BONES Recap: ‘The Woman in the Whirlpool’
May 28, 2015 by Sarah Curtis
Hello BONES fans! We’re in the final stretch of season 10, and this episode, “The Woman in the Whirlpool,” did a nice job moving several storylines forward. I liked so much of this (writer and producer) Kathy Reichs and Kerry Reichs-written episode; it had great dialogue, a sensitive & meaningful case, and good moments between characters. There’s a lot to discuss, so let’s get to it!
THE CASE
The Scene of the Crime: During a baptism by immersion, a man is surprised to be “raised to walk in newness of life” with a human skeleton wrapped around his body. He screams, they scream…we all scream. And then Hodgins has to go deep diving. Sounds about right.
The Victim: Leslie Hodsoll, an employee of a local locksmith and hardware store. The front part of her skull was smoothed over by a whirlpool in the Potomac, she was a mother to 20-year-old Courtney, and she was an avid collector of cookie jars.
The Suspects:
- Ted Thompson, owner of the hardware store. He states Leslie had no enemies and was a good employee. He mentions she had regular mother/daughter type arguments with Courtney.
- Courtney Hodsoll, Leslie’s daughter. It’s clear she resents her mother’s devotion to the cookie jars, but she also seems upset at her mother’s death.
- Cheryl McMichael, a collector/seller. After reneging on a deal with Leslie, Leslie gave Cheryl many terrible online reviews, giving the seller motive.
- Scott Simon, a competitor in the cookie jar collection world. When he ends up with a jar Leslie wanted, he looks somewhat suspicious.
The Case Progression:
Cam finds traces of poisonous materials in Leslie’s body, but small traces that would only be ingested in small doses over a long period of time. Hodgins surmises that these are from all of her cookie jars; old glazes used on the ceramics weren’t healthy. The team also finds a gash in Leslie’s hand and rust inside of it.
Booth and Aubrey pay a visit to Cheryl, who admits she agreed to sell Leslie a Babe Ruth cookie jar but then sold it to Scott Simon for a LOT more money. Since a lot of her wares are rusty, they posit that she killed Leslie for the bad online reviews. She asks Booth if he’s ever been on the internet. “It’s the land of nasty bitter people,” she says. Haha! Cheryl then offers up her entire collection for testing; Leslie was her friend, and she would never have killed her.
At the lab, Brennan saws open the victim’s skull and confirms their hypothesis that the frontal part (and most of the damage) was smoothed over by the water Leslie was found in. But they find traces of an old gunshot wound and blunt force trauma on the interior of the skull. Brennan wonders if it could cause damage to the part of her brain that would prevent her from getting obsessed with the cookie jars. Hodgins tests Cheryl’s items and finds no matches for the rust from Leslie’s hand, and Cam and Jessica figure Leslie’s wounds came from a cookie jar. Leslie also had small pieces of fiberglass insulation in her body.
Aubrey and Jessica go to Leslie’s house to investigate. In the attic, they find fiberglass insulation, a rusty nail…and Scott Simon. He’s there to retrieve the Babe Ruth cookie jar he says Leslie stole from him.
Aubrey and Booth interrogate him (in a truly funny scene), and Scott digs himself into somewhat of a hole. But he insists that he rightly bought the jar from Cheryl and that Leslie pestered him into selling it to her. When he refused, someone broke into his house and stole it, at which point Leslie stopped bothering him. His story checks out.
Angela researches why Leslie tried to sell her entire jar collection but took the listing down the next day. She realizes Leslie was out of town when the listing went up and that it’s likely Courtney who wanted to sell the jars. Booth questions her, and she admits to considering selling them but ultimately took the listing down because it would have been the wrong thing to do. Booth posits that she killed her mother, and Courtney insists she would not have done that—she had gotten to the point where she could accept that even if her mother didn’t love her back, she could still love her mother. She cries, and Booth puts things together. He tells Courtney about her mother’s gunshot wound and also tells her that the cookie jar obsessions wasn’t about love, but about a brain issue.
