I'm a little late in this review (sorry all), but with a mere 5 episodes left in season 11 of Bones, I'm kinda scratching my head.
Earlier in the season, the showrunners dropped some big bombs on us - the potential of a major antagonist, intrigue surrounding Aubrey's absent father - but "The Strike in the Chord" and "The Secret in the Service" don't seem to be in any rush to expand upon either of those over-arching plot points.
Is Bones gearing up for a radical last few episodes? I really hope so, because honestly, I've been a little bored lately! Here's what's been going on in the recent episodes.
RECAP
"The Strike in the Chord" focused on the untimely death of an a capella singer at Lynwood University. In addition to some decidedly rad all-vocal groups, the school was also known for playing host to significant scientific discoveries...including (unfortunately) the body of Scott Hill, sophomore and musical director of the Whippersnaps. Although the DRAMA (all capitals for emphasis) ran rampant within the a capella community, the Jeffersonian team eventually discovered that Hill's roommate was responsible for the crime.
Other noteworthy moments in this episode included Hodgins researching - but under pressure from Angela, turning down - the possibility of surgery to regenerate his nerves. Also, the showrunners briefly introduced a new intern named Sammy Mills, who Brennan found lacking in skills and knowledge. Brennan fired her before the end of the episode...and didn't really experience any repercussions. Booth struggled with the fact that his teenaged son, Parker, wanted to attend a prestigious summer writing workshop rather than go hiking with his dad, but of course Booth made the selfless decision by the end of the episode.
"The Secret in the Service" was also pretty lackluster in terms of plot. The head of a Secret Service team experienced an injury that eventually affected his judgement, resulting in unearned hostility and paranoia toward one of the members of his team. Before the Jeffersonian crew could properly unravel the mystery, however, an assassin's stray bullet ended the killer's life.
In addition, we witnessed Hodgins thriving under his less-than-ideal circumstances, which was super refreshing. When the investigation of a hotel laundry chute turned out to involve some faulty hoist hardware that sent him plummeting multiple stories down, his upper arm strength (gained by physical therapy while confined to his wheelchair) turned out to save his life.
DISCUSSION
Obviously, I'm still loving that Hodgins has worked through his initial anger over being confined to aa wheelchair. But he didn't consult Angela before exploring surgical options, and he didn't tell her he wanted to suspend himself within a laundry chute during an investigation, which suggests that he might still be inclined to hide some things from his life partner in coming episodes. What do you think, Boneheads? Are we seeing the tiny leak that will end up breaking the dam of Angela + Hodgins?
And is anyone else as ready as I am to see some of these unraveled threads tighten up before the season ends? Aubrey's dad, and more importantly, the creepy-and-elusive killer introduced a few episodes have yet to rear their ugly heads again. I understand wanting to prolong the tension...but is anyone else feeling a little restless with these "filler episodes" that don't add anything to an over-arching plot?
