BONES Debate Part 2: Can Our Minds Be Changed on the Booth-Brennan Relationship? - Give Me My Remote : Give Me My Remote

BONES Debate Part 2: Can Our Minds Be Changed on the Booth-Brennan Relationship?

May 5, 2011 by  

Last week, we did something a little bit different to lead up to the BONES episode, “The Pinocchio in the Planter”: our fabulous BONES recapper Sarah Curtis and I indulged in our own brand of radical honesty while debating where we wanted the Booth and Brennan relationship to go. Today we’re going to finish up our debate on the topic (for now) and hash out whether there is anything that would change our views.

Before we restart our debate, a reminder of the groundwork we laid last week to prevent panic/frustration. First of all, what we’re saying below has absolutely nothing to do with any spoilers for the rest of the season. This isn’t about what WILL happen, this is about what we WANT to happen. And for the purpose of this discussion, while Brennan and Booth ARE together in many ways, together equals the intention or actions of being in a romantic relationship. No more defending their relationship as just partners. There would need to be an acknowledgment that there is more than friendship between them and they are going to be acting on it in the immediate future. It doesn’t mean they need to jump into bed, but together = no more significant others, they are committed to each other in whatever way they deem appropriate given their unconventional courtship thus far.

All good? Let’s continue our debate…

Marisa Roffman: Last week we debated our feelings about whether Booth and Brennan should get together. You and I both feel fairly strongly about our positions, but is there anything the show could do in the next two episodes that would make you not want Booth and Brennan together by the end of the season?

Sarah Curtis: Hmmm…as Booth said in the elevator, “Well…yeah.” I guess (and this might be a cop-out), but the only thing the show could do to make me not want that is to somehow NOT do it and…pull out all the stops on a finale that makes up for it. So far, the past three finales have not wowed me, so I’m not thinking that will happen. I sort of joked last time that I thought B&B were ready after the mistletoe kiss, but now I know they wouldn’t have been. So they will have to create some realistic scenario that would make me, afterward, think…oh, they weren’t ready. But honestly, we’ve had so many of those scenarios already, I really can’t think of any additional plausible obstacles.

MR: If they get together this season and don’t address many of the lingering issues between them (which they semi-addressed in the last episode when they said some things were better left unsaid), would that taint the relationship at all to you?

SC: No, not at all actually. I think it’s important for all of us to remember the first 99 episodes of this show. Booth and Brennan worked together, but they also worked through a lot together. Perhaps it wasn’t through blatant conversations about a future relationship, but it was still there. Importance of family? Check. Devotion to their jobs? Check. Religion, desire for a baby, love vs. sex? Check, check & check. If B&B are done right, they are always going to have issues, and they are going to work through them, just as they’ve always done. The only difference will be that they will have verbally and officially declared their romantic and official feelings and devotion for one another. That admission won’t “cure” them of issues — it will only make them stronger. Which issues do you think MUST be discussed? What can’t be left unsaid?

MR: I actually don’t mind their differences being unresolved. I think even if Booth and Brennan got together next episode and stayed together the next 70 years, they’d still have opposing views on vital things, which is why I actually believe they would work well as an on-screen couple. Their differences make them them, and I truly do hope we get time to explore them as a couple and trying to navigate those fights when the stakes are higher.

For me, I think the fallout from episode 100 needs to be resolved before they become a couple. I think Booth should know why Brennan said no at the time. And I think Brennan would want to know how Booth could say she was the one and that he knew she was it to proposing to someone else a year later. Yes, he absolutely had the right to move on, but if Brennan doesn’t trust in love being forever and Booth basically proved her point, the Brennan we knew would logically want to know why she should trust in it this time.


SC: I agree with you in hoping that we get time to explore them as a couple. I also think though that when Booth said “you’re right” and Brennan said “I know” during their convo outside the FBI building the 100th that they actually DID know exactly what was happening. I kind of think they always know what is happening — they are just still circling around one another. Would they call what happened a fallout? If they don’t, then can we? Are we allowed to be mad FOR them if they aren’t upset with one another? I don’t know the answer to that; it’s something I think about a lot. People say that the 100th had to happen to break the stalemate, but I see B&B (in the past few eps) in just as stagnant a spot. Something needs to happen. I think the key is that no one will be able to get the credit (or the blame) for it but B&B, somehow.

