BONES Season 9 Premiere Recap: ‘The Secrets in the Proposal’
September 16, 2013 by Sarah Curtis
Hello, BONES fans! Season 9 is here, and this premiere, “The Secret in the Proposal,” alleviated some trepidation I felt after last season’s finale’s two main conflicts of:
- Pelant on the loose after giving Booth an ultimatum to turn down Brennan’s marriage proposal (without giving her the reason) or see several people be murdered.
- Booth doing as Pelant says, leaving Brennan hurt and confused and Booth frustrated.
We saw resolution for #2, the introduction of at least one new character, some intense B&B moments, squint opinions on the state of affairs, and a case thrown in for good measure. Let’s discuss!
THE CASE:
The Scene of the Crime:
While Sweets and Caroline “interrogate” Booth on his relationship with Brennan, he gets called about a case. He meets Cam and Brennan at a hotel, where a body was murdered, dragged, and thrown off the roof.
Sweets and Booth talk to the hotel manager. There are no security cameras, as the hotel is known for its “discretion,” but there is one guest who was supposed to check out and hadn’t.
The Victim: An artificial stapes indicates the victim is Jonas Siddell, an employee of a transportation accountancy group. Booth and Sweets talk to his manager, Ted. Siddell’s phone shows he received several calls from another employee of the group. Angela calls the number, and it’s answered by Lily — one of Jonas’s coworkers at the agency.
Sweets and Booth investigate Siddell’s apartment, and Sweets triggers an explosion of sorts. Booth goes on the chase, only to find CIA agent, and former Army colleague, Danny Beck. Booth later tells Caroline and Sweets that Beck’s (guest star Freddie Prinze Jr.) presence means Jonas was with the CIA and working undercover at the transportation agency.
Brennan and Daisy determine cause of death to be a blow to the head.
Primary Suspects:
- Lily: Jonas’s co-worker. She claims no sexual relationship between Jonas and herself, but the team is surprised when Angela is able to pull a picture from Jonas’s printer of her in bed with a man.
- Marianne: Lily’s mother and lawyer. She blocks Booth’s attempts to question Lily, and is shocked to find out Lily was involved with the CIA. She assumed Lily was actually an escort. Marianne’s presence at the hotel on the night Jonas was killed causes suspicion.
- Heinrich Gloeckner: The man in bed with Lily in the photo. He admits to Booth and Sweets that he slept with Lily, and that she and Jonas, as the CIA, showed him the photo as collateral, and he agreed to their terms. He insists he is innocent and hopes the FBI will keep him out of their investigation.
The Verdict: With the three suspects declared innocent, Booth and Brennan discuss the case further. Booth remembers Ted being very protective of Lily. Brennan tests and object in Ted’s office, finds traces of blood on it and declares it compatible with cause of death. He confesses he thought Jonas was taking advantage of Lily by pimping her out as an escort. He loved her, and so he snapped and killed Jonas.
The Squints:
Each character’s reaction to Booth and Brennan’s situation was realistic. I loved Sweets and Caroline pressuring Booth (and him calling them Mom and Dad, haha!), and Cam’s individual questions to Booth and subsequent encouragement to Brennan. I believe Cam showing Brennan the “fact” that Booth was miserable helped Brennan analyze the situation better. Daisy was ridiculous as always, but it made me laugh, especially when no one really took her seriously. Yay for Hodgins giving Booth the benefit of the doubt.
Regarding Angela, I get that she’s upset and on Brennan’s side in all of this, but I think she was a little over the top. There are ways to be supportive without spewing vitriol to all involved — and her hateful attitude did little to help the situation. In my opinion, it’s more about Angela’s constant need to get credit for BEING the best friend vs. actually being a good friend. Then again, it’s been three months, and unlike her, we know why Booth is doing what he’s doing, so…I can see it both ways. Thoughts from you?
Booth and Brennan:
I admit I don’t like longstanding strife between B&B. This episode was hard to watch, seeing them miserable, frustrated and so… disconnected. I also wasn’t sure how I’d feel about Booth’s friend/ex-priest/bartender, but I am totally on board with the character of Aldo. He has the context of Booth’s past and the much needed opportunity to be a friend/sounding board for Booth. It was terrific when Brennan came to see him, and he realized who she was. I wouldn’t say Aldo knows Booth better than Brennan does, but instead, like Cam, he was able to remind Brennan of how Booth is motivated, giving her more to think about.
I thought Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz were excellent at really showing B&B’s struggle. Out of many good moments, my favorite scene was at the diner when Booth tells her they will get past it, and she confesses she doesn’t even know “what all of this is”. I loved her edge and when she told Booth that while he wants her trust on faith, she sees life in patterns and knows that if they continue in their same pattern, it won’t work.
