The One Where Everyone “Oh SNAPs” Each Other

(Originally posted September 7, 2012.)

Whew, I didn’t actually think I’d be able to get this done this week, since it’s been a busy one, but somehow I did.

Titan on the Tracks was on my local station as a rerun this weekend, and I was reminded how much I enjoyed it.

It had a lot to accomplish in one hour: explain cast and format changes (Goodman), introduce a new boss who happened to be a foil for Brennan (Cam), and wrap up the cliffhanger of the previous season’s finale, while leaving enough open to keep things interesting. I think, despite a few clunky moments, it did all of that remarkably well.

Plus, there is gratuitous mention of the Brennan Family, and you all know how much I am a sucker for any Brennan Family story.

So, here’s a short little ditty on the start of a beautiful friendship… Er… Something like that.

 

 

• Brennan read, walked on the beach, chilled… ON VACATION. At her brother’s. This episode has me already, just FYI.
• Because I love anything and everything Brennan Family, and it warms my heart to think that Brennan spent a couple of weeks/months chilling with her brother and reconnecting. Because she loves and adores her brother, so much. And he’s finally back in her life. She’s finally piecing back together her family. Now she can say that she hung out at her brother’s on vacation. SNIFF. It must be dusty in here.
• Booth thought she was in Darfur. Hee. Remember when B&B never talked about non-work stuff? Neither do I.
• Although I find it interesting that Brennan says Russ agreed with her that they should find their father. It always makes me wonder at what point Russ found out about Max. Did he know all along, or did it happen sometime between Woman in Limbo and Judas on a Pole?
• The FBI is going to find her father, no matter what she wants. Oooh, how prescient those words would be to all manner of Brennans.
• “Is it OK to go on two wheels like that?” “Only when making very sharp turns at high speeds.” HEE. Booth Cop Driving FTW.
• Booth just wants her to have a little faith in him! Because he is John Hiatt, apparently.
• “My brother said you’d say that.” “You keep saying ‘my brother’ a lot.” “Well, I lost Russ for 15 years. I like the sound of it. My brother.” OH MY GOD BRENNAN YOU ARE TOO PRECIOUS. Seriously, that’s one of my favourite lines of the whole series, and it says so much about her. I said it in the Limborecap, but she missed having a family so much, and missed being able to say she had a brother. So now that she finally has him back, she’s indulging in her sentimental side and repeating it over and over again, because she can. It’s so unbelievably sweet. (Just like how she is very tactile with him as well.) I keep saying it, but Brennan and Russ were obviously incredibly close as kids, and she very much needed that relationship in her life. Which is why his betrayal in Judaspisses me off beyond belief.
• OH HEY IT’S CAM! Except we’re not supposed to know that yet.
• “Seeley!” “Camille.” “Don’t call me Camille.” “Don’t call me Seeley.” Why, HELLO THERE, Dialogue Intimating Previous History In A Sassy Manner.
• I kind of want to know the story behind that joke, even all these years later.
• LMAO BOOTH’S FACE when he realizes he’s just stepped in the middle of a shit storm between obtuse Brennan and passive-aggressive Cam. Get used to it, bud.
• “Why are you still here, Dr. Brennan?” “Because I’m not a coroner, and I don’t work for you?” Oh SNAP, B. “Well, you got that half right.” OH LA LA. I spy with my little eye a proverbial pissing contest in the wings.
• “You look good out of your suit, Seeley. But then, you always did.” RAWR. Exposition Fairy of Aforementioned Previous History is a busy little bee tonight.
• Hey look, Brennan can tell Cam is hitting on Booth, and uses the correct colloquialism! Writers, please remember this for future reference.
• OH SNAP. More passive aggressiveness in the form of a miffed firefighter answering “Dr. Brandon.” Oh, Brennan, sweetie, I love you, but you deserve it sometimes. Like when you tell a guy his name isn’t worth crap because there are thousands of him and one of her.
• Oh hey, Exposition Fairy is getting her kicks tonight: apparently while Brennan has been busy sipping Coronas on the beach with Her Brother, Goodman hired Cam as the new head of forensics! Wow, that’s three plot points (Goodman’s exit/Cam’s intro/refocus on forensics) in one line!
