BONES Recap: ‘The Don’t in the Do’

Hey, Bones fans! Well, this episode definitely had that something that has been missing in BONES eps for a long time. Of course by that I mean a Toyota advertisement. It had been awhile, you know?

Joking aside, from lingerie to luscious locks of hair, this episode was frothy on top with a dark underside of jealousy, insecurity and murder. Let’s discuss!

THE CASE:

The Scene of the Crime: The episode begins at a local landfill as two preachers declare the land as the place God has deemed ‘theirs’ for a new church. The gathered congregation agrees. As the preacher jokes that the people must open their hearts AND their wallets, birds begin falling to the ground, dead. Their beaks are bright blue, and unnaturally so. B&B, Cam and Hodgins work the scene and Brennan identifies the victim as male, 30s. What is strange about him (beyond the blue liquid substance covering his body) is that he also had no hair.

The Victim: Santiago, a highly sought after hairstylist, known for his own luxurious flowing locks. He was also known for being sexually involved with his clients. When it’s also revealed that he was in debt due to a drug addiction, the list of suspects expands. I didn’t feel much sadness for Santiago — most of the tone of this episode was skewed toward the grotesque or playfulness, and the action surrounding this case felt as superficial as the hair extensions Santiago was known for.

Potential Suspects and Motives: Booth and Sweets question three of Santiago’s regulars, and they explain that the “Saturday night 6 PM standard appointment” is who the FBI should be questioning. At the salon, Brennan and Booth meet Tabitha, the salon owner, Theo, the shampoo boy (played by Jai Rodriguez from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy), and Kevin, a salon rival of Santiago’s. Kevin breaks Santiago’s drawers and gives B&B the victim’s calendar. Inside is a hefty tip envelope with a note from Ruby, the Saturday night regular.

Booth questions her, but she insists she was trying to help Santiago get over a drug addiction problem. When the last record on Santiago’s credit card leads Booth and Sweets to Little India, they suspect a shop owner, Poorab, of being guilty and of supplying Santiago with drugs. Poorab tells them he’s clean, and while Sweets and Booth examine some blue liquid in a fountain, he sneaks out the back. Booth catches up to him, and it’s revealed he has a bag full of human hair. EW! Of all the gross things BONES has done in its cases over the years, for some reason, the human hair grossed me out big time. Am I the only one?

The Verdict: Booth questions Poorab, who insists that he stole the hair from people from his father’s mortuary (gross!). He was Santiago’s hair supplier, and also Kevin’s. When Brennan realizes Santiago was scalped and Hodgins realizes the blue liquid was antifreeze, Booth and Sweets question Kevin about the two gallons of antifreeze he had in the trunk of his car. Kevin declares his innocence, and B&B go to the salon.

Booth uses some hereditary hair knowledge (apparently) and good old fashioned people skills to inform Brennan that there is no way Santiago would allow his rival Kevin to touch his hair. There is only one person in the salon Santiago trusted — Theo. When questioned, he quickly confesses, and it’s clear he was nearly obsessed with wanting his own chair at the salon and with Santiago’s hair.

THE SQUINTS:

Arastoo Vasiri is the squintern of the week, and his overly jovial personality gives everyone in the lab some pause. Hodgins finally calls him out on it, and he reveals that he’s about to be published in a forensic magazine. Throughout the episode, Arastoo learns a valuable lesson from Brennan on fame vs. success.

I liked the Hodgins and Arastoo scenes, and I really liked the scene with Cam and Arastoo at the end of the episode, when she encouraged him.

I liked how all of the squints worked together on this case, and it made sense to me that Angela was grossed out by it. Speaking of Angela, I liked how she friendly-forced Brennan out of the lab for some spa time. In the past, there has been a lot of criticism toward the show when the characters ditch the case/victim for pleasure (“Bikini in the Soup,” anyone?), and I get that criticism. But I don’t know…this time it felt right. Thoughts on that from you?

BOOTH & BRENNAN:

Yes, B&B kissed and flirted in this episode, and that made me happy on the “intimacy between them” front, but it wasn’t just the kissing that made me smile. It was the conversations they had — sharing their feelings verbally, making good eye-contact, working the case together, all of it combined really worked. They shared a meal and a bottle of wine (compare the subtlety of it to the awkward way Cam announced champagne at the end of “Prisoner in the Pipe” as an example of how this episode just felt smoother) and personal space.

But beyond that, I also really loved how each one worked the case. Booth was confident in his interrogations, and Brennan was great in the lab. Her lecture to Arastoo about having the maturity to be published and respected vs. fame was great and her “Touch the bones; let them give you the answers. That’s why you’re here,” is one of my favorite lines of this season.

One debate that stemmed from this ep’s previews was whether or not it was realistic for Brennan to feel self-conscious about her post-baby body. Some felt it was out of character, while others said it makes sense, all things considered.  I can see both points, and I liked that the show sort of steered clear of declaring one or the other true. My favorite part of the episode was at the end, after Booth gave Brennan her gift. It made sense to me that he was slightly nervous about whether she would like it, especially after he told her why he’d bought it. I really liked that Brennan loved the gift but also declared that she wasn’t unhappy with her body, just physically uncomfortable. I thought it was in character for her to ask Booth if HE was unhappy with her body, stating the fact that the changes in a woman’s body could have an effect on how some men view it. Booth’s “Well, they don’t live with you” response was perfect. And Brennan’s response to his response was great, and so on…

Other moments I loved:

• Booth saying “DaDa. FBI.” to Christine in the kitchen. Ha!
• Brennan’s glare to Booth and Cam at the crime scene
• Hodgins telling Angela about Arastoo’s article, them both telling him that married people tell each other things, and him accepting it. Also loved how Cam told him she heard it from a guy in the parking garage!

Moments I didn’t love:

• Sweets butting in to Booth and Brennan’s personal life. Unprofessionally taunting Booth that he was feeling marginalized because Brennan cared more about Christine than him was wrong, though props to Booth for getting in his face in a “Con Man in the Meth Lab: STFU-esque threat! I also didn’t particularly him being in the lingerie shop with Booth. I like to imagine that Booth kicked him out of the store and did the rest of his shopping alone.
• The cheesy Toyota stuff, though at least the show tried to work in a few jokes along the way.

Okay, enough from me. Thoughts from you? Were you surprised by the case/killer? Did you think Sweets was out of line? Thoughts on Angela and Brennan’s spa day? And how about B&B? The comments are open, so let’s discuss!