BONES Recap: ‘The Feet on the Beach’
April 8, 2011 by Sarah Curtis
Hello BONES fans! Here we are at the start of what promises to be seven straight new episodes, and I’m excited for that!
In this week’s episode, “The Feet on the Beach,” I found myself scratching my head in confusion a few times, mainly because I felt as if I should be learning some sort of lesson. And yet, at the end of the episode, I was left with more questions and a frown.
A lot of characters seemed to be taking the moral high ground but based on their own sets of standards and ideals. And when it came down to it, those differing opinions all combined to make me feel as if no one was right. Was Cam too hard on Sweets? Was he too hard on her? Did she get off easy with Michelle? Did Booth and Brennan come to any sort of agreement, or were their differences as magnified as ever? While Dr. Filmore WAS slighted and needed to speak to Brennan about it, did he have the right to say what he did to Brennan (and confront her in the way he did)? Were the discrepancies of opinion the point, or was it a case of failed attempts by the writers to show that the characters WERE in fact learning? Did I just miss it?
There will be time to answer those Qs and more, but first let’s discuss…
THE CASE
The Scene of the Crime: When eight pairs of dismembered feet wash up to shore along the US and Canada border, Brennan and Booth are called in to help investigate. They are joined by Canadian forensic podiatrist, Dr. Douglas Filmore. I’m just going to say it up front: I thought Doug was pretty great. Played by Scott Lowell (QUEER AS FOLK), the podiatrist is excellent in his field, though his self esteem is low because Brennan recently discredited his work and career choice in an essay. Angela determines that the feet were washed away from the University of Hogansburg and the body farm used there for forensic research. But when the school reports only seven sets of remains are missing, the team knows they are dealing with a murder.
The Victim: Dylan McElroy, a grad student at the University of Hogansburg. He’s identified via a serial number on some limited edition shoes he’d been wearing at the time of his death. Between his roommate and his peers, there is not a lot of sympathy for Dylan.
Potential Suspects & Motives: Mostly all of the suspects are connected with the U of H in some way. I suspected Wolfram, the groundskeeper/cadaver specialist, I suspected Professor Simpkins, the leader of the body farm, and I suspected Dylan’s roommate. Each of those men had motive, whether it was jealousy or general dislike of Dylan.
The Lab Results: Hodgins, Angela and Dr. Filmore work with Brennan at the lab to identify striates on the feet bones. When Brennan is assisting in the field, Angela and Douglas recreate images of Dylan’s feet in comparison to his $2,000 shoes. Hodgins examines several insect specimens from the crime scene and ascertains that each one ingested a lotion used to attract bugs, thus speeding up decomposition. Each suspect would have had access to that lotion and the knowledge of what it could do. Dr. Filmore is the one who figures out that Dylan’s feet were cut with two blades with equal force at the same time, leading him to consider that the blades were connected.
The Interrogation Room: Once again, there weren’t really any scenes at the FBI building. Booth does most of his work on the road, while Sweets’ work focuses on Dr. Filmore and Cam. I have to say, though, that if Booth is not going to be in his holster at the Hoover building, I kinda like him in those gum boots at the body farm!
The Verdict: The killer was Norman, the fellow student/body farm tour guide. He ran over Dylan with a lawn mower while attempting to cut down the marijuana Dylan had planted, causing his remains project to be ruined.
MY Verdict: When I saw the preview for this ep and how giddy Brennan appeared to be at the body farm, I was leery. However, I was pleasantly surprised that she was excited about the science going on, not the gore, as the ads seemed to tout. Brennan shouts out “microbial proliferation” in the same way she has squeed over ancient remains or other aspects of her work, so I liked her enthusiasm. I also liked the case and wasn’t sure who the murderer was until his alibi was uncovered as fraudulent.
Thoughts from you?
THE SQUINTS
Sweets: I sort of flipflopped on him in this episode. On the one hand, I liked that he chose to reach out to Douglas and talk to him from the standpoint of someone who understands Brennan and how she works. Yet, when he actually started talking about Brennan, I flinched. Brennan doesn’t have empathy? In what universe, Sweets? And I’m not sure how I feel about him taking the moral high ground with Cam. I thought he was right, but was he right in the right way? Does that make sense?
Cam: Speaking of her, I also am not sure how I felt about how the college entrance storyline with Michelle played out. I was opposed to her meddling earlier in the series and thought for sure it would come back to bite her. And yet…did it? Or did she squeak by on Michelle’s misinterpretation of what happened? And if so, are we supposed to be happy about that? Cam got away with cheating on the entrance essay by allowing Michelle to believe that she’d deliberately tested her on what she would do in that scenario? What?
Hodgins & Angela: I liked the way they discussed what their response to Cam’s/Michelle’s acceptance letter would be. I’m enjoying the way they are being portrayed as a couple this season, and it made me laugh when Hodgins gave his “Angela-approved” disapproving face. While I thought Angela’s reaction to Dr. Filmore’s discovery was a little condescending, I thought Hodgins advice to just talk to Brennan because “she can take it” was cool.
BOOTH & BRENNAN
I think there’s a difference between Booth being Brennan’s “bridge” out of the lab to connect (a broad metaphor, but go with it!) and him being her moral compass. I prefer the bridge metaphor, and I think Brennan accepts that idea, though in the past she’s described it (quite rightly) as demanding to work with him. “You wanted to get out of the lab…I helped you do that”, Booth told her earlier in the series, and she accepts that. But to say that he sort of helps her see right and wrong…that didn’t ring true for me, not from Booth OR from Brennan.
Some of you all have mentioned lately that the show is skewing more toward the “heart” vs. the “brain” and for the first time, I felt that in this episode. There was really no reason why it had to be Brennan’s “heart” that “healed” Douglas, so to speak. Likewise, Booth encouraging Brennan to be nice to Canadians in a tongue in cheek way was a “bridge” moment. Booth chiding Brennan for her response to Dr. Filmore felt more like a “moral compass” moment, and I cringed at that. Booth said it himself in season four: she has empathy…she’s just awkward sometimes. Particularly in context of Brennan’s behavior and processes the rest of this season, I didn’t totally buy it.
There is one plausible area I’ll concede, and that is this: we haven’t really seen Brennan in much contact with other anthropologists, so it’s realistic that she could be competitive and less personable in that arena (like, for example, with her students). I just don’t buy it in the Brennan character development department though, as she seems to have moved past that. And we don’t need Booth telling her that she cares; we already knew that. I’m not saying that Brennan WASN’T somewhat rude to Douglas, because she was. I wouldn’t go straight to thoughtless or closed-minded, but she could have chosen her words better. If THAT was the lesson she was supposed to learn (based on her discussion with Booth at the end of the episode), then I’m not sure she did, as she basically was still using the “right” word to dis Booth.
I also didn’t buy the “Brennan’s true nature is Booth’s little secret” deal, which, though sweet in theory, is not actually true, and I don’t see evidence in the rest of the series to support that. I think when the series is over, their expressions of love will be “theirs” so to speak, but as far as their natures in communicating kindness to humanity…that doesn’t fall into the “what’s between us is ours” category.
There was something… “off” about this episode that I can’t put my finger on, almost as if it would have been a better fit for earlier in the season. There was an edginess between B&B that seemed out of place after their post-elevator conversation. Of course, in terms of the series, it’s natural for Brennan and Booth to move forward and then take two steps back. Yet, this didn’t feel like that necessarily.
Having said that, the episode made me laugh several times, and when I watch it again, I might find that I enjoyed it more than I thought.
Okay, enough from me. Thoughts from you? Was this episode off or did it ring true? Was there a lesson to be learned on learning lessons, or not? Did you like Douglas Filmore? What parts of the ep made you laugh?
I’m interested to hear what you think. I’ll see you next week, and the next five weeks after that!
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Filed under Bones
Congratulations, Bones team. Instead letting my interest in BB wane slowly, you’ve turned me into a proactive non-shipper. I was patient with the Hannah arc, even if I didn’t like the actress or character, but this whole Booth is the Most Moral Man and Brennan is the Emotionally Retarded Scientist has totally turned me off.
