This week’s episode of Bones was awesome. I was actually a little teary-eyed by the end. Considering that I had no doubt during the entire episode that Booth would be saved from The Gravedigger, the fact that it moved me was no small feat. I have been a little frustrated with some of the other shows I am watching this week, so I’d like to give Bones a round of applause for keeping things fresh.
At first, when Teddy Parker (Noel Fisher) showed up as a ghost, I was skeptical. I thought, “Why are they doing this? Why are they giving Booth a hallucination? Is it to help Booth get out of here? Is it somehow to give closure to Booth?” I wasn’t sure it was a good idea, but Parker quickly won me over. And then another reason for his presence occurred to me.
Parker was part of the show, he appeared, because that was more interesting than having Booth be kidnapped by himself. Brennan and Hodgins were kidnapped together the first time, and that created dramatic tension as they had to talk to each other as well as have the entire team look for them. So, having a ghost appear satisfied a lot of plot requirements at once:
1. Booth is spiritual. Ghosts have no place within Christian belief structures (I am quoting my husband the religion professor), but stories about them are still lurking around. I have heard of cases of people having someone stay with them until help arrives — whether that person is a family member or perhaps an Angel, or a deity. So, I didn’t think it was too much of a stretch for Booth to believe he was being visited.
2. Parker told Booth that his death wasn’t Booth’s fault. Booth still carries baggage from having been a sniper. He named his child after Teddy Parker. So, it’s significant that Booth would need to be exonerated from a wrong he was sure he had committed. Integrity is very important to Booth. I wonder if this will have an effect on him and some of his anger issues in the future.
3. Parker also told Booth to deliver a message to Claire, the girlfriend who still remembers him on the anniversary of his death. He told Booth how important it is to tell people that you love them. Interestingly, Booth didn’t tell Brennan that he loves her in this episode, but I think he will. On the flip side, it was great to see Angela tell Brennan, “Yes, you do. We all do,” when Brennan said, “I don’t love Booth.”
My son watched the show with me. He’s 15, and he asked me, “Was that ghost real?” I said, “I think Booth thinks it was real. It’s open to interpretation.”
What do you think? Could Booth have opened that door without Teddy? Was that adrenalin? He certainly could have flung the belt buckle to join the current. Is the fact that Brennan saw and spoke with him proof? I think it’s very nicely ambiguous. And regardless, I think it was a smart move.
Clacked by Jen Creer
on Feb 06, 2009 @ 09:00 EST5EDT
I’m a pretty smart fella, but honestly, I didn’t understand this episode. I can wrap my brain around Booth hallucinating the details of how he got to the top of the ship. But I can’t wrap my brain around Brennan seeing Parker at the cemetary. I’m also trying to figure out what symbolism was intended by “the gravedigger” story arc ending … in front of graves.
Gormagon was rushed because of the strike — I’m not sure why the Gravedigger situation was rushed like this. There was easily one more episode setting up the Gravedigger in opposition to Brennan and her team. Although it was nice to see Brennan smack the Gravedigger once she was sure Booth was safe.
Booth didn’t think he was worth of someone like Brennan — he’s been doing things to put himself in harm’s way for a while (remember the clown shooting and the therapist before Sweets?) because of the guilt he carried. By admitting that he would fight to live and working his way through the guilt over Parker’s death, Booth is setting himself up to have a relationship again. Now whether it’s with Brennan or the new FBI agent is open to future developments.
I’m sorry, but there is a reason why I prefer a show like ‘Bones’ to shows like ‘Medium’ and ‘Ghost Whisperer’ and that is the lack of utter tripe that the latter two shows spew every week. If the writers of ‘Bones’ want to delve deeper into the supernatural hokum, then they have lost this viewer. I have made my peace with the flimsy “TV science” on this kind of show, but with the other stuff on top they’d be insulting my intelligence a tad too much…
You thought this episode was “awesome”? That was one of the worst episodes of the series I have seen, and I have seen all of them! The episode felt like a rushed mess, it was unbelievably bad and just unbelievable itself. I felt like I was watching a second part of a two hour episode except they forgot to make the episode before it!
I watch four shows a week, House, Lost, Bones and BSG, so far they have all been very very poor episodes.
I think that the ghost was real, and that Brennan did see him, but Booth would never ask her if she did, so it will never be a bigger topic of conversation. Thus he will never know she spoke with him, but he doesn’t need to know it, because he believed it. And she would never believe he had assistance from a ghost, but if she knew she spoke with him it might change her mind. But, never the two shall meet.
I agree with Oreo. I thought this episode was horrible. I have been trying to just go with the flow when it comes to Bones lately, but I just couldn’t with this episode. Aliens in A Spaceship is one of my favorite episodes and it bothers me that The Hero in the Hold will be associated with it. The Grave Digger storyline deserved a better resolution.
I liked the episode. I thought it was really interesting. I think that if we’re looking at it as a continuation of the Gravedigger storyline, though, it could have been better. Originally, when Aliens in a Spaceship aired, the reporter was supposed to be the Gravedigger according to the Fox website. I felt like that would’ve been a bit of a better conclusion, because it made it someone that we’ve seen before that inserted herself into the investigation, which is similar to that type of profile (I watch too much Criminal Minds). In general, the episode was good, but I think the connections of the plot could have been a bit better.
I thought this episode was flipping awesome. Definately one of my favorites. I think it really made Brennan realize that she really does love Booth. I thought it was brilliant. What i also like about this show is that it doesn’t tell you what everything means and you actually have to think and make edjucated guesses.
Making Brennan see Parker was a bad idea, I mean ghosts being real in this show is only going to cause loss of viewers. The Parker in the boat was probably a hallucination and not flesh and bones since he was wearing uniform. And unless Parker had a twin brother that just spoke with Brennan while he was visiting his departed relative, the show is losing it’s touch with the ghost thing.
Oh, darn, I’m going to have use the word metaphor again (just used it in the LIFE column).
I think the ghost was just really a fancy way of using a metaphor in this episode.
The ghost wasn’t really a ghost … it was a metaphor for the bond between Bones and Booth; it was metaphor about Booth and his sense of duty; it was a metaphor for Bones learning how to feel (about other people).
Morjana
it was a brain tumor! and now booth is in a coma! just like “the days of our lives”