Episode 100 (5x16): This is a televisionary symphony, and we should all be grateful.
And these are the things that we don’t believe about ourselves, but others do.
This is a show about what other people see in us, in our faces, in our hearts, in our bones. The things that we don’t see, the things that no one else can ever see.
Except for one person.
It takes one person to believe in you.
Even when you don’t believe in yourself.
-
He asks her to try, but she doesn’t believe that she can.
She believes the worst of herself, and the best of him. His smiles, his laughs, they are for Someone Else, a version of her that could accept them. A version of her that he makes her feel like…that he makes her feel like.
A version of her that does not exist.
(But it does, in a dream, in a book, it does.)
And so this is why she pushes him away; it is this. There is one relationship in all of her life that has ever been the Cornerstone, something she can lean on, and it is the one with him. He knows it and she knows it, but what he perhaps cannot see is that she can’t dare to risk it. She can’t dare to step outside of “partners” - the footing is too unsure, untested. She believes that he believes that they would be together, forever, for the rest of their lives at least. She knows he believes it.
She wants to believe.
But she can’t.
Because she doesn’t believe in herself.
-
“I’ve gotta move on. I’ve gotta find someone who is going to love me for 30 years, or 40, or 50…”
And one day, she’s going to be with him, and he’ll say he’s moving on, and he’ll date some people, but-
He’ll date some people, and she’ll date some people, but she’ll recognize, she doesn’t want to be with those people. There’s one person, just one person, and it’s him. And she will see that she has the capacity, the ability, to love him, for 30, 40, 50, a million years, a billion years, until the end of time and then some, and it’s going to be some day after a stupid case with stupid criminals, and she’ll look at him and she’ll say, “You found me. You found me. I’m Someone.”
The rest of the series? Or at least until we end this foolishness? Is Brennan realizing just how much she loves him. And just how much loving him isn’t a change, but just something that she can do. We’ve watched Booth pine away; well, now we can see Brennan do it, and people might say that’s an old plot device, but old plot devices work because they are based on people, what they do, how they are, and it’s going to be AMAZING.
OH, SHOW. YOU SON OF A BITCH BUT I LOVE YOU SO MUCH YOU ASSHOLE PLEASE MARRY ME SHOW.
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1. Okay, I don’t think this is going to be a typical recap. Because this episode? Was not typical. It was so heartbreaking that you can actually feel it, you can feel something happening in your chest and in your gut, and Hart Hanson, wherever you are, Stephen Nathan, too - you have just gutted me, entirely.
2. Also, David Boreanaz, as a director, has a very definitive visual style. And it works SPECTACULARLY with this episode.
3. Translation:
4. I WANT EMMYS FOR THIS SHIT. MULTIPLE, AMAZING, HEARTCRUSHING EMMYS.
5. Because if you didn’t like this episode, if you didn’t get it, if you think this is the worst thing to happen to the show, I’m telling you-
6. STOP READING. JUST STOP READING.
7. I don’t know exactly what path this is going to go down, but I’m telling you, this path? Is laid with love for Show. So much love that it will grow Love Flowers, which Brennan will hand to Booth when she finally comes to her senses.
8. OH MY GOD I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT JUST HAPPENED OH MY GOD.
9. Okay.
10. OKAY.
11. I’m going to pull it together.
12. I will.
13. After I watch the final scene again.
14. HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT.
15. Hart Hanson, you did some Lost shit on me.
16. YOU FUCKING DID, YOU WILEY CANADIAN.
17. Quote that we see outside, while Brennan and Booth walk down the stairs, after meeting with Sweets?
18. “Nothing happens unless first a dream…” -Carl Sandburg.
19. You do realize what this means?
20. If you don’t, don’t worry; I’ll come back to it. I’ll come back.
21. Okay, we’re going to start from the front, now. I’ve had some time to process, and I feel adequately prepared to give this episode exactly the sort of treatment it deserves.
22. Which is the best kind.
23. BECAUSE THIS IS THE BEST EPISODE IN HISTORY, BTW.
24. Booth and Brennan ride an escalator up, somewhere in DC. I have no idea, if they’re going to Hoover, why they’re not in the car, because surely, Special Agent in Charge of Major Crimes and Other Badassery Seeley Joseph Booth has a parking spot.
25. Booth’s all, look, Sweets isn’t going to like us breaking this to him. Brennan’s like, whatevs, I’d be grateful. Then, Booth tells her, look, Sweets is going to freak, like people who hear you yell fire, then they panic, and run into walls.
26. Brennan: You think Sweets is going to panic and run into walls?
27. Booth visually mocks her, but from O’Brien’s POV? Sweets certainly LOOKED like he was going to panic and run into a wall. Later. He really, really did.
28. Oh, Sweets. I don’t know whether to kiss you or hit you after this episode.
29. And since Brennan and Booth do both-
30. OH MY GOD THEY KISSED THEY KISSED THEY KISSED AND THEY DID IT IN THE PAST AND THEY DID IT IN THE NOW AND OH MY GOD.
31. Really. I’m pulling it together.
32. Slowly.
33. Brennan informs Booth that she just wants to tell Sweets about a factual error: that Cleo Eller wasn’t their first case. Booth makes a face - a happy one, really. He’s like, but what about this “we’re in love” business, and Brennan’s all, “yeah, I’m not bothered by that.”
34. Oh, shit, y’all.
35. It’s because she knows they’re in love with each other. She gives Sweets some bullshit later about how they understand his right to interpret, but really? After the end of the episode, I don’t think it can be denied that Brennan’s in love with Booth, and knows it, and that he even knows it, but that she’s just scared.
36. And y’all, like I’m not going to talk about the end of the episode throughout. PLEASE. It’s all I can think about, and I’m sure you feel quite the same. I think we’re past the point of being disingenuous with each other.
37. So, they roll into Sweets’ office. Sweets thinks that they disagree with his conclusion that they are in love. He says something about “vigor and rigor,” and all I think of is Booth’s penis gun.
38. So did you.
39. Don’t lie.
40. Booth and Brennan look at each other, and here’s the secret that we’re all going to know by the end: they really don’t disagree with Sweets. They both know they’re in love.
41. But I’ll get to that.
42. Like the rest of this show, this recap is all about the waiting to get to the point, and I swear, I will do my best to make the wait worth it.
43. Love this:
Brennan: We recognize your right to interpret.
Sweets: You do.
Brennan: That’s your right as a psychologist to get everything wrong.
O’Brien: Brennan, never change. EXCEPT FOR WHEN I TELL YOU TO AT THE END, BUT IT’S NOT REALY CHANGING, AND-
44. This is getting REALLY hard.
45. Brennan drops the bomb that the Eller case wasn’t their first, and Sweets…well, he really does look like he will panic and run into walls. Sorry, Booth, but Brennan was right on that one.
46. Sweets frets that his entire interpretation of them is based on their interaction as he knew it from the Eller case. Sweets asks them, tell me about the real first case. They look at each other-
47. They look at each other.
It’s this thing, that they can do.
