…
I double dog dare her to try to keep him away.
See you next week!
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Really good, nail-biting episode. However, I did feel that Brennan being tired of all of it and questioning her job came out of nowhere. It would have made more sense if this had been a theme throughout the whole season.
I absolutely loved the cab scene and how it mirrored the 100th episode.
Can’t wait to see what the season finale will bring us!
I really liked this episode. It lived up to my high expectations. I just love Brennan’s character and thought ED’s acting was terrific in this ep. I also was nervous about the verdict. I didn’t know what was going go happen.
Another excellent breakdown….and I love how you called Booth out (in a good way) for his telling Brennan what she’s thinking and feeling. It’s such a Booth thing, and Brennan feeds off it usually…but this time it wasn’t bringing the result he usually expects to get. He’s spent all this time breaking down her walls and now it’s working against him. Poor Booth, caught in a vicious Brennan-emotional circle straight out of Dante’s worst nightmare.
Looking forward to your review of the finale! <3
Eveerybody is changing. Most of all Brennon. The protective walls she has built around herself are crumbling. Compartmentalizing is not working. Emotion is rushing in. The science she so depends upon is being ripped apart. She is losing her ability to think objectively. She wants that all back, because that is where she feels safest. Booth senses that she is pulling away and tries to pull her back. I think she will run thinking that she can put her life back together.
Hart and Emily have said that there is no closure in the SF. She leaves, he leaves and we continue the journey into season 6.
This episode is the change of Brennan & Booth’s partnership. It reminds me of married couple right before a divorce but I hope Brennan does not sign the papers.
Loved this almsot as much as the original Gravedigger episode ( although that remains my absolute favorite Bones show) I could see why you could think the “being tired” thing came outta left field but it does fit with the character. This was a really emotional case…not only did they mirror the cab scene from the 100th but whenever they show Brennen in court they show her having difficulty relating to the Jury..if I remember one episode like that there was a former boyfriend who kinda shot her down in court because of that… Angela and Hodgins telling everybody about the marriage really puts Brennen’s life in perspective I think. Life is different when your friends are single and suddenly they are not and you still are..I think the two shocks together are enough to make the “sudden” theme of being too tired work for me at least…
Oh, and did you notice that the cab in both scenes is the same cab? #5260
I loved the intensity of this episode… like you said, I was straight-up nervous throughout the entire episode! There were definitely several points where I honestly thought that Taffet was going to get away with all of it… and it totally creeped me out. That woman is evil!!! I also really enjoyed the intense Brennan/Hodgins argument about dropping the charges. I love all of the Brennan/Hodgins stuff in the original Gravedigger episode… they play so well off of each other. Kudos to Hodgins for laying it all out there as far as the fact that he and Angela got married. I was hoping that we wouldn’t have to wait long for that reveal!
Okay, now for the big stuff… this was a super intense Brennan/Booth episode, huh? I felt like they were both very vulnerable, and it really showed. Have we ever seen Brennan that worn down? I don’t think so. More importantly, she has certainly never admitted to that kind of vulnerability. I totally agree with what you’re saying as far as the fact that this episode truly shows us how much Brennan has changed at the core of who she is and what she values. I appreciate that… and I know that it’s good in the long run… but honestly… I’m extremely nervous about the finale. I just don’t understand how we can have a show if B&B aren’t working together. The thought of going through an entire season like that is just totally depressing for me, especially if season 6 ends up beginning the last season. I just want to be able to experience the journey with them when they do get together… not to just see it finally happen.
The Gravedigger eps make me so tense! Even when she is all chained up I still couldn’t help thinking she MIGHT be let go to kill again.
I can’t believe another season is done. Or almost. I too am nervous about where we are headed. I only hope we don’t get some crazy crap ep like last year and they don’t just go totally off the rails for S6. I am crossing my fingers that there is an actual plan.
Loved this episode!! So emotionally intense!!
The cab scene gave me chills. Although I wished it was more of a “wakeup call/deva ju” for Booth. He should have ran after her or something.
I TOTALLY agree with you about how the verdict could have gone either way. Kudos to the writers for that! GD was SO annoying in this episode…Caroline had it right when she said she was merely “slandering”..that’s exactly what she was doing.
My favorite moment was (as you also noted) when Angela said “this is love” and Booth looks over to Brennan. Looks don’t like, people, looks don’t lie!! 🙂 🙂 <3
Thanks again for this great review 🙂
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