When You’re Good To Mama

(Originally posted August 29, 2013.)

… Mama still doesn’t give two shits about your feelings, OOPS.

Didja miss me?

So, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve taken a bit of a hiatus this summer, for a variety of reasons. (Family stuff, sad stuff, technical difficulties, travelling, the weather, you name it.) I think it was a bit of a blessing in disguise, too, because frankly, I needed a break from Show and from writing. I just didn’t have it in me anymore. (Don’t get me wrong, I still adore Show. My brain was just fried.)

Anyway.

Due to all of those reasosn happening at once, this recap of Party in the Pantsended up being two months in the making. I debated even touching it, because it’s such a heavy episode, and I didn’t know if I had the mindset to get into it. But, it was also such an important part of the season that I couldn’t not watch it over again. However, there’s nothing like some transoceanic flights to give you some motivation to finish what you started, right?

Apparently the hiatus did nothing to make me more succinct. In other words, this is long. Really, really long. But it’s one of the few episodes that shines a bright spotlight on Booth and tells us so much about him, that I figure it’s OK to have an explosion of Feelings. And explode, they do.

By the time you finish this, if you finish this, the new season will probably already be started, so, silver lining?

Have at it, guys.

 

• Oh God, some kid in an excavator? This won’t end well. (The kid looks like Colin Hanks, to me.)
• “Dale” is sure getting his ass chewed out.
• (He won’t be invited back next summer.)
• Which might be why he’s playing arcade games with dead bodies.
• Because this is BONES in case you hadn’t noticed.
• Booth has to go to the Jeffersonian! To pick up Bones! I’d say you’ve done that already and then some, buddy. (See what I did there?)
• Well, looks like his job is already done, because she’s waiting for him in his office!
• … Wait a minute, that’s not Brennan. Despite the fact that this woman LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE HER 25 YEARS FROM NOW.
• (My mother and two separate friends said the same thing.)
• This strange lady in an equally strange white satin outfit is waiting for Booth in his office, and he doesn’t even look twice.
• She speaks in a gravel-ly, sultry voice, and suddenly Booth does a double-take.
• “Mom.”
• HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS.
• IT’S BOOTH’S MOM.
• BOOTH IS BRUCE WILLIS FROM THE SIXTH SENSE!
• OH MY GOD HE’S BEEN DEAD THIS WHOLE TIME SINCE THE BRAIN TUMOUR!
• THIS HAS ALL BEEN A LIE!
• BOOTH SEES DEAD PEOPLE!
• THAT’S WHY “MOM” IS DRESSED LIKE A GHOST!
• BECAUSE SHE IS A GHOST!
• HOLY SHITBALLS!
• OK.
• I’m joking.
• (Am I?)
• (Yes.)
• (I thought I was clever is all.)
• Oh, no. The look on Booth’s face when he realizes who she is. HIS FACE. His poor crushable face. Poor baby. Where he goes from shocked to elated? It hits me in the gut. It says so much about who Booth is, and why he is the way he is. He’s still the little boy seeking his negligent parents’ approval.
• (Yes, I admit, I’d always assumed Booth’s mom had died when he was a kid. But, that’s on me, not the show, because the show never said so.)
• Sidebar: I could comment on every instance that Mama Booth irritates me, but this recap would never end. Let it be known that “I wasn’t sure you’d remember me” is first on the list. (You know why he wouldn’t remember you? Because you haven’t contacted him for a quarter century. SPOILER ALERT.)
• “What’s it been, 25 years?” Oh yes, old chum, I do so miss our nights on the town, slinging bourbon and chasing dames… Oh wait, this isn’t an old army buddy, IT’S YOUR FUCKING SON.
• Booth fucking KILLS me when he tries to defuse the tension by laughing off her comment, but still correcting her by stating it’s been twenty-four years. Not that he’s counting.
• That little boy is coming out in full force, and he’s absolutely slaying me. As he will at many points in this episode.
• “You always looked on the bright side.” THAT IS NOT THE FUCKING BRIGHT SIDE. IT’S THE FUCKING TRUTH.
• (This is going to be the start of my “Mama Booth is deliberately written as narcissistic” essay.)
• “I guess I should start by apologizing.” YES. YES YOU SHOULD.
• (Sorry, I can’t help the all-caps nature of this post.)
• Naturally, Booth brushes off the pain that he must have felt deep down inside, and brushes off her need to apologize, and pretends everything is fine. I don’t doubt Booth was happy to finally see her, but I am positive there was some good old fashioned “I’m Fine You’re Fine Everything Is Fine” going on here. Which we have seen many times before. (Most notably in the first two episodes of season 8.)
• “I’m just happy to see you.” Sigh. Booth, I want to hug you. How fucked up was his childhood that simply seeing his mother 25 years later is enough for him, on the surface?
• UGH. Seriously? “Oh, your already elderly grandfather did such a bang-up job with you and your brother, I figured why mess with success?” Jesus, lady. It’s not up to your AARP-eligible father-in-law to raise your kids.
• I need to stop. And condense these Thoughts and Feelings at a later date.
• Meanwhile, Booth breaks my heart all over again with his face: “I don’t hate you, Mom. I missed you.” Seeley Booth and his women problems in a nutshell, ladies and gentlemen.
• Not gonna lie, when Mama Booth started talking about hearing about him in the paper, I thought it was going to have to do with that whole world-renowned-famous-partner-who-became-a-fugitive business, but since Show seems to have forgotten about that, I suppose we can’t expect a deadbeat parent to keep tabs on these things, either.
• Wow, Booth is so thrilled when his mom basically tells him she’s proud of him. He is 12 years old all over again and I’m not sure I can handle it. He’s so adorable when he tells her that she’s a grandmother, that it breaks my heart again, because she doesn’t seem quite as jazzed about learning that as he is about sharing it. (Not that she’s upset, but she seems so casual about it, like he just told her about this great soufflé he learned to make.) Booth just wants his mother to be proud of him, and like I said, his life has been so fucked up until relatively recently that he couldn’t even count on that.
• “I’m a grandmother? I’m too young to be a grandmother.” My mom: “Um, no you aren’t, lady.” Heh. The snark runs deep in my family.
• Also: HAHA MAMA BOOTH IS A SASSY LADY IN CASE YOU DIDN’T GET THE MEMO. /eye roll.
• I find it really interesting that Booth automatically opens his home to his mom, just like he did Sweets. Booth likes sheltering his loved ones.
• (No seriously, though: does the FBI and Jeffersonian just let ANYONE into their buildings? Yikes.)
• Booth keeps repeating “Mom” like Brennan kept repeating “my brother” in the season 2 premiere. Again, my fucked up babies who couldn’t even rely on fundamental relationships in their lives for too long.
• (For some reason, when “Mom” looks over the address Booth leaves her on the paper, I thought something shady was going to go down, like she was gonna rob them or something, I dunno.)
• Brennan, at the crime scene, seems a tad skeptical that Booth is so fine with his deadbeat mother suddenly reappearing. (I’d love to know how that conversation went down in the truck. “Did you check to see if we had any jerky left in the cupboard before we left the house this morning? Oh by the way my mother swung by my office just now, no big deal. Are there any powdered donuts left?”)
• I have to say how thrilled I was to learn that Brennan knew of Booth’s history with his mother. I was vaguely worried that they would have this be some big dark secret Booth had been keeping from her, but luckily that was not the case. This felt much more natural. (I don’t care at all that we never saw him sharing it with her — there’s tons of stuff they’ve shared we haven’t been privy to in the 42 minutes a week we see. Like their bedroom activities oops did I say that.)
• My one sort of gripe about this episode is that I wish we’d gotten to see some more Booth-Cam interaction, just because Cam’s known Booth for half their lives at this point, and if anyone would know the score with Booth’s feelings towards his mother, it’d be her. (Just like she would call him out on his shit with Jared.) But, I wasn’t expecting to see it, so it’s no biggie. It would have been a nice nod is all I’m saying.
