BONES: The Plain in the Prodigy
October 1, 2009 by Sarah Curtis
Holler back at me, BONES fans!
I asked you last week if you thought Season Five was BONES + goodness, and most of you agreed. I think this episode was no exception to that. I’m not going to say it’s my favorite BONES episode ever, but the case was good, the characters were used properly, and Booth and Brennan got closer together. I will never complain when that happens.
Oh, and another thing. My homies agree I really look good in black, fool!
The Case:
Human remains are scattered along a railroad, and it’s up to Booth and Brennan to identify the victim. A great moment between B&B was back in the lab. They are trying to ascertain the ID of their body. Booth says, “I don’t get it”, and Brennan replies, “Well, neither do I.” But of course, she figures it out ASAP, and finds out the bones belong to Levi Yoder, a member of the Amish community. The rest of the episode brings Booth and Brennan into contact with a wonderful selection of minor characters (the piano teacher, the parents, the fellow musicians, the ‘courted’ Sarah) as it’s discovered that Levi was a prodigy at the piano. One thing I love about the show writers for BONES is that they tend to respect different viewpoints (for the most part).
On the other hand, it kind of felt like the writers didn’t want ANYONE to be the bad guy, so they invented one at the last minute. Am I wrong in feeling that way? Could have been the brother, or the dad, or the jealous music scholarship student…but no, we don’t want any of those people to be bad. I guess “wrong place at the wrong time” seemed kind of like a cop out. But…what do you think? I guess crimes like that happen all of the time, right? Cop out or plausible? Vote below!
Squint Squad:
Clark: His whole subplot did nothing for me. I guess it was for comedic effect? I didn’t laugh.
Angela & Hodgins: Yeah, you know what? I AM going to lump them together this time. Because, I don’t care what anyone else says…I was watching Santa in the Slush the other day, where they talk about making ornaments and how two people are a ‘family’…from that moment, to where they are now is a bunch of BS ratings driven…just…boo! Don’t even get me started about them breaking up at the DINER! But yeah, okay…they were great tonight, very science-y and fun to Cam.
Sweets: Like candy, when used sparingly, Sweets is quite delicious. Thank goodness the writers have gotten away from having Sweets be so intricately involved personally in each case (his GF at the bridal shop, his favorite type of death metal music, his ST costume, etc). Sweets’ professional capabilities are good for me. I liked his putting the stone piano together quickly. And if you want to hear more of him playing in real life, check out JFD’s real life band, Dayplayer.
Cam: I liked her B plot with Michelle, and I think she is honestly doing her best. I liked this new actress who played Michelle, and I think that can be a fun sub plot through the season. And ‘Uncle FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth’ vs Perry was a very, very ‘Boothy’ moment.
Booth and Brennan:
Speaking of “Boothy”, I thought that part was kind of forced. And… SHE’s the one who bought him that particular belt buckle, right? I don’t know why that wasn’t mentioned. Oh well.
What I REALLY liked about our fave crime solving pair this episode was all of the talking they did the whole time. Whether it was about ‘first times’ or double standards or religion or the case, they were bouncing ideas off of each other, gauging reactions and answers. I love their friendship; I firmly believe it’s the basis for every good ‘shared looks under the sink’ moment, and I think in some ways, their conversations in this episode brought them closer together.
A quick note on Brennan: She so identified with the genius of Levi Yoder. I find Emily Deschanel to be quite underrated in her acting. Her face is so subtly expressive, but I think we were all with her every step of the way this time. From her inquisitively amused interrogation of Cam’s book to her disappointment at the wild Rumspringa to her personal and mental connection to Levi’s piano playing and his parents, it was understated and beautiful. And of course, Booth…he was beautiful too (and he took piano lessons? Cute!).
Okay, okay, one last thing…someone who is super smart at this sort of thing, do me a favor. Take Booth’s saying “I Love You” from the S5 premiere, and mash it up with him saying “Sarah” from this ep for me, will you? Haha. Who loves me, baby? Booth does.