If I have another complaint about the episode, it occurred here when Brennan told Booth that the truth was important; he taught her that. Um, no. Writers, if anything, Brennan taught Booth about the truth (vs. intuition or gut instinct). Please see many early episodes for examples.
The end scene worked for me, because it was Brennan choosing to believe Booth — based on what she knows about him and about herself. While she still has questions, she trusts him and knows that he loves them. She knows he’s doing what he thinks is best and will tell her when he can. It’s important to me that she came to this conclusion on her own, thereby having control of her decision.
I loved Booth’s grateful reaction, and that she tells him he’s the one who must propose next time.
Other thoughts:
- More Freddie Prinze Jr, please! His parting comment to Booth about a job with the CIA is intriguing, and I’m curious where it will lead!
- I’m not sure how I feel about the final moment, where the clock shows 4:47 for a flash. If the writers had this plot in mind in the season four finale, then yay for them, but it also feels like maybe they are shoving it in as a red herring when they want to. Thoughts?
- The Brennan/Angela/Daisy diner scene was fun!
- Loved Hodgins’ experiment with the parachute and the hotel fan. Effective!
- Like Marisa teased in her YAIA, it was very cute when Hodgins/the show gave a fun nod to SLEEPY HOLLOW!
Okay, enough from me. What did you think of this premiere? Were you surprised by the killer? Did you agree with how Angela acted? Are you satisfied with how things are between Booth and Brennan at this point? The comments are open, and it’s been a long hiatus, so sound off!
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Loved the episode but not wild about how 4:47 which was a good thing in the beginning has now become a bad thing for no very apparent reason than as you say, a red herring. And yes, it was Brennan who taught Booth about truth and not just trying to convict Judge Hasty in their first case because his gut told him the judge was guilty. ‘First the truth’ was one of the first lines Brennan said to Booth. All of the writers need to marathon earlier episodes of Bones. Oh and Booth was in the FBI ten years ago (see last season’s finale) not the army 8 years ago. Writers, go and marathon your own show.
I had to roll my eyes at how much the writers are making Booth out to be the victim here. The tete-a-tete with Aldo where he says Brennan has zero poker face? Would it be too much to ask him to trust her just as much as he demands she trusts him? This is just another example in an ongoing pattern of Booth unilaterally making decisions that affect both of them and then expecting Brennan to sit back and trust him. Oh, and they even made HER apologize to him for being upset! What in the…
Pelant is able to put a wedge between them because Booth in his infinite wisdom allowed it to happen imo. Do I feel bad for Booth? Of course I do. He’s miserable and terrified that Brennan was going to leave him. Does that mean I’m okay with him doing what he did? No way in Hades. He needs to start trusting his partner for a change. And that better be a darn good proposal.
I agree with the mistakes. Brennan taught Booth about the truth but the writers have been hell bent on making Booth out to be this saintly ‘good man’ character these past few seasons so it probably wouldn’t have worked if they had actually gone with ‘the truth’. Oh the irony! Also, yes, like EL said, Booth was in the FBI 10 years ago not 8. Get your continuity right ffs!
I disagree with you on Angela. I LOVED her scene with Booth. I feel like she’s taking the role of the audience in this, the anger and frustration that we all know Brennan will never show Booth, because she’s too hurt and upset and because she loves that idiot for all intents and purposes (where was this Angela in S6 really?). But at the same time, I’m sick and tired of Cam and her translating Brennan’s emotions for her like she’s incapable of them. For Brennan to say it even, that she doesn’t know what she’s feeling? FFS HH! Can you please stop with devolving Brennan as a character?
The scene with Brennan, Angela and Daisy was hilarious! Loved Caroline as always and Sweets was okay. Thank god we didn’t have any Daisy/Sweets scenes. Hodgins and Brennan prove once again that I’m only here for them. I agree that Cam’s ‘talk’ to Brennan helped her, but like I said, the writers need to stop having all these people interpret her emotions for her. Really liked the last scene, the apology aside. The actors did a good job there. That bit where Booth was sure Brennan was going to leave him and that brief panic was carried off well by DB. ED was brilliant as usual with all the subtleties in the emotional scenes throughout the ep. And yes, enough with the 447. I’m pretty sure we’re going to go to the series finale without knowing what that means.
Thanks for your review Sarah!
