A few weeks ago, I wrote about how Bones is upping the creep factor as it sends its characters toward its final season.
"The Last Shot at a Second Chance" was a much-needed break in the tension being built up in the last few episodes. A new antagonist might be lurking on the horizon, but this episode was all about hope and forgiveness. It was followed by "The Fight in the Fixer", which again kept things fairly light.
I lost my initial notes on these episodes (facepalm!), so feel free to contradict me in the comments if you spot something a little "off" about my review this week. Let's dive in...
RECAP
In "Last Shot", the Jeffersonian team investigated the death of a woman on parole named Lola Marshall. Lola had lived in a halfway house, got a job, and reunited with her long-lost daughter; yet she still ended up dead in a mudslide. Over the course of the episode, we learned that her roommate had been selling drugs on behalf of the halfway house owner, and when the owner pressed Lola to sell for him too, she said no. The owner of the halfway house didn't like that answer, or want his dealing to be exposed...
Away from the criminal activity of the week, Aubrey and intern Jessica Warren attempted to go from friends to more-than-friends - with mixed results (think knocking heads, nosebleeds, and road water splashed on them). Much of the episode was spent wondering if the timing just wasn't there between the two, but just as they consider admitting defeat, Aubrey rescued Jessica from being hit by a car and...it seemed like they found their rhythm.
We also saw the ice begin to thaw between Hodgins and Angela. Confronted with his wife's fantasies of straying sexually and her need for him to pull together and show he's still invested, Hodgins took his first steps - metaphorically - toward rebuilding his relationship with Angela.
Of course, we learned in the next episode ("The Fight in the Fixer") that Hodgins might be going a little too far to reconcile with Angela. Fancy jewelry doesn't change the fact that they're not being intimate with each other (even though Hodgins has the physical ability to do so). Still, they've begun to negotiate and make sacrifices for each other again, which feels like progress.
The titular "fixer" was a murder victim named Frankie, who was a high-end problem solver for celebrities, politicians, and other noteworthy people. The team discovered that Frankie was extorting a client for 2 million dollars, and that he was stepping out on his wife with his young assistant (who ultimately killed him), but the real bombshell in this episode was the discovery that Aubrey's financial-criminal dad was back in the United States and had hired Frankie to follow his son...for unknown reasons.
And in Brennan and Booth's world, Christine's first report card arrived with suspiciously good grades. Although intern Dr. Wells theorized that Christine might've adjusted the report card (spotting some irregularities in the ink strokes), Booth ultimately set Brennan's fears aside by doing some good old-fashioned detective work.
DISCUSSION
I'm breathing a huge sigh of relief after seeing Hodgins the last few weeks. Not only has he eased up on the verbal abuse of, well, everybody, but he also pulled out some complex machinery to assist in an investigation - "King of the Lab" style. It's good to see him trying to get back to his whole self, but the show also acknowledges that things might not really be the same ever again; that's what a major disability does to people. What issues do you all foresee coming up for Angela and Hodgins? Will they ever discuss expanding their family again?
These two episodes have been fairly light in tone, veering away from mentioning the serial killer they stumbled upon a few episodes ago. When do you think we'll see the marionette mastermind again? Do you prefer seeing a "big bad" over the course of many episodes, or sticking to one-off crimes that get solved in a tidier fashion?
We've got some interesting storylines expanding for Aubrey. I'm excited to see his relationship with Jessica Warren grow, as they have pretty good chemistry together. But a new mystery involving his father has now entered the plot, as well. Which storyline would you like to see explored first, and why? Are there any other storylines you're waiting eagerly to see on screen?