And no, I don’t think Cam got enough of a comeuppance. I think her daughter’s misunderstanding gave her too easy an out considering the magnitude of Cam’s fault? mistake? whatever. I don’t mean just within the story, but the show itself took an easy way out of facing the consequences of turning Cam into a cheating character by letting her daughter teach her a lesson.
I would have loved the body farm episode if the whole Heart=Morality=Booth idea hadn’t taken over the entire season. I blame this on the lack of dramatic interest in the sniper arc as well. I hope for the show’s creative good, the next season is the last.
One more thing- there is NO WAY that Dr. Brennan could have been as personally hurtful in her criticism as the podiatrist or Sweets made out. Even if the show turned her into some snotty scientist with no empathy, her reviews would never have been punished if the criticism didn’t stand up objectively.
And if objectively, Brennan found things to criticize, it would have been morally and intellectually irresponsible of her *not* to say so. Booth’s lame lecture on heart has no place in this discussion.
Sorry to be so negative, but I’m just responding to what I see.
At least we got to see Bones happy and excited by the body farm for what feels like the first time since the mummy episode. The gross factor has always been high on my list of priorities, and I often watch this show during dinner. 🙂
Also, I do love Hodgins and Angela together. Then again, Hodgins is always likable because he’s committed to his work and doesn’t waste time playing the moral police.
I would buy that Brennan could write a tough, intellectual criticism of another scientist’s work, and it’s fine for them to write him as a polite, meek fellow who took it personally. What I didn’t buy was the way they turned that concept into Brennan being an evil heartless scientist with no regard for anyone’s feelings. She doesn’t need Booth to tell her to be nice to people – she knows how to be nice. But they were all saying she should apologise on a personal level for a professional criticism, which made no sense to her, or to me. But then it began to be implied that she’d been unnecessarily nasty in her article (e.g. saying that Filmore was 1/4 of the scientist she was) which is exactly what Brennan, realistically, would never do. I’m only in high school and I have to deal with teachers and students criticising my work from an academic viewpoint. I don’t think they should apologise for that.
I agree, Sarah – this had a very early season 6 feel to it, and I half expected someone to say something about Hannah being out of town. They could have turned this storyline into a way for Brennan to prove that the brain can and should dictate some areas of their work. But they didn’t.
Same goes for Cam, that storyline was just…off. If you look at it as a mini-narrative it just goes nowhere and their are no negative ramifications to her actions. If Michelle had overreacted and the story had been stretched out over another episode, the same conclusion could have been reached but with a little more interest for the viewers.
Having said ALL that, I found Filmore hilarious and well-played, and Hodgins & Angela’s interaction at the beginning was hilarious. But I’m still appalled that Brennan doesn’t like Booth’s socks.
Wow, you know the show’s too skewed when even Sarah takes off her rose colored glasses. Personally, I think the show has been using Booth as the moral compass since season 4 when Booth first started shaming Bones into his way of life, like recreational sex = bad. Now they’ve turning Bones into some unrecognizable and academically impossible critic. I don’t… just…. whatever.
However, I don’t need a resolution of BB’s differences, and I don’t think it’s necessary for them to be together. In fact, this trend is what made me lose interest in the Bones-Booth relationship, even before Hannah (who I was hoping would shake things up differently). The show trying to avoid putting them together by making them work through every single issue before getting together makes it unrealistic and tells me they’re interested in some fairytale happily ever after version of love stories.
What I do need instead of a resolution of differences is Balance and Mutuality. Like the above comment said, this case was a wasted opportunity for Booth to learn the importance and yes, moral value, of rational thinking.
fox should of never aired this show/this is what the fans deserves after a 3 week hiatus/bones if you dont stand up for yourself and stop hart hanson from hurting your characterthen you are insulting the fans.booth had no right to talk to her that way/what a hypocrite/in the car/sweets all of a sudden having a code of ethic/what a joke/booth maybe if you would cleaned the crap of hannah/but you act liked you didnt put it out/that show was spliced together/booth if dont grow a set I SAID let you leaved the show/show us reruns please.
Between the Broadsky arc — Booth is good, the other sniper is bad — and this episode on Brennan’s career — Bones, you’ve been doing it all wrong — I’d say the show lost the last vestige of nuance and moral complexity. Seriously, the Hannah arc had more facets than the second half of this season.
I’d say the writers know exactly what they’re doing. They think they “fixed” BB by bringing back the googly eyes scenes and once again teasing the possible hookup, they’re not challenging the post Idol watchers with moral questions, not wasting time on continuity from previous seasons, and they’re upping the ick factor to mask the fact that the plotting sucks now. It’s probably a brilliant business model for the show, especially with the Idol tie-in.
PS- I’d rather watch a spinoff of the Jeffersonian than current Bones with a new head of the Lab. Cam’s been more likable, but I wouldn’t trust her at the helm of a prestige institution. Since BB shippers would stage a revolt, I’d let Bones stay with Booth, and settle for seeing her in guest appearances.
Wow. I must be the odd man out. My two favorite scenes last night were that SUV scene between B&B and the scene where Sweets lectured Cam on her dishonesty. I thought the rest of the episode was just okay.
Although Sweets’ lecture rang a tad bit false considering how he helped Daisy with her FBI security clearance exam, it still needed to be said (because, let’s face it, Cam was absolutely in the wrong) and I’m glad he said it. And I’m not so sure Cam got off that easily in the end. Michelle has faith in her (in this situation) that is essentially undeserved and judging by the look on her face in the diner scene, I think she feels more than a little bit guilty about that. I’m also glad Michelle took that stand because I can think of a few other shows where she would have taken that acceptance letter and not looked back. I’m glad Bones isn’t one of them.
As for the SUV scene, maybe I’m still thinking a little too much in terms of the discussion of Booth and Brennan being in purgatory a la Dante’s “Inferno” that we had yesterday at Bones Theory because I think it fit perfectly. She learned a little bit of humility. If anything was out of character, it was how hard Brennan was on Dr. Fillmore earlier in the episode. She’s made a lot of progress in that area in recent episodes, and her harsh treatment seemed, in my opinion, to be a little bit of a step back. I actually viewed B&B’s conversation in the SUV as being quite honest (and because I thought it was honest, it was right on track for a post-Blizzard episode in my opinion) and a little bit of a throwback to the season five premiere (when Avalon the psychic told Brennan that Booth knows the truth of her). When Booth told her it was hard for a grown man to be leveled like that, I think he was speaking from personal experience and I think Brennan realized that too. The body language and facial expressions in that scene in particular were very telling I thought. That’s my two cents anyway – for what they’re worth.
“If anything was out of character, it was how hard Brennan was on Dr. Fillmore earlier in the episode.”
But that is what some of us are talking about. We are tired of the writers creating new flaws in Brennan just so that she can be fixed by Booth who has the revealed truth when it comes to humanity, that is of course heart-based because the heart trumps the brain. He basically told her what it is like to be human (like she was an ET), that her way of being is not human, that the brain is not even a part of being human, only the heart…
Yeah, I doubt the SUV lecture by Saint Booth was supposed to be a coded reference to Bones and Booth’s relationship. For one thing, Booth has been the solid alpha dog in their relationship for a long, long time. Don’t get me wrong, Booth has been unbelievably nice to Bones. Nice manners, being solicitous, etc. the things that romcoms tell us women want- not really important to me. What matters is the fundamental things like @Delph mentions, which is where I don’t see equality anymore.
@Tame and @C, thanks for writing all that out. I don’t even want to bother anymore.
God, I hated that scene in the car. It reminded me of Booth preaching the meaning of love in the polygamy episode. Every time Booth lectures Brennan now, all I can think is- get your own life in order first Seeley Booth!
Running off to class, but seriously, if any authority figure did what Cam did, I would hope she/he was fired for lack of integrity. I would never trust a professor like her. Would much rather have Bones. Solving things with Michelle was definitely not enough.
