So that’s it, folks. We’ve come to the end of the road on season 3, and I have to say that I’ve got mixed feelings about last night’s finale. From the fake funeral in the beginning to the heartbreaking revelation of Gormogon’s apprentice at the end, much of the episode either rang false or felt a little too condensed for me. (We’ll reveal the killer’s name after the jump for those who actually haven’t watched the show yet. Get on that already.) Suffice it to say, for now, that to make me believe that ending, to wrap my head around that logic, it would have needed another episode or two to play out.
But let’s start with the fake out over Booth’s alleged death. I don’t think anyone really thought Booth was dead, despite Emily’s Deschanel’s superb acting, selling Brennan’s desire to stay within the cold embrace of her work to avoid the sadness of her Booth’s supposed demise. There was so much that could have been done with this if it were stretched out longer than three minutes. I concede that it may have taken the characters too far along their building-love path, but it seemed like a cheap trick to find out so quickly that after Booth was shot in the chest last week by stalker Pam that the FBI supposedly used that opportunity to fake his death and lure out another killer. And that the good doctor Sweets would use this as a chance to test Brennan’s feelings for her partner by not telling her that he was alive. Back in the lab, Brennan was rightly livid that she wasn’t told, and that anger led to last night’s finest scene for some: a naked Booth in the bathroom.
Now I won’t harp on the beer-can hat being a little incongruous (though, as one Bones-obsessed colleague of mine pointed out, there was a tray there that he could have used and a beer hat seemed too low-rent for him, even in the comfort of his bathroom) but from the Green Lantern comic book to the cigar to the vinyl record playing on an actual record player, that was a total guy-bath time. And let’s not forget the rubber ducky that shows up later. The scene might have been too light-hearted for some but a more serious scene, one in which Brennan didn’t actually gesture at his nether regions and ask if he wanted a towel, would also have brought them closer to the brink of consummating their sexual tension. And in our heart of hearts, we want them to put that off as long as possible.
Speaking of putting things off for as long as possible — so Zack isour killer, huh? Not sure I did a double take, but I was perplexed bythe situation. I would love to be able to quote the first episode ofthe season, but wasn’t there something about the apprentice being awidow’s son? And didn’t Zack have a rather large, intact family (mother, father, siblings) that came to visit him at the lab during that Christmas episode in season 1? Itwas frustrating not hearing the scary logic that persuaded Zack, whowas not isolated or disenfranchised, to kill a man in the name of… what was it again?
I can’t help but keep thinking of how the everyone-is-a-suspectthing could have been stretched out longer. Hodgins and then Sweets assuspects could have been really intriguing. They were really sellingHodgins as the apprentice and T. J. Thyne was really creeping me outfor a bit. It was a bit of nice character development to have Sweetstake a stand against Booth’s threat to put him in handcuffs and arresthim. It took him from the sort of fawning man-crush he’d had on Booth,back to being an adult professional semi-authority figure. And even Camwas acting a bit suspicious, but that turned out to be just a sort ofjumpiness from knowing that someone at the Jeffersonian was the killer.Yet Tamara Taylor did an excellent job in the hospital-room scene whenshe found out that it was Zack. Her crestfallen face and dejection wereenough to transfer you from questioning the logic to feeling theemotion. Putting aside the exchange between Brennan and Zack, which wasjust a bit confusing, watching Zack’s friends gather around hisfavorite things (many of which they gave him), the shock and sadnesswere evident.
Still, among the many questions the episode left me with are these:
1) If Zack blew up his hands, who stole the skeleton?
2) If Gormogon did it, how did he get into the super-secure Jeffersonian? Wouldn’t that make him slightly more than a nobody?
In my interview with exec producer Hart Hanson, Hanson said he was expecting a "violent reaction" from fans. But here hefurther explains why they chose to make Zack the apprentice: "We hadgone pretty much as far as we could with that character. There’s anopportunity with that character to bring in a number of people. We’renot replacing him with a single character. We’re going have a bunch ofpeople coming in and out and that gives us a bunch of opportunities inthe lab for humor and stories."
Hopefully this isn’t really a goodbye to Eric Millegan, who isactually a good friend of Hanson’s. "We’re looking for ways to have himback as a guest star from time to time. We love the guy," says Hanson."But you know, best laid plans. Eric’s a very talented guy and for allwe know will be starring on Broadway and that will be that. I wish thatfor him but not too much."
