I just feel like…this is going somewhere…

 

BONES: Season Five

The Parts in the Sum of the Whole

 

…and that’s why we’re watching, right? Because at one point, whether it was season one: episode one or not…we felt like this was going somewhere. Not just B&B love, but the whole show. So I think that’s why some of us weren’t happy with the 100th ep. I say ‘us’ because while I was happy with this episode, BONES fans are BONES fans, and we’re kind of in this together…going somewhere.

The episode strays from the formula, so I’m just going to do a running diary of the whole thing. I don’t want to miss a MINUTE!

The episode begins with B&B riding up an escalator (from the parking garage or something?), Sweets-manuscripts in hand. Booth tells us they are going to have to break it to Sweets gently.

Brennan does not really agree, because after all Sweets should be grateful for the truth. Interesting set up to the episode…a reminder that Brennan wants the truth.

Booth tells her that people can be grateful, but the first reaction is usually panic. Brennan says that if there was an error in one of her books; she’d want to know and Booth counters that Sweets might not see it that way, and then Booth wants to know what she considers to be the flaw in Sweets’ book. Brennan states that Sweets is wrong in that the Cleo Eller case was the first time they worked together. Booth is kind of weird in that moment and is like “Oh yeah, we worked that other case before that.”

Brennan gets this look on her face (which I now only recognize in hindsight) of horror that he doesn’t seem to remember every detail. She has that look on her face sometimes when he doesn’t get a particularly squinty issue, but now we know that in this instance, it’s WAY more personal.

She wants to know what Booth thinks they need to talk to Sweets about, and Booth tells her the whole “we’re in love thing”. Brennan shrugs. She doesn’t care about that. Booth is…slightly confused, I think.

But what cracks me up is that in the next scene, obviously one of them told Sweets he made a mistake, which he does not buy, and so Booth gives him a hint… “It’s not what you think.” Cocky! So funny to me that Booth is all confident about that when he had no idea like 10 minutes before. Yes! I loved that little look into B&B pre-Sweets session.  I can totally see that happening, where they make a plan for how they will deal with what Sweets might have up his sleeve. But anyways…Booth (in his gray suit! Woot!) is cocky.

Sweets takes the bait, and confidently asserts that B&B disagree with the idea of them being in love and that the sublimation of that fact lends itself to basically…the chemistry B&B have as working partners.

Booth is like, “I just told you it’s not what you think, and you immediately say what you think…”

Brennan intercedes and then concedes that Sweets is making an interpretation about their love life, and that she and Booth recognize his right to interpret. How generous of her!

Sweets is still like, whatever.

But Brennan follows up with, “That is your right as a psychologist to get everything wrong.” Haha!

Sweets=not amused.

Brennan tells him that she circled some typos (awesome), but that other than that, AND the fact that the Cleo Eller murder was not their first case, Sweets is ready to publish. She says this as she and Booth are standing to leave. Ah, way to break it to him gently, guys!

But then again…this is not news to us. We all knew they’d worked together in the past. Booth tells the Homeland Security officer at the airport, “Bones here identifies bodies for us.” I mean, I guess it’s possible they hadn’t WORKED together, but I don’t think any of us thought that. When she says, “DON’T call me Bones,” well, immediately there is some history there.

Sweets should have done some research. In all of the times he observed them, he never once just asked them to confirm that was their first case? I understand that for the sake of this episode, that is how the writers wanted to play it out, but…Sweets isn’t a victim here or anything like that. That’s what I’m saying. Anyways, he then asks B&B to tell him about their real first case to see if his conclusions are still valid.

And they do…

Booth makes me laugh that he tells Sweets he was at a gamblers anonymous meeting. Riiiiiight.

Oh gosh…well, you know how I love Booth’s season one hair, so already, at 2:19 into this episode, I was in love! Yes!

Present Day Brennan (PDBren) voiceovers that Booth had a gambling problem before he met her. Once again…another instance in this episode where Brennan wants to make sure the truth is spoken.

Present Day Booth (PDBooth) is cocky again and says that since he mostly won, it wasn’t really a problem. Here is a little funny sidenote. David Boreanaz is kind of cocky, I think, although I don’t know him personally or anything like that, but still…there is a vibe. Anyways, I realized that he doesn’t like admitting any weaknesses in Booth even. Whenever anyone would ask him a question, he always was very quick to defend Booth. I liked that about him, and it just made me laugh. So this whole episode, where Booth is pretty cocky…it made me think of that and it made me smile.

Like this…

Mmmmmm….long hair, brown eyes, cocky smile, white shirt open at the collar, St. Christopher’s Medal, baby!

But PDBren is once again telling Sweets and us that Booth’s issue was preventing him from fully concentrating on work.

I also don’t know what it is, but there was something very ‘Philly’ about the Booth in this episode. No complaints from me!  Also, I love how comforting Original Booth (OB) is toward Gemma’s mother in the beginning of this episode. He hugs her, which I think is very, very sweet. Gemma’s body was being released to her for burial, signaling that the police had given up hope of a solved case.

PDBooth tells Sweets that it was a split jurisdiction case; she was last seen in DC, but her body was found in a NY landfill and that the NY coroner was in town, and Booth decided to meet with her.

Enter…

YES! AH! I thought that was so creative, getting Cam into the episode as part of BOOTH’s past and have it be work related. My general feel was that they weren’t doing the Friends with Benefits thing at this point, but there smiles indicate that at any time, it could happen. I like their friendship, so this just felt so cool of the writers to do it this way.  Interesting that Cam tells Booth that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome. Booth isn’t buying it, so Cam suggests he seek out a different point of view.

Booth scoffs, “Partner up.” As if!

Cam tells him there is a forensic anthropologist from the Jeffersonian, and she heard she (Brennan) helped solve a stone age murder. Booth is not convinced.

He tells her,

“Forensics don’t solve crimes; cops do.”

Awesome.

Even more awesome is that Cam calls him on it, telling him he’ll basically get the same results. AND she says that he looks like he’s been up all night. Booth says he’s fine and Cam says, “Which means you won.”

Booth appears troubled and when Cam walks away, he jogs after her and stops the elevator.

“What’s that scientist’s name?”

And PDBrennan (and Cam) say. “Temperance Brennan”.

