Bones 7.01 The Memories in the Shallow Grave

[kayleigh_marie]

First of all, EEEEEEEE
Okay. Now that that's out of the way, I really enjoyed this episode.
The fact that Emily is actually pregnant, I'm not looking for a fake belly, slip-ups, or her walking incorrectly.
So that was good. Haha.

"I would have seen this before if I wasn't awash in hormones" is officially the quote of the week.


The beginning of the episode made me laugh, heartily.
I watched it with my stepdad and my sister, and my stepdad said, 'wow he really got messed up.'
And I automatically corrected him with, 'The body is female.' When he asked how I knew, I just said 'I've seen too many Bones episodes.'
Anywho. Back to the episode.

The interaction between Booth and Bones is lovely. And the fact that they fought about where to live just shows me that Hart is a genius. He still keeps true to Tempe. and I love it.
THE VIDEO of Michael, Jack and Angela was just precious. Absolutely adorable. Jut.... awwwww.
And even Cam isn't immune to the cuteness that is Michael.
"Don't let the smile fool you, I'm still very upset." Haha.
Sweets stuck true to form, terribly nosy, however well-intended.
Angela is just.. one of the sweetest people in the fictional world. I literally fall in love with her again every episode.
And Jack. xD Do we need to go there? Other than the fact that our man here plays him, I just ... the character. :eusa-clap: Good on you, Hart.
And hearing him speak German... hah.
Booth is just... He makes me sad sometimes. Absolutely makes me want to cuddle him and tell him everything is alright. He's not real, I know that. But the fact that he has to show his child that he's not his (booth's) father.

Aaaaand, on to the case.
I thought it was very well put-together. didn't see any holes, and it kept me enthralled, although I was squeeing the whole time over bones/booth. xD
The finger in the eye made me laugh a little too much.
We were all eating. And the brain part, my step dad said 'I'm so glad I'm eating...' Hahaha.
I never suspected the husband. I don't know.. Felt like the husband wasn't abusing her? lol

THEN when you find out who it is, it all clicked. well, it clicked when I saw the gum. But still. Hahaha.
That's my take on it... I think. xD
Might add more later.

[jade.stormcloud]

OK, the finger through the eyeball was an "ew" moment. And so was Brennan talking about Booth's virility. Blech!

The B&B stuff was great, though. I've been waiting for them to be all coupley for so long. I love it. And we finally got the "I love you"s! Yay!

Also, Brennan wasn't annoying the crap out of me in this ep, so "yay" on that front.

Hodgins was freaking ADORABLE with the baby! So cute. They need to tell Cam to chill out, though. They've had kids in the lab before, so there's no reason little baby Hodgins shouldn't be able to have an occassional educational tour.

We got some nice Angela/Brennan chats in this ep, too. I love it when we get some good bff time.

Nice LOL moment: when Booth takes a pic of Bones before helping her up.

Overall, really enjoyed the ep. I feel a little bad for Cam, though. She kept trying to reach out to Brennan, but Brennan only seemed comfortable opening up to Angela. I wonder if Cam feels excluded, with the other two girls being each other's best friend.

[NyxStina]

My favorite part was when Angelia was really interested in Brennan's Picture of Booth naked, lol. I thought that was funny. Also, the movie with Jack, Angelia and little Michael was too cute!

[Sinkwriter72]

Okay, I'm done watching this episode! Here are my thoughts...

1) While domesticity between Booth and Brennan is cute, I'm actually a little annoyed that it seems the writers have yet again jumped far ahead in their relationship (like they did with Angela and Jack, as well, and with Angela and Roxie, and so many other characters' relationships), skipping past what could have been a journey of potential character growth for both Booth and Brennan. I mean, where's the challenge of it all? They're already sharing apartments? They're already kissing and showing affection, as if they've been together for a while... which apparently they have. It's been 5 months, according to Booth. I feel like we've missed seeing the parts of the relationship that could have led to where they're at now. What about all the things we could have seen? The two of them deciding what they want to do about the pregnancy and their new, burgeoning personal relationship? Did Brennan run from it, claiming it was a one-time thing, or did she immediately and confidently state that this was something real that she wanted to explore with Booth? What about the rest of the team finding out that Booth and Brennan are (finally) together? Perhaps Hodgins collecting bet money about it. (LOL.) Or Angela wanting every detail of their first night together, how it happened, who started it, etc. What about how Cam would feel, considering she used to date Booth and still has affection for him, even if they're no longer together. Would she feel a lingering sorrow about that? How did Booth and Brennan come to this agreement that they would share residences? How 'together' are they? Was there any awkwardness at first, given they aren't used to having this kind of relationship with each other? There's so much we could have seen, but the writers and showrunners have jumped ahead. I don't understand why, exactly. I feel like we're missing out on so much character development, with them approaching things this way. Hart Hanson claims this show is supposed to be more about characters than science or mystery, but I feel like we're getting short-changed on some crucial character development.

