#still massive

*Not quite a recap. Though, may I just say this was one of my favorite one-off cases. It was just very brilliantly written and extremely well-executed. That said, I am still sticking to the characters this week. I am long-winded enough without adding case details to the mix.

The episode opens without a body find. Instead, we get a B&B scene! Already, I am insanely happy with this episode. Not that I do not love a good run-of-the-mill Bones opening. But I will never be dissatisfied with a B&B scene. Brennan is on the phone, simultaneously sorting through Thanksgiving decorations. I think it’s really sweet how they decorate their house for every occasion now. At this point, they weren’t even expecting anyone for dinner except for themselves and the kids. So she’s decorating for her family. And that is so ridiculously precious to me. Now, who is Brennan even talking to on the phone? Hard to say. But she tells the mystery caller that she doesn’t “want him to know. It’s a secret.” Booth walks in, and Brennan very conspicuously tries to cover up the subject matter of her conversation. She tells the caller that she will call he/she back later. And she hangs up. Booth is definitely suspicious, as Brennan cannot lie to save her life. Well, maybe in a life-threatening scenario she could lie. She tells him it was a telemarketer. And he questions the fact that she would call a telemarketer back. “I don’t want to be rude.” Booth says that God didn’t give her the lying gene. Brennan goes on to explain that “mendacity” (aw I love your big words) is not God-given. “It is coded into our genetics and passed down in our gene pool to ensure Homo sapiens’ survival.” No one does jibber jabber like Brennan. But Booth knows her a bit too well. “The whole mumbo jumbo language that you’re giving me right now is not gonna distract me from the fact that you’re lying to me.”

Brennan finds a new distraction. She announces that perhaps they shouldn’t prepare a turkey this Thanksgiving. Booth sees this at yet another way to steer him away from the mysterious phone call. “Now you’re trying to, what, incite a fight to try to distract me?” Nah. It’s just Brennan being Brennan. Or Emily being Brennan. Sometimes it’s hard to discern the difference (especially when she talks about the “turkey dance”). Brennan tells him that it’s just the four of them (THEIR beautiful adorable family), and Booth is the only one who actually eats turkey. Are they raising vegetarian children? Booth must love that. Or perhaps the kids just don’t like turkey. Kids. Multiple. Kids. No matter what the reasoning, it would be a waste to make an entire turkey just for Booth. Though this reminds me of the Friends Thanksgiving when Joey ate an entire turkey himself. In this particular scenario, Booth tells her they can invite Aubrey over. That should cover at least half of the 25 lb turkey. But they can also invite Angela, Hodgins, and the rest of the gang. Booth just wants his turkey, and proceeds to talk graphically about stuffing and roasting “the bird.” As someone who does not eat turkey, I may be a little biased in how I respond to this part. I probably made the same disgusted face that Brennan does in this moment. But we both adore Booth too much. Especially when he imitates his future “unconscious” football “hearing” self on the couch. So Brennan gives in, as long as he cooks “the dead bird.” Give and take. Always.

Now that they are over “that diversion,” Booth wants to know who Brennan was talking to on the phone. Brennan starts stuttering and making probably the best series of “nonchalant” faces ever to be showcased in an hour of television. And as so often happens in their world, she is saved by the ringtone. The phone rings, and a body has been found. She rushes off to get Christine ready, and I suppose Booth has lost this round. Though, the discussion is definitely not over yet.

We pick right up with Booth and Brennan riding in a golf cart together. They are discussing the course they are currently riding through. Apparently, the two of them played golf there together at some point. Booth is voicing his complaints about the greens. But Brennan insists that he just doesn’t know how to read the course. It involves a series of mathematical concepts, most of which I assume Booth doesn't care to integrate into his playing. “It shouldn’t be that difficult, okay?” Aubrey appears out of nowhere, and asks if he’s allowed to join in the conversation. “Typically, caddies don’t speak.” I don’t know why I loved Brennan’s response so much, but this whole little scene just made me smile. Booth and Brennan “driving” Aubrey around in the cart.  I said this earlier, but they look as though they are parents driving their impatient progeny on a road trip. Which is entirely too amusing to me. Booth and Brennan bicker about golf as a sport. Booth says that if it doesn’t have a defense, then it is not a sport. But Brennan tells Aubrey that the reality is: if she can beat him then it’s not a sport. Aubrey is just shocked that the partners have played the course before. Apparently it is highly exclusive, and no one gets in. “Well you know, when you’re married to a, I don’t know, a best-selling novelist, you can get in pretty much anywhere you want.” And Booth looks oh-so-smug about this. Booth has never wanted to be a kept man. He and Brennan have split the cost of their homes, and in the past, he wouldn’t allow her to buy him extravagant gifts. But the perks, that’s possibly a different story. He seemed pretty impressed, back in the day, that she could easily slip in unannounced at Carly’s Table for some gourmet mac and cheese. And he definitely doesn’t look too torn up about playing this golf course. I suppose as long as it is a healthy dose of give and take between them (and it always seems to be), he is alright with some of the benefits of being Temperance Brennan’s husband. And his smile here is just adorable. Aubrey wonders if he gets the same benefits as well, being (one of) Booth’s partner(s). But Brennan assures him that it doesn’t count.

