'Bones' mixes things up a little
What do a former prostitute and Brennan's father have in common? Since when is Brennan the one reminding Booth that love conquers all? And...um...has "Bones" finally elevated the oft-overlooked rhubarb to vegetable stardom?
Okay, ignore that last one. I just thought three questions in a row sounded better. (And it does, right?) Onward to the answers...
The Case: Adding to the list of gross things that can happen to bodies, Civil War re-enactors find a dentist's skeleton encased in clay and covered in spider eggs. Which hatch in the lab. Causing spiders to pour out like a hoard of very tiny (but not tiny enough) Orcs, swarming all over the block of clay. Yeah, I'm with Cam, here. Ugggh. Other fascinating and macabre discoveries: a tank full of rhubarb and hot water will magically get clay off of bones, and seeds can grow in a skull and fracture it from the inside out.
Danny, our dentist, had more suspected murderers than you'd expect for a supposedly nice guy. Kinda makes you wonder who'd be on your list of suspects if someone offed you, doesn't it? No? Just me? Moving on...there's the contractor squatting in his house, the bow-hunting ex-boyfriend with whom he had a bad breakup, the adulterous dental hygienist who tried to claim he gave her Hepatitis C at work, and finally, the ex-boyfriend who wasn't ready to come out of the closet and kept their relationship secret.
After Mr. Nigel-Murray and Cam miss it, Dr. Brennan realizes that a nick in one of Danny's bones indicates a probable arterial bleed-out. The nick contains metal used in dental tools, and the dental hygienist lives in an area with all the pollen and spiders and such found on the body. But wait! Her driveway is also paved with the same stones as Danny's - which the contractor claimed to have left over and sold to her at a discount. Or, more accurately, which the contractor stole from Danny.
The contractor claims self-defense: Danny attacked him after discovering the theft and he lashed out with a tool, cutting Danny's artery by accident. Oh, and he also didn't want to lose his license for a measly offense like stealing from a client. Uncool, man. This does NOT make me feel good about the kitchen renovation I'm about to undertake.
Booth and Brennan: Jared Booth is back from India! And he's madly in love with one Padme Dalaj, and considering marriage - after a month together. Hmmm...that's quite the contrast to Booth's M.O., isn't it? Though Padme seems like a wholesome grade school teacher from Virginia, Booth finds her "hinky." When Brennan calls him on his "true love" reversal, he tells her that he's learning to be rational from Temperance "The heart is just a muscle" Brennan and goes full steam ahead with a background check on Padme.
Though the psych major in me needs to point out that Booth clearly wants something to be wrong with Jared's fast-tracked relationship to excuse Booth's inaction with Brennan, it looks like his hinkiness radar is as accurate as ever since Padme used to be an escort. Oh, dear. Jared is rightfully furious when Booth breaks the news. Before telling him to go to hell, Jared points out that if Booth were in his shoes, he'd make his own judgment.
Poor Brennan is literally sick to her stomach about Booth's suddenly abandoning his belief system (and basically blaming it on her). She brilliantly reminds him that he helped her forget her father's past so that they could have a relationship, and asks him to explain the difference between her father and Padme. You know, logically.
Jared asks to see Booth and Brennan, and while they wait Booth wonders if she thinks what he did was wrong. She's not sure, but she fails to see the point of being right, reminding him that Jared making up his own mind wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. To Jared's credit, he and Padme have been completely honest with each other from the get-go, so he simply wants to know if Booth is in or out. He's in, and he's best man. It's pretty great to see Brennan help Booth with something interpersonal - I know I've said this before, but she's come a long way.
So long, in fact, that she gives this toast: "When Booth and I first met, I didn't believe that such a thing as love existed. I maintained that it was simply brain chemistry. But perhaps Booth is correct. Perhaps love comes first and then creates the reaction. I have no tangible proof...but I'm willing to accept Booth's premise." And they toast to love. Well, they're laying on the Booth/Brennan subtext so thickly it's become supertext these days, which I'd imagine isn't for everyone...but since the toast made me smile, I'm not complaining.
Squint Squad: Mr. Nigel-Murray and his random facts are also back, and I'm pleased to say he's growing on me thanks to some added three-dimensionality. Way to no longer be my least favorite NotZack, buddy. (Though I'll certainly be happy to see the real Zack in April!) He's feeling a little insecure during this case, and desperately scrambles for Brennan's verbal approval. Which could get annoying, but he was really adorably pleased once Cam finally squeezed a compliment out of Brennan.
Plus, he and Hodgins play pretty well off each other. And come on, "Rhubarb!!!" is maybe my favorite quote of the episode. Well, that or "I only have inappropriate comments off the phrase 'repeated tugging.'" I think the British accent made that quote at least 75% funnier.
No Wendell again this week - do you miss him yet? What did you think about Booth and Brennan's role reversal?
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Absolutely, positively don't miss Wendell at all. (He's my least favorite NotZach) Another plus of this episode? Not much Angela either.
I kind of liked the role reversal. The talk in the car was so funny when she told him to ponder his thought process. Notice that he didn't answer when she asked if he ran background checks on her dates? Teehee!