• Brennan happily brushing off Booth’s reunion with his mother makes me laugh. It’s so much like what she did in Male in the Mail when she found out about his dad dying, following his lead, only this time, he seems grateful, if a little irritated at her insistence on using “abandoned.”
• (Also, because she’s so showy, heh.)
• HEE. Brennan is so very tickled when Hodgins reveals the victim’s flashy thong underwear. I want to know what’s going on in her head. Because it looks like a fun place to be right now.
• And then her face when Cam surmises the victim was a stripper? She needs to get out of town, she is so adorable.
• “Bones, let’s not tell my mom about this one.” OK, as sorry as I feel for Booth, he’s so flippin’ cute right now, I can’t stand it.
• Jesus Christ, we’re at the credits, and this is a full recap already. I’m fucked. I’m sorry, guys.
• WENDELL!
• It’s my eye candy week! Yay!
• Brennan wrote a paper about stripping in grad school. OF COURSE SHE DID. What hasn’t Brennan written a paper on at some point?!
• “People who disrobe for the pleasure of others are fascinating!” Oh, I bet you think so, Brennan. I bet you are regularly awed. And inspire awe. (Booth and Brennan get naked for each other a lot is what I’m saying.)
• I find it surprising that apparently it wasn’t until the 70s that women went to watch men strip for fun. However, I do not care enough to verify its accuracy.
• Cam: When did stuffing dollar bills down a man’s pants become empowerment?
  Brennan: The 1970s. I just said that. You should pay closer attention.
  Me: HEE. I love both of you lovely ladies. Cam because she’s all, “I can’t anymore,” and Brennan because she’s awesome and in Teacher!Mode. Hee. (I bet Booth is on the receiving end of that stern look often. And is turned on as fuck by it.)
• Calf implants? Really? I mean, I know they exist, but… I don’t understand.
• Baby Duck wants to know all about Grandma Duck! And is impressed at how well Booth is handling it! Figures the one time I want Sweets to prod so that Booth finally explodes in Feelings, he maintains a respectful distance. Sweets, why’d you have to go and grow up on us after leaving the nest? Sigh.
• (Sweets is actually being really, well, sweet here.)
• “Are you here to talk to me about the case, or are you just here to annoy me?” Heh. I love you, Grumpy Lumpkins.
• HA! Sweets! “Bla bla bla shrinky bullshit— I got nothing. I just wanted to talk about your mom.” Oh my God, I love that. He starts off like Old!Sweets, but he’s now comfortable enough with Booth that he can full-out admit when he just wants to gab. I love them.
• I like Angela’s dress. That’s all.
• “You know, if I had any non-crime-related cash on me right now, I would be stuffing it down your pants.” Love, Bones-style, everyone. Aw, Hodgins and Angela, you two are so cute, in your very strange way.
• You know why? Because Hodgins is fucking stripping right in the middle of the office, just for Angela.
• This is a thing that happens on Bones. Think about that for a minute.
• (Apparently the titular party is in Hodgins’ pants tonight.)
• Who doesn’t want to think about it? Cam. She gets Hodgins’ sweater in her face, and she decides, fuck this noise, I’m going back to my corpse now.
• Oh look, Booth and his ma are shootin’ the shit, catching up on old times over a glass of wine (or scotch). Like this isn’t fucking weird or loaded or anything.
• (IT IS FUCKING WEIRD AND FUCKING LOADED, GUYS.)
• Booth’s mom has been singing around the country for the last twenty years. (Where?) They loved her, they really loved her! Because she has a great voice, so says Booth. Hey, points for consistency, Show! Since as far back as season 1, we’ve known his mom was musical and had some sort of career in it.
• HA! “You were always a little tone deaf,” re: Booth. Good one, Show. It’s funny, because it’s true. Even if Brennan can’t hear it, bless her little besotted heart.
• Oooh, I see a glimpse of Agent Booth when Ma mentions “Reggie.” I think Booth suspects “Reggie” is more than just his mom’s accompanist, if you know what I mean.
• I don’t know why I’m so suspicious when she tells Booth that his home is so beautiful. She’s right; it is a beautiful house, and he worked hard to make it that way. (Both physically, and metaphorically.) I take it this is supposed to be a sentimental moment, yet all I can think of is that she’s being superficial. I am aware that my bias against her is probably colouring my interpretation of this, though, and that she’s probably just trying to be genuine, and keep things light.
• Hey, it’s another in-season callback! Booth’s mama wants to dance like how they used to when Booth was a kid! Which we totally knew about! For a brief second, it’s really, really heart-warming, because Booth isn’t a dancing-the-Continental-on-a-whim kind of guy, at least that we’ve seen.
• But, all of a sudden, Mama Booth pops the balloon, and picks this light-hearted moment to bring up Booth’s awful father. For fuck’s sake, lady! Laughing about your abusive ex-husband’s angry outbursts is seriously, seriously fucked up. Like, it almost makes me think there’s something wrong with this woman, because to me that does not seem like a healthy reaction to the situation. But what do I know? I have thankfully never had an abusive, alcoholic parent, nor have I been in a relationship with one, so maybe I’m missing out on the humour of the situation as she sees it. (Ahem.)
• Oh, Booth. He’s breaking my heart. Here he was, having a nice moment with his mom, and all of a sudden she brings up his number one Issue (with a capital I), and he shuts down. Hell, he can barely bring himself to talk about him with Brennan, the woman who’s been by his side for eight years and his life partner for two. He sure as hell doesn’t want to get into this with his absentee mother he hasn’t seen in twenty-five years.
• So, Mama Booth retracts, and at first almost seems to give helpful advice, by pointing out everything Booth has accomplished, in spite of both of his parents.This is good, because Booth tends to overlook his own successes, and he needs reminding. But then, she leaves a bad taste in my mouth by saying, “We won, baby.” As if this is a fucking game of Monopoly! Um, lady, that’s not what this is about, at all. There are no winners in this game. She had to have known Booth would have some residual feelings about his father, if she left the boys with him. UGH.
• Booth then does what Booth always does: he swallows his own feelings and makes his mom happy, by focusing on her joy. He once more goes into I’m Fine You’re Fine Everything Is Fine mode. The thing is, I don’t think it’s wrong for either of them to focus on the good they’ve done, and Booth especially has made it to the other side especially well, given his upbringing. They should celebrate that. But, Booth clearly doesn’t want to talk about it, and it bugs me that his mom forces the issue. (But, I am of the firm belief that this is On Purpose.)
• In comes Brennan (in socks!), with Christine, to defuse my budding rage. And that they do, because Christine is wearing the most adorable black and white polka dotted leggings that I’m making sounds that aren’t quite human. POLKA DOT LEGGINGS YOU GUYS. I’m a little overcome with sartorial emotion.
• “Look at this little noodle!” Alright, Mama Booth, you’re allowed to fawn over the immense ball of cute that is your granddaughter.
• (Also, at this point, I smirk a little, because one of my friends used to call meNoodle, and I’m sentimental about it.)
• “I thought Booth was your little noodle?” Oh, Brennan, you are precious. This could have been another “Brennan doesn’t understand social mores” moment, but it isn’t. Yes, obviously, most people wouldn’t be so perplexed over nicknames, but it’s Brennan, and she always has to know all the facts. She knows that Booth’s nickname for her is totally unique, so why wouldn’t Mama Booth’s nickname for her own son be just as unique to him?
• (Also, she’s adorable, there’s that.)
• Oh, Booth, you are also adorable: “She can be the Dr. Noodle.” I WANT TO HUG YOU SO MUCH! (Also, said friend who used to call me Noodle? Used to call me Dr. Noodle when I used big words. So, this is some sort of obscure shoutout to me, right?)
• Brennan breaks out out of our Noodle Family reverie with a reality check: “It must have been so hard for you to run away from your children.” Ah, there’s that Brennan bluntness we all know and love. Especially love right now, I must say.