• Of course Brennan is miffed she didn’t get the job that she previously had no knowledge of. Seeing as how she needs to be the best at everything.
• Uh oh, Booth tells her she has no people skills. Which she protests. (Interestingly, later on in the series, she concurs. Oh, sweetie.) Er, as much as I hate to say it, he has a point, in a way. (I mean, you all know I think Brennan has people skills of her own, but not necessarily in the way that makes her easy to work with sometimes. Like interacting with people of average intelligence, which unfortunately is what most of the world is comprised of.)
• Here’s a line that says something about Brennan, though. When Cam and Booth hightail it out to the next crash site, because one of the victims was a senator, she says, “there’s a difference?” Since Brennan sees people as people, regardless. Their bones are all the same. Sigh.
• Hee, poor hurt Hodgins realizing Angela isn’t flirting with him the way he thinks she is. So weird to see Hodgins and Angela before they were Hodgins & Angela.
• Naturally, Brennan and Zack don’t know who Famous Dead Person is. In sync. Aw, they were so cute in their Big Sister-Little Brother-ness.
• Apparently one of the famous dead people coulda been president! Oops.
• HODGE PODGE?! Worst, yet BEST, nickname ever.
• What’s with all these weird flashbacks? How very CSI.
• “I am a diuretic seagull, people. Everything goes through me.” Wow, now THERE is an image I want to be left with, Cam. Someone is asserting herself, big time.
• IT’S ZACKARONI’S TURN TO BRING DONUTS. ZACKARONI. DONUTS. What show have I stumbled onto?!
• Aw, Zack is so precious though, with his huge smile! He loves being part of the team. It’s all Zack really wanted.
• Oh look, the Exposition Fairy is back to show us how Cam and Brennan are different. Cam’s been there two months and knows what Zack eats for lunch every day, while Brennan has known him for years, and is the person he is probably closest to, and she doesn’t have a clue.
• Brennan is a “strictly rubber-to-the-road, hardball scientist,” not a “flesh-pressing, ink-stained, policy-making wanktard.” Hodgins sure has a way with words, doesn’t he? Which is impressive, given how his foot now occupies his mouth.
• I do enjoy how he immediately comes to Brennan’s defense, though. He’s such a good friend. (I want to see more of their friendship.)
• Of course Cam hears all this. Of course Brennan doesn’t understand the passive aggressiveness in her voice and actually genuinely compliments her credentials.
• LOL, I don’t know why, but Brennan’s awkward wave to Cam as she brushes past her cracks me up. It’s like Brennan actually understands Cam’s sarcasm, for the first and only time.
• Meanwhile, Hodgins earns so many brownie points for being so clearly Team Brennan I can’t even tell you.
• Oh hey, that Exposition Fairy is working overtime today! Let’s have a quick recap of Woman in Limbo, courtesy of Hodgins, shall we? He’s much more succinct than I was.
• HEE, I like that Cam calls Hodgins out on his bullshit. Cam kicks ass and takes names. They’re still the same, all these years later!
• The woman playing the prosecutor (I think?) has been in everything.
• It always fascinates me that cops can pick up suspects/victims/etc. from stuff like toll booth cameras. Imagine having to be the poor person to sift through every frame of video to find it?
• It’s the beginning of Brennan’s season 2 look! They hadn’t chopped her hair off yet, but she’s already got darker eye makeup and eyeliner. Then again, hair and makeup give me feelings.
• “Why do you know things like this?” Booth, because she knows everything. Sigh. I like smart people.
• OH HEY IT’S A CUSACK. Man, this episode has everything. This is not John or Joan, but Ann. Man, those are some strong familial genes.
• I feel like the woman playing the victim’s wife is in the wrong age bracket to be named “Brianna.”
• Look at Brennan being all banter-y with Booth and Hodgins! Once more, writers, I see what you did there, but it’s time to let this Brennan back out for public consumption.
• “You shouldn’t call me ‘Zackaroni.’” “Yeah. I knew that the moment I said it.” BWAH! You two are awesome. (Although I always wonder if she was referring to how awkward it sounded coming from her, or if she was telling him that she was teasing him for going along with Cam’s nickname.)