At the lab, Brennan and Jessica find another wound on Leslie’s body, and inside is a small piece of glass. Hodgins matches it up with a champagne bottle he found with Leslie’s remains, and he is also able to pull a fingerprint from it.
The Verdict: The print belongs to Ted Thompson, and B&B interrogate him. He admits he thought Leslie loved him, and he helped her by stealing the cookie jar from Scott. But when he did that, Leslie ignored him. He came over to her house to try to change her mind, and when she only cared about her jars, he tried to break them. But Leslie protected the jars and was struck by the champagne bottle and died.
THE SQUINTS
- I loved the opening scene when Cam & the rest of the team gave Hodgins a hard time about having to fish for the rest of the remains.
- I liked the Angela/Hodgins scenes where they talked through their reactions to B&B and their jobs. I don’t know that I agree with them 100% (and I think at this point, the storyline of Angela (or both) being unsure about the work they do and considering moving to Paris) has already been done (see season 5), but I thought they were honest conversations. I also liked the Angela/Brennan scene. (And if you’re still playing Bones Bingo at home, that’s one more in the “Booth is a good man!” column” LOL).
- I liked the Brennan/Jessica scenes in that Brennan owned all of them, as she should. It was also nice to see Jessica take her cues and know when to speak up or keep silent about Brennan and Booth’s relationship.
- I liked how all of them worked the case.
- I liked Aubrey in the interrogation room, and in his conversations with Booth. I also liked that Booth was like, “It’s called anonymous for a reason,” haha. David Boreanaz and John Boyd really do have great timing.
- I think the Jessica/Aubrey stuff is so awful. In theory, it could work, but the execution of it in terms of the whole series is just no good for me. The show has issues with its female interns anyway (which is another 1500 word post I may someday get around to), and it’s disappointing what they’ve done with Jessica’s character. Spare me the B&B comparisons (which are also then copying from Sweets/Daisy origins). Spare me the flirty “partnership” banter and post-case meals and one-episode long ramp up to whatever it is they have (which the show already did with Sweets/Jessica at the end of season 9). Spare me any more romantic relationships between any characters!
- Is it possible to find love in the workplace? Sure.
- Is it more likely to occur in high pressure situations or jobs like in this show? Hmmm, not sure, though the writers, casting directors, and accountants for this show and so many others would probably like us to think it is.
- Is it impossible that Jessica and Aubrey would have some chemistry? Not at all. In fact, it was kind of fun. But…
- Is it too late for the show to go there, since they already did that with Daisy and Sweets, and with Sweets and Jessica? And Cam and Arastoo. And Wendell and Angela. And Finn and Michelle. And…yes. Sorry, show! You’ve (over) played that card already. Also (again), stop mentioning Sweets!
BOOTH & BRENNAN
Nerd alert– I have been keeping a spreadsheet for this whole gambling storyline! Like I said after “Eye in the Sky,” if the show is going to go there, they need to do it right, and I had/have my own definition and tracker for what that looks like. I said in my recap of the last episode that it was just too soon to tell and make any judgments. I still feel that way, though I’ll admit (according to my spreadsheet calculations) so far I’m okay with most of it. There is more to be had in order for me to think they were justified in putting the characters through all of this, but there are two more episodes too, so I’m hanging in there!
I loved seeing Booth at all three GA meetings; I thought DB handled Booth’s character perfectly in each one. It’s clear Booth wants to still do damage control, and I liked that his sponsor Gavin saw right through it and (in a brotherly way), called him out on it.
I loved seeing B&B at the diner and their reactions when they saw one another. The conversation was sad but good.
Loved B&B together in the interrogation room. I especially loved how the focus of the camera was on Booth and his reaction to the case and to Brennan’s reaction. I also loved the next scene outside the FBI elevator; it probably gave me the most hope of this whole storyline. There’s a lot more I have stirring in my mind about all of this, but I’m saving it for the spreadsheet—for now!
