The Beginning of the End for Bones?
June 9, 2010 by Trisha Leigh
Filed under Feature, Television
Over Christmas, I wrote an article addressing the potential relationship between Booth and Bones, defending the position that getting them together would ruin the show. It turned out to be an unpopular opinion, and the comments almost made me reconsider.
Almost.
After all, the chemistry between the main characters is what makes the show work. Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz have settled into their personalities and pull the interpersonal scenes off with flawless effort. I’ve also always enjoyed the dynamic force of the supporting cast.
The second half of this season, the writing started to flail. The characters began to take actions that didn’t seem like them, or that were obviously forced upon them with no believable motivation. I won’t go into the disaster that was the season finale in detail. Read the recap and review by my fellow writer here.
I’m back to revisit the idea of a romance between Booth and Bones, now that the writers of the show have addressed and dealt with the idea in their own way. A few weeks back, in an episode directed by David Boreanaz, the two sat down with Sweets (John Francis Daley) to describe how they met. It turned out they hadn’t met in the show’s first episode, but had worked together on a case previously. They had kissed, nearly gone home together, and had such an explosion of passion between them they had decided it was best not to work together.
Sweets is shocked, but insists their feelings for each other are what drives their passion for their work, and their dedication to their partnership. He puts the bug in Booth’s ear that he’s the one who will have to make the move, it’s his job.
So Booth does. He stops Bones outside the office and pours his heart out. It’s beautiful, what he says. He tells Brennan how he knew from the moment he met her that he would love her forever, how they fit together and he doesn’t want to be without her. He wants to try, because he’s that guy.
As soon as he said “I’m that guy,” I guessed her thoughts. In that second, Bones thought “But I’m not that girl.”
Don’t get me wrong. Like I’ve said previously, of course I WANT them to be together. They would be perfect and sweet, and watching their relationship grow would make me happy.
I stand by my previous assertion, though – it would also kill the show. Then again, the writers are currently doing a fine job of killing the show on their own.
I know people hated that episode. Brennan crushed them with her response – she doesn’t know how to love him like he wants. The thing is, her reaction is in line with her character. The character of Brennan doesn’t understand how to love a man forever, can’t wrap her brain around the concept of marriage, etc. I hated the scene too, I felt devastated for Booth, I wondered what would happen next but, for what it’s worth, it didn’t break with her character. She obviously cares for Booth, and I believe she’s still trying to work out what that means, but she’s not ready.
The question is…now what? They’ve pretty much said Booth and Brennan will not be starting a romantic relationship, at least for the time being. The chemistry still flickers between them, which has kept me watching. I think making Bones reflect on herself has been good for her character.
Good for the show?
Maybe not.
In order to fill the void left by the “will they won’t they” question, the other characters have stepped up. The problem is, the stories are coming out of nowhere and feel forced. Angela (Michaela Conlin) and Hodgins (TJ Thyne) get married after months (years?) of secretly pining. Sweets and Daisy (Carla Gallo) get engaged. Every once in a while, one of the rotating squints pops up with interesting dialogue or a funny storyline.
The writing is lazy, directionless, as though without the ability to torture the audience with the Booth and Bones flirtation they have nothing left to talk about. The show has become almost uncomfortable to watch. In the finale Booth decides to go back into the army. This blew my mind, along with other people I talked to. He’d never shown any inclination to return to the military. He’s devoted to his son and his job stateside. His character, the way they’ve developed him over five seasons, would never do that.
They want us to believe he and Bones are running to opposite ends of the globe just to get away from their feelings, to get some room to think. Brennan says as much when she takes a job on an island dig. Her, I believe. Booth? He doesn’t run from things. At least, he didn’t.
I’m going to make my statement.
If Bones wants to be remembered as a great show, one with interesting characters, super dynamic, and engaging stories, this needs to be its final season.
They’ve exhausted the periphery characters. Angela and Hodgins have settled. Sweets is content and people have accepted him on the show. Cam has her daughter and is easing into being a mother. The final piece of the puzzle is resolving the tension between the main characters. Can they draw it out over more than one season? Not if they want people to keep watching.
I predict the ratings will drop drastically when the show returns in the fall. There is nothing left to hold people’s interest, and the finale left no burning questions or cliffhanger, or anything that makes me anxious to tune in.