It would be great to have Zack return next season, and as the squintsquad takes turns visiting him maybe we could get a better idea of whatreasoning Gormogon used to persuade him to commit murder.
Despite my many misgivings, I’m willing to give this episode a passon the strength of the first two seasons and most of this one. Thewriters and cast do such a good job with the relationship-building andhave come through so often that I can swallow the loss of Zack and hopethat they’ll pull off the next season, maybe even satisfying somequestions from this one.
So, how are you all feeling about this turn of events? How violentwas your reaction? Are you just shaking your fists or shutting thedoor behind you? Let us know if you’ll be back for the two-hourpremiere of season 4 on August 27. Have a good summer, guys.
Comments (1-30) of 186 Add your comment
The whole episode felt rushed, and the show did not really explain why Zach was so easily manipulated by the bad guy. Maybe Zach did have post traumatic stress disorder from Iraq, and maybe he was even going a bit wonky before Iraq; his decision to go to Iraq was abrupt and he seemed to be trying to prove himself to everyone. Maybe he was searching for something and felt lost way before Iraq. But the explanation that he was “weak-minded” doesn’t wash with me. Just because he was a lab nerd without much of a social life isn’t enough to turn him into a killer. He did have a loving family back home in Michigan that he visited often; he was surrounded by people in the lab that liked and accepted his nerdiness. There just wasn’t enough of an explanation as to why he starting killing people.
first
To answer your question, there was a mention of a door being left open, so I’m guessing Gormogon stole the skeleton.
On another note, I loved that Booth was the one to comfort Bones at the end. The Booth/Bones interaction was fantastic throughout the episode, especially when Booth realized just how upset Bones was that he didn’t share his secret fake death plan with her.
I used to write a fair amount of fan fiction, and that’s exactly what this entire episode felt like to me, from Booth’s stupid beer hat to the badly-timed reveal to the contrived catalog of Zack’s belongings – an amateur story from a Bones fan with plenty of raw talent but very little experience with pacing or character and no accountability in the longer plotline of the show as a whole whatsoever. I like to see Booth naked as much as the next girl, and there was some great acting going on from pretty much everybody. But the story as a whole just didn’t play.
As for Hart Hanson’s excitement about ejecting Zack in favor of a litter of grad student puppies next season, yeah, hated that on ‘House,’ plan to hate it here. It’s such a clunky and obvious device to get more cuties in the lab – we don’t need more cuties. We got plenty of cuties already.
VERY disappointed, and I don’t think the forced hiatus is entirely to blame. I wouldn’t have liked this any better spread out.
i waited half a day for this? what a let down…I thought they were going to reveal Gormagon, not just the apprentice??? It didn’t surprise me about Zack, though. He’s a bit of a weirdo, and it fits him. Too analytical and ignorant of a world that doesn’t revolve around his job and all that crap.
This was a big, fat letdown….
I enjoyed the episode. I agree it felt a little rushed but that can be blamed on the writer’s strike so I won’t hold it against TPTB here. At the funeral I was on the verge of actually believing Booth was dead when they revealed him in the color guard. Here’s a question: why wasn’t Booth’s ex-wife and his son Parker at the funeral? I think that was a big oversight.
Yes, the beer hat was stupid but I loved that scene and I certainly felt the tension! I thought Cam’s face at the end when she realizes why B&B were at Zach’s door was so heartbreaking – really good acting! I do hope that some time is spent at the beginning on next season to help us understand why Zach crossed to the Dark Side and become Darth Cannibal. I was so convinced it would be Sweets. Speaking of Sweets, I really wanted to kick him in the pants yesterday for running that experiment.
Lame set up and execution – as if they painted themselfs into a corner and weren’t sure how to get out.
I see several visits to Zack at the nuthouse to draw upon his expertise a’la Hannibal Lector next season.
The fact that Zach was the apprentice was a bit of a stretch, but somewhat believable, but I was dissapointed about the whole funeral thing. It was rushed and did not fit at all with the episod. It should have been 2 completly different storylines for it to make more sense! Anyway, what’s done is done and I will miss Zach!!