Just look at each other.
And know.
This is what it is: they had chemistry, from the start. He liked her, she liked him, and that got messed up, it did, but in essentials? They were still just ATTRACTED to one another. There was something that one saw in the other, this thing that made sense, this thing that the other understood.
They still understand.
So when they look at each other, and they’re asking, do we do this, and they’re saying, okay, let’s, it’s each of them, understanding the other.
They do understand each other.
48. They start the story, dead girl, in a landfill, and the story sounds like the beginning of a million (100) cases they’ve worked together. Booth explains, “I was at an early morning Gambler’s Anonymous Meeting,” meaning he was running game at pool, because Booth is bad at…nothing.
49. Think about it.
50. Yeah, I can’t find anything, either.
51. Brennan explains, “Booth was had a gambling addiction before he met me.” I find this statement interesting on many levels. On the one hand, we learn later, Booth stopped the gambling after kissing Brennan the first time (GOD. We now have a FIRST time, and a SECOND time, and a THIRD time. There are three. It’s a trifecta of kisses. Oh, LIFE). So, she’s right on one level.
52. On another, I think Brennan’s the biggest gamble Booth’s ever taken.
53. She’s not like any other woman he’s ever met, still, six years later.
And he loves her.
There’s nothing that he can do to deny it.
Her cluelessness about the world, how she’s literal about everything, the way she correct him and everyone else…the way she smiles, the way she laughs - it’s not like other women laugh; she’ s not careful with it, it’s full, and throaty, and - she is careful with nothing.
Nothing.
Except for the bones.
Except for him.
She’s very careful with him.
And he wishes so hard that she wouldn’t be.
54. Booth says it wasn’t really a problem, because he kept winning, but it did apparently pull focus from his job, because he had some really shitty desk in the bullpen. Anyway, at the pool hall, Booth gets a call from the victim’s (Jemma) mom. The NY coroner’s office was releasing Jemma’s body. Lucky for Booth, Cam - the NY Coroner at the time - was in town.
55. Point of order: is the NY Coroner an elected position? It is in some places in Mississippi. I have always found that odd. I have no idea why I, or anyone else, want to be involved in the election of a coroner. I feel certain I’m not qualified to know who is…qualified.
56. Anyway, Cam’s in town, and she thinks that Booth needs to partner up. Booth says he doesn’t do that, which, considering Teddy Parker, I can understand.
57. But Cam read about this forensic anthropologist, and she really knows her stuff. Booth isn’t having it…until he is. Because Cam puts him entirely in his place. And I have to say, I think some people think that this moment is shoehorning Cam in, but I don’t care, because Cam is SO…CAM. She’s thinking outside the box, hey, Booth, team up with this woman, the two of you could really do something together…it’s pretty much how Cam rolls. She’s not afraid to challenge, AT ALL.
58. Love you, Cam. LOVE. YOU.
59. Booth stops Cam, asks her the name of the forensic anthropologist, and she tells him, Temperance Brennan, “Which is me,” Brennan says, in just about the most adorable way in history.
60. Booth goes to find Brennan, and there she is, lecturing. He opens the door, walks forward-
61. And look. I’m more like Brennan. I don’t believe in knowing, not like Booth does, and Booth’s right, it takes the guy, it does-
62. He knows.
And it’s just like lightning, or getting hit by a truck-
It’s just like all the things you’ve ever heard about-
Booth feels it. Deep down, more than anything, it’s like a match lights. A spark. And it burns slow at first, but over time, it picks up speed, until it engulfs him, nothing left but the embers-
He knows.
63. Seriously, Booth’s jaw drops. He saw her. He knew. He really is that guy; he’s not kidding about it.
64. They have a back and forth about flesh v. bone, and really, and she tells him she’s the best in the world, and he sort of laughs, but presentday!Booth says, adorably, “It turns out to be true.”
65. LOVE.
66. They shake hands, and he asks, “Do you believe in fate?” She says no, of course. Presentday!B/B: “I still don’t.” “And I still do.” And this is part of why Brennan does what she does at the end, because she doesn’t realize that she doesn’t have to believe in fate, she just has to believe in Booth. Not even herself. Just Booth.
67. We’re getting there, we’re getting there.
68. EXCEPT WE JUST GOT TO THE CREDITS AND WE’RE ALREADY THIS MANY IN, YOU GUYS. OH, man. I’m going to be writing this until I die.
69. Which could be any second, since my heart’s over there, shattered on the floor.
70. Hi, heart.
71. I miss you.
72. At the Jeff, Zack and-
73. OMG ZACK YAY! And Eric Milligan, it’s like you never left. AND I WISH YOU NEVER DID, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I LIKE VNM, AND WENDELL, AND DAISY, ETC.
74. Anyway, Zack and Brennan (with her ponytail and all!) go over the body. She informs him, “We’ve got to shift the paradigm.”
75. Well, no shit on that one, Show. You certainly succeeded there.
76. Hodgins walks up onto the platform, with the hugest hair in history, and starts picking up the bags of clothes. As soon as Hodgins finds out what’s going on, he starts taking the clothing, STAT. Now that he knows that others are playing Junior Detective, he can’t wait to jump in, too.
77. Brennan’s all, Hodgins, you’re kind of an ass (and for Brennan to say it, to recognize it, you know it’s got to be bad). Zack doesn’t get what value Hodgins could be to what they’re doing, but Hodgins Doctorates him (which is similar to LAWYERing someone, I think), and Zack just looks annoyed. Hodgins “gets weepy” (as I think Cam would say) about finding spores or particulates or whatever, and I really just love him.
78. Oh, Hodgins.
79. Never change.
80. Except your hair.
81. Which you do.
82. So thanks. For that.
83. Hodgins and Zack get bitchy with each other, causing Hodgins to snap his little rubber band, and really, this is just BEAUTIFULLY done.
84. Zack brings up his old flame, Naomi from paleontology, who says Hodgins needs to get busy. Oh, Naomi. If only you could have been the one to truly sweep Zack off his feet, we wouldn’t have the mess we have now.
85. Oh, Zack.
86. Anyway. I can’t get stuck on that.
87. In a beautiful park, where it makes total sense for Angela to be, Brennan goes to find her. Angela is doing caricature portraits, and I have to say, I love this idea for her. It makes sense that this would be something Angela would do; she is very good at seeing the truth of people, and also seeing the truth that people want to see.
88. If that makes sense.
89. I will admit that, at this point, there has been some wine.
90. It was very important.
91. I’m sure you’ll understand.
92. Brennan pretty much offends Angela’s customer, but Angela’s not even really upset about it. She already gets Brennan, pretty well, after only knowing her for a month (as we learn). She really does like her.
93. God, Angela? How are you even real? You understanding, kind, caring soul? Because you’re ONLY amazing. Is all I’m saying.
