I Ain’t Sayin’ She’s a Grave Digga…

(Originally posted June 22, 2012.)

(Sorry, I had to.)

Contrary to recent postings, this has not become a food blog! Unfortunately there’s just so little news out there in Bones land that there’s not much else to do until they go back into production.

Except, of course, to revisit old episodes. And write about them.

I’m not gonna lie, the finale really did a number on me. My original intent for the summer hiatus was to write one recap a week, like I did during the winter hiatus, but the finale was so draining — both as a viewer, and as a writer — that I honestly needed a break from Bones for awhile. It happens.

(In case you missed the Exercise in Profuse Wordiness and Insanity, and are a glutton for punishment, the Past in the Present recaps — yes PLURAL — are here and here.)

Anyway, now that I’ve had some distance, I started to feel the urge to dip my toes back into the Bones waters. Also, because backshootingford is awesome and always listens to my rants, I wanted to thank her by recapping an episode she absolutely loves. And that, my friends, is Aliens in a Spaceship.

I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive about doing this, because in my opinion, it’s the best (and strongest) episode of the entire series, and it’s daunting to tackle that kind of magnificence with my haphazard ramblings. However, in the name of Tumblr friendship, I bit the bullet and gave it the old college try. It’s even surprisingly relatively short length-wise for me (considering how fantastic the episode is) OK I lied it’s still kind of long, but I think it’s that  it’s so wonderful I sit in awe of it, mostly.

Anyway, if you feel like a cool read on a hot summer day, here’s your stop. Or not. My brain has turned to jelly. Just, Aliens is really, really great, you guys. I can’t help what it does to me.

 

 

