Forensic dramas clog up far too much of our TV schedules. Bones stands apart from the others by having a sense of humour and engaging chemistry between its two leading actors, David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel. The finale to its fourth season went through the looking glass with an episode that saw the Jeffersonian transformed into a nightclub called The Lab.
Brennan and Booth Finally Get it On, Sort of
‘The End in the Beginning’ opens with a worrying sight, Forensics expert Dr Temperance Brennan (Deschanel) and FBI agent Seeley Booth (Boreanaz) are in bed together. This is a big no-no for television shows built around the chemistry of its male and female leads. Moonlighting fell apart when David and Maddie took their relationship to the next stage. Going down this route really would be the end of the beginning. Thankfully it soon becomes clear that what we are watching is an alternate reality and no sexual activity has taken place.
Agent Booth’s Life in the Balance
Booth had shown indications of mental instability this season, most notably in the episode ‘The Hero in the Hold’ which saw him imagining a former army buddy who died under his command. There may be a psychological explanation for an event like this occurring, but there is none for imagining conversations with characters who only exist on television, like the evil baby from Family Guy, or Stephen Fry. Booth is diagnosed with a brain tumour and the previous episode ended with him about to go into surgery.
Characters in the Bones Finale; the Same but Different
Although the characters are doing different things with their lives, their personalities remain the same as in the ‘real world.’ Booth is still the one everybody looks up to. Sweets works as a barman, but points out he is practically a psychologist. Cam is still a tight-ass, but this time a tight-ass with a badge. Booth’s unreliable brother Jarod is her partner, investigating a murder in the club. Brennan’s killer dad, played by a charming, but menacing Ryan O Neal, is a lawyer, thus making him even more dangerous than usual. Hodgins is a cynical crime novelist narrating events in a film noir style voice-over.
The Murder
Being badly beaten and getting shot in a toilet is a fairly understated way to die compared to some of the elaborate deaths seen in four seasons of Bones, including mummification, incineration and crucifixion. It would have been a lot more fun though given this was a fantasy episode, to have had special guests Motley Crue as the murderers.
Is it a Dream, or a Novel, or Something Else?
Booth awakens in the hospital and mutters about his dream, but Brennan is typing Hodgins narration into her laptop as part of her latest novel. Series creator Hart Hanson called the ending “a meeting of two minds,” which is fine as long as no other part of their bodies meet. The quickest way to kill Bones would be to put Booth and Brennan in a meaningful relationship. Save that for the last episode.
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