Bones Review: Firmly Straddling the Shark

I have been so pleased with the direction Bones has been headed, and this week’s episode just reinforces my opinion that the show is once again straddling the shark. That sounds a little weird, but hopefully you get what I’m saying. They’ve done a one-eighty, turned their backs on the tedious, whiny, never ending relationship issues between the main characters and returned us to the form that won their audience to them in the first place.

Booth (David Boreanaz) and Bones (Emily Deschanel) are aware of their attraction to one another but don’t let it color their work relationship too much – although we are again being treated to their marvelous onscreen chemistry. Angela (Michaela Conlin) and Hodgins (T.J.Thyne) warm our hearts with their sweet, honest relationship and excitement over becoming parents. The weekly squintern cracks us up with their witty commentary and attempts to sidestep irritating Brennan. Cam (Tamara Taylor) and Sweets (John Francis Daley) round out the cast, really tie them together with a familial aspect in their interest and concern.

Can I just say again how much I love Sweets?

Also that I do so miss Daisy.

The case begins when a police officer stumbles across a hearing impaired young girl who is covered in blood and wielding a large knife. Since they suspect, due to the amount of blood on her person, that she may have mortally wounded someone Caroline (Patricia Belcher) rushes in with a warrant that allows them to collect whatever DNA evidence they can from the girl. The girl is uncooperative and refuses to sign, even though her DFS guardian claims she knows how.

Aside: Patricia Belcher should be in more episodes. Her straight-shooting, gruff, but obviously caring demeanor works so well with the other cast members.

It’s tough to watch this young, disabled girl being manhandled by the scientists, even if it could save someone’s life. Sweet’s steps in, reminding Brennan of her time in foster care and how hard it became to trust anyone. It obviously bothers him that the girl is so scared, and that Brennan seems to connect so little.

After their talk Brennan changes her attitude, attempting to win the girl over by bonding over shared experiences. As she begins to cooperate, the Jeffersonian staff learns she’s been physically abused since she was about 3 years old. Booth does his F.B.I. thing and locates her victim and her parents, but can’t find a way to connect them to one another or the deaf girl.

Brennan discovers the truth about the girl’s physical abuse just in time to stop her parents from seeing her. The truth comes out; they have beaten her but only to “teach her to mind.” When she finally got fed up with the fact no one believed her tales of suffering, the girl ran away to D.C. Her father hired an old friend (the victim) to kidnap his daughter until he could come and bring her back.

So, it turned out the girl had killed the man, but only in self defense. Not only that, it turned out they weren’t even her parents. They had kidnapped her when she was 3, and that’s why no abuse occurred earlier in her life. There’s an extremely tearful (on my part) reunion between this poor, abused girl and her real parents, who never gave up hope she might be returned to them.

I’ve really, really missed these kinds of cases and storylines on Bones. This case fascinated me; I had no idea sign languages had different dialects that can pinpoint where a signer may have been educated. I’m not sure when they abandoned these heartfelt episodes that teach us things, that reveal depths in our characters we’ve only guessed at for superficial, supposed-to-be funny stories (like the Jersey Shore or single’s cruise debacles), but it was a mistake they’re hopefully going to rectify. I’m not saying we should do episodes like this one every week, but I would love to see them become more common.

Deschanel and Boreanaz both handled the deepening of their characters with some nice acting, and we could nearly see them learning things about themselves and one another without the tension that’s marked the last couple of seasons. Brava.

For those of you that haven’t heard, Bones has been picked up for a 7th season on Fox. If they keep their feet firmly on this path, it will be a pleasure to continue watching.

Season 6, Episode 21 “The Sign in the Silence” (original air date May 5, 2011)

Bones airs Thursday nights at 9/8c on Fox.

Images courtesy of Adam Taylor/FOX