Bones 12.11 The Day in the Life

[skftex]

Okay, can I just say how much I love the way this episode was written? I realize that having an episode show things from several different perspectives isn't a new thing, but this one was really well done in my opinion.

I love how they opened with the ominous shot of something counting down and you just know it is a bomb. Then they switch to everyone having a great time at Cam and Arastoo's wedding reception.

I liked how each little "chapter" started in black and white. Like each one was a different snapshot of the day. Cam, Hodgins, Aubrey, Angela, Brennan and finally Booth. And then we get to see the day slowly progress a little more when they switch to a new character, even though they all started in the same place, the wedding reception. Just very cool and I like the way they came back from commercial breaks, each one was a new act and a new character until we end with a big, gigantic BOOM!! Literally.

Of course there was a lot going on in this episode but I'm going to just pick the stuff I can think of right now that I really liked.

Hodgins at the reception as the bartender, with the bar looking like a laboratory and the name of the drinks. Arastini. Saroyan Sling and the one not on the menu Pookie Noodlin' HEE. Watch when he says he'll make one special and the little wink he does. And the drink that explodes when he is making it!

Hodgins finding the Black Witch moth and then trying to tell Booth how great this moth is, and how there are some cultures believe that is a harbinger of death, and Booth reacting to that after he had drawn the cards from Avalon.

The scene with Angela and Brennan where they talk about how Angela used to drag Brennan out dancing. And Brennan telling Angela that their friendship is important because "What do they say? Female friendships before male romantic partners."

I pretty much liked Aubrey all through this one, him getting drunk at the reception, waking up in a strange apartment and Karen then Jessica walking in and his little smile. And Jessica saying "Don't be a pig." The hangover all the way through. How awkward he was when he wanted to ask Jessica to move with him to LA. And poor Aubrey getting dumped.

Angela being the photographer at the reception.

The scene where Angela is making a clone of Kovac's wife's phone and Aubrey is standing there dancing around like he isn't sure what he wants to do and Angela saying to him "Is there something else you need or are you just not sure if you have to pee?"

I liked how we saw a scene with Angela/Aubrey where he is worried about Jessica's answer and Angela becoming all calm about the new baby and realizing even if the child is blind, they are lucky. I like Angela a lot more when she realizes how much she has rather than a few years ago when she was constantly talking about what she DIDN'T have.

Getting to see Caroline quite a bit is always nice too, at the reception and at the trial, and with Aubrey. I like Caroline and Aubrey scenes they are cute usually. I also liked when Brennan and Hodgins are talking about Zack's trial and to Zack about defending himself and Brennan says "Zack will do fine, after all the opposing lawyer is..." and Caroline walks up and cuts in and says "is a fierce vision in heels by the name of Caroline Julian. Is that what you were going to say chere?" And Brennan saying "No." So Brennan like.

I'm okay with the Zack resolution but I'm not sure how others are going to take that. I imagine most people wanted him free and back in the lab in episode 12. But it made sense to me that he was still helping a serial killer at one point, so he can't just walk away like he did nothing. The only thing is, I don't like that we didn't get to see how Hodgins dealt with the result after all the work he did. We only get to see Brennan and Caroline and Zack, and they never have Hodgins mention the finding of the trial somewhere in the rest of the episode.

I was all prepared to complain about security at the Jeffersonian but how Kovac got in is more believable than Pelant just walking in when he wanted. I'm wiling to give them that one because the ending, how frantic it was, and not knowing what happened to the 4 left in the lab, that was awesome. Though I think it sucks a bit that they spoiled that a tiny bit by showing you two of them clearly alive in the promo for next week, they should have let people worry for a week!

So, I'm sure there is more but that is what I could think of right now. I did really enjoy this episode, and think I might watch it again next week before I watch the finale since they fit together.

[emi13]

I agree- I thought this was definitely one of the best written episodes I have ever watched. I think this may have been the most tense, on the edge of your seat episode ever on Bones- and that is saying a lot because of all that has happened in twelve seasons!

I also loved how they switched between point of view and the different things that were happening. The black and white beginnings were one of my favorite parts of the episode. Hodgins as the bartender was hilarious and that totally threw me off when I thought Angela was drinking in the beginning! I really liked how they incorporated everyone's personalities into their jobs at the reception. Brennan telling Cam "I'm having fun" organizing the gifts was funny.

I really loved seeing Angela open up to Brennan with how she felt about their friendship, the baby, and how it might have LCA. It was really neat to see how far her and Hodgins have come from when they had Michael and they were so scared and worried. Of course, they still are, but it is like they have accepted what could happened and are ready to deal with it because they realize how lucky they are to have the support of everyone. I'm glad that Zach will get to go free and am happy with how they wrapped up that part of the story, although I wish we could get to see him walk out of the asylum.