• “Goodman will explain his decision.” Except for the part where THAT NEVER EVER HAPPENS BECAUSE HE VANISHES.
• Goodman appointed Cam while Brennan was on vacation, then took a two-month sabbatical to avoid Brennan. HA. Though also, kind of bullshit, based on the Goodman we saw in Season 1. He was nobody’s fool. He wouldn’t let it bother him.
• Maybe he found out about Cam and Booth’s past, and THAT is what sent him running forever. Like, “OH SNAP, shit’s gonna go down, I’m going to go dig up mummies now.”
• “You are very task-oriented!” “Zack, task-oriented is a euphemism for lacking overall perspective.” Look at Angela trying to put lipstick on a pig! Look at Brennan understanding patronizing when she sees it! Look at Zack being schooled by Brennan on the ways of the world! Aw, I miss this dynamic a bit.
• Oh lord, of course Brennan doesn’t know Angela’s birthday, because the computer reminds her. I love that Angela brushes this off as just another Brennanism and isn’t offended by it, only amused. (And before you hate on Brennan — one of my best friends still doesn’t know my birthday, and we’ve been friends since we were three. To be fair, she has the right month, and sometimes even the right week, though.)
• Hey look, Brennan can use “gajillion” without squinting about how that isn’t a real standard of measure!
• I always like when Brennan asks the intern what they see before making her observations. I love Teacher!Brennan.
• LMAO! Booth slaps Brennan’s hand when she grabs a fry off his plate. Booth and Brennan, Married Without Knowing It Since 2006.
• “Nothing says ‘junkie’ like your gonads’ access, Ricky!” I don’t know why, but again, THIS CRACKS ME UP.
• You know, I think this is the first time I’ve ever paid attention to the plot of this episode.
• Look at B&B tag-teaming the smarmy-as-hell private investigator!
• Aw, she praised Zack’s reconstruction!
• Oh my GOD. Brennan’s smirk as she plays dumb to Cam about the heroin results, to test her, is hilarious. B, you couldn’t lie if your life depended on it. Which is why you run away.
• “The reminds me of when you interviewed me to be your grad student.” HEE! Zack! You just fucked over your boss and you didn’t even know it. Also: HEE Zack must have wet himself in that interview. I love when he specifies to Cam that Brennan knows what it actually means, and Brennan totally rolls her eyes that her little brother ratted her out to mom and she is so going to get him for this later.
• Brennan: “Have you told Booth?” Cam: “I’ll leave that to you.” HAHAHA, It’s funny, because later on that’s Cam’s only job on the show! Oops.
• Hey, Cam’s in a smart pinstripe pantsuit! So not what she is sporting four seasons down the line.
• Aw, Zack just thinks he’s helping, only to be completely shut down by his big sister boss. Poor sad Zack.
• OH MY GOD BRENNAN IS DOING AN EXPERIMENT WITH THE BOYS. Has she ever done this any other time on the show? YOU GUYS THEY ARE SUCH A FAMILY.
• The lab smells like a luau! Excellent.
• Just like how Hodgins stuck up for Brennan, Brennan sticks up for Hodgins and Zack against Cam.
• Brennan encourage independent inquiry. Also, undermining of authority. So, win-win, for her.
• Oh my God, Brennan rolling her eyes again at Cam’s grandstanding is the best. MOM JUST DOESN’T UNDERSTAND US YOU GUYS.
• Cam is from New York, and she takes New York Action! That is possibly some of the cheesiest dialogue on this show ever. “Am I clear?” Brennan: “Not at all.” Zack: “I’m from Michigan?” LMAO. OK, seriously, Zack is stealing the show. Poor sweet baby.
• (Also, while Tamara Taylor disguises her Canadianness excellently unlike certain other Booth love interests, New Yorker she is not. I mean, isn’t Cam supposed to be from Brooklyn? Or the Bronx? Yeah, not so much.)
• “Dr. Saroyan means she’ll make us watch musical theatre.” HEE. Hodgins you are an asshole. And also delightful. Brennan thinks so too. (Remember when Brennan was in on the joke? I want to see more of that.)
• “This is not a high school science fair.” OH, HOW YOU ARE WRONG, CAMILLE SAROYAN. You will learn this soon enough. Because that is EXACTLY what this is.
• However, way to go, Exposition Fairy, on letting us know that Cam Is A Professional.
• “But… we’re Hodge Podge and Zackaroni!” OH MY GOD ZACK YOU ARE TOO ADORABLE FOR WORDS. He just wants to fit in, you guys.