Soo sad that it was Zach, the ending was heartbreaking! The ep did feel a little squished but everyone knew they weren’t going to kill Booth so there was not much point in stretching that out. I loved the end though where Booth actually intercepted Angela on her way to comfort Brennen basically showing that he is the one that knows her better than anyone at this point. And by the way have been waiting all morning for this recap to show up and see how everyone else reacted. Why do House and the not worth anyone’s time Bachelorette get recaps the night of and we don’t get anything? Where is the Bones love EW?
I cried. That said, I also hope they visit the character again and explain more why he did it. I was confused, even though I could maybe see how Zack could go wrong. He was really weird. Sob!
I never liked Zack, so I really don’t mind them booting him off the show but the storyline was really non-sensical. This episode definitely felt like a rush job. Hopefully they’ll flesh it out more (no pun intended) next season. I was hoping they’d replace Zack with the guy they hired for Bones’s father’s trial (what was his name, Clark?) but apparently no such luck.
Compared to the rest of this season’s episodes, I was very disappointed in the finale. It did seem rushed and contrived despite the game effort of the actors. I’m saddened.
Bones really does need its own full grown tv watch. EW make that happen please.
I think plenty of us predicted last week that Zach would be the killer. I found that I was more upset during the episode believing the killer might have been Hodgins (yeah I have a crush on T.J. Thyne) or Sweets. The show is great but they had done as much as they could with this Gormogon thing.
That finale just flat out sucked. I really don’t have much more to say about it. It was a huge let down and most of it did not even make sense in context of the whole Gormogon story.
I sat on my couch with my jaw on the floor–I am still in shock. Zach, Brennan’s apprentice and Gormogons? Ugh. I don’t like it.
It was the first episode of Bones ever that I didn’t care for. It all seemed – as a lot of people have already said – rushed and nonsensical and kind of ridiculous. I’m wondering if the plan was always for it to be Zack, even before the strike. I mean, I know they’re saying that they ran as far as they could with the character (which I don’t buy at all, BTW), but is that true, or are they just saying that? The whole Gormagon thing had potential to be an interesting story arc – it’s a shame it crapped out like this.
i was actually laughing during the funeral, before Booth came running in. i knew it was fake, but i thought it was going to be a dream. in real life DB is a producer (not to mention star), so obviously, his character was not really dead.
i also called the Zach thing in teh first 10 minutes, but i also left room for sweets to be the aprentice. he was a little creepy in this ep, but onc ethey made him a suspect in the fisrt half i knew it couldn’t be him. and hodgin’s creepyness was way too much to be real. i didnt want it to be zach, but i knew he had the opportunity, if not the motive. the issue i have is that he actually stabbed someone – i thought his involvement woudl have been more innocuous. i never expected him to be chowing down on teh victims, so i was glad that they cleared him of teh canabalism.
i will miss zach, but he was my least favorite of them all (except cam, i hate her backstory w/ booth.)
Sad as I am that it was Zach I would have been way sadder to loose Sweets or Hodgins so I am okay with it being Zach if it were between the 3 of them. The story did feel rushed but with the writers strike i ma sure they tried to make the best of the situation although it could have been better. Great acting all around this episode. Not sure why so many people last week posted that Emily D. was a bad attress? I think she is great, she portrays the character very well.
Ok, Zach was a new apprencice. He had only been involved for about 3 months, I’m assuming since after the last apprentice was captured earlier this season. Gormogon would have chosen him because of his proximity to the case, I’m sure.
Gormogon would have been able to steal the skeleton through the unlocked loading dock doors they commented on during the episode. The alarms were going off all over the building, it would have been fairly evident to anyone standing there watching when it was the appropriate time to enter the loading dock for the skeleton.
I had suspected Zach was leaving when they re-introduced his replacement during the trial a couple of weeks ago (keeping the character fresh in our minds and all), but I had suspected him to be the dead one when I heard about the funeral ahead of time. Zach im as the apprentice was a surprise. I had suspected Sweets, especially after he went on several tv shows to talk publically about the case.
I’m really sad to have lost Zack from the group (no more King of the Lab!). But that definitely won’t stop me from watching the show. That fake funeral was lame and predictable though. Really glad Sweets is sticking around. He really fits in with the group dynamic. He’s like Booth’s own squint.