I believe it was meant to be a light and fun episode. Just too bad it wasn’t funny. The pillar of this show was the chemistry between Emily and David, transferred to their charachters. I have seen none, zero, zilch.
I also think that writers thought they could use Brennan to play the Sheldon Cooper card to create comedy. Too bad Brennan is NOT Sheldon Cooper, and they can’t play with the charachter to have her in one episode be like Sheldon, and another episode be the emotional Leonard. If they wanted to use the same format of comedy, they should have kept Zack (alias of Sheldon) and use him to create these comedy dynamics.
Like that, it’s just annoying.
Booth is a shadow, is not a believable charachter anymore because he’s totally inconsistent. Watching this episode I wondered: does he really like her? The way she is? I don’t think so. When are we EVER seeing Brennan teaching something to Booth?
I completely agree with the previous posters. In my opinion this imbalance between the charachters is killing the UST and my passion for this show.
I watched since the pilot, and have been a huge shipper. Now.. yawn. Whatever.
Thank you Sarah, your review was excellent.
And of course Brennan has nothing to offer/teach Booth about.
She is just here to fix his ego by constantly reassuring him how good a father, agent, partner, friend, man, hero he is.
He is perfect but he doubt it and she is there to point it out to him… *sigh*
to me this show should do an epispde without a case/and just repair the damages to the character of this show and that should be the finale for s6.
Hey Sarah,
I commented to you a couple weeks ago how you always keep a positive outlook no matter how bad things have been on the series. I think this is the first time where I have seen a somewhat negative review.
The problem with this episode is that it feels like it was written by a 5 year old. The humor was aweful as they tried to do a slap stick Canadian spiel on us. We get that HH is Canadian and he likes to poke fun at them but this was a little over the top.
I would have done the same for my kids that Cam did as far as Columbia application. This is just an adult who is giving their child a back up plan. I thought Sweets reaction was childish as he helped Daisy cheat a couple episodes ago on her psych eval. We do what we do for our loved ones. I’m glad Michelle wants to do it on her own but she should have told Cam that she understands that she did it because she loves her.
Brennan was childish the whole episode. She knows when she hurts someone’s feelings when she says something wrong. Look at her telling Booth that he was stupid in ‘Physicist in the Science’ or even last season with the psychiatrist in ‘Devil’ when she couldn’t apologize enough to him when that patient went into a fit.
Angela and Hodgins were the only good characters this episode as they welcome the Canook doctor and gave him advice.
The episodes are getting boring because all these topics have been discussed in the past. It’s repeating the same old lessons over and over again. It makes the characters look really stupid.
I know HH wants to keep the B&B apart as long as possible but he has already crossed the line where the characters can keep their integrity to the characters looking stupid and pathetic. He has destroyed the characters by maintaining the ‘will they/won’t they’ scenario. Oh well. It’s HH’s series and if that is how he wants to go down, then that is his choice.
I’ve been watching on and off during the earlier season, and I thought all the problems were Hannah related. But when exactly did Booth turn into such a sanctimonious prig?! :O I mean, he was always as “narrow-minded” as Bones, but now Bones is some heartless robot and Booth is the pillar of human morality? PU~H-lease.
I agree with Drippan on the stupidity that is BB now. Retreading character growth, for several seasons no less, makes the characters stupid. It also adds to the problem that instead of adding layers as we retread, we’re treated to simplified versions of the characters, whether it’s heartless Bones or moralizing Booth.
So if BB are in purgatory now, it’s dramatic value for me is zero. There’s no other reason for being there except for contrivances from the writers who don’t want to put BB together.
I’m pissed because Cam got her putdown (though without facing real consequences), which had been bothering me since last year. And Hodgins and Angela work better as a couple. And the Body Farm! I wanted to enjoy this episode, dammit.
to me this show should do an epispde without a case/and just repair the damages to the character of this show and that should be the finale for s6.
OR, they should just spend a few episodes focusing on the case. No teenaged personal melodrama, no exploiting RobotBrennan for bad jokes, just everyone focused on a solid case. That would do wonders for reminding me why I like them in the first place. – It might also remind the writers Booth is not the only one who know the depth of Brennan’s empathy. Anyone and everyone who’s worked a case with her knows.
– And it might remind writers that Booth used to be able to gain insights into individuals, not spout lame platitudes.
I liked this episode and didn’t like this episode all at the same time, for many of the same reasons as Sarah points out! The case was interesting and I had my suspicions about Norman, I think it was how he treated the “Cadavor Caretaker” or whatever he called himself. Norman kept dissing him by calling him a simple grounds keeper. I don’t know, that made me not like him!
I think Cam had the right idea but should have made Michelle apply herself. I mean, when I went to college, I wanted to go to one place and my mom made me apply to others, just in case! Cam should have gone that route, because Sweets is right, what about the person who got denied entrance to Columbia because she “cheated”? And Michelle should have to live with her decision, that is part of becoming an adult and Cam should realize that as a mother. I was suprised Michelle wasn’t more upset, but I do think their relationship has moved past that sort of quick reaction Michelle had in the beginning. In the end, it is good she decided to not take the easy way, it was her own fault she was going to follow a boy to college!
What can you say about Hodgins and Angela, always cute 😀
On to Booth and Brennan, their interaction didn’t bug me as much as Brennan bugged me! Maybe it was simply her professional competitiveness coming out, but she seemed not to be able to grasp the simplest of voice cues. Douglas was not complimenting her but yet she was all like “thank you, I am very thourough”! I mean really, I think she has gotten to a point where she could catch that and now I just feel like the writers are really playing up her social awkwardness and I don’t see the reason behind it. I know they have been all season but I thought that was simply because she was putting her pure logic hat on in order to deal with her hurt over losing Booth. Now, it just seems like she is regressing further from where she started. It just bugged me that she glossed over that fact that she really hurt Douglas at the beginning and I felt like she had become more sensitive to other people!! I am glad that she apologized to him because I do think her point is valid, I mean, really, a forensic podiatrist? She is right, where does it end? But what she said to Douglas was spot on, she shouldn’t have discredited him as an expert, because clearly he was very good at what he does.
I actually really liked the moment in the car where Booth said he knows the real her and it shouldn’t be a secret. I “awwed” out loud :D! I don’t think he was implying that only he knows, because I think he knows that Angela knows and Hodgins knows, etc., but I think he is right, she needs let her feelings lead her a little more to everyone else, not just those in her close cirle. Plus, I think that is an important step to her letting go of her imperviousness!!
Excited for next week, just because it is another new episode, but did anyone notice in the preview that there is a scene with B&B in the car and she is wearing the exact same thing as the scene I just mentioned? Her hair is even the same! I know MC said they were shooting episodes concurently but really, change the hair or something!
I for one am appalled at how Brennan was portrayed in this episode. She is a scientist. I am a scientist too. Scientists are very hard on each other, that’s how scientific progress occurs. I have seen people *ripped apart* by the academic community at conferences and *no one* said ‘ooh, you’re not being nice!’. It’s NOT about being ‘nice’. That’s not the way science works. She was absolutely correct in saying that what Filmore did was *not* science. She was also absolutely correct in being hard on him because that’s what pseudo-scientific crap deserves. It’s NOT personal, it’s a scientific matter. No one should get away with spouting nonsense and pretending it’s science.
And making Brennan feel bad for having the scientific integrity to tear apart his claims for scientific validity is not only outrageous, it means that everyone who does that is abysmally stupid. If Booth doesn’t get it that science is science and that being nice doesn’t play into it AT ALL, if he doesn’t get it after working with her for so many years, than he’s an idiot (which is why I lost respect for him in this episode). As for Sweets – where do I start? I am now convinced that if he, with his PhD and whatever, doesn’t understand the role of scientific criticism, that his research is precisely the pile of crap that I thought it was. I knew that he lacked integrity. Apparently he lacks brains too.
To quote Brennan from season 1: “we tell the truth and we don’t flinch”. Her OWN team – Sweets and Booth in particular – MADE her flinch in this episode. How in the world can this be in any way shape or form acceptable?
