This week was almost literally (or maybe fully literally) a shipper’s dream. The episode showcased the kind of scenes I believed to happen in only the most indulgent of fanfiction tales. I do recall having to pinch myself a time or two in order to be truly convinced that this was a reality. We have already been up and down and all around this season in terms of emotions as well as levity. But season 11 has just been such a gift. So many shows would really just be tired at this point, phoning it all in. But something about this season of Bones is so fresh and so energized. I feel that way each and every passing season. But every season that feat becomes more and more awe-inspiring.
Source: Bones on FOX Network
Best Prank Yet
I have to admit, I had no idea who the Impractical Jokers were. I honestly feel like I may have been the only one. But I could understand and appreciate that they are well known for their humor. The episode begins with two of them operating a street-sweeper. They come to an abrupt stop, as there is a racoon sifting through some garbage in the middle of the road. After bickering about who would go out to remove the obstruction, they decide to utilize the capabilities of the street sweeper instead. They succeed in scaring the racoon away, and proceed to run right through the pile of garbage. But oh no! Something got caught under the truck. There appears to be blood and gore amid the trash. They hop out to check it out, and one of the guys thought it was an elaborate prank orchestrated by the other. “This is your best prank yet.” He tries to figure out the ingredients used to make such realistic blood. I’m not affected by too much of the guts in this show, but my stomach turned here when he actually tastes the blood. His buddy gets sick, which he also believes to be part of the prank. I’m really thankful we didn’t see his reaction when he finds out the body was real. Because I don’t think I could handle a double regurgitation assault.
What If The Whosits Have A Losing Season?
Brennan walks in on Booth and a tape measure in their bedroom. No it is not what it sounds like. Yet. He actually has a surprise for her. He is getting them a new TV for the bedroom. So when “the kids” (oh my god, they have kids. multiple kids) are watching the “octopods” and the “spudnuts,” Booth can watch “the game.” For those of you not into sports, “the game” is essentially a generic term to describe almost any game one intends to watch, generally featuring one’s own team. Sometimes this includes a “big” game between two top teams. I cannot imagine this is at all enticing to Brennan. She told both us and Booth how she felt about a TV in the bedroom back in 7×01. And it appears she has not changed her stance since then. Couples who have a television in the bedroom allegedly have sex half as often as couples without one. I can understand her point of view. Booth counters with “73% of people make up statistics.”
“Watching the Philadelphia Whosits play hockey is not a sexual stimulant.” I always love when she conveniently “forgets” the name of the Flyers. Booth has about two dozen Flyers shirts. He watches them constantly. He talks about them frequently. Their baby has a flyers onesie and bib. There is no way she doesn’t know. But, here we are talking about the Whosits. And we love her all the more. She tells Booth that he is always exhausted after a game as a result of yelling at the umpire (referee). Additionally, his bad mood after they lose does not help things. But Booth starts getting excited about his good mood when his team wins. And it makes what he does in their bedroom “that much better. BOOM.” Is this exchange really happening? I am still not convinced! He tells her not to put her thoughts of a Whosits “losing season” into the atmosphere, and promises to make extra time for them. “As much as it takes.” Brennan wants him to “prove it right now.” I’ll leave the rest to the imagination. But I’ll just add that there’s both some tie and tape measure action to round out the scene. Take that however you want.