• OH SNAP. Brennan will not stand for this, and reiterates that they work for her. I’ve always wondered about the lab’s hierarchy.
• OH SNAP PART 2. Cam tells Brennan to sit her ass down because they all work for HER. Pissing contest, aisle four.
• How many times can they mention “Spam” in one scene?
• I really enjoy how Booth explains why “SPAM” is bad for a trial; it shows the different aspects of his job. It’s not just about nailing the bad guy, it’s about the long-term effects of how all the evidence works in a trial. It’s interesting is what I’m saying.
• LMAO BRENNAN DROPPED A DEAD MONKEY DOWN THE ELEVATOR SHAFT AT ONE POINT. How have I never remembered this line before?! This amuses me greatly. (I mean, poor dead monkey and all, but the image of Brennan Hodginizing at the lab is GOLD.)
• AND, she laughs when she realizes how goofy it is, too. (I’d love to see more of this, PS.)
• “OK, your words say ‘good,’ but your tone says ‘bad,” so it’s confusing.” Brennan, you are cracking me up right and left. (This reminds me of their conversation at the end of Killer in the Crosshairs, too.)
• Of course Brennan brings up Booth and Cam’s sex life while he’s on the phone.
• Remember the days when talk about sex was “wildly out of line?” Me neither. (Especially not now that they have direct knowledge of said sex life. Heh.)
• Brennan’s hair is so long in this episode!
• Man, that Exposition Fairy has to be out of breath, catching us all up to date onScully’s Asshole Brother Vince McVicar the Pig Farmer.
• Oh my God, Emily Deschanel is so good in this scene. She goes from sassy to concerned to devastated in the blink of an eye, once she finds out ol’ Vince is dead.
• “How am I ever going to find out what really happened?” Well, be on the lookout for charming priests… I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE WRITERS.
• THE ANGELATORTRON.
• “How accurate is this thing?” “It’s not the machine that’s accurate, it’s Angela, and she’s good.” YOU GO BRENNAN. Oh my God. I love how defensive she is of her team. I’ve said it time and time again: while Brennan may be prickly to strangers, once you are in with her, you are in, completely. She’s steadfastly loyal.
• Oh, Booth, you are so beyond fucked, being tested by your two ladies there.
• “Hey, if you’d made a mistake, I’d a thrown you to the wolves.” HARSH, Cam. Cam is ruthless and means Serious Business, it case you couldn’t tell.
• OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS STAKEOUT SCENE SO MUCH.
• And not just because Booth and Brennan spend about 95% of it looking like they’re going to make out.
• HEE. Of course Brennan is all for the legalization of drugs, and of course Booth looks at her like she’s absolutely batshit crazy.
• “We wait? For how long?” “However long it takes.” I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE WRITERS. Ugh that brings back bad JAG memories though. Stupid Harm and Mac and their fuckery.
• “What do we do while we wait?” Make out.
• Or, “converse.”
• Booth, I like my option better.
• “I tried to initiate conversation on the drug war, but…” LOL Brennan. You are adorable in your nerdiness.
• “Let’s just talk about something we’re not going to argue about.” I hear crickets.
• Um, hello, unexpected gratuitous shot of Brennan’s chest. I don’t typically notice or care for such things, but it’s a little… obvious right now.
• Booth, how is Brennan’s mother’s grave an appropriate topic of conversation right now?!
• Oh my God, Brennan’s tap on his shoulder and “Excuse me” is kind of the most adorable thing ever.
• This entire conversation is reminiscent of “Arlington National Cemetery is full of decomposed corpses. It’s a cemetery” from the pilot. Oh, Snarky!Brennan, how I enjoy you.
• Booth remembers the dead people he visits in the cemetery. I wonder if he sings about it, Sarah McLachlan-style.
• “They can’t hear you. Because they’re dead.” See what I mean? HEE. I’m pretending this is a Pilot callback.
• “My mouth moves, words come out, but none seem to get across the drawbridge to the princess I know who awaits within.” LMAO BOOTH YOU ARE SUCH A JACKASS. And I mean that in the most loving way possible. Booth really was kind of a jerk in season 1 and 2, I’m realizing. That was his schtick.
• Naturally, in the midst of a chase, Brennan wants to know what he’s talking about with this princess business.
• “Don’t you have to read him his rights before you strangle him?” Brennan makes me laugh so much.
