Some weeks, it's hard to write about Bones. Sometimes the mystery is a little too predictable to be entertaining. Sometimes the Jeffersonian folks have dull storylines. Sometimes the episode just doesn't seem like it's saying very much.
"The Senator in the Street Sweeper" is not one of those episodes. Its themes include sex, politics, murder, budding romance, background checks, and Battlestar Galactica. Are you ready, Boneheads? Let's dive in.
RECAP
As the title might suggest, the victim of the week was a senator. Rick O'Malley was a representative of Virginia, and was a conservative politician. We learned over the course of the episode that he was hiding an illegitimate daughter, but it wasn't his affairs that led to his death; it was his wife's. The wife's lover (and the senator's chief of staff) found out that O'Malley intended to vote against the party's interest, and struck the senator repeatedly with a Virginia-shaped trophy made of petrified coal. Ouch.
Meanwhile, Booth and Brennan were debating a potentially trivial matter: whether or not to put a television in their bedroom. Brennan expressed concerns about their sexual activity declining (a legitimate concern, in my mind), but eventually came around to Booth's way of thinking. The episode ended with the two of them playfully arguing about what to watch, but revealed such tremendous growth on Brennan's part. More about that in the Discussion section!
We also learned that Aubrey has political aspirations, were reminded that Angela gives great advice, and discovered that Ms. Julian has a protective streak when it comes to Aubrey.
DISCUSSION
Ms. Julian references this trait as a reason that Brennan shouldn't go with Booth to notify the senator's family of his death, but Brennan points out that sometimes she says exactly the right thing...like she did that morning to convince Booth to make love to her - twice. Caroline responds with the line, "God bless you, child. I couldn't have proven my point better myself." Did anyone else adore that moment? Who else in the show has gotten to grow as a character, but kept their core traits intact? And does anyone else love Brennan's jarring honesty as much as I do?
Aubrey and Jessica had some amazing scenes in this episode! First, there was the difficult scene about her past, which could have gotten very dramatic and soapy. However, the quality of the writing and the performances kept the scene just the right amount of tense, pragmatic, and friendly. Near the end of the episode, the two characters sit down for what looks an awful lot like a date, and there's a sweet, relaxed chemistry between them. Any Aubrey-Jessica shippers out there? I think I became one at the end of this episode.