Source: Bones on FOX Network
Source: Bones on FOX Network
Really Frakking Interesting…
The usual suspects are cleaning the remains out of the street sweeper at the lab. Angela walks in to let everyone know that Brennan and Booth are going to be delayed 15 minutes. Wait. Another text amends that to an hour. Yeah B&B! You deserve it. Hodgins also wears a knowing look, and seems to be the only one who has cracked Brennan’s code. The squints determine that the victim has been dead less than 12 hours, and had both veneers and hair plugs. Jessica (squintern of the week) tells Cam she’s lucky to find a piece of the scalp in tact. “This body’s seriously frakked up.” As an added bonus this week, we learn that Jessica has been binge watching BSG. This episode is the gift that keeps on giving. After causing Cam to utter Brennan’s traditional line of “I don’t know what that means,” Jessica puts her foot in her mouth and tries to tell Cam that she’s surprised she doesn’t watch the show because it’s old school “just like you.” This earns her a couple of winning faces from both Cam and Angela. Hodgins finds it interesting that Aubrey has also been binge watching the show. But it is not a coincidence. The two are watching together. Angela teases that it sounds like there’s something going on between Jessica and Aubrey. “Yes, television watching. And nothing else.” Well, in my humble opinion, television watching can be a whole lot of something. They’ll come back to that discussion later. Cam has just figured out that the victim was a U.S. Senator. Using all the clues they have discovered thus far, the squints are able to determine that the victim is Senator Rick O’Malley from Virginia. “I’d better call Booth. I have a feeling this case is going to be a frakking nightmare.” Erm Cam, you may want to wait a couple minutes. Booth may be a little indisposed at the moment.
Three Times
Caroline’s back! And she wants to make sure The Jeffersonian is 100,000% certain the victim is a member of Congress. Brennan of course corrects her use of the present tense, as the Senator has been “killed, dismembered, scavenged by a racoon, and shredded by a 3-ton industrial street sweeper.” Leave it to Brennan to explain the situation tactfully. Caroline tells Booth that “under no circumstances” can Brennan accompany him to notify the family. He tells Caroline he will just take Aubrey. But Brennan is perturbed. She has been present for hundreds of notifications. Caroline explains to her that it is a very delicate situation, and that she lacks “a certain je nais se quoi.” Brennan refutes that, calling it an ineffable quality. If Caroline can be more clear, Brennan can make the appropriate change in demeanor. Booth tells Brennan that she “has a tendency to say the exact wrong thing at the worst possible moment.” “And then at other times I say exactly what is needed. Like this morning when I skillfully negotiated sex not just once but twice.” Caroline is pleased that her point was just proven, and proceeds to walk away. But Booth loudly whispers “it was three times.” Caroline takes pause for just a moment before continuing on her way. Hey, she’s the puckish lady who wanted to see five steamboats worth of kissing back in the day. She should be thrilled.
Mr. Senator
As it turns out, Aubrey was something of a fan of the late Senator O’Malley. He was apparently “throwback” and a “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” type politician. We also find out that Aubrey has a 10-year plan. This includes a seat in the Senate. I could see it.
At the lab, everyone is still recovering pieces of bone and flesh from the street sweeper. We find out that Hodgins voted for the victim (a democrat), while Brennan is a member of the Green Party. Of course she is. Meanwhile, Jessica is a “proud member of the Peace and Freedom Party.” Also unsurprising. Brennan finds kerf marks on the bone, indicative of an ax. Hodgins adds “great. We have our motive. The killer had an ax to grind.” He of course gets a chorus of perfect glares by the lovely ladies of the lab.
Booth and Aubrey pay a visit to the Senator’s wife and Chief of Staff. They cannot think of any enemies or anything out of the ordinary that had been going on. But his wife tells them that recently Rick had been more aloof. He had been receiving an influx of phone calls from the party’s Whip, Senator Hayley Winters. She was suspicious that the two were actually having an affair. The night before they even attended a fundraiser together.