• As does Booth chastising the suspect for biting him.
• And Brennan telling the suspect that he shouldn’t swallow heroin because it’s dangerous. (Ha, she says it in such a Mom Voice too.)
• Ooh, badass Booth is going to cram the heroin back down the guy’s throat if he doesn’t answer his question! He doesn’t Play By The Rules, you guys.
• Of course Brennan warns the dealer that his heroin is laced with a toxic chemical that will kill him. She’s so helpful.
• “Hey, where’d you find her?” “Museum.” EVERYBODY DRINK! (And now I finally know where that’s from.)
• LOL, Brennan wants to warn addicts that the heroin is laced. Bless her girl scout heart.
• Um, is the doctor allowed to give out this guy’s medical info to strangers? Even if they’re cops?
• Hey, Booth’s in a scene with squints, without Brennan? See, this is what I mean about mixing it up, Show! I love unexpected pairings.
• Oh, I see Angela’s back to her Magicky Magic! This time, she can get a suspect’s image off the reflection of his shiny car off a toll booth camera! MAGIC!
• OH MY GOD I LOVE BOOTH AND ANGELA’S SASSINESS SO MUCH. It pretty much disappeared by season 3, which is a shame. I love their flirty-but-completely-harmless banter. I want to see more of it.
• Ah, the first official declaration of Cam’s actual job description: Cat Herder.
• She took the job for the swanky digs! Aw, Cam. We hear ya. (“Think about that a second: leaky corpse, no drain” ALWAYS makes me laugh. It’s the first Cam-ism!)
• Cocky Bastard is cocky. Because he thinks Cam took the job at the Jeffersonian just to be closer to him. COCKY BASTARD. Hee.
• (Although, were we supposed to assume that was the real reason, despite Cam’s protests? I never thought so, personally.)
• That being said, I have to say I think they did a really good job establishing Cam and Booth’s prior history in this scene. You see the kind of cocky swagger they both have, and that they clearly care for one another. Plus, they have good chemistry.
• OH SNAP. We get our first glimpse that Cam knows there’s something going on between Booth and Brennan, since Brennan dedicated her book to Booth. Cam, you really are Oz.
• God, Cam really is just as cocky as Booth is. No wonder they were friends.
• Cam, I came to love you, but thinking you intimidate Brennan? HA. Good one.
• “You’ve seen the way she stares at human remains before she makes a decision? You’re human remains, and she hasn’t made a decision yet.” OH SNAP. Booth just schooled your ass, Cam. (That is so what Brennan does, too.)
• I have to say, I find this exchange kinda hot.
• (Also, for some reason, Cam reminds me of Eva Marie Saint circa North by Northwest here.)
• Hey look, Booth tells Cam to take care of Brennan’s people. AND THEN SHE DOES. FOREVER. Aw.
• Booth, I’ll bet you like intimidation. Heh.
• OOOOOH, creepy inmate killed McVicar as a message from “Max.” THE PLOT THICKENS.
• Jesus, Max really is one shady motherfucker. I mean, he’s entertaining, but he’s scary as fuck if you think about it.
• Aw, Brennan is upset over having to tell Russ (HER BROTHER HER BROTHER HER BROTHER) that their dad ordered a hit. I just love that, albeit briefly, she had someone she could confide in and commiserate with, other than Booth and the squints. She needed her brother. (Grumble.)
• “Good people don’t have other people murdered. Good people don’t even know how.” Oh, poor, poor Brennan.
• I like that Booth points out that Max buried Ruth with her favourite belt buckle, because it reminded her of Brennan. That’s sweet. Even if the whole speech is a little creepy.
• “That does not make him a good man.” “People can be more than one thing.” Ooooh how prophetic, Booth. You don’t even know.
• Aw, Brennan still wants to find her dad. And Booth wants to help her.
• Ah, this was in the days before the caption people bought Soundhound. We’re still stuck with the generic ♪♪ [Soft Rock].
• AWWWW. Brennan staring at her family photos! Which, being a Brennan, includes mug shots. (I wonder if they get them framed?)
• (I want to see more Brennan family photos. And Brennan-Booth family photos.)
• I love that Brennan has an epiphany of her own about the case — conjecture if you will — inspired by her mom’s dolphin buckle.
• “That N.C. lots of As.” HA! That’s totally how I’m referring to the N.C.A.A. now.