Side note: I was amused when Booth teased her: "Are you asking me to marry you?" and Brennan was all, "No! No way. Of course not." LOL.

2) Brennan is feeling affection toward Angela, but she thinks it's probably just the pregnancy hormones? Excuse me? Have the writers all but forgotten episodes like The Graft in the Girl, or (most especially) The Skull in the Desert? Brennan didn't need pregnancy hormones to feel friendship and love and care and concern for Angela back then. They're FRIENDS. She's allowed to care for her friend and want to share things with her and hug her. They used to do that all the time. Back then they seemed much more attuned to each other, as best friends tend to be. And another thing -- Brennan's not allowed to feel anything for the victims' deaths either? Why must the writers play up Brennan's social awkwardness for everything? We learned this all the way back in season 1, with the Girl in the Fridge -- when Brennan had to take the stand and defend herself and she did so beautifully, talking about how nothing mattered but the victim. She was remarkably emotional back then. Now suddenly she's all, "I don't care that this person is dead." I don't believe that. And if I'm supposed to believe that, then they're ruining the character for me, backtracking her to unbelievable behaviors when she has already demonstrated that she feels otherwise. It's inconsistencies like these that really frustrate me.

3) Jack and Angela in that baby video? Cutest thing ever. Oh, my heart. SO sweet. I may have gotten a little mushy. Maybe. Or it was dusty in my room where I watched the episode. Something like that.

4) Brennan basing her higher financial status (and anthropological studies like the ones about the Iroquoi) as a reason why she should get to decide where they live? Totally believable. That seems like logical Brennan to me. (As was her comment that she wouldn't want God to babysit for them. That was pretty funny, and reminiscent of Booth and Brennan's perpetual arguments about religion. I suspect this could end up being a problem when the baby is born and Booth wants the child to be baptized. Unless, of course, he agrees to also let the child go through other rituals, ones that Brennan likes, based on her studies. Should be interesting to see what happens with that.) But the main point is that while I can see why Brennan said that about their living arrangements (and why she was shocked that he was so upset, given that she probably thought it's simply a decision based on logic and financial information), I felt for Booth because Brennan wasn't making a decision with him. Instead it was either Booth, or Brennan, not 'us' or 'we.' I don't think they're as couple-y as the opening domestic scene tried to portray, which is possibly the point.

But I still think we missed so much that could have shown them even getting to this point in the relationship. Missing them getting together, making the choice to cross that line in the first place, missing them make the choice to stay together and try as a couple, missing them getting to know each other in this new way, missing them saying "I love you" for the first time together... it's a disappointment. These are not cheesy little details that only rabid fans want to see. These are milestone moments in a couple's relationship, and these things are much more difficult for a woman like Brennan to express, so we should have gotten the chance to experience these firsts with her. It's emotionally moving.

So often people in media refer to the 'Moonlighting' curse, and how it's impossible to keep the chemistry alive once a leading couple has gotten together romantically. However, it seems like the writers could fall into that trap anyway because they're electing to skip over the prime moments of growth in a couple's relationship, what brings them together and keeps them together. Instead, they're choosing to jump ahead, like it's easier this way. I think the characters, the actors and we as viewers are getting short-changed. I really do.

At any rate, I think Brennan's argument is incorrect. There's nothing irrational about Booth wanting the living arrangements to be a new place, their place, one that is borne of the two of them coming together. They each had a place; it's not fair to choose one person's apartment over the other. The fair and rational choice is that they find a new place together, one they've both agreed upon and made their own as a couple, for their burgeoning family. Then there is no resentment because it's something they chose together. From a rational standpoint, I'm not sure why Brennan couldn't understand that. But I'm glad she figured it out eventually.

5) I loved Hodgins calling his son a "very small, bipedal primate from the hominidae family." HAHAHHAHAH This is what I was hoping from him as a father. Fun science-y stuff. Already showing baby his work environment. Baby trying to use his Hodgins charm on Cam, smiling and cooing at her (and Hodgins grinning, all 'That's my boy' -- heeeeee). And it's all so damn cute. Tj's cute, Michaela's cute, that little hat on that sweet adorable little baby who is just the cutest thing ever... I may burst into spontaneous and potentially irritating baby talk at any moment now. Quick, somebody slap me.