• So, right off the bat, my captions say “[Soft Rock On Radio]” (hey, that sounds like a song title) and “[Brennan] Oh God” while in the dark. Um, if I didn’t know what this episode was about, my first thought about that would be… not kidnapping. If you catch my drift. Bow Chica Wow Wow! (That’s for season 8.)
• Ugh, the first time I saw this, I was so worried for Brennan, after she first wakes up confused in the car. I was like, “Nobody better have Rufied my poor Brennan or I’m gonna cut a bitch.” Little did I know.
• Also the first time I saw this, I was so confused as to whose car this was. It’s definitely not her Mercedes (sniff! I miss that car, damn you sensible Prius!). It looks like an older American model car. Mostly since its interior is so blah.
• Oh my God, when the dirt starts piling into the car after she opens the window, my heart just sank. Being buried underwater/underground in my car is one of my worst nightmares, especially once I got my car with power windows. (Because every car my family has owned and that I’d driven for the first two+ decades of my life had manual EVERYTHING, and the only bright side to that, as my mother would tell me, is that you could get them open if you ever went under water. Now I AM FUCKING SCREWED IF THAT EVER HAPPENS. Ahem. I’m sure you all needed to know that.)
• Brennan’s hair is really pretty. Just thought I would mention that.
• HODGINS! Dude looks messed up. HIS LEG IS FUCKING NASTY Y’ALL.
• Who is this Grave Digger? I ain’t sayin’ she’s a gold digger… (I can’t help myself. I’m sorry. I use bad humour and music to deflect tension.)
• Sidebar: I think it’s a really interesting technique to “introduce” the villain right off the bat, then let us see how they get to that point after. Mainly because in most crime dramas, the suspense of finding the killer in any given episode is kind of a joke. I like it when they lay their cards out on the table up front once in awhile to mix things up, so you can really delve into the action.
• Criminal investigators looking at something buried underground found by kids who thought it was alien? Are they sure they’re not Mulder & Scully?
• The shot of of B&B through the looking glass of the vat is really cool.
• “Are those what I think they are?” “Yes, as long as you think those are two adolescent human males.” Oh, Brennan, how I adore you and your veiled sarcasm. (However, the two skeletons holding each other is really sad.)
• Bla bla bla sciency stuff. “Does that mean they were twins?” Snarky!Booth! I enjoy you too, sir.
• OK, I found it hard enough to believe someone could kidnap two kids and put them in a GODDAMN BEER VAT and bury them alive. Yet knowing what we do now of who the Grave Digger was? She must have been eating her Wheaties is all I can say. (Did she have an accomplice? I guess we’ll never know now.)
• “I retired from the FBI to pursue a career in general contracting… Uh, when I’m sober.” I have no idea why but that CRACKS ME UP. It’s supposed to be a sad commentary on what this job has done to this FBI agent, and all it does is make me laugh. I’m a terrible person. (I do feel bad for him. He clearly holds a lot of guilt for what happened to the Kent boys.)
• Again, I’m an awful human, because all I can think of when NotSober!FBI Man talks about paying the ransom is “You gotta pay the troll toll, if you wanna get into this boy’s soul.” It’s Always Sunny has ruined me forever.
• Seriously, though, the Gravedigger (Grave Digger? Caption People, you need to get your stories straight) is one coldhearted son of a bitch. I mean, all serial killers are, but burying people alive for ransom, and letting them suffocate to death if she doesn’t get it? That is crazy shit, man. (And even though everything about this is implausible, not once do I consider those aspects, the episode is that good.)
• Aw, I like Booth sticking up for Brennan to the prosecutor and saying she’s “pretty good” at getting dead people to tell her things. Like the kid from The Sixth Sense!
• Vega kind of reminds me of Jimmy Smits. And now that I think of it, his sidekick kind of looks like the actress who plays Heather Taffett, which is a little freaky in retrospect.
• Sidebar again: I think I remember reading somewhere that originally, the Gravedigger was supposed to be this sidekick woman? She certainly comes across as shady in this episode. (Or was it supposed to be Vega? I forget.)
• “Oh, don’t be like that, Agent Booth.” SEE? She’s creepy! Booth thinks so too. Also, her shirt is pretty terrible. It reminds me of the Puffy Shirt.
• Brennan still looks really pretty.
• Oh, Vega’s still gonna help Booth, since he wants this bastard caught! How noble. Snort. Yeah, I have a feeling that’s not going to work out all that well for you, bud.
• Brennan’s calling the victim by his name! She never does that! Because she has to detach to do her job, you see. Then again, if you’re working with the remains of identical twins, I guess calling them by their names is more respectful and less confusing than “Thing 1 and Thing 2.”
• “Aluminum. The Brits say ‘aluminium,’ but it sounds, well, British.” HA. Hodgins, I love you and your cantankerous self.
• Mr. Kent kind of looks like Stephen Nathan, now that I think about it.
• OK, he talks about how his sons partied and chased girls and got expelled — but weren’t they, like, 13? Um, you should be able to shut that shit down at 13.
• Aw, Brennan’s phone’s screen is monochrome! Remember those days, guys? Oh, 2006. (Although I’m fairly certain the phone I had in 2006 probably had a colour screen, and I had cheap-ass phones back then.)