First of all, at that moment, the creative way that Brennan’s voice was the voice over, and with Cam’s smile (which…I love that smile re: Booth. I am happy Booth has Cam in his life as a friend, and you know what, if Booth were my friend…just saying.). Anyways…at that moment, I turned to my sister who was watching with me (on our dad’s laptop, sitting on our parents’ bed eating chocolate bars from a ziplock bag after being at our Gram’s calling hours. It was awesome). ANYWAYS…I turned to her and said. “This is good.”

She was like “Yeah” but she didn’t understand fully that I NEEDED this episode to be good. Haha.

So yes…I was feeling good. And then, PDBrennan got one of her cute little confident smirks that I adore, and was like, “Which is me.”

I don’t know what she was so proud about, but I loved that! (Fashion side note. I don’t like her dress.)

But I LOVED Original Brennan’s clothes. I thought she first of all looked so pretty.

And I just loved how she looked very pre-pilot episode Brennan. Eco-warrior Super-Anthropologist. I kind of miss that Brennan sometimes. Not that I don’t think she looks nice now, I just would prefer to see a more sciency & butt kicking Brennan (vs. a ‘follows Booth around’ Brennan. Ouch! Not that she does just that, but there is a sort of loss of her original character, I think).

 I so loved that we got to see the very first moment Booth ever laid eyes on Brennan. I mean, I think as fans, we want to know that he thinks she is beautiful, and there have been moments in the past where he thinks she is pretty and he told Max that she was beautiful, but I always had this impression that he kind of thought she was pretty, but her beauty is knowing the TRUTH about her and because he loves her and really respects her, then she is beautiful to him. Either way is fine, but I just love that at first, he’s hooked.

And I liked that he asked a question in her lecture about the fact that removing skin and muscle tissue would give away the evidence, and I like that Brennan says no, it reveals evidence.

Ah, deep breath in. Yes!

Those students in the class do not even KNOW what they just saw.

But I was like… ACK! And, also…Oh my gosh, David Boreanaz’ directing. These sweeping shots he does sometimes are just amazing. I remember the same was true with Bones that Foam, from the beginning bungee jumping to the end scene with the traffic jam. Awesome…

THEN…all those pesky clueless students leave the room, and Booth asks her if getting down to the bone ruins it, and Brennan disagrees. Booth realizes that that’s her thing. Brennan says yes, and she’s the best in the world.

Booth smiles, and then it shoots to PDBrennan and PDBooth who share  a quick laugh at their own past expense.

At this point in the episode, I was kind of hating the present day stuff. I don’t normally like flashback in TV shows (and THANK GOODNESS this was not a clip show…you know, the idea that B&B tell Sweets about their first case and it just flashes back to scenes we already have), and so I was like, “Okay, get on with it.” Not hating it, but just not really liking it as much as the past stuff. It’s probably because of Booth’s hair, although to be fair…I liked Brennan’s past hair too.

She looked SO pretty. No wonder Booth was feeling like he got hit by fate!

I like that he asks her if she believes in it. It’s kind of a cheesy line, which is funny and very classic, I guess, but what is even more awesome is that Brennan rejects it as ludicrous. She is so true to herself. And I think Booth was even more stunned. YES! Hooked.

PDBrennan and PDBooth both confess they feel the same way about fate, and then we have the opening creds. And that this point, I’m over 2,000 words already. Yes.

Then the show begins again with this great news:

Yes! I LOVED the lab work in this episode. Oh, when Hodgins came on screen, faux fro and all, I laughed. That he and Zack were antagonistic to one another at first totally made my day. Hodgins dissing Zack for not having any doctorates was great and made me think of Dr. Goodman! I also loved Hodgins’ wrist rubber band for rage and Zack’s mention of Naomi from paleontology.

Meanwhile, isn’t it still just like a breath of fresh air to see old school bren?

I love those earrings!!!

I love that the next scene is Brennan visiting Angela and dissing HER street sidewalk art. I loved Angela’s disgust at the skeleton.

That felt so right. But Angela is still not convinced that drawing faces of dead people is what she wants to do. Brennan encourages her in her own way and also says Angela will be paid. Angela is happy about one of those things.

And then…

Thoughts from you? On first watch, I was surprised, especially when Cam mentions that she and Brennan have ALREADY met before. Brennan offers no recognition (only a lesson in the social mores of elevator entering and exiting). I guess Brennan is not interested in remembering people, as she also will not remember Cam in the season two premiere, much to Booth’s dismay. Haha.

I loved Booth sitting in the bullpen and him propping his feet against his desk. Brennan comes to tell him all about the victim (he’d previously denied giving her any information in order to test her skills!)

Brennan brings the FACTs and Booth is muy impressed.

In the interesting column is Booth telling Brennan she shouldn’t (basically) compromise the remains. He tells her she is holding forensic evidence and needs to be wearing the white gloves. Hahaha!

Booth then shows Brennan a video of Gemma Arrington playing the piano and singing and apologizes for not telling her about the identity. Brennan says that while her time and expertise are extremely valuable, she understands his need to test her ability. And obviously, she adds, she passed with a lot of color.

When Booth doesn’t understand, Brennan very kindly explains that that means she did very well.

Booth begins to see exactly what he’s dealing with.

He tells her that she means she passed with flying colors.

And Brennan says, “I know.”

Haha!

Now he’s REALLY seeing what he’s dealing with.

This all leads to one of my favorite parts of this episode, and I think one of my new all time favorite Brennan moments. She asserts that Booth’s test means that he probably has something more in mind, and he tells her he wants to catch the bastard who killed Gemma.

And Brennan replies with, “How do you know he was a bastard? How do you even know it was a man?”

 Hahahaha! Her literal use of the word bastard to Booth’s colloquialism just was so perfect. I died laughing at that part.

Booth goes on to show her a photo of Judge Hasty. He assumes she knows who he is, but Brennan says she doesn’t follow current events passed the Industrial Revolution. ???!!!? Hahahaha.

Booth decides to let that one go and basically tells her that his gut is saying that the judge killed Gemma. Booth wants  Brennan to help him. Brennan says she won’t.  Booth wants to know why not, and Brennan tells him she’ll help him find the truth, and if the TRUTH is that Judge Hasty killed her, then she will help Booth catch him. First the truth, then the catching (that’s a third reference to Brennan’s desire for the truth).