• OH SNAP.
• (!!!)
• Look at Mama Booth’s change in demeanour as soon as Brennan brings that up. She ain’t messin’ around.
• (My friend who watches the show with me, albeit delayed, screamed “AW YIS!” when Brennan confronted Mama Booth. Because her initial reaction to Ma was “what a bitch!” And then was all, “you tell her, Brennan!” when this happened.)
• Naturally, Brennan can tell Marianne has long-term injuries from the abuse presumably suffered at the hands of Booth Père. She is Super Scientist, after all.
• “I knew I had to leave. I blamed myself all these years.” As well you should, lady. (Look, I’m not saying she should have stayed with an abuser, not at all. I’m just saying it seems to me like she’s passing the buck.)
• Meanwhile poor Booth is just thinking fuck my life about a hundred times over.
• “But seeing what he has here, and what you’ve given him? I knew that he was strong. And I was right.” It seems, to me, like she’s basically saying the ends justify the means, which is bullshit. Just because he managed to make it to the other end of the tunnel doesn’t mean there wasn’t a whole lot of pain involved to get there, no thanks to her. (But, again, I think that’s the point, that we’re not supposed to side with her, or at least that’s what I choose to believe.)
• Also, I may just be seeing things, but Ma’s tone seems really… adversarial, I guess, to me. Especially with the fact that she immediately stands closer to her son, and reaches out to hold his shoulder, like she’s taking possession of him. I guess she could just be acting defensive, like someone who’s tried to defend her actions for close to three decades, but she seems like she’s spoiling for a fight, almost, to me.
• Brennan, however, isn’t reading that, and is almost serene: “You were [right]. He’s the strongest man I know.” Awwww, Brennan! That says everything, people. You can see how much respect and admiration and love she holds for him, in that one statement. She’s not just saying he’s the strongest person she knows physically, but emotionally, as well. He’s her rock, and she’s proud of him for it. Sweet babies giving me all the feelings tonight.
• Ah, Ma changes the subject before it gets too heavy, and brings up the “Five Little Monkeys” song she used to sing to Booth before going to bed when he was a kid. Which made me squee, because my mom used to sing that song to me, but this also made me scratch my head, because that totally wasn’t a bedtime song. That was a “kid is getting riled up and needs distraction” song. Or maybe it’s just because I used to jump on the bed as she sang it… Whoops. (One time at my grandma’s, my cousin and I started jumping on the bed singing the song, and we actually did almost collapse the bed.)
• Sorry for the Innie Real Life Sidebar.
• Anyway.
• Christine is adorable as always.
• Especially when her mama’s kissing her forehead. (Yes, I realize Emily could just be talking to the Actor Baby to get her to settle, but we can’t see, so I’m pretending it’s Mama Bear Brennan kissing her baby, k? Some of you pretend Booth called her “honey” in Gunk in the Garage, I can pretend Brennan’s mothering her baby here, are we clear?)
• Christine, however, does not seem to be as impressed with the Monkey Song as the adults in her life are.
• That being said, seeing these straight-laced adults jumping around and using funny voices and basically being oblivious to her makes me laugh, a lot. I love it when they’re goofy.
• (Booth and Brennan both acting like giant goofballs with the baby makes my heart melt.)
• HA! Brennan basically tells Wendell he’s hot enough to get rich stripping! (Brennan’s seen Magic Mike, right?) I… do not disagree. Heh.
• “Are you trying to get me to strip, Dr. B?”  Yes. Yes I am she is! HEE. I love that Brennan’s recurring gag with Wendell is inadvertently sexually harassing him. (Look, sexual harassment is never OK and is gross… But, it amuses me here, because Brennan does not realize at all how she comes across, and Wendell by now knows it.)
• “It’s a disease common in overweight children.” “Then I guess he didn’t start stripping as a kid!” “Not professionally, at least.” HEE. I love the two of them.
• The victim’s apartment reminds me of Barney Stinson’s condo on How I Met Your Mother. Maybe it’s all the black and the stainless steel?
• Aaah, Sweets asks Booth the question we’ve all been wondering (or at least I have): why didn’t Booth ever track down his mom, with his FBI resources at his disposal? Booth demonstrates his quintessential nature, here: that he figured his mom would find him when the time was right, for her. Even though he was, you know a child when she left, and he had every right to find out what happened to her. Booth puts his family first, to a fault; it doesn’t matter what pain he’s in, because he feels like others’ needs come before his own. Sigh. Poor Booth. Clearly, he’s been like this for just about his entire life.
• (Let’s ignore, for the moment, that the time was right now for Mama Booth because she wanted something from him.)
• Sweets smells bullshit, but he’s not gonna push it, because he knows Booth needs to get there on his own.
• “Don’t you need a password [for the victim’s voicemail]?” “It’s voicemail. Doesn’t everybody use 1-2-3-4?” “Well, I do, but now I’m gonna change that.” HEE I love Booth and Sweets.
• Oh, lord. It’s never a good sign when you can tell how awful an actor is just by the sound of their voice on a recording.
• Then seeing her in the flesh in the next scene does nothing to dispel that. She is very, very beautiful. But also a very, very unconvincing. At least, in this show. Maybe she’s better otherwise.
• Uh oh.
• Booth is meeting his mom at a playground.
• Nothing good happens on playgrounds on this show.
• Case in point.
• OK, so, here’s a little bit of potential nitpicking to get us started: Ma says she used to bring Booth to this playground when he was a kid. But, didn’t he grow up in Philly? So how does that work? Did they come visit DC a lot when he was a kid? Was she using “here” as a metaphoric “here” meaning playgrounds in general, and not this specific playground? This makes my head hurt. It’s like the “Where does Pops live?” question from Foot in the Foreclosure question all over again. Geogrpahy on Bones is magic etc.
• Moving on.
• Booth loved playing the Knight on the giant chessboard as a kid. Of course he did. He’s hard-wired to be the protector. Especially since his mom told him it was his job to protect the King and Queen. Well, that explains everything about Booth, no need to delve any further, quite frankly. Goddamn, this episode just reveals all the nuances of Booth’s psyche, doesn’t it?
• (So, is Mama taking credit for Booth’s career in the FBI? UGH.)
• Oh hey, let’s all be happy, because Ma is getting remarried! To Reggie! Told ya so.
• I am a giant asshole, but when Ma tells Booth he’s going to have a new brother and sister, I laughed, because I expected Booth to freak out all “WHAT YOU’RE HAVING A BABY HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE WHAT IS HAPPENING?!” That would have been awesome.
• There it is: “Oh, sorry to drop this giant bombshell that basically means your entire life was a lie until now, but it would be totes amazing if you walked me down the aisle!” UGH. That’s a total Jared move, guys.
• “They were at an age where they could still use a mother.” “Right, like Jared and I were.” YOU GO BOOTH! Mainly because I said the same thing right before he did. Also WAY TO GO SHOW for remembering Jared, by name! (And that’s all the reference I need to him, the douchebag.)
• I mean: SERIOUSLY LADY?! I know time is magic on this show, but we are to believe Booth was still a kid when his mom left; even if he was a teenager, that’s still young enough to need his mom in his life. (Hell, everyone at every age needs their parent in their life, even when they don’t have them anymore.)
• David Boreanaz is so awesome in this. He goes from light and casual to dark and angry and hurt in a nanosecond. He plays this so well: deep down, Booth is still that kid who was let down by everyone who should have mattered the most, until his grandfather stepped in. He’s been burying his feelings for the sake of being a happy family — which is what he wants more than anything — but ultimately something like this is bound to push him over the edge, and for good reason.
• (To find out your mother left you at your most vulnerable, only to end up playing house with another, less damaged family? These people are lucky there were no clown figures in this park, because it’d be target practice.)