Not Sweets, not the lack of Hannah, not Angela, not Max, not anyone but Brennan and Booth themselves. LOL, I usually roll my eyes at fans (including myself) who make demands on the writers for how B&B should get together, but for me, honestly right now, I can’t get Brennan’s tears (“The Doctor in the Photo”) from my mind. I can’t get Booth’s pain (“The Daredevil in the Mold”) from my mind. I *need* something…SOMETHING that brings redemption to those moments. Does that make me demanding or impatient? I don’t know! Those moments were real and raw to me, and I bought into them, all for the hope of the raw beauty that can/will come when Booth and Brennan open themselves up to one another. To have to wait an entire summer (or more?) for that…it’s hard to imagine. It’s hard to imagine that they would start out a season with conversations that are needed. Which means we’re looking at a summer and several eps before a “big sweeps-worthy moment.” And I don’t know…it can’t wait that long. It can’t go on as is, with infinitesimal baby steps behind clinks of beers and knowing smiles. Like I said when we first started talking about this — I think the partners are ready. Do you think they are ready for at least the talk you want them to have? I’ll ask you your question as well…is there anything the show could do in the next two episodes that would make you want Booth and Brennan together by the end of the season?

MR: Interesting that you think Booth and Brennan were on the same page during episode 100. My thought was he never really heard her after she pushed him away and said, “I can’t.” If he was listening, he could have pointed out that her argument that she couldn’t change was flawed because she has been changing throughout their partnership. I always interpreted that scene as Booth realizing he had done exactly what he knew he shouldn’t do when she wasn’t ready for it, so he retreated. I don’t know if they are mad at each other, per se, but I think they have unresolved issues stemming from that night. It set them down the path they’re on, led to the pain you mentioned, and quite frankly they haven’t been the same since. (Which isn’t necessarily a completely bad thing.)

I feel like you are right that when Booth and Brennan take that final step, it will likely be because of them. Many of these missteps so far have been because of them letting themselves be pressured by outside influences. They need to be the ones to set themselves right, not Sweets, Angela, Max or whatever. That would be my ideal situation.

Would I be okay with Booth and Brennan getting together this season? I think selfishly I’d love for someone to finally shut people up about this stupid MOONLIGHTING curse. BONES has at least one more year and I think it would be fun to see Booth and Brennan struggle with coupledom for at least 22 episodes. But I don’t know if I’d be happy if they were just pushed together without talking out some of what’s gone down. I think Booth and Brennan are ready to have the necessary talk (at least discuss Hannah. I’d love to know what Brennan thought when she heard that Booth proposed to Hannah and what Booth thought about Brennan during that time), but I don’t know if they think they are ready to be honest — at least based on the final scene in the last episode. They can’t keep skirting around the hurt they’ve caused each other if they want to be together, because yes, they have hurt each other. They need to get it out, deal with it and move on together.

And like you, it can be uncomfortable when people demand the show be written the way they want. I adore the show; I have been watching since the pilot. Of course I have opinions on what has gone down. (An absolute shock, I’m sure.) But I also realize that whatever my ideal situation is, that doesn’t necessarily make it 100% what’s right for the show. It’s not my show. It’s not your show. We’re pretty much at the mercy of the writers, actors and everyone who works on it.

However, with that being said, what do you guys think?

Related:

BONES Debate: Should Booth and Brennan Get Together This Season?
BONES: Hart Hanson Talks ‘The Change in the Game’ and a Potential Season 7
BONES: John Francis Daley Teases ‘The Truth in the Myth’

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Comments

31 Responses to “BONES Debate Part 2: Can Our Minds Be Changed on the Booth-Brennan Relationship?”

  1. Kim on May 5th, 2011 2:34 pm

    I do not want to see Booth and Brennan together. If they are at that point by the finale, there will have to be some big conversations, between these two people, in the next few episodes, to even make it a remote possibility in my mind. At this point seeing how this season has gone so far, it’d be anti-climatic for Booth and Brennan to get together. It’ll be the show throwing them together.

    There is no way these two people should be together at this point, after what has gone on this year. I would hate seeing this happen. I don’t even see a romantic connection between Booth and Brennan, at this point in season six. That needs to be addressed before anything else should occur between these two. They act more like brother and sister in their interactions. I have yet to even see where they are romantically interested in each other at this point. What they have shown us in the past few episodes hasn’t sold me on them, as a viable couple.