Booth laughs and scoots closer, adding the charm smile. He just needs enough crap to prove his point to a jury. Brennan infers that “It seems to me that someone like you could benefit hugely from an association with someone like me.”

And Booth gets a taste of his own cocky medicine.

He laughs and then realizes that Brennan is serious. He tells her he was just joking, you know…having some fun.

Brennan realizes what he means and processes it and then says, “It is fun.”

PDBrennan and PDBooth are back in Sweets’ office, where he asks them to confirm if this all happened a year before the Cleo Eller case. Booth says almost to the day, and Brennan says it’s 13 months minus a week. Ah! But who’s counting right? Well, apparently she is!

Sweets is surprised that they didn’t fight, especially when Booth called evidence crap and Brennan called Booth stupid. Brennan tells Sweets that she and Booth were feeling each other up, like a honeymoon period.

“Out.” Booth corrects, “We were feeling each other out.”

Brennan is nonplussed by the correction and asks Sweets if he wants to hear the rest of the story. And Sweets at this point, as BONES pal Lauren pointed out, now looks as if he just found out Santa is not real.

But too bad for him because there is more past awesomeness to discover.

Brennan is approached by Hodgins who found a sliver/splinter of maple wood on Gemma’s clothing. Hodgins and Zack bicker (come on, what other word IS there for it????) and Brennan encourages them to work together on an experiment. Yes. Yes, Yes, YES! I so loved that Brennan is the one to recommend scientific inquiry. Hodgins doesn’t think it’s a good idea, and Zack gives us the Zack noise. YESSS!

Oh, hey, fun fact that I didn’t know about until I watched David Boreanaz on Jay Leno, but…

That’s DB’s dad. He was in town, so they put him in as an extra. Good times.

Booth and Brennan turn the corner and Booth is telling her that he has pulled in Gemma’s baseball playing (and therefore perhaps maple baseball bat wielding) boyfriend, but he knows he didn’t commit the murder. Brennan wants to know how he knows that, and Booth tells her it’s because it was Hasty.

Brennan tells him that feeling doesn’t count.

“Feeling isn’t knowing. When you know something, you can argue fact, not merely make insupportable claims in a passionate tone.”

Booth counters, “You said that in a passionate tone. Without facts. You see, when it comes down to it, it’s all about what you feel.”

Brennan is slightly disgusted but moves on, wondering why he’s interrogating the boyfriend if he’s already convinced. Booth says, “Ah, because I want to convince you.”

And he kind of steps closer to her, and is very charming.

Brennan reacts to his charm and says he is being kind and she asks if she can come in and watch him broil the suspect. Booth says he COULD broil him, but he thinks she means grill.

The ‘interrogation’ scene is nice, as it shows Brennan getting a feel for how Booth works, and the character of Gemma’s boyfriend is well played.

And then…

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Yes! I loved that entire scene, when Brennan hit Zack with the bat and then she and Hodgins determined that the bat is not the weapon. I also loved Zack in that suit. I really loved this episode. At this point, I probably turned to my sister again and was like, “This is good.” Aren’t we all so glad it was good? I was nervous.

Zack then shows Brennan that parts of the inner ear are missing from Gemma’s remains. The Brennan/Zack interactions in this episode are bittersweet and reminded me of the very end scene of Pain in the Heart when Brennan feels she didn’t give Zack anything and Booth reminds her that she gave him something pretty great. But in this episode, the teacher/student relationship is very special and sweet.

Booth then begins to outline the basics of the case and takes Brennan to a hotel ballroom (once again, gorgeous directing by David Boreanaz…that sweeping down shot to them standing in the lobby was great!). He tells her that Gemma was singing for a group of hoity toits. Brennan says she doesn’t know what that means, and Booth reveals his distaste for influential people by explaining they are movers and shakers, etc.

Brennan is slightly amused by his judgments.

There was a reception at the hotel at 9 PM, and Gemma was seen before it, but after… poof. And a year later, her remains were found in a NYC landfill. Booth then asks what they are looking for, and Brennan explains they are looking for whatever caused the blows to Gemma that probably happened right before her death and that they are looking for something maple.

Booth then confesses that, “I gotta tell you, I really am enjoying working with you, Bones.” So Sweet! Also, if you kind of look closely as they are walking down the steps, we see Booth is wearing plain black socks. Deliberate? Oh, I am sure.

Brennan corrects him, “Bones is not my name.”

Booth is sweet and kind of eager. “It’s just a nickname.” Sweet and eager=flirty, actually.

Brennan ‘gets’ it, haha. But then says, “I could call you shoes.”

Haha…I loved that part. I thought that was one of the greatest things.

Booth is like “Shoes, why shoes?”

And Brennan tells him it’s because they are so very shiny. Hahaha, and then…my absolute favorite part. Seriously, after I watched the ep, I thought this information was the juiciest spoiler in the land! No one really scooped it, so I thought maybe I was wrong. Maybe I am wrong, but to me, Booth becoming a ‘freespirit rogue rebel’ because of Brennan…Love. Love, Love, Love, Love.

I loved that he told her the shoes were part of the uniform and that the FBI has a way of doing things. I loved Brennan telling him that anthropologically, para-militaristic organizations tend to constrain individuality.

Booth agrees, and Brennan adds that in any group, no matter how restrictive, the free thinkers, the mavericks, the rebels with leadership quality find ways to declare their distinctiveness.

Booth is a free thinking rogue rebel!!!! Woot! Bring it on staid ties and socks and belt buckles. Seeley J. Booth is on the move!

In the next scene, Brennan asks him if he’s seeing anyone. Booth thinks that is kind of abrupt, but admits that he is, casually. He asks her if she is, and she says there is a physicist asking her out, and she is thinking about saying yes (the physicist who couldn’t tie his shoes? Yes!)

Booth admits that he’d ask her out if he could. Brennan wonders why he can’t. Booth tells her that the FBI discourages fraternization with other agents or consultants. Brennan says, “That’s too bad.”

Booth is glad she thinks so. That moment is sweet but somewhat forgotten as B&B discover a set of maple stairs. They hypothesize using Booth’s guess and Brennan’s math that Gemma was trying to escape and fell down the stairs. This leads them to the exit that leads to an alley. A better hypothesis forms, that the killer dragged Gemma’s body to the car and drove away.

