Image Credit: Greg Gayne/FoxI’m okay with this episode underwhelming me, but if next week’s Grave Digger trial doesn’t wow, I won’t be so forgiving. Brennan and Hodgins being buried alive is still one of the show’s best hours. (Booth’s near-death experience at her hand, not so much. They owe us.)
On paper, I can see where both of last night’s storylines — Booth and Brennan investigated the murder of a witch who’d gone dark and gotten killed by her well-intentioned coven tripping on LSD fungus in their ceremonial rye flour, and Hodgins and Angela got stuck together in jail and finally had the time to confess they’re still in love and get married — sounded great. But the case never went as deep (or as funny) as it could have, and for a series that relies on logic, the circumstances surrounding Angela and Hodgins’ alone time were frankly annoying. They never tried explaining to the cop who pulled Hodgins over that he swerved because he was looking at a photo of the crime scene and then wanted to experience the Prius’ magical ability to get the most obvious product placement since Avatar help you stay in your lane. Angela went right to flirting and Hodgins to vicious rhetoric, neither of which worked. The cop took them in and found out she had an outstanding bench warrant for defying a notice to appear on a speeding charge and he had a warrant for escaping police custody during a Freedom of Information protest eight years ago. They had to wait for the small town judge/barber to rule on their warrants before they could leave. Apparently, the cop who was so by the book didn’t give them their one phone call until the next morning, when they finally phoned the lab. Cam came for them, just as Angela was getting an orgasmic massage from Hodgins (it’s kind of awesome that a scientist on TV is portrayed as having magic hands and other parts — page 187!). Cam couldn’t get the cop to release them, so she just took the evidence and left them there to continue tossing a penny into a cup and providing occasional insight into the case remotely.
Eventually, Angela asked Hodgins if he ever wondered what happened to them on the day they broke up. They both admitted they replay the conversation they had word for word. She wishes she hadn’t walked away, his biggest regret is that he didn’t try to stop her. Hodgins said he was afraid they wouldn’t be able to sustain that kind of happiness; Angela said it was like they were playing chicken and both swerved. When what they should have done was crash into each other, Hodgins said. That was kind of hot. “At the speed of light,” Angela added. TOO CHEESY. And kiss! I should have heard trumpets — this moment has been a long time coming — but all I kept thinking was that clip I’ve seen of Kate and Sawyer in that cage on Lost was so much steamier.
Since they finally had the judge, and a witness in the cop, they took the opportunity to get married. That made sense. I don’t think Brennan and Booth could deal with wedding day tension again right now. We found out that Hodgins carried his ring in his wallet since their first wedding. And what, Angela made hers into some kind of naughty piercing? Anyway, they had rings. The vows were sweet enough. Hodgins went first, and his simple “I’m your guy,” harkening back to his reaction when Angela feared she was pregnant with Wendell’s baby, totally got me. It’s just sexy when a guy is that sure and that willing to express it. (Though I do hope he wasn’t serious about having sex in the cell.) Angela, or whatever her real name is (surprisingly, I don’t actually care), started off, and I thought she was stealing from The Runaway Bride, but she made the realistic vows her own. They’ll live and love, have fun and a little pain, and share a life that will make other people die with jealousy. (Can they really be that happy, or is there a hidden clue in there for drama to come?)
Back on the case, I was a little disappointed they never explained why the witch’s feet shriveled up like in The Wizard of Oz. Otherwise, the lasting takeaways: Sweets was once again an expert in something we never knew he was interested in. His first published paper was on the collective sociopathology behind the Salem Witch Trials. Sure. Why not? Somehow, the coven found the time to give Booth a little toothpick figure of Brennan as they were being questioned. If he burned it in front of her, whatever wish he made for her would come true. He wished that she’d find happiness: “Love, laughter, friendship, purpose, and a dance.” Or, in other words, him.
Your turn. What did you think of the episode?
I found the mystery to be mjorly disappointing given that Kathy Reichs wrote the episode! Plus I was disappointed at the lack of explanation about the shoes.
I actually liked the whole Angela and Hodgins thing, but then I am a big sucker for romance, especially ooey-gooey romance. Please writers, no drama for them!
As for next week’s episode, I think that it will be awesome…and I predict that the Gravedigger will go free.
And they did get one fact wrong (although I suppose the bent the truth to fit the story), only one person was pressed to death during the Salem Witch Trials and that person was a male, Giles Corey. He’s the only person pressed to death (as a form of judicial punishment) in American History. It’s possible that a woman did undergo pressing during the trials, but she didn’t die.
You’re absolutely right. I was really hopeful when Sweets indicated that he had a particular interest in this topic, but then the plot just went into the dumper along with the rest of the historical truth. What Sweets should have been studying WASN’T the psychology of a community’s reaction to actual “witches.” It would have been the psychology of neighbors willing to use false accusations to steal their neighbors’ land, gain standing in their community, etc. (For more info, check out “The Devil in the Shape of a Woman” by Carol F. Karlsen.)
I didn’t mind that they made up a victim from the Salem trials. It’s fiction, they made up a fictional character.
