'Bones': Booth, Brennan and the squints talk about sex, baby
"Bones" gave us an intriguing juxtaposition of Amish life and teenage hormones tonight, but I'm still not sure how I feel about the case's out-of-nowhere conclusion.
The Case:
Booth and Brennan are called in to investigate bones found by a train track, belonging to a teenage boy who died about two months ago and grew up in the early 1800's. Or, you know, he was Amish. Levi was in DC on his rumspringa, a time when Amish teens are encouraged to sample the outside world before deciding to return back to the fold (or, more rarely, not).
But wait! They discover that Levi had a secret passion for music, which is forbidden in Amish culture. Man, take away my laptop and TV if you must, but if I couldn't even hum to amuse myself I'm pretty sure I'd go crazy within a week. Levi was actually a piano playing prodigy (say that three times fast) planning on auditioning for the National Conservatory and staying with Karen, a fellow musician, in the meantime.
But wait! Levi's second passion was apparently an Amish girl named Sarah, who secretly travels (by bus, gasp!) to the FBI to tell Booth and Brennan about her relationship with Levi, and her fear that he was going to leave her in favor of music. She communicated said fear to her brother Amos, who paid Levi a little visit. ...A visit in which he was lulled into passivity by Levi's rendition of Clair de Lune, much like Orpheus and his lyre. So much for that suspect.
But wait! Not only did Levi fall to his death from Karen's balcony, he had fractures on his hand from the keyboard lid of a piano, indicating that someone sabotaged him before his audition. And whaddya know? Karen and Levi were competing for the same spot at the Conservatory. Except, um, that turns out to not be true at all, and Levi wasn't even at the apartment before the audition - he had left all his stuff, but his money was gone.
But wait! Levi actually broke his own hand, presumably to remove all temptation from music so he could go back home and be with Sarah. So cross the murderous music student angle off the list. Just like we've crossed off Levi's father, Amos, Karen, and Karen's boyfriend Tony. So...it's 8:58 and we've got nothin', basically.
But wait! Turns out the actual murderer was just some petty thief who was robbing the apartment building. Wow, okay. Levi fell over the railing in a struggle to keep a fake gold medal from a music competition that Karen had given him. How symbolic? So...yeah. That was pretty much out of nowhere. Which makes sense, I guess - lots of cases must have surprise endings in real life, obviously. It's just a little unusual when it comes to crime shows, so it threw me off. I demand a slow trickle of evidence so I can piece together the facts faster than the characters and feel superior!
Okay, where were we? Ah, right, we were learning the valuable lesson that while Amish life is safer than city life, it doesn't allow you to watch a DVD of your dead son playing the forbidden piano beautifully. Got it? Good. Let's move on to the sex.
The Squint Squad:
Hey, Cam's still a mom! Michelle wants to spend the night of the formal dance with her boyfriend, Perry. The entire night. Cam is understandably worried they're sexing it up, to the point where she actually reads "Talking to Your Teen about Sex." And yet she STILL blows the sex talk, even mentioning that "some people" think God might smite them. Whaaat? Wow, if that came from the book I'd ask for a refund. Michelle, of course, does the whole "You're not my mother!" bit, and leaves.
Happily, though, she cools off and finds Cam at the diner for a much-needed Sex Talk Take II, admitting that she's not actually having sex, and that she's scared to do it...but also scared she'll lose Perry if she doesn't. And Cam says the exact right thing the second time around: that if Perry doesn't understand how Michelle feels, he doesn't deserve her.
It's really great to see Cam in a mother role - her character has grown a lot in the past year. And just in case Cam's advice to Michelle didn't stick, Booth runs into Perry at the lab and just happens to mention that Michelle is like family to him, that he's a trained sniper, and that Michelle deserves Perry's gentlemanly respect...or else.
Booth and Brennan:
After a couple weeks of Booth and Brennan paradise, we're back on Earth tonight with some funny banter, but nothing too deep. I did, however, enjoy the telling conversation about losing their virginity. And maybe Booth did change in that coma, because he seems way less uncomfortable talking about sex than usual. For the record, Booth lost it when he was 16 to a girl that "parts of him" loved. Brennan waited until she was 22 and had "found a man who could provide [her] a skillful introduction" to sex. Figures, and figures.