I love the body language between them in this whole episode, but particularly this part.

And they are both looking very beautiful.

Enter Caroline Julian (in Booth’s office!!!! Haha, I loved that). What I was not totally sure about was Brennan somewhat meeting Caroline, but as far as consistencies go, I thought this episode was pretty good as far as matching up with the other 99, so I’ll just not worry about it. Angela’s notepad pre-Angelator was funny.

What I do love is Angela and Booth standing at Caroline’s desk while Brennan sits behind. I can totally see Booth telling her, “Just don’t say anything unless she speaks to you,” as Brennan tells Booth what to tell Caroline, but once Ms. Julian acknowledges her presence, Brennan reaches out to meet her immediately. Booth tells her not to bother, haha.

I so love when Ms. Julian is talking about Hasty and Brennan adds her own clarification, “a hoity toit.” And Booth groans. Hahahahaha! Yes. I love how Caroline calls Booth out and tells him she’s not committing career suicide because he’s cute and he wants a window. Yes!

Booth rushes Angela and Brennan out of there, and Angela whispers to Brennan that Booth IS very cute. Brennan admits that she does respond to the breadth of his shoulders and strong jawline. Yes, Brennan. So do we.

Brennan and Booth then go to question Judge Hasty, inviting him to the hotel for discussion. He’s not interested in their theories and tells Booth he’s looking like an idiot. Brennan disagrees, and Hasty gets into her face.

Bad move, pal.

Brennan punches him in the face and then wonders if that was bad. Booth confesses that he’s been wanting to do that for years and that Brennan is so hot.

He likes that she’s a free spirit rogue rebel, haha.

In the next scene, Caroline Julian rocks our world again as she tells Booth that he needs to cut all ties with Brennan and hope that the judge sues her and not the FBI. Booth says he can’t do that. Caroline is sympathetic. She has let a pretty face lead her down the path of unrighteousness, Booth’s face for example, haha

Booth says it’s not like that (a precursor to “We’re just partners), and Caroline is like, “Yeah right” (a precursor to, “I want you to kiss Seeley Booth…on the lips…)haha. She then tells Booth he has to fire Brennan and advises him to get her drunk first.

The next scene features Brennan and Zack going over some facts. Brennan worries that perhaps by boiling the flesh, they destroyed some particulates Hodgins may have been able to use. Zack is not pleased, but Brennan tells him they are not used to such fresh kills (AH hahahahahaha), and they must adapt. She’s awesome. Angela pops in and wants to help.

She tells them that she thinks maybe Gemma’s head was hit with a door with a bolt or something. Brennan wonders if perhaps it was a car trunk door, and asks Zack for the force that would create. Angela is shocked (but we are not) when Zack does the math in his head.

In the next scene, Booth is attempting to get Brennan drunk, while meanwhile, she continues to talk about the case. Haha.

Booth tells her to stop talking about the case for just one minute and…

He is declaring his individuality; he is going rogue.

I love that Booth then moves to the barstool closest to hers and compliments her on holding her liquor very well.  I am sure he is bummed that she’s not quite drunk enough to be fired yet, but I think eventually, he’ll like that she can take him drink for drink.

She admits that this is nothing compared to the Bang she drank in her anthro research and they toast to bang.

I think I gasped out loud at the way he was openly staring at her like this.

Him telling her she was fired made me laugh, but I so loved how Brennan was hurt immediately. She has probably never been fired from anything, just like she never got a B (and never will!).

She wants to know if it’s because she drank Bang…THAT was for research. Booth laughs and tells her it’s because she punched a federal judge, twice. Brennan counters that he thought it was hot. And he agrees.

I love the way they drink another shot, and by this time, Booth is leaning very close to her. Check out that white dress shirt, too. Yes!

But I really love Brennan’s little finger roll to get him to come even closer

Then she moves closer to him and just has to break his heart with those blue eyes right?

She rationalizes that if they don’t work together any more, they could have sex. Booth says he’ll call a cab.

Wasn’t there something electric about even the very BEGINNING of this scene? I mean, how many of us have dreamed of B&B in the rain, right? Maybe just me…who knows, but I thought from start to finish, this entire scene was just plain gorgeous. Cheers again, David Boreanaz. But aesthetics aside…there is also some amazing fantabulisticulousness!

Booth tells her he has something to confess, and Brennan asks if it’s that he’s a direct descendant of John Wilkes Booth? If so, she already knew that. (haha, remember my lamewad non-spoiler in my proof in the pudding post about how I liked that something from that was brought up? This was it).

Booth wants to know how she knew that, and she says ‘from your bone structure’. Of course! Haha. I love the moment right after that, when Booth kind of asks her to keep it under her hat. He is kind of laughing nervously, and Brennan is also laughing. Very sweet.

But then Booth gets serious, and he confesses that he has a gambling problem but that he’s dealing with it.

I love the initial look on Brennan’s face.

She has compassion for him! And she respects him. She finds his vulnerabilities irresistible. This is the same Brennan from the basement of the Jeffersonian in Night at the Bones Museum.

Her tone of voice is the exact same, her facial expression is the exact same. Gosh, Emily Deschanel is amazing. We have talked before that Brennan is fascinated by Booth’s vulnerabilities, and that she craves him as something to be known, basically. Now, 99 eps into this, we all kind of thought that he was pretty secretive, and to be fair to her, he was, pretty much. But the idea that she had a TASTE of his inner conflict and then spends the next 6 or so years trying to pursue those is just something I totally buy into for her character.

Plus, I don’t think anyone has ever looked at her in her LIFE like Booth was looking at her in that moment. Brennan thrives on honesty and the truth, and he was nothing if not completely stripped bare for her to see.

I mean, we are all like on the edge of our seats for any moments like that with Booth, so I can totally see how she is just drawn right into his whole…deal.

Not that he’s not completely drawn to her as well…

By this point, I think I was just about not breathing…

I love that Booth feels like it’s ‘going somewhere’, and when Brennan asks him what makes him think that, he doesn’t really answer, but just says he thinks he might kiss her. But I kind of think that Brennan is the one who kissed him. I mean, it’s mostly mutual, but…she kind of leans in more. Thoughts? That Booth is kind of shy in this moment feels very honest to me. He is very charming, we know that, but it’s almost like with her…the charm isn’t needed. I can see him using his charm when he needed to with women in the past, but with her…it’s just pure honesty.