I’m glad there was not more about Wicca, since what they did have was so inaccurate. I don’t think they did any research at all.
Plus the date of the alleged witch’s execution was actually after the Witch Trials were over. Just a minor point. And as much as I love Angela & Hodgins finally getting back together (way past time show) no way are they legally married in the state of Maryland (I think this took place in MD – I was kind of distracted at the beginning of the show) which requires a marriage certificate that isn’t valid until 2 days after it’s issued and then only for 6 months. If it hadn’t been Angela & Hodgins, I’d have been really p.o.’d over this inaccuracy rather than mildly irritated.
Considering they couldn’t be bothered to depict the legal system in Maryland with even the tiniest bit of accuracy (the marriage certificate, plus A&H wouldn’t have had to wait so long to see a judge – they would’ve been taken to the Circuit Court for arraignment the next morning at the latest), I’m sure they didn’t bother researching the Salem Witch Trials or Wicca either. Except for A&H getting back together, this was a seriously underwhelming episode, and they better step it up ’cause overall this season hasn’t been that good.
so they never DID explain the shoes?
Nope. And RED shoes at that? It was all just a cheap “witch” reference to the Wizard of Oz, with no connection to the story whatsoever. Hey writer, nice try at being clever, but…FAIL!
Here, I’ll give it a shot… The body was found after a fire. The shoes, during the course of the fire, were heated and melted onto the body, trapping a pocket of hot air inside. The body was trapped under debris (reducing air flow and keeping the shoes relatively warm) during the firefighting process and until the team got there. When they uncovered the body from under the debris, the hot gases still trapped within the shoe cooled until their decrease in temperature created a pocket of decreased air pressure (Ideal Gas Law, volume is proportional to temperature) strong enough to pull in the shoe. Since the top of the shoe was melted onto the top of the foot (creating the vacuum seal) and the sole was likely attached to the bottom of the foot, those points were fixed and the shoe top couldn’t simply collapse. Instead, the way to decrease the volume of the shoe (to equalize the pressure) would be for the shoe tip to rotate up (the curling), collapsing the toe region and causing rotation around the joints in the toes.
Q, I have to say, you ROCK for that! No offense but that was pretty nerdy in the most awesome way possible, and even better was that I understood it! Except for one thing–IDEAL GAS LAW REMINDS ME THAT I REALLY SHOULD BE STUDYING FOR MY MAY 10TH AP PHYSICS EXAM!
Angela and Hodgins were cheesy but I always thought they were a bit on the cheesy side of things so I loved it.
But back to important stuff hehe
Adored the Booth and Brennan moment at the end, of course.
I agree that the mystery was pretty flat this week, but I’m so excited for the final two episodes of the season!!
Favorite line:
Sweets “So I’ve been thinking about dead cats.”
Brennan “That doesn’t seem like a good use of your time…”
Yeah, I agree that this was a “meh” episode for me as well, probably due to the writing… I get that the “shipper” plots are integral to the show, but it really feels to me that over the past couple seasons, that’s mostly what the show has been about and the cases/science are an afterthought. I’m tentative about the Gravedigger ep next week, as I hope that Hanson and crew can recapture the first GD ep, as the capture/reveal episode was a huge letdown, with some uneccesary elements: spoiler if you haven’t seen it- (Booth’s ghost buddy, and the fact that the GD is a small statured female – couldn’t possibly have knocked Booth out/dragged him out) Hanson really dropped the ball on this possibly awesome nemesis, imo
Are you aware that in the original GD episode, Hanson and Co. were planning on revealing who the GD (in that episode it was going to be the reporter that was assisting Vega on his GD book) was? I doubt that she would’ve fit either. I still think that she can be a nemesis if she gets a “not guilty” verdict. I still think the Booth episode is mighty creepy, heightened by the fact that by and large women are not typically serial killers. And the few that are serial killers are usually poisoners.
I really liked the episode as a whole. Hodgela are a lovely distraction, but that’s all they are, a distraction.
You are dead on about the not so hidden meaning behind Booth’s wish. I just wish Brennan would react once in a while *sigh*
why not ‘Angelkins’? i am so tired of these stupid cutesy mash-up names.
Lol. I agree! I simply say “Angela and Hodgins.” It doesn’t take too much more breath or time to keep their names separate.
Yes! Please please please stop with the mashed together names! I’m so glad I’m not the only one that finds it annoying.
That said, I’m so glad that Angela and Hodgins finally got together (and married!). They clearly belonged together.
I love Angela and Hodgins! I hope it sticks this time. I wanted them to get married all those years ago and it didn’t happen but I’m ok with it happening now!
Yes, the case didn’t go as deep or as logical or clever as usual, but we FINALLY got a great episode with Angela and Hodgins. I knew we were getting a wedding this season, and I was desperately hoping it was Angela and Hodgins–just wasn’t expecting it this episode, but I love the spontaneity of the whole thing. I’m looking forward to next week’s epidsode, and I agree with rkor, I could totally see the Gravedigger going free.
