Bones 12.01 The Hope in the Horror

[skftex]

I told myself I'd do better at writing things for the episodes so going to do this now right after I've seen it rather than wait as I know I was really bad about season 11.

First off just in case any newbies wander in and don't know our policy, there WILL BE SPOILERS IN THIS POST.

So overall I think this was a pretty strong episode BUT...I still think they suck at serial killer resolutions. I think I'd have liked the resolution better if we'd have seen this Dr. Roshan before, and if we knew of any reason why he'd be obsessed with Dr. Brennan as they had implied. I get that he had taken on the personality of his dead twin and his connection to Zack but still think it was too far fetched for him to supposedly be dressing a dead body in Brennan's clothes and being focused on her. He didn't take on Zack's personality!!!

Other than that I loved the way they brought Zack back, and the way they wrote it to make it where you were never sure if he was the puppeteer or not. I liked that he was trying to help Hodgins, that was just so sweet. And while of course I am a bit biased, can I just say, WOW TJ!! I watched the scene where Angela told Hodgins that Zack had been emailing as Dr. Bancroft trying to help him a couple of times because it was just so subtle but fabulous! Watch his face. He doesn't even say anything and that was one of the most amazing things I've seen and I'm always thrilled that I can still be surprised and forever delighted by TJ's acting. The end scene where they know Hodgins won't walk again was really good too, just a few looks and Hodgins can bring a tear to my eye. I know a lot of fans wanted him to walk again but I like that he isn't going to, I think at the point they were, it would have been to much a "miracle" if he did walk again. And too easy. Plus, I know that TJ felt him not walking was the better way to go.

I do still think, watching Zack, that this is not the guy we saw in seasons 1 and 2, and he had progressed some through those seasons, only to be somehow taken to the way he is now into season 3 for a poorly written serial killer resolution. He became so robotic, too much so I think, he was awkward a lot but never so....closed. But I do think Eric Millegan did a good job with his scenes in this one. I like the scene where Hodgins goes to the interrogation room to talk to Zack about sending the emails and the way Zack is sad but tells Hodgins he just wanted to give him hope. I like the continued awkwardness with Zack and Booth because it would have been weird if they were suddenly portrayed as friends, and I like how Booth is the one that actually believed him when he says he didn't kill the lobbyist when Brennan was still doubting it.

There has been a lot of back and forth between fans that think that Zack did not need to be brought back and those that wanted it, but I'm among those that feel like this was a good way to go for the final season. I think they went down a road with Zack with the Gormogon story that made no sense and didn't even fit into the story they had told us, tried to back away with Zack telling Sweets he didn't kill anyone, then it just became another one of those unresolved things hanging out there. All TV shows have them, sometimes they think they want to go in a direction then find they can't, and I get that, but since they ARE able to resolve this a bit, I'm among those that are glad they felt it needed a bit of revisiting to give fans a little closure.

Anyway, that is my thoughts for now. I hope more people will post as I know we often don't agree on everything and we all see things differently. So it would be interesting to read other takes on it!

[stargazer]

I apologize in advance, my thoughts are probably all over the place because I'm writing as I'm rewatching the episode for a second time.