The idea that they got along at first and were totally crushing on one another never crossed my mind as a possibility for a plot point for this episode, but I totally, totally buy it.  

This is the kind of kiss (not to get ahead of ourselves) but that 30, 40, 50 years are made of, right?

Her closed eyes, his little boost of confidence…I loved it.

That B&B have been working together this whole time after having that little tiny taste of one another just blows me away. It kind of puts a different slant on it. But…as you know, we’re only about 30 minutes into this thing (and over 5,000 words). Let’s keep going!

We move back to present day, and Sweets is even more stunned. What makes me laugh is Brennan’s confession that there was tongue contact. I don’t know if that is a call back to Santa on the Slush (when Sweets asked, “was there tongue?”). Maybe Brennan thinks that is what he wants to know, haha.

Sweets feels like his book is crap. Brennan and Booth encourage him that that is why they are there, to make sure he doesn’t look foolish for publishing it.

Sweets then asked them how long the affair lasted, and I admit that when B&B kind of gave themselves teeny little smiles, I had a small to mid-heart attack. You see, I was feeling nervous that Brennan had lied to us in Soccer Mom in a MiniVan when she tells Sam that she is good in bed, but Booth has no direct knowledge of that fact. If B&B had slept together in the past, I would have been really mad. Really mad. And hurt. And even if it was jokingly, like they had tequilasex and didn’t remember in the morning, I was still going to be mad. I mean, we’ve invested a long time into these characters, and not JUST for the UST, but still… I feel we were already kind of cheated in EitB (but I won’t go into that), so the idea that there would be TWO sex occurrences between them made me nervous. Very nervous.  So I was glad to see that answered.

But first

Ah, seriously…so amazing.

I love her ponytail. I love Brennan’s whole thing here. She’s so pretty but not like blatantly trying to sex him up. I love Booth’s whole deal, of course.

I love that when she pushes him away and kind of laughs and runs toward the cab, he doesn’t quite open his eyes and just says, “Wow.”

Brennan’s “We are not spending the night together” made me give a nice cheer, and Booth’s “Of course we aren’t. Why?”made me laugh. I love how he agreed with her immediately, and then wanted to know why.

Brennan’s answer, “tequila” proves that our girl is smart! Yay!

I LOVE Booth running after the cab and being very eager and sweet. He’s not about to let her get away. I don’t think he’s ever experienced anything like her before.

“So you’re afraid that when I look at you in the morning, I’ll have regrets?”

I loved Brennan’s answer

“That would never happen” proves that Brennan is so Brennan! I love her confident laugh and the way the cab pulls away, and I love the way she turns back and waves at him. I don’t think she has experienced anything like him before either. Question…what happened between the time she tells him they could have sex to this moment to make her change her mind? Did she go from biological urges to something else in that span of a rainy kiss? Is it the kiss? Is it his confession? Is it the idea that he’s being really honest with her, and she somehow, despite her lack of intuition normally, gets that it really IS going somewhere? What do you think?

Either way, Booth is stunned, hooked, etc, etc. And so was I. I loved voiceover Brennan saying that she went home and went to bed, and Booth…

“So did I”

To me, I think we see that Booth was sort of fooling himself at the beginning of this episode and thought his gambling ‘issue’ was not that big of a deal. But the idea of Brennan, of being the right man for her, or…I don’t know what, being worthy of her…it just cuts him to the quick. Booth IS a good man; I believe that. I’m not saying that it’s all because of Brennan. But I do love the thought that he’s more serious about getting his life together because of her. Thoughts from you? David Boreanaz was asked what scene he really liked from a directing standpoint in this episode, and he said that scene, the very end, where he’s kind of walking away in the rain, etc…he really liked how that turned out how he wanted. I just think it’s so special that he has his hands on this episode.

Haha, the next scene, the next morning at the lab…

Brennan is kind of like a diva, which makes me laugh! What also makes me smile is that it is sort of (unless I am reading too much into it, and hello…that’s never stopped me before) a toss back to the end of Intern in the Incinerator where Brennan asks Booth if she is going to have a headache in the morning, and Booth kind of grins. Ah, he’s already given her a headache the next morning! Cool. This sort of flash-back which we can then reconcile with events we already know is the stuff I love. The flash forward of EitB which we are supposed to somehow feel our way through is the speculation that gives me ulcers. Just in case you were wondering why I’m such a hypocrite, haha.

But anyways, I love that her little squint squad is following her around at this point. The team is formed!

It’s like a parade of Brennan baby ducks. They are so hooked, and there’s nothing she can do about it now. What are your thoughts about Hodgins kind of sidling up to Angela and asking if he’s mentioned how excited he is about working with her? It’s kind of a cute nod to the future. On the other hand, I think we really sort of saw our own beginning of the two of them in season one and two, so…I’m torn on that.

I love Zack and Angela going on about the work they did and Brennan confessing, “We got fired.” First of all, it’s funny that now it’s a “WE”, when I’m pretty sure none of them punched anyone in the face (although Hodgins probably would have if he could have, haha).

They are all shocked. Angela thinks it’s because she slept with Booth. Brennan denies that. Why would Angela say that?

“Tequila vapors” Hodgins shrugs.

But Brennan has heard enough. She tells Zack to take the findings to Booth and hires Angela on to work for her with ancient remains and tells them all they should get  on with their normal jobs.

Hodgins tells Angela, “You ever feel like you saw something great that almost happened and then it didn’t.” Hmmm…

But enough speculation on what great things will or will not happen, as Booth is back and cuter than ever!

Um, I just want to thank TPTB for giving us a Booth/Zack scene. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. Zack telling Booth it was immensely stupid of him to fire them is just money.

Booth rises up.

Did a squint just call him stupid? Ah. Zack doesn’t really back down as much as just walk away. I love that he and Cam pass each other in the doorway. Cam is horrified that Booth FIRED the Jeffersonian Institution. I love the scene with Caroline, Cam and Booth in Caroline’s office, especially when she asks if he fired the J-team already. Booth is like ‘of course’, and when she says, “well, hire them back,’ he’s like ‘okay’. In his mind, he’s like “crap”. I kind of like this look at ‘not the boss’ Booth. I don’t want that all the time, but here it was fun. What does make me smile is that in the future, Booth will call on Caroline to help Brennan in New Orleans.