    It is more important to me that this story of Bones, be told well, and in a believable way. I don’t want to see a story being told that feels rushed or makes absolutely no sense to me as a viewer. Getting Booth and Brennan together at this point isn’t something I want to see happen this year. It would actually make me dislike season six even more than I already do. If that is the current plan.

    I am glad to see this season coming to an end. It has been a struggle for me to stick with this current story and show. I’m hoping that season seven brings with it some fresh ideas and a story that’ll once again be worth my viewing time. I am ready for the non-stop angst and drama of season six to be over. It has been emotionally draining to watch. I don’t want to feel this way again while watching a show and characters I’ve grown to love. I want this show to be fun again, because right now it isn’t. I have not seen a single episode this season that has made me excited to see the next one might bring. With only three episodes left, Bones can’t be over soon enough for me.

  2. E on May 5th, 2011 3:16 pm

    Kim, I completely agree with you. For me, these past couple of seasons, I have felt the chemistry go from dazzling to almost non-existent. Whatever chemistry they have to me seems more like friends or “brother and sister,”
    I really can’t see them together.

    I am a Brennan fan all the way, and there is no way she could believe in forever love after Booth jumped so quickly into the Hannah relationship and then proposing. Yes, he had the right to move on. But proposing after he knew how Bones felt, this would make any woman doubt what his feelings had been for her, if any. HH thinks that Brennan rationalizes everything but she could not rationalize this.

    What I have hated most about this season is how they have depicted Brennan.
    She has had so little support from her so called friends, including Angela, and they just portray her as cold and clueless. We know she is not and I am afraid that this is how the writers are going to move the relationship along. In their writing, Brennan was wrong, knows she was wrong, and will accept the relationship on any terms, because she was wrong. She is accepting being the consolation prize. I did not watch the show for 5 seasons to get Season 6 which has almost ruined the show for me. I know others feel differently but this is how I feel.

    They need to sit down and discuss (or yell) and get everything out in the open.

    Deep down Brennan is insecure about relationships. They need to hash this out. I don’t want another Angela/Hodgins scenario. I still can’t get on board with how that was done.

    Honestly, I would have been happier to have them both move on with others.
    I would have liked to see Brennan with someone who truly loved her. HH has always said that they would end up together, but right now Booth is settling for Brennan, and Brennan deserves more.

    I really hope they don’t get together this season and they don’t go with them having a baby together right now. Too forced. Unfortunately, I have really lost faith in the writing and the ability of the team to write a good love story.
    I am glad they only have a one year renewal. I hope they will have less filler episodes and more episodes with some substance. I love the humor of the show but this season has gone overboard with it.

    Bring back the chemistry and make their love story “special.” We all know it is the end game, but make it worth the journey. Right now, to me, it is just two people settling.

  3. Cor on May 5th, 2011 3:18 pm

    While I don’t want to compare B&B to A&H, I somewhat see the reason that one chase has ended in marriage and one chase has just ended is that the chase had some results. A&H dated. They worked through some problems. They worked through more problems every time they got back together. Not to say that there haven’t been any more problems, but they’ve worked through them. B&B keep running from each other every time they get close to anything. They really don’t have much to go back to to see what they can work out because there doesn’t seem to be anything that defined an end in a relationship. I think they need some points to say hey this didn’t work this time, what can we do next time. They do need to discuss the things that have been in the past outside of a dating relationship, it’s just a matter of how.

  4. mommahurley on May 5th, 2011 3:44 pm

    I do want to see them get together, but I’d rather see them get together without all of their issues resolved but with a faith that whatever their issues are, they understand eachother, and accept eachother for exactly who they are. They will have times when their issues arise and they have to arguments…after all those arguments are agruably the best part of Bones… but just as they’ve always been able to do, they quickly diffuse any situation because while each may not feel the same as the other, each respects and defends the others right to feel that way.

    I don’t believe that they have all that much to still make amends for. They each wen through their own growth, and I agree that Brennan did a lot of obvious changing, howver Booth has also come to grips with the fact that he does have feelings he can’t lock away with a quip and a cocky smile, or anger…. he needs people to love him…and he needs to be able to say “It’s not fair” when life kicks him. I think we’ve only begun to see that Booth is changing. I don’t think they need to wait for the transformation to be complete… I think Booth just needed to trust that Brennan could believe in love and committment becuase he’s had so little of people staying around.. and loving him.. in his life!

    I think they are ready..but agree that only they should be the ones that decide!