94. As Angela and Brennan talk about what Brennan’s asking her to do, Angela just seems so…young. You know what I mean? Almost more like a college kid than the person she turns into. Which isn’t different from the person sitting on the bench with Brennan, really…I’m saying they’ve done a good job here. And really with all of the characters. Because I can really see how these were the people they were a year before the pilot. It makes sense, continuity-wise.
95. Show. You…just Show.
96. We find out Angela is hard up for cash because she’s saving to go back to Paris. And they bring this up. Rather frequently.
97. Do I smell a future plot point? I don’t know anything about this, spoilers-wise, but I feel like there’s something there.
98. Anyway, Angela agrees to give the “skull facial murder barf-making monstrosity” a face.
99. Love that quote. SO. HARD.
100. At Hoover, Cam delivers the case files to Booth, who tells her that he’s testing the peeps at the Jeff. Cam goes to get on the elevator, and she and Brennan literally run into one another, which Brennan does not seem at all amused by.
101. Brennan proceeds to place herself right in front of Booth’s desk, and tell him everything about the victim other than her name and the type of bike she rode as a child. Seriously, it’s ridiculous. Booth is clearly impressed, but tells Brennan to wear gloves if she’s handling human remains, and she calmly agrees to “adjust [her] behavior accordingly.”
102. Booth shows Brennan a video of Jemma’s singing, and GOD. It’s…well, it’s really beautiful. And really them, you know? The song. It’s..it’s a good song.
103. My one complaint with this scene?
104. Booth doesn’t have his jacket on. So where is his holster?
105. BECAUSE WE ALL LOVE TO SEE THE HOLSTER.
106. And the way Booth looks during this-
107. The way he looks.
108. It’s younger than we’ve ever seen him. And he just looks like he wishes…a lot of things. That he was better. That he found someone who made him feel…something. It’s. It just is, okay? I can’t really put the look on his face into words, because it’s this LOOK. I…can’t.
109. Brennan understands Booth’s need to test her, and she “obviously passed with a lot of color.” Booth corrects her, for the first time, telling her that she passed with flying colors. It’s nice. It really is. Booth is often frustrated with Brennan, but this is something he never gets frustrated with. He doesn’t mind telling her something more about the world, and Brennan never seems to mind hearing it.
110. It’s just really nice.
111. Brennan makes it clear that she’ll only help Booth find the truth, and the rest is…the rest, whether it’s this federal judge or not. Booth makes a joke, laughs, looks…that way, that he looks, and he says, he’s having some fun, and Brennan smiles, and she says it’s fun….
112. Look. These people. They’re attracted to one another. And there’s not 6 years of baggage, or risk, of anything. He thinks she’s beautiful, and she thinks he’s handsome, and there's this spark (I'm convinced this is the basis for Booth's physics speech 3x04) and that might have been enough, a million (6) years ago, but now the stakes are higher-
113. I’m not going there. Yet.
114. Sweets can’t even handle it anymore - the fact that Booth tested her and got away with it, the fact that she basically called Booth dumb. Brennan explains that they were “feeling each other up,” the usage of which Booth corrects.
115. And really shouldn’t have.
116. Because that part’s coming, too.
117. They ask Sweets if he wants to hear the rest of the story, and he indicates both that he does, and that he’s also considering jumping from his window-
118. Which I don’t think opens. If it’s like other federal buildings, like mine, for example, that sucker is lodged in the wall. It’s okay, Sweets. You could always have Booth shoot you. God knows he’s resisted at times.
119. At the Jeff, Hodgins gets super stoked about a sliver of maple found on Jemma’s clothing while Zack boils flesh off some bones.
120. You know, just another day at the Jeff.
121. (ewww.)
122. Zack and Hodgins get, well, bitchy with each other, and Brennan tells Hodgins he’s a pissed off little man. Okay, that’s not exactly how it goes, but close enough. In the end, she suggests that they design an experiment-
123. AN EXPERIMENT, YOU GUYS!
124. I squealed at that. I did. I clapped like a happy seal. And squealed. Because it’s Zack, and it’s Hodgins, and it’s an EXPERIMENT.
125. (even while we all want to focus on the last scene, I think it’s important to appreciate The Parts of the Sum of the Whole, because all the parts are there, and they are GLORIOUS)
126. EVERYBODY, IT’S DB’S DAD!
127. Hi, DB’s Dad!
128. He makes a copy in the most unbelievable way possible, I mean, really, who does it like that-
129. But I’m being picky. It’s DB’s Dad! YAY!
130. Booth says he’s already brought in Jemma’s boyfriend before (the maple possibly = baseball bat = baseball player = Jemma’s boyfriend…yes, that’s lazy recapping), but he didn’t do it - because Judge Hasty did it.
131. And B/B have the first of many knowing v. feeling conversations.
132. Then, there’s this:
Brennan: Why are you interrogating the boyfriend if you’re already convinced.
Booth: I want to convince you.
133. And that’s what he’s always doing, isn’t it? Convincing her. The thing is, she’s convinced. When it comes to Booth, there’s nothing left that he has to or can prove. She believes in him. If only he could convince her about herself.
134. Brennan is impressed by this gesture, and I’m betting, a little turned on. I mean, really.
135. Jemma’s boyfriend, in addition to being totally cute (is it too soon to say “call me”?), is so heartbroken that I just can’t even look at him (except to observe his cuteness). Booth buys his story, Brennan buys his story, and I do, too: “I don’t mind coming in to answer these questions. Because it means that you guys are still looking.”
136. You know, if this were a regular episode, that guy might have just stolen my heart.
137. But it’s too busy being a shattered mess on the floor.
138. At the Jeff, people are lined up to see Hodgins hit the shit out of Zack with a bat, because I bet they think he’s one weird kid to start with, and what with his penchant for correcting, I’m sure they’ve all thought about hitting him with a bat before, too.
139. Hodgins wacks him, but not as good as Brennan does when she gets her turn, sending Zack flying to the floor. Also, does anyone notice that Brennan’s wearing sneakers with her jeans? We’ve come a long way, there, Bren. She looks like me…okay. Well, I’d pretty much rock that look at any point, unless it’s warm, then you just replace the sneaks with flippy-floppies. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen Brennan in sneakers before, and it’s sort of freaking me out.
140. Anyway, the bat isn’t the murder weapon. And Zack’s dismay at being struck in the head is fantastic.
141. Why, the hell, doesn’t Zack take the suit off BEFORE he goes to show Brennan his new find with the bruising on the bones? I mean, he looks hilarious, but come on.
142. Zack shows Brennan that there is bruising on the bones that occurred before death. Zack falls down. I laugh, even though it’s ridiculous he’s still in the suit.
143. At what is TRULY a beautiful location, B/B talk about Jemma’s last known night. She was in this place, with her choir. Booth tries to explain the concept of “hoity-toity” to Brennan, and I mostly just think everything they do at this point, and for several minutes after this, is adorable.
144. He calls her Bones for the first time, in the “oh gosh jeez” sort of manner, and you can tell, she kind of likes it. She proposes calling him “Shoes.”