This is a show about a genius and her team – but it’s written by people whose intelligence I have come to have serious doubts about. Someone should write to Kathy Reichs to ask her to take a stand on this. She’s an academic, she should know.
The scene in the car with Booth telling her he knows her real self was an extension from the last episode when Bones talked about her “impervious shell.” It’s a sad, sad change from the “Brain and Heart” dynamic to the “Brain=immature outer layer,” “Heart=true humanity.” As many of you have noted, intellectual integrity is a huge part of humanity, and I am tired of Booth teaching Bones how to be human. To quote @Katie: get your own life in order first!
Also, the whole idea that Booth alone knows Brennan’s true self and his love will awaken her true self is such Sleeping Beauty BS. Hey, the prince is welcome to help, but this princess was alive and kicking before, thank you. And what about Max, Angela, and the Lab? Chopped liver? I think Hodgins has more scenes of true appreciate for Bones to the fullest.
I’m ultimately in favor of BB, but I really, really hope they don’t “go there” this season. I could never support them, based on the one-sided partnership. And true to my name, I lurked through the end of last episodes comments, and it’s clear that the Hannah arc leaves a lot of questions unanswered from the romantic perspective as well.
Is it too rude to say the following? I wonder about why the writers seem to use every crappy clichee psychological myth (not real psychology, but tv prychology), and if the writers feel insecure about…certain issues. What’s that all about? The way they’ve been writing the show for a while now does make you wonder. I feel kind of sorry for their insecurity, and the need to “praise the heart” and how Booth’s character is all about humanity, and being human, and “punish the brain” that Bones’ characters (used to) rerpesents, because it is no good. Used the heart and brain methaphors from the article. 😉 Wasn’t talking so much about this episode, as about the whole series.
Since when is flesh Bones’ speciality, I though she was all about the bones, and Cam was about the flesh? I didn’t really understand her excitement about the decomposing bodies. I’d think she’s still more interested in what’s underneath the flesh. But what do I know?
to the author of the article: I’m sorry you did not like what you saw.
@Lurker What a great idea! They should totally do a Lab spinoff, without any police/fbi inviolvment. I’m not sure there is a tv show (except realitytv) about just the lab/scientific part of investigations.
I haven’t read all the comments, but from what i did read I couldn’t agree more.
I have a bone to pick with this whole Booth-as-Brenna’s-moral-compass thing. It’s been going on for a *long* time. It’s always been one of the only things the really pisses me off about the show.
If we go back to previous seasons, every single time Brennan was blunt and painfully honest with Booth, he got “mad” at her for hurting his feelings (his ego, actually, in most occasions). And she always went back and apologized even if she couldn’t see why. But in all the situations where Booth was hurtful towards her -sometimes even on purpose, getting caught up in his temper- not once did he try to make things right after it.
The only difference is that in other seasons it only happened every once in a while making it not stick out whereas now it’s been written in in more than half of this season’s episodes. They’re really try to sell this idea, but the thing is, I don’t buy it….
anyway, I didn’t really get this episode…. I hope next week’s is better.
Ok so not the best episode. This one felt as if it was sort of a filler episode to me. Best part of the episode was when Sweets hit Dr. Filmore in the head. I do love seeing Brennan get excited about something (like she did in the episode with the Mummy discovery).
Things felt off in this episode, as someone else stated, this might have been better at the beginning of the season.
The whole Cam & Michelle thing was just off. I think that Michelle let Cam off the hook way too easily and I think it was because she had been dumped by her boyfriend. I’m a mother, I understand that you would do anything for your child. But as my parents have shown me, sometimes they have to make mistakes to realize that maybe you should have listened to them in the first place. (Of course I learned that the hard way).
Sweets, I like him, but he didn’t really do too much in this episode.
Like I said, not the greatest, I am glad Bones is back from hiatus.
Bad thing for me, I’m on baby bump watch. I should know better. There is no where to go but up from here. It will get better, I hope.
fox,the next episodes is worse then the one last night,saw ratings was good but that dont mean the show was good,booth in that car ride are you a husband that abused his wife?
I think the episode may have been an indication bones is trying to be more like booth was in earlier (season 1) episodes. When we first met booth is was kinda uncaring and loose and through his working with bones he has developed morals and a caring side (as we all know he loves bones), So thus his suv lecture. Bones on the other hand has had to live through Booth and Hannah having a relationship which has made her stronger in ways and one of them is speaking her mind regardless of feelings (as she did OFTEN in earlier episodes) especially if she feels right. Just her way of trying to harden her heart maybe?
Honestly, I’m a little upset. But not with the writers, with the fans. I think I’m going to stop reading comments on reviews, because reading about how people are going to ‘give up’ on Bones just frustrates me too much. But before I do so, I’d just like to point out a few things that I think a lot of other posters have overlooked. And I guess that won’t be received very well, but I feel like someone should try to justify what HH and SN are trying to do here (and not doing too well of a job making clear, but I give them credit for the effort)
Complaint #1: Booth is portrayed as Bones’ ‘moral compass,’ which isn’t true, and implies that Brennan is unable of being morally right on her own.
Ok, obviously we know that Brennan isn’t as emotionally stunted anymore, and recently she has been able to sense the feelings of some people. But all those people have been part of the team – Booth, Angela, so on. With people outside, she isn’t as understanding or nice. I think she’s still at the stage when she can sense when something upsets her close friends, whom she sees everyday, and whom don’t hesitate to tell her plainly when something is wrong, but she still isn’t good at understanding emotions from other people, who aren’t comfortable expressing their dissatisfaction to her clearly. And Booth here – I don’t think he was trying to ‘preach’ to Bones – I think he was just making the point that Bones was being a little too harsh and hasty. (Which I agree with – I understand that Bones feels like allowing Dr. Fillmore forensic status would lead to a ‘slippery slope’ thing, but I always felt like, even for the scientific community, she underestimated the importance of his skill.) And I don’t think Booth was telling Bones to overlook the science of the matter – I think what Booth was implying was that Bones go to Dr. Fillmore, and say something like, “Look, I’m sorry you didn’t get the title of forensic podiatrist, but I just didn’t believe it qualified as an actual science. It was a completely academic decision, sorry if I upset you, no hard feelings.” I don’t think he meant for Bones to retract her opinion on the science in any way – Booth knows that Bones is the scientist here. And yes, Booth did point out to Bones ‘what makes us human,’ but I don’t think he was trying to imply that she wasn’t human – I think he included her in that us, and that he was saying she should show her compassion a little more obviously. I don’t think Booth was consciously trying to be her moral compass at all – he isn’t egotistical enough to think that highly of himself. Booth has always cared a lot for Brennan, and he understandably hates it when somebody thinks of her as callous and cold-hearted, so he wants her to show a little more of what he knows is already there (that’s basically what he says in the car.) There’s nothing wrong in that for either of the characters. And I don’t think that implies that Bones is unable to ‘be good’ without Booth’s guidance – Booth’s also been wrong and judgmental before (e.g. Jared and Padme – wasn’t Brennan sort of Booth’s ‘moral compass’ there? Prime example of how Booth’s not always perfect, and Brennan’s not just there to point out how awesome he is), and each time, Bones tried to fix up the balance, because logic told her Booth was being unreasonable. It’s what they do together. Booth judges his own actions by his morality, and Bones by logic – it’s like one uses inches where the other uses centimeters, but the end result is the same. As in, what happened in this episode – when Bones finally did ‘apologize’ to Dr. Fillmore, she quotes reasons like expertise, and how they wouldn’t have solved the case without him – which is what convinces her to be contrite, added on to Booth’s discomfort about the situation. It’s not Booth being superior to Bones – it’s Booth expressing his opinion and Brennan listening, and then forming her own opinion (that is also based on facts). I don’t think they’re praising the heart over the brain – it just seems like that in the aftermath of DitP. But what about Season 5’s Tough Man in the Tender Chicken? That was definitely a win for the brain. They’re equal, heart and brain, and I think this episode showed how receptive Bones has become to Booth’s opinion, and how she takes it into account in her decisions.