First, I'm so glad they decided to bring back Zack for the final season. To have his story resolved is something I've been looking forward to for a long time, and I wasn't sure we would have closure after Sweets was killed.
I'm not sure I understand how the glycerin lotion worked. If Dr Brennan wore gloves as she always does while working, how did the lotion get on the skull but it's not on her phone?
I enjoyed seeing the old Gormagon vault and skeleton. It's a nice way to connect the old Zack episodes to this one.
I don't like how Hodgins reacted to Zack in the beginning, his anger and his insisting that Zack was the murderer. Being his former best friend, you would think he would give Zack the benefit of the doubt. Wendell should be more likely to insist Zack was a murderer based strictly on the evidence and being someone who didn't know him personally.
Zack's character has changed a little, he's not quite the same Zack he used to be, but I guess being locked up in a mental institution would do that to a person. His line in the interrogation room made me laugh "It is odd, but being perceived as a murderous cannibal does have some advantages." LOL!!
I'm not sure why they decided to bring back FBI agent Delfs, other than as another possible suspect. She is such a goofy character normally but it's interesting that she can definitely be creepy as well!
I like how the mystery was solved in the first episode but I'm not sure why the killer (Zack's doctor) would focus on Dr Brennan. The murderer seemed more like someone who actually knew her personally. Watching a second time, I appreciated the clues given about the possible killer. The doctor was close to the case and he definitely tried to point the FBI in another direction. I'm not sure why the killer's conjoined twin was added to the story, but I liked the idea of Zack possibly having multiple personality disorder. It would have made more sense and would explain why Brennan seemed to be the killer's focus. In a way, I wish that was how the story played out.
Overall, I enjoyed the episode. As always TJ did an amazing job! Especially in the scene on the platform when he found out Zack was emailing as his doctor, and also in the final moments when Hodgins acknowledged that he probably won't walk again. He seems to really excel in his acting abilities in the more serious episodes. I can't wait to see what he does after Bones.

[Sinkwriter72]

I think I'm going to need to let this episode simmer for a while, maybe even watch it again before I comment. Usually I have some opinions right off the bat as I'm watching, but with this one I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.

Except to say that I would not have been cool with Zack being the killer, even if it had turned out to be because of dissociative / multiple-personality disorder. As soon as they brought that up as a possibility, my gut reaction was an absolute NO. But then I admit that I have very strong opinions about how they've treated Zack as a character, so... you might not want to get me started on that.

Back soon with more thoughts!

What did everyone else think?

[ThyneAlone]

Hello darlings, did you miss me?
It's been far too long since I commented here. There are some S11 eps I still want to do. Anyhoo - it's been a delight to have Bones back. I know our US friends have a tendency to regard the Friday night slot as a bit of a graveyard, but I don't think it's the same here. I for one love the prospect of relaxing in front of the screen after a long, tiring week and letting TJ wash over me. Sigh. Mmm. And another 11 weeks to go!

I've mixed feelings about this one. Like Sharon, I hate the serial killer 'resolutions', which never succeed in being properly explanatory or coherent. Things like this shouldn't come out of left field. Who is this doctor? What's his background? Why would he be obsessed with Brennan (isn't this a bit too much like the benighted Pelant arc?)? How is the conjoined twin thing relevant and how on earth has he been able to keep the twin's body? How has he obtained and retained power over his acolytes? What's with the puppet thing? I don't think, with just a few earlier references, that we are even aware of a definite style or M.O - I don't feel his victims are 'alike' enough or related enough for him to be convincing. And here is the creepy psychiatrist rightly proclaiming that the killer would want to be close to Brennan, when we have actually seen nothing of him. In passing, I was pleased by the general sense of creepiness (of even the seemingly ditzy Delfs) here - it was a better reflection of Brennan's paranoia than the OOC reaction to the dreams which we saw last season, and of course a good, if belated, misdirection.

On the other hand, it's a joy to see Eric again and to see some kind of closure to his situation. Not sure why he'd want to kidnap Brennan, though; there would, I think, be easier, less spectacular ways of making his point that someone is trying to frame him. In fact I would have expected Zach, in such constant contact with the doctor, to have sussed him out long ago, and that at least one of the team would have still been visiting the institution regularly enough to sense something wrong. It's great, though, that he has managed to keep up with his friends' lives despite them apparently not returning the favour. Particularly Hodgins. And such superb interaction when Hodgins insisted on coming to thank him warmly, although this did jar horribly with Jack's totally out-of-character dismissal of Zach at the top of the ep. Hodgins might have anger issues, but he has never had a closed mind.