145. Thank GOD that didn’t stick.
146. Brennan talks about paramilitary groups restraining individuality, “but the free-thinkers, the rebels, the people with leadership abilities,” the find a way to stand out.
147. I can’t-
148. Y’all.
149. He really did know. When he saw her. In that classroom. He knew, and he wanted her, and it was a THING, a THING, PEOPLE, and he changed his tie, and his buckle, and his socks, and he stopped gambling-
150. GOD. Booth. And this episode. I cannot even deal with you.
151. Then.
152. OH MAN.
153. Then.
154. Brennan: Are you seeing anyone?
Booth: God…right to the point, huh, Bones? Casually, but she doesn’t really like my hours. (I would like your hours, Booth. The hours you spent IN MY PANTS.) You?
Brennan: A physicist has been asking me out. I was thinking of saying yes.
Booth: I’d ask you out, if I could.
Brennan: Why can’t you?
Booth: Well, FBI rules again. No fraternizing with other agents or consultants. (Do I smell a future plot point?)
Brennan: That’s too bad.
Booth: Glad you think so.
155. You know, this is just all more than I ever, EVER dreamed.
156. B/B figure out that Jemma fell down some stairs, and was dragged out the back. It’s their first yay, we cracked the clue moment.
157. At Hoover, Angela shows Caroline-
158. HI, CAROLINE!
159. -a flipbook. I’m not kidding about this. Angela made a flip book. It’s the prehistoric Angela Magic Machine, or whatever. She probably did this while sitting down. Like when she was drawing in the park. I’m saying, Angela gets to sit in the past, but not in the future, and we need to do something about it.
160. (and that’s your Stool Watch: Week 16 Update)
161. Caroline don’t give a shit about the filp book or anything else. She’s not resting her career on this crap, and Caroline, I’m feeling you. They don’t have enough. Yet.
162. Also, the “sadistic children’s book” thing? Love you, Caroline. I want to be you as a grown up.
163. Caroline tells Booth that he wants her office (which he gets, later), and she’s not risking her ass for this (no matter how cute Booth’s ass is, and Caroline knows, it’s DAMN cute).
164. Oh! And we have the first ever Angela/Brennan Talk About Booth. Angela points out: Booth’s hot. Brennan agrees, in smart people language, responding to the breadth of his shoulders and his strong jaw.
165. GOD, me too. ME TOO. A man…with shoulders. Oh, people. It’s…SHOULDERS.
166. Booth decides, you know, what the hell, we’re going to ask the judge some questions, anyway, and we end back up at the Pretty Set Place Building, where Jemma was killed.
167. B/B walk around with the judge, with Brennan throwing out that he’s a killer in about 2.2 seconds. Long story short, it doesn’t go well, and Brennan punches the judge in the face twice. Booth pretty much says it all: “You are SO hot.”
168. God, you guys. Just do it on the stairs. This is getting out of control.
169. But then, Caroline brings it back to reality: She says a bunch of words, but basically, they come down to, “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME WITH THIS SHIT, BOOTH?”
170. Also, Caroline, you don’t just always bring the funny, but you also bring the truth, RE: B/B: “Watching you two together is like being at prom.”
171. I had to pause on that one, I was laughing so hard.
172. It should also be noted that now, Booth? Is wearing a red tie. He’s decided to assert his individuality. I love that Show has done it like this, because it harkens back to the beginning of the season - Booth shows up, he’s wearing the old standard stuff, and Brennan’s like, where are your socks? Where’s your belt buckle? And she’s the one who brings it back around to him, again.
173. Also, I bet Booth didn’t tell Gordon-Gordon about this when GG said the buckle/socks/tie were all a manifestation of his socioeconomic rage.
174. They were never a manifestation of that.
175. They were a manifestation of his desire to have sex with Brennan.
176. That’s why, when Brennan tells Booth she’s had sex with Sully, he says to himself, “I’ve got to get a flashier tie.”
177. (I feel that, at this moment, I’ve earned a “Boom. Lawyered.”)
178. Anyway, Caroline tells Booth to get Brennan drunk and fire her, and-
179. Really. Booth. You don’t see any real punishment in this. You have to get Brennan drunk, then tell her she’s fired, at which point you will TOTALLY have sex. Don’t look forlorn. You’re full of shit.
180. At the Jeff, Zack and Brennan look over the skull. Brennan freaks that they fucked up, taking away all of the flesh, because Hodgins could have gotten particulates. Angela rolls in, like the she’s the new/third wife of a billionaire who he picked up in Vegas, with the attitude of, “OMG, is that real caviar? I heard those are fish eggs. That’s a joke, right?” I mean, seriously, Angela.
181. She calls Zack “Jimmy Neutron,” and it’s adorable, how quickly Angela just adopts people. She tells them, Angela-style, that Jemma’s head was slammed. Then she says she’s an artist. Whatever, Angela; you’re so into this shit it’s ridiculous. She wonders at Zack’s mathology, but then throws him a curve ball: Can God make a bigger rock than he can roll? Angela, you keep these people honest. Love you.
182. Okay, everyone, this is…this is maybe my favorite moment in Bones history.
183. UP TO THIS POINT.
184. IT IS TO BE TOPPED.
185. But this…well, this.
186. They’re in a bar, not a good bar, but a bar, and they’re doing shots of tequila. Booth shows Brennan his tie - it’s flashy and crazy, and the declaration of Booth’s “going rogue,” and it’s because of Brennan. Brennan is doing alarmingly well - she did some shots mixed with something mixed with cannabis in India as a grad student. They laugh, and Booth tells her, your fired, and she thinks it’s about the cannabis shots, but of course, it’s the punching the federal judge. Which he still maintains was hot.
187. And Brennan - man, she cuts to the chase. Like, BOOM, no time flat, you know EXACTLY what she’s been thinking about the whole time. “If we don’t work together anymore, we can have sex.” To which Booth responds, slurringly, “I’ll call a cab.”
188. AND HE DOES.
189. AND THE CAB COMES.
190. And they walk out of the bar, and he’s got to tell her something -in all the years, it’s always Booth, you know, that’s just GOT to tell her something, and she thinks that it’s that he’s a descendant of John Wilkes Booth (Hart, you just REALLY love this trivia fact, don’t you?), but no, it’s that he’s got a gambling problem-
191. (and no shit, you do, you’re standing out there with her and you’re telling her you have a problem, but you’re taking a chance, you are, because there’s something you think you can win, something you think that’s worth it)
192. -and Brennan, she doesn’t get why he would tell her that. And he says, it’s because I think this is going somewhere, in that WAY that Booth can SAY THINGS, with this soft, masculine, truthful tone that makes you feel-
193. LOOK, it makes you FEEL-
194. And then.
195. They kiss.
196. This is the type of kiss you read about. The one you dream about. People write books about them, because they are so rare, like catching lightning in a bottle.
(And it’s lighting, Booth is more than happy to tell you.)
It’s a kiss that says, I want you, I need you, I’m taking you. It’s a kiss that devours, that consumes. It is combustible. It is blinding.
