Bones 1.13 The Woman in the Garden

[skftex]

Steph, I thought you had said you had started this thread, but I couldn't find it so starting this one.

So this episode, they find a gang member with a body in his car that he dug up. Brennan is speaking Spanish to the people on the sidewalk but honestly if she has been to all those South American countries she talks about, she should know shouting at them like that isn’t going to get them any information. Then the drive by shooting and the guy gets away by running down an alley and jumping a fence. Why when cops are chasing people on TV is there always an alley with a fence?

“Typically, gravediggers are necrophiliacs looking for a little action.” Well thank you Hodgins that is something I’d never have thought about if you hadn’t mentioned it! Then Hodgins laughs when Angela says “Ummm, ew.” Cute.

“In Pikeville, Tennessee a guy dug up the graves of all these people because he wanted to make sure their bodies were there…(pause)…they weren’t.” I am willing to bet Hodgins is a blast at Halloween. Imagine the things he can come up with (and probably TJ too since he loves Halloween so much), and the stories he could tell. Good campfire stories too, everyone would be packing up their tents to go home when he was done. Gotta love our Hodgins!!!

Hodgins gets to go on fieldwork! Cool! Then he wants a gun and Brennan doesn’t want him to have one since she doesn’t get one. Hodgins is very worked up about the neighborhood and the poor people and blames the government, but he owns a huge corporation so maybe he can do something about it? Also does his corporation get tax breaks? LOL

There goes Booth, hanging around without a mask while they saw into a skull! They learned nothing from The Man in the Fallout Shelter!

Ah! Hodgins says Franklinia alatamaha! I LOVE the way TJ does that part, like he has to draw out the alataaamahaa. So awesome (and yes, cute.) Then Booth calls it Frankie Alabama. His way is not as great to watch. Hodgins calls shotgun and then they stick him in the back seat. “I called shotgun, what does it mean to a society when the niceties are no longer observed?” Yes, I know! I mean how rude of Brennan to ignore that he called it first!!!

“Everybody finds what you find relaxing, relaxing.”

Off to the big houses with the man that is all proud of himself because he hires El Salvadorans and sponsors them for citizenship. Which is all fine but I wonder how much he pays these people to do these jobs he gives them. Then he doesn’t really know his own employees.

Booth is mean to the woman with the baby, threatening to take the kid away. Sheesh. I’m glad Brennan asks him not to make her tell the poor woman that.

Zack: “This is interesting.”
Angela: “Interesting, or horrible? Sometimes it’s the same thing with you.”


Hodgins strolls in casually and takes his place. LOL That was kind of funny. And then Hodgins gets to pretend to be BOOTH. I love the little clicky thing he does with his mouth, Booth does it a lot! Wonder where David Boreanaz was when that scene was being shot? I'm sure lots of people noticed that the scene with Booth and Brennan in Booth's office, he is playing with a ball and does the little clicky thing with his mouth, I don't think I ever noticed it before, probably because I was still laughing at Hodgins' Booth! I also like how Angela laughs really hard when Hodgins is doing the impersonation.

And Booth is mean to Jose and threatens to take his baby. I know he is trying to get information but that seems really cruel. Brennan being nice worked better than Booth trying to take his kid away! So he gives them the names at least.

The Mara Muerte gang leader is a nasty kind of man isn’t he? I have a feeling he doesn’t have to fight a lot, must get others to do it for him. Booth did tell the guy not to touch her.

I like the scene with Angela and Brennan. It definitely explains a lot about Brennan standing up to the gang guy. Then Hodgins ruins it. “Am I interrupting a female moment?” Seriously Hodgins??? I’m surprised Brennan didn’t get up and smack him for saying something like that!

The killer forgot to clean the bed post off. You’d think that he’d know to at least TRY to clean it? I like Logan, I like that when Booth tells him that Maria was pregnant he stands up to the lawyer and tells him to shut up and won’t let him say bad things about Maria and takes responsibility. I’m not sure the actor was the best but the character at least was a decent guy.