• Oh man, Brennan saying suffocating is like falling asleep is so angsty — firstly, because you know what this poor man is suffering through, and secondly, because BRENNAN YOU ARE ABOUT TO FIND OUT FIRST HAND AAAAGH.
• For some reason, Booth telling Mr. Kent that he isn’t responsible for his sons’ death reminds me of Hole in the Heart, both in the conference room after Vincent dies, and with Brennan in their his bedroom.
• HA! Brennan says God = Gravedigger. I love Blasphemous!Brennan SO FUCKING MUCH. I appreciate how consistent they’ve been on that (even up to now!) and they better not ever backtrack on that. I’d forgotten how much subtle humour was in this episode. I’m not gonna lie, I kinda miss the spunk Brennan had in seasons 1-3, even though I understand why they’ve gone in the direction they have.
• HA! Booth crosses himself at all this blasphemy so he doesn’t want to be struck by lightning. What do you do now that you live with her, man? You’re essentially dead man walking now.
• You know, I think it’s kind of sweet that Brennan wants to go to church with him to help her understand why he believes what he believes. I don’t think she’s being callous here, she’s being a squinty anthropologist.
• Booth, if you want Brennan to tone down on the blasphemy, you probably shouldn’t steer her towards religious channels. Those tend to attract the crazies, just so you know.
• It’s the Angelator! (Angelatron? Whatever, the one with the fancy holograms!) I miss it and its magicky magic.
• Oh my GOD, I just had a brainstorm. Or more like, I finally joined the rest of the world. When Booth and Brennan speculate on what happened to the twins — one of them interrupted the kidnapping of the other, was run over, and sealed in the vat with his brother by mistake — it just occurred to me that that is exactly what happened with Brennan and Hodgins. I mean, I knew that’s what happened, but I’d never made the connection that it’s a direct parallel. Carry on.
• “The Gravedigger is not God, Bones, because God does not make mistakes.” “Hmm, I don’t know. Putting testicles on the outside didn’t seem like such a good idea.” BWAH! ANGELA MONTENEGRO FOR ALL THE AWARDS. I love that this show has the balls (pun intended) to insert humour like this in the middle of a really fucking crazy intense dramatic episode.
• HA! I love Booth’s “touché!” nod/finger point to Angela after she says it. He’s like, good point, Crazy Lady, good point. I’d never noticed that, either.
• AWW! This is the first episode where we find out about “King of the Lab”! (I think?) That warms my heart. Oh, boys, I miss you. Stupid fucking Gormagon.
• It’s really rattling me to see Angela and Hodgins be all awkward around each other, because I haven’t watched an episode this old in a awhile, and I kind of forget that they weren’t always married and adorable with their little squinty rockstar baby.
• “Could you stop being weird, please? It’s making me very uncomfortable.” Well, shit, Angela, you’ve just made me uncomfortable, and I have no idea what you’re talking about.
• Zack makes a crack about giving Hodgins a chance! Oh, baby Zack, when you were awkward yet still adjusted. Sigh.
• THE MERCEDES. Oh man, do I ever love that car. A lot. A lot a lot a lot. I’d take it over a damn Prius any day. (I’m sorry to any Prius owners out there, I am sure they are lovely cars, but HOT DAMN IT’S A MERCEDES SPORTS CAR YOU GUYS.)
• That shot of Brennan staring at her window hearing the footsteps coming, and then the buzzing and the screen going black, is very eery and spooky. I think that’s a lot of women’s worst nightmare.
• I’m a little confused as to the timeline of events here. So, the Gravedigger stun-gunned Brennan, left to get the getaway car, leaving her crumpled body on the parking lot floor, then came back? That seems like it would be suspicious and attention-grabbing. Like, say, a coworker could easily walk by and come to said victim’s rescue and foil your plans OH WAIT THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. Gravedigger, you need to plan these things out better. I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job, because your job is to be a homicidal maniac, but I mean, you’d think you’d want to have the car running nearby for this exact scenario.
• So, Hodgins was literally caught like a deer in headlights when the Gravedigger came at him. Poor Hodgins. This so was not his day, between Angela being awkward and getting run over and kidnapped and all.
• Hey, Cam and Booth are at the diner! Together! I forget at this point if they were together (again) or not, but I don’t care, because I still love their old-friends vibe. Which I may have mentioned a time or twenty.
• Never mind, Cam wants the two of them to go away to NYC for the weekend, so this is in the Cam-Booth era.
• “We’re not cheating, we’re not hurting anybody, Seeley.” Oh, Cam, if only you knew — I’m pretty sure some crazy people in the fandom probably thought exactly that at the time. Hell, probably still do, retroactively. (Me? I don’t care. B&B weren’t even close to being together yet, so I have no problem with Signficant Others until that point. Plus, Cam gets Booth in a way few people do.)
• “Then why are we keeping our relationship such a secret, Camille?” “Because we work together and we’re professionals and it’s nobody’s business. That’s all.” I’m pretending B&B had a similar conversation between Hole in the Heart andChange in the Game. (Because secret relationships are fun and full of shenanigans!) (Also I love the callback to using “Camille” whenever he’s trying to get a dig in.)