This episode is just another week of Bones that again proves for me why I love this show! I thought it was a great episode and I’m so excited Angela and Hodgins are back together finally. We have been waiting a long time for that one. Next week will surely be great. Bones episodes that take place in the court room, in my opinion, have a pretty good track record and this case is going to be BIG so I don’t see how it could be a bad episode, even if the Gravedigger goes free.
The review by EW of this episode totally harshed my buzz from last night. I loved it and I screamed when Angela and Hodgins got married! So loud! Got a lot of unwanted attention. But yay! And next week looks intense.
The Angela/Hodgins wedding TOTALLY took me by surprise!! I cried!! And as far as a wedding happenin this season, don’t forget Sweets & Daisy are engaged. But the rest of the episode was a little bit of a let down. I think there was also MORE to Booth’s wish then he told Brennan!!!
Thought the corny-ness that is BONES was there, I had an entertaining hour!! My hubby rolled his eyes a few times.. But I totally called the Hodgela wedding before it happened.. and squeeled with excitement when it was happening- my hubby even got a bit mushy too!! LEAVE THESE TWO HAPPY NOW WRITERS! PLEASE!!!
Angelkins!!
I thought it was a low-middlin’ episode. I was surprised at how much I liked A & H’s getogether[as I am usually annoyed by her], I did though. I thought I just missed the feet explanation. I thought too, that they missed the huge big boat on the humor stuff. Think I’ll go watch some outtakes, need some helpless giggling today.
I loved the episode and especially the part of Hodgins and Angela getting married.
Yay! Me too. I was so excited!
i thought this week’s ep was okay. I thought the case itself was a little too surface and I think for the first time, I didn’t really like the whole Hodgins and Angela get stuck in a cell story line. Angela saying they should have crashed into each other “at the speed of light” just confirmed that I didn’t care for how that was done (or her real name). They’re good together and I really like both actors portrayals just not this ep for some reason. Next week’s episode does look fantastic though and I agree that I think the Gravedigger will go free. I just happened to catch a repeat last week of Brennan and Hodgins getting buried alive and it was great. That was the episode that got me really into this show as I had only watched it sporatically before.
loved it!! And I have decided I would enjoy these episodes so much more if I didn’t give into reading all the spoilers, so I am trying my hardest to avoid any spoilers for the last two eps…we’ll see if it works!
And I still have this nagging feeling that the season finale will be BIG, and VERY emotional, let’s hope in a good way, right??
My thoughts EXACTLY. I swear that I will remain spoiler free for the rest of the season!!
When I feel tempted to search for spoilers, I will go to fanfiction instead.
I thought this episode had some funny one-liners, a lot from Hodgins, but it was an ok episode. I, too, squeeled at the wedding. It was so unexpected.
The highlight of the episode was the surprise Angela & Hodgins episode. As a practicing Pagan, I’m glad that the episode didn’t fall completely into witch stereotypes. Brennan’s explanation was very good about Wicca. However, the murder case in itself was lacking. Next week should be intense with the Gravedigger’s trial.
Yeah, not “completely,” but too far. I was rolling my eyes and sucking my teeth throughout the whole episode. And YAY, Hodgela!! So happy to see those two back in deep with each other… so cute!
I found it pretty enjoyable, and surprisingly, the lack of explanation of the feet didn’t bother me. I actually kind of liked the moment when Booth brought up the red shoes and the feet that shriveled, and how Sweets’ eyes got big, but Brennan tried to make an excuse “There’s a scientific explanation for that.”
And LOVED the Angela-Hodgins wedding. Spontaneous wedding in a jail cell with a barber/judge officiating – it’s so Angela-Hodgins!
About frigging time, is all I can say. Yes, this was a tad mushy but at least the writers gave us who wanted this to actually happen a break. Onto the Gravedigger!
Line of the night: “Those naked ladies were trippin’.”
Totally! LOL
I thought it had the potential to be a much better episode than it actually turned out to be. They could have explored the witchcraft covenant more as opposed to the Angela / Hodgins story line. But I guess this was about getting them back together. Personally, I’m pretty indifferent about them. My question is “Now what (with A and H). Is the fact they are married become a big integral part of the show. Or will it be used to crank up the soap opera aspects whenever a script is otherwise lacking.
Also, I know lots of women may disagree with me, but I get awfully sick of the “2 minutes of lovesick Booth” at the end of each episode.
I’m never sick of a lovesick Booth!! I like it when Booth is all serious (it’s Goofy Booth all the time that I found tiring…).
They seemed to skimp a bit on the science a bit last night.
1) How did cause the shoes to shrivel up just at the moment they did (that is, other than to force the Wizard of Oz comparison)?
2) Crows are indeed carrion eating skavengers(sp?), but I didn’t know that they like super well done cooked to the bone corpses. I guess they were there as an excuse to quickly locate the other bones. (as if that wouldn’t have happened in a few minutes anyway.
3) Wouldn’t that wedding dress have be burnt up in the fire? even if it was in a cabinet. It would seem it would have had some damage anyway. It looked perfectly pressed.