It is bright.
It’s so, so bright-
Part II
This is a show about what other people see in us, in our faces, in our hearts, in our bones. The things that we don’t see, the things that no one else can ever see.
Except for one person.
It takes one person to believe in you.
Even when you don’t believe in yourself.
-
He asks her to try, but she doesn’t believe that she can.
She believes the worst of herself, and the best of him. His smiles, his laughs, they are for Someone Else, a version of her that could accept them. A version of her that he makes her feel like…that he makes her feel like.
A version of her that does not exist.
(But it does, in a dream, in a book, it does.)
And so this is why she pushes him away; it is this. There is one relationship in all of her life that has ever been the Cornerstone, something she can lean on, and it is the one with him. He knows it and she knows it, but what he perhaps cannot see is that she can’t dare to risk it. She can’t dare to step outside of “partners” - the footing is too unsure, untested. She believes that he believes that they would be together, forever, for the rest of their lives at least. She knows he believes it.
She wants to believe.
But she can’t.
Because she doesn’t believe in herself.
-
“I’ve gotta move on. I’ve gotta find someone who is going to love me for 30 years, or 40, or 50…”
And one day, she’s going to be with him, and he’ll say he’s moving on, and he’ll date some people, but-
He’ll date some people, and she’ll date some people, but she’ll recognize, she doesn’t want to be with those people. There’s one person, just one person, and it’s him. And she will see that she has the capacity, the ability, to love him, for 30, 40, 50, a million years, a billion years, until the end of time and then some, and it’s going to be some day after a stupid case with stupid criminals, and she’ll look at him and she’ll say, “You found me. You found me. I’m Someone.”
The rest of the series? Or at least until we end this foolishness? Is Brennan realizing just how much she loves him. And just how much loving him isn’t a change, but just something that she can do. We’ve watched Booth pine away; well, now we can see Brennan do it, and people might say that’s an old plot device, but old plot devices work because they are based on people, what they do, how they are, and it’s going to be AMAZING.
OH, SHOW. YOU SON OF A BITCH BUT I LOVE YOU SO MUCH YOU ASSHOLE PLEASE MARRY ME SHOW.
-
1. Okay, I don’t think this is going to be a typical recap. Because this episode? Was not typical. It was so heartbreaking that you can actually feel it, you can feel something happening in your chest and in your gut, and Hart Hanson, wherever you are, Stephen Nathan, too - you have just gutted me, entirely.
2. Also, David Boreanaz, as a director, has a very definitive visual style. And it works SPECTACULARLY with this episode.
3. Translation:
4. I WANT EMMYS FOR THIS SHIT. MULTIPLE, AMAZING, HEARTCRUSHING EMMYS.
5. Because if you didn’t like this episode, if you didn’t get it, if you think this is the worst thing to happen to the show, I’m telling you-
6. STOP READING. JUST STOP READING.
7. I don’t know exactly what path this is going to go down, but I’m telling you, this path? Is laid with love for Show. So much love that it will grow Love Flowers, which Brennan will hand to Booth when she finally comes to her senses.
8. OH MY GOD I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT JUST HAPPENED OH MY GOD.
9. Okay.
10. OKAY.
11. I’m going to pull it together.
12. I will.
13. After I watch the final scene again.
14. HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT.
15. Hart Hanson, you did some Lost shit on me.
16. YOU FUCKING DID, YOU WILEY CANADIAN.
17. Quote that we see outside, while Brennan and Booth walk down the stairs, after meeting with Sweets?
18. “Nothing happens unless first a dream…” -Carl Sandburg.
19. You do realize what this means?
20. If you don’t, don’t worry; I’ll come back to it. I’ll come back.
21. Okay, we’re going to start from the front, now. I’ve had some time to process, and I feel adequately prepared to give this episode exactly the sort of treatment it deserves.
22. Which is the best kind.
23. BECAUSE THIS IS THE BEST EPISODE IN HISTORY, BTW.
24. Booth and Brennan ride an escalator up, somewhere in DC. I have no idea, if they’re going to Hoover, why they’re not in the car, because surely, Special Agent in Charge of Major Crimes and Other Badassery Seeley Joseph Booth has a parking spot.
25. Booth’s all, look, Sweets isn’t going to like us breaking this to him. Brennan’s like, whatevs, I’d be grateful. Then, Booth tells her, look, Sweets is going to freak, like people who hear you yell fire, then they panic, and run into walls.
26. Brennan: You think Sweets is going to panic and run into walls?
27. Booth visually mocks her, but from O’Brien’s POV? Sweets certainly LOOKED like he was going to panic and run into a wall. Later. He really, really did.
28. Oh, Sweets. I don’t know whether to kiss you or hit you after this episode.
29. And since Brennan and Booth do both-
30. OH MY GOD THEY KISSED THEY KISSED THEY KISSED AND THEY DID IT IN THE PAST AND THEY DID IT IN THE NOW AND OH MY GOD.
31. Really. I’m pulling it together.
32. Slowly.
33. Brennan informs Booth that she just wants to tell Sweets about a factual error: that Cleo Eller wasn’t their first case. Booth makes a face - a happy one, really. He’s like, but what about this “we’re in love” business, and Brennan’s all, “yeah, I’m not bothered by that.”
34. Oh, shit, y’all.
35. It’s because she knows they’re in love with each other. She gives Sweets some bullshit later about how they understand his right to interpret, but really? After the end of the episode, I don’t think it can be denied that Brennan’s in love with Booth, and knows it, and that he even knows it, but that she’s just scared.
36. And y’all, like I’m not going to talk about the end of the episode throughout. PLEASE. It’s all I can think about, and I’m sure you feel quite the same. I think we’re past the point of being disingenuous with each other.
37. So, they roll into Sweets’ office. Sweets thinks that they disagree with his conclusion that they are in love. He says something about “vigor and rigor,” and all I think of is Booth’s penis gun.
38. So did you.
39. Don’t lie.
40. Booth and Brennan look at each other, and here’s the secret that we’re all going to know by the end: they really don’t disagree with Sweets. They both know they’re in love.
41. But I’ll get to that.
42. Like the rest of this show, this recap is all about the waiting to get to the point, and I swear, I will do my best to make the wait worth it.
43. Love this:
Brennan: We recognize your right to interpret.
Sweets: You do.
Brennan: That’s your right as a psychologist to get everything wrong.
O’Brien: Brennan, never change. EXCEPT FOR WHEN I TELL YOU TO AT THE END, BUT IT’S NOT REALY CHANGING, AND-
44. This is getting REALLY hard.
45. Brennan drops the bomb that the Eller case wasn’t their first, and Sweets…well, he really does look like he will panic and run into walls. Sorry, Booth, but Brennan was right on that one.
46. Sweets frets that his entire interpretation of them is based on their interaction as he knew it from the Eller case. Sweets asks them, tell me about the real first case. They look at each other-
47. They look at each other.
It’s this thing, that they can do.
Just look at each other.
And know.