So yes, all in all, I liked this episode and I thought it was incredibly well written. But what did you think? Were you surprised by the killer? Did you buy Jessica and Aubrey as a couple? And how about Booth and Brennan—what do you think is next for them?
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Well looks like I will be first to comment. I thought this episode was excellently written and all the characters in this episode did a marvelous job of acting. I loved the drama…..cookie jar, whodunit, B&B, the meeting, especially when Booth stood up to admit his shortcomings, (I really teared up at that), also very sad about B&B being separated, 😥, but a great mixture. I just can’t see Aubrey & Jessica together, but I will admit at first I didn’t like Aubrey, but every week he really grows on me, and I really like the guy. This episode puts me right back on edge of my seat and anxious for next week. I couldn’t tell if was Angela & Hodgins leaving or B&B, hopefully we will find out for sure next week. I love your article, was great, after watching the episode I forgot who the killer was, thanks for the insight. I will watch this episode several more times on the Demand Station/Broighthouse, as I do with season 10 past episodes. I love Bones, I keep saying Best Show on TV….Thanks Fox for Season 11 & thanks Bones Cast, (ETC) for working hard each week.
I have to separate the ep to enjoy it…the case, B&B and Booth were good…Aubrey & Jessica were god awful CRINGE…SO PROUD OF BOOTH but I do think they are walking a fine line with Brennan, she is borderline being too cold and all about HER pain, not really tethering any compassion & understanding to what Booth is going through *to him directly* her refusing to answer his CALL twice was downright spiteful, he is her husband & father of her kid, he cld be calling about *anything*…now the Jessica & Aubrey trainwreck? I am just like REALLY WRITERS, REALLY? If i want to watch B&B or Swaisy as a couple I will watch *them* do not gìve me some weird & forced hybrid of these pairings, please get ORIGINAL IDEAS…I am embarrassed that Bones writers seem to view the interns as sexual objects (Wendell, Daisy, Finn, Jessica, Arastoo and Clarke, you recall Angela basically sexually harrassed him in S4?) or use their sex appeal to get what they want i.e Fuentes with Brennan in his first ep *SIGHS* and to cap it, when EGO ALERT Aubrey said he & Jess were B&B 2.0, I actually felt steam come out of my ears…STFU Aubrey….just stop….Why did we get this and not a c-plot on Cam/Hodgins/Angela reaching out to Booth? Do the writers not care they are showing Booth so isolated & estranged fighting a huge battle with none of his so called friends (stink eye at Cam mainly but Hodgela too) at his side?..thank the lord David was amazing & had a great dynamic with Gavin & daughter. SAVED THE EP
First off, let me just say that I too thought the writing in this episode was solid. I’m not sold yet on the gambling storyline in general, but Emily and David both have taken their performances up a couple of notches and have been really great in their scenes together, which makes me begrudgingly kind of like the storyline, especially knowing that the show won’t end this season. Second of all, I absolutely love Aubrey. I was pretty upset about Sweets getting killed off and resisted Aubrey at first, but John Boyd is a great addition to the cast and has reinvigorated the chemistry of the show a bit because honestly, the well had run dry on Sweets’s relevance years ago. That said, Aubrey with Jessica is just 100% wrong. First of all, they’re completely wrong together. Second of all, THERE IS NO NEED FOR THIS!!! Another reason I’m glad Stephen Nathan is leaving – Sweets/Jessica, Sweets/Sparling, Cam/Aristoo, Daisy’s almost hookup with the yoga dude, now Aubrey/Jessica? (I’m sure I’m missing others). Ugh. Bones writers, please take a step back and objectively look at how completely ridiculous and implausible the amount of interoffice pairings are at this point. And stop doing it!