Booth changes the subject to Thanksgiving dinner. He wants to invite Aubrey over so there is someone help him eat his turkey. Who better than Aubrey? But of course, Brennan chimes in about fofurkey and meat substitutes. Aubrey seems to have lost his appetite for the time being, and tells her he is not looking to change the way he thinks about meat substitutes. The group arrives at the site of the body where they meet up with Cam and Hodgins. They do their standard preliminary examination and, Brennan sees it as a good time to invite the rest of the squints to Thanksgiving dinner at their home. Booth calls it a nice segue (1x02: “You have to quit using the word segue and eschew. They sound French”).  But Brennan thought it was an appropriate time since “human and turkey tissue share remarkably similar texture.” Bless. Aubrey may be thinking about meat substitutes after that comment.

Rodolfo Fuentes is the squintern of the week. He briefly discusses Castro bulldozing all the golf courses in Cuba, and turning them into public housing and military schools. Hodgins does not necessarily disagree with this particular action, as he believes that Castro was sharing the riches with the poor. He brings up the Washington Hills golf course- it’s one of the most beautiful places around but you can only get in if you’re rich. “Well, maybe so, but any time you take a thing of beauty and make it utilitarian, something is lost.” Fuentes brings them back to the victim. Not necessarily pertinent to the the rest of the story in this episode, but I do enjoy whenever he’s on the show because his story is fascinating and quite touching at times.

Just to recap the necessary case items- the victim is a female, mid 50s, murdered by a smart killer, and had a lot of plastic surgery. Angela is able to identify the victim as a prominent newspaper reporter who recently broke a very high-profile NSA story. Throughout the episode, Booth seems to have difficulty seeing the other side to the case. He served in the military and has worked in the FBI ever since. And though we know he has been betrayed by the very government he serves, he still believes in the system. Headed to the victim’s place of employment, we see Booth disagree with Aubrey about where to draw the line relative to freedom of the press. To Booth, this reporter put lives at risk with her access to stolen documents and subsequent outing of government operatives. According to Booth, if the NSA is breaking then law, “then you go after the people in charge. What you don’t do is paint a bullseye on an operative’s back.” The subject is tabled for now.

Booth and Aubrey arrive at the newspaper where the victim worked. Booth is rather enthused, as he is still a proponent of physical newspapers. It’s tradition. It’s comforting. Brennan has teased him for being something of a luddite. And Aubrey calls him old, here. But I think it’s charming. And very Boothy.

A member of the NSA comes to Cam, requesting that she share everything the Jeffersonian has on the case with his organization. Cam goes into supreme-boss mode, and it’s pretty amazing. I love when came asserts herself like this. She shows everyone why she’s in charge. Aside from the fact that she’s brilliant and amazing at what she does. “I don’t work for you, I don’t answer to you, and until I see a court order saying I have to share information with you, I’m gonna have to ask you to leave the building.” And he of course leaves.

Booth and Brennan are in a car. Generally when I say this, it is accompanied by some unintelligible fangirl noises. But this ride is a bit more serious. They debate the rightness of what the victim did. Booth is once again adamant that she was a traitor to the country. Brennan takes “the long view. The historical view.” She goes all the way back to the days of George Washington, who was considered a traitor during his own time. Booth scoffs at her, assuming she is just trying to make him angry. But really, I don’t know of a time when Brennan has ever spoken with the sole purpose of trying to make him angry. He doesn’t believe that George Washington leading an army against his own country is the same thing as what the victim did in publishing the contents of stolen NSA files. But Brennan doesn’t think it’s possible to know the validity of that statement at this present time. According to her, they cannot know whether or not history will look at the victim as a “patriot advocating for change” or a traitor. Booth isn’t budging. He cannot visualize any scenario in which the victim was justified in what she did. Agree to disagree for the time being.

The partners are questioning the head of an alleged NSA hit squad I’m including this just because I enjoy the fact that he likes Brennan’s “style” of questioning. I also always take great comfort in any instance where we see Booth and Brennan working as partners. As a team. Because despite all the changes in their careers and their personal lives over the past 10+ years, this is a constant. They don’t get very far with the man, and Booth and Brennan are visibly frustrated.