Now- let's talk about the ending. OH MY GOSH. I was not prepared when all of a sudden Cam lost her card, Booth realized there was a bomb in the building, the doors wouldn't stay open, the four got stuck in the lab WITH the bomb, and then Booth cut the wire but THE BOMB BLEW UP! The Jeffersonian BLEW UP! It was so nerve wracking to watch and my heart was beating so fast and now I cannot wait until next Tuesday! I will definitely be thinking about Bones all week in anticipation.

For some reason, this whole episode just felt like the beginning of the end of the show and it really hit me. I can't believe it's really going to be over next week but I am extremely happy with how the writers have wrapped up the series so far. I feel like all Bones fans have gotten some really good moments with this season and the guest stars and story arcs have helped me mentally prepare for the finale. I am extremely sad to see it go but Well done writers!

[ThyneAlone]

This sounds amazing! And extremely well crafted. of course I won't get to see it for just over a week - panthers yet to come - but I'm very excited for it!
Didn't the Simpsons do an ep where they looked at a day from different POV and then brought the threads together? It worked really well...

[ThyneAlone]

Yes, this was well worth the wait, it is beautifully crafted and imaginative. The look of the thing and the way it was shot was so striking, with such interesting choices to highlight the lives of the various characters as we pieced the story together from individual experiences. There have been few episodes where the visuals have received such tender care - some of the finales, maybe, to evoke a particular period or a dreamlike atmosphere (occasional flashbacks to The X-files and Moonlighting for me, with touches of the weirder Buffy eps), and some of S1, where the lab was made to look so stunning and the framing was so evocative (I never forget the Man In The Fallout Shelter moment - no, not that moment - where we see Angela's elfin shoe tapping impatiently; it completely embodied her personality and the fluffy humour of the scene).

I'm a sucker for good b/w used well, qv my love of Shuffle's visuals, so the way it was used to move from one POV to another was really interesting to me, really effective. I loved the familiar faces - Caroline doing her thing as only Caroline can, Ms Lauper back for her moment in the sun, Karen and Jessica together in an instant of hilarity and mischievous misdirection (especially as Jessica had caught that bouquet - I think I'd like to have seen her day too!), Michelle present, thriving and ambitious.

Incidentally, regarding Avalon, it is as well to bear in mind that the Death card rarely represents actual death. It can be one of the most positive cards, representing as it does the ending of a major phase of life that may herald the start of something more valuable and important. So Death not as a physical experience but a transition, a moving on. Temperance is also generally positive, indicating balance and occasionally the need for self-reflection before embarking on something new ( I learned some of this from a Tarot reader I knew in France many years ago). So I am a little baffled as to Avalon's warning, though I suppose the vision of Max must have prompted it to an extent.

The real underlying themes here - and it's been a while since I've traced a theme, hasn't it? - are teamwork and the bondings which create it. The very fact that all these stories coalesce into one symbolises the togetherness of the team, which is very appropriate to celebrate at this point in the series. The fact that they are in fact a family is firmly underlined by the studies of real family life we see; Booth and Brennan with their kids. We are also given generous helpings of private 'pair' scenes; Angela and Aubrey, Aubrey with Jessica, Angela with Brennan in a lovely nod to the very first scene of the pilot, Hodgins and Angela, but also Hodgins and Brennan, as she calms him after his furious reaction (ah yes, anger issues) to the outcome of Zach's court appearance. I do wish we'd seen more of Booth with team members other than Aubrey, though - he doesn't seem to have been as integral a part of the team of late. Cam reminds us with her interactions that we have not one but three really strong women in the forefront of this show, with frequent visitors like Caroline further emphasising the positive and dynamic female image.

As usual I'm not entirely convinced either by Kovac's miraculous escape or his dramatic ability to get in and plant not one but 2 bombs in the Jeffersonian. I'd also like to know exactly what part the other guy (or even Kovac's wife, who doesn't ring true to me either) played in the escape and what happened afterwards. But maybe Brennan can explain all that next time!

There is a wealth of knowledge, tools, artefacts and carefully recorded histories going up in flames and I think the team are going to feel devastated about having to start from scratch again and, probably, split up. But hey. This is a grand exit of deserved magnitude which also harks back to all that we've loved about Bones over 12 seasons. Roll on the finale and Kovac's capture; I now trust the writers to produce a fine last hurrah for the group.

[stargazer]

What an amazing episode!! I finally got to watch it today and I can say it was worth the wait and it's probably one of my favorite episodes (besides the Hodgins centric episodes, of course). It was written and directed so well! Your comments all mimicked my own thoughts. I loved how they did each perspective separately and started each of them in black in white, like they were adding pieces to a puzzle. I had a feeling that Angela was going to end up pregnant by the end of the season, especially with Hodgins' wheelchair mishap in an earlier episode. LOL!! Speaking of Hodgins, we got to see a little more of his anger issues one last time when he justifiably got upset at Caroline during Zack's trial, although I think he did go over line by continuing to talk even when the judge warned him once already. I loved seeing both sides of Hodgins in this episode; his fun side serving cocktails during the wedding and his serious side during the trial.

I could go on, but basically I loved everything about this episode and I can't wait for the finale tonight!!