You Brought Me An Antacid
“Seeley Booth, I never thought the day would come when even glancing at those chiseled features would set me off.” Caroline always has some top notch dialog, but this episode may top the cake. Booth wants to speak to Senator Winters, as she may have been the last person to see the O’Malley alive. “There is no way in H-E-Double Hockey Sticks I am allowing you to haul the Senate Majority Whip into the FBI without any evidence of her involvement.” Booth begins an attempt to charm her, but Caroline interrupts him. “Don’t try to convince me with those sweet dulcet tones.” Seriously, her lines here are fantastic. But Caroline is adamant about this. Aubrey hussles in to tell them both that Senator Winters wants Booth to come to Capitol Hill to brief her on the case. “I swear you are blessed by the Almighty, himself.” Booth asks Aubrey if he’s ready to go, but Winters actually requested that Brennan accompany Booth. She used to be a doctor and wants to hear the forensic side of the case. I’m certainly okay with this. Caroline is less than optimistic. “Your wife doesn’t know the meaning of playing politics.” WIFE! But Booth will “handle” Bones. Of course he will. Booth heads out, but Caroline isn’t done yet. She tells Aubrey that he needs to run a background check on Jessica to make sure she’s clear to work on such a high-profile case. I’m not certain, but wouldn’t that have happened prior to her hiring? Aubrey isn’t concerned. He knows Jessica and is sure he will not find anything.
Instinct and evidence are “singing in perfect harmony” at the lab, as Jessica has discovered defensive wounds on the bones. Additionally, the victim received a blow to the head. She’s going to try to piece together the skull and find cause of death before Dr. Brennan gets back. “Ay Ay, Captain.”
I Could Be Saucy
Booth and Brennan are in the car on the way to Capitol Hill. Have I mentioned that car scenes are some of my favorite B&B moments? And this one definitely ranks pretty high. Brennan assures Booth she will be on her best behavior when speaking with the Senator. But Booth hopes not. “Look, I just want you to be you. You know, you. Your usual, wonderful, but very direct self.” I cannot help but adore this moment. It’s a simple statement, but it is so loaded. One of the reasons Booth and Brennan work so well is that they have never wanted the other to change. And they have stated this quite plainly many times over the years. They are certainly flawed people, but those are the people they fell in love with. And while Booth has an ulterior motive for wanting Brennan to be herself, it is still always a lovely thing for him to say and for her to hear. She is concerned that she may say something that could be misconstrued as offensive. But that’s exactly what he’s counting on. He wants Winters to react so he can get a read on her. Brennan hears this and she is totally on board. She is going to consider this to be an undercover assignment where she will be playing herself. You know how much Brennan absolutely lives for undercover operations. And suddenly she is extremely excited. “I could play a slight variation on myself. I could be saucy. Or I could speak with an accent (imagine a horrible but endearing unidentifiable accent).” Booth is almost exasperated. He tells her to just be her. She agrees, but adds in “Just saying, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.” Booth is surprised she went with Bogart. But Brennan tells him “I got overexcited, but you have to admit that’s an excellent impersonation.” Does he?
Source: Bones on FOX Network
Source: Bones on FOX Network
Brennan is certainly being herself when they meet with Senator Winters. She and Booth notice that her aids are frantically working in the room across from them. Apparently they are crafting a bill to increase the debt ceiling. “Must be quite difficult for your staff to put all that into their work, knowing that it is unlikely for any senator to actually read it before a vote.” Booth looks pleased. And Winters does appear to get a bit flustered. She tries to steer the conversation back to O’Malley. And Booth pretends like he’s trying to rein his partner in. Brennan then asks Winters how she plans to “spin the fact that Senator O’Malley was hacked to pieces.” She continues on to talk about the placement of the hack marks. “As a former surgeon you know it is ideal to cut along joints.” But the killer did not do that. Winters says that maybe the killer is ignorant about basic human anatomy. But Brennan posits that the killer could be cunning, and trying to mislead the investigation. I bet Winters is really regretting that request for Brennan to come along. Booth is satisfied and tells her “good job, Bones.” They move the discussion to the Senator’s office.
Booth and Brennan question Winters’ “closeness” to Senator O’Malley. But she says that’s standard procedure with freshmen senators. In many more words that I am going to use here, Brennan accuses Winters of having an affair with the late Senator. But she refutes it, claiming she doesn’t have the stamina for an affair. Booth asks about the fundraiser, and Winters tells the partners about an incident with some protesters who left O’Malley unnerved. They were protesting an amendment to the debt ceiling bill, which was an order to reduce coal emissions. O’Malley’s platform was in support of coal mining, but he was going to still vote in favor of the bill. Winters called in a sacrifice “for the sake of the party.”
