We’ve finally reached the halfway point in The Day in the Life. And after this post, there will be just two acts to go (in this episode). But there is still another episode. And I do believe I will break that one up into even more posts. I would like to take that one even slower. After that- I have plans. They aren’t quite concrete yet. But, close enough. The day I stop “writing” nonsense about Bones better be the day I die. It likely will be. And I’m okay with that.
The first three sections of this episode really did a stellar job of setting up the last three. I am being repetitious, but I am still so in awe of the writing here. How were the writers able to seamlessly weave together these character POVs and create this incredibly compelling hour of television. With each new act, the episode comes together more and more, and mysteries from previous segments unfurl. We got a pretty significant reveal in this one, at least as it pertains to Angela’s personal life (with Hodgins). And we also learned that the team is now in even more in danger than they had imagined. But we got the reveal, and the episode faded to black. We will have to wait before we are able to learn about the implications of this discovery, and understand the potential consequences.
Here we are again. Guess where. I’m sure you were correct. Yes, we are indeed back at the wedding reception. Because, of course, that’s where it all begins for each of the characters. Arastoo and Cam are feeding each other cake, as is tradition in many weddings. And Angela is capturing every moment of it on her camera. She looks thrilled for the couple as she snaps photo after photo.
Her phone chimes, and the look on her face alters somewhat. She almost seems a bit confused. We jump to an outdoor sitting area, just beyond the entrance to the reception. And we see the top of a very blonde head. It’s not hard to guess who might be waiting for Angela. If you didn’t already have an inkling, you did not have to wait too long for the reveal. Angela calls out to Avalon who is still standing a ways away. The two women meet in the middle, and Angela asks her psychic what she’s doing at Cam’s wedding. Avalon seems a little shaken. She’s always a tad quirky, but her demeanor here is grim. She apologizes to Angela for crashing the party, but claims that they do not have much time. “I need to see Agent Booth.” Avalon had a vision. And she’s desperate to warn those involved. Angela teases that Booth is probably a little busy at the moment. But Avalon is persistent. “Ange, I need to see him right now.” Angela gets the message, and she turns to go retrieve Booth. But before Angela can walk away, Avalon has one more thing to tell her. It’s essentially a warning. “Keep yourself safe, huh?” That clearly rattles Angela. She, more than anyone, believes in Avalon’s otherworldly abilities. Quite frankly, Avalon has impressed me over the years as well. Also, can I just say that I am absolutely obsessed with Cyndi Lauper. And I am still in utter disbelief that she was on Bones. Multiple times. Because she adores the show and loved working with the cast and crew. That’s truly incredible to me.
Back inside, Booth and Brennan are dancing like the beautiful fools-in-love that they are. Think of 5×17, for reference. I want to pause here and share what I’m thinking about. It’s slightly off topic. Imagine 7-8 years into their future. Booth and Brennan happen to be chaperoning Christine’s first school dance. And they dance together in the middle of the floor just like this. Christine is embarrassed (but very secretly happy that her parents are so obviously in love). And Booth and Brennan couldn’t care less who is watching. They are in their own little world. Lost in each other. Sorry about that. I went a little crazy. I just love them so much. And their little family.
All right. Back to the story. Booth and Brennan are dancing happily in the middle of a crowd of guests. Angela walks up to the pair and apologizes for interrupting them (I WANT TO SEE MORE!!). Angela informs Booth that Avalon is there to see him. Booth and Brennan are perplexed. Why would Avalon come to Cam’s wedding reception? “She said something about a vision. I-I don’t know. I’ve never seen her so worked up, though.” That’s a little jarring. “So I’m supposed to miss this whole party and all this dancing because she had a bad dream?” Booth really wants to continue dancing. Angela understands that Booth and Brennan do not believe in “this kind of stuff.” She goes on to explain that they cannot really deny that Avalon has been helpful to them in the past. Booth eventually gives in, and says that he will go talk to her. “But she’s not gonna touch my aura or do anything like that with the cleaning and stuff…” And with that, Booth is on his way out. Still rambling.