  5. Drippan on May 5th, 2011 4:00 pm

    I don’t think it’s going to matter what HH/SN do about the B&B relationship by the end of the season. They have boxed themselves into a corner where if they put them together, people will say they were forced too. If they don’t, the show will have the reputation of ‘Pulling a Bones’. I don’t think that is the epitath this series wants to display but it’s already out there.

    The finale needs some HUGE and SHOCKING to end the season on and Jack/Angela’s baby nor anything they do with B&B will do it. Sure, people may be interested in these thing but they aren’t into them anymore.

  6. Barbara on May 5th, 2011 4:11 pm

    Marisa, why do you expect Brennan to want or need to trust in love being forever? Brennan’s journey has been all about accepting that taking that chance on a relationship is worth risking the pain she might feel if and when it ends – which seems to speak pretty loud and clear to me that she understands and is prepared for it to END.

    Brennan has not stated any change to her opinion that love is ephemeral. She has only said that she regrets missing her chance and she doesn’t want to have regrets.

    I think it’s fan projection, honestly, that Brennan is looking for “forever ” love. That’s not who she is. And for all the claims that Brennan is being forced to change – she hasn’t, really. She did not apologize to the podiatrist in Feet on the Beach, despite everyone wanting her to. She did not change her mind about the yeti in Truth in the Myth. In Blackout in the Blizzard, she insists she does not believe in Fate.

    The only thing about Brennan that has truly changed is her willingness to take risks with her heart and emotions. How that equals “Booth has to make Brennan believe in forever love” is a mystery to me.

    As for discussing the 100th – why? It’s water under the bridge now. They had their discussion about contrition and regret in Feet on the Beach. Nothing in Brennan’s behavior suggests she faults him on iota for the Hannah situation.

    Now Booth, being Booth, will probably feel a need to explain the proposal at some point. But I don’t think Brennan is wringing her hands over it, honestly.

    As for chemistry – of course they haven’t had any chemistry this season! Booth spent most of it in a relationship with someone else. He wouldn’t flirt with Brennan nor she with him under those circumstances. Now they are feeling their way back toward each other and yes, the chemistry has cooled, because their relationship is different. It’s not “will they/won’t they” it’s “we will, at some point, and we know it.”

    Frankly, the complaints about lack of chemistry are exactly why showrunners hesitate to put the leads together, IMO. The chemistry of a couple who know they are and will be together is not the same as that of couples who are still unsure. Anyone who’s been in a relationship for a few years can testify to that.

  7. Marisa Roffman on May 5th, 2011 5:14 pm

    @Barbara: I don’t think Brennan necessarily needs love to be forever, but that’s what Booth pitched to her. He told her he knew she was the “one” (a notion she has expressed doubts on, true, but she also has expressed that her thoughts on love have been changing thanks to Booth), but moved on. Did he have the right to move on? Absolutely. He told her he would, they weren’t in a relationship, even if people didn’t like it, he was a free man. But considering what a vital relationship Booth is in both her personal and professional life, if Booth was to pitch forever to her again (which if he’s wise, he’ll have a different approach if he’s the one to bring it up next), something that would alter their dynamic forever, regardless of whether it lasts or not, I believe the Brennan we know would pause. She’s not a fairytale character who is simply waiting for her prince to sweep her off her feet. She’s a logical woman who, I believe, would want to make sure she has all the facts and know where she stands if she was going to take a gigantic leap of faith.

  8. Nancy on May 5th, 2011 5:14 pm

    Mommahurley, I agree with you 100%. You express my feelings about B&B’s relationship so well. I’ve loved Bones from the begining. I firmly believe they belong together in a romantic commited relationship this season. You have explained how B&B’s relationship should continue with them together as a couple. Working through their different ideas on many things as they always have.

  9. E on May 5th, 2011 5:49 pm

    If they just get them together without talking thru the issues, there is no drama. To me, that does not make for interesting television. I have not found Hogela interesting because things are just so “great” between them. It is sweet, but as a secondary couple of the show. If Booth and Brennan were to become like this, I agree with HH that he could only write so much and people for the most part would lose interest.

    I think if you have been a shipper you would just want them to get together.
    I lost faith in them a while ago (regardless of what others think, people together for many years still do have a chemistry together) I know HH will put them together, but I would rather see some drama in doing so, and also stay true to the character. I am tired of Brennan being the one to always have to change her opinions. She is not like everyone else, nor should she have to be. That is what drawers many fans to her character.