• “I thought you couldn’t handle a family, Mom, but I guess that was just ourfamily.” OH SNAP. Good one, Booth. It says so much about his rationale all these years — that his mom couldn’t handle the pressures of raising the kids, even with the threat of their dad gone. It speaks volumes about his nature: that he didn’t really hold any ill will towards the woman, despite her abandoning him, because he felt that she truly wasn’t equipped to be able to care for them. It’s quite forgiving. Yes, he was obviously trying to justify her actions to make them sting less, but I think it speaks to what a good man he is, at heart.
• (Not to mention how much it explains why he put up with so much of what he did with the women in his life. I don’t mean that in a bad way, necessarily. I mean, yes, there’s the bad stuff with Rebecca, there’s his standing by Brennan even when it pained him to do so, as well. But it also reveals how understanding he can be, even when it hurts him to do so.)
• “I forgave you. I gave you a pass. All of these years, right? But hey, I guess I was just making it OK for myself.” Oh honey. Truer words have never been spoken. Now there’s a light bulb moment for poor Seeley Booth if ever there were one.
• “I thought about you every day!” Well whoop dee doo! You and every other parent in the world! That doesn’t make you Mother Theresa, lady. That’s your fucking job.
• “You come back here to get my stamp of approval on your new life, so yo don’t feel guilty. Well guess what? It’s been twenty-four years. Feel guilty.” OH SNAP. SEELEY FUCKING BOOTH FOR THE MOTHERFUCKING WIN Y’ALL. Oh my God, I stood up and cheered the first time I saw this. (So did said friend.) Booth so rarely stands up for himself in these situations, but when he does, it’samazing. Voice of the audience right there, folks. (Or at least, mine.)
• And then Ma has the audacity to get mad at him for being angry with her? BITCH PLEASE.
• (Like I keep saying: I don’t blame her for leaving her husband, at all. I don’t even blame her for not being able to care for her sons; some people just aren’t equipped for it, and find that out too late. It doesn’t absolve them of their responsibilities as parents, but it’s important to acknowledge that it isn’t the best course for some people. They are still responsible for their actions and for raising their children, but not everyone can be Parent of the Year. Yet not doing so much as write her kids a letter or calling? Then raising others who aren’t much younger? That’s a whole different ballgame.)
• UGH.
• Mama Booth has no fans in these parts, in case you couldn’t tell.
• Moving on, we’re back in the lab, where Angela, Cam and Brennan are working together and all look fabulous.
• But you know who looks especially stunning? BRENNAN. BECAUSE THE HAIRSTYLISTS FINALLY FOUND A CURLING IRON AND INNIE REJOICES.
• Because I love me some waves, y’all. It’s about time they mix it up.
• Moreover, Her entire outfit is adorable, even while simple — cardigan, jersey top, pants/jeans. It’s just the way it’s put together that’s simple, yet professional. It’s kind of like the grown-up version of her season 1 wardrobe, and you know how much I love me some season 1 wardrobe. (And I have to say, it highlights how smokin’ Brennan/Emily’s figure is.)
• Heh. Brennan’s own graduate research revealed she was a more generous tipper while ovulating. Oh she tipped Booth alright their first night then. Sorry I had to.
• “So for one’s economic well-being, only bring singles while ovulating. Got it.” HEE. Cam. I love you and your deadpan.
• (They need to remember this if they ever have a bachelorette party, ahem.)
• WHOA WHOA WHOA.
• Booth and Brennan are on a date night! AT THE FOUNDING FATHERS! Be still my fangirl heart!
• (I’m puzzled as to why they put a blazer on top of Brennan’s already cute cardigan, but whatever. Can’t win ‘em all.)
• (Also they finally fixed the curls from the first scene, as you can tell. They finally separated them a little here to give it a little more body.)
• Aw, they’re on a date, you guys. And it’s like all those times before season 6 that they used to go on dates. Except better. Because they know they’re on a date now. BABIES.
• “I’m sorry, Booth.” “You warned me, it was too good to be true.” SIGH. I love this, even though it isn’t much. Brennan hates to see him so disappointed, and Booth, in turn, values her insight. I love that this fills in the gaps of earlier in the episode — that Brennan told him not to get too eager, because she knows thisfrom lengthy personal experience. This is exactly what she went through, over and over, for years with her dad. But, she followed his lead, and supported him anyway.
• Aw, I love that Brennan’s first response, after expressing her condolences about Booth’s mom, is to offer that maybe Mama Booth didn’t explain herself clearly. Since, as we all know, Brennan not being to explain herself has led to her fair share of misunderstandings and pain, even when she didn’t intend it that way. She’s trying to take away his pain, through her own experience. She’s such a good partner, you guys.
• (Plus, you know, Brennan could never be that selfish, and it’s probably hard for her to fathom how someone else could be, too.)
• “You know Bones, you’re a good person, the best, but I don’t need you to put a good face on this.” Awww, Booth. He’s so genuine in his admiration of her. Like Avalon said, he knows the truth of her, and is dazzled by it. She’s good, plain and simple, and that’s about the highest compliment Brennan could hear, since that’s ultimately how she frames people, at their core. (And we know that Booth really does think she’s the best, since she is his favourite person, after all.)
• I also really like the fact that as soon as Booth says he doesn’t want to talk about it anymore, she doesn’t press it, because she can tell he’s not ready. And I think even Booth knows he’s not ready, when he answers “I appreciate it.” It’s a little different than the I’M FINE YOU’RE FINE EVERYTHING IS FINE routine, because it’s like he knows it’s not OK, but talking about it right now is no use, so he doesn’t want to bother. And Brennan understands that. (And also understands when she does need to push, as she will later on.)
• Heh, Booth is a little turned on when Brennan quotes Sweets’ psychobabble verbatim. He thinks she’s so cute. (As do I when she goes on her “Which proves you don’t need special training to spout psychobabble” rant, flying chopsticks and all.)
• Welp, guess murder trumps date night. Do these two ever get to finish a meal?
• Brennan: Did you ever consider stripping?
  Booth: Really? No.
  Brennan: Well, you have an alluring personality and a wonderful physique. (Aw, she thinks her man is sexy and charming.)
  Booth: So do you, but you don’t strip. (Heh, see above.)
  Brennan: I did! (OF COURSE SHE DID. OF. COURSE. SHE. DID. It’s Brennan. There is nothing she hasn’t done.)
• She wouldn’t much of a scientist if she didn’t conduct an experiment herself! Stripping! Brennan, you are the best. This is perfectly her, I don’t care what anyone says.
• (Does that mean she conducted her own research in high school when writing her paper about drinking? Did Teenage!Brennan play Beer Pong in the name of Science? I must know these things.) (I kinda want to play Beer Pong for Science?)
• (I bet there have been many experiments at the Mighty Hut conducted in the name of Science. Ahem.)
• Booth: You were a stripper?
  Brennan: Well it was only once. (Duh. Though I do wonder if this was a public spectacle.)
  Booth: I have too much going on right now, I don’t need to hear this, Bones. (HEE! I love Flustered!Booth.)
• “I used fans. Large fans! You would have enjoyed it! It was a burlesque tease.” OH MY GOD BRENNAN YOU NEED TO STOP. Seriously. She is perfect. Can I hug her? SHE IS SO ADORABLE. See, I love this about Brennan: she throws herself into everything she does, and she is unabashedly gleeful about it.
• (Also: heh, she knows what kind of stripping Booth would like. Um, even though that pretty much means any stripping, because hello, who doesn’t enjoy naked people. But, heh. She knows what he likes. Naked. Because she has been naked. With him.)
• Um, I’ve never quite seen the appeal of lap dances by strange men, but that’s just me.
• Bwahaha, the guest of honour at the party — the one who mistakes Booth for a stripper — reminds me of my friend’s friend.