Poor Jose, he just wanted his family to have a beautiful place to rest.

“Pulled, pulled by who?” That would be “whom,” Mrs. Snooty Senator’s wife. Hector won’t pull Brennan off the ladder. Hector thought she was going to a doctor. But Hector’s job wasn’t just as foreman. It was to keep them from having to deal with the workers they hired, and they could pat themselves on the back for their humanitarianism.

Wow Booth is really dangerous when someone threatens Brennan! Watch out everyone! “Esse” HAHAHA The gang guy is really scared.

Jose wants to pay Brennan back for paying for the funerals. He’s not a bad guy. Booth was late; I think he had something more important to do than a funeral. Brennan won’t ever know that though.
Not a bad episode at all! I like it, I like the way they handled the illegal immigrant story, not in the way a lot of people in the US do, as if these people come and live off the government, but showed yes, they do have some issues, like the gangs, but they are also hard working people just trying to make a better life for their families.

[ThyneAlone]

Steph, I thought you had said you had started this thread, but I couldn't find it so starting this one.

If I did say that, it was an error. My woman was in the tunnel! I do remember this quite well though; your account is vivid and brings it all back. Must rewatch.

This whole review project has had me reminiscing in the most yukky, sentimental way possible. I have been looking at all those Angela/Hodgins fan vids on Youtube and glorying in the fabulous moments between the two of them. Michaela and TJ have always had more chemistry than Booth and Brennan imho. They're so much more vital and life-affirming. Still, hard to credit that we have had to wait 10 seasons to see Angela actually sacrifice something important for Hodgins...

[skftex]

Steph you probably did say The Woman in the Tunnel and I just moved her to a garden. HAHAHAHA

[ThyneAlone]

You realise that's an illegal exhumation??

[skftex]

Well since she was illegally buried anyway (the man in the garden too) I guess it didn't matter much, I'm already in trouble. I didn't know we had a little police man smiley. How cute is he? HAHA

[Sinkwriter72]

Then the drive by shooting and the guy gets away by running down an alley and jumping a fence. Why when cops are chasing people on TV is there always an alley with a fence?

LOL. That is SO true! There's always an alley and a fence, and the guy either gets away, or the lead cop catches him just as he's climbing over and yanks him back down just in time... and then they cut to a commercial! Dun dun DUNNNNNN!

Seriously, it's an overused method. They should come up with something else. Heee.

Okay, so... my thoughts on this episode are pretty general. I like this one. I've always liked this one. I felt like this one had a strong story, I really feel for the guy trying to bury his father and his sister, I feel for the son of the senator who finds out his secret girlfriend had been pregnant with his child before she died, and I find it interesting to see Booth being super protective of his partner for the first time. (He'd been protective, or spoken up for her before, but this one was above and beyond the usual.) And I love Hodgins getting to go out into the field! And Brennan trying to be more empathetic, like with the hiding woman.

And as Sharon points out, Hodgins saying "franklinia alatamaha." Which is entertaining. Actually, TJ's got a lot of tough science-y words to say in this episode (and always -- I swear, his lines involve some of the most challenging things to say).

And of course, a classic moment is Hodgins doing his Booth impression. I especially like the hand gestures. The overall impression cracks me up, especially because everyone else starts laughing too. I like that they're having a bit of fun mocking Booth, not because they're actually making fun of him but because it shows the characters are getting to know him as a person, enough to enjoy noticing his quirks. Which makes me wonder how TJ practiced that one. Did he "study" David at work? Did everyone put in their two cents about what traits he should use? These are the questions that I ponder. LOL.

Speaking of Booth, he's pretty hardcore in this episode. He's rough with this poor woman who's hiding. As Brennan points out to him, he IS acting like he's going to hurt her. He's pretty amped up. I like that he's protective of Brennan, but he's pretty dark in this episode. Between this moment and the scene near the end when he confronts the gang leader about the hit put out on Brennan, where he shoves a gun in the guy's mouth and threatens him... ooof. That is some serious Booth darkness. It's pretty scary to watch, but at the same time I like it because it adds a complexity to his character that we don't see as often later in the series (he becomes more goofy than dark).