Back at the lab, Cam and Fuentes have made some determinations about the remains. When Cam casually mentions that an NSA member had been to the Jeffersonian, Hodgins goes into full paranoia mode. He asks for everyone’s phones and tells them that they can only speak through handwritten notes or whispers. I know that he is always fearful of a conspiracy, but I have a feeling there is at least a small part of him that secretly loves this.

Booth and Brennan are back in the car. And after deciding that they should refrain from speaking openly about the case (in case the NSA is listening), it turns back into one of those wonderfully delicious B&B car scenes. Booth would like to talk about Brennan’s behavior earlier that morning. Brennan assures him he’s imagining things. But Booth thinks that with just five weeks until Christmas, Brennan is looking to purchase the jet ski she “knew” he has had his eye on. But Brennan claims she is definitely not Christmas shopping. And even if she were, she would not be purchasing him a jet ski so he could kill himself “riding around like a sixteen year old.” “Well it would make your husband very happy.” HUSBAND. He is her HUSBAND. Will I ever achieve any level of calmness about the fact that these two are married? It’s been two years (in real time, not Bones time), but it has no sign of becoming any less of a “pinch-me” phenomenon. Booth tells her he will be like “a kid on Christmas morning” if he gets that jet ski. “Hank and Christine will be like kids on Christmas morning. You will be like a grownup. Or as grown up as you can be.” You know how it is a well-known fact that Booth and Brennan know each other? They know the truth of each other. And in some cases they know each other better than they know themselves (the veggie sandwich). Well, Brennan does know the truth of Booth. And part of that truth is that he is a man child in certain instances. When an atmosphere of frivolity allows for such carefree behavior. It’s actually really nice to see Booth get some of his playfulness back this season. Not that it ever fully disappeared, by any means (remember him rolling that children’s toy up and down the hallway last year?). But it seems to be coming out to play more often. And while Brennan sometimes takes on the role of “angry schoolteacher,” we all know she loves it. She doesn’t always understand him, but she adores her “big kid” husband. “Sometimes I think you’re from another planet. Sometimes I think you’re really very nice.” Now since that time all those years ago, has has cut loose a bit as well. She has an endearing exuberant side, herself (“Who’s giggling now”). We do see that more often in the later seasons. But there’s a time and a place. And Brennan really doesn’t want Booth to get the impression that she is actually purchasing him a jet ski. She does seem to be doing a better job at keeping her actual secret than she did at trying to hide the fact that she had a secret to begin with. Booth and Brennan have a bit of a bickering session about Christmas morning and acting like a kid. Booth is apparently going to wear “feetie pajamas.” Brennan thinks there should be at least one adult in the family. But it’s not going to be Booth. Apparently some of this was just David and Emily being David and Emily. That’s easy to believe. I bow down to the genius of our leads. I think the writers and producers also know that so many of us will watch these two “bicker” for a solid hour without blinking an eye. They are just so good at it. While some relationships tire after a decade, they just continue to find new peaks to hit. And the sky is the limit with D&E. We are so lucky.

Back to business once again, as Booth and Brennan are checking out the victim’s apartment. They find some valuable clues. But let’s just enjoy them together, doing what they do best. Well one of the many things they do best.  

Aubrey interviews the victim’s ex husband, which leads him to an eager young reporter who worked at the paper with the victim. Before he can go speak to her, he runs into NSA guy again, who tells Aubrey about an encryption key that unlocks all of the stolen NSA documents. The reporter has it in her custody. After Aubrey prods a bit, the reporter gives up the victim’s laptop and the key. At the lab, Angela tries her hand at decoding the emails. This really was a complicated, yet engaging case. I promise. I really truly enjoyed it.

The squints discover that the emails needed both the key as well as a blood verification code. So with the help of Dr. Fuentes, they extract some bits of blood from the victim. They discover an email that reveals the victim’s secret meeting place- an inn.

Booth and Brennan (together, as partners) head over to the inn to check out the room in which the victim last stayed. They cannot get access to any hotel records or footage because there simply isn’t any. The hotel is completely offline and off-the-grid for the purpose of allowing Washington insiders to conduct their private business- whatever that entails. The hotel manger is willing to cooperate with the investigation, and tells them that he already informed their “associate” of this fact ten minutes earlier. Associate? Nope. Booth barges through the door of the room in question (phew), and finds the same NSA guy rooting around in it. Brennan discovers some less-than-seemly fluids on the bed, indicating that the housekeeping at the hotel is mediocre at best. Booth cringes at the revelation. Brennan then finds blood spatter, as Brennan often does. But before she can finish her sentence, a hotel employee rolling a room service cart down the hall catches her eye. She dashes out of the room, yelling “Sir! Stop! FBI! Uh, partner of the FBI.” Look at you and that cop talk…some things never change! But really, she is just so darling. She believes she’s found the murder weapon- a lid. The employee recognizes the victim from six months prior, when her husband discovered her at the hotel with another man. “Her husband was ready to kill her.”