I will, out of loyalty and plain curiosity. I want the writers to return to their former, stellar form. I don’t believe it will happen, and the show will end after the upcoming season.
I hope I’m wrong. I really do.
For more on Bones, click here.
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the storyline of BOOTH going to the ARMY hurt his character. and this tv show.
I couldn’t agree more with most of what you said. But like joybrennan I think it’s the writers NOT putting them together that has ruined this once great show. At this point it’s like they have to come up with some lame excuse week after week for why Booth and Brennan aren’t together. It would most likely SAVE the ratings if they would allow them to try a relationship. There’s nowhere else for the show to go, but down unless they give most fans what they truly want.
They lost me with the horrific season 4 finale. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a pile of crap as that episode. But in an effort to give it a chance, I did watch the first 3 or 4 episodes of Season 5. But all I could see everytime I looked at the screen was the farce that Hart Hanson made the characters in the finale the previous season. So, I was done. The ONLY way I’d ever watch again is if Booth and Brennan actually DID get together….as Booth and Brennan and not some idiotic pseudo couple that looks just like them.
I completly agree with you… But I will not be watching next season. They have done too much damage in every storyline and character…
You gave an excellent review. I am hoping that the romance woul spark off this season!!!!
I think you are wrong. Look how happy they were and how great the shows were in their alternate universes when they were “together” (Wanda and Buck in the Circus episode, the Coma episode, Roxy and Frank in the Las Vegas episode). Except for the coma episode, the viewers were not told what happened physically in those shows (that trailer was really small and had only one bed; and the motel room in Vegas had only one king sized bed).
The writers have proven they can write interesting shows when the perception is that the physical relationship is not in question to the other participants in the episode; HH&Co just doesn’t know how to pull it all together.
I love Bones. For the most part it has smart dialogue with pretty people doing interesting things. I would be sorry for it to end.
No more Bones for me! Im buried……
Trisha – I’m in agreement that the show has really fallen of the mark lately. This final arc was simply disappointing and depressing. Not a good way to end the season. I’m not excited about S6 beginning either. Spoilers have me dreading it in fact.
I’m in the camp that Booth has been written out of character in 100 and in the finale. I agree old Booth would have approached Brennan in a different way. And don’t get me started on the Army thing. Furthermore, the use of Parker in that episode, was simply despicable and unforgivable.
The producers have a lot to make up for and I don’t have much faith in their ability right now. They’ve seemed to have backed themselves into a corner. If they are going to fix things in S6 they better do it fast. I’m not waiting around very long.
I do not believe the show ends if they put B & B together. I will make the case that at this point, that may be the ONLY way to save it. It could be fun to watch Brennan try to be the girlfriend that she thinks Booth wants. It might even allow the producers to focus on good crime stories and then add the awkwardness of girlfriend Brennan as an aside. Brennan’s just not going to fall into that role. It’s going to take her some time to get it down. I would enjoy watching that. It would change the dynamic and open up some new possibilities and avenues to go down. Getting them together does not mean in my mind that we have to have bedroom scenes every episode. I would love to see the dynamic of them once they’ve conquered the bedroom. There is more to a relationship.
I love B & B, I think they used to be interesting characters and can move beyond UST to a real relationship without things falling apart. Which is happening anyway imo.
I no longer have ‘faith’, I’m at the point where if the producers/writers WANT me to watch, they have to give me something better. S6 better not be a rerun of S1. Been there, done that!
I dont agree with this….. x files had tension for ages and the show is still remembered with great enthusiasm…..just because shows like “Friends” stopped and this made it even better doesnt mean it applies to Bones, Friends was a half an hour comedy, whereas Bones is much heavier and more can be done and twisted around in each episode…..I wont go into deep harsh criticism cos then i cant stop
…….I hope Bones stays around for 10, 15 20 seasons!
I think that the writers are portraying something that actually happens. Relationships come and go but love is persistant. Brennan is scared and does not know what to do. She knows that she loves Booth but she is obviously unsure of what to do. She does not want things to end badly and she obviously does not want to have a one time fling that will forever ruin their relationship as friends. She regards Booth as a secret love that she really wants but cannot have due to unfamiliarity. Sure Brennan has been in relationships before but none of them are too serious. She is afraid that will happen between her and Booth. As for Booth he is ready To love Brennan wholheartedly. He has loved her for years. Probably since the first day they met. He has waited and is truly in love. I have to commend the writers for making it real. That is probably why it strikes people so differently. Personally I love it.