As Kathy said (I seem to be echoing you a lot, Kathy!), it was a different Zach we saw here. Yes, I know he has been institutionalised for many years, but when he left, even after the mess S3 made of his character, he had more dimension to him. What we saw in this episode was the purely autistic-spectrum side of his nature, and any remnants of the relationships he had formed previously with the team were undetectable in his dialogue even though his careful and caring monitoring of their lives conveyed something different and hinted that he needed a connection. I wasn't too happy about his total antipathy toward Booth either. I suppose if he had been the killer, and/or harbouring a separate identity, it'd be predictable that he would have obsessive access to the emails and a sense of possessiveness in respect of Brennan, but to me it never rang true, and the Dr Bancroft contact settled it for me that Zach would not turn out to be a murderer. Interesting that Booth shared my 'gut feeling', despite all the evidence and even Zach's self-condemnation.

Some of the original lighter, more subtle feel to relationships was restored at the end after it became clear that Zach was incapable of killing even when his own life was in danger. I liked the threatened hug at the end! And then of course the fact that Hodgins' 'miracle' cure was not going to happen. Reassuring. Keeping him in the chair makes far more sense (he's got used to it, hasn't he?! All that rushing around at the start, with able-bodied Wendell scarcely able to keep up!), and his reaction to the disappointment gave us another few minutes of profoundly beautiful acting from TJ. This has been a great arc for him. All I'd ask for the rest of the season is that he gets a proper background and some proper family interaction, such as the others have had throughout, with the possible exception of Angela, about whom I'd also like a bit of exposition!

Looking forward to the rest of the season and desperately hoping they're not going to try to fit in another serial killer or another baby in a mere 12 eps!

[skftex]

I have to say, I've seen several people say they don't understand Hodgins being so angry at Zack at the beginning of this episode, but I think it was so very much in character. While we haven't seen angry Hodgins in quite a while (not counting the season 11 storyline because that wasn't angry Hodgins as we knew him), it wasn't surprising at all for him to be upset. Especially since I think that a lot of his anger was at himself. I always thought Hodgins was angry about Zack partially because he blamed himself for not seeing that Zack, the person he considered his best friend, had been caught into something like the Gormogon thing. So I think a lot of what we saw, especially since ZAck confessed to the murder and they didn't know otherwise, was very much in character for Hodgins. But if you go back to the episode where Hodgins is talking to Sweets, and he talks about his anger, about Angela, about Zack, and how he hates everyone, it has always been there. We just don't get to see it that much anymore. So I believed that Hodgins would still be angry about it, and that made the scene where he found out that Zack was trying to help Hodgins recovery even more believable, and that Hodgins would want to talk to Zack and tell him thank you. Anyway, I liked it, and I was actually surprised that so many people didn't think he would be that angry still.

I also find it interesting that a lot of fans didn't seem to understand that scene at the end with Cam and Hodgins and Angela, and that they were pretty much saying Hodgins will not walk again. It was the resolution to that, yet there are still a lot of people that keep asking if he will walk before the end. No one here said that but I'm seeing it a lot on twitter, that people didn't get that it was resolved and we have our answer to that one.

[Sinkwriter72]

I also find it interesting that a lot of fans didn't seem to understand that scene at the end with Cam and Hodgins and Angela, and that they were pretty much saying Hodgins will not walk again. It was the resolution to that, yet there are still a lot of people that keep asking if he will walk before the end. No one here said that but I'm seeing it a lot on twitter, that people didn't get that it was resolved and we have our answer to that one.

My guess is that they're hoping for a miracle, Sharon. But I agree that it makes sense at this point that Hodgins will not walk again, and I thought they handled it really nicely in that scene with Cam, Hodgins and Angela.

In fact, tonight I rewatched this episode and I found myself most fascinated by both Hodgins' and Angela's reactions in that scene. A part of me thinks Angela may have worried about how Hodgins would react to this news, that he's lost feeling again and will likely never walk. Given how angry and bitter he was last season (and how cruel the writers made him for a while, no matter how out of character that seemed to me), I would think Angela might fear he'd revert back to that anger because of this hard new loss. Especially because it seemed like the opportunity to walk had been within his grasp and then taken away again. (And I wonder if Michaela played the scene with that in the back of her mind.) So I really liked how Hodgins reacted instead. At first, he was very quiet and inward, but then he looked up at Angela and seemed to attune himself to her, he pulled out of his own grieving to see how she was struggling too, and he reached out to her and reassured her that he was okay and not in pain anymore, and that everything would be alright. I thought it was a nice growth moment for Hodgins, in stark contrast to how he was last season. Good scene, and beautifully played by TJ and Michaela.