With her task now complete, Angela is ready to have some fun once again. Arm in arm, she and Brennan walk and talk, reminiscing about how they used to go dancing all those years ago. Well, Brennan remembers it a little differently. “You mean when you dragged me away from my work to go dancing?” Brennan can now recognize that Angela was trying to encourage her to take a break from work every so often. To experience something outside of the lab and bones. To broaden her world. For that, Brennan is grateful (even if she wasn’t in the moment). Angela sadly admits that they have husbands and kids now, so things are different. “That doesn’t make our relationship any less important.” No, it doesn’t. Both women love their families. And their friendship has certainly changed over the years. But if anything, it’s much more symbiotic. Brennan is able to be there for Angela and give her advice as well. She always had that capability. She just didn’t quite trust herself with people, even her closest friends. Relationships grow and change, just as the people in them do. It’s natural. And it’s inevitable. Sometimes relationships can even experience multiple instances of evolution. And not every single relationship will survive. Do these two have exactly the same friendship as they did before they each started their (traditional) families? Not at all. And they shouldn’t. They are the same, but they are different. Older and wiser. Experiences have molded and shaped them. Are either one of them any less important to the other now that they have families? Absolutely not. Both Angela and Brennan would drop anything to help the other. They make a short but sweet toast with their drinks. “To us.” “To friendship.”
Photo Source: Bones, FOX (2017 Fox Broadcasting Co.)
Brennan cringes at the drink in her hand. She claims that these beverages are much too strong. Oh, Hodgins. Now we know why Aubrey and Caroline had trouble functioning at full speed the next morning. Angela claims the drinks aren’t too potent for her at all. But of course they aren’t. Not one drop of alcohol has been poured into Angela’s glass that evening.
(Just in case you are addicted to displays of utter adorable-ness by Bones cast members, here’s one to make you smile)
BONES: L-R: Emily Deschanel and Michela Conlin in the “The Final Chapter: The Day In The Life” episode of BONES airing Tuesday, March 21 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. 
2017 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Ray Mickshaw/FOX
The reception has concluded once more. And the next shot we see is Angela exiting the bathroom at the courthouse. She looks a bit worse for wear. And she appears to be nearly green. So now that we know her drinks were all virgins and she’s still sick the next morning, there is really no other conclusion to be made aside from pregnancy. Unless she has some sort of illness, which would be far too tragic to spring on fans this late in the game.
Angela finally gets her bearings and begins to walk away from the door. Brennan barrels around the corner to check on her, as Caroline had reported spotting Angela running to the bathroom looking ill. See, friendship. Angela claims that she is fine. And Brennan begins to explain in detail how the overindulgence of alcohol affects the body. She then informs Angela what she will need to do in order to feel some semblance of relief. “Thank you. This is not my first rodeo.” Whether you think Angela is referring to pregnancy or a hangover, this statement applies either way. Caroline comes around to grab Brennan. The hearing is starting. Angela assures her friend that she will be “totally fine.” And when Brennan turns her back, Angela sprints back into the bathroom, her hand covering her face.
Angela’s next scene is with Aubrey and “Mrs. Kovac” in the FBI conference room. I once again tried to pretend as if I didn’t know this woman’s true identity, but it is much too difficult. I just keep thinking about that interrogation room scene in 12×12 with Booth, Brennan, and that woman. I hate that the team is playing right into her hand at this point. Angela explains to Jeannine how she will be creating a clone of her phone. And that when Kovac calls her, they can then trace his location. Jeannine is “scared” that Kovac may use that technology to find out where she is. Angela assures the woman that they will do everything they can to keep her safe. They really shouldn’t. Jeannine leaves to grab a cup of tea to calm her down. Angela lets Aubrey know that the cloning process should only take a few minutes. He awkwardly stands in the room, not saying much. And Angela asks if there’s a problem. “Is there something else you need, or are you just not sure if you have to pee?” Aubrey explains that he is fine, but he just has something personal on his mind. He feels that it would be selfish to focus too much on himself at the moment. Angela correctly guesses that Aubrey is thinking about Jessica. Angela is generally always willing to listen to people’s problems. And she very often has incredible advice (and she knows it too). So she tells Aubrey to lay it on her. “You have come to the right woman.” He explains that he didn’t know how much he really wanted Jessica to move with him to Los Angeles until he asked her. And wonders whether he should stay in D.C. “if” she says no. I suppose this scene came after the discussion in the woods, but before the interrogation room breakup. If so, his awed reaction in the interrogation room makes far more sense to me.