• Um, apparently I did stop paying attention, as usual, as I don’t understand this plot anymore.
• I LOVE THIS SCENE OUTSIDE THE INTERROGATION ROOM SO MUCH TOO.
• Because guess what I realized: IT’S TOTALLY A CALLBACK TO THE PILOT. The firing range scene, I mean. It’s blocked the same way, with the same whispers and heated exchanges and looking-like-they’re-going-to-mack-on-each-other-ness and low blows. I mean, the whole “tell him Lynch said something only Lynch would say” is this episode’s “Prove it. Be a cop.”
• “Come on, Booth. The part of you with the big gambling problem must love this idea.” HOLY FUCKING SHIT. BRENNAN, YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAT. You did. Jesus. The worst part is I don’t even think she realizes how below-the-belt that was.
• Also, in light of the revelations of their first case from the 100^th, that line has so much more meaning. Since, you know, that’s one of the first personal things she ever learned about him, and he fucking gave it all up for her. Oh, Brennan, that was so harsh. Booth has every right to be pissed off at your snippy little ass right now.
• Um, I have to say, Angry!Booth is kinda hot. And I’m not one to normally favour such things.
• UGH SHOW DON’T EVER MENTION THE SOUND OF SHOULDERS POPPING. Signed, someone who’s dislocated her shoulder on more than one occasion.
• I actually can’t watch this reenactment.
• “He’s in a coma!” “Yeah, but he deserves to be in a coma, so it doesn’t count.” Seriously, Zack, you are the BEST in this episode. I want to squish you. I don’t even remember Zack ever being snarky.
• Oh hey, there’s the sound of a character slowly clicking into place, with Cam rising to her team’s defense against the mean prosecutor.
• HEE, I’m easy, so I fucking love that EVERYONE says “Not Zack” in unison — even Brennan! — when Cam mentions putting her people on the stand. Poor Zack.
• I like how they’re all impressed with Cam sticking up for them.
• And that Brennan isn’t petty about it and understands why Cam is good at her job.
• Oh Booth, you’re so sweet, but how you think talking to a headstone is going to help Brennan is beyond me. (I’m kind of with Brennan on this one, but that’s another matter.)
• LMAO, I love how Brennan is “no offense”-ing her mom, even at her grave. Brennan, never change.
• There Emily goes being wonderful again, switching from sarcastic to sad and confused in the blink of an eye. Brennan’s whole speech wondering about whether her father is a good man or a bad man is so touching, because she totally seems like a 15 year old all over again. She just wants everything to be simple and the way it used to be. She’s struggling with the emerging shades of grey in her life (and her past).
• Ha, of course once she recovers from this moral dilemma, she’s back to her snarky self. Oh, honey.
• For some reason, Booth chastising Brennan for standing on top of the grave and telling her to move cracks me up. He’s amusing when he’s superstitious. (And Brennan listens!)
• Burying her mother as Christine Brennan “tells me who you are.” Nice callback toWoman in Limbo, writers! I like that it subtly establishes that Brennan is still grappling with her identity in the wake of the clusterfuck unleashed in Limbo.
• Naturally, though, Brennan isn’t listening to him, because the slab of stone actually IS giving her answers now. In the form of a dolphin charm.
• Um, Booth, how do you know that means her father was there to talk to her mother and get answers? For all you know, he went there for snacks.
• (Although, on a serious note, I do really like that they established early on that Max was devoted and desperately in love with his wife, and never really got over losing her.)
• “You’re tainting evidence.” “It’s not that kind of evidence, Bones. It’s evidence of something else. Something that can’t be tainted.” Oh, but it can, Booth! Have you never heard that song?! Sometimes I feel I’ve got to DUN DUN run away…
• (Great, now I’m going to be singing “Tainted Love” all afternoon. THANK YOU.)
• Brennan taking it all in and appreciating the dolphin as it is, saying, “it’s beautiful,” is such a touching moment. It’s one of those rare moments where she lets go and can just be.
• I’m a terrible person, but the extended shot of Brennan just standing there holding the tiny dolphin up to the light makes me laugh.
• Have I mentioned lately that I’m a sucker for any Brennan Family story? Because I am.