• Oh my Gosh, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Cam smile so much as I have in this scene. (Hmm, it appears as though sexytimes with Booth brings that out in the women in his life. Exhibit A. Exhibit B. Exhibit C. Etc. )
• HA, I like how Cam tries to entice Booth to see a musical with fantasies of shooting at things. She really does know him!
• You know, this whole question of how much money Brennan really makes (when Vega brings up Diggy’s ransom amount) always intrigues me. I know she’s successful, however sometimes they make it sound like she makes dozens of millions a year. I’ve always figured that as an author, she probably makes a few million every couple of years (when she publishes a book). Like, she’s rich by my standards, but not by, say, Bill Gates’. Or Hodgins’. Which I suppose is the point, later on. WHY AM I SO DISTRACTED?!
• OF COURSE Brennan was on her way to karate class. Brennan can kick your ass, in case you didn’t get the memo. (Which is why Diggy had to use the stun gun, naturally.)
• Poor confused Hodgins and his run-over self.
• OK, when Brennan pulls her hair back to show Hodgins the stun gun scars, please tell me I’m not the only one getting flashbacks of Scully and her ALIEN MICROCHIP IMPLANT OF DOOM AND ALSO LIFESAVING? Yes? ‘K then.
• “It has to be the Gravedigger.” No shit, Brennan. (What, you mean there are other psychopaths out there running people over and stunning them and BURYING THEM ALIVE IN A FUCKING CAR?!)
• Oh man, I bet DruggedUpRunOverBuriedAlive!Hodgins can still do math better than I can.
• Brennan’s hitch in her voice when she’s telling him what happens if no one pays the ransom floors me. You so rarely see Brennan “go there” but when you do, whoo boy, she can convey a whole range of feelings in one little look. Will not mention this in relation to the season 7 finale will not will not will not.
• Booth will get fired if he doesn’t follow FBI standard ops! “That’s cool. One less reason to wear a suit.” You liar, you love those suits. I can give you one reason to wear them. Especially that three-piece one. And her name is Temperance Brennan. FYI.
• I find it curious that Cam still didn’t know how rich Hodgins was. I know Hodgins kept it low-key, yet at this point, he was living with Zack and (almost) dating Angela, and Booth already knew, so I’m surprised Cam (and Brennan) hadn’t found out until this episode. I guess they’re good secret-keepers?
• So, Booth already knew Brennan’s schedule by heart and that she was on her way to karate, huh? I see what you did there, big guy. I’m onto you. Let’s pretend it’s sweet and not stalkerish.
• OK, in the parking lot, that little puddle of blood seems like hardly enough to belong to a guy WHO JUST GOT RUN OVER. But what do I know? (I did have my foot run over once, but there was no blood, thankfully.)
• Well, I’m glad to see Brennan’s Mercedes is still intact, behind Cam. Sigh. I miss it. I’m glad it was not harmed in the making of this episode, though.
• ETA: backshootingford brought it to my attention the egregious error I made in overlooking one of my favourite parts involving Zack. Cam: “I need you to be Dr. Brennan.” Zack: “I don’t know what that means.” I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE SHOW! And I approve. EVERYBODY DRINK!
• Poor Angela, she looks so helpless while everyone else jumps to work.
• I find it strange that Diggy took their batteries, yet left their phones. That seems like a waste of time. Why not take the whole damn phone? These mounting oversights are why you failed, dude. (Which is good, because you are fucking crazy.)
• Also, why would she have left Brennan’s SLR camera? So that they could photo bomb their impending death? Good times! (Clearly, I would make a much better criminal mastermind than Diggy. She basically left them a Squint Survival Kit! They probably sell it at Scout Stores.)
• Hodgins happened to have 3Gs worth of perfume on him? “Yeah, I’d make that face too if I spent $3,000 on perfume.” OH SNAP. Why hello, Snarky!Brennan, I do so enjoy you and miss you when you’re not around. (Like I said, I love all Brennans, but I do kinda miss how easily snarky and sarcastic she was back in the day. Now that just comes out for special occasions. It is still glorious, though.)
• Oh yeah, as if a couple of Advil are going to help when Hodgins JUST GOT RUN OVER BY A DAMN CAR. I know, B, you’re trying to help.
• Of course, Brennan the genius thinks Hodgins has Compartment Syndrome. Which is not, contrary to popular belief, a syndrome in which one is compelled to place everything into compartments.
• It sounds lovely: “Slip-into-shock-and-die painful.” “Oh, well, there’s nothing we can do about that.” Oh how you’re wrong, Hodgins! This is Brennan we’re talking about, after all.
• Stun gunning — that’s certainly an interesting way to barbecue, Zack.
• Oh my God, I can’t believe one of the twins killed himself WITH A FUCKING PEN to give his brother more air. That’s just so barbaric and devastating. Also, I’m pretty sure at 13 I wouldn’t have realized that one less person in a room would mean more air for another. But, I didn’t pay that close attention in science class. Ahem.
• TJ Thyne/Hodgins KILLS me in the next scene, where he’s trying to be his sarcastic self even though he’s terrified and coming unhinged. He’s so terrific, and I’m so glad they gave him a chance to shine here. Brennan does what she does best — taking it upon herself to be the calm one to get them through this and “I’m not interested in surviving that way.” Because it’s the Game of Life-version of forfeiting!