• “I’m FBI!” “Sure you are, that’s why you have a ‘Cocky’ belt buckle!” HA. Good meta commentary on Booth’s ridiculous wardrobe choices, Show. (Can we snark about his shoes now, though?)
• OK, I have to admit part of me is a little annoyed with all the women grabbing at Booth to strip him, because it’s sexual harassment and proves the double standard about these things. If that were a woman agent being stripped by men, we’d all be crying foul, and rightfully so. Yet, I’m a little ashamed to admit I love the comments it elicits out of Brennan.
• See: “I told you you were alluring!” Instead of being uncomfortable or jealous or territorial, like many women on TV would be, Brennan’s enjoying the show herself.
• “Wow! These strippers really have elaborate back stories!” Heh. This chick amuses me, despite all her shrieking.
• “Officer Storm” makes me laugh. The name, I mean. Not the dude. I don’t know the dude.
• Wait, Brennan changed into a maroon blazer for this scene? Or is this the next day? I’m confused.
• Brennan: bla bla bla science talk.
  Officer Storm: What is she saying?
  Booth: No idea.
  Me: HEE.
• I like how you can clearly see the sequence in which they filmed these scenes, based on the hold of the curl in Brennan’s/Emily’s hair. As these particular ones go on, they get looser and looser as the curls drop. Heh.
• Mama Booth shows up at Booth’s office again. Apparently, before she left the Mighty Hut, she raided Brennan’s closet, since she’s wearing a matching black blazer with patterned blouse and slacks and nice jewellery. I swear to God there’s some sort of Single White Femaling going on, she looks so much like Brennan.
• (Despite my animosity towards the character, Joanna Cassidy is a beautiful “mature” woman. We should all be so lucky to age like her.)
• “Kids make their parents into gods, and we can’t do anything but disappoint you.” Oh, here we go. Look, she has a point: kids do revere their parents up to a certain point, and eventually kids do realize their parents aren’t infallible. (I don’t know, I still think my dad is pretty perfect, but this is not about me.) Booth, in particular, has a propensity for putting his loved ones on a pedestal. But, what Mama Booth is ignoring is that Booth built her up because that was the only version of her he could remember. He didn’t get to have the typical learning experience most people who are raised by their parents do. OF COURSE his mom would be a saint in his books. So, naturally, when she returns and she dumps all this shit on him, he’s going to flip out.
• And here’s another thing: you know how not to have your kids be disappointed in you? DON’T DISAPPOINT THEM. I’m not talking about buying them Turtle Party Wagons. I’m talking keeping in contact with them at the very fucking least. She doesn’t get to talk about the pressures of being a parent; she wasn’t a parent to him after she left. She doesn’t get that pass anymore. Nor does she have the right to bemoan that fact to him now. UGH.
• “There’s nothing I can say to make you forgive me.” How about, “I’m sorry.” Correct me if I’m wrong, but she hasn’t really said that this entire episode, has she?
• “But I sure as hell am going to forgive myself, because I have a little time left, and I am entitled to try and be happy, even if it’s just for a little bit.” UGH. Lady, how nice of you to forgive yourself. That sure makes this easier, doesn’t it? Like I said before, I think people have the right to make up for the past and move forward from it, absolutely. Mistakes are made, and you can’t change them. But, all I’m getting from her is that she is pretty much putting the onus on Booth. She makes it sound, almost, like it was his fault. I’m not saying she’s blaming Booth for leaving all those years ago, but the words she chooses here are so unfortunate. She’s making it all about her, from the moment she first showed up in this episode, instead of trying to understand him.
• “It took a lot of courage to share [Reggie] with you.” Um, really? How? I don’t understand that, at all. It’s not like she was coming out of the closet and introducing her life partner Regina with whom she was opening up an alfalfa ranch or something while starting her own religion. She told him she met a new man, over two decades since she left his father. That’s not novel; it’s to be expected.
• “I wanted you to taste a little bit of the happiness that I have, because it seems like all I’ve ever done is give you misery.” When I first heard this, I was like, SIT THE FUCK DOWN LADY, because, Booth sure as FUCK doesn’t need her to show him what happiness is — he’s got that all figured out, no thanks to her. Then I thought, OK, maybe she meant she wanted him to appreciate the life she built for herself, and how different it was from the one she shared with his dad, which, I guess is fair enough, but again — she lost the right to expect his support the second she walked out that door and broke off all contact. (The same way Max lost any right to the same of Brennan when he did, too.) Once more, she’s making everything about her. It’s unpleasant.
• UNGH. David Boreanaz does it again, he makes himself look eight years old, with the saddest puppy dog eyes I’ve ever seen of him. (I wish I could screencap what my TV looks like now, because I want to hug him.)
• “I couldn’t face all the things I did to you.” Well, sorry lady, but that’s what you sign on for when you walk back into his life after twenty-four years.
• Ugh, I kind of want to punch her for making Booth feel bad for his feelings? BACK OFF LADY.
• “I’m gonna take these days we’ve had, and you can’t have them back.” Um, what are they, Turtle Party Wagons?! I… don’t get her. I just don’t. It’s like she’s developmentally arrested.
• OH MY GOD I WANT TO SQUISH BOOTH SO HARD. Because he looks even more pathetic now and seriously, he needs a hug and a giant drink right now.
• This is what it comes down to: Booth is entitled to feel the way he feels. His mom is trying to delegitimize those feelings, by making them wrong. And that is wrong.
• I need to stop, or else I’ll never get over this.
• Whew, let’s see what Angela and Brennan are up to.
• Hey, the test pattern on Angela’s dress is exactly what my computer screen looks like these days whenever I try to play a video… or a gif… or anything that moves, really. (Thanks, Apple, for never telling me about that recall and now I have to pay a couple hundred to get that fixed because it isn’t covered anymore… Ugh.)
• “Speaking of stress, how’s Booth?” Queen of the segue, Ange.
• On the other hand: Oh my gosh, I love Brennan and Angela heart-to-hearts. I love that they can speak about their family lives like this. It warms my heart.
• Oh man, the look on Brennan’s face when she starts talking about how happy she thought Booth was when his mom first showed up? It does me in. Because all she wants is for Booth to be happy. And his family is what makes him happy. (And you know how much she appreciates family, too.)
• I find it very curious that Brennan admits to Angela that she liked Marianne. At first, that threw me off, because based on her reaction earlier in the episode (and Booth’s “you told me it was too good to be true”), and Brennan’s general problems with deadbeat parents, I’d have expected her to hold more of a grudge. Then I remembered one of the things that makes Brennan Brennan: she judges people at face value, on how they present themselves to her. She prefers to make her own assessments. So, now, I can see how Brennan would enjoy Marianne the Woman, separate from her history as Marianne the De Facto-Mother-in-Law. Because on the surface, Marianne is pleasant enough: she’s outgoing, she’s friendly, she’s saucy, she’s warm (I guess?), she’s apparently well-travelled, she evidently is great with Christine, etc. I could buy that those qualities would endear her to Brennan, especially when it seemed that Booth was enjoying those same qualities himself.
• “But I don’t think I can tell Booth that, not now.” Brennan sure has come a long way. She recognizes that Booth’s relationship with his mother is so much more than singing about monkeys, and unlike his mother, she doesn’t want to delegitimize his feelings, just because she had a pleasant experience herself. (Because Booth’s pain is her pain, you guys.)
• Angela’s advice, about maybe that being exactly what Brennan should do, is a little confounding. Luckily, Brennan puts her own spin on that in a bit, and it iswonderful.