Great episode! But yeah… it was definitely Brennan that taught Booth the value of truth. Brennan has always been about the truth since the beginning and Booth is the one who lies to spare peoples feelings in the pilot… he said something like ” they deserve the comfort of a lie”. Even in “titan on the tracks” … Booth comments to her that she is all about the truth. Seriously writers… do you watch your own show? I don’t know why but that line really bothered me. Even in Pinocchio.. it was all about Booth lying to protect people’s feelings namely his own.
But loved Brennan’s faith even though she had every reason to be mistrustful given how distant he had been. Angela was fine…. I mean why is Booth yelling at her for telling Brennan he is lying.. because well he IS lying. Its for good reason but how can he be mad about that? Plus she did then defend him to Brennan and got daisy to stop talking. I just felt Booth sort came out of the gates yelling at Angela and then her own temper took hold.
The wait has been too long! The season 9 premiere of Bones had its ups and downs. I personally loved the intense struggle for Booth and Brennan to sort through their problems and I absolutely LOVED that Hanson and the writers incorporate 4:47 yet again! It was a great way to keep the audience, or at least me, on the edge of my seat. As far as this somewhat new “relationship-y” side of Brennan, I’m currently having a love and hate attitude towards it. Though it helps the audience really understand the depth of the damage Pelant has inflicted on Booth and Brennan’s relationship, I don’t feel like her character should’ve been so emotional. I imagined her to be trying to drop hints about the awkward tension yet keeping a portion of her feelings to herself only, although I did LOVE that late lunch scene between her and Booth. Thought I get the vibe that many think Angela was too harsh, I’m a sucker for a BFF who stands up for her fellow friend. On the other hand, I found that Aldo was a significant and well-developed character for the episode’s plot.
What do I want to see more of? FREDDIE! I have a strong feeling that he and the CIA will have their favor cashed in by Booth to help capture Pelant. MORE SWEETS, TOO! I also would VERY much like to see a female villain come into play once this Pelant dillema is solved. We haven’t really had one since the Gravedigger. Other than that, fantastic episode and I seriously cannot wait for next week’s!
Sarah great review…I like how fair and balanced you are…and I agree that Angela was way over the top…being a BFF doesnt mean you can do or say what you want…Angela was making the situation worse imo…I loved Aldo and hope to see more of Freddie in the future.
@Alex Indigo I think Booth’s last confession was 8 years ago, not him being in the military (where he met Aldo).
Angela did fine by me. You just breaking my friend heart and not explaining a thing is ridiculous! Booth kept telling friends to “Mind your business” and thinking that was going to fly. Umm, no. If you’re doing something that’s causing pain and distress but offering no explanation, how should your partner and friends react? Three months of distance and unexplainable behavior, really?!
I get Booth is in a hard place but being snide and dismissive with people that love you…doesn’t help them understand where you are or where you’re coming from.
I’m happy that it sort of worked itself out at the end.
Season 9 opener was well worth the wait! I loved the tension in the episode between BB and was glad it wasn’t tied up with a nice little bow at the end. I also loved Angela jumping on Booth. Heck, I was yelling at him the whole episode from my couch! DB pulled off Booth’s internal struggle brilliantly…some scenes you could see the wheels turning in his mind as he weighed telling Brennan against not telling her. I loved Aldo and Danny Beck…I mean, is it just me or has FPJr gotten more handsome with age???
I also really loved Angela shoving (whatever it was) into Daisy’s mouth to shut her up. “I warned her. Everyone heard me” …nailed it!
Finally, I guess I see the purpose behind flashing that clock at the end, but we all know Pelant’s watching…would’ve been more effective, imo, if they actually panned to Pelant watching them.
All in all, superb episode and excellent acting by everyone. Just wished we could have more Caroline…love her!
Angela’s initial conversation with Booth was what I would expect. That felt to me to be totally about Brennan. But her over the top accusations in the video call seemed more to me a reaction to her perception of Booth “punishing her (Angela)” for doing something that he believed was making things worse. And I think she may have given Booth reason not to trust her by showing that she was willing to throw around accusations out of anger that Booth knows she doesn’t believe to be true.
I was very excited about the Bones season 9 premiere and really enjoyed the episode! I won’t add more-most of the posts covered just about everything. I just want to add that I agree with the reviewer about the three month time jump. A better way to start the episode would’ve been to start exactly where the finales let off. What do Brennan and Booth do right afterwards? Pelant could be watching with a smug smile, then there could be the three month jump. But still a good episode. Looking forward to Tony and Roxie next week!
I’m disappointed that the former priest is a God-hater. Now, Booth is tag-teamed by an atheist and Aldo. It’s interesting that Booth’s faith remains unshaking and while he professes that he wants to kill pelant, I suspect he will not be the one. It’s too easy and conveniet. My guess it will be Hodgins; his guilt, plus Sweets’, is also eating away at them.