The victim’s ex denies killing her. He also has an alibi. The FBI and Jeffersonian examine the hotel room, only to find NSA guy’s DNA everywhere. But Hodgins realizes that he is actually the victim’s informant.

It’s Royal Diner time, but it starts out just a bit tense. Booth wants to bring in the NSA guy, but Hodgins is afraid that if the FBI has him, the NSA will know he’s the informant. And they will certainly have him killed. “Well maybe he should have thought of that before he committed treason.” Booth really just cannot see this from any other point of view. I’m not saying he’s wrong, I’m simply saying he’s not willing to admit that there may be a gray area. Hodgins wants Booth to find a way to meet the guilty NSA guy in secret. “He was trying to do the right thing.” But Booth stops him. “You never served. You don’t get the right to defend this guy.” Booth doesn’t think it is right that this man put other people’s lives in danger. He gets up angrily, and Brennan tries to get him to calm down and hear Hodgins out.  “Of course you’re on his side, but then again, you’ve been all about secrets this week.” Brennan tells him that some secrets are good secrets. He disagrees. But he may have spoken too soon. As he turns around he sees his eldest son standing at the door. Now we haven’t seen Parker in a good two years. And in show time, it’s probably been close to three. It’s plausible that he could look like this at this time. I’m going with it. Because I think it was really nice recasting. Booth is elated to see his son. And Brennan just looks so delighted that she could surprise Booth. She loves to make him happy. She loves see him happy. They have been through so much. She wanted Booth to have his whole family together for the holiday. Apparently, Parker has never seen Hank. So this will be the first time Booth has all of his children under one roof. Both Brennan and we (as an audience) know that family is absolutely everything to Booth. He was born to be a family man. He will do anything for his family. He will go to the ends of the earth for his family. He would also die for his family, but let’s not even go there right now. Too many close calls lately. Brennan also surprises Booth and Parker with Flyers tickets right behind the glass. Oh Brennan. We know your game now. Of course you know the name of your husband’s favorite sports team. So the “Finers”, and the “Whosits”- you’re just trying to get a rise out of him. But deep down you know. Because it’s important to him. So by default, it’s important to you. Booth is so thankful to Brennan. He loves his surprise. And she’s right. Some secrets are genuinely good secrets.

Dr. Fuentes figures out that the victim was tortured in a unique way. The head of the alleged NSA hit squad front was stationed in West Africa where that particular type of torture was performed. Meanwhile, Booth calls a clandestine meeting with the NSA traitor at the inn. NSA man reveals that he already knows that the Jeffersonian has discovered a likely murder suspect. Well that changes everything, and Booth is free to arrest him for treason since his life was no longer in danger. At the Jeffersonian, Brennan figures out that the victim was actually killed with a metal detector and then rammed into the food lid. Booth had confiscated a metal detector from NSA man before he apprehended him. So NSA man is both a traitor and a murderer. Not a good holiday for him. Case closed.

Or is it? Hodgins is lurking around the newspaper late at night, and he finally discovers the missing jump drive belonging to the “traitor.”

It’s FINALLY time for dinner. The scene was short, but incredibly sweet. And completely fulfilling. Booth is playing video games with Parker, while Christine and Michael Vincent are coloring at the kitchen counter.  Cam, Aubrey, and Fuentes are drinking wine and having a seemingly engaging conversation. Brennan, Angela, and baby Hank are observing Booth and Parker at play. Angela says “it’s nice to have your boys together, huh?” Brennan has boys. Multiple boys. Husband, oldest (step)son, and baby boy. “Yeah, and they all have the same maturity level.”  Brennan and Angela make their way to the kitchen, and I find myself still in complete awe of the fact that Brennan is carting around this precious baby boy. It still doesn’t feel real. But it it is. It’s really happening. I’ll speak for myself, at least, and say that this show has given me everything I’ve ever wanted. And everything I never knew I wanted. And just everything in general. Angela comments that big families are nice. And Brennan picks up on the eagerness in her words. She asks if she and Hodgins are thinking about having another baby. I won’t touch this one for now. I don’t know what the finale is going to bring. And I don’t want to go to a bad place unless I have to. Not when everyone is having such a lovely evening. So I’ll just gloss over that. Angela says she has been thinking about “it.” And Brennan asks her if she wants some practice. She hands over Hank to his Auntie Angela, and my metaphorical heart metaphorically melts. Because Auntie Angela. And because thinking back to season 1 or season 5 even, this just never seemed like something that could ever happen. And because Brennan hands over this baby with such a casual ease, that she looks like a pro. She is a pro. She is a mother. And that gets me really emotional.