Odds and Ends:
- I guess teenagers must be born with a dormant partying gene, because those Amish kids definitely knew how to cut loose without any formal training. And wow, what a surreal party.
- Okay, I get that Clark isn't an outdoorsman, but seriously? Quit whining! You need the bones before you can do the lab work and you have the greatest ability to spot and handle the bones, so you should retrieve the bones. Plus, he's Dr. Brennan's assistant. It's his job to assist! Zack never would've whined that much.
- I feel really let down that we didn't get to see Sweets play the theme to 'Titanic'. Even though I hate the song at least as much as Hodgins does.
Favorite Quotes:
- "You know what? You could make Santa Clause cry. You really could." -Booth
- "I like it. It's 'Boothy'." -Brennan
- "Working here is like being on 'The View'." -Clark
- "Is that a cartoon rendering of a penis in your book? -Brennan "Uh, why I guess it is, look at that." -Cam "Why is it talking? ...It's cute." -Brennan
- "Every teenager goes through this. Think about what you went through." -Angela "Me?! Oh, god! What am I going to do?" -Cam
- "This is NOT in the proper spirit of rumspringa!" -Brennan
- "What are you doing?" -Hodgins "Playing the theme to 'Titanic'." -Sweets "Even not hearing it, I hate that song." -Hodgins "Not the way I play it." -Sweets
How did you feel about the case's resolution? Were you hoping for more Booth/Brennan tonight? Did this make you think of that reality show where they followed around Amish kids on their rumspringa?
I liked the ending. It just proves that solving cases aren't always so linear, and sometimes events are random. Plus, it made the final scene more poignant.
I also liked the fact that they toned down the Booth and Bones stuff. The subtly of their sexual tension is what makes it work. We don't need it bashed over our heads week after week.
Although I realize casting is already heavy, it seems surreal that Booth has no other duties nor visible assistance in detecting what appeared to be an unsolved missing person case at best. With no body, no report to the police, and no evidence of foul play, obviously the need for a search warrant and CSI was not apparent; but just Booth and Brennan?
Also, how do we think the body got from the street to the railway track? Did the petty thief manage that two months ago? And those prints were still on the keyboard lid? Still, I enjoyed the performance.
I thought it was a good episode, the ending was compacted yes but overall I liked it. I thought Clark had a right to complain, specially after he came back yet again and looked a mess. Also while he is assisting Bones, he is an actually Dr. unlike her other interns. I still say he should be full time and Wendell Bones' assitant
While I agree that Levi was doing a little too much complaining, the "walking along the train tracks in a jumpsuit isn't a good look on a brotha" made me laugh out loud, and his whole "yes massa" southern drawl to Bones, who clearly didn't get it was also very funny.
Two weeks and STILL waiting for the explanation or even off handed mentioning of Hodgins' new ZZ Top inspired Angela tattoo or mentioning how he got home after being dropped off in the desert
I agree with TL. The case itself doesn't necessarily have to be resolved in some earth-shattering way every single week. This case was more emotion-heavy and deservedly so. The point was that something wonderful was lost for absolutely no good reason, and that should always be the focus of each death. Not the resolution of the case, but the loss of the real human potential. This was one of my favorite Bones episodes ever.
Nates Mama- It's not really the lack of resolution I was surprised by (I'm a huge X-Files fan, after all), it was more the way it was shown - almost as an afterthought with a quick sentence thrown in to explain it. I actually like the fact that they did something unexpected!
Ummm, Cam, if your 16 year old wants to stay out all night with her boyfriend, JUST SAY NO! Come on, whether or not they are having sex, you don't let your 16 year old stay out all night in a limo with her boyfriend! Extend the curfew for prom, fine, but all night is a bit much.
Meh. Very Meh. sadly my favorite part was the sweets Hodgkins interplay.
I read the recap and thought "ugh" -- I'm not gonna' like this episode. It sounded lame. Was I wrong. I thought it was very well done and very touching.
MJ, it was Clark complaining lol. I liked the episode though. Not too much B/B but it was touching. The end was weird for a Bones episode I must say. Usually, the murderer is someone close to the victim or even a suspect to begin with. I was like "huh?!" when it turned out to be a petty thief haha. But it was a real life scenario instead of a "bam!" tv moment lol. I agree with Nates Mama and NL on that one.