'Bones': Sweets and Dr. Wyatt puzzle out the Booth/Brennan relationship

"Bones" continues to pile on the Booth/Brennan action, to the point of almost neglecting the case. I can probably live with that.

It's interesting, though: I can't think of another show that has analyzed out loud the possibility of its two lead characters getting together so explicitly and so exhaustively. I suppose this way, we still feel as though progress is being made without actually throwing the two of them together yet. 

The Case: Our body of the week is found at the bottom of a sinkhole. Greeeat ... when I was a kid I totally used to be scared of being swallowed up by a sinkhole after I read a news story about one that engulfed four cars. Terrifying. Anyway, this body is a) green, b) small, c) accompanied by valuable gold coins, and d) at the end of a rainbow (because of a water main break, but still!). Don't start dancing a jig yet, though, because it's actually a man inflicted with dwarfism who happened to be dumped in an area with minerals and acids that turned the calcium in his bones green. Booooring!

Not completely boring, though -- our victim was the Iron Leprechaun, a "midget wrestler." It seems "midget wrestling" is apparently an American pastime. USA! USA! USA! (Sigh...) And yes, Booth winds up having to fight one of the wrestlers in the ring. And he's waaaay too excited when he wins, hilariously, prompting jeers from Brennan and the crowd. Booth: "What did you expect me to do? He came at me like a rabid ferret!"

Bryce, the victim, had a criminal past, which comes to bear when Booth and Brennan discover that his body had been shot and concealed in a small underground passageway that just happened to run beneath a "cash for gold" establishment that was robbed around the time of Bryce's death ... by Bryce. Before he was presumably shot by his accomplice on the other end of the passageway.

Oh, and he had been having an affair with his estranged brother's average-sized wife since they were in high school 10 years ago. Wow. Worst brother ever? The robbery was intended to prove to her that he could be a good provider. A high school wrestling ring found at the crime scene leads Booth and Brennan to the victim's cheated-upon brother. Apparently, he pretended to be Bryce's accomplice but actually knew about the affair all along, and shot Bryce as he came out of the tunnel with the coins. I'm not saying anyone ever deserves to be murdered, but if you have a 10-year affair with your brother's wife, then plan a robbery with said brother to steal the money to support said wife in which you'll be in a secluded place dangling a bag of gold coins in front of his face, you're not not asking for it, right?

Booth and Brennan: Booth still isn't quite himself: Our former army sniper can barely hit the paper target, and may have trouble recertifying to use a firearm. He doesn't feel comfortable confessing his trouble to Sweets, since Sweets is an FBI shrink. And when he tells Brennan that he "had a bad day on the range," she wonders if that's a "cowboy metaphor." Ha! Booth instead goes to visit Chef Gordan Wyatt (and he's very sensitive about that title) in the middle of service, which has to be some sort of faux pas.

Sweets is upset that Booth went to Wyatt instead of him, but Wyatt convinces Sweets that it's because Booth cares too much about him to put him in a tough spot professionally. Instead, Wyatt consults with Sweets regarding "Agent B." He also consults with Angela, who opines that Booth is somehow homesick for his coma dream in which he was married to Brennan. Aww!

Dr. Wyatt wonders if Sweets didn't publish his book on Booth and Dr. Brennan because he was afraid of how they would react to his conclusion. What conclusion, you ask? That Booth and Brennan are in love with each other. But ... what the -- didn't Sweets tell Booth that it could just be a function of his injury, and that he should hold off? Was he lying because he thought Brennan couldn't deal with it yet, whether or not Booth was in it for the long haul? 

Anyway, he and Dr. Wyatt agree that because of Brennan's childhood, she's armored herself against feelings of love, and Booth subconsciously avoids acting on his feelings for her and breaching that armor because it would "amount to a kind of assault." Further, they agree that Booth's inability to shoot is a "manifestation of his phallic frustration," that he "quite literally can't bring his weapon to bear." Hrm. I was a psychology major and all, but I don't buy the Freudian stuff quite that literally. Sweets wonders if he even has the right to publish a book exposing feelings that Booth and Brennan can't even admit to themselves. Well, it would definitely lead to a few awkward conversations...that's for sure.  

Dr. Wyatt and Brennan discuss Booth's situation, and he's impressed by her newfound ability to distinguish accuracy (she "ratted Booth out" to Sweets by telling him about changes in Booth since the tumor) and truth (she tried to help Booth without his asking her to). Brennan: "I can't think of anything I wouldn't do to help him."

When Booth comes to Dr. Wyatt for help fixing the "brain damage," the good doctor chef references his coma dream and gives it to him straight:

Dr. Wyatt: "You're in love with her. You're building a world around her. A family."

Booth: "We're not compatible. She sees the world one way, I see it another way."

Dr. Wyatt: "No, of course, it's absolutely ludicrous the idea of you two together, but the heart chooses what it chooses, doesn't it? We don't really have any say in the matter."

Booth: "She doesn't love me. I would know if she loved me."

Dr. Wyatt: "May I counsel patience on this front? Hope and patience."

Booth verrry slightly smiles for a brief second before quickly moving on to his marksmanship certification. Dr. Wyatt's advice: "Grow a set. Be a man. Step up." Brennan depends on Booth's protection as his partner, and so he should damn well protect her. Dr. Wyatt suggests that Booth take Brennan to the test, and promises that he won't fail in front of her. And, of course, at the test Booth puts all his shots right through the center of the target and gets a big thumbs up from Brennan. So basically, they already have the kind of supportive, trusting, even loving relationship most people would kill for, and they aren't even having sex. I can see why you might not want to mess with that. 

Odds and Ends:

• Brennan working on her colloquialisms and "joshing around" is supremely adorable. And hey, Booth is right -- she's adapting!
• With all the Booth/Brennan stuff, and considering it's sweeps month, I'm surprised the previews didn't include some of the juicier scenes.
• Does anyone else want Booth and Brennan's new hangout to be Dr. Wyatt's restaurant? Or perhaps he could turn the diner into a gastropub of some sort... Because seriously, I love that character, and I love Stephen Fry.
• Our NotZack of the week was Mr. Nigel Murray. (Did Marilyn Monroe really have six toes on one foot? Not so much, it turns out.) I can't decide if I like the continual rotation, or if I want them to just settle down already and choose one. I think a tiny part of me is hoping that the truth will come out about Zack's non-murder, and that TPTB are holding the slot for him. If only...

 Quotes:

• Booth: "I just need you to help me fire my gun!" Dr. Wyatt: "That sounds desperately phallic. Is this maybe a sexual problem?"
• Gidget: "What can I say? I got a thing for the bad boys. Don't you?" Brennan: "No, I prefer good boys." Booth: "Really?" Brennan: "Yes."  
• After Brennan suggests that his shooting problems could be because he's getting older... Booth: "Remind me again how great I feel after talking to you." Brennan: "Well, who else would always tell you the truth?" Booth: "Yeah, you know, it does make me feel better. It makes no rational sense, but it does."
• Booth: "When a man can't have the woman that he loves, he gets a bit crazy."
• Booth: "Bones, would you do me a favor?" Brennan, slyly smiling in a hilariously obvious manner: "Yes, as long as it does not involve me shaving my head." Booth, laughing: "You are making a joke." Brennan: "I'm becoming quite amusing." ...Then she repeats the joke.
• Dr. Wyatt: "Do try these amuses bouches. They might look like sperm on corn smut [Ed. note: They do.], but I can assure you they are magically scrumptious."

Are we still within your limits of Booth/Brennan tolerance? What do you think about Sweets' decisions regarding the pair?

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