Catnip Tea
Aubrey pays a visit to Jessica in the lab with her favorite drink in tow. He lets her know that he had to do a background check on her. He did find something on her (nothing about her urinating at the Lincoln Memorial). He asks about her involvement with Greenpeace in college. He has a photo of her protesting at a demonstration. The same demonstration at which a pipe bomb went off. Jessica claims that Greenpeace had nothing to do with that and neither did she. He also asks her about being on the road with Phish. Jessica is fascinating to me. But Aubrey is not necessarily amused. She asks him if her past is going to ruin her future. He tries to get confirmation about her drug use. She hasn’t done drugs in a while but that doesn’t mean she’s never going to do them again. “I never say never.” While I personally find Jessica’s outlook on life to be very refreshing, Aubrey seems a bit disappointed. He is not sure how to report this back to Caroline. “You could just not? I mean everything in that file is in the before. I am who I am because of my past. But I’m not the same person anymore.” Bones always does such an incredibly beautiful job at having the characters acknowledge tragedy or mistakes in their past, but never ignore them. The past has made all of them who they are. Jessica is no different. Aubrey wants to forget the entire discussion happened. And he looks like a sad puppy.
Angry Enough To Kill
Cam is squeezing out some stomach contents. And yes, it is as grotesque as it sounds. But this still doesn’t affect me like the beginning of the episode. Hodgins is going to do some “digestive diving” and try to figure out what the victim ate for his last meal. Angela interrupts the pair with some footage of an angry protester confronting O’Malley on the night of the fundraiser.
When Caroline follows up with Aubrey, he informs her that Jessica “has some skeletons in her closet, but then again she is a forensic anthropologist.” Caroline is less than amused. “Cute. You know how much I love cute.” He clears Jessica, telling Caroline that there is nothing serious to warrant a mistrial. But he thinks Caroline already knew that. She lets him know that she just wanted him to make sure he has both eyes wide open. If he’s going to be a senator someday, he needs to find “the right kind of woman.” He assures Caroline that there’s nothing going on between him and Jessica. Well, you could have fooled me! They change the topic back to the case, and Caroline is able to identify the man in the video as Frankie Cesari, president of the Coal Mining Society in Virginia. Caroline seems relatively convinced he has something to hide based on his M.O. of “disappearing” his victims. Aubrey and Caroline interrogate Frankie. He of course denies killing O’Malley. They simply spoke about the debt ceiling bill the night he was killed. O’Malley told Frankie that he was undecided as to what his vote would be. But Frankie went home and began organizing a picket line. That is his alibi.
One In A Million Chances
Jessica has reassembled the skull and brought it to Brennan and Angela. Brennan is impressed, as she figured it would have taken much longer. “I find that when I’m feeling emotionally unstable, concentrating on my work helps me to cope.” Brennan doesn’t pick up on her words, but Angela seems concerned. She asks her what the problem is. Jessica rambles on about potential, and not squashing potential. Brennan has no idea what she is talking about. But Angela’s with her. “Just because something is unlikely to be successful, like say a relationship, doesn’t mean you don’t try.” Brennan disagrees with her statement. “If you know the unlikelihood of an outcome is statistically unfavorable, that thing should be avoided.” Oh hey look! This can all be applied to the TV as well. Angela explains the TV situation to Jessica, and Brennan adds that she finds it “safer to adhere to the percentages.” But Angela says that it’s also boring to adhere to percentages. “Sometimes the best things in life happen against the odds.” Angela gives her some sage advice, as usual. “That was like the best talk slash monologue I’ve ever been a part of.” Brennan, always the scientist, brings them back to the injuries to the skull. The victim was hit with a blunt force weapon with a blunt surface. Not the same weapon used to cut up the victim. Multiple weapons, perhaps. Hodgins walks in to let everyone know that O’Malley’s last meal was pigeon. This is a new one. Brennan of course knows that several far eastern countries consider pigeons to be delicacies. Because why wouldn’t she know that? Jessica wonders how many restaurants in DC serve pigeon. Brennan doesn’t know. “However I believe Agent Aubrey is quite knowledgeable when it comes to local cuisine. Perhaps you could call him and ask….I figured out who you were talking about.” She is so pleased with herself. And she is truly the most adorable dork on the planet.