Aubrey has discovered some delicious appetizers. He tells Fuentes and Cam that the “chicken squares” are awesome. But Cam breaks the news to him that it’s actually baked tofu with artichoke hearts. Aubrey looks completely betrayed.  I think a lot of that may be because he actually enjoyed the tofu. He is ashamed of himself for that. It’s okay Aubrey. But he says if the turkey isn’t a real turkey then he will be leaving to go to the diner. Fair.

Hodgins comes in late and greets everyone. He asks to talk to Booth before he starts a video game rematch. Hodgins shows him the jump drive. Booth assumes that he’s going to broadcast it to expose the NSA. But Hodgins wants Booth to decide what to do with it. “I don’t think I’m qualified to decide the right thing to do with that. If anyone is, it’s you.” Hodgins trusts Booth to do the right thing. Good man, and all that. And Booth tells him to destroy it so that no one else gets hurt. I feel like this was a big character development moment for Hodgins. We are always talking about the development of everyone else. But I have a feeling that old-Hodgins would have tried to expose the coverup by any means necessary. Booth is a firm believer in the system. And he believes that in the end, there will be justice someway somehow. I think Hodgins was willing to trust Booth’s way of thinking here. In a way, Booth is playing the long game himself (like his wife). The larger population does not need suffer for the illicit activities of a very small group.

With that, Brennan announces that it’s time to eat. “Fofurkey for everyone!” I still want to know what this dish is made out of. Is it a generic name for tofurkey? Is it nut based? I’m genuinely curious. But I suppose I’ll never know. Everyone makes their way to the beautiful table. Brennan and Booth sure do know how to entertain. Booth carries a pie over to Brennan. He stops her in her tracks, and plants a kiss on her cheek that absolutely killed me in the best possible way. As the episode fades out, he clings on to her in a tight hug. Something about these gestures are just so intimate. Booth and Brennan are together. They are married. They are with their children and their extended family. And they are free to be together and in love without any fear or ramifications. They have made it. The center not only held, it is flourishing. These two beautiful “souls” have come a long way to get to this point of domestic bliss. I know the “peace” is going to be short-lived, as there is always danger waiting just around the corner. But in this moment, they are just Booth and Brennan. Partners, parents, friends, lovers, mates, spouses. Once again, please pinch me. I just need to continuously remind myself that this is the Bones reality.

I do not know what the fall finale is going to look like. Well, I know that B&B are going to look ridiculously amazing undercover as Buck and Wanda. And I know that the episode is just going to be a lot of fun. But the second episode. I have no idea. It is quite hard to speculate. I am almost grateful for the break we have been blessed with before then. I like having time to prepare. Whatever happens, I trust that the writers will take us to a meaningful place for all the characters. They cannot give into every whim of a fanbase. But I think they have given us loads of deliciously sweet moments already this season. So I suppose it’s that time again to shake things up. Will everyone like it? Certainly not. But that is so often the case. There is always someone that is going to be unhappy. It’s just the nature of television. But I absolutely believe we will get superbly impeccable performances from our actors as a result. And I take comfort in that. I love the fluffy moments. But there is also something special about the high-stakes episodes. Bones always does a good job of providing a healthy mix of the two each and every season. We had a few episodes to recover from this season’s opener. It’s time for some drama. 

In short, I loved this episode. As I love every episode. I suppose that is the annoying thing about me. I focus on the positive from each episode. And as a result, I constantly come away with a sense of fulfillment. Do I wish the dinner scene was longer? Sure. I could have watched these people enjoying dinner for the entire episode. But I can be honest and admit that it wouldn’t necessarily make for an enjoyable episode for the casual viewer. They have to have a bit of what everyone likes in order to produce a generally well-received episode. I get that. The rest of the dinner can be left to my imagination. And fanfic. I will commend the writers and actors, as they all did an absolutely brilliant job of fitting something for everyone into those last few moments. Now we can add this to the list of Bones holiday episodes. All in all, it was a lovely first Thanksgiving with this beautiful family (and by family, I mean the whole FBI/Jeffersonian family. After all, there’s more than one kind of family). 

If you’ve made it to the end, once again, congratulations. Actually this was shorter than previous ramblings. Success. Until next time!