I think that the writers are dragging it out now and there does need to be some kind of PHYSICAL action between Booth and Brennan. I do NOT think it would kill the show because there is so many stories where the writers could take it. It might not be an easy road. Brennan could freak out after and say it shouldnt of happened etc… get pregnant or be over the moon, any of these outcomes I know I for one would still be an avid watcher. I think the writers are doing a great job its just I want BB together… Now! Then Hart Hanson could easily turn around and say to me well isn’t that my job?
Oops, Trisha* NOT Trish!
Thank you for writing this up. I can go on and on with how long the show has been lacking, for me. The show has been lacking for the past two seasons. Everything in this show is forced, now. It’s sad.
Trish, I agree that putting B/B together would kill the show. Then again, I’m not a B/B shipper. It has NOTHING to do with the Moonlighting curse, for me. It lies in the writing. The fact that the over-focus of the B/B will they/won’t they is being a HUGE detriment to the whole show, speaks volumes. Could you imagine if they did put B/B together? We might as well say goodbye to all the cases, the lab and the supporting cast. Sure, there are two leads, but you have four other castmembers. This is not The X-Files where there are only two actors in the credits. The writers that are employed, don’t know how to write for an ensemble cast. They are too busy writing contrived scenes for a B/B moment that doesn’t go anywhere. This is why the cases, victims and supporting cast storylines have been lacking. If the show wasn’t so overly focused in the B/B will they/won’t they, like it was in S1-S3(where the balance of all the shows aspects were awesome), they might have been able to get them together and not kill the show. Sadly, this isn’t the case, anymore.
In all honesty, I hope season six will be the last season. Clearly, they are running out of ideas and there’s really nowhere else to go. Just wrap it up and call it a day.
I agree with some of what you’ve said, and disagree with other parts of it.
I’m one of the ones who doesn’t think getting them together would have necessarily spelled the end of the show. It’s not that I can’t see the risk, that if your show is solely about the ‘will they have sex?’ question, that once you do that, it’s over. I get that. But if the question is, ‘can these two have a happy long term relationship’ then progress in answering that, even a commitment of some sort, is just that: progress. It’s not a complete answer. And everything we know of Brennan says that she’d not find a real relationship simple or uncomplicated, even with Booth. And I, for one, would like to see that, would like to see them working out those questions. I’d feel cheated if we got to the last ep of series before they got together.
I think, too, that those who believe they shouldn’t get together until the very end need to accept then, that these kinds of shows, which are tied so heavily to the UST and will they/won’t they question, have a built-in shelf life. I’m sorry, but you can’t go seven or eight years with no progress made on answering it. It begins to seem ridiculous. If Hollywood is always going to adopt the position that a show about two people falling in love can’t show them actually attempting a relationship, then Hollywood needs to accept that such shows have a finite number of seasons before fans get bored and wander away.
Having said all that, I agree that things are looking dire for the show at the moment. Because regardless of whether you believe they can’t have them in a relationship without killing the show or not, doing what they seem to be doing now and dancing right up to it and then backtracking as fast as they can is fatal. I loved the 100th ep, loved that they went there. And I thought both were completely in character.
But that killed the UST. Sexual tension can be resolved in other ways than by having sex, and hauling it out, talking about it and deciding not to act on it is one of those ways. They answered the ‘will they/won’t they’ question with a ‘no.’ I think we’re supposed to still believe that question is out there, and whether the show’s ratings will tank in the fall or not will probably depend on how quickly they can convince people it’s still there. Only, even if they do, even if they come back and can pretend the UST is alive and well…what’s the point?
If they were going to do what it sounds like you were hoping for, and not get them together until the last episode of the series, then this entire past season was a mistake. They should never have gone there, should never have had Booth declare himself, because there’s no good way of moving past it without letting them be together. They can’t leave things as they were right after the 100th, which is why they did the time jump. But if they come back in the fall and try to pretend it didn’t happen, it’s just going to annoy people.