But here it adds an interesting layer to him, just like Hodgins is a sweetheart but he's also a suspicious, snarky, funny guy who is sometimes inappropriate, like in this episode when he jokes about grave-digging necrophiliacs and missing bodies, like he's telling a ghost story. LOL. I really like when Hodgins makes me laugh. (And cry. But that comes next season. LOL.)

I also love Hodgins going out into the field not once but twice in this ep! Yay! I really do wish the show had used that more often. I felt like for a while during the first season, they had established a really nice developing relationship between Booth and the squints and I wished they would have kept that connection growing, especially between Hodgins and Booth. I thought it brought an interesting and unique angle to the show, where it wasn't simply (or solely) focused on the two leads and nothing else but their burgeoning partnership (romantic or otherwise). I mean, don't get me wrong, that developing relationship is important too, but I find it less clichéd when a show goes out on a limb and builds relationships between the leads and other characters that aren't part of a love triangle.

Okay, moving on to Brennan. I usually get frustrated with her, because she pushes and pushes people's buttons sometimes (the bad guys' buttons, I mean), and in this episode she does it hard enough that it gets a hit put out on her. But I will say that the gang leader is pretty offensive, so I can see why she got mad at him.

At the same time, I like that Angela is pissed off that Brennan stirred things up with the gang leader. Brennan is her friend and she's angry that Brennan seems to take things so lightly sometimes, like no one can hurt her. I like that Brennan explains her actions, things make more sense after that conversation. But it is another great example of their friendship, how Angela can call her out for that reckless behavior, and Brennan can share with her something scary from her past that explains why she doesn't stand for people like that gang leader. (Hodgins is offensive when he interrupts, though. A "female" moment? What the hell, Hodgins? LOL. For shame.)

Another great detail is that we see smart Angela in action, cranking the numbers, figuring out what scenarios work for the case. I like when we see why these people are so great at what they do.

What's sad about this episode is that except for the hiding of it afterward, the incident that killed the victim was truly an accident. Hector is not a bad guy; he made a terrible mistake.

And I really feel for the brother, but I think he's wrong -- his family isn't ruined. He still has a wife and baby and now he's not in a gang because they jumped him out so he's a little freer than he was before.

Regarding what Booth did, threatening the gang leader who put a hit on Brennan: he's never told her what he did in this episode, has he? I don't think they've ever revisited this.

I did chuckle at Angela's retort when Booth shows up at the end of the funeral: "You're late for a funeral, of course you're in trouble." LOL. And on a side note, at the very least Booth could have taken a moment to stand by their gravesites, out of respect. Alas... he merely shows up and then leaves with Brennan. Nice, Booth.

Final notes:

I feel like that sketch Angela did of the victim is the same one she showed in trial for the fridge ep. I could be wrong. Maybe I've just seen this episode too many times and the victim sketches are starting to blend together. *GRIN*

Booth shouldn't have been in the lab unmasked while they're drilling. Apparently he learned nothing from Christmas quarantine.

I like the majorly tattooed actor whom Booth interrogates after the drive-by shooting. He's got good presence. Makes a memorable impact that's stuck with me over all these years.

And Booth always cracks me up when he says Mara Muerte. I don't know why, but it amuses me.

And Hodgins always amuses me, especially in this episode. I think one of my favorite moments is when he and Brennan high-five at the thought of going after another senator. LOL. I like that camaraderie in action.

Anyway, a good episode, a sad one, but lots of good squinty action, funny Hodgins and fascinating Booth and Brennan stuff too.

And that's it for me on this one! The best I can do, because I've spent the weekend not feeling well so all my plans for writing up a bunch of commentaries went out the window. Sorry about that! I'll be back with another one for the next episode as soon as I can.