I smiled when Booth comes into Brennan’s office and is like “You’re back, baby!” Good times.

But…here we go…

Bickering.

At this point, I know I turned to my sister and said, “Oh no, something bad is going to happen.” I had been so shocked that they had gotten along so well that I had forgotten that when we meet them again in the pilot, there is a lot of bad blood, and I instinctively knew that it had to be something more than just him firing her. Something bad was going to happen, and even though I know that eventually, they will learn to grow to respect and care for one another, I was on edge.

“What’s the matter? Get your coat, chop chop!” Haha, that made me laugh.

And so did Brennan’s annoyance at the FBI techs. I didn’t mind her cockiness about the best and the brightest being at the Jeffersonian. I think we should allow her a little pride restoration. I like that he asks her if something is wrong and she admits that it’s because he got her drunk to fire her and then have sex with her.

Booth disagrees. He got HIMSELF drunk and then very gracefully accepted her ‘takeback’ on having sex with him. I enjoyed that little edgy bickering.

And Booth tries to joke and says, “What’s going on, Bones?’

And she is like “Do not call me Bones.” Yes!

And…that is when everything changed. The innocence in their meeting has taken a hit.

“Okay, excuse me, but you really need to learn how to speak to human beings.”

“I speak six languages…two of which you’ve never even heard of.”

“You know what? You’re a cold fish.”

“You’re a superstitious moron.”

“Get a soul”

“Get a brain”

Um…what you heard at about 12:05 AM EST time on March 16th was the sound of my heart breaking. Oh, ouch. Ouch, ouch. I kind of thought the worst was over (silly me!). But I did smile when the FBI tech says “Agent Booth?” and they both answer, and then he is kind of like “I’M Agent Booth.”

The tech has a piece of inner ear, which presumably belongs to Gemma. But Brennan doesn’t like to presume. She demands that it be delivered to the Jeffersonian for testing and storms off. Booth is plenty mad, and somewhat on impulse arrests Judge Hasty (while meanwhile trying to search after Brennan).

This is sort of an indulgent moment, but I totally loved the shot of Booth handing Sweets a glass of water.

On the conference call with DB, I think I was the only one who complimented him on his directing, which seemed so crazy to me. I just loved his entire work on this episode. I mentioned that I liked this shot, and he laughed, in a really, really nice way. Indulgent moment over.

Sweets, I feel, then tries to compensate for his error. I think he kind of lashes out at them. “It’s like you missed your moment and then punished each other for it.” Um, wrong, dude. Then he’s like “You know who ends up paying the price? Me.” Well, sorry about your luck, Sweets…but you are only a victim of your own lack of research. Haha.  Not that I don’t feel slightly sorry for him, but for him to put the blame on B&B and then try to justify his own thoughts… watch it!

B&B begin to describe how they got Hasty convicted, and how they both sort of solved the case.

I liked that scene.

But Sweets is not totally convinced, and asks them what happened between the two of them, and with this…

I was back to dread! Oh, but nothing…nothing could have prepared me for what happened.

Brennan slapping Booth in the face is…

I do not have words. I just do not know how to describe how much that hurt inside. I am crying again now, just re-watching and seeing the force of it, the hurt, the malice, the intent, the shock, all of it. Oh, Booth!

He is so stunned to say the least.

I was so stunned. Weren’t you stunned?

Brennan slapping him on the face and THEN calling him a bully…I mean…if she had taken out a knife, reached into his chest and literally pulled out his beating heart, I don’t know if she could have hurt him more. She goes on to say that he uses his badge and his gun to intimidate people.

Booth has heard enough and steps closer, accusing her of using her brain to make people feel stupid.

Brennan then calling him a stupid man and saying she hated him is like…unbelievable.

Booth retaliating by saying, “Oh, you hate me. What, are you 10 years old? I’m not your dad!” just completely took my breath away in shock.

Brennan’s declaration that she would never work with him again, followed by his “Who asked you” just left me open and bleeding. We have seen them over the years as they came to know one another’s issues and pasts and family lives, etc, etc, but for them to have…within the first week of knowing one another…just pinpointed right to the heart of each other’s…pain…I don’t even know what to say. Please tell me I’m not the only who just could not breathe. That Booth will struggle with the idea that he’s not smart enough for her for YEARS just so makes sense (along with the idea that she doesn’t want to work with him).

The opposite of love isn’t hate; the opposite of love is apathy. To that end, I guess this rage is fueled by love, but still…it broke my heart. Brennan storming out and Booth rubbing his red cheek just made me so sad. That this is within 24 hours of their rainy kiss just left me stunned.

I love Sweets’ reaction, though, because it was mine. “You struck him?”

Very interesting is Brennan’s reaction:

I think she gets the error in her ways. Even more interesting is that Booth immediately defends and excuses her. “Oh, I shouldn’t have grabbed her.” Oh, Booth. She shouldn’t have slapped you. No one should ever have slapped you. Ever.

I would have liked to have seen Brennan apologize, but I’m not complaining. Sweets however, tells them they are totally messed up. Boo!  He is/was convinced that if they had kissed, the dam would break. So he wants to know if the dam broke.

Brennan doesn’t get it, and Booth explains that Sweets thinks they still slept together.

Now…incredibly interesting response from Brennan.

“We’re not in love with each other.”

SO not the same thing as sleeping together, as she would normally attest. But I think that we all know, including her, that now (and maybe then), Booth and Brennan sleeping together would account for love.

I was so intrigued by Booth’s little falter of expression there, at her words.

But, that’s not anything we haven’t seen before, right? There have been moments (like the ‘you wouldn’t even have coffee with me?’ scene) where we kind of get an insight into Booth’s feelings for her. I kind of thought the camera would pan to Sweets for him to pinpoint Booth’s reaction, but it didn’t. So, I thought maybe that ‘moment’ was going to just slide into the other moments we’ve had.

