more 'bones' and a little pimping
We are playing drabble-tag at popedish. If everything goes smooth. Y'all are invited.
The Superhero in the Alley
This was one of the episodes that was new to me; I had never seen any part of it before.
I like the paralleling between the comic book storyline and the real world storyline . . . although I would have liked it a lot better if they hadn't forced the matter so much. Oh well; Bones is not really known for its subtlety.
"Don't use your charm smile on me." Haha. Brennan is very perceptive sometimes.
I like that Booth differentiates between nerds and dorks. Hee. You know he's got a whole tiering system in his head.
Zomigod, not only does Booth have a bowling shirt, but Booth is monogrammed over the pocket. Fucking excellent.
The best part of the episode:
Brennan: With all due respect, but my writing for example is pure fiction.
Goodmann: Dr. Brennan, I fear you reveal much more of your world view in your writing than you realize.
Brennan: Such as?
Goodman: Such as, archaeologists make good administrators because they enjoy tedium.
Angela: Such as, artists are doomed to a life of loneliness because they are unable to think beyond instant gratification.
Booth: Such as, you know, FBI guys are hot and Angela here wants to have sex with me.
Ha! Yes! Subtext = text. That last line so deserves to be iconned.
I like Brennan's concern about the battered woman; usually when she gets all emotional/touchy-feely, it seems really disingenuine and out of character (I'll be discussing this in a moment), but this seemed really true to the character and it worked to further the plot, which is exactly what you want.
Okay. Booth lays a sharp-shooter medal on the coffin. I thought, at first, that maybe it belonged to him, was something he earned . . . but it says Los Angeles Police Department on it. Color me absolutely baffled by this exchange.
I really like Brennan and Booth's argument over who the victim was more like, and the resolution that he was more like Booth because, "He wanted to make a difference in the world before he died. I told you he was more like you then me." That was sweet and genuine and I really liked it, because it was mostly banter and ended with something really good.
For the most part this was a good episode with good, constant characterization, but Brennan did that thing again when she says something really hurtful -- this time it was for a punchline -- and absolutely doesn't notice that she's injured the people around her. She was actually proud of herself for one-upping Booth. The dialogue was actually out-of-character, too; Booth says something about how awesome her pretend-book-partner is, and she says, "Reality falls far, far short," which sounds more . . . I don't know, like she's channeling Cordelia? That was really the only WTF moment I had in this eppie.
The Woman in the Garden
I really, really was not impressed with this episode. To begin with, any time Bones features minorities in cameos, I am disappointed. Not only is the portrayal . . . well, don't even get me started with what I think about that . . . but the characterization of all the regulars goes straight to hell. (All this is kind of ironic, since there are several POC in the main cast and they manage to not be stereotypes or clichés. What's up with that? Is Bones after-school-specialing us? Whatever.)
I've got good money on "gangbanger" being in the script over sixty times. Buy a fucking lexicon.
Okay, I get that Brennan has personal ties to this case, but why is it that, any time she has some sort of emotional connection in the script, her characterization completely unravels? Since when is Brennan the gentle voice of reason and the interpersonal relations expert? Since when does Booth care more about a collar than protecting innocent people? Not only is Brennan characterized haphazardly, but Booth is, too; it's like the show has a formula -- good warm, charming, people-loving cop and bad analytical, hard-hearted, logical cop -- and there's no wiggle room. When one of the characters changes a little to grow as a person, the other automatically reconfigures themself to accomodate the formula.
The peripheral characters were off, too, either spewing banal space-fillers or being overly themselves. Just . . . lame.
I realize this is canon, but as writers and responsible viewers, we should scrutinize the canon like we would any fan-piece, and if this were fic, good authors would tear it apart.
The case wasn't bad, and I did like the end, with bad-ass Booth and that gangleader. 'Cuz that was sexy as hell.
Ragazzi, your thoughts?