Source: Bones on FOX Network
How You Doing, Chickadee
Aubrey has been looking through all the Senator’s files. There is a withdrawal from his account for $2000 at the same time every month. Caroline calls drugs. Aubrey thinks prostitute. They question the cab driver who drove O’Malley that night, and the driver tells him that he dropped the Senator at an Indonesian restaurant. He also saw O’Malley embracing a young girl outside after being dropped off. Incidentally the restaurant serves pigeon.
Booth and Brennan head to the restaurant, where Booth is immediately turned off by the stench. Brennan explains that the smell is durian, and wants him to remind her to get some to take home. “Who needs a TV to get in the way of our sex life when we have foot smell.” I love how everything is always connected on the show. They find the young girl in question, and Brennan is certain that it’s not his lover, but his daughter.
They question the daughter, who tells them she only found out about her biological father four years earlier when she turned 18. She also denies feeling any sense of abandonment or entitlement. Booth asks if maybe she was blackmailing him for money. But she claims her dad was just helping her with college. She never wanted to be in the public eye because she did not want to be known as his DC scandal. She asks Booth and Brennan why they are there, and Booth tells her that O’Malley was killed the night before. She said their last meal was nothing out of the ordinary. Except he was upset that his party was making him vote in a way he didn’t want to. She told him to follow his heart.
You Know It
Jessica and Cam determine that the killer first attempted to poison O’Malley, but he fought back. So the killer had to use something a little more forceful. Jessica thinks it’s a woman because poison is more often used by women (5x more often, to be exact). Jessica feels she, herself, is more a flamethrower type. “Well it’s important to have flare.” Bless you, Cam.
Aubrey and Caroline go through the three prime female suspects. Aubrey discovered that the wife actually did not have an alibi. And she is also a diabetic who uses the same size needle that was found on the victim’s skull.
Aubrey and Booth head to the O’Malley house to question the wife again. Brennan calls them on their way, telling them Hodgins found traces of a poison (that I’m not even going to attempt to spell out here) on the wound to the skull. The poison isn’t something that the average person could get their hands on. However, it is commonly used in hospitals. And this makes Senator Winters looks just a bit more guilty.
Your Gut?
At O’Malley’s house, Rick’s wife looks like she is about to make a statement to the public. The Governor is likely going to appoint her to the Senate as a result of the Widow’s Mandate. The Chief of Staff and Senator Winters explain this to the FBI agents. Aubrey thinks this is motive.
Brennan and Jessica are in the bone room, and Jessica is getting a little frantic not being able to find any more clues about the case. Brennan tells her she needs to calm herself. Brennan discovers something Jessica missed. Apparently there was also sharp force trauma on top of the two distinct blunt force trauma injuries. Brennan finds blue staining deep inside the nick. Brennan’s “gut” tells her that they are not looking at three separate weapons anymore. Jessica is stunned that Brennan is using her gut. “Well it’s a vibe! There’s a time, and a place.” Brennan is a constant surprise.
Booth finds an ax that matches the one used to chop up the body, proving that the killer dismembered the Senator at his house. Angela recreates the injuries on the Angelatron, and Brennan determines O’Malley was killed by something in the shape of Virginia. For real. Hodgins figures out the cause of the “blue.” It’s petrified coal.
Brennan lets Booth know what to look for, and Booth is able to find a statue in the shape of Virginia. Brennan lets him know that whoever smashed the statue against O’Malley would have a blue cut on the palm of their hand. Booth looks at all three of the suspect’s hands. It’s not a woman at all, it’s the Senator’s Chief of Staff who was actually having an affair with O’Malley’s wife. His motive- Rick was going to vote against the party. And he knew about the Widow’s Mandate. They could have been together as politicians and as lovers. Another case closed.