I wouldn’t be surprised that Booth is given the opportunity, but knowing him, he may see at as a sin.
I don’t think the episode really said that Booth was in the army 8 years ago — Aldo just said that Booth’s last confession to him was 8 years ago and that his was the last confession he heard. Also, remember Angela said she’d worked with Hodgins for 10 years, and that was during the first case that Booth and Brennan had together. Certainly the writers wouldn’t have made that much of a mistake regarding the years! I’m wondering if we might hear more about this final confession in the future. It would have taken place during B&B’s 1st or 2nd year as partners. Perhaps whatever Booth had to confess at THAT time caused Aldo to leave the priesthood.
As far as the episode was concerned, it was a little weak in my opinion. It seemed like the writers were going out of their way to answer all the complaints the fans had last year, i.e., why couldn’t Booth find a cave in the middle of nowhere in which to tell Brennan what was going on, etc. But I won’t complain, I’m glad to see Bones back!
Wow, that was a difficult episode to watch, it was a great episode, but so hard to see the two characters we have all come to love so absolutely miserable! The murder part was solid and I enjoyed the supporting cast. I think Angela was within her best friend personna to go off on Booth, I would have too, but she should have been able to see that he was hurting too, just like Cam did.
I do wish that Brennan hadn’t apologize to Booth, everything else she said was spot on, but really, she shouldn’t have had to, he did turn down her marriage proposal. Yes, we as viewers know that Booth turned her down to save innocent lives, but she doesn’t, all she knows, now, is that he has a reason behind it, thanks to Aldo! But, otherwise, I am glad they both got a good point of view and I can’t wait for the wedding 😀
Also, Booth didn’t teach Brennan the truth of things but he did teach her the value of knowing the reasons behind something. In early episodes she only cared how the person died and who did, not the reason behind it, it is Booth who taught her that is important. So that is how I interperted that.
I agree with your points Samantha-re Brennan telling Booth he taught her the truth. Booth taught to be able to understand and relate to the truth. Very true. To me it was a solid episode that I really enjoyed and am watching a second time to catch things I may have missed.
I have waited all summer for season 9 to begin. This was a very enjoyable episode, I will watch it over & over. I’ll look for the clock 4:47 I missed it. I liked the angst between B&B even though it hurt to watch. Thank goodness for Cam all she did was point out that they were both miserable. Brennan made up her own mind to go to Booth and tell him she trusted him. DB & ED are such marvelous actors you can see and feel the love between B&B and the pain in their fear. I can’t wait to see Tony & Roxy.
A solid episode well worth the wait. Am I the only who shed a tear every now and again? I hated the tension and awkwardness between B&B which was so hard to watch and I am so glad it was more or less resolved. Season 9 has started well and I cannot wait for Roxy and Tony next week. Sooo glad Bones is back!!
Really enjoyed season premiere and like others, have re-watched several times already to catch subtleties I may have missed. I believe the final scene shows how much Brennan has really changed over the years. She is more open to her emotions, and also more prone to “trust” without the empirical data she, as a scientist, is more likely to demand. I am especially looking forward to the Roxie and Tony episode next week, because I think it is going to give Bones an outlet for her frustrations over Booth’s behavior in the finale from last season. We will probably get a better glimpse of her true feelings, because despite her assurance to Booth in the final scene this week that she trusts him, she is still hurt by his actions. And the Couples Retreat will give her an opportunity to voice that frustration under the guise of their undercover personas.
Funny that after several seasons of seeing 4:47 in several episodes that no one seems to have clued in on what that really means. Yes, it has to do with special moments in Bones and Booths lives, but what it really refers to is having faith in moments where you don’t have proof. What the 4:47 refers to is John 4:47. Now I’m not a religious person by far but the reference fits. What is John 4:47: “When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought `him’ that he would come down, and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.” More important is Jesus’s reply in 4:48: So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” This is why the 4:47 appeared on the clock at the end of episode 1 of this season. Bones was made to realise by the bartender that Booth loves her and that what ever reason he may have to have turned down the marriage, they must be good reasons because he’s a good man and would never do anything to hurt her, which she explains again at the beginning of episode 2 to Angela. So there you have it. It all has to do about having faith in situations where we may not have direct proof or all the reasons. A recurring theme in Bones since the start of the series when the different characters are tested and all signs may point to the contrary. Same thing with what’s happening to Camille with the credit card fraud.
Why do you have to have a secret code to see my favorite program, Bones? I have problems with that and haven’t been able to watch it.