BONES Recap: ‘The Baker in the Bits’

Hello BONES fans! It’s not often that we get to see an episode’s victim face his or her death, but that is just what happened in this episode, “The Baker in the Bits.” And those events led to others that (I think/hope) signal the beginning of a new serial killer type-arc on the show. There’s a lot to discuss, so let’s get to it!

THE CASE

The Scene of the Crime: The episode begins as a bleeding man runs from a knife-wielding attacker. He jumps over a couple of fences into a blasting zone, where he is then blasted to bits.

The Victim: Angela is able to use tattoo recognition software against prison records to determine the victim is Connor Freeman, recently released from prison. In an interesting turn of events, the team realizes that the skin around his tattoo was recently cut, as if someone were trying to cut the tattoo off of his body.

Connor was employed at Sunrise Bakery, managed by Roger Flender. Roger’s mission is to help ex-convicts, including his assistant Alex Rockwell, with steady work and pay, and the bakery itself is staffed completely with ex-convicts.

The Suspects:

• Sabrina Clevinger, Connor’s girlfriend. They lived together, but she didn’t report him missing. She says Connor was living a good life and spent all of his time focused on his job at a local bakery, Sunrise Bakery.
  • Jason Pemberton. Jason’s sister was injured during a crime gone wrong, and he wants revenge on Connor. He admits to following Connor around with a camera, hoping to catch him doing something wrong to send him back to prison, and he’s glad Connor is dead.
  • Thomas Saltz, Connor’s co-worker. He tells Aubrey that Connor was planning to rob a store, but he doesn’t have more details.

The Case Progression

At the lab, Hodgins analyzes particulates found on Connor’s body and finds rust, asbestos, and tobacco beetles among other things. He also finds evidence that Connor’s legs were bound with zip ties. Angela works to figure out the trail Connor took when he was running from his attacker, and Arastoo notices that the victim’s skeleton shows cut marks in a perfect triangle formation.

Booth and Brennan drive to Sunrise Bakery and discuss the likelihood of Connor’s rehabilitation. Booth wants to give him the benefit of the doubt; he knows firsthand that there can be good people in prison. Brennan doesn’t disagree with him, but she does point out that he shouldn’t use himself as an example since he was falsely accused and incarcerated while innocent.

At the bakery, they order some cherry pie (fun times!) and meet Roger and Alex and other employees. Thomas tells them it’s possible Connor wanted to cut out his own tattoo because he hated it. They all agree that Connor was a good guy and say the FBI should question Pemberton.

Aubrey brings Pemberton in for questioning, and he admits he followed Connor around to try to catch him doing something wrong, but when he lawyers up, that trail runs cold. At the lab, Angela and Cam realize Connor had several drugs in his system. This doesn’t match up with the reports of his rehabilitation, and Booth figures he could have hidden it from his co-workers but not his girlfriend.

Aubrey then questions Sabrina again, who admits to knowing about the drug use. She says she didn’t want to get involved and she told him to quit because he was spending all of their money, but she insists she didn’t want him to die.

Arastoo finds evidence of an injection on Connor’s body, and the team realizes Connor had built up a tolerance to drugs and was able to fight off what should have been a debilitating amount injected into him, enough to run away and jump the fence.

After Aubrey questions Saltz about Connor’s drug use, he visits the lab to figure out which store Connor may have been planning to rob. His credit card is traced to a check cashing store and the parking meters nearby. Sabrina’s name shows up on the list of store employees, and when Aubrey questions her again, she admits she knew Connor wanted her help in robbing the store, but she refused to help him. But she didn’t say anything, because she knew the other guy would think she was a snitch. Aubrey wants to know who “the other guy” is, but she has no idea.

Booth and Brennan talk with Roger at the FBI; Brennan is less than convinced he is innocent, but Booth just wants a name of someone Connor was close to. Roger refuses to provide information, figuring that if his employees learn he is cooperating on a case, they may feel they cannot trust him. Booth says he will arrest him for impeding an investigation, and Roger says that if that is what it takes to prove himself to his employees, he is okay with that.

Angela is able to trace all particulates evidence to an ironworks building, and Booth and Aubrey visit, where they find evidence of chains and other weapons…and a lot of blood. If that’s not gross enough, they also find a hanging wire featuring cut out pieces of tattooed skin and an incinerator with an additional three skeletons. INTERESTING!

All three sets of remains are brought to the lab, where Brennan confirms they were likely killed by the same person in the same manner. Two bodies are identified, and both have connections to Alex Rockwell. The knife used is also likely one used by someone previously stationed in Afghanistan, which Alex was. Booth and Brennan go to the bakery to find him, but Roger says he’s not there and isn’t answering his phone. Later, Roger contacts the FBI and has Alex with him in a parking garage. Booth and Aubrey quickly go there, and Booth apprehends Alex by shooting him in the shoulder area, and Aubrey finds the knife in Alex’s car.

The Verdict: It’s assumed that Rockwell will go on trial for Connor’s death at least, but with a third body unidentified at the lab, I’m guessing this case and issue will continue. And I’m intrigued!

THE SQUINTS

The B-plot in this episode focused on Cam and Arastoo, as Arastoo feels he must return to Iran to be with his dying brother. Cam thinks it’s an incredibly dangerous idea—after all, if he returns, he will have no protection as an American citizen and could be harmed. Both Cam and Arastoo handle the situation poorly, but realistically. Cam acts fairly selfishly, and Arastoo becomes distant—but in the end, and with the guidance of friends and co-workers, they come to terms with the fact that he will be going to Iran. The episode ends with Cam pleading with him to return. I am still not a huge fan of this relationship, but it should be noted that Pej Vahdat and Tamara Taylor were excellent in this episode and they played the tough nature of their scenes perfectly!

I thought Aubrey, Angela, and Hodgins were also great in this episode. Fave squint moment was when Aubrey was at the lab and Hodgins reminded him that he is and will always be King of the Lab. Good times!

BOOTH & BRENNAN

I like B&B scenes the best, but I thought this episode featured some nice moments where each of them worked with others. I love the Booth and Cam friendship, too, so it was great to see them in a scene together (minus Booth comparing Brennan to Iranian regimes—Boo that!), and I thought the scene with Brennan and Arastoo was excellent. I think the Aubrey and Booth working partnership works best when Booth is in charge, and that is what happened in this episode (and the previous one), so it worked for me here.

Likewise, I get nervous when either Booth or Brennan is not mentioned in the episode descriptions (like Booth was not mentioned in this one), so I was glad that the episode featured some nice scenes between them. Without spoiling some future plotlines that have been discussed in the press, I think this episode did a good job foreshadowing certain events surrounding Booth, and some recurring issues and feelings he may still be having as a result of his time in prison.

I loved the scene where he came to her office and they discussed the possibility that people could be all bad or have a small spark of goodness. Booth’s line that “The world would have ended long ago if there weren’t more good people than bad” was a perfect little glimpse at his worldview. He has seen a lot of bad things, but he remains optimistic toward good. Brennan is, at her core, the same, which is one of the founding tenants of their partnership and relationship. That tenant is what has led to their truest intimacy, and I think that scene was a great example. It’s clear that Booth is uneasy, however, and it will be interesting to see if that continues. I liked that in this episode, he was upfront with Brennan about how he felt (especially about shooting someone)—it’s a key to their relationship’s success (and same that she is honest with him).

All in all, I liked this episode pretty well, and I’m continuing to look forward to the rest of season 10. What did you like or not like about this episode? The comments are open—speak your mind!