This is what it is: they had chemistry, from the start. He liked her, she liked him, and that got messed up, it did, but in essentials? They were still just ATTRACTED to one another. There was something that one saw in the other, this thing that made sense, this thing that the other understood.
They still understand.
So when they look at each other, and they’re asking, do we do this, and they’re saying, okay, let’s, it’s each of them, understanding the other.
They do understand each other.
48. They start the story, dead girl, in a landfill, and the story sounds like the beginning of a million (100) cases they’ve worked together. Booth explains, “I was at an early morning Gambler’s Anonymous Meeting,” meaning he was running game at pool, because Booth is bad at…nothing.
49. Think about it.
50. Yeah, I can’t find anything, either.
51. Brennan explains, “Booth was had a gambling addiction before he met me.” I find this statement interesting on many levels. On the one hand, we learn later, Booth stopped the gambling after kissing Brennan the first time (GOD. We now have a FIRST time, and a SECOND time, and a THIRD time. There are three. It’s a trifecta of kisses. Oh, LIFE). So, she’s right on one level.
52. On another, I think Brennan’s the biggest gamble Booth’s ever taken.
53. She’s not like any other woman he’s ever met, still, six years later.
And he loves her.
There’s nothing that he can do to deny it.
Her cluelessness about the world, how she’s literal about everything, the way she correct him and everyone else…the way she smiles, the way she laughs - it’s not like other women laugh; she’ s not careful with it, it’s full, and throaty, and - she is careful with nothing.
Nothing.
Except for the bones.
Except for him.
She’s very careful with him.
And he wishes so hard that she wouldn’t be.
54. Booth says it wasn’t really a problem, because he kept winning, but it did apparently pull focus from his job, because he had some really shitty desk in the bullpen. Anyway, at the pool hall, Booth gets a call from the victim’s (Jemma) mom. The NY coroner’s office was releasing Jemma’s body. Lucky for Booth, Cam - the NY Coroner at the time - was in town.
55. Point of order: is the NY Coroner an elected position? It is in some places in Mississippi. I have always found that odd. I have no idea why I, or anyone else, want to be involved in the election of a coroner. I feel certain I’m not qualified to know who is…qualified.
56. Anyway, Cam’s in town, and she thinks that Booth needs to partner up. Booth says he doesn’t do that, which, considering Teddy Parker, I can understand.
57. But Cam read about this forensic anthropologist, and she really knows her stuff. Booth isn’t having it…until he is. Because Cam puts him entirely in his place. And I have to say, I think some people think that this moment is shoehorning Cam in, but I don’t care, because Cam is SO…CAM. She’s thinking outside the box, hey, Booth, team up with this woman, the two of you could really do something together…it’s pretty much how Cam rolls. She’s not afraid to challenge, AT ALL.
58. Love you, Cam. LOVE. YOU.
59. Booth stops Cam, asks her the name of the forensic anthropologist, and she tells him, Temperance Brennan, “Which is me,” Brennan says, in just about the most adorable way in history.
60. Booth goes to find Brennan, and there she is, lecturing. He opens the door, walks forward-
61. And look. I’m more like Brennan. I don’t believe in knowing, not like Booth does, and Booth’s right, it takes the guy, it does-
62. He knows.
And it’s just like lightning, or getting hit by a truck-
It’s just like all the things you’ve ever heard about-
Booth feels it. Deep down, more than anything, it’s like a match lights. A spark. And it burns slow at first, but over time, it picks up speed, until it engulfs him, nothing left but the embers-
He knows.
63. Seriously, Booth’s jaw drops. He saw her. He knew. He really is that guy; he’s not kidding about it.
64. They have a back and forth about flesh v. bone, and really, and she tells him she’s the best in the world, and he sort of laughs, but presentday!Booth says, adorably, “It turns out to be true.”
65. LOVE.
66. They shake hands, and he asks, “Do you believe in fate?” She says no, of course. Presentday!B/B: “I still don’t.” “And I still do.” And this is part of why Brennan does what she does at the end, because she doesn’t realize that she doesn’t have to believe in fate, she just has to believe in Booth. Not even herself. Just Booth.
67. We’re getting there, we’re getting there.
68. EXCEPT WE JUST GOT TO THE CREDITS AND WE’RE ALREADY THIS MANY IN, YOU GUYS. OH, man. I’m going to be writing this until I die.
69. Which could be any second, since my heart’s over there, shattered on the floor.
70. Hi, heart.
71. I miss you.
72. At the Jeff, Zack and-
73. OMG ZACK YAY! And Eric Milligan, it’s like you never left. AND I WISH YOU NEVER DID, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I LIKE VNM, AND WENDELL, AND DAISY, ETC.
74. Anyway, Zack and Brennan (with her ponytail and all!) go over the body. She informs him, “We’ve got to shift the paradigm.”
75. Well, no shit on that one, Show. You certainly succeeded there.
76. Hodgins walks up onto the platform, with the hugest hair in history, and starts picking up the bags of clothes. As soon as Hodgins finds out what’s going on, he starts taking the clothing, STAT. Now that he knows that others are playing Junior Detective, he can’t wait to jump in, too.
77. Brennan’s all, Hodgins, you’re kind of an ass (and for Brennan to say it, to recognize it, you know it’s got to be bad). Zack doesn’t get what value Hodgins could be to what they’re doing, but Hodgins Doctorates him (which is similar to LAWYERing someone, I think), and Zack just looks annoyed. Hodgins “gets weepy” (as I think Cam would say) about finding spores or particulates or whatever, and I really just love him.
78. Oh, Hodgins.
79. Never change.
80. Except your hair.
81. Which you do.
82. So thanks. For that.
83. Hodgins and Zack get bitchy with each other, causing Hodgins to snap his little rubber band, and really, this is just BEAUTIFULLY done.
84. Zack brings up his old flame, Naomi from paleontology, who says Hodgins needs to get busy. Oh, Naomi. If only you could have been the one to truly sweep Zack off his feet, we wouldn’t have the mess we have now.
85. Oh, Zack.
86. Anyway. I can’t get stuck on that.
87. In a beautiful park, where it makes total sense for Angela to be, Brennan goes to find her. Angela is doing caricature portraits, and I have to say, I love this idea for her. It makes sense that this would be something Angela would do; she is very good at seeing the truth of people, and also seeing the truth that people want to see.
88. If that makes sense.
89. I will admit that, at this point, there has been some wine.
90. It was very important.
91. I’m sure you’ll understand.
92. Brennan pretty much offends Angela’s customer, but Angela’s not even really upset about it. She already gets Brennan, pretty well, after only knowing her for a month (as we learn). She really does like her.
93. God, Angela? How are you even real? You understanding, kind, caring soul? Because you’re ONLY amazing. Is all I’m saying.
94. As Angela and Brennan talk about what Brennan’s asking her to do, Angela just seems so…young. You know what I mean? Almost more like a college kid than the person she turns into. Which isn’t different from the person sitting on the bench with Brennan, really…I’m saying they’ve done a good job here. And really with all of the characters. Because I can really see how these were the people they were a year before the pilot. It makes sense, continuity-wise.