This summary is good, but it’s not a TV watch. I am frustrated that both the network and this website marginalize such a great show (even with as spotty of an episode as last night, with both season highs and lows). TV Guide at least treats this show to a show blog of its own, just like most other TV shows. and it comes out first thing in the morning, not halfway through the afternoon.
that said, I LOVE this show. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! I was so scared it would be Hodgins…Zach makes sense, but like everyone has said, only if there’s more time to develop it. I definitely won’t quit watching this show–it’s way better than many others out there, and I want to see what they do next (hopefully full) season, to rectify all the issues from being a shortened season this year. Love Booth and Brennan. and can’t wait for England!
I don’t agree that Zack needs to go or that they had to destroy his character to bring new life to the show. I really think the treatment he received was callous. I don’t think this development will endear anyone to this show and more than likely will turn them off. The writers strike did play a part, however with 3 months off you think they could have spent that time coming up with alternate strategies. To sum up I’m disappointed in the outcome. But the episode was done well and everyone was very believeable.
Where this episode went wrong:
1) The fake funeral at the beginning was a cheap attempt at pulling the heart strings of the audience.
2) Zack as isolated, widow’s son serial killer makes negative amounts of sense. He has a strong, if somewhat socially awkward community supporting him (both friends and family)and he’s shown an aversion to killing and loss of life throughout the show. Most importantly, his greatest mentor has always been Brennan. It’s completely unrealistic that he would betray her trust.
3) I get that the squints love Zack and are having a hard time accepting that he’s a killer, but their reactions were way too accepting. Only Cam had a moment of saying “I’m done with him.” For a group of people dedicated to giving the dead dignity, respect, and justice, having them all stay warm and fuzzy toward their friend-turned-serial killer’s-apprentice didn’t ring true.
What worked in this episode:
1) Caroline’s sidebar at the funeral when she said she doesn’t like many people. So funny. Her character is terrific– they should give her more screen time.
2) The bathroom scene– yes, it was out of character for Booth to have the funny beer hat. But the interaction between him and Brennan there was priceless. Plus, any excuse to show David Boreanaz naked is a good thing.
3) Brennan asking the #3 grad student for the names of the people ahead of her in the class. Such a classic Brennan moment. (But I, like others on this board, would hate to see the writers try to pull a House and have a revolving door of newbies try to fill a departed regular’s shoes.)
See, everyone says that Zack as the apprentice makes sense, but I don’t agree at all. As a loyal watcher from the pilot, I can say that what they say happened with Zack and the “Master” flies in the face of his logical thought processes. Zack gets taken in by someone who thinks secret societies are bad and the way to combat them is to kill and EAT their practitioners? Zack is persuaded to make a set of dentures using only canines from unidentified skeletons in limbo? I don’t buy it. It was rushed, and a cop out. The interaction between Zack and all the other characters was great, comic relief and will be sorely missed. They didn’t have to write him out. If they thought they had really done all they could with the character, it’s the writers’ room that needs fresh faces, not the cast. I’m not done with the show by any means, since this is the only episode out of 3 seasons I’ve had issue with. They sure screwed the pooch on the finale, though!!
I forgot–it’s not the Master and the apprentice that are widow’s sons, it’s the victims. The violinist, the priest, and the lobbyist were all widow’s sons.
What really annoyed me was making Gormagon some anonymous stranger. After all this built up he’s just some guy. They could of revealed Zach and let the Gormagon mystery play out for the first half of next season. And if Bones could poke holes in the logic of Gormagon then Zach should of been able too since they think exactly alike. And yes Cam had the only realistic reaction to the news.
I actually think that had they played up the ‘Is-Booth-Dead-Or-Not’ angle any longer than they did, it would have been annoying; we all KNEW Booth wasn’t dead. And going back and forth on who the killer might be was already annoying me, they cut that off at the right point. All-in-all, a good finale. I’ll be back.
I’m sorry, but I LOVED this ep. I am so tired of shows where you can predict everything. Most viewers probably never saw that coming and thought it would be Sweets. I loved the bathroom scene, loved the “can I have the names of the top two”, loved everything. This show breaks the mold and has the most humor with drama of any show since Buffy. Long live BONES!!
Bad idea and horrible execution of idea. Bones skates by on cast chemistry and they just royally screwed that up. Plus, how would the Jeffersonian have a reputation to stand on after this? Wouldn’t all of Zach’s expert testimony since he went “bad” be up for appeal? Now, I love Zach but I could have accepted this if it was set-up properly next season. Instead it’s just poor form, character assasination and insulting to fans. As a casual viewer I had no qualms with taking it off the ‘ol DVR series list last night.