And you do too, right? Prove it by commenting on the episode below!
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Filed under #1 featured, Bones, Posts by Sarah (Seels)
I really liked this episode. I don’t think I usually feel sad about the victims. I mean the show is about dead people, but that boy playing the piano just had me tearing up, and then his mama and daddy getting to watch him play it and then the smile at the very end when he looked up at the camera and he had those cute little dimples. I don’t know. I was sniffling.
I think maybe they took the random guy because – I think – maybe it was so you would see what he was willing to do to return home. Break his fingers so he wouldn’t be tempted to play the piano anymore. And then something bad happens … ok I don’t know. in typing it out that made no sense.
But, I liked, and I’m wondering if this is me reading too much into it or what, but when they were talking to the girl that Levi had been courting, and she was all sad and what not, Brennan reached over and covered her hand with hers and it looked to me like Booth noticed and kinda smiled, like happy that Brennan was showing some heart. I dont’ know. Maybe it was my imagination.
I don’t know about the new actress for Michelle. There were times that I thought she looked way too old, and then I decided it was her head. Compared to Cam she had a really large head. It was all very strange for me.
Thanks for the recap. Awesome job as usual.
That flash was there again. Near the end. It’s not a scene transition because it doesn’t happen every time. HH, you tease.
Great recap.
Becky…YES! Oh, man my darn forgetfulness. I actually stopped and rewound the part where Brennan comforts Sarah and Booth noticed. I loved it and still forgot to mention it. Thank you, thank you!
And Sarah, I am going to have to go back and rewatch for these whiteout moments. HH is a big tease, we know that!
I was actually a little disappointed to see Clark back. I’ve never been a big fan of him and was really excited last week when I thought Wendell would be around all the time now. Obviously we are back to the rotating assistant. Although I was a bit confused by the end (which could have had something to do with me falling asleep then having to rewind), I was okay with it being random. This is something that rarely happens on this show or any other procerdural, but does happen in real life often. It just made it that much more touching that he was ready to head home only to have that taken away in a random act.
Perhaps I need to go back to last week and read the comments cause I am not sure what you are talking about with the whiteout moments and why they would be important.
Great recap. And I do think that sometimes there are random killings. I don’t think it was a cop-out at all. I didn’t want any of them to be killers either so that helped. I’ve never really seen a show have a completely random killer so I thought it was pretty original and smart on the part of the writers 🙂
The victim in this episode made me especially sad too. Maybe it was because it’s not often on this show we get to see the dead while they’re still alive,and even less often doing something that they love like that.
I love ProtectiveBooth, so the whole “I’m a trained sniper” bit I loved. It really helped showcase the family dynamic of the characters without it being the focus of the episode.
Dare I say it – Cam hasn’t really annoyed me that much this season. I’m quite surprised. She’s been used well and the whole Michelle situation let’s the human side of Cam show a little more.
At first I thought the whole “petty thief” thing was just a last minute thing and I really didn’t like it, but then I put some thought into it and I started understanding it more. I figured maybe they were trying to make a point where the Amish don’t live in our communities because it’s so awful and corrupt, and it was a perfect example having an inoccent kid go out into the world only to be killed for material things.
I agree with the Clark thing. I don’t like his character much.
I share your feelings about the writers inventing a out of the blue killer. Yes, there are lots of random murders as part of a robbery gone bad, but that is not what you have in mystery novels or TV shows.
“Bones” is not a commentary on the risks of urban life. It is [partly] a mystery and there is no way an audience member could solve this case or even anticipate this type of ending.
Plain is a good example of why Bones is like an onion, no Shrek, not stinky: BONES gots layers! I’ve seen it a few times so far and I’m still finding more and more subtle themes.