95. Show. You…just Show.
96. We find out Angela is hard up for cash because she’s saving to go back to Paris. And they bring this up. Rather frequently.
97. Do I smell a future plot point? I don’t know anything about this, spoilers-wise, but I feel like there’s something there.
98. Anyway, Angela agrees to give the “skull facial murder barf-making monstrosity” a face.
99. Love that quote. SO. HARD.
100. At Hoover, Cam delivers the case files to Booth, who tells her that he’s testing the peeps at the Jeff. Cam goes to get on the elevator, and she and Brennan literally run into one another, which Brennan does not seem at all amused by.
101. Brennan proceeds to place herself right in front of Booth’s desk, and tell him everything about the victim other than her name and the type of bike she rode as a child. Seriously, it’s ridiculous. Booth is clearly impressed, but tells Brennan to wear gloves if she’s handling human remains, and she calmly agrees to “adjust [her] behavior accordingly.”
102. Booth shows Brennan a video of Jemma’s singing, and GOD. It’s…well, it’s really beautiful. And really them, you know? The song. It’s..it’s a good song.
103. My one complaint with this scene?
104. Booth doesn’t have his jacket on. So where is his holster?
105. BECAUSE WE ALL LOVE TO SEE THE HOLSTER.
106. And the way Booth looks during this-
107. The way he looks.
108. It’s younger than we’ve ever seen him. And he just looks like he wishes…a lot of things. That he was better. That he found someone who made him feel…something. It’s. It just is, okay? I can’t really put the look on his face into words, because it’s this LOOK. I…can’t.
109. Brennan understands Booth’s need to test her, and she “obviously passed with a lot of color.” Booth corrects her, for the first time, telling her that she passed with flying colors. It’s nice. It really is. Booth is often frustrated with Brennan, but this is something he never gets frustrated with. He doesn’t mind telling her something more about the world, and Brennan never seems to mind hearing it.
110. It’s just really nice.
111. Brennan makes it clear that she’ll only help Booth find the truth, and the rest is…the rest, whether it’s this federal judge or not. Booth makes a joke, laughs, looks…that way, that he looks, and he says, he’s having some fun, and Brennan smiles, and she says it’s fun….
112. Look. These people. They’re attracted to one another. And there’s not 6 years of baggage, or risk, of anything. He thinks she’s beautiful, and she thinks he’s handsome, and there's this spark (I'm convinced this is the basis for Booth's physics speech 3x04) and that might have been enough, a million (6) years ago, but now the stakes are higher-
113. I’m not going there. Yet.
114. Sweets can’t even handle it anymore - the fact that Booth tested her and got away with it, the fact that she basically called Booth dumb. Brennan explains that they were “feeling each other up,” the usage of which Booth corrects.
115. And really shouldn’t have.
116. Because that part’s coming, too.
117. They ask Sweets if he wants to hear the rest of the story, and he indicates both that he does, and that he’s also considering jumping from his window-
118. Which I don’t think opens. If it’s like other federal buildings, like mine, for example, that sucker is lodged in the wall. It’s okay, Sweets. You could always have Booth shoot you. God knows he’s resisted at times.
119. At the Jeff, Hodgins gets super stoked about a sliver of maple found on Jemma’s clothing while Zack boils flesh off some bones.
120. You know, just another day at the Jeff.
121. (ewww.)
122. Zack and Hodgins get, well, bitchy with each other, and Brennan tells Hodgins he’s a pissed off little man. Okay, that’s not exactly how it goes, but close enough. In the end, she suggests that they design an experiment-
123. AN EXPERIMENT, YOU GUYS!
124. I squealed at that. I did. I clapped like a happy seal. And squealed. Because it’s Zack, and it’s Hodgins, and it’s an EXPERIMENT.
125. (even while we all want to focus on the last scene, I think it’s important to appreciate The Parts of the Sum of the Whole, because all the parts are there, and they are GLORIOUS)
126. EVERYBODY, IT’S DB’S DAD!
127. Hi, DB’s Dad!
128. He makes a copy in the most unbelievable way possible, I mean, really, who does it like that-
129. But I’m being picky. It’s DB’s Dad! YAY!
130. Booth says he’s already brought in Jemma’s boyfriend before (the maple possibly = baseball bat = baseball player = Jemma’s boyfriend…yes, that’s lazy recapping), but he didn’t do it - because Judge Hasty did it.
131. And B/B have the first of many knowing v. feeling conversations.
132. Then, there’s this:
Brennan: Why are you interrogating the boyfriend if you’re already convinced.
Booth: I want to convince you.
133. And that’s what he’s always doing, isn’t it? Convincing her. The thing is, she’s convinced. When it comes to Booth, there’s nothing left that he has to or can prove. She believes in him. If only he could convince her about herself.
134. Brennan is impressed by this gesture, and I’m betting, a little turned on. I mean, really.
135. Jemma’s boyfriend, in addition to being totally cute (is it too soon to say “call me”?), is so heartbroken that I just can’t even look at him (except to observe his cuteness). Booth buys his story, Brennan buys his story, and I do, too: “I don’t mind coming in to answer these questions. Because it means that you guys are still looking.”
136. You know, if this were a regular episode, that guy might have just stolen my heart.
137. But it’s too busy being a shattered mess on the floor.
138. At the Jeff, people are lined up to see Hodgins hit the shit out of Zack with a bat, because I bet they think he’s one weird kid to start with, and what with his penchant for correcting, I’m sure they’ve all thought about hitting him with a bat before, too.
139. Hodgins wacks him, but not as good as Brennan does when she gets her turn, sending Zack flying to the floor. Also, does anyone notice that Brennan’s wearing sneakers with her jeans? We’ve come a long way, there, Bren. She looks like me…okay. Well, I’d pretty much rock that look at any point, unless it’s warm, then you just replace the sneaks with flippy-floppies. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen Brennan in sneakers before, and it’s sort of freaking me out.
140. Anyway, the bat isn’t the murder weapon. And Zack’s dismay at being struck in the head is fantastic.
141. Why, the hell, doesn’t Zack take the suit off BEFORE he goes to show Brennan his new find with the bruising on the bones? I mean, he looks hilarious, but come on.
142. Zack shows Brennan that there is bruising on the bones that occurred before death. Zack falls down. I laugh, even though it’s ridiculous he’s still in the suit.
143. At what is TRULY a beautiful location, B/B talk about Jemma’s last known night. She was in this place, with her choir. Booth tries to explain the concept of “hoity-toity” to Brennan, and I mostly just think everything they do at this point, and for several minutes after this, is adorable.
144. He calls her Bones for the first time, in the “oh gosh jeez” sort of manner, and you can tell, she kind of likes it. She proposes calling him “Shoes.”
145. Thank GOD that didn’t stick.
146. Brennan talks about paramilitary groups restraining individuality, “but the free-thinkers, the rebels, the people with leadership abilities,” the find a way to stand out.
