Bones 1.20 The Graft In The Girl

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ThyneAlone
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Bones 1.20 The Graft In The Girl

Post by ThyneAlone »

OK, so I made a decision. It’s a quiet period, of necessity, just now, thanks to the writers’ strike. We’ve talked a lot about the episodes we like and I have spoken about the reviews we used to write weekly when I was a frequent visitor to tv.com/bones. Well, pitilessly regardless of length, I am going to re-post my reviews here, with the intention of stimulating some much-missed Bones discussion. Hope they give you pause for thought!

‘The Graft In The Girl’ is an almost stand-alone piece, extraordinary not only as an opportunity to see the support between both main and subsidiary characters, but as a study of our attitudes to death, though, exceptionally, focusing on living rather than dead people. My sole gripe is the clumsy exposition – there must be a less lame/artificial way of indicating where they are and why!

There are some superb Hodgela scenes and all characters are expanded or developed. We learn, for instance, how talented they are in their specialist areas (“Angela told us what he looked like, now Hodgins can tell us where he lived”). We see Booth’s caring side, as he sacrifices his sick days as a personal favour. Though the degree of intuition Brennan displays surprises us, we are reassured by her usual lack of familiarity with social nuance, conveyed in the ‘kickster’ comment. She also touches on a theme, loosely related to Hodgins and to be explored in greater depth in S2 – money (“Taking advantage of wealthy people is ok?”).

Zach underscores his literal-mindedness by pondering over the significance of the phrase ‘his number’s up’ and Brennan defends him (“I find intelligence soothing” – an inquiring mind is an absolute requisite for intelligence). Clearly Booth hasn’t yet come to terms with the odd workings of Zach’s mind!

Even outside his interaction with Angela, Hodgins is rounded out. He wears his geek squad membership with pride, but also has a broad cultural knowledge beyond his own sphere, referring with easy familiarity to Swiss cheese and French artists – not surprisingly, as he probably had a very good education, but good to see demonstrated. His sense of humour and relationship with Zach are conveyed strongly once more.
Angela, however, is the shining star of this episode. Relating instantly to Amy through her drawings, she rapidly becomes the warm friend and confidante Amy badly needs, given her instinctive reluctance to burden her stricken parents. Angela understands Amy’s frustration that she will not have the time to see and feel enough to become a great artist, and Amy understands Angela’s expressions of her inner nature – “they’re alive – showing me what you’ve experienced, lived through.” To help Amy, Angela offers the most profound expression of her thoughts about love that we have hitherto witnessed. “You might meet someone who’s worth it – if he’s not, then you’ve got something else to paint about”. Has she always felt this way? Has Brennan’s reassurance post-Kirk’s death made a difference? I leave it with you! Incidentally, this credo of living life to the full, taking risks and embracing every relationship that comes your way is very similar to TJ’s own.

The J/A moments are to die for. The look of tenderness and appreciation on Jack’s face as he surveys Angela’s beautifully digitised version of Amy’s painting speaks volumes. The scene where he comforts and inspires her when she is desperately sad about Amy is also revealing. He shows concern for her and respect for her work. She clearly already trusts him enough to divulge her deep feelings; there are no jokes, no flirting, and she even asks his opinion about love. His “it’s overrated” jars, sounding a bit flip and cynical, but the “most of the time” and the wistfulness and hope on his face as she moves away are very telling.
The end demands tears. As a parent, I’m vulnerable where kids are involved; I weep at Boy In The Shroud, Mother And Child In The Bay, Girl With The Curl, Boy In The Bush – everything! But to see the promise of a precious, creative young life about to be cut off, yet retaining its health and soul through art and someone else’s self-giving, is very special.
I was hoping to eschew my habitual verbal diarrhoea here..sorry! By the way, the Louvre never looks like that, it’s always swarming with tourists!
word count: 755
"We make our lives out of chaos and hope. And love." - Angela Montenegro

TJ4ever
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Re: Bones 1.20 The Graft In The Girl

Post by TJ4ever »

Really a great epiosode! Watched it a lot! In it is one of my favourite lines! ...guess! :wink:
Simone
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Angela: Well, what about love? What do you have to say about love?
Hodgins: It´s overrated-most of the time :-)


Dexter: They make it look so easy-connecting with another human being. It's like no one told them it's the hardest thing in the world.

begolden
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Re: Bones 1.20 The Graft In The Girl

Post by begolden »

Okay, first of all, you have no idea how long it took for me to find this review out of the hundreds of posts I have on TV.com... but hey, mission finally accomplished! Is there an easier way, Steph? Anyway, here's what I wrote way back when...