I was very glad to see the religion thing come back on the table, and from the way they went at it about the Pope’s hat, I’m thinking it’s something that they’ve been talking about that we haven’t seen. The best thing when it comes to their religious bickering is that most times Brennan states more truths than Booth when it comes to the true state of things than she realizes. Loved the Catholic vs Amish baptism zinger; though in my mind nothing’s ever gonna touch her declaring Jesus to be a zombie!
I also thought it was great that they managed to talk about more “real” issues- first times, sex, religion, sacrifice- in this episode than they have so far this season, despite the lack of an obvious B&B moment.
Levi’s story was deep and moving and if you are into music at all it was enough to bring you to tears(I sniffled the first time, cried the next). To smash his hands and give up his love of music for his love of Sarah and his was touching and powerful. And his death- the result of a random act of violence- was harsh and out of the blue, but then again, when’s the last time you planned a family tragedy? So, no, Seels, didn’t feel forced to me.
The end montage with his parents and B&B separated on the porch spoke volumes in a way that only music can.
The “B” story was good too. I like that while Bones mentions sex just as much if not a little more than the others out there, they rarely ever portray it as something that can be taken lightly. I liked Cam telling Michelle that you can’t have sex without consequences(remember “Salt” anyone?) and that they were able to reconcile things; though obviously a little more cleanly than in real life, but still, I’m a sucker for feel good endings.
Also a highlight of the “B” story? You NAILED it, Sells! Uncle Seeley Booth, FBI Special Agent, sniper, with the “Cocky” buckle to back him up introducing himself to Perry.
Overall, I liked this one a lot. Enough that I could overlook the fact that those Amish were a little too trusting of the English and that their PA Dutch(which my hubby grew up hearing at home) was a little too East LA.
3 for 3 HH, keep it up!
Gum 🙂
loved loved this episode. some really funny moments. brennan getting mad at the partying kids made me crack up, and so did the Uncle Seeley Booth moment, as well as Sweets putting the piano together like a madman. I do love Sweets, i think he’s hilarious. :]
did anyone else think that the actor that played Levi was really cute? maybe its just because im younger. haha.
i was definitely tearing up at the end… aw… i love classical piano…
and i loved the teen sex subplot, which had a lot of funny parts in it. like the “cute cartoon” in Cam’s book, or angela/hodgins/cam talking about it.
there wasn’t obvious B&B emotional connection stuff, but there can’t be every episode. still loved their interactions.
and i vote that they totally threw in some random guy at the end as the bad guy. it was kind of a “wait-what??? who is THIS guy??” they’ve never really done that before.
keep up the awesome episodes, Bones!!
Nice Weird Al reference 🙂
You are right, there were a lot of possibilities in this case but I was okay with it being a random petty thief murderer. It felt very real life to me! And it was good, because it kept me guessing the whole time! So my vote: plausible.
I am done with Clark. I was not at all interested in him this episode and I am ready for him to go elsewhere. I would much rather have Wendell or VNM than Clark. He annoyed me when he complained about having to go put on the jumpsuit and go to the crime scene. Ummmm, hello, Brennan does that all the time?!?! Get over yourself Clark and do your job! ’nuff said!
Ange and Hodgins were great in this episode 🙂 There interactions with Cam were fantastic! I like that they aren’t being awkward or anything!
I love Sweets, I really do and I think they are doing a better job of using him properly so far in S5. I loved when he came in and took the rocks from Hodgins, then figured it out in just minutes. And playing the Titanic theme, haha!
I am all about the Cam and Michelle sub-plot. And I like the new actress 🙂 Cam’s face when she thought about herself as a teenager cracked me up! Too funny!!
Perry: “Sniper. Good man.” hahahahahahahaha Poor kid!
I loved Brennan’s comforting touch to Sarah, and Booth definitely noticed it. He didn’t smile, but his eyes darted down and he watched it. Very sweet 🙂 They worked well in this episode, as you said, bouncing ideas off of each other all episode long!
All I have to say about Booth is: HELLO, HOLSTER!!! How yummy is he when he wears that??? It’s very Boothy and very sexy 🙂
Great recap Seels!