• “It’s best if I do it very fast, without empathy.” UGH this is getting grosser and more depressing by the second. Poor Hodgins. Poor Brennan. Poor everyone. (Except Diggy, she sucks.)
• Obviously, she’s about to perform medieval surgery on a close friend and colleague, and she still processes evidence from his injuries. This is why Brennan is the best, and everyone else is just playing catch-up to her.
• Again, TJ/Hodgins SLAYS ME when he blurts out his confession about being stupid crazy in love with Angela. IT’S GOING TO BE OK MAN!
• “Man gives you a bottle of perfume like that, it says— it says ‘I love you.’” Um, I’m pretty sure it says he has lots of disposable income, or is insane. Not necessarily “I love you,” but you think you’re about to die, so I’m gonna let it go. It’s all so heartbreaking.
• OH MY GOD THE SHOT OF BRENNAN CUTTING HIS LEG AND IT GUSHING IS SO DISGUSTING. UGH UGH UGH MY EYES. I dislike flesh and blood.
• This is random, but I like that Angela called Russ, even if he was MIA. I like to think that Brennan and Russ were close again after they reconciled in Woman in Limbo, before the shit hit the fan again in Judas on a Pole. Also, I enjoy when they mention minor characters off-handedly like this — it lets you know they’re still part of their lives, without the tediousness of having to figure out a way to get the actual actor to appear.
• Um, I was kind of expecting Hodgins’ notebook gibberish to look like this.
• CATWALK! I love when they hang out up there! Even when it’s all full of tension and stuff, like now.
• Cam says she doesn’t think it’s a coincidence that Brennan was kidnapped when she was — does she mean, when she was about to crack the case? Or when she was on her way to karate? I’m confused.
• Also, I bet Hodgins is really pissed that he made up the “no negotiating with crazy assholes who kidnap me” rule now.
• “Thank God I didn’t kill you!” LMAO ObliviouslyBlunt!Brennan, never change, please.
• Of course Brennan knows how to hotwire her phone to the car horn. It is in her blood, after all.
• I’m so surprised they can get radio reception underground. I lose reception when I’m driving through tunnels. Except, I assume those tunnels are way deeper than how deep Diggy buried them. (How did she do that, anyway? I’m guessing she had a little more help than a shovel.)
• “What are we surrounded by?” “Pain. Despair.” LMAO. Ah, I see Asshole!Hodgins is back amongst the living. (That kind of sounds like an answer Fisher would give, now that I think of it.)
• “Dirt!” “I don’t like the term, ‘dirt.’” That is totally Hodgins’ “I don’t know what that means.” It’s his catchphrase. Everybody drink!
• Aw, Brennan’s smile to him when she hands him the dirt all, “tell me something I don’t know!” is so precious — like, she’s trying to distract themselves, and knows nothing makes Hodgins happier than dirt. Except Angela, naturally.
• OF COURSE they’re going to analyze the soil WHILE THEY ARE BURIED UNDERGROUND AND FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIVES. This is why they are better than you.
• Hodgins, you have about four hours to live — I don’t think now’s the time to suddenly get stingy about money and your three grand perfume. (He’s totally GOB Bluth right now. “This is a $3,000 suit! COME ON!”)
• “There’s something you don’t know about me. I’m rich.” “Me too.” “No, no you’re well-off.” LOL No one can condescend to the nouveau-riche quite like Old Money.
• HA, I love how Brennan’s response to that is all, “Fine, I won’t split the cost with you.” Take that, Richie Rich! (Also, in my Head Canon, this is part of the scrappy-girl-who-was-self-made coming out.)
• That’s a nice Nikon, Brennan. (I’m a Canon girl myself, though in hindsight I kind of wish I’d gone with the Nikon back in the day.)
• I forgot just how apeshit Booth went on NotJimmySmits when he goaded him. (God, no wonder he kicked the shit out of Pelant in Past in the Present.)
• I’ve never heard of toll pass bumper stickers, but there aren’t that many toll roads in my neck of the woods, either. All the toll passes I’ve ever seen are window stickers or hang-on-rearview-mirror dealies.
• “Someone ran me down with a car!” “We knew that already.” (In her best “No shit, Sherlock” voice and face, no less) “Yeah, but now we’ve proved it, and I find that I’m really annoyed!” Hee. There’s the Hodgins we know and love.
• I sure hope Hodgins’ texting skills are better than mine. (Mine are either typo-ridden, or slow. I blame touchscreens, but that’s a lie.)
• HA, I like that Brennan’s phone is actually sizzling. I feel like my computer’s about to do that any second.
• Oh my God, I wasn’t kidding about Hodgins’ gibberish. How the fuck Zack managed to figure anything out from that text message baffles me. It does make me LOL that Cam’s immediate thought is that they’re spouting nonsense because their brains are low on oxygen.
• “I tried the dumb guy normal stuff, OK? That’s why I’m here talking to the Brain Trust, alright? Think, eggheads! Work it!” Best motivational speaker ever, Booth. And by best, I mean, you’re lucky you didn’t get your ass handed to you, bub.
• (Man, I can only imagine if they show us Booth like this in the beginning of Season 8… never mind.)
• “We’re running out of time!” “Minor correction: Dr. Brennan and Hodgins run out of air in… four seconds. We are out of time.” Oh, Zack, bless you and your stickling for accuracy, even in a high-pressure situation. You are your teacher’s student.