  10. Kim on May 5th, 2011 5:59 pm

    Season six has basically shown us that if a relationship where to happen between Booth and Brennan, and it didn’t work to Booth’s satisfaction or the way he wanted, he’d send Brennan packing without a backward glance. There would be no second chances or compromising on Booth’s part, that is not how he operates in relationships. Why would I want to see that played out on this show with Booth and Brennan? Booth and Brennan’s love story is forever tainted with this season’s plot. There is no fixing that for me as a viewer.

    Why would I ever want to see a relationship written for Booth and Brennan, after what we’ve seen with Angela/ Hodgins and Booth/ Hannah? Neither of these two relationships have been at all enjoyable, or flattering to the individual characters involved. The couple storylines that come from this show are very anti-climatic and not very well written. They tend to taint the individual characters, more than enhance them. Booth and Brennan would just be written to be as dull and boring as Hodgins/Angela and Booth/ Hannah were. Why would this be enjoyable to see? I don’t need to see another repeat of the couples I’ve already seen written for this show.

    Every network show on television tends to tell the exact same stories once a couple gets together. There is no originality after this point. Network show runner’s can’t seem to come up with any new fresh, never been scene plot devices at this point. That is why most shows end when they are forced to do this. The show has no more stories to tell at this point.

  11. Barbara on May 5th, 2011 6:07 pm

    @Marisa, I don’t think Booth will pitch forever again and I think that’s kind of the point.

    Brennan did not come to her conclusions because of what Booth said – at least that’s not how I interpret her growth this season. She came to her conclusions after spending time alone in Maluku, after observing her friends moving ahead with their own lives, after observing Booth in a relationship with someone else.

    She made her choices to change for her reasons, not because Booth pled his case well over the years. I assume you are referring to Dentist in the Ditch, but even then, she says “perhaps Booth’s premise is correct”, that love comes first, then chemicals. I don’t see that as attributing her change to him so much as attributing her willingness to consider other viewpoints. Maybe I’m splitting hairs….

    Anyway, back to my other point. I don’t think Booth will pitch forever. I see what’s happened since Daredevil in the Mold as Booth realizing that his “highly idealized” views on romance are not working for him. In a big, big, way!

    Since that episode I think we’ve seen Booth reconsider whether Fate shows you the One and You Just Know that all you need is love. We have seen him: 1) seek out Brennan on her day off and express interest in what she does (Killer/Crosshairs), something Booth has never done with Brennan, in the whole series (as far as I recall). 2) In Blackout, he stops to consider what they would be like as a couple 3) in Truth in the Myth, he posits a scenario where they disagree on a major issue and sees how they work that out 4) In the Finder, he compliments Brennan in her language – and from the look on her face “rigorous application of training” meant a lot more to her than “you’re the one”. 5) in Pinnochio, he admits that he has lied to her to protect himself, probably one of the most self-revealing things he’s ever said.

    To me, these all show a Booth who is growing both more self-aware and more aware of what it would really take to have a successful relationship — with Brennan, at least.

    So when the time comes – nope, I don’t think Booth will pitch forever. I think he’ll realize that Brennan’s way – logic, reason, let’s take our time and factor in all the variables – is the right way. How this ends up bringing them together – well, if I were writing it, I’d have a variation on the Hodgela proposal that worked in season 2 – let’s just be together, with no pressure, and just be happy.

    And psst…next time you talk to Hart Hanson, please pitch him the story idea I would most love to see in season 7: Max and Caroline have a fling – Booth catches him in the act, hilarity ensues.

  12. ann on May 5th, 2011 7:23 pm

    put booth and bones together and put the last nail in there coffin.to me hannah hurt this show too much for fans that cared about bones to want to see her in bed with him. maybe in 7 when he tells her some cleaned-up truth about if he really wants to be a dad to parker.

  13. Anna on May 5th, 2011 7:39 pm

    I don’t care if they get together or not. I wasn’t tired of waiting, and I don’t need immediate gratification. The fun is in the process.

    My first priority for BB would be for them to regain their equal partnership. All the talk about maintaining their differences and working through them, falling in love despite or because of their opposing and complementary natures— all that seems moot this season.
    The show has done everything this season to emphasize how pathetic Brennan is without Booth, how she needs to “grow” or “evolve” to Booth’s level. But the fanwanking epic treatises aside, the show itself has not shown us how Booth has changed and grown from his experiences. Last time I checked, “not being angry anymore” is hardly evolving.

