TV Review: Bones Episodes 1.22 Season Finale

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

From FOX: While trying to determine the identity of a Jane Doe, Brennan is shocked to learn the remains are those of her mother, who went missing with her father 15 years ago. After years of uncertainty and not knowing what happened to her parents, Brennan finally has confirmation of her mother’s death, and the news understandably hits her hard. Now that remains have been uncovered, Booth can open an investigation into the case for the first time. After researching Brennan’s parents’ lives, Booth surprises her with the news that her parents were not the people she thought they were - both were outlaws living under assumed identities. With the team working to glean more information from her mother’s skeleton, to Brennan, she’s now more of a Jane Doe than ever. As more details of her parents’ past, in addition to her own, come to the surface, Brennan must come to grips with a whole new reality.

My Rating: 4 out of