Complaint #2: We’ve seen this before.
This one’s true. I agree we’ve seen how important Booth’s opinions are to Bones before, but I think it was a good idea to remind us of the fact, especially post-Hannah. I don’t think there was any real awkwardness between the characters – Booth was just grossed out by the bodies, and trying to convince Bones to go easy on the podiatrist. Plus, I really liked the conversation at the bar at the end, when Booth told Bones to find a word that would express what he meant, and then he explained that she didn’t have to feel sorry for what she thought, just how she made others feel. (And, yes, she did say foolhardy and stupid, but I don’t think she meant Booth was foolhardy or stupid, just the things he sometimes did. Which made sense to me – Bones would consider not checking the temperature of the coffee to be foolhardy. But at the same time, she’s shown before that her opinion of Booth is in fact quite high) And I like that he knows her well enough not to care about her comment on his socks and his coffee-drinking.
Complaint #3: Booth’s a douche who never apologizes to Brennan.
I can understand why people get this feeling after Daredevil in the Mold, but ok – he was drunk, he had just been rejected for the third time in a row, and Brennan had been one of the dumpers who had then broken up their partnership for seven months. I don’t think he’d be human if he wasn’t a little mean in that context. And I’ll admit, something in me died after watching Bones cry in DitP, and Booth didn’t even try to stop her tears. But he was ‘taken’ and Seeley Booth isn’t a cheater. I don’t have any proof of this, but I feel like he’d feel horrible about that night – I think he still feels horrible about that night. But it was a tough situation and kind of awkward to bring up and apologize about. Also, Booth’s apologized to Brennan before – in Science in the Physicist, when he called her creepy. And honestly, I didn’t think he did anything apology-worthy in this episode. Sure, he thinks Brennan hurt Dr. Fillmore’s feelings – doesn’t mean he has to apologize. As he himself told Bones at the end of the episode, we don’t have to feel contrite for our opinions or our thoughts, just for our actions sometimes. And in my opinion, Booth’s actions, in this episode at least, have been completely justified.
Complaint #4: Cam and Michelle?
Yes. I think Cam got off lightly. And I also think she was, in a sense, justified. I’m not a parent, but if I were stupid enough to only apply to some random college in Maine only because I was ‘in love,’ I’d want my parents looking out for me. I think Cam’s justification of herself to Sweets was spot-on, but I also think he was right with the morality thing. But I understand that, to Cam, her own morality isn’t as important as Michelle’s success. If I were Michelle, I would have been annoyed with Cam’s actions, yes, but I would have been grateful at the same time. That being said, I think the course of action that Michelle took at the end was very wise, and a good thing to do, and I think her words to Cam were enough to make Cam see that her actions were immoral, and I think Cam’s ultimately grateful that Michelle learned true morality, not the easy way, and I don’t think she’d pull the same stunt ever again.
Complaint #5: Sweets
Yeah…poor Sweets. He isn’t too popular these days. But I think he just got carried away commiserating with Dr. Fillmore – I don’t think he intentionally meant to call Bones cruel. In fact, his exact words are ‘seeming insensibility and emotional cruelty.’ Seeming. As if he knows that it isn’t true. But it did come across as really mean towards Brennan, but she’s been denouncing the validity of his science for about three years, and only recently began giving it some credence. All those digs Brennan has made at his profession – it’s gotta hurt, and Sweets is just a kid. I think in light of that, it’s understandable that he sort of ‘vented’ a bit to Dr. Fillmore. Add that to the fact that he really really wants to see her and Booth together, but they keep rebuffing his efforts to do that, and he must feel pretty sore about Brennan. In walks a fellow ‘Dr.’ whom Brennan’s also hurt, and Sweets obviously feels a link here. I think he had noble intentions – I think he was originally trying to explain Dr. Brennan to Dr. Fillmore, but got caught up in his own emotions, and sort of augmented the problem a bit.
Also, his talk with Cam – I don’t know if applying to Columbia for your daughter is the same as helping your girlfriend pass a psych evaluation – somehow, what Cam did seems a little bigger. Because ultimately, it was Daisy that took the evaluation, whereas Cam basically masqueraded as Michelle to send Columbia an application. And if I feel like there’s a difference there, I guess to Sweets, the two would feel even more different, especially since he has a pretty high moral idea. After all, he originally had qualms about helping Daisy, and he’s consistently shown to be pretty moral (remember, in Hero in the Hold, when he was the only one really objecting to torturing the Gravedigger) so I can understand why he’d think Cam is wrong. Add that to the fact that he’s basically still a kid, and has a very vague idea of what a mother thinks like, and I don’t think it’s out of character for him to chastise Cam. I still think Cam was right, though.
Complaint #6: Not funny.
Ok, so this episode wasn’t as full of chuckles as I expected, and yeah, it felt like a filler episode. But it wasn’t completely horrible. There were some funny moments, like Sweets throwing the bowl at Dr. Fillmore’s head. And Bones’ excitement at the bodies was strangely cute. And Dr. Fillmore was a very interesting character. Props for that.
And thus ends my justification of this episode. I’ll admit there were moments when I wasn’t too impressed, but I didn’t have the glaring issues everyone else appears to be having with this episode. I really disagree with the moral compass thing, for instance. But I did like your review, Sarah, and I like that you always end on a good note, and touch upon the good things as well as the bad (which a lot of commenters completely neglect.) I think that yes, maybe this episode may have fit a little better earlier in the season, and seems a little out-of-place after Blackout in the Blizzard. But still, I love Bones. No matter what, and I’m very excited for this string of seven episodes in a row. And I’m actually really sad and disheartened by so many people saying they don’t care for the show anymore, just because BnB aren’t together yet. But I guess that’s your opinion, which each person is entitled to have. My personal opinion: Bones is HH and SN’s baby – they’re not going to do something that’s bad for it, and I think they’re being good screenwriters here. Have a little faith in them, and they’ll reward you for it. Sorry for the extremely long comment, but I just needed to vent my thoughts and justify Bones to everyone and to myself for a moment there. Thanks for reading.
lilmsnomer,
OMG finally someone who understands! I agree with your comments-I think you are spot on and many of your rebuttals to complaints are just what I’ve been thinking and feeling. Thank you for your thoughts.
Festina Lente, in regard to your comment about scientific criticism, I suppose as a scientist you are well aware that one should never make personal attacks in scientific writings. In light of this, Brennan went too far in her rebuttal by including phrases such as “ordinary,garden variety podiatrist” or “Fillmore is only 1/4 of an expert”,in other words by making direct personal attacks against Fillmore. She went to far in her writings and I think those are the bits that Sweets and Booth were concerned about. It’s not the fact that she demonstrated that it was absurd to establish a new sub-field of Forensic Podiatry, but it’s the fact that Brennan made personal attacks in her article. I think that’s pretty obvious; any scientist would have caught that as erroneous.
I disagree, zsf. Scientists often describe each other’s work in very harsh terms. ‘Ordinary, garden variety podiatrist’ doesn’t even come close in terms of harshness to what I have heard in terms of comments to scientific papers. As for ‘only one quarter of an expert’ – it is also a justified comment in that it clearly implies that forensic anthropology should deal with the entirety of the human body, not just the feet. As I said, I’ve heard a lot worse.
The other thing is that in the scientific world NOBODY whines and feels personally slighted, like Filmore did. It just does not happen if you have the integrity to admit that the other person is correct about your research being rubbish. You take the criticism of your peers and you bear the responsibility. Otherwise you’re a wimp on top of being intellectually sub-par. It’s as simple as that.
Also, even assuming that Brennan was rude to Filmore (which I don’t agree with), how does this entitle Sweets to imply to her that she is cruel and to tell her her that she has no empathy?