    So the question Marisa asked about Booth explaining his actions to Bones- to me, it’s not about apologizing or making it up to Bones. It’s about sharing with her and the audience, how he’s changed and grown in the past year. Unless of course, the show is trying to suggest he’s not responsible for anything this season.

  14. Barbara on May 5th, 2011 9:58 pm

    Well, I don’t think it’s “fanwanking” to understand subtle storytelling. I don’t need the characters to have thought bubbles pop up over their heads to tell me what they are thinking. I can get the subtext in the actors’ performances.

    If people are expecting a scene in which the characters sit down and hash it out Dr. Phil style, I don’t know what show they’ve been watching all this time, but that has never been how the dialogue is written or how the characters communicate.

  15. Lurker on May 5th, 2011 10:05 pm

    Hashing out problems honestly and in a direct manner is too Dr. Phil? Honestly?! For a show that had its lead characters (going on 40+) burn pieces of paper with Hope Dates?

    And really, for earlier seasons, I might buy the “subtle” argument. But this season, all the important messages have been heavy handed, like anvils shouting at us. (I know, mixed metaphors, sorry).
    Brennan regrets the way she’s lived.
    Brennan needs to be less impervious.
    Booth is angry at the women in his life.
    Booth is good, the sniper is bad.
    Booth is a good father.
    None of these Very Special Messages/Episodes were subtle.

    I don’t understand the reluctance to clarify Booth’s supposed realizations and growth this season. And please, it’s not a matter of superior understanding and interpretation from other fans.

    And I agree with @Anna 100%. The show needs to present Booth’s evolution more clearly, not for the sake of ‘apologizing’ for anything, but for Booth’s character arc.

  16. Cheesy Queen on May 5th, 2011 10:24 pm

    Oh My God! We actually had a decent episode tonight! Yay! It felt like season 2 or 3.
    I loved seeing human, sensitive, forensic focused Brennan again. And kickass Booth, even if the show had to repeat, once again, what a great father he is.

    But on this debate, I have to go with above comment. There’s no way that the writers can shy away from an honest conversation by saying it’s not in character. In season 5, the show started including all these shipper moments right out of female viewers’ fantasies, or romantic comedies. And yes, I also couldn’t get over how lame it was to have two middle aged professionals to burn pieces of papers with a date on them. So, no, I don’t think an adult conversation is too much to ask. It’s only Dr. Phil cringe worthy if the writer continue to write lame so-called romantic lines.

    I think tonight’s episode just proves how much better the show is when BB are focused on the case and the romance happens naturally, and isn’t forced into the front.

  17. Cheesy Queen on May 5th, 2011 10:27 pm

    “that has never been how the dialogue is written or how the characters communicate.”

    Please see Luker’s list of obvious “anvil” dialogue/moment/messages. Again, an honest conversation is not automatically Dr. Phil cheesy. Though hold on… based on this season’s dialogue, maybe avoiding the talk *is* a blessing.

  18. LBC on May 6th, 2011 5:46 am

    @Barbara – you are spot on! love reading your comments 🙂

  19. Natalie on May 6th, 2011 10:01 am

    @Barbara I agree with everything you’ve said, and I couldn’t have said it in a better way so bravo to you. It baffles me as to why people can’t see Booth’s evolution as easily as they can see Brennan’s. Thanks for putting it out there.

  20. Shawn on May 6th, 2011 11:18 am

    I just started watching Bones on Netflix last week or so, so I’m fairly new to them. But seeing the episodes all in a row like that caught me up quickly. I felt that Booth jumped into the Hannah thing too quickly. He kept saying it wasn’t just rebounding, but his denial and not wanting to discuss it said the opposite. I think he was stung more by a second proposal rejection than he was by Hannah specifically. His proposal was not well thought out and premature, and he did know she wasn’t likely to say yes. Both proposals were for the wrong reason.

    Although I like the idea of B&B getting together, and I believe Bones has made a lot of growth this year, I’m not sure she’s ready to leave her lifestyle. For that reason alone I don’t think that “coupling” them would kill the show. She has a lot of issues still to work through. Booth hasn’t really dealt with his issues either.

  21. marple on May 6th, 2011 11:21 am

    @Anna, agree they need to get a balance between B&B before they go there. Imo that could only be done with a serious talk where Booth explains and apologize for some of his doings this season.