• Oh, hey Cam! You know who should have an opinion on Mama Booth? BOOTH’S OLDEST AND DEAREST FRIEND CAM, THAT’S WHO.
• Ah, here are some stupid criminals to lighten the mood: “What happened between her and me is none of your business.” Um, dude, you’re a murder suspect, I’m pretty sure it is exactly Booth’s business.
• “I know a lot of things, more than you think.” Seeley Booth in a nutshell, ladies and gentlemen.
• (I seem to be saying that a lot this episode. It truly is a gem in that respect.)
• Oh hey, it’s Booth and Brennan, Queen of All Hair, marching through their kingdom! Or, you know, Main Street. Whatever. The important part is BRENNAN’S HAIR IS FABULOUS. Bless you, hairstylist who found a curling iron and decided to give her some waves again.
• (Also, while watching The Partners in the Divorce on a flight recently, it occurred to me that the reason I don’t like this eggplant blazer of Brennan’s is the cut; specifically, the three buttons done up. I much prefer fitted blazers that only have one button, about halfway down. This post brought to you by 24 hours of flying!)
• “Booth, I know you don’t want to talk about your mother.” Which is exactly why Brennan brings it up. Heh. But: Awww. She feels like she needs to take a bit of the tough love approach. Because she knows better than anyone how Booth likes to pretend everything is fine when it clearly isn’t, and knows how that blows up in the long run.
• I also love, though, that Booth doesn’t even fight her on it: she brings it up, and he tells her right away what’s bugging him, even if he isn’t happy about it. He knows she needs to know.
• Sigh. Brennan is trying so hard to help Booth, and it is so endearing. She’s being the perfect supporting partner here.
• As an aside, it amuses me how this scene, on the bench outside the diner, is blocked similarly to the “different kind of family” scene in Judas on a Pole. They both sure got the families they’d been longing for, didn’t they?
• Booth feels like his old man! DRINK! (I’m sorry to make light of Booth’s Daddy Issues. They are very real.)
• I think we get more insight into what Booth’s childhood was like in this one line on the bench, about what his mom and dad used to do to each other, than we have in the previous eight years combined.
• “You are not your father.” (I feel like there’s a Star Wars joke in there somewhere but I will refrain.) DRINK! Because Brennan’s had to repeat that a whole lot since season 6, too.
• (I know some people get sick of Booth’s recurring Daddy Issues, or Brennan’s recurring Daddy Issues, but you know what? When you have those Issues, they tend to stay with you your whole life and come in and out of your consciousness. So I totally buy it, and really appreciate how the writers keep bringing them back up. Because in real life, these things are rarely neatly resolved.)
• Booth thinks the reason he became a cop was because of his chaotic childhood. Poor baby.
• Luckily, Brennan is here to set him straight, and that she does, in the most lovely of speeches. “Everyday, you try to stop [that violence]. Everyday you prove what a good man you are.” SIGH. STUPID BEAUTIFUL BABIES. It is unconscionable to Brennan that Booth could ever be compared to his father like that. As we’ve seen repeatedly over the course of the show, and especially in the past two seasons, one of the qualities that Brennan admires the most in Booth is that he is Good.
• OK, you guys, I have to warn you about some squeeing ahead.
• Because Show fulfilled a giant fangirl wish of mine in this next line.
• When the story was first teased, I hoped against hope that we’d have some parallel to Brennan’s relationship with her father, because the similarities in their feelings is quite striking. However, I wasn’t expecting them to ever go there at all.
• So when they did? I SCREAMED. In the best way, I mean. Because this is totally,totally something they would “bond” over, in a way. And this is one respect where Brennan has a great handle on things and can be the one to offer the emotional guidance on the subject.
• Booth can’t let it go “Because it’s difficult. Isn’t that what you said about my dad? How long did it take me to forgive him? You think I don’t still get angry?” HOLY SHITBALLS A+++ CONTINUITY SHOW. When they remember things like this, they knock it out of the fucking park.
• Excuse me, I must lay flowers at the feet of the writers. I LOVE THIS THAT MUCH.
• (Yes, Brennan gets angry, despite herself, which is exactly what Family in the Feud was about and why I will always defend Brennan’s actions in that episode, even though I don’t even think those actions need defending.)
• That, right there, is Brennan in a nutshell, too. (She loves her dad, but a part of her is always going to be the scared, betrayed 15 year old when she’s around him, and she can’t always help that.)
• HA. When emotional appeals don’t work, Brennan brings religion into the mix! Oh, this should be good.
• Except, it’s amazing, and not at all sarcastic, because she’s being serious: yes, she’s talking about Booth’s religious teachings from an objective, academic standpoint, but she gets the meaning behind the texts, and manages to trap Booth in his own logic as a result.
• (It reminds me of that early season episode where Brennan mentions something similar, and Booth is all impressed and like, “you sure you aren’t religious?”)
• Also: THE JESUS MYTH! DOUBLE SHOT!
• Brennan is fucking awesome. This is one of her most shining moments in the show, in my opinion.
• My mom, when she saw this episode, loved this scene. She said Brennan had it exactly right. It’s not about condoning behaviour, it’s just acknowledging that, you know what, if you want some sort of relationship with a person like this who has wronged you, and may not even fully understand how they’ve wronged you, there’s a certain amount of water under the bridge you have to accept (in other words, denial), only for your own sanity. My mom doesn’t fangirl in general, but she cheered Brennan in this scene.
• Geez, Brennan displays a better understanding of Christianity and its guiding principles than a lot of people who claim to be Christian, but I’m not even getting into that.
• Moving right along, HOLY CRAP CAM IS A FUCKING SUPERMODEL. The End.
• (Seriously, the pose she strikes as Angela reads off her computer gobbledeegook? Sublime.)
• “Can you reconstruct them?” “Seriously? You have to ask?” HEE. That exchange amused me, because I said the very same thing to Cam before Angela did. Oh, Show.
• Oh look, it’s another dude in an interrogation room claiming he isn’t a crook while totally looking like a crook!
• HA. While I am completely oblivious to plot twists, as soon as Booth started telling the guy he didn’t care about his financial crimes, my dad was like, “oh, Booth is totally setting a trap and is going to nail the guy!” Clearly, my parents are smarter than I am.
• BOOTH KICKS ASS AND TAKES NAMES. In case you didn’t get that memo.
• Attention everyone, it’s time for another Attack of the Feels, this time courtesy of Sweets and Booth, of all people: “How are you doing? I’m asking as a friend, not a shrink.” “I’m not doing too good.” OH MY WORD. I love love love love LOVE this. Booth so rarely opens up to anyone, particularly anyone other than Brennan or Cam (or Gordon Gordon?), so to see him not even keep up a pretence with Sweets is so wonderful. Look, I’m not saying they’re going to start gossiping in the break room now, but at this point, Sweets is part of his family. He’s the annoying kid brother who also has his best interests at heart, which is why he doesn’t necessarily need to be so closed off, especially when he can see that Sweets is genuinely concerned and not fishing. It’s a very brief moment that says so much about how they’ve grown, and I think a whole lot of that has to do with the fact that Sweets lived with Booth and Brennan for months. And I am going to stop now.
• (I love Show.)
• God, Booth just seems like a lost little boy. He needs a hug. (And a mom who doesn’t suck.)
• Ah, we’re now back to our regularly scheduled “Brennan has a brainstorm at the lab and solves the murder without telling anyone else what is going on and leaves them stupefied as usual” moment! Hee.
• My, Brennan’s hair continues to look fabulous. Brennan must have a curling wand in her car for when she needs to interrogate murderers whilst looking like she stepped out of a shampoo ad.