I would warm to Aubrey more if he wasnt forced into every other scene…esp in this ep : he was all over the lab & fbi…hes suffocating Bones, Booth is perfectly capable of talking to suspects/witnesses/family BY HIMSELF, if he cant have his TRUE PARTNER BRENNAN, then I would prefer to see Booth solo…like in this ep, TWO SCENES: Booth was talking to the daughter & cookie collector Aubrey had no reason to be there, its just forcing John Boyd into the show in an UNorganic manner…and then they wrote Aubrey with Angela at the FBI, surely that should of been Angela & Booth, you know show that she cares, reaching out…And we get Aubrey & Jessica OVERKILL together or indivdiual whlist the main draw B&B only shared 3 scenes together WTF…I need changes to S11, I need B&B front and center, getting plenty of scenes TOGETHER and I need the writers to remember that John Boyd plays a supporting character, he is NOT the lead, the show existed just fine without him for 9 YEARS, ratings were better too.
Good summary as usual, I think the story line was strong I still am amazed at how many things happen in a mere 42 minutes. As far as B&B they are such good actors and so believable, I feel their pain. As for Aubrey and Jessica not a believable match, they all should walk away from that story line. I am still not sure what is going to happen with Hodgins & Angela, I guess I’ll have to wait and see. I don’t know how long we can take this separation between B&B, I hope the Bones fairies resolve it before the season finale. I agree with anon, as much as I like Aubrey, the focus has shifted from Booth to him and that is not going to last. Bonesheads love Bones for one of many reasons primary for me is B&B front and center.
I respect everyone’s opinion; but I am trying to understand how so many folks are saying that they loved B&B in this episode. What B&B? As usual, they only had 2 scenes together (like they have had all season)! Yes, I agree that they played those 2 lousy scenes well, but am I the only one that is hungry for more? I continue to be disgusted by the dominance of Aubrey in every episode! Every time I flip the channel hoping to see an actual B&B scene, I get a screen full of Aubrey!! I hate it! I desperately want the two leads back TOGETHER – NOT IN SEPERATE SCENES!! THE SHOW IS SUPPOSED TO CENTER ON BOOTH & BRENNAN!!! Instead of Angela and Hodgins leaving, put Aubrey on that plane! We all need to petition to get B&B back!! Don’t let season 11 suck like this one has!
Yes I agree there was definitely not enough of Booth and Brennan which is why I was disappointed in this episode. Coming from last episode where they barely had scenes together and the fact that these episodes were supposed to be emotional, it wasn’t quite that because we didn’t see enough of their pain in either one. That being said I loved the diner scene and the fact that Brennan ended that scene with I love you. Even though there was little real Booth and Brennan action together this scene showed that she misses him but needs him to own up to his addiction. Booth had the better story and David Boreanaz did a terrific job all the way around. The scene where he interrogates the daughter was great because he finally realized what he had done but also that he was going in the same direction of his father. His slight smile to Brennan was lovely and was a good sign that Booth is getting back to where he needs to be and when he stood up and talked at meeting he was able to finally help himself, at least a real start. As for everyone else Angela and Hodgins were fine but still her behavior regarding Booth is wishy washy Just last year she ripped into Booth for breaking Brennan’s heart and now she stuck up for him. And I am sorry what is with Hodgins hair? it looks awful. And Jessica and Aubry? NO NO NO!!! I love Bones but their need to pair everyone up is not necessary and tired. They are NOT Booth and Brennan 2.0, they are not even close to Sweets and Daisy. This episode had some moments but was not what I was expecting so I hope the last two are much better
And now, for something completely different….
IMHO, the B&B’s storyline is dead.
It died when the writers couldn’t stretch the romance any longer and officialised the relationship. “Happily ever after” is the kiss of death of TV shows (go ahead, think about it. I’ll wait.).
