By Faith McQuinn
No fun costumes this week, it’s back to regular work clothes for the squints on this week’s episode of BONES. What is a bit out of the ordinary, though, is that the murder-of-the-week happens within the walls of the Jeffersonian. If the title didn’t help you out any, a Jeffersonian intern is discovered in the building’s incinerator.
In a very weird moment, Angela (Michaela Conlin) comes in to start the reconstruction, and when she looks at the skull, she immediately knows who it is. I call this weird not because Angela identified the skull so easily, but because the post-production team over at BONES obviously has some new toys. We were treated to an odd morphing effect on the skull that creeped me out more than looking at the singed skull itself. Note to the effects department: use that one sparingly please.
After identifying the victim, it's thought that she might have been killed because she was working on an artifact in the Widow's Son case (now cleverly nicknamed Gormogan), but then things become more complicated when romantic ties between her and another employee surface.
Cam (Tamara Taylor) and Booth (David Boreanaz) are sure the case has nothing to do with Gormogan, but the rest of the team is certain they have a serial killer in their midst.
Turns out Cam and Booth are right, and the intern’s death by impalement is all part of a not-so-elaborate cover up. The murder “weapon” ends up being an ancient artifact smuggled from Iraq to be sold on the black market. That’s a new one.
This episode may be one of my favorites of the season. While it isn’t exactly the most interesting case they’ve solved, and Brennan (Emily Deschanel) never pulls out her overly huge gun at any point, we do get to see her doing things she’s never done before.
One, she must break the news of a death to a family member. Doing it actually bothers the normally scientifically precise Brennan. It’s not to say she isn’t human, but for any fan of the show, she’s usually very blunt and unemotional about everything. To see her upset (at least as upset as she gets) over breaking bad news to someone is a breath of fresh air.
Two, Brennan conducts her first solo interrogation. Going into the scene, I was pretty certain this would be one of BONES’ infamously dry humor moments, but no. Brennan doesn’t hesitate once during the interrogation, and in fact, I think she’s picking up more from Booth than I ever realized before. She’s slick, confident, and once again, shows a slightly more human side of herself.
After being shaken up by knowing the victim, Angela is a bit on edge about possibly knowing the killer. So on edge that she realizes Hodgins (TJ Thyne) is a perfect profile fit for Gormogan. He’s rich. He’s really smart. He’s extremely paranoid. He assures her he isn’t the serial killer, but now I’m starting to wonder… I pretty much know a Fox show would never take that route; though it would be interesting, right?
On a completely different note, Cam finally gets a storyline. Hallelujah! It seems that she never told her family she and Booth broke up, so she tells him that he has to pose as her boyfriend for her father’s birthday party. When Cam’s sister Felicia (Rochelle Aytes) comes to pick them up, she serves Booth of “full meal” of lip action. OK, the storyline isn’t integral to the plot and doesn’t really change the relationship Booth and Cam have, but I’m just so happy to see her doing something besides looking at bodies, I just had to mention it.
The episode ends with another Bones/Booth heart-to-heart, this time it’s over liquor in Booth’s office. I’m still annoyed with this storytelling device. It’s far more telling for Booth to know Brennan’s favorite flowers and favorite planet than for them to have intimate conversations every week. But I don’t write for this show, so I’ll just be satisfied with a good episode and a cop-out ending.