My favourite aspect of the episode, if I had to choose, is just how everybody not only sticks up for Brennan, but that they all stick up for each other as well. They’re a cohesive unit, which no outsider can undermine.

I think the writers did a pretty good job in introducing Cam to the audience in this episode. Yes, she was kind of over the top in her assertiveness, but I can’t blame her for it. She knew she was walking into a tightly-knit, eccentric group, and she evidently believed going balls-to-the-wall from the start was the only way to assert her authority, or else they’d walk all over her. Which, as we saw from Brennan’s behaviour, they probably would have, had she not stood her ground.

The pissing contest between Brennan and Cam was really interesting to watch. I love and adore Brennan, but there were moments where she was really acting like a brat, for lack of better word. We can assume she’d mostly had free reign over the lab, and she was clearly not happy with the new addition. Don’t get me wrong, though: I actually like that it brought out Brennan’s bratty side. It created a really interesting dynamic which we hadn’t seen yet on the show. I think Brennan needed a foil, and Cam worked really well in that role. She wasn’t evil, but she wasn’t afraid to stand up to her, either. It was very adult.

More importantly, though, I really love how they allowed Cam to evolve as the series progressed, yet still maintain some of the core characteristics we saw in this episode. She’s still snarky and sarcastic and loves her shiny lab, but she is also absolutely loyal to her team and will not hesitate to stick up for them when it counts.

Moreover, you can really see why Booth was friends with her, and why they presumably kept falling in and out of bed together. This may be blasphemous, but they were kind of hot. Yet, I think they also demonstrated well why he and Cam could never be more than Friends with Benefits. No one was the bad guy, and everyone’s relationship to each other was taking new turns.

So, that about sums it up. One more recap to go until the new season, you guys!