Maybe I’m being too negative. Maybe there’s a way of bringing them back, pretending S5 didn’t happen and going back to baby steps in their relationship while they date others or whatever. Or maybe there’s a way forward from here in terms of their relationship that’s interesting but doesn’t actually go the ‘getting them together’ route. But I really don’t see how. The genie’s out of the bottle and not easily going to go back in.
It makes me sad because I love Bones, but I agree this should be the last season. I always had faith in the writers of the show to not fall into the whole “it will ruin the show if the lead characters get together” B.S, but they have failed me big time. The whole 5th season was built so beautifully into being the starting point of B&B taking their relationship to the next level, and the writers just stamped a huge Stop sign on their foreheads. It was ridiculous and insulting to fans. Anyone who’s seen David and Emily together knows they could pull off the relationship with out getting boring, same goes for anyone who’s watched Hart’s writing in action. Hart Hanson can write beautifully but there’s obviously too many hands in the cookie jar and it’s ruining this once epic relationship.
You really made me think about the 100th episode as a whole instead of focusing on Brennan. You are right, I think, that though the move was in character for her, it insulted Booth’s character development and intelligence to that point.
Thanks for a great comment!
I agree on the most part. I feel that most of the viewers truly believe that in the end, Booth and Bones will end up together. We are therefore content with the W.T.F., almost relationship which is wrapped into a disguise called a partnership (which it is but it is also so much more). With the subtle hints and the long stares, we all know there is an end but what will it be? They should just keep to the current formula and step forward with small advancements and end the series with the culmination of their relationship. There is no nee to walk of the cliff at the summit if you are planning to continue the show.
I completely disagree that the show is ruined. The Angela/Hodgins relationship wound up in a way that was perfect for them. I completely agree that the 100th episode was true to form for the characters. I also think Sweets & Daisy eventually breaking up was realistic. I do not think that it’s failing, just going in a new direction.
I agree with you in one sense – they have royally screwed up what was a really great show. However, I completely disagree with the why. The writing started to go downhill when they decided to push the characters off the organic path they were on. That path was them taking the next babystep towards being in a relationship. The hundredth was an obvious u-turn. Your comment that Brennan was in character, not really, but more to the point the entire scene was. Yes, the words were beautiful, heartfelt and heartbreaking. The scene, taken out of the context of the previous 99 episodes, was very well done. Only thing is, Booth’s words were like he’d never met Brennan in his life. The man who knows her SO well, is going to throw lines to her about being married 40 or 50 years? This is they same guy who gets her to look at her relationship with Max, who gets her to have her cousin come for Christmas and throw a damn Christmas party. He knows to led her gently into new ideas. How did he get from “let’s give this a shot” to people being together for 40-50 years?
As for Brennan, the writing from the end of the 4th season, up until the hundredth was clearly setting her up to say “yes” to trying to be in relationship with Booth. The descion made to try and turn her away from that, most likely out of that theory of ” if they get together it will ruin the show,” is what’s destroying it. For a while it really looked like “Bones” would be the show to let the characters lead the story’s direction. Sadly, just as Brennan’s ex, Michael gave into ego and the idea of financial gain, the team over at “Bones” looked at the path the characters were on – and flinched.
You are so wrong about Bones. The show has one of the most loyal following on TV. We, the fans, who do not have newspaper deadlines to meet, are looking foward to at least two more seasons of our favorite dynamic duo. And love is in the air!!!
Wow, Trisha, don’t hold back, tell us how you really feel. Pretty harsh. Bones will be back, better than ever. The time has come, tho, to get the main characters together and expand on their journey. The show has always been about them and the supporting cast is just that, supporting. I have confidence that HH and the writers can come up with interesting and ground breaking situations that will prove when the main characters get together the show is not over.
God no! Final season? Why don’t you better take a leap of faith and wait until S6 starts to make such assertions?
We don’t know yet how this is gonna play out.
Don’t spread your negativity, not yet.
You’ve got a lot of good comments. I do think they need to get together–and fast. I’m not expecting it to happen right away, but something huge needs to happen between them this season if anything is to happen to this show.
One little thing though: It’s Brenn(a)n, not Brenn(e)n. A seemingly small detail, but as someone who loves the show, sort of important.