Another thing I really liked about this episode was the scene between Hodgins and Zack, when Hodgins goes to see Zack to confront him about pretending to be his doctor. I thought that TJ and Eric did a really terrific job together (and made me miss the two of them and their marvelous chemistry from the early seasons). Especially that moment when Zack avoids Hodgins' eyes at first, so Hodgins tells Zack, "Look at me," and Zack looks up at him... oh my heart. Just very connective, that whole scene.

I agree, though, that the writers seemed to devolve Zack into something he really isn't. It's kind of like what they've been doing with Brennan's character as well. I know they want to create this Aspergers or Autism spectrum type personality for both these characters, but... the early seasons had already shown them to have more facets and depth to their personalities than the robots these characters have become. Brennan's not always a robot, but it seems her humanity versus robotic behavior comes and goes, depending on what the writers need. That drives me nuts. Likewise, for Zack, I feel they made him much more anti-social and abrupt than he ever was, and that doesn't work for me. As a viewer I saw Zack more as a sarcastic, nerdy genius. Yes, he was awkward, but he still had feelings and cared about people and wasn't as robotic and out of touch as they made him to be in this episode. It just didn't feel like him, and I didn't like that they sacrificed the basis of his character just to make him seem the potentially creepy killer.

One thing I did like was that Zack states, "Booth and I are not friends." It was pretty brutal of him to say that, but I think that would have been an interesting angle for them to explore more. And not because Zack's in any way jealous of Booth or because he doesn't want to share Brennan with Booth (that torn photo was such a misleading piece of "evidence"), or any sort of baloney like that. Instead I would have liked them to explore the idea that Zack used to think they were friends (as Brennan once told him, Booth was showing his friendship by an arm pat and no eye contact), but that since his time in the institution perhaps Zack had come to see that Booth just didn't connect with Zack or understand him, so they actually weren't friends. They were family, back then, because they'd all become a special family and team as a group, but in general Booth was not Zack's friend. I would have liked to have seen Booth deal with that. Because honestly, I don't like the way Booth treats the squints, especially the way he treated Zack back then (and now). I thought he was rude. But back then I thought it was the foundation for the writers to show eventual growth in Booth, that after so many seasons he would behave differently to the squints because he no longer saw them as nerds and awkward geniuses; he now saw them as family. They'd started as colleagues and "his gut vs. their science" but by the end of the series I figured we'd see him show that he finally started to understand them (and vice versa) and that he would lay his life down for any one of them. I do think Booth would risk his life for any of them, but I don't think they've shown any sort of growth in how he actually TREATS them on a day-to-day basis, no increased familiarity or affection. That bothers me. It's not believable.

At any rate, I wish the camera had stayed on Booth a bit longer when Zack said, "Agent Booth and I are NOT friends." I wanted to see how he'd react to that, if it bothered him. And I wanted to see a change in him, in how he dealt with Zack. In a way, he did change, because he went from believing Zack to be the killer to convincing Brennan that Zack is innocent. But that still didn't change how Booth treated Zack. In the final scene of the episode, he's reverting back to season 1 and season 2 behavior, pushing Zack away, refusing any contact, and treating him like a freak. It's fine if this were season 1, but it's season 12. We should see some change in Booth by this point, and we don't. That's disappointing.

In general, I thought it was a solid episode, I was glad to see the stuff with Zack sorted out, and I loved the Hodgins stuff. (Of course I did!) But as always, I wanted more depth and emotional connection.