147. I can’t-
148. Y’all.
149. He really did know. When he saw her. In that classroom. He knew, and he wanted her, and it was a THING, a THING, PEOPLE, and he changed his tie, and his buckle, and his socks, and he stopped gambling-
150. GOD. Booth. And this episode. I cannot even deal with you.
151. Then.
152. OH MAN.
153. Then.
154. Brennan: Are you seeing anyone?
Booth: God…right to the point, huh, Bones? Casually, but she doesn’t really like my hours. (I would like your hours, Booth. The hours you spent IN MY PANTS.) You?
Brennan: A physicist has been asking me out. I was thinking of saying yes.
Booth: I’d ask you out, if I could.
Brennan: Why can’t you?
Booth: Well, FBI rules again. No fraternizing with other agents or consultants. (Do I smell a future plot point?)
Brennan: That’s too bad.
Booth: Glad you think so.
155. You know, this is just all more than I ever, EVER dreamed.
156. B/B figure out that Jemma fell down some stairs, and was dragged out the back. It’s their first yay, we cracked the clue moment.
157. At Hoover, Angela shows Caroline-
158. HI, CAROLINE!
159. -a flipbook. I’m not kidding about this. Angela made a flip book. It’s the prehistoric Angela Magic Machine, or whatever. She probably did this while sitting down. Like when she was drawing in the park. I’m saying, Angela gets to sit in the past, but not in the future, and we need to do something about it.
160. (and that’s your Stool Watch: Week 16 Update)
161. Caroline don’t give a shit about the filp book or anything else. She’s not resting her career on this crap, and Caroline, I’m feeling you. They don’t have enough. Yet.
162. Also, the “sadistic children’s book” thing? Love you, Caroline. I want to be you as a grown up.
163. Caroline tells Booth that he wants her office (which he gets, later), and she’s not risking her ass for this (no matter how cute Booth’s ass is, and Caroline knows, it’s DAMN cute).
164. Oh! And we have the first ever Angela/Brennan Talk About Booth. Angela points out: Booth’s hot. Brennan agrees, in smart people language, responding to the breadth of his shoulders and his strong jaw.
165. GOD, me too. ME TOO. A man…with shoulders. Oh, people. It’s…SHOULDERS.
166. Booth decides, you know, what the hell, we’re going to ask the judge some questions, anyway, and we end back up at the Pretty Set Place Building, where Jemma was killed.
167. B/B walk around with the judge, with Brennan throwing out that he’s a killer in about 2.2 seconds. Long story short, it doesn’t go well, and Brennan punches the judge in the face twice. Booth pretty much says it all: “You are SO hot.”
168. God, you guys. Just do it on the stairs. This is getting out of control.
169. But then, Caroline brings it back to reality: She says a bunch of words, but basically, they come down to, “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME WITH THIS SHIT, BOOTH?”
170. Also, Caroline, you don’t just always bring the funny, but you also bring the truth, RE: B/B: “Watching you two together is like being at prom.”
171. I had to pause on that one, I was laughing so hard.
172. It should also be noted that now, Booth? Is wearing a red tie. He’s decided to assert his individuality. I love that Show has done it like this, because it harkens back to the beginning of the season - Booth shows up, he’s wearing the old standard stuff, and Brennan’s like, where are your socks? Where’s your belt buckle? And she’s the one who brings it back around to him, again.
173. Also, I bet Booth didn’t tell Gordon-Gordon about this when GG said the buckle/socks/tie were all a manifestation of his socioeconomic rage.
174. They were never a manifestation of that.
175. They were a manifestation of his desire to have sex with Brennan.
176. That’s why, when Brennan tells Booth she’s had sex with Sully, he says to himself, “I’ve got to get a flashier tie.”
177. (I feel that, at this moment, I’ve earned a “Boom. Lawyered.”)
178. Anyway, Caroline tells Booth to get Brennan drunk and fire her, and-
179. Really. Booth. You don’t see any real punishment in this. You have to get Brennan drunk, then tell her she’s fired, at which point you will TOTALLY have sex. Don’t look forlorn. You’re full of shit.
180. At the Jeff, Zack and Brennan look over the skull. Brennan freaks that they fucked up, taking away all of the flesh, because Hodgins could have gotten particulates. Angela rolls in, like the she’s the new/third wife of a billionaire who he picked up in Vegas, with the attitude of, “OMG, is that real caviar? I heard those are fish eggs. That’s a joke, right?” I mean, seriously, Angela.
181. She calls Zack “Jimmy Neutron,” and it’s adorable, how quickly Angela just adopts people. She tells them, Angela-style, that Jemma’s head was slammed. Then she says she’s an artist. Whatever, Angela; you’re so into this shit it’s ridiculous. She wonders at Zack’s mathology, but then throws him a curve ball: Can God make a bigger rock than he can roll? Angela, you keep these people honest. Love you.
182. Okay, everyone, this is…this is maybe my favorite moment in Bones history.
183. UP TO THIS POINT.
184. IT IS TO BE TOPPED.
185. But this…well, this.
186. They’re in a bar, not a good bar, but a bar, and they’re doing shots of tequila. Booth shows Brennan his tie - it’s flashy and crazy, and the declaration of Booth’s “going rogue,” and it’s because of Brennan. Brennan is doing alarmingly well - she did some shots mixed with something mixed with cannabis in India as a grad student. They laugh, and Booth tells her, your fired, and she thinks it’s about the cannabis shots, but of course, it’s the punching the federal judge. Which he still maintains was hot.
187. And Brennan - man, she cuts to the chase. Like, BOOM, no time flat, you know EXACTLY what she’s been thinking about the whole time. “If we don’t work together anymore, we can have sex.” To which Booth responds, slurringly, “I’ll call a cab.”
188. AND HE DOES.
189. AND THE CAB COMES.
190. And they walk out of the bar, and he’s got to tell her something -in all the years, it’s always Booth, you know, that’s just GOT to tell her something, and she thinks that it’s that he’s a descendant of John Wilkes Booth (Hart, you just REALLY love this trivia fact, don’t you?), but no, it’s that he’s got a gambling problem-
191. (and no shit, you do, you’re standing out there with her and you’re telling her you have a problem, but you’re taking a chance, you are, because there’s something you think you can win, something you think that’s worth it)
192. -and Brennan, she doesn’t get why he would tell her that. And he says, it’s because I think this is going somewhere, in that WAY that Booth can SAY THINGS, with this soft, masculine, truthful tone that makes you feel-
193. LOOK, it makes you FEEL-
194. And then.
195. They kiss.
196. This is the type of kiss you read about. The one you dream about. People write books about them, because they are so rare, like catching lightning in a bottle.
(And it’s lighting, Booth is more than happy to tell you.)
It’s a kiss that says, I want you, I need you, I’m taking you. It’s a kiss that devours, that consumes. It is combustible. It is blinding.
It is bright.
It’s so, so bright-
Part II