Though she hates to say it, Angela does not believe it’s fair of Aubrey to put that kind of pressure on Jessica. “The ball’s in her court.” But Aubrey is worried that the situation is not going to play out the way he wants. “Well, then maybe this move just forced a conversation that you guys needed to have anyway.” She’s right. And he acknowledges that she’s likely right. “Whatever happens, it’s gonna work out.” Now I can’t help but think Angela is also talking to herself in this scene. In fact, I know she is. “I used to spend so much time looking back and thinking: what if I had made other choices? And then I realized I love my life the way it is. Live for right now. That’s the only thing you can do.”
This scene was just beautiful to me. People often ridicule me when I tell them how much I consistently learn from Bones. I am taught so much about life, the world around me, and even myself. Yes, all from a television show. These are the kinds of lessons to which I am referring. Scenes like this. And this short speech from Angela definitely hit close to home, once more. But getting back to these characters, Angela has made innumerable choices in her life. What if she and Hodgins hadn’t broken up so many years ago? What if she had moved to Paris to paint? What if she could have somehow prevented Hodgins from going to the crime scene the night of the fateful explosion? What if she had tried harder to make things work with Roxie? There are quite a few more, but I only threw out the ones that came to mind immediately. We don’t always know the outcome of the decisions we make. Nothing is certain in this world. Perhaps we know the immediate outcome. But we never really know what the future holds. And that’s not for us to worry about. There is enough to be concerned about in this world without getting anxious over events that haven’t happened. Or wasting time regretting the extraordinary events, which are beyond anyone’s control. Hodgins losing the ability to walk and taking it out on his wife- that was an unbearable time. But they got through it. And honestly, this couple seems better than ever. There is something that can be said about every choice Angela’s ever made. About every choice we all make. It’s the sliding doors phenomenon. But in the end, we do the best we can. We don’t always know if we’re making the right decision. Is there a right decision? And we don’t always know how the it will all eventually unfold. But we do the best we can, since no one (maybe Avalon) can predict the future. Aubrey seems at peace with Angela’s advice, and thanks her. “Told you. You came to the right woman.”
For Aubrey, he believed he had a future with Jessica. And he is now concerned that if she won’t go with him, he will be losing out on love. But Angela is right. If Jessica does decline, it means they probably had other issues looming beneath the surface. If the two of them were “supposed” to be together, wouldn’t they at least try long distance for a while? Jessica didn’t consider any alternative solutions. But maybe she did, and she just wasn’t willing to have a part-time relationship. She didn’t discuss the matter with him. She came to a quick decision that she could not leave her life in D.C. for him, and that they actually needed to step back from this relationship. I already mentioned that I don’t blame her for an abundance of reasons. But you can’t deny that this is a sign that maybe they aren’t ultimately right for each other. And just maybe, there’s something even better coming Aubrey’s way as a result.
Angela finishes making the clone, and starts walking to the door. But her nausea has surfaced again. Honestly, this line is priceless. “Oh, looks like Hodgins got you too, huh?” “Yeah, wow. Yeah I guess you can say that.” This show kills me in so many glorious ways. I need to rewind that.