[ThyneAlone]

I have to say, I've seen several people say they don't understand Hodgins being so angry at Zack at the beginning of this episode, but I think it was so very much in character. While we haven't seen angry Hodgins in quite a while (not counting the season 11 storyline because that wasn't angry Hodgins as we knew him), it wasn't surprising at all for him to be upset. Especially since I think that a lot of his anger was at himself. I always thought Hodgins was angry about Zack partially because he blamed himself for not seeing that Zack, the person he considered his best friend, had been caught into something like the Gormogon thing. So I think a lot of what we saw, especially since ZAck confessed to the murder and they didn't know otherwise, was very much in character for Hodgins. But if you go back to the episode where Hodgins is talking to Sweets, and he talks about his anger, about Angela, about Zack, and how he hates everyone, it has always been there. We just don't get to see it that much anymore. So I believed that Hodgins would still be angry about it, and that made the scene where he found out that Zack was trying to help Hodgins recovery even more believable, and that Hodgins would want to talk to Zack and tell him thank you. Anyway, I liked it, and I was actually surprised that so many people didn't think he would be that angry still.

I do get what you mean and you put it very eloquently, Sharon. But I am still unsure. You yourself use the word 'upset', and I have been used to Hodgins' anger when he is upset. It's very believable and in character. But somehow this didn't feel upset to me; it felt like full-on, closed-off dismissal, no going back. Perhaps it's the intensity and the way it's scripted that bothers me rather than the actual feeling? That was why I felt uncomfortable with Zach's attitude to Booth too; obviously they are not friends (!), but again this seemed more than dislike, stronger, something really cold that I couldn't associate with Zach.

Looking forward to connecting more positively in the next ep..

[skftex]

But somehow this didn't feel upset to me; it felt like full-on, closed-off dismissal, no going back.

It was, but I honestly felt like that was his way of coping. Remember that all he knew was that Zack confessed. So to Hodgins, the guy that helps catch and put away murderers, that is where Zack belonged...in jail forever, end of story! He had no knowledge of Zack telling Sweets he did not kill anyone. Hodgins thought Zack did it, and yes, was angry about it and then they thought that he kidnapped Dr. Brennan and was going to hurt her. Anyway, you aren't the only one that didn't think he should be that angry so I guess I just saw it differently for some reason.

[ThyneAlone]

It's a funny thing, you know - something happened at work yesterday to change my mind and make me feel you're right. One of our students is currently suspended from school because of serious and cruel violence towards another pupil. He has a track record of bullying, violence and rude, arrogant behaviour over a period of years and has been given several 'final warnings'. A colleague asked me what I thought we should do with him and I straight away said throw him out, he is poisoning the learning of his peers and creating a horrible gang dynamic within his year group. I said that straight out without thinking. And then she told me about his family background and some appalling stuff that has happened to him over the last few years of which most of the staff have no idea (we seriously need better liaison and a better pastoral system) and by the time she was finished I understood what had been happening and why he is the person he is.

So maybe Hodgins is like me! Reacting from the heart without all the information to hand that he needs to make a proper assessment of the situation.
Nice little epiphany there. Thought I'd tell you!

[Sinkwriter72]

That is fascinating, Steph! I think most of us would react that way, immediately making that kind of judgment until being otherwise convinced. There's an interesting lesson in that for me, most certainly. And I love how you related it to Hodgins' response about Zack.

[skftex]

Well I wasn't thinking you were wrong and I was right, just that it was interesting we saw it differently. I really felt it connected to the things we'd seen in Hodgins before, plus you are right, he did NOT have all the information. He was reacting to what he knew, that Zack had confessed to killing someone and for Hodgins that was something that was clearly wrong and jail is where you should be. He has always been that way.

I do think your reaction to the bullying was, of course, understandable too. Especially now with the way the world works, bullying is much more serious I feel than it used to be, so if you see him a problem and he has a history of it, it will make you think he is nothing but trouble. Of course, you have a more open mind than a lot of people, and you were able to see things differently when given more information. Many people are not that way. And I get that even knowing what you do now, it doesn't necessarily make dealing with him any easier. But it does allow you to approach him with a bit of empathy.

[Sinkwriter72]

Well said, Sharon.