Fear is a killer on 'Bones'

It was a cavalcade of guest stars on this week's Bones. Rider Strong (Cabin Fever, Pepper Dennis, Boy Meets World), Azura Skye (many, many things...she was just on an episode of House as the patient who could see ghosts) and Lynsey Bartilson (Grounded For Life) all made appearances. Strangely enough, this Halloween episode was the least gross so far this season. But it did have clowns. I hate clowns.

Don't fear the spoilers.

The Intro: A little boy dressed as a bear cub gets lost during a hay-maze race and ends up finding a real mummy, fainting in the process.  He didn't know it was a real mummy, but it still sucks. Worst. Halloween. Ever. The pediatrician/coroner father of another kid is the one who ids the mummy as being an actual person. Bones and Booth show up and he tries to lead them to the location, but they get lost. Instead of retracing their steps, Booth tells the officer at the body to throw his flashlight into the air then proceeds to knock down the bales of hay between them. After Bones confirms the authenticity of the remains, Booth knocks down the stack of hay standing between them and the car.

The Investigation: After they start following up on leads, Cam calls Booth and Brennan back into the office. A couple has shown up insisting the victim is their daughter Megan, who's only 14 and has been missing for a week. The mummified body is a year old, so it's not her - a fact that's solidified by Angela's sketch of the victim. Megan's parents do not recognize her. Then they get a call about another mummy that was found in an amusement park maze, this time by a nurse. When they go to talk to her, she's being assisted by an EMT. Booth asks if he saw anything and he says no, then he just rushes in and gets the people he treats out as quick as possible. While questioning the owner of the park, Booth notices a guy dressed up as The Grim Reaper named Greg Lisco (played by Rider Strong who I feel like I haven't seen in forever). He was at the other maze which automatically makes him a suspect. A pierced goth girl named Lola (who Booth calls "Pincushion") tells Greg to shut up and that he doesn't have to answer anything without a lawyer present. This, of course, makes her a prime suspect as well. After identifying the second victim (who's body is two years old) and method of death and comparing it to the first victim, the team realizes they've been scared to death. Literally. These two girls and Megan all went missing at that same maze at the amusement park. Booth and Brennan question Greg (who has a prior record of accosting teenage girls) and, when he doesn't cooperate, they both slap him around (Brennan gets a good one in across the cheek). He finally tells them that he takes the girls, fools around with them and then Lola likes to interrupt and slap the girls around. That's friendly behavior. She gets arrested and the team continues to work the clues, but time is of the essence since Megan is still alive but won't be for long - she's afraid of snakes and three pet stores just sold out. Brennan, Hodgins and Zack finally manage to narrow down locations thanks to the steady hot air, steel dust, and Hawaiian flower bits found on both bodies - a subway tunnel below a flower shop. Booth and Brennan race to the location in costume (Booth is a "nerd squint" and Bones is Wonder Woman). They go underground and snoop about, finding the place the killer mummifies the body. Booth figures out who it is - the EMT. Lola beats up the girls, he comes to treat them but instead drags them to their death. They find Megan trapped in a locked room full of snakes. Before they can evacuate her, the EMT shows up dressed as a clown (Booth is afraid of clowns) and they have a fire fight. Booth ends up killing him by shooting the EMT through the door. Case closed.

The Booth/Brennan Connection: This was a really good episode in terms of their interaction. There was no real point to what they were doing, no topical debate, but that's when it's best to me. Some highlights include when Brennan realizes Booth is afraid of clowns ("May explain why you shot that clown last year."), when Booth told her what his costume was (he had a giant calculator on his belt and high-water pants), and when Brennan pulled a comically huge gun out when they were searching for Megan (Booth: "Okay, where'd you even find a place to carry that?"). Oh, and Brennan accidentally shot Booth in the leg when the bullet ricocheted off the lock to Megan's room of terror. But it was only a flesh wound.

The Sub-Plot: Amber Kippler (Azura Skye) is taking over the Birenbau investigation for Doily, the P.I. that appeared in the beginning of the season. When Angela asks if she has any experience, she tells her that Angela Montenegro isn't Angela's real name, that she changed it when she was 18 because it came to her in a dream. Both Hodgins and Angela are shocked because this is something no one knew about her...except a girl name Roxy who's heart she broke the second year of art school. Impressive. Amber tracks him down and tries to get him to sign the divorce papers but he refuses because he's still in love with Angela (he even built her a house). To make sure Angela's really sure about what she wants to do, Amber really lays it on thick about how hot and sweet Birenbau is and even offers to act as a mediator to set up a meeting and see if sparks fly, but Angela is with Hodgins now and reiterates that to Amber. I really like Azura Skye and I really dig her character. Brava. I can't wait to see her other appearances this season (at least I assume she'll be back).

Other Highlights & Tidbits:

• The reason everyone is dressed up is because the Jeffersonian has a masquerade ball that everyone is required to attend in costume. Zack is the back end of a cow ("Naomi from Paleontology has agreed to be my front.") while Hodgins is Edward John Smith, ill-fated Captain of the Titanic. Cam dresses up like Catwoman and Angela is in a rather excellent Cher costume.
• Brennan always dresses up as Wonder Woman. Her fixation with WW is very well written and totally understandable, the best moment being at the end of the episode. After the case had been wrapped up, Booth and Brennan decide to go get food. While walking to the elevator, Bones lets Booth walk ahead and then starts twirling around in a presumed effort to change back into street clothes. Very cute.
• Cam and Brennan have a brief exchange about who's better - Catwoman or Wonder Woman. As a comic nerd and a child of the 80's, I found this conversation fairly odd because everyone knows that Wonder Woman is the best female comic hero of all time. Period. Catwoman, while enjoyable, is an anti-hero...though she's probably closer to a neutral character as she often serves her own purposes in conjunction with the greater good but not necessarily over it. End nerd out.
• I have to say again how much I liked Amber Kippler. The way she kept going on and on about how attractive and awesome Angela's soon-to-be-ex-husband was, and how irritated Hodgins was by it, was hilarious. That, and she kept calling him "Hodgkins" despite repeated correction attempts.
• So, is this Naomi from Paleontology going to make a personal appearance any time soon? I'd like to see Zack interact with a girl romantically for a change.

Quotes of the Night:
There were a lot of them...

• "What are you, Canadian?" - Hodgins to Angela when she gives a peaceful suggestion to coercing 1st husband Birenbau to sign the divorce papers.
• "I've been told i have alabaster skin that's nearly impossible to resist touching." - Amber to Angela when explaining why she tried to seduce Birenbau
• "So, if you wanna see him again and you wanna rub your alabaster all over him and shake his snow globes, be my guest." - Angela to Amber while reiterating that she wants a divorce
• "Beards. I don't...like beards, especially in conjunction with huge blue eyes. Makes me feel like I'm staring into one of those Russian religious icons." - Amber to Angela when asked why she said "Ew" about Hodgins

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