"Late for the party as usual, but then if I wasn't I wouldn't have been able to read your beautifully detailed reviews of the episode, Kimber and Steph! What a wonderful job both did on bringing out the highlights of this episode. I agree with you that this is the episode that must be accompanied by a box of tissues! I cry at the end everytime as well. This time was no exception.

I think I love this episode because for once the victim is a living person--and you become so much more invested in her story than if she were a corpse, like all the other objects of Brennan's scrutiny are each week. The young actress who played Amy was excellent in the role, by the way. I'm sure you all agree.

Finally, I love the Jack and Angela aspect of the story. It's such a foreshadowing for Angela, because even as she tries to comfort Amy about love, she is unwittingly getting drawn into the beginnings of a love relationship herself. It's so obvious on Jack's part, and yes, Angela is maddenly oblivious to his intentions. It was lovely to watch Jack reaching out to her so selflessly as one of you put it; to comfort and support her despite the fact that she wasn't expecting or asking for his concern. Perhaps because it was so unexpected, it left her at loss for what to say to him in return."
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ThyneAlone
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Re: Bones 1.20 The Graft In The Girl

Post by ThyneAlone »

Wonderful stuff Rebecca! Just as I remembered.

All I can say is that they're all in the jackandangela thread and they start somewhere around page 22?

Thanks so much for taking the trouble to look.
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"We make our lives out of chaos and hope. And love." - Angela Montenegro

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Re: Bones 1.20 The Graft In The Girl

Post by skftex »

Booth, Brennan and Angela are in a hospital. Brennan is confused about Amy having mesothelioma at her age. Booth doesn’t want Brennan to get involved but Deputy Director Cullen is happy to have her look at the x-rays.

Hodgins speaking French, even if he only says fromage. Which makes me think of a The West Wing but that isn’t Bones so I’ll stop LOL

Snotty doctor. You’d think he’d care more about how a teenager he put a graft in contracted a rare form of cancer that is associated with asbestos, but no he’s just acting superior because Brennan is a PhD. UGH.

Davis Lynch!!! Sorry his name is Dr. Ogden but he’ll always be Davis Lynch to me (it’s a Wings thing).

This episode is very sad. Really very sad and it has a lot of really superior snotty acting people in it. Makes me want to punch a lot of them right in the mouth.

I like Cullen. I wonder why they stopped using him.

Something that Angela doesn’t get to show as much in current episodes, how much she empathizes with people. She is really good with Amy Cullen, encouraging her art, talking about boys with her, telling her to keep painting.

So they figure out where the bones came from and call him a serial killer. But I honestly don’t think this man that died of mesothelioma in his 60s was a killer. He had no idea the damage he did, well no he didn’t because he didn’t do it. No way he cut himself up and donated his own bones. Kind of weird for them to be blaming him.

Hodgins says people at that plant were growing second heads. HAHAHA It’s a cover up.

Wow you can get a lot of information from one little q-tip sample of bone dust! It matches the guy they got the bone grafts from and it also has 7 other bodies in it. Sicko mortuary guy should have cleaned his vents more often. :/

That evil assistant woman inhaled bone dust so she has all those bodies inside her too.

Angela is upset, solving the case leaves Amy where she started. I like how Hodgins jumps up and tells Brennan he’ll talk to her. So then we get Simone’s favorite scene. "What about love? What do you have to say about that?" "It’s overrated. Most of the time." Cynical Hodgins…yet he can’t stay cynical with Angela. 

Angela makes a Louvre. She should be a rich woman the things she can do with that computer! Really great ending though, even though it is sad, Amy gets to see the Louvre.
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Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.-Camille Pissarro