Yet, the producers (and the viewers) refuse to let it go with dignity. They’re keeping the whole thing on life support – with occasional defibrillation in the form of, say, a gambling addition – but its agony is painful to watch. ED increasingly sounds like a robot (don’t believe me? Go listen to her in Season 1), and DB always looks like he wants to punch someone. Not that he ever had a vast repertoire of emotions, mind you… I’ve always thought him stiff and uncomfortable in romantic situations. His talent really shines through in action scenes, but regrettably (for him), his looks seem to have sentenced him to a lifetime of sentimental roles.
The only way this show can survive is if we, the viewers, give the other characters a chance to shine. Aubrey and Jessica are cute and fresh and funny; Angela, Camille (whose elegance and class remind me of a young Grace Kelly), the hilarious Caroline Julian… we’ve only have glimpses of their talent in the 10 years (10 years!) they’ve been relegated to supporting roles. Isn’t time they were given more space and scope? So I say B&B, thank you for the memories – it’s been fun. And welcome to … ?&?
There is no Bones without David & Emily…. There is no Bones without Booth & Brennan….The other characters only exist because Booth & Brennan exist…To state otherwise is just ludicrous….Booth & Brennan are the leads, the others are supporting characters, key words: LEADS & SUPPORTING.
I am glad that someone out there agrees with me; Emily and David are supposed to be the LEADS! The show has sucked all season because the heart and soul have been “missing in action”!! I wish Aubrey would get on a slow, leaky boat to an unknown country, and get the heck off of my TV screen – HE IS NOT THE LEAD CHARACTER! I am just stinking tired of seeing EVERYONE BUT Booth and Brennan. How can anyone watch the first 5 seasons of Bones, and think that the show is just as good (or half as good) now?! They seem to think the relationships between the supporting cast are more important, and that is offensive to fans that have been watching all these years BECAUSE OF THE B&B DYNAMIC!! B&B have been boring all season because the few moments we do see them together are usually meaningless “ho-hum” scenes. How about some togetherness and romance between the two (LEAD) characters that have been on magazine covers because of their popularity?!!! FIX IT!!!
You most certainly are not alone…the lack of B&B the complete overuse of Aubrey has been a MAJOR complaint since October 2014 when fans started to notice this direction (Sarah even wrote a post about it)…Hart Hanson recently stated that B&B are the backbone and they come first, Stephen Nathan however admitted that he deliberately reduced B&B scenes to give them to others (aka Aubrey, he has taken over 99% Brennan role as Booth’s partner) well we can all see how that worked out with the worst fan back lash since S6 AND worst ratings in Bones history, no coinky dink that Stephen Nathan has been tactifully removed from Bones to “other” Fox projects with a Fox PR spin….B&B are the leads. David & Emily are the leads. When you tune into any show you expect to see the lead actors have a driving presence, what you dont expect, in this case, is to have the new character Aubrey and the chosen squint of the day taking over, it turns off casual viewers, rating declines is screaming that…Emily is pregnant & needs time off later into the season, fair enough, but that does NOT mean that Aubrey has to written into nearly every FBI scene, when he doesnt need to be in half of them, if Booth is in a scene with a suspect/family member Aubrey does NOT have to be there too, hes surplus to requirement….I dont know what the hell is going on in the Bones writing room but they need to REMEMBER going into S11 that David & Emily are the leads, well let them lead, showcase B&B
This episode was so sad. B&B’s separation is hard to watch.
It so late in the season to begin a story line of Booth’s gambling addiction. It’s not a problem that can be solved quickly. Hopefully they will not carry this story line into season 11. Stephen Nathan has done his best to minimize B&B’s relationship. They are the center and the leads of the show he has reduced them to supporting roles. Sweets had more screen time than Booth before he died now Aubrey is being shoved down our throats. Sweets & Daisy now Aubrey & Jessica give us a break. B&B are very seldom seen together. The romance in their relationship is off in never never land. Hopefully season 11 will show B&B’s friendship & great love for each other. I want to see them smile more & they need to have fun with each other. How about a little bickering.
