Playing In The Shallows
Nov. 12th, 2010 04:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tala_hidingEver noticed that I'm only inspired by episodes when there's no Hannah involved? But far be it for me to be mean to everyone's favorite (ahem) blonde reporter, here's my breakdown and thoughts on the latest Bones episode, "The Shallow in the Deep".
The case
I enjoyed that, for once, we can see what the Medico-Legal lab does when they don't have a murder case to solve for the FBI. And I loved how the platform seemed so busy and alive with all these techs and scientists going through the remains, the Amalia Rose itself, and how the lab contributes to the larger workings of the Jeffersonian itself. I mean, while we love our favorite crime-solving team, I'm glad we're reminded about what they do OUTSIDE of their contractual obligations with the FBI.
Of course, these people are probably the best ones to figure out when a set of remains is part of a slave ship or a murder victim, so isn't this Liam fellow lucky that he fell into the Amalia Rose instead of say, somewhere on the coast of New Mexico or maybe in the middle of the Pacific? Hodgins really shone during this episode - his identification of the fluffy pink worms (and corresponding visuals with the canoli), his method of cleaning the bones, and even his promise of naming a potential discovery for Angela were all very sweet and amusing at the same time. Not to mention his re-enactment of the murder with Daisy -- our favorite conspiracy theorist has come along way from his rubber-band-snapping self back in Season 1.
I'm also glad that, unlike the street performers or the Jersey Shore episode, the cougar cruise portion of the episode wasn't just played up for laughs, but functioned to contribute to the larger theme of the episode: the idea that, yes, the people are not as young as they used to be, especially Booth, and I'm fairly certain that for such an alpha-male, such a realization would mean having to adjust his world view just a little bit.
And of course, how could one forget Cam's attachment to the Amalia Rose? I'm glad they didn't play that up as a melodramatic angle -- it would have been disastrous in the hands of a lesser showrunner, and I'm happy that while it added some depth to Cam's character -- and Tamara gets to sink her teeth into something meaty every once in awhile -- but I'm also glad that they saved that for the last bit, and that she played it up quite nicely, to show us that yes, she's a professional when it comes to running the lab, but that doesn't mean that she's not affected by the significance of the find.
The squints
I loved everyone here: from Brennan still in the habit of knocking on Booth's door early in the morning and reminding him of things like his re-certification from Sweets (and goodness gracious me, I'm so glad he was alone in his bed), to her reminding him of his various injuries over the years, punctuated with the "But I care about you," comment, as though it was the most factual and obvious thing in the world, and that expression of distaste that he wore while riding the elevator up to Sweets' office. I mean, sure, they're not a real couple, but I just can't see Hannah knowing all these things about Booth. In fact, I'm fairly certain she doesn't even know that he was shot in the line of duty protecting Brennan -- you know, it pleases my little shipper heart to know that what goes on between them is still theirs.
And also, I just found it really cute that Daisy and Sweets still can't keep their hands off each other. I mean, they broke off their engagement and everything, and they were still having awesome sexytiemz in his office, no less! And major LOLs for Booth and Brennan's expressions, and the subsequent discussion at the lab. "And your pants accidentally fell off?" will make it into the canon of Brennan's best one-liners ever.
Pregnant Angela also makes me pleased, especially when she decided to hand-draw all of the victims of the Amalia Rose. I mean, she's a computer whiz and all, but we keep forgetting that, first and foremost, she's an artist of the highest caliber, and for her to draw the faces of the slaves who drowned centuries ago, brings me back to what Dr. Goodman said about her job back in Season 1: she's the best of them because her job is the most human, because she gives them back their faces. And it doesn't matter whether or not they were murdered or a historical find; for her, there is an empathy that is missing from all the other squints, that deep connection that draws her to these skulls and gives them a face, a name, an identity. Plus, she's probably the only girl in the world who would find it romantic that her husband would want to name a possibly newly-discovered undersea creature after her.
And pregnancy food -- peanut butter and egg sandwich!
I'm also glad to see Brennan back in the interrogation room, even for just a bit -- I get that things are still getting back on track, and Booth isn't at the lab as often as he used to be (and I'm not sure if that's a conscious choice on the character's part, or David's distaste for that part of the set is making itself manifest) but you can see glimmers of that ol' B&B magic, especially when they were tracking down where the murder scene could have been on the cruise ship. I mean, let's face it: I miss these guys, and re-watching old episodes reminds me of how it used to be between the two of them. And while I agree that Booth deserves his happiness after getting his heart stomped on and that this time around, the move has to come from Brennan, I can't help but be nostalgic for how things were.