Sweets wants to know why if they aren’t in love, neither one has been in a serious relationship since they met, and they both shrug it off. Sweets isn’t finished and tells them that one of them has to make a move, and he calls out Booth, telling him he’s the gambler.

Booth gets this look on his face like maybe…

Meanwhile (and I didn’t recognize this the first time around), but Brennan then begins to panic. Ah…

But Booth shrugs it off and turns to his partner, asking if she wants food.

She shrugs. Sure, she could eat. They leave quickly, leaving behind Sweets with his manuscript, and all those typos. Haha.

So, I’m thinking…okay, HH is totally going to be nice to us and give us a nice diner scene, or something special, right?

Of course, the “Nothing happens unless first a dream” quote is funny to me. Okay, okay, HH, i get the message. I’ll stop complaining about EitB. For now……………haha

Brennan then confesses to Booth that Sweets wrote in his book that the abandonment she felt from being left by her parents makes her act and feel as if all meaningful relationships are doomed. And Booth adds that yeah, Sweets wrote that he has white knight syndrome because of his physically abusive alcoholic father.

On this part, I am at little confused. On the one hand, I’m not saying that those two things aren’t the only things that have shaped B&B, but…I do agree with them that they aren’t everything. However, if this is supposed to tell us that Sweets was wrong and neither of those things were true…well, I don’t believe that. Just because SOME things have changed (that they kissed twice) doesn’t mean that everything we have seen up to this point has not been valid. I still think B&B deal with both of those issues. Perhaps that’s not the singular pair of issues that prevents them from being together romantically, but those are still issues. I guess for me, the idea that Booth then takes the OTHER thing Sweets said and acts on it…that makes me think that Booth (and Brennan) know that Sweets wasn’t completely wrong.

And then…it was like Booth inhaled all of the breath between all of us. Something was about to happen.

I love this profile shot of the both of them; it’s just so classic. Booth admits he’s the gambler. Brennan is somewhat stunned, but at least she mostly doesn’t pretend not to know what he is talking about. Booth tells her he wants to give them a shot.

Brennan repeats his words, that the FBI wouldn’t let them work together…

I love that Booth straight away is like “Don’t do that; that is no reason.

I love that he’s like…no, no. we have more than that, and we BOTH know it. We KNOW it. If he had said that, I would have been so proud of him. That he KISSED her to PROVE it…oh, so amazing. Go Booth! Yes! I was so proud of him.

After I watched this episode, I was up late…I couldn’t sleep and I was talking with friends and family, and then went to bed around 5 AM. When I woke up a few hours, there was just this feeling like…something is different. And I realized it was because Booth had kissed her.

 I loved him grabbing her and pulling her close, and her hand landing on his arm. It’s almost painful, the desire between them…so sad. Totally different from the first kiss in this episode where they are both smiling the whole time.

I think Brennan has some conflict there. I think she wants to give in to his kiss, but in the end…

She steps back. I love Booth demanding to know why.

Brennan gives what I think is a somewhat rehearsed speech. The little panic moment in Sweets’ office makes me realize that she has just been wanting to keep up the status quo between them to avoid Booth pain (which also makes her words from the end scene of EitB interesting…it’s a burden).

“You thought you were protecting me, but you’re the one who needs protecting.”

To me, that just shows that Brennan has been aware of Booth’s feelings for her. Booth doesn’t see it…what does he need protecting from?

“From me” Brennan answers, and begins to cry. “I don’t have your kind of open heart.”

“Just give it a chance,” Booth begs. “That’s all I’m asking.”

Brennan tells him that doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome is insanity. Booth counters that they can have whatever outcome they want. This next part…oh my gosh.

I have never seen Booth as honest as he was when he said “thirty or forty or fifty years”.

I asked DB in the conference call if he thought Booth was going to be upset because now Jared AND Sweets were engaged before him, and wasn’t getting married one of Booth’s goals in life? DB countered that he didn’t think getting married was a main goal for Booth…but…I don’t know you guys. Thirty. Forty. Fifty years. Maybe I shouldn’t have said marriage, I guess, but we all can see that Booth wants to be a one-woman man. I was so proud of him for admitting it. He says it’s always the guy who says ‘I knew’.

Brennan is in pain, stunned.

Booth… “I knew.”

I loved that. I mean, I think we all kind of knew that he knew, but there were times when I just wasn’t sure. So for HH to deliver that to us, to make us see that Booth is who we thought he was, it was just so excellent.

But the real question is…is Brennan who we thought she was?

She rejects him.

Based on lack of concrete evidence.

I accept her reaction, even though it totally broke my heart, because I think it’s breaking her heart too. PalSmurfs and I were talking about this idea, and remember how earlier in the series, she asked Booth if she was cold hearted about something? And he tells her that the very fact that she recognizes that proves she isn’t? That’s what’s happening here, but she doesn’t see it. The fact that she feels she KNOWS she doesn’t have what it takes to love Booth like he deserves proves to me that she does (or will). This isn’t her saying “We’re just partners” or “there’s a line” or “I don’t want you”…nothing like that. That gives me hope.

As for Booth…I think he gave big time, and I don’t begrudge him accepting her words. To say that he should have tried harder is crazy to me. I mean, he first of all said he wanted to give it a shot, and then he KISSED her, and then he told her she’s the one, and he told her that he was fine with a ‘non-normal’ outcome…meaning, in my opinion, that he was saying. “I don’t want what the world says is normal. I just want you.” He says. “I knew” and he says, “I know.”

And she cries and says she can’t change, and that she doesn’t know how.

It was hard for me to write and post my thoughts for the last few aired eps of season five, after I had seen this episode, particularly the end scene of Dentist in the Ditch. After all, Brennan openly there says she believes Booth about love. So…what’s happening, right? I tried to be honest in those reviews and not say anything about this, but I have struggled with that thought a bit. I don’t have an answer either, except to say that both of those moments, while seemingly paradoxical on the surface, both feel very ‘real’ to me, as if they are in character for Brennan. So…for now, I’m okay with both of those moments, and don’t feel as if they are ‘flipflopping’ or wrong on Brennan’s part.

It’s also  not wrong for Booth to salvage a little pride and say okay. As the gambler, he ‘knows when to hold em and knows when to fold em’, you know?  He was SO desperately honest with her. How can we begrudge him anything in that moment? I refuse to. I plainly refuse to do that.