• Of course Brennan figured out that by punching through to the trunk, they could gain extra air and time. This is why she is better than you, still. It’s all thanks to her Super Squint Survival Kit, coming to camping goods stores near you!
• Poor babies look so desperate, though. This is Not Good. Brennan’s still trying to remain optimistic, despite what circumstances are telling them. Because Hodgins is utterly right in this next line:
• “You have a lot of faith in Booth.” I love Hodgins’ knowing smile. He totally realized before she did. “No. Faith is an irrational belief in something that is logically impossible. Over time, I’ve seen what Booth can do. It’s not faith.” Holy crap, has Brennan ever come a long way in five years. She’s definitely got nothing but complete faith in him, now. Sigh.
• Oh my God, I just noticed the tears streaming down Brennan’s face as Hodgins talks to her. MY BABY. Ugh, this episode is SO GOOD. Gloomy, but SO FUCKING GOOD IT HURTS.
• “No offense — and I’m not just saying this because you filleted me with a knife — we are out of air. We don’t know if our message got out, much less if anyone understood it. And we are buried underground. What you have is faith, baby.” I love Hodgins. That’s all.
• No, that’s not true. I love him because he’s such a wonderful contradiction — he’s this empirical, rational scientist, yet he’s also a romantic and crazy and “lives wide” and whatnot.
• Plus, there’s this: “Sorry. The ‘baby’ thing is a reflex.” Hee. It’s just the right amount of awkward.
• “You shouldn’t talk right now, to conserve air.” Oh my God, this is so tense and scary and FUCK YOU GRAVEDIGGER. Just, FUCK YOU. Brennan is SO tender with Hodgins. I’d like to use this as yet another example of Bullshit when haters say Brennan doesn’t have feelings.
• Hodgins is going to make a Magical Air Maker from their Super Squint Survival Kit! See, Diggy? This is why you fail at life. (Literally.) I told you not to leave them with anything if you were going to do this right!
• I know Show didn’t think this up until two seasons later, but you’d have to believe that knowing that Brennan’s already spent time locked in a vehicle before, that she’d be flipping the fuck out even more. Or, I guess the fact that she survivedthat maybe allowed her to remain rational this time? Shut up, I know it’s because the writers hadn’t thought of that yet. Reality has no place in this recap. Seriously, the woman has terrible luck with cars. If I were her, I’d never step foot in another car after this most recent foray. But as we’ve established, Brennan is better than all of us.
• I would yell at Booth that hitting the monitor is not going to fix things, however I would be wrong. Today I accidentally whacked my microwave (which has been defective for weeks) with a pan as I was moving it off the stove, and it suddenly came back to life. So, I’m all for the whacking of appliances.
• When Booth says they must have found a way to extend their air supply, I think of, well, Air Supply. I’m not proud. I’m all outta love, I’m so lost withoooout you… I digress.
• Booth sure has faith in Brennan, too, wouldn’t you say? Sigh. These two. (And it’s only season 2, people.)
• “That gives us just long enough.” “Long enough for what?” “My next idea, which will kill us.” HEE. I love how on the brink of death, Brennan can still be spunky and hilarious. Someone’s not about to give up without a fight, or a sense of humour.
• “I’m looking to blow our way out of here.” See what I mean, people? Brennan is fucking badass.
• Ah, the infamous brink-of-death Note of Last Words. I’m gonna say it right now, I have no fucking clue who it was meant for. I know the popular guess seems to be Booth, and Hodgins’ grin seems to indicate that as well (I see what you did there, man), but honestly, at this point in the series, I think it could have just as well been for Russ, or for Angela. Hell, maybe she wrote something for each of them. (I’m going with that, because that way I don’t have to pick a side.)
• I like how Cam takes charge and makes everyone focus (or, as Zack says, “jump to conclusions.” Hee. He really is his teacher’s student). I feel like her “this is exactly why I was sent here” is a bit of meta commentary on the part of the writers about why they created her role.
• Speaking of leaps, the conclusion that the message is from Hodgins since they’re buried alive and he loves dirt is also WTF, but everything is tense and crazy and I’m going with it because this episode is awesome.
• “Hodgins is all about dirt and Angela.” Oh, how I miss Zack’s blunt observations sometimes. And that is totally Hodgins in a nutshell! Even to this day.
• Computer Magicky Magic and Zack’s Super Brain found where they were! Of course they did! I love you, Show.
• Could Computer Magicky Magic also tell me when I misplace my phone, or that CD I’ve been looking for, or my remote, or any number of objects I lose on any given day?
• “And if we’re buried more than four feet deep?” “Then the concussion will turn our brains into jelly.” “Well, then we can run for Congress, so it’s a win-win.” Seriously, give these two their own sitcom already! They don’t even need Aaron Sorkin to write it. (I like it when they let us see the “real” Brennan, and not the guarded one, but you know my thoughts on that dichotomy already.)