Certain About You
Aubrey and Jessica are on a date at the Indonesian restaurant. They are talking about the case and Jessica asks if he knows who will be appointed in Rick’s place. Aubrey alleges that it doesn’t matter because “one politician is just as bad as the next.” But Jessica disagrees. She believes that “for every slimebag out there, there’s also somebody” like Aubrey. And as long as that’s the case, she knows there’s someone looking out for the country and for her. Aubrey seems touched. “Except when I’m holding your past against you.” She tells him no one is perfect. “Especially not the guy who is forcing me to eat pigeon.” Aubrey seems very certain that Jessica is not going to vomit. But he’s also very certain about her. If I wasn’t already on board with this developing relationship, I was after this scene. They are very sweet together. I would not in a million years consider them a parallel to Booth and Brennan. Beyond the occupational similarities, they couldn’t be more different. But I am into it.
Rising
Brennan is leading a “blinded” Booth into their bedroom to reveal a surprise. After some ridiculously endearing but totally normal bickering, he sits down on the bed and uncovers his eyes. It’s a new TV! It’s 56 inches- Brennan did her research as to the ideal screen for the size of their bedroom. Booth is ecstatic, and thanks her for buying it. But no dice. Brennan actually leased it. It’s an experiment. “If our intimacy level falls below a certain threshold, then the TV gets returned.” That seems fair to me. The threshold is a number of her choosing. But she’s sure he can “rise to challenge.” IS THIS HAPPENING?!? Yes. It is. Booth gets that goofy grin on his face, but Brennan quickly steals the remote and says “not tonight.” She wants to watch an interview of herself on the news. Also, there’s a documentary she has been meaning to watch. Something tells me she is not too torn up about this new setup. Brennan asks Booth if he’s seen James Cagney’s White Heat. Booth proceeds to quote the movie, proving that neither of them should really ever try to do impressions…unless their only goal is to be adorable. They begin to bicker about who had the better impression, and then start to fight over the remote. Seriously. This is fanfiction. I’m certain of it. The scene fades out and I’m left screaming. Or squealing. But I do not like my “fangirl” to show too much. I also have a feeling the TV did not stay on for long that night the way they were going at it.
Source: Bones on FOX Network
Source: Bones on FOX Network
All in all I was so pleased with this episode. Once again, it’s just Bones at its best. The perfect dose of humor mixed with some compelling drama. I enjoyed seeing Jessica and Aubrey as more than just flirting colleagues. And I don’t have to repeat how much I absolutely went nuts over the Booth and Brennan moments. There have been quite a few domestic moments between them so far this season, and I have loved every last second of them. To anyone who says that they lack chemistry or direction of some kind, I ask to you to please rewatch their scenes together closely. Look at the eye contact. Look at how natural they are with each other. Brennan’s touches are basically Emily’s usual touches, and they are second nature at this point. It all just flows. And it is truly astounding how they can go from steamy to playful to sweet in a matter of moments. I realize there was no kissing involved this episode. Actually, I didn’t even realize it if we are being honest. They quite literally fell on the bed on top of each other in this episode. That is not something we have seen too much of over the years. I love that we are still getting new scenes. I have no doubt there will be another kiss soon. I mean come on, they’ve never had that every episode. Except briefly in season 9. I have not seen too many married couples who kiss and touch constantly. And also, just because we don’t see it in the episode, doesn’t mean it’s not there. We don’t see every moment they spend together. But really, their chemistry is manifested in so many other ways- a touch, their words, and those looks. The way those two look at each other is unlike anything I have ever seen from any two characters on TV. And I watch a lot of TV. Call me biased. And I am. But I call it how I see it.
Next week, we will be visiting the world of magic! And the week after is what we have all been waiting the entire series for- A Thanksgiving episode with the entire family! Well, a lot of the family. I cannot wait. It’s going to be amazing, as always. See you next week!