• Aw, it’s Satuday (?) morning at the Mighty Hut! And the Brennan-Booth family are just doing their thing! Their things, apparently, are ordering flowers (for Booth) and carrying around adorable small children (Brennan).
• No, seriously, Christine is a sartorial protégé, with her impeccably co-ordinated outfits. I’m loving the matching teal shirt and socks, kiddo.
• (I love how Baby Actor is playing with Emily Deschanel’s necklace throughout this scene. Ooh something round and shiny!)
• Except, Baby Actor continues to prove what a protégé she really is, and starts playing with the stuffed Philly Phanatic Brennan is carrying, as though she were actually following directions. Which she cannot. BECAUSE SHE IS A TODDLER. And toddlers don’t follow directions, ever. But, how fortuitous that she’s playing right into the plot, and the writing.
• (Or, maybe Baby Actor really wouldn’t put the Phanatic down, and the writers quickly wrote that into the script in this scene. Whatever, it works, is what I’m saying. After witnessing firsthand what it takes to film a baby on a television programme, I don’t envy the cast or crew at all, no matter how good-natured the baby is.)
• OK, hold the fucking phone for a minute: this toy used to be Booth’s, and he loved it so much he could never be without it, so his mother decided TO TAKE IT WITH HER when she left him? WHAT THE FUCK? I’m hoping Booth was old enough, at that point, to not really care about his stuffed animals and didn’t really notice it gone, or else his mother is even more awful than I thought. “Oh, I cannot stay behind to raise my children because of Reasons, but I can go back to steal their most prized possessions to make myself feel better.” UGH.
• Awww, Christine is just like her daddy. I love this family.
• (Emily is so good with Baby Actor.)
• Awwwwwwww, Booth decided to go to the wedding after all. Because he has his emotional rock this time, and that’s Brennan.
• But more to the point: HOT DAYUM BOOTH AND BRENNAN IN SEMI-FORMAL WEAR. I. Love. It.
• No, seriously, you guys don’t understand just how much I love it. I may have even made a special request for this last year, if you remember at all.
• (This show makes dreams come true.)
• Booth is in nice jeans and a great suit jacket, sans tie (it’s a look), and Brennan is in a beautiful form-fitting royal blue dress with an asymmetrical neckline and again, fabulous wavy hair (someone sure got their money’s worth out of that iron this week), and they’re totally going to upstage the bride and groom and good on them.
• (I wouldn’t have worn black tights with a blue dress, but I am not in charge here.)
• Awwwww, I love how Brennan gently and lovingly pushes Booth to go say Hi to his mom. Again, it’s not about condoning his mother’s actions, it’s about knowing what is going to bring Booth peace and what will ultimately make him happy. Brennan can tell he wants that relationship with his mother, so she’s there to stand by his side and provide him support in that when he needs it. They really are a solid unit.
• (Sigh. Seeing Brennan so at ease in this relationship never gets old to me. She’s so proud of him.)
• So, Booth yet again proves what a good man he is, and walks his mom down the aisle, even though he had every right not to do so. But deep down, he wanted to, and Brennan knows it, and my brain is exploding from the happy overload right now.
• Holy shit, you guys. Not only are Booth and Brennan hot stuff, but they’re attending a social function together and acting like a couple out on a date (BECAUSE THEY ARE) and sometimes that still fucks with my head a little, because they act like it’s totally normal (BECAUSE IT TOTALLY IS), but then I remember that time when they weren’t a couple and didn’t do things like this so openly and I really really love this show OK?
• Case in point: Booth casually strolls over to Brennan waiting for him in a pew and grabs her hand to walk away. Because Brennan is his girlfriend and he can do that if he wants, and this is a social function in which this is perfectly acceptable, and I love them.
• I also think the song played over this scene is very apt. All about having to let go of the bad shit and hold on to the good stuff in life, because in the end that’s all that really matters. I don’t think it’s an accident that the part about finding something good in this world is played as Booth reaches for Brennan.
• OH MY GOD BOOTH AND BRENNAN ARE DANCING AND IT’S FOR REAL AND NOT UNDERCOVER AND THEY’RE SO ADORABLE I WANT TO PUNCH THEM.
• Excuse me.
• They just look so happy, you guys.
• (I don’t blame them. The weddings in my family are a gas.)
• Um, is it just me, or does Booth’s new stepdad kind of look like Joe Biden?
• Oh hey, Brennan and her new mother-in-law hug, in the same frame, and it’s likeFreaky Friday or even The Parent Trap BECAUSE THEY LOOK LIKE THEY ARE THE SAME PERSON.
• That being said, Brennan looks generally touched to be included by Marianne, and that’s really sweet. Brennan’s got family, y’all.
• (Even if many members of her family are narcissistic or borderline sociopathic.)
• Seriously, though, I hope Marianne realizes the only reason she now has a relationship with her son is thanks to this awesome woman right here.
• Oh my gosh, Booth and Brennan with their arms around each other’s waists as Booth whispers sweet nothings into her ear kind of do my fangirl brain in. Oh, silly fanfic show, how I adore you.
• (Sometimes I still can’t believe we get to watch all this unfold.)
• Oh.
• Fuck.
• Me.
• Show, you are not going there.
• You just aren’t.
• No.
• YOU ARE TOTALLY GOING THERE.
• Because Marianne is going to toss the bouquet.
• (And I am going to toss my cookies.)
• SHOW.
• COME.
• THE FUCK.
• ON.
• Except, I didn’t expect anything less, because this is Show. Just because it’s cliché and telegraphed all the way to China doesn’t mean they won’t Go There.
• And go there they are.
• Because if you don’t think Brennan’s going to involuntarily catch that bouquet, you need new glasses.
• Since, as we have established time and time again, Show looooooooves its anvils.
• And today’s anvil is stealthily in the form of a bunch of flowers.
• Because Show? Is RIDICULOUS.
• And I love it.
• So, catch the bouquet she does.
• And she seems vaguely terrified. Like, “HOLY SHIT is this a grenade? Oh, phew, they’re just flowers. Wait, anthropologically speaking, the throwing of flowers by a bride at a wedding signifies the bestowing of nuptials upon the receiver HOLY FUCK DOES THIS MEAN I HAVE TO GET MARRIED OH FUCK NO.” Or, at least, that would be my internal monologue.
• (It was my internal monologue last week, in fact.)
• Except, Brennan then handles it much better than I would. She just turns to Booth, who is highly amused and grinning at her, and she’s like, “welp, guess that’s settled then.”
• (As we learn only a few weeks later. Sigh. Stupid Show.)
• (You should have seen the chick run for the bouquet at the wedding I was in last week. No lie, she fucking pushed everyone out of the way AND JUMPED IN THE AIR to grab the bouquet. The rest of us were shellshocked because we had no idea what just happened.)
• Heh, it also amuses me that all these women are so excited to be standing there waiting for the toss (which I’ve never understood but that is neither here nor there), and Brennan just looks slightly bored by the whole affair. As though some new acquaintance cajoled her into joining the fray and she was all, “well I suppose I will follow tradition as the brilliant anthropologist that I am” and puts up with it kind of like when Angela used to drag her to night clubs. Like, she really couldn’t care less about this whole thing, but she doesn’t want to be rude and she’s having fun anyway, so what the hell, and then Fate decides to fuck with her a little, because Fate is an asshole and waited long enough for these two to get their shit together, thankyouverymuch, and if It can’t have a little fun with them as payback for their fuckery, then what’s the point, right?
• (That being said, Brennan does look like she’s having a lot of fun, and that is so lovely to see. Booth too, for that matter. He’s happy he gets to show her off, he’s happy he gets to spend time with her, he’s happy he’s got a piece of his family back, even if it isn’t in the form he’d hoped for— he’s just happy.)
• Also, can you imagine the conversation these two had on the way home from the wedding? Where Booth continued to needle her about the bouquet and she continued to deny it meant anything? HEE.
• Seriously, this show? Is crack. And I love it. I want to squish it.