Angela returns to her office, and runs to the garbage can to cough. Luckily, nothing comes up. She must have made a scene getting to her office because Brennan rushes in asking if Angela is okay. “The effects of your hangover should have subsided by now. Are you sure you’re not actually-” “Pregnant?” And there it is . Brennan was going to say sick. And then she realizes that Angela is actually telling her she’s genuinely pregnant. Did Brennan not notice the change in her gait? Usually she’s a human pregnancy test. But there is obviously a lot going on. I’ll let this one slide. The friends embrace, and Brennan is over-the-moon.
Angela goes on to explain that this pregnancy definitely wasn’t planned, and that’s partially why they haven’t told anyone yet. “Does this mean that you don’t yet know if the baby as LCA?” I was correct in my earlier assumption. But as I mentioned a few weeks ago, I still have no idea why they couldn’t find out about LCA in utero with their first child. But they can find out before she’s even showing now? I’m just going to stick with my theory that technology has advanced by leaps and bounds since season 6. But this is the reason why Angela and Hodgins have been on edge, desperately awaiting a call from her doctor. Brennan knows how much stress this puts Angela under. She’s already seen it happen before. But something occurred in the previous scene to assuage Angela’s concerns. In giving Aubrey advice about his own life, she realized that it can also be applied to her experience. Life works out. “I mean, even if this baby ends up not being able to see our faces, we’re gonna be okay. We’re gonna be great, even.” And she’s right. Because she and Hodgins already came to the same conclusion before Michael Vincent was born.
What do you think we can handle? You and I, together. What do you think we can handle?
Honestly? Anything. Anything at all.
Now, that’s good math.
Life throws you unexpected curve balls. No one is immune. I’m certain Hodgins didn’t anticipate that he would live half his life in a wheelchair, even just a few years ago. But it happened. And he adapted, and he’s now absolutely thriving. If their child is blind, they will find a way for him to thrive too. They will celebrate him. They will make him feel loved. They will find different ways to connect. This family is going to be more than fine no matter what.
This lovely moment came to an abrupt ending when Hodgins entered, having just hung up the phone with Booth. Booth had spoken to the Pentagon, and learned that an entire crate of HMX went missing from an ammunition plant not far away. As Brennan points out, Kovac would have only needed a minuscule amount to blow open the grate near the prison. So the only conclusion to be made here is that Kovac is building another bomb. “At least a thousand times more powerful.” His intent is clearly to cause maximum devastation. And since Booth, Brennan, and their children are the targets, this is the worst news imaginable at this moment. The trio looks terrified as the glance at each other silently. And that’s it for Angela’s scenes.
I thoroughly enjoyed Angela’s story. I obviously love them all, but I was especially enamored with her scene with Aubrey. It affected me in a very unexpectedly profound way. I’m sure it did others, as well.
Something I have always appreciated about Bones is that it can go from humor, to drama, to action all in the span of a single episode. Some episodes are darker than others. Some, lighter. But even in the darkest of episodes, you can always find those moments of levity- however brief. And the moment Angela got to share with Brennan was certainly one of them. Since they both started their families, they don’t spend nearly as much time together compared to the beginning of the show. Which is expected, of course. But the scene at the reception (and even the penultimate moment) was a nice way to remind us that they are still close. And they still very much value their friendship. Besides Hodgins, Brennan was likely the first one told about the pregnancy. Which was similar to Hank’s reveal. Angela was told after Booth, but before Christine. I would think that is a special honor. Actually to be fair, Angela guessed. But that’s a technicality.
Next time, we move onto Brennan. Followed by Booth, and then…I’ve completed this episode. I obviously have no desire to be finished with it. Because what comes after this episode is still very difficult for me to process. But as I keep saying, I will never stop talking about Bones. Never. I will be here, keeping Bones alive while most everyone else posts about new and current shows. I will be on Tumblr posting blurbs and subpar gifs. And I will be on Twitter lamenting about a post-Bones world and “live” tweeting episodes from time to time. And I will be here. You can count on me, whoever “you” happen to be. So with that, I’ll be back in two weeks.