Booth and Brennan
Let's face it -- we watch because of these two. I mean, sure, the science is cool and the supporting cast is just awesome and they should all be given hugs and cupcakes right now, but Booth and Brennan are the center, and let's face it, the center hasn't been holding all that well ever since they came back from different ends of the world. And that's perfectly understandable, and maybe if I didn't see Katheryn Winnick's face plastered all over our piece of that FBI-candy, I can totally get behind the fact that he found someone else while overseas. What I'm particularly glad about this episode is simply that they are starting to return to their old rhythms, to how things were before this whole Hannah-gate fiasco. And yes, I get that Daisy and Sweets are somehow parallel to Booth and Brennan, especially S4 Booth with his waxing eloquent about Brennan's hair and skin, but they also signify how two seemingly opposite personalities can get along and fall in love. I mean, Angela and Hodgins did it, Sweets and Daisy are doing it (and yes, that is a pun), and so what's wrong with Booth and Brennan?
Well, duh, Hannah.
So I suppose it remains to be seen (oh looky, another pun!) whether or not this kind of dynamic is indicative of whether B&B are getting together this season -- and dear God, I hope they are, but realistically speaking and from what I've heard, it's highly unlikely -- or at the very least, someone please get Hannah out the picture and let the team get their ol' black magic back. I have a feeling they're going to need it soon, before all hell breaks loose.
So what did you think of the episode?
(Again, F/L, I apologize for spamming your Inbox with fandom musings. Do carry on with your lives.)
The case
I enjoyed that, for once, we can see what the Medico-Legal lab does when they don't have a murder case to solve for the FBI. And I loved how the platform seemed so busy and alive with all these techs and scientists going through the remains, the Amalia Rose itself, and how the lab contributes to the larger workings of the Jeffersonian itself. I mean, while we love our favorite crime-solving team, I'm glad we're reminded about what they do OUTSIDE of their contractual obligations with the FBI.
Of course, these people are probably the best ones to figure out when a set of remains is part of a slave ship or a murder victim, so isn't this Liam fellow lucky that he fell into the Amalia Rose instead of say, somewhere on the coast of New Mexico or maybe in the middle of the Pacific? Hodgins really shone during this episode - his identification of the fluffy pink worms (and corresponding visuals with the canoli), his method of cleaning the bones, and even his promise of naming a potential discovery for Angela were all very sweet and amusing at the same time. Not to mention his re-enactment of the murder with Daisy -- our favorite conspiracy theorist has come along way from his rubber-band-snapping self back in Season 1.
I'm also glad that, unlike the street performers or the Jersey Shore episode, the cougar cruise portion of the episode wasn't just played up for laughs, but functioned to contribute to the larger theme of the episode: the idea that, yes, the people are not as young as they used to be, especially Booth, and I'm fairly certain that for such an alpha-male, such a realization would mean having to adjust his world view just a little bit.
And of course, how could one forget Cam's attachment to the Amalia Rose? I'm glad they didn't play that up as a melodramatic angle -- it would have been disastrous in the hands of a lesser showrunner, and I'm happy that while it added some depth to Cam's character -- and Tamara gets to sink her teeth into something meaty every once in awhile -- but I'm also glad that they saved that for the last bit, and that she played it up quite nicely, to show us that yes, she's a professional when it comes to running the lab, but that doesn't mean that she's not affected by the significance of the find.
The squints
I loved everyone here: from Brennan still in the habit of knocking on Booth's door early in the morning and reminding him of things like his re-certification from Sweets (and goodness gracious me, I'm so glad he was alone in his bed), to her reminding him of his various injuries over the years, punctuated with the "But I care about you," comment, as though it was the most factual and obvious thing in the world, and that expression of distaste that he wore while riding the elevator up to Sweets' office. I mean, sure, they're not a real couple, but I just can't see Hannah knowing all these things about Booth. In fact, I'm fairly certain she doesn't even know that he was shot in the line of duty protecting Brennan -- you know, it pleases my little shipper heart to know that what goes on between them is still theirs.
And also, I just found it really cute that Daisy and Sweets still can't keep their hands off each other. I mean, they broke off their engagement and everything, and they were still having awesome sexytiemz in his office, no less! And major LOLs for Booth and Brennan's expressions, and the subsequent discussion at the lab. "And your pants accidentally fell off?" will make it into the canon of Brennan's best one-liners ever.