• Oh my God, Hodgins is such a gentleman and just so wonderful when he holds his hand out to her all “Care to join me?” Sigh. I love these two together. I want to see more of them, because they get each other in a way that’s very different from any of their other loved ones (i.e. Booth and Angela). I enjoy their friendship is what I’m saying. (My Head Canon also pretends that Hodgins is somehow covertly helping Brennan out after Past. Leave me be.)
• Look at Booth driving into that quarry like a BAMF! How the fuck are they supposed to figure out where the car is from THAT? Then again, how could Diggy bury them there with no one noticing or without a trace? WHATEVER LOGIC NO ONE INVITED YOU.
• You’d think with all the Computer Magicky Magic, they’d invent some machine that could, like, x-ray the quarry and find a midsize sedan buried less than four feet deep.
• Oh my God, Emily Deschanel and TJ Thyne KILL their last scene in the car together. You feel that mix of apprehension and fear and hope. They’re just too awesome for words.
• “Dr. Brennan? It’s been a privilege.” OH MY GOD STOP IT YOU ARE GIVING ME FEELINGS JUST STOP IT RIGHT NOW WITH YOUR WONDERFUL SELF. And then instead of shaking his hand, she grabs him into a full-on hug and they’re both crying. Again, I’d like to direct people to this when they say Brennan is cold or robotic. Fuck that noise, she’s human, just like everyone else.
• Also, when they connect the two wires together? It reminds me of the simultaneous paper burning in Blackout in the Blizzard. Weird, I know.
• OF COURSE their explosion trick worked. Because they are Super Squints. Although, I fail to see how that would have actually worked to get them out of there had there been no one around to see the smoke, since they seem to be all but unconscious, but WHATEVER ALL THAT MATTERS IS IT WORKED.
• (I guess it’s all part of the metaphor — they needed EVERYONE together to end this. Brennan and Hodgins needed the team there to pull them out from the explosion, and the team needed Brennan and Hodgins to tell them where they were. Oh, Show.)
• Needless to say, Booth taking off like a bat out of hell as soon as he sees the smoke gives me feelings, too. Sigh. Oh, Show. That, along with the music (which the caption says is [Soft Rock] but we all know is “A Light on a Hill”) just makes this whole scene so epic.
• As an aside, whoever picks the music out on the show does an absolutely fantastic job (most of the time). And I’m picky about my music choices on television.
• You know, Angela, I get that you’re relieved to see Hodgins and all, but maybe kissing him isn’t the best idea while he’s recovering from oxygen deprivation. Just saying. (I know, it’s about the emotional turmoil, so it’s fine.)
• Mariana just pointed out to me that while all this is going on and B&B are all smiley and happy to be alive, it appears as though the emergency vehicles are making a beeline straight to their heads. HEE. Don’t run over the pretty people, guys! They have babies to make. Oops, did I say that out loud?
• God, TJ is just so wonderful in this episode, because he goes through the full gamut of emotions, including after his rescue, where he’s in denial mode a bit and tunnel-visioning in his work, and he’s going to make this sonofabitch pay for what he (she) did. He just plays that PTSD-but-refusing-to-acnknowledge-it so well. I love this cast. (I mean, “He’s out there, Angela. He buries people alive,” is such a cheesy line, but the absolute shell shock he infuses into makes it so real.)
• I love how Angela emphasizes that they’re going to find this motherfucker, all together. Because that’s the heart of the show — the team only does its best when everyone works (and is invested) together.
• Again, TJ is knocking it out of the park, like when he admits that he’s afraid to close his eyes, in case this is a dream and he’s still underground. I think he’s the MVP in this episode, quite frankly.
• Oh hey Hodgins, it only took you almost dying to get into Angela’s bed.
• LOL, of course Brennan is back to her normal self in the church, blaspheming, like nothing happened. Sweetie, please never change.
• Also LOL: I can’t see the “What’s that smell?” part without thinking of the gag reel.
• I find B&B’s conversation about God here reminiscent of the one in Hole. It’s kind of like the flip side of the coin — this one is more hopeful, whereas the latter was pessimistic. I like that they can talk about these things, OK? Shut up.
• I really love their conversation about it, especially that Brennan remains steadfast in her beliefs (which I always love), yet she still respects Booth’s.
• “I’m okay with you thanking God for saving me and Hodgins.” “That’s not what I thanked Him for. I thanked Him for saving all of us. It was all of us. Every single one. You take one of us away, and you and Hodgins are in that hole forever. And I’m thankful for that.” That’s quite beautiful when you think about it. Booth’s a pretty deep guy under that affable exterior. Because that really is the crux of the show, isn’t it? Take away part of the team, and everything falls apart. (Personally, I believe that was one of the points of season 6, but this is not the place for that discussion.)
• Oh my God, the way Brennan’s expression completely changes from bantery and light-hearted to serious (and grateful), and her voice breaks and her eyes tear up when she says, “I knew you wouldn’t give up” is another part that gives me The Feelings. Brennan’s not one to be so unguarded (especially not this early on in the series, with Booth), but like Hodgins said, she had faith in him, baby. And Booth’s warm, “I knew you wouldn’t give up,” shows that it’s mutual. Sigh. You guys and your faith and the feels and I almost can’t stand it it’s so beautiful.