    If i´m gonna enjoy seing them together i need to see Booth take responsibility for his faults/wrong choices. Yes Brennan said no cause she was to scared to hurt him/ get hurt thats on her. The rest of his choices are his and only his not Brennans and not Sweets or Hannahs.

    He should not have treated Brennan like crap at the beginning of the season, thats his fault. He had a right to move on and she had just as much right to say no to his gamble. At the time he was supposedly happy and in love why should he behave like that.
    Then he proposes to a woman who clearly have said she wasn´t the marrying kind, when she says no, it´s no going back to just be together. How are they going to do with those issues. If Brennan had said yes in the 100 th would that now have been her.

    I don´t see any sign that he has feelings for her at all now. If there´s no talk i don´t want them to get there, Brennan deserves better. They need to show both Brennan and the viewers that he does love her, not only settles for second best. Yes i consider her to be a consolation prize even though he asked her first, because when he knew that she loved him, he chose Hannah and proposed,

    Just my opionion and Marissa i always enjoy to read your reviews and mostly agree with your points.

  22. Caroline Wozn on May 6th, 2011 12:17 pm

    “It baffles me as to why people can’t see Booth’s evolution as easily as they can see Brennan’s.”

    I’m going to go with @Cheesy Queen, @Lurker and @Anna on this. There’s been a huge difference in how blatant and heavy handed the show has been about Brenna’s mistakes, faults and problems. Booth get the “I’m angry” and “I’m not angry” speeches. That’s really not owning up to your problems.

    The show does have a history of not giving payoff for big plot points, but this season especially, they’ve had a lot “telling” not “showing” episodes. Based on Lurker’s list of Very Special Episodes, there’s no excuse for not spelling out Booth’s growth in a more direct way.

    What I’m getting is a double standard: They are both complex, flawed characters. But Bones needs to grow, while Booth needs to what? Just wait for everyone to come around and accept him for who he is? Time is really running out on showing how he’s grown this season. He’s been passive aggressive or acting like a martyr all season long.

    @marple, I’m actually going to say that like Anna, I think Booth needs to acknowledge his own part in his misery for his own sake, an apology to Bones would be secondary. Though I suppose they go hand in hand.

    I think the positive reaction to this week’s episode, and how it fits right into season 2~4 makes a joke out of the so-called evolution this season.

  23. Caroline Wozn on May 6th, 2011 12:21 pm

    Oh, and my powers of interpretation and imagination are as lively as anyone’s. I could in fact, try to make sense out of Booth’s growth if I wanted to. And fans have every right to interpret how they like to enjoy or make sense out of the show. But I don’t see it on the show in a satisfying manner, and I personally don’t like the difference between how they’re spelling out Brennan’s problems and growth vs being coy abou Booth’s. Meanwhile, the show hasn’t been subtle about Booth’s superiority in the sniper arc.

  24. Barbara on May 6th, 2011 1:02 pm

    @Caroline, well you said it. You could choose to interpret things positively, but you don’t want to. If that’s going to be your attitude, what’s the point of watching?

    The show is what it is, and the powers that be are going to tell the story they want to tell. As viewers we can choose to seek meaning in what is presented to us, or we can stomp our collective feet and say “No! I am still unhappy because the thing I wanted to happen two seasons ago didn’t happen!”

    I have seen comments elsewhere on the net – not here, so don’t think I’m accusing anyone – that they basically want Hart Hanson to sit in front of the camera and apologize for everything from the last five minutes of Parts in the Sum of the Whole onward and it’s the only thing that will make them happy.

    He’s telling the story he’s telling. You don’t have to like it, obviously. But it’s going to be told his way, nonetheless.

  25. Alison Tabor on May 6th, 2011 1:17 pm

    How old are all you people? Have any of you been married for about 20 years? Booth and Brennan are committed to eachother, and they are quite respectful of each other as well. This is a wonderful relationship for two characters to share. They began at two philosophical extremes with an intense physical attraction. They have spent 7 years dealing with the philosophical and the emotional aspects of their partnership. I hope the writers do their physical connection justice. Booth and Brennan can’t just fall into bed. The characters will have to agree. It may be “unromantically” planned, but it will still be fantastic when it finally happens. And it will make the show even better.