Whew. If you’re still conscious after all this, you get a virtual brownie.

I thought I would have a lot more to say about the episode after the fact, but I think this about says it all, don’t you?

I still maintain that we weren’t supposed to like Mama Booth. There was some quote of Stephen Nathan’s or Hart Hanson’s a few months ago that alluded to that fact, but I can’t remember where or when it was. More importantly, though, is that three different people I know in “real life” who watch the show, independent of the online fandom, came to that conclusion on their own as well, and I’d have to think that means something. They all thought Ma was narcissistic and self-centred, and I still believe that was the point. That sometimes, in our lives, we have people who aren’t always benevolent or thinking of our best interests.

But, one way or another, we still feel some need to have them in our lives, so we accept the part of them we do want, and focus on that. I don’t know if that makes any sense, but again, I think it is scarily true to life. You take the good and the bad and you make of them what you will. Nobody’s perfect, especially not our family, so we weigh what we need of them versus what hurts us, and make a decision to let them into our lives based on that. Simply put, real life is messy, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to deal with it sometimes.

I really loved this episode, because it revealed so much about Booth, which is so strange to say given that it comes eight years into the series. It’s so weird to think that small moments can say so much about a  man, but that’s what the writers managed to accomplish here, and once again, I have to tip my hat to them.

OK, I’m going to stop now, because this is already scarily long, and frankly, I just want it overwith, as I’m sure you do, too.

(Oh my God three weeks to go, you guys. Where has this summer gone?)