6) I still can't stand that they continue to use Sweets to talk, talk, talk about the Booth-Brennan relationship. I'd much rather SEE that evolution happen between the two of them. We don't need a running commentary about it as well.

I will, however, say that I liked Sweets' involvement in the case in a psychologist capacity. And his reenactment of the case timeline with Chinese takeout (while Booth keeps eating it all) was pretty funny. "I can add in 'recovered memories' in chronological order, if you're finished with the Lo Mein." Heeee.

7) Brennan seriously didn't consider calling security to help her up when she got buried in with the new Egyptian shipment crates? Seriously? Instead she has Booth drive over all the way from the FBI offices? That's ridiculous. How long did she have to lie there, waiting for him? Come on, writers... there's got to be a better way for Booth to have to come over to talk with her and finally have it out about the living arrangements discussion. This kind of melodrama is too forced. I did laugh when she complained that he took too long and 'must have run into traffic.' That line and Booth's resultant "What the hell?" facial expression was really funny.

David's getting really solid with the emotional stuff lately. I didn't think it used to be his strong point -- if you watch him in episodes like Soldier on the Grave, it seems he struggles to bring forth the emotions required for the moment, but these past couple of seasons he's really done well accessing everything. When he talked about wanting to make sure their child knew Booth wasn't like his own (negligent) father, I really felt like I could see his fears about that, in his eyes, on his face, all of it. He did a lovely job of expressing what Booth was feeling. I applaud David Boreanaz for that. :eusa-clap: Good stuff.

9) I knew that chewing gum was going to be a factor from the moment that guy mentioned it to Booth! It was too oddly random. :eusa-dance: On a sad note, though, I'm sorry for Sweets, who looked so disappointed in the man for whom he'd had great respect as a psychologist.

10) Final bedroom scene with Booth and Brennan was cute. I liked Booth scaring the crap out of Brennan with his spontaneous yelling at the sports on the TV screen, and the look she gave him about it. I liked the consistency of Brennan not wanting a TV (she doesn't really watch it), and her citing reasons why it's not good to have one in the bedroom. And I liked the spit-take that Booth took when Brennan told him the price of the house for sale that they both liked. I admire his wanting to split things 50/50, but ... dude, she makes more money than you. Deal with it. The fact that they both want a home with a backyard for a treehouse was cute, too. Especially when Brennan said she had always wanted one because she thought it would make a great lab. Heee.

Okay, that's it for me! My thoughts on this episode. Not toooo lengthy, right? (Heh.)



P.S. Does anyone know who that girl was, the one that the showrunners mentioned at the credits at the end of the episode? Seems she was only 15 years old!

[jade.stormcloud]

You make a lot of good points. I was also disappointed that they skipped over so much of the relationship. However, I'm just so happy that they're finally GIVING us a relationship between the two of them, that I'm not gonna look a gift-horse in the mouth. We didn't get the first kiss or the first "I love you," but at least we're getting them.

I didn't really find her financial reasoning at all irrational. Why get a new apartment when they already have two perfectly serviceable ones? And, of course, hers is superior because of her better financial situation, so it makes sense to choose hers. I also agree, though, that it was rude to just say, "I'm going to decide & you don't get a say." I really expected them to have one of their infamous debates/fights about it though, with each giving their points & trying to poke holes in the other's argument. These days, it seems that the discussions always end with Booth getting pissed, & Brennan giving in to make him happy. Seriously, they've turned her into a completely different woman for him & he hasn't changed a bit.

And speaking of Brennan's personality changes, last season it seemed that everything she said & did just annoyed the crap out of me. She's definitely not the character I fell in love with back in the early seasons, & I'm trying to come to grips with the fact that she never will be again. At this point, sadly, the fact that I didn't have the urge to shoot her every few seconds makes the premiere a win for me.

5) I loved Hodgins calling his son a "very small, bipedal primate from the hominidae family." HAHAHHAHAH This is what I was hoping from him as a father. Fun science-y stuff. Already showing baby his work environment. Baby trying to use his Hodgins charm on Cam, smiling and cooing at her (and Hodgins grinning, all 'That's my boy' -- heeeeee). And it's all so damn cute. Tj's cute, Michaela's cute, that little hat on that sweet adorable little baby who is just the cutest thing ever... I may burst into spontaneous and potentially irritating baby talk at any moment now. Quick, somebody slap me.

*SLAP* Just kidding. I totally agree. All three of them were just adorable. And this from a woman who NEVER wants to have children. (I've had to deal with the fact that I've lost Cam & Brennan as fellow "Never gonna be a mom"ers. So sad. )