  26. marple on May 6th, 2011 1:18 pm

    Just to clarify what i meant about wanting him to apologize. It´s not about Hannah, thats all on him. I´d like to hear something on how bad he treated her in the beginning of the season, thats not how a true friend acts.

    Also how he lashed out in ff after the proposal. I understand these things happens, but any decent friend would say something the next day about being sorry for lashing out.

  27. Smilla on May 6th, 2011 1:19 pm

    It’s not about positive vs negative interpretations. For me at least, it’s not fulfilling if I feel like I’m fanwanking. For others, that’s the fun. Either way, it’s up to the viewer. But I do see lots of comments trying to dictate how critical comments are wrong/’just don’t get it’/shouldn’t watch/aren’t fans.

    Yesterday’s episode was stellar, but I don’t think it does much either way for this debate.

  28. Marisa Roffman on May 6th, 2011 1:56 pm

    @ Barbara: “I have seen comments elsewhere on the net – not here, so don’t think I’m accusing anyone – that they basically want Hart Hanson to sit in front of the camera and apologize for everything from the last five minutes of Parts in the Sum of the Whole onward and it’s the only thing that will make them happy. ”

    I’ll speak for myself (and I know you said it wasn’t anyone here, but this is fascinating to me that people want this) and say I don’t think HH has anything that he needs to apologize for in terms of the show. It’s his show. Do I agree with everything he’s done with it? Of course not. It’s not realistic to agree with anyone on everything, even if the show lasts two episodes. I actually loved the trajectory of the end of episode 100 until the end of season five (going to ignore season six for a minute because my feelings are more complex on that, but I still don’t think an apology is owed). It seemed incredibly realistic that Booth might make a knee jerk move and Brennan would react in kind and then it would mess them up. I love that the end of season five didn’t pretend to insult our intelligence by acting that everything was normal. It wasn’t.

  29. ann on May 7th, 2011 6:04 am

    crap of hannah needs explaining,along with the chip on the shoulder attitude, bones needs to do some serious thinking before that happens.

  30. Barbara on May 7th, 2011 8:55 am

    @Marisa, I find it fascinating too, but from what I can tell, a portion of the viewership thought they were getting one kind of love story – hero falls in love with heroine and after a few minor bumps in the road, they live happily ever after – and feel they had the rug pulled out from under them at the last minute with the heavy drama.

    I guess my feeling has been that Booth and Brennan would always, eventually end up a couple so whatever happens between them is apparently what Hanson feels is necessary to achieve that end. It’s not the only reason I watch the show; I’m as interested in the rest of the cast, Booth and Brennan as individual characters not just their coupling, the humor and to a far lesser extent the cases themselves. The cases have become steadily less and less interesting since season 2 – with occasional exceptions like Proof in the Pudding.

    See? I can be critical @Smilla!

    I guess what I’m really objecting to, is the continual fan flogging of things that happened a long time ago. The rejection in the 100th happened. The parting in Beginning in the End happened. Hannah happened. The proposal happened. No matter how much people may have disliked these things, they happened. Continuing to complain that they shouldn’t have happened or harboring resentment toward the show because they did happen – I just don’t understand that mentality. It’s as unfulfilling to me as what others call “fanwanking”.

    And don’t even get me started on the people who are still upset about the season 4 finale! It’s time to move on.

  31. Lola on May 7th, 2011 9:38 am

    Booth simply needs to explain his actions. I find it very out of character if Brennan never asks him about his statements of love he’s made to her. How he knows these things with his gut. But then fall flat on his face when he tries to implement them.
    If Booth doesn’t explain wanting forever with Brennan and then turning around and proposing to Hannah well he should at the very least accept/admit his role in his failed love life.
    I’m not near a fan of Booth as I used to be. I wouldn’t trust the guy……why should Brennan. I need to know how he has changed. He needs to talk about it at some point so he realizes these things and doesn’t repeat the same mistakes.
    I feel I can say the B&B story isn’t nearly as enjoyable as it once was.
    What happens next week, happens……I don’t really care one way or the other because nothing has made sense to me this year. I’m not expecting next week to make sense either.
    I get it’s HH’s story. I’m not as interested as I once was because of the choices he’s made. I don’t get worked up about it anymore because I’ve seen a pattern in what he does. He doesn’t do romance well. I don’t care much for a/h anymore and don’t get me going on Sweets/Daisy or Cam/Paul! lol
    B&B have reached the ho hum level too. What will be will be.