To anyone who believes Booth and Brennan romance is gone, well it has been but NOT because of the actors. When your two romantic leads have virtually NO scenes together either as partners or as a couple, there will be no romance. The supporting cast , while terrific cannot carry this show as evidenced by ratings decline this season. Without meaningful Booth and Brennan interaction, the show loses what made it great. I realize after 10 years any show will not be the same creatively as earlier ones, but the lack of Booth and Brennan TOGETHER has hurt it badly. David and Emily still have terrific chemistry but it has been absolutely wasted this season. Also understanding that Emily is pregnant I realize that she needs extra rest but there were plenty of FBI scenes she could have had. Bones so far gas aired 20 episodes and in 9 of them David and Emily barely have scenes together. That makes for a not so great season. I hope with change in show runners Bones will get back to Booth and Brennan being the center. Also besides the fact of no screen time for them together, Mr. Nathan and his writers do not have either the creativity or desire to write them romantically AT ALL. I knew as soon as Sweets died they were taking the show in a darker direction which did not work. I have said this before elsewhere, Nathan has been trying to un ring the bell that is Booth and Brennan and now maybe FOX and everyone else realizes that CANNOT happen. I really hope the last two episodes get them back to a better place and next season back to what makes the show work, Booth and Brennan driving cases and story
Well said, folks! I wonder if any of the show runners pay any attention to these fan comment sections? However; it isn’t going to do any good if just a few of us unhappy fans speak out on the “no Booth and Brennan” issue. Hopefully MANY fans have been bombarding their maibox to let them know that season 10 has been awful! I sure won’t have to buy the dvd set this year! I have not even seen 9 or 10 episodes in which Booth and Brennan have had more than 2 or 3 scenes together – meaningful or not.
It would be nice if they did I don’t hold out hope for that. Speaking of episode again, the episode is tagged with a picture of Booth holding Christine. Now obviously that didn’t make the episode but I wonder why especially since one of Bones writers Emily Silver said there was a huge emotional scene with Booth Brennan and Christine. If they really had that scene filmed it probably would have gone a long way to make me like the episode better. If the producers of Bones really wanted to get us invested in this ” split” it sure would have helped to see more of them together. Since in reality they weren’t really on screen together partners or as a couple and despite David and Emily’s best efforts with what they have had, the producers expect 10 years to say we ARE invested so even though they do not have scenes together we will be upset. Just because we have 10 years of Booth and Brennan doesn’t mean I buy what they are trying to sell.. If they had done this story, maybe in middle or early part of season I might have got on board, but they pushed it too late to make me think its anything more than lazy writing because Nathan didn’t want to deal with her pregnancy( witness the unfunny comments directed at Brennan about her weight and that a supposedly brilliant woman wouldn’t know she wasn’t further along in her pregnancy. Some ” fun” with her pregnancy!!!) I hope we get something resembling a decent end to a not very good season
The decrease in the number of scenes David and Emily are in compared to previous seasons are most likely something the actors negotiated in their contract. The writers have no control over that. They have to work around it. The show is 42 minutes long and they have to fill up the scenes somehow, so it only makes sense that they had to get someone else from the FBI to assist with Booth, hence Aubrey. He’s not being shoved down anyone’s throat. The supporting character B, C, D plots are there for logistical reasons.
When David/Booth is onset working: talking to suspects & family & doing interrogations, John/Aubrey does NOT always need to be in the same scene (point incase: Booth talking to Cheryl the cookie jar collector, Aubrey had no need to be there too, he is excess baggage) Johh/Aubrey does not need to be at the crime scene either. Booth/David did these scenes solo for NINE YEARS (so there are at least 4 or 5 scenes in ep 20 that Aubrey did not have to be in, cos David/Booth was doing them anyway)…..hence why people are saying that Aubrey/John is being shoved down our throats & being forced into scenes…..your excuse only works if David wasn’t on set and had time off.