I also don’t want to take anything away from Brennan’s response. I think that her admitting a weakness…something she hates and almost always refuses to do…is so beautiful. She is stunning in her grief, and so honest. I don’t want to begrudge her those feelings either.

Her “Please don’t look so sad” does kind of bother me (as I think Booth has every right to be sad!), but I understand that she is just trying to survive this moment. Booth is like “okay,” knowing that he kind of has to pull it together for her.

Booth’s “You’re right; you’re right” intrigues both me and pal Sleepless. What does Booth mean by that? That she doesn’t have the ability to care for him? That he shouldn’t feel sad? I DON’T KNOW! I don’t know what he’s thinking, but the tears in his eyes make me so sad.

Brennan asking if they can still work together, oh…she is desperate not to lose him!

The way Booth stares at her

It made me think he was going to say no.

I think it makes Brennan think he is going to say no.

Oh my gosh, this amazingness. Just a tiny interruption just to ask…aren’t we so lucky to have found this show? To me, this feels like a payoff…this acknowledgement of feelings for one another. Yes, it’s not like wedding cake topper happiness, or even close, but just the raw honesty here…I don’t know…I just so respect this character work, and the acting by David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel.

The familiarly haunting strains of guitar float over us and Booth looks away

He thinks about it, I think. Wondering if he can…what it will mean. He says yeah. And he wipes away a tear. And breaks my heart again in the process.

And Brennan knows. She knows what he’s sacrificing.

And then Booth…in what I think is one of the best moments of his life, tells her he has to move on. I love that. So honest, and so true. Booth, as we have discussed several times, has put others in front of himself, to his own detriment at times. When Rebecca wants Parker, he doesn’t really fight it. When Jared needs help, he steps in. And we have even seen him in the past accepting dismissals from Brennan. I, and I think he, chalks those up to his responsibility, and his unworthiness. I so know how he feels about that. I have joked in the past that I’m such a Booth in some ways, haha, but I totally get that idea of feeling guilty when something good happens to you. I don’t know if it’s an oldest child thing or what, but I think (not to project my issues onto Booth), but I think he has somewhat accepted this idea that he doesn’t deserve what he wants.

So for him, at this point, to admit…to say that he has to find someone who is going to love him for thirty, forty…fifty years.

I loved that. I was so proud of him. He took a risk, the risk we’ve been wanting him to take, and…it looks like it didn’t pay off. How can we now be mad at him? Out of anyone in the world, he’s the one she WOULD believe, but it’s not his responsibility to make her see.  And for once, he doesn’t take responsibility for what’s not his.

But…take a look at Brennan’s face in that above picture. She’s not without pain here. In fact, once he says he has to move on, she doesn’t look him in the eyes again.

She just says “I know.”  That is what makes me cry the most, I think. She has kind of just been staving off the inevitable.

Just as Booth has ‘known’, she has ‘known’. For a long time now, she’s just been desperately hoping that he never admitted that he needs that, so she didn’t have to admit that she didn’t have what it takes.

Him following after her reminds me of the pilot when he kind of jogs after her at the end, when she is walking away from the gravesite, and he kind of hustles after her and catches up to her.

Her leaning against him after they both kind of smiled sheepishly toward one another and begin walking away made me practically break out into hives.

I was like…um…no. The more I watch it, the more I see the WAY more clear headed view that people have, haha. You are more evolved than me! But at the time…I was feeling so stunned, like my OWN heart had been ripped out of my chest, that the idea that they were just going to go on as before, maybe go to the diner and get some pie for him and a salad for her…I just could not wrap my mind around that. Not then.

I needed everything in the world to stop moving. I wasn’t ready to move on just yet. I didn’t see how they were ready to move on just yet (and I still sort of don’t). But what I’m guessing ( and please, no spoilers), is that what we have here is a crack in the center (sorry for the cliché), but that we’ll begin to see aftershocks and little slivers of cracks over the next few weeks or so. I’m curious to know if anyone else will ever learn of this moment, or if this is another “What goes on between us is ours” moment. That will be interesting.

Brennan will have to deal with this. It’s not the same as him being fake dead, or him being in a coma, I guess. This is him being himself, the same him, with her every single day like ‘normal’ and it not being the same. I’m curious to know which one will be the first to say they can’t have it be like it was. We’ll see I guess. But, though ED and DB have double billing, the show IS called BONES and so Brennan’s character development is what is really going to drive the rest of this series. She has been presented with Booth’s feelings on the matter and now must deal with them. Not that I don’t love Booth, but basically, his feelings for her have somewhat become a plot point in her character development. His family issues and past and all of that are there for us to see as parts of BRENNAN’S relationship with him. It’s really all about her character. So in that way, it comes as no surprise that Booth would be the one to confess his feelings and now Brennan must react and work through that.

I am sorry for the delay in this post. I thought I’d have it done by Friday, but honestly it took me the whole weekend to do, and I didn’t want to rush it. A small point of admin…as far as this blog and the rest of the season…here is what I am thinking. I already do post my reviews after each ep on GMMR, and what I liked about this project was that I kind of looked back and re-watched the episodes and commented on them in hindsight, but also wasn’t just regurgitating my previous reviews (for the most part). So I kind of want to let some time settle between when I watch the rest of this season and when I update this blog. I was thinking that once we find out when season six starts, then right before that, I’ll start up again, and we’ll have a little pre-season six countdown with the rest of this season’s recaps. At that point, it will be like this most recent hiatus, and we’ll all be wanting to talk BONES again, I think. Does that make sense? I have enjoyed all 100 “Days” with you all, and really appreciate everyone who took the time to stop by and comment. I don’t care about the numbers, necessarily, but I really do just love the idea that I’m not the only person in the world who identifies with this show.

As I was writing this up, I just made caps of what I liked, but as I got to the end, I realized I had 99. Well, that just seems right, doesn’t it?

So…the 100th pic of this post is your Booth of the Day, the first Booth I ever saw. The first David Boreanaz I ever saw. It might not be that meaningful to you, but there is something very soothing about this Booth for me. Gray sweater, crisp white collar, dark coat, empathetic expression toward Brennan…I felt like this was going somewhere. I knew!

Peace, Love & Bones

~S

>>Bones on a Blue Line