Well, then let’s agree on disagreeing here. I am well acquainted with the scientific world, and while I totally side with Brennan on slamming Fillmore’s attempt to establish such an unnecessary new field, I still found it unnecessary to descend into such lowly personal attacks. I don’t think that helps make anyone’s scientific case at all. I’d personally stick to the science. Had she simply stuck science in her article, I would have been totally okay with it, no matter how harsh her rebuttal was.
Regarding Sweets’ conversation with Filmore, IIRC his exact words were “Doctor Brennan’s seeming insensitivity and emotional cruelty blah blah.” And I think you and I would agree that those who don’t know Brennan well will see her as exactly that, a cold and emotionally distant person.
In regard to Jared and Padme, Brennan was just teaching Booth back one of his own lessons, she was not teaching him one of her own moral lesson, because they make her not having any heart-based lessons but only brain-based lessons that are not worth it cause always wrong in the end.
Brennan is the brain person but she still has a heart that we used to see in S1, she was able to surprise us with some of her moral values on her own without Booth’s or anyone else’s influence back then, now they are showing a Brennan that is all about the brain and nothing else, she was better balanced before, again on her own, and of course being all brain she is always wrong because in the end it always about you feel that counts on this show (Booth in the 100th). And Booth using tree times his brain over his gut, two times in regard to Jared and once in pudding is anecdotal. Especially because in the next episode Brennan freaks out that she may have had a bad influence on Booth when he tells that he does learn from her as an example that the heart is just a muscle……. She freaks out as Booth becoming more brainy, but Brennan becoming more emotional and willingness to call evidence crap is welcomed…
Also, it’s like they are only praising Brennan when she finally uses her heart over brain, it seems to me that at the beginning of the show they were praising the brain too, her objectivity, her motto “not to jump to conclusion” but now they are mocking that by having her being blindsided, even by her interns when they condescendingly state what Brennan would say, mocking her objectivity and her value of not assuming stuff. Like others have said, they want her to give up on her integrity as a scientist to go with social norms.
What Barbara said about Booth not apologizing to Brennan when he hurts her has nothing to do with daredevil, it has always been like that, and it’s not Booth apologizing one or two times in the whole show that will even the balance between them. In the end Booth and Brennan are a lot alike, yet mostly Brennan’s imperfections (that Booth shares) is only acknowledged on the show.
Plus, it’s not that Brennan is not as stunted emotionally anymore, it’s that she has never been that stunted before even in S1, they regressed her. Brennan has always been able to sense her team’s mood. She immediately saw that Angela wasn’t feeling right in boy in the bush, or skull in the desert, she even was able to comfort her with her brain (nothing happens just once in the universe), she also felt empathetic toward Booth in woman in the car when he was upset about the boy’s finger and in solider on the grave. Brennan has always been honest and her honesty was mostly welcomed before, and when she noticed that she hurt someone she was feeling uncomfortable and was trying to make up for it. The problem is that they apparently forgot that and are portraying her as if she has always been as bad as she has been since S4. Now they portray her as being mean and aware of it, like Dr House. In S1 there was a balance between brain and heart, Brennan and Booth, both were learning from one another.
Not only Booth used to tell her how to act in his field, her personal/sexual life, but now he also tells her how to act in her professional life…
The problem is that everybody is calling Brennan out on her attitude telling her what to think/say/do, they all want her to be an hypocrite like average people, jump to conclusion and go with her intuition etc.
Now, I want Booth to overcome his white knight syndrome but then I get yell at because that is who he is and he should not change who he is. Well, Brennan is who she is, mostly impervious, reserved, not showing her caring nature to most, rational etc, let her be who she is too! Which is I think S1 Brennan, who was just fine, flawed of course but who isn’t?
Instead of agreeing with Brennan sometimes that people should be a little more rational and get over their feelings, they all want her to give up and accept social norms and be condescending/belittling by assuming people can’t handle the truth, that they are not strong enough, that they can’t learn a lesson from her honesty, whether it is right or wrong and most of the time they think the social norm is right. *sigh*
Brennas was interesting because she was different and had a refreshing POV that most don’t share.
they have to decide if Brennan is progressing or not. They just have her go back and forth all the time and the all knowing Booth corrects her. So tiring and so boring. They continue to use her as the “joke” of the episode.
I also agree that the chemistry is mostly gone before them. Every now and then there is a scene with a bit of chemistry but it is more forced. Last nights episode had Booth being more “associate” with her. There is just no continuity from week to week. I don’t care if they get together, but quit making Brennan so clueless. The joke has gone on for too long.
Time for the writers to point out some faults in the all mighty and knowing Booth character. Everything he does is right and he is “angry.” Wow, is this how they are going to address his character. Brennan should just sit back and wait and he will continue to preach to her so that she will be acceptable for him when He is ready.
Now, if Brennan was really mean on purpose in her article because she felt so concerned over her career, shouldn’t the people who always wanted Brennan to be more normal and emotional, and less rational, be glad about it instead? I mean, doesn’t that mean that Brennan was being normal by just lashing out and making personal attacks which is irrational? Isn’t that exactly what some people want? Brennan to be like average people? Well average people are not that good people…
Can’t believe nobody’s mentioned the obvious superficial. The characters looked old and rough. Especially DB. I prefer older, in men and women, but it does accentuate what I’ve seen come up before in the comments- that this character growth BS, anger, confusion, lack of self awareness in the characters are more appropriate for younger people, not characters who are well into middle age. And we’re not talking soap opera mentality here, these are supposed to be believable heroes.
I don’t see any of the criticism as being a bad fan. In fact, from a critical fan’s perspective, the fan who’s loving this season is either really blind to how good the show used to be, or spoiling the problem child by denying all problems. I agree that Booth’s side of the problem was a *long* time coming but Booth fans wouldn’t hear of it, thus spoiling the writers into the caricatures we see today. I’ve seen these criticisms since beginning of season 4, and I think the level of Brennan’s pathetic downfall this season, especially after Doctor in the Photo, just has more people incensed now.
I’m stuffed in academia too, and in addition to what Delph has been saying, IF Brennan was anything but professional in her harsh criticism or if there was even the slightest bit of problem in her assessment, you can bet other academics would be all over it. I mean, Brennan hasn’t been concentrating on her work for a long time, so believing that she’s still the top of her field itself takes a LARGE dollop of suspension of disbelief. But even if we accept that in Bones world, other academics are just waiting in the wings to stab her credibility and take over the top dog spot. So I don’t buy that there was anything inherently wrong in her academic conduct.
Oddly, I agree with both Lurker and littlem. Yes, I think Bones writers know exactly what they’re doing in terms of making the show compatible for AI and at the same time, I do get a strong sense of insecurity/defensiveness from HH and SN about how uncool the show is. Bones is not critically acclaimed, and it has no street cred either. But instead of embracing the NCIS style of middle brow, big ratings, HH especially comes across as really insecure about the show’s mainstream leanings (which is basically what the heart over brain imbalance is). If he wanted to keep the comparisons to X-Files and gain more fan and critical cult status, he shouldn’t have watered down the original BB dynamic. Or, just own the middle brow status. Either way, I see insecurity too.
@Kai, yeah, they still look beau-ti-ful. But Emily’s bangs and DB especially looked haggard and it’s hard to reconcile that middle aged look to this season’s angsty woobie.
Re:Cam- I know it happens in real life with helicopter parents, but Cam took it further than the ambiguous “helping” of most parents, and 1) it’s still cheating and 2) the head of the Jeffersonian, the citadel of reason, should be held to a higher standard in academic integrity. The personal trust issue can be resolved with Michelle, but what about the academic fraud?
That said, Sweets doesn’t have the moral high ground since he cheated for Daisy.
I do think it’s funny/sad that Sweets is the scapegoat for all the inconsistencies the writers shoves down out throats. (Don’t tell Bones you love her! Tell Bones you love her! Face your feelings Booth! Propose to Hannah! Bones lacks empathy!) For better or worse, Sweets’ amateur hour pop psychology is the show’s Greek Chorus and the writers choose it that way.
“For better or worse, Sweets’ amateur hour pop psychology is the show’s Greek Chorus and the writers choose it that way.”