Totally random and I'm sure it won't mean anything if it was, but did she make her toast with water? Because that's bad luck.
I liked the toast as well (eeee!)--and the way they looked at each other when Brennan made the toast (mmmm!). She might believe in love? That's good news for Boothy! Cam's extended reaction to the spiders was excellent, and much like my own would have been. I appreciated that Brennan had a mini-crisis when Booth, whom she depended upon fully to re-establish family bonds--among a wide range of other decisions--seemed to contradict what he's always tried to teach her. Nice (semi-) role reversal, yes. And had Jared known Booth's feelings for Brennan and commented on HER (and we know "outsiders" have things to comment on), Booth would have decked him and told him to go to hell. I, too, appreciated rhubarb's time in the spotlight (yum!). And I liked that Brennan's hesitation over bonding with interns is still apparent. She can't attach herself after what happened with Zack. I liked the episode overall, even considering the very non-subtle message. BONES has a tendency to do that sometimes--dog fighting (The Finger in the Nest), religious acceptance (The He in the She), etc. Kind of bash you over the head with it. But it was also really great to have some more focus on science and bones, and to have Brennan examining the bones and again showcasing why she's the number-one expert. It wasn't as exciting as last week's episode, but they can't all be that emotionally engaging. It seems fans often expect that of their favorite shows, though. It's also hard to keep oneself from reading into every little thing when we have that April 8, 100th episode coming up. Gotta appreciate the little episodes, too...
Could Jared and Padme be the ones getting married?
BTW, I loved that a nice guy having so many murder suspects made you contemplate your own hypothetical suspect pool. Interesting thought! And as for Wendell, as much as I like him (but NOT with Angela), I did not miss him at all, no. I'm not necessarily keen on any particular intern turning full-time, as interesting as they all are in their own special ways. I liked last week's intern-less status; the BONES family chemistry was once again completely whole. I know they can't bring Eric Millegan back full-time, and Brennan needs an intern, but if they ever choose one of them--or someone new--full time, they're really going to have to work on integrating him or her into the lab family, and find a way to make fans care for him or her at least half as much as we did the irreplaceable and endearing Zackeroni. Thankfully, Hodgins seems to have found a way to be compatible with all the current interns in some way or other. Everyone seems to have bonded with Wendell (although if Angela and he break up, who knows what'll happen then), but everyone will have bond in some special way with anyone who becomes a regular character. Time will tell, I suppose. And this post was sooooo not supposed to be this long. Or my first one, for that matter. Particularly considering this episode wasn't especially ripe with subjects for commentary. Sorry.
I loved this episode; the writing in this season has really gotten back on par to that of previous seasons and it's been quite nice to watch. Also, as a gay guy watching this show it was wonderfully refreshing to see the fact that they treated the victim just like any other victim and the suspects just like anyone else and didn't make a big or special deal over it. The normalcy was nice.
I DESPISE the revolving interns, really I do. I want Zach back, but since that most assuredly cannot happen, I wish they'd just pick one of them. Me, personally, I'm pulling for Wendell, because I like him, but even that wouldn't satisfy me because I don't like any of them enough to want to see them forever. But, seriously, this was the only episode he's appeared in thus far that I've actually *liked* Nigel-Murray...even if only for the rhubarb moment.
Do have to say though: the nice guy had so many suspects? That comment was hilarious, and spot-on. I really hope I don't get murdered now, because I don't want to see that happening to me!
Two things about Vincent:
1. Although I understood his desire for some type of positive feedback from Brennan, for a while I thought he was too needy. I was a little surprised that both Cam and Hodgins tried to make Vincent look good instead of just telling him to get used to non-praise.
2. I'm glad that his random thought processes actually served a useful purpose this time around.
While Brennan is a bit insensitive, she actually makes me laugh. "I don't expect my interns to be as smart as me" was kinda funny. Though, I almost laughed out loud when Hodgins said "Vincent is a genius" and Bones says "we're all geniuses, except for Angela." haha. Right to her face. It really is as if Bones has no social skills whatsoever.
Why CAN'T they bring Eric Millegan back full time? I want Zack Back.
@Cass- Great point about Brennan's keeping her interns at arms length after Zack. So true. And agreed, I was actually surprised at just how much I liked not having a NotZack last week.
@Phoenix- I also found it refreshing that in the end, the victim's sexuality really wasn't that important.
@Mr. Nigel Murray- Ha, only Angela would let a comment like that from a friend roll right off her back.
I really enjoyed Nigel, too! I don't know, maybe now that Wendell is dating Angela, he's lost some of his shine in my eyes, but I def don't much care for him anymore.
Loved poor Nigel's 2nd round of "Cheers. Brilliant." b/c Bones gave him a tiny smile, a "glimmer of approval" LOL
Solid ep and solid recap! Thanks, Liz!
In these days of Homeland Security, I don't understand why everyone was so surprised that Booth did a background check on his future sister-in-law. He's a senior FBI agent, working in the D.C. area. It would be strange if a background check was NOT run on her. I thought those folks at the Jeffersonian were supposed to be smart...
Cheers. Brilliant.