Bones is the unarguably best show ever
Mood:  incredulous
Last night was the season finale of Bones, in which they wrapped up the Gormogon serial killer case and revealed who his apprentice was. Below is my review of the show. If you haven't seen the episode, I reveal everything, so stop now. Just to be kind, I'm putting in buffer space so you won't see anything you don't want to see. so..

we...

 

finally....

 

find out......

 

gormogon's.......

 

apprentice............

 

is...............................

 

ZACK?

Seriously NOT expecting this. I think the show did a wonderful job of keeping you guessing from minute one to minute 59. Is it Hodgins? Sweets? Someone else? I saw someone on the net throw out the idea of Sully, which I couldn't get out of my head. Even considered Clark, the anthropologist who testified on behalf of Brennan at her dad's trial. But Zack? I feel like I've lost a friend. Even though it was well done, I'm sad.

The opening was fantastic. We all knew Booth would live, but the wonderful twist about Brennan not knowing the truth was genius. And then later, when Brennan confronts Sweets about his little experiment? I love Sweets, but I wish she would have let him have a nice punch to the face. It really showed how our Brennan is evolving and picking up on subcontext like never before.

The entire back and forth between Booth and Brennan about this was the perfect example of why this show works - it's not a crime drama. It's a human drama. And the scene in Booth's bathroom? With his beer hat and cigar and nakedness (yum)? I'm still laughing about that now. What I wouldn't give to trade places with Brennan in that scene! And then when Cam called and Booth flipped out at her? Hart Hanson said it would be an emotional rollercoaster of an episode, and he wasn't kidding.

I knew there would be an explosion, so every time I suspected something might happen I sat cowering on my couch with my hands over my eyes. LOL! When Brennan got the package, for example, I was convinced it was going to blow up. The actual explosion confirms my amazement at what graphic displays the show gets away with before 9 pm. It's amazing, really. And gross.

TJ Thyne was the star of this episode, in my opinion. He played Hodgins PERFECTLY. I never wanted to suspect him, but I did. And the scene with Cam in the lab where he shows his house was in the area... and then in the hospital where he gives Zack the drugs... and he just had this look... it was a perfect red herring.

What's interesting is that, in all honesty, the "solid proof" against Zack was that he lied. The reason Brennan knew it was him because he lied, and Zack doesn't lie. Yes, there was physical evidence, too, but that emotional and psychological evidence played a huge role, and again showed how Brennan is growing as a person.

Eric Millegan, too, was astounding. And the scenes between him and Emily. If Emily doesn't get an Emmy nom solely based on the ending scene where she's leaning against Zack trying to get him to talk... I'll boycott the Emmy's forever (already boycotting the daytime Emmy's for overlooking Nancy Lee Grahn. losers.).

I didn't think there was a part of this episode that wasn't well done, from start to finish. The ending was perfect, with everyone mourning the loss of their friend. I was pleased how openly the word "love" was used throughout this episode. And Cam, who gets a lot of slack just for being who she is, was really quite sweet. The show has really tried to turn her from pariah-just-because-she-banged-Booth into a truly 3 dimensional character who is integral to the team. I like her now. A lot.

The show really began and ended the same way - with a funeral. Zack may not be dead, but the Zack they all knew certainly is, and that can be even more difficult than someone actually dying. You can cope with death. It's hard, but you can do it. How do you cope with someone you thought you knew turning out to be a murderer and apprentice to a cannibal serial killer? And as each character did, how do you not wonder what you could have done differently? And there was much social commentary beneath the surface of how just because you're intelligent or have book smarts doesn't mean you know everything. I think this was a big lesson for our squints, especially Brennan.

Okay, well, there's my doctoral thesis on the season finale. Heh. Makes me wish I'd waited to submit my abstract for the popular culture association conference I'm going to this fall! I would have LOVED to do a paper on this episode.

I don't know if Zack will be back at all next season, but one question does remain: What happened to him in Iraq? And does it play a part in what he became? (Okay, two questions, but they're related :) I feel like there is still some resolution that needs to happen. I'm hoping the show will continue to explore Zack's transformation and its impact on the team.

Well done, Hart Hanson, Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz, Eric Millegan, TJ Thyne, Michaela Conlin, Tamara Taylor, John Francis Daley, Patricia Belcher and everyone involved in the show.

Later!

Laura