Well, there you have it. I don’t really have much to add, because this episode is perfect, in my books. It’s Bones at its absolute best, and like a certain someone has said, it’s really the episode against which all others should be judged. I found even more to adore this time around that I’d never realized before.

There’s just so much to love (and so little time!). The team working all together. Spending time on the victim’s stories, including the bereaved parent — instead of being a punchline. (It’s crazy to think that this comes back up as late as season 6 — now there’s story development for you, folks.) Everyone being invested in the victims and the case. And who could forget, members of the team turned into victims themselves and placed in peril, upping the stakes by about a million and making everyone frantic to solve it in time. I’m not going to get into comparing this with Past, because frankly that’d be unfair, and again, this is not the place.

This episode had absolutely everything that makes Bones what it is, and while I know that not every episode can be this intense — I’d never be able to rewatch anything — I definitely wouldn’t mind if we get some of this kind of gravitas back every once in awhile. It’s funny that even though, as I said, this is probably the best episode of the whole series, and it’s definitely one of my favourites, it’s one that I very rarely feel the urge to watch — precisely because it is just so painfuland I can’t handle that kind of angst on a regular basis. (I can, however, handle funeral hijinks and circus shenanigans regularly.) Despite that, I have to give everyone on the Bones crew major kudos for how wonderful this episode is — the writing, the directing, the acting, the scoring — everything just worked spectacularly. And now I’m a giant puddle of Feelings, so I’m going to have to go watch something in which people don’t almost die.