Pregnant Angela also makes me pleased, especially when she decided to hand-draw all of the victims of the Amalia Rose. I mean, she's a computer whiz and all, but we keep forgetting that, first and foremost, she's an artist of the highest caliber, and for her to draw the faces of the slaves who drowned centuries ago, brings me back to what Dr. Goodman said about her job back in Season 1: she's the best of them because her job is the most human, because she gives them back their faces. And it doesn't matter whether or not they were murdered or a historical find; for her, there is an empathy that is missing from all the other squints, that deep connection that draws her to these skulls and gives them a face, a name, an identity. Plus, she's probably the only girl in the world who would find it romantic that her husband would want to name a possibly newly-discovered undersea creature after her.
And pregnancy food -- peanut butter and egg sandwich!
I'm also glad to see Brennan back in the interrogation room, even for just a bit -- I get that things are still getting back on track, and Booth isn't at the lab as often as he used to be (and I'm not sure if that's a conscious choice on the character's part, or David's distaste for that part of the set is making itself manifest) but you can see glimmers of that ol' B&B magic, especially when they were tracking down where the murder scene could have been on the cruise ship. I mean, let's face it: I miss these guys, and re-watching old episodes reminds me of how it used to be between the two of them. And while I agree that Booth deserves his happiness after getting his heart stomped on and that this time around, the move has to come from Brennan, I can't help but be nostalgic for how things were.
Booth and Brennan
Let's face it -- we watch because of these two. I mean, sure, the science is cool and the supporting cast is just awesome and they should all be given hugs and cupcakes right now, but Booth and Brennan are the center, and let's face it, the center hasn't been holding all that well ever since they came back from different ends of the world. And that's perfectly understandable, and maybe if I didn't see Katheryn Winnick's face plastered all over our piece of that FBI-candy, I can totally get behind the fact that he found someone else while overseas. What I'm particularly glad about this episode is simply that they are starting to return to their old rhythms, to how things were before this whole Hannah-gate fiasco. And yes, I get that Daisy and Sweets are somehow parallel to Booth and Brennan, especially S4 Booth with his waxing eloquent about Brennan's hair and skin, but they also signify how two seemingly opposite personalities can get along and fall in love. I mean, Angela and Hodgins did it, Sweets and Daisy are doing it (and yes, that is a pun), and so what's wrong with Booth and Brennan?
Well, duh, Hannah.
So I suppose it remains to be seen (oh looky, another pun!) whether or not this kind of dynamic is indicative of whether B&B are getting together this season -- and dear God, I hope they are, but realistically speaking and from what I've heard, it's highly unlikely -- or at the very least, someone please get Hannah out the picture and let the team get their ol' black magic back. I have a feeling they're going to need it soon, before all hell breaks loose.
So what did you think of the episode?
(Again, F/L, I apologize for spamming your Inbox with fandom musings. Do carry on with your lives.)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-11-13 04:19 pm (UTC)Thanks for the review!
no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 08:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-13 05:09 pm (UTC)TBH, I was so much more interested/invested in what was going on in the lab with the Amalia Rose stuff than with the Cougar Cruise and I almost wish that they would've devoted either more of this episode to it or possibly even its own altogether because I felt it was so important and emotional.
And I think it's so funny at how they fall so easily back into old patterns and familiar territory when Hannah's not around. And it's true; there are so many things Brennan has learned about Booth, his history and the man he is that Hannah doesn't know. I really wish (and I can't believe I'm saying this), but that she'd have to follow them around on a case one day for some reason. You know, even if it was just a ride-along to the scene or the lab or something.
...just seeing BB in their personal environment might make that blonde reporter reevaluate some things.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 08:38 am (UTC)And how awesome was Angela's drawings? :) I loved that so much.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-13 08:03 pm (UTC)what goes on between them is still theirs.
*g* I just posted my own review and ended it with those very same words - I guess it was a message the makers wanted to get across here, and they did it beautifully.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 08:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 01:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-14 01:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 08:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-14 07:48 pm (UTC)Yep, there is a familiarity and rhythm when it is "just them" both just B/B working a case, being themselves AND with the squints all working in sync on a project.
It was the most solid episode so far, for me. Enjoyed it.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 08:41 am (UTC)Coupled with the ratings for this week, I'm wondering why HH & Co still think having Hannah around is a good idea.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-17 11:24 pm (UTC)I really do miss seeing Booth and Brennan working together.The show needs to return to the way it was before Hannah came along.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-18 01:02 am (UTC)