Nicely put, Donuts. But it’s not the Greek chorus, because they at least provided some genuine insight and, you know, kept the characters true to themselves. Sweets is the villain of the play. He’s basically a malefic influence – in other words, he’s Iago.
NEWS FLASH,Its just a TV show,you know the ones,it not real life here.Why over analise it!!!!!
Coming from a university with an actual “body farm” which I had the opportunity to work at, once the grad student and the groundskeeper had their little argument, I was totally distracted for the rest of the episode. “Dispose of your own bodies!” he said. Wait…you don’t keep them?! We would spend hours trying to recover every bone from a decomp experiment so that they could be cleaned and added to the research collection. Plus, it just seemed so disrespectful to the fictional people who donated their bodies for science in this episode to think that at this university they were all “disposed of”.
I’m not going to comment on the train wreck that is now Booth and Brennan’s relationship, or even Cam.
I was turned off when in one of the first interactions with people at the body farm, the killer gave himself away. Go back and watch that scene- when Booth says that someone’s been murdered there, the grad student makes a face that gives himself away. I don’t remember Bones shows doing that before.
I think I’m going to switch back to the other train wreck of grey’s anatomy instead of bones to watch during the original airing.
they should had a better script/instead of spending all that timed on the bodies/on there blog they said fans would watch anything as long booth and bones was in it,this was an exampled of that,IN the end scene why was booth not standing closer to her?
Jesus, people, GET a life. Or watch something else. It is just a show, you are clearly mirroring your own personal issues with these comments (Bones and Booth relationship is one pure example), and it is not helping. Get a therapy or group session, whatever.
No, Booth is no moral compass in this episode, he just points out that he *knows* how emotionally warm Bones can be and he wants to show it to others.
No, Sweets *is* actually funny and consistent.
All Jack, Angela and Cam scenes today were very funny.
And no, I don’t think you have to ruin expierence of reading reviews with complaining ALL the time. You don’t even care about episode, you just looking for excuse.
Go, enjoy life in some other way.
p.s. biggest problem with scientists is that frequently they *are* very personal in attacks. And huge problem is that most of them don’t recognize it as a problem.
I agree with the above poster….. It is just a show…..make believe.
I enjoyed Bones until it became a Soap Opera with all the love affairs going on
with the stars. Plus the will they or won’t they with Brennan/Booth.
This has become old and boring. Now I read that in a upcoming spin off
episode Brennan may or may not have a one night stand with the lead
of the new show (The Locator). This is a true Soap Opera script….
I say put Bones on in the afternoon with One Life to Live and the other high
drama soaps.
Check out Body of Proof on ABC…. it reminds me of the old Bones.
P.S. The last Bones episode I enjoyed was The Doctor in the Photo….
back in December.
after rethinking I THINK fans was supposed to of laugh at the body farm scene/and question what does contrite have to do with the bar scene,its means you feel the need to go to altar in a church.bones must have a body odor they had to stand so far apart.
I think the show’s forgiving attitude toward Cam is similar to their attitude toward Booth. As a parent, it’s understandable what Cam did, but that understandable doesn’t make the behavior ok. It seems like strong emotions (as a fearful mother, hurt would be lover) make the characters not act in the best way. But understandable and acceptable are not the same thing and it’s the mark of maturity to reflect on your own emotions and act in the best way. Controlling your emotions doesn’t mean suppressing them, it means you’re an adult. When they slip up, I expect the character to face repercussions even if I understand why they acted that way.
I think Cam’s resolution with Michelle was unsatisfying because what she did goes beyond doing something to her daughter. And similarly, I don’t think Booth has faced up to his actions or behavior yet. And yes, the actor looks really old now and it would be a good idea to get past the “I’m angry” “Now I’m less angry” pretty soon. Forget analysis, it’s starting to look ridiculous.
Booth has been the moral compass of the show forever now. Once Sweets took over the “insight into human heart” role sometime in season 4. Like someone said, Booth never really learns from Bones’ perspective- it’s not the show’s interest. Sometimes, she internalizes his lessons about family and reminds him like the faithful disciple. It’s been a source of great annoyance to viewers who don’t agree with his conservative ideas on family, sex, nationalism, etc. I think Booth would make a better politician- good looking, army record, likes being the moral compass of society.
I think Booth would make a better politician- good looking, army record, likes being the moral compass of society.
**** Exactly, and Booth lacks substance, so he’d be a good politician. Booth doesn’t follow his own advice.
Sorry, I’m lost when trying to figure out S. Booth anymore. Because of that, the show has lost a lot of credibility for me.
Booth needs to act like a grown up. He messes up every female relationship he gets in…..yet he espouses to Brennan all this stuff about love. Booth is full of it , I don’t believe a word he says anymore.
Booth can fall in love at the drop of a hat. I find that disingenuous.
TPTB, really need to redeem Booth or I’m just not ‘feeling’ B&B anymore.
Brennan deserves someone who truly loves her and doesn’t have all the baggage he’s toting around.
I don’t have a problem with a loved one serving as the moral compass. In fact, I hope two friends or lovers can serve as each other’s guide. The problem with BB is that it’s always one way. Booth never learns from Bones’ perspective (except that one time she repeated his lesson about family values) and Bones always does the work of interpreting Booth’s rather cliched moral lessons into anthropological terms. But she’s been converted by Booth every time, never the other way around.
It’s a tv show, and when I say I’m tired of the characters, I mean I’m tired of the way they’re written. (Talk about being over-sensitive and taking things personally….)
I think the bridge metaphor works better if their *relationship* is the bridge, but it’s totally a one way street because the writers have this double standard where Bones’ problems are fatal flaws that they need to rework every season while Booth’s problems are only used to make viewers feel sorry for him. I truly hope the last sniper episodes do more than the “Booth, you are good” stroking.
@Donuts “For better or worse, Sweets’ amateur hour pop psychology is the show’s Greek Chorus and the writers choose it that way.”
So true. I think the show’s nuance went out the door with Sweets becoming the representative voice, and I agree with @Ronnie too about how Booth became more morally rigid once he lost the role of psychological insight.
The only nice thing I can say about this episode (apart from the usual of excellent gore!) is that at least Booth and Brennan looked interested and serious when the murderer was confessing. They’ve been so self-involved this season, the only times they cared were when they over-identified with the doctor or the sniper.
Oh, and some fun ideas this week.
@Lurker, I would totally watch that spin off! I was lured by the Jeffersonian hook in the first place, and I think the combination of academics, practical application of lab work, the large scale poltics, and the museum side of things is underused. And I’ve enjoyed all the episodes where we see more of the Jeffersonian. Based on the sniper arc, or Booth’s mysterious military status, I wouldn’t say the same about the FBI or military side.
@Ronnie, I also see Booth as a politician, a non-extremist crowd pleasing conservative congressman who can take away votes from the middle. I don’t think he’ll ever put up with enough gray area or corruption to make it to the Senate, but congressman I can see. Also, he likes telling people how to live. Brennan can go back to being the super anthropologist and international human rights activist, which is where I’d like to see her empathy manifest again like in seasons 1 and 2. They can hook up whenever she’s in town. That’s my dream scenario.
Okay, let’s be serious, this episode sucked. I’m so disappointed in bones lately. It used to be this incredible, complex, heart-breaking/warming show where we would watch Brennan sit there figuring out the bones, mentoring zack, and the message of the show would be subtle, not shoved in our faces. Now brennan is just ridiculous, a complete moron who never ends up solving the cases, cam is just annoying, booth is annoyed, booth and brennan have no chemistry (I can’t even imagine them together anymore)… what happened? After episode 100 it all went downhill.
I feel like they’re trying to make it all about booth and brennan, but completely failing. In the past, the plot-lines were great, and there were always sweet B&B moments in there; even if you watched for those, it wasn’t being shoved down your throat. Now it’s like they’re trying to hard, but too much has happened; they missed their moment, and they can’t get it back. The writers are out of things to write about, so they just add in stupid things like that ridiculous foot anthropologist. It’s so inconsistent these days. And the extra people are always made out to be so dumb; either stereotypical pot-smoking hippies, or nice canadians… come on.
I still look forward to Bones each week hoping for a rare good episode, or that the show might get back on its feet again, but it’s just gotten painful to watch when I think about how amazing it used to be. I honestly think it’s mainly brennan. Stop being so awkward and bring back the quirky, sexy, ignorant, genius scientist that booth and the fans fell in love with!
@Charizzle, absolutely. I think the show took the easy way out relying on BB shippiness to carry the show and now that chemistry’s gone, there’ nothing to fall back on.
Agree Brennan is the main problem, because she’s still the center of the show. I’m actually amazed that people defend it as character growth. I really hope that’s just fanwanking to help the show along, not a genuine belief for anyone who compares seasons 1~3 to 5~6. A large part of my problems with Booth too is that the kickass anthropologist is no longer challenging him so he ends up preachy.
I keep hoping each week too, but I’m also not rushing to see it either. I only posted here because I followed Marissa’s coverage and she’s always been a clear-eyed fan. And I’m really encouraged to find people who aren’t just swooning over every look Booth gives Bones. I can’t bother to rant, but some of the comments have been really therapeutic!
I also felt that this episode would have been more appropriate before the elevator episode. I found it odd and embarassing the way they had Brennan get all overreactive at the Body Farm – when she has pointed out more than once she didnt like soft tissue. Subtlety lost. And Booth did look old and as if he was recovering from a hangover. It really seem “off” in many respects and I was sorely disappointed. I would very much like for them to get together (B&B) but I can’t see how that could happen with so few episodes left. I am fearful of them using Emily’s real pregnancy in an awful way, instead of what could be a very fun twist in the show, having it be Booth’s child. Not one of the better epis. Most times I can see the connection of the interactions between characters, but this seemed disjointed.
Here’s the thing- I too noticed the drastic/ridiculous shift with Brennan’s character in season 4 and the whole preachy Booth trend in season 5. The criticism hasn’t been as loud as the shipper love, but it’s been consistent.
But, I’m here for the ride, and I kept going along because even if Booth didn’t learn any lessons, the cases proved how important rational thinking was. And love isn’t about keeping score, right? And I kept thinking if we’re patient, we’d get an arc where Booth grows to appreciate the rational way of guiding the heart. I really thought that’s where they were going with last season finale- Brennan would learn to regret with her heart and Booth would learn to rationally address her fears from the 100th. Only one of those things happened.
Then I thought the Hannah arc would force him to reflect on his own problems. But now I’m really fed up. I had a WTF?! reaction from the elevator scene and in this episode, once again, Bones is some inhuman Vulcan. I wouldn’t even call it a regression because she’s never been this bad!
People here should check out these reviews:
http://fourth-rose.livejournal.com/
The reviews are not as helpful as Sarah’s if you want to follow up on the plot, but the reviewer, who was pretty patient through the Hannah arc, is pointing out a lot of the same issues as people here. Check out the comments too. I had almost given up hope on ever getting the old dynamic back, but that people are so impassioned about the BB balance has given me back a little bit of hope.
Tossing in a vote for “Please, do NOT put them together in the season finale!!!”
Things I did like- Hodgins’ Disapproving Face, the fact that Hodgins and Angela have better scenes as a couple than before, that we finally got a resolution to Cam’s ACADEMIC FRAUD! (Though I have to agree that this goes beyond personal conflict with her daughter, especially because Cam is the head of an academic institution and this is a tv show so I apply higher standards of the Jeffesonian idealism.)
Bones getting excited over the Body Farm was welcome, if only because it was a nice indication she has a life outside of Booth. But it had me scratching my head because they’ve hammered in her distaste for flesh more than once.
I’ve been rewatching all of the earlier episodes and S6 is just completely wrong and off. Did they fire the writers and hire new ones that have never watched the show? The only episode this season that has been worth watching and rewatching was The Shallow in the Deep.
TPTB are so worried about the Moonlighting Curse that they’ve failed to see that their beloved (?) show has jumped the shark.
I tried coming back to the show after the holidays but it has been difficult. The first sniper episode was great, and the 2nd sniper ep and the elevator episode were OK for me. This episode could not even hold my attention.
Everything was off to me.
For me the relationship of B & B has been tainted and I am not sure they can get it back. Honestly, I would rather they just be partners and both be in other relationships. As a Brennan fan, I would prefer that Brennan be with someone who appreciates her and loves her as she is. From this episode, I don’t think that could ever be Booth. The writers just seem to view Booth as perfect and that all the changes have to be made by Brennan.
I also think these writers this year don’t have an understanding of the characters. Brennan has regressed so much. I know that many people think the scenes between her and Booth were so wonderful, but I did not think anything of them. In the car scene when he talks about the hurt of a grown man, there is no way to compare a “professional” review to her rejecting him.
Also, her “rejection” of him showed much more care and emotion than his rejection of her. Once again, Booth was “right” in this episode and that is what turned me off. He is always right with these writers. Let’s face it, no one is perfect, except for Booth and Hannah apparently. Hannah’s only wrong was rejecting Booth.
I long for the old Bones. I am hoping it comes back with the sniper arc and maybe the episode about the deaf girl. I just can’t get excited about any other episode, including the finale.
“I would prefer that Brennan be with someone who appreciates her and loves her as she is.”
Yeah at this point, I don’t know what Booth sees in this version of Bones, and I don’t know why Bones pines after this version of Booth.
But more importantly, it’s either “love means loving the person for who they are” OR “love makes you want to be better.” Either cliche works for me, bc even as a shipper, I gave up hope for BB being anything but a lame cliche now, but DON’T APPLY A DOUBLE STANDARD. Does this mean all of next season is going to be about everyone telling Booth how wrong he was?! Doesn’t look like it.
I also vote “no” on getting them together. I’d rather see them solving crimes together with the rest of the Squint Squad.
What is disappointing is the black & white POV they have about Brennan’s “issues” i.e imperviousness/rationalization/compartmentalization. No they are not always bad, it’s a matter of balance. Being previous to everything is just as bad as being impervious to everything. Being impervious/rational may not be being strong per se, but it is still a strength because nobody can be that strong and let everything get to them and still do what has to be done, and it does require some strength to dare becoming impervious/rational and get over your feelings.
To sum up, balance people, balance is the key…
It goes along with the idea of having the wisdom/force to change what we can change and accept what we can’t change. Why react/hurt about a fact, something you can’t change? Why not being impervious to something like that instead of enduring unnecessary pain especially if you are confronted with it on a daily basis?
Brennan’s issue is that she pushed it a little bit too far in her “personal” life, but not in her “professional” life where I think it is required unlike Booth who has to connect to people. And she kept pushing it during the show, she was better balanced in S1, but what is irritating is that they are acting as if she has always been that bad instead of exploring the idea of Brennan not progressing along the show but getting worse and praising balance. No they go for the easy and say that Brennan’s rational way of handling life is completely wrong and can never be useful and has no merit at all. That all her rational POVs on life, love, sex, marriage are wrong because supposedly based on fear (the true truth) and not the truth like she claims it. That she is wrong when she says that nobody can say what they will be feeling for the rest of her life, that she is wrong when she says people are being delusional etc.
Also I personally think that Booth has been pushing the heart too far too in his “personal” life. That’s why I think Booth should help Brennan with her heart in her “personal life” and Brennan should help Booth with is brain in his “personal life”.
The thing is that I think Booth and Brennan are not opposite deep inside as said by GG, but that they have 2 opposite ways of being, that was the reason I thought they were supposed to be great for each other, to complete each other, brain and heart, and not for Booth to help Brennan to be like him/everybody else, a heart person that would be the only right way to be that Brennan really is deep inside (Bones: The heart of the matter – the truth of her etc). And even on the surface they are not that different, they both were cocky/arrogant/condescending/know-it-all and are correcting each other. Booth is still more like that than Brennan.
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