I'm not gonna let you do this alone.
It's been good, lately. I strongly believe this. I like season 5 and I like the way it's all been going.
But this?
This was a perfect episode.
This episode was such a reward for the every-episode-watcher. Last week's wedding. Every previous encounter with the Gravedigger (which goes back to season 2). Brennan's origins in this line of work. Everything about Max. The taxi-moment in #100.
I love knowing that each episode isn't a vacuum. That they are part of a bigger world that the characters don't forget after each episode is done.
Let's talk the case. It hurts. It hurts every one of our loved characters, and watching them hurt is hard. It hurts us as viewers. I loved seeing how nobody is immune to the pressure, just like nobody is immune to having their testimony trashed in cross-examination. They each have their own ways in dealing/not dealing with this, and it's in moments like these that I do have faith that Hart knows what he's doing.
The scene between Hodgins and Brennan re: dismissing their own case. This was amazing to watch, they both have the same desire [convicting Taffet, moving on] but projected in different ways [emotional "conviction for my case" vs. logical "conviction for any case"]. Hodgins' outburst = amazing. Brennan's "I will never forget what happened to us" moment = more amazing.
Quick note to say that I adored how Hodgins/Angela was dealt with in this episode. It all worked and was timed perfectly.
Let's talk Brennan.
Firstly: She's scared that her relationships have ruined her ability to be the best she can. Yes. Through all the progress and all the changes that have happened to her life and her work in the past years, at her worst comes out the underlying insecurity that she's doing this all wrong. The episode seems to attempt to tell her she is wrong, in that partnerships and teamwork help to put together the case, while people are what keeps everyone from falling apart. Not even Brennan can get through it alone. We see this through her habit of drawing strength from Booth, from telling him about her nightmares, and the fact that she knows she finds comfort in hugging him.
Secondly: She's tired. This does make sense. I love when we're reminded that she didn't always do this. This wasn't her calling. It's not like we've forgotten this so it's good to know that they haven't either. Booth seems scared by the possibility of her leaving the partnership. I see through your denial, Seeley. Of course if she's serious about it, I imagine he'll get serious about why he needs wants her to stay. I wonder how this will pan out. Then, of course, is the taxi. This is a direct reference to #100, though I'm not sure why. Perhaps that they are linked? In that the first time this happened, it was not the end of them. She was rehired, the case continued, and even though there was ensuing argument and negativity in their relationship, it was not the end of the two of them, and far from it. In having this moment repeat, it seems to either imply a 'bookending' tactic, saying this is the end (though this seems unlikely for obvious reasons), or that again, this is not the end, which is a far more suitable scenario.
Things I love: in a perfect case episode, there is (almost) always that case-solving, or ending music-montage, where we visit all the characters. In a courtroom episode, what we get is that perfect music-moment whenthe jury is in. & YES it was perfect.
Nightmare. Let's go there. Okay, it verged on ridiculous, and seriously the editor had a freaking field day with it, but it worked, and I did like it. Was it just me that noticed similarities to a heap of other television shows? Firstly, the high wire fence reminded me ofJordan's Pandora's Trunk dreams in Crossing Jordan. Secondly, Booth's drowning had distinct Alias-similarities. Thirdly, Brennan wakes up startled, such a Medium moment.
In conclusion, I think it's an episode like this that says to the skeptics: this show is not different for the worst. I wanted to say that it felt like an older episode, but I realised it didn't. This show is the same, and these people are the same. It's just that they've been going on a journey for 5 years now and they aren't in the same place they were when they began, and as Brennan said, "I have this sense that everything is changing". However, they are the same souls, and the soul of this show, at its core, is also untouched.
I love my show.
(No spoilers for future things in comments, please.)
But this?
This was a perfect episode.
This episode was such a reward for the every-episode-watcher. Last week's wedding. Every previous encounter with the Gravedigger (which goes back to season 2). Brennan's origins in this line of work. Everything about Max. The taxi-moment in #100.
I love knowing that each episode isn't a vacuum. That they are part of a bigger world that the characters don't forget after each episode is done.
Let's talk the case. It hurts. It hurts every one of our loved characters, and watching them hurt is hard. It hurts us as viewers. I loved seeing how nobody is immune to the pressure, just like nobody is immune to having their testimony trashed in cross-examination. They each have their own ways in dealing/not dealing with this, and it's in moments like these that I do have faith that Hart knows what he's doing.
The scene between Hodgins and Brennan re: dismissing their own case. This was amazing to watch, they both have the same desire [convicting Taffet, moving on] but projected in different ways [emotional "conviction for my case" vs. logical "conviction for any case"]. Hodgins' outburst = amazing. Brennan's "I will never forget what happened to us" moment = more amazing.
Quick note to say that I adored how Hodgins/Angela was dealt with in this episode. It all worked and was timed perfectly.
Let's talk Brennan.
Firstly: She's scared that her relationships have ruined her ability to be the best she can. Yes. Through all the progress and all the changes that have happened to her life and her work in the past years, at her worst comes out the underlying insecurity that she's doing this all wrong. The episode seems to attempt to tell her she is wrong, in that partnerships and teamwork help to put together the case, while people are what keeps everyone from falling apart. Not even Brennan can get through it alone. We see this through her habit of drawing strength from Booth, from telling him about her nightmares, and the fact that she knows she finds comfort in hugging him.
Secondly: She's tired. This does make sense. I love when we're reminded that she didn't always do this. This wasn't her calling. It's not like we've forgotten this so it's good to know that they haven't either. Booth seems scared by the possibility of her leaving the partnership. I see through your denial, Seeley. Of course if she's serious about it, I imagine he'll get serious about why he needs wants her to stay. I wonder how this will pan out. Then, of course, is the taxi. This is a direct reference to #100, though I'm not sure why. Perhaps that they are linked? In that the first time this happened, it was not the end of them. She was rehired, the case continued, and even though there was ensuing argument and negativity in their relationship, it was not the end of the two of them, and far from it. In having this moment repeat, it seems to either imply a 'bookending' tactic, saying this is the end (though this seems unlikely for obvious reasons), or that again, this is not the end, which is a far more suitable scenario.
Things I love: in a perfect case episode, there is (almost) always that case-solving, or ending music-montage, where we visit all the characters. In a courtroom episode, what we get is that perfect music-moment whenthe jury is in. & YES it was perfect.
Nightmare. Let's go there. Okay, it verged on ridiculous, and seriously the editor had a freaking field day with it, but it worked, and I did like it. Was it just me that noticed similarities to a heap of other television shows? Firstly, the high wire fence reminded me ofJordan's Pandora's Trunk dreams in Crossing Jordan. Secondly, Booth's drowning had distinct Alias-similarities. Thirdly, Brennan wakes up startled, such a Medium moment.
In conclusion, I think it's an episode like this that says to the skeptics: this show is not different for the worst. I wanted to say that it felt like an older episode, but I realised it didn't. This show is the same, and these people are the same. It's just that they've been going on a journey for 5 years now and they aren't in the same place they were when they began, and as Brennan said, "I have this sense that everything is changing". However, they are the same souls, and the soul of this show, at its core, is also untouched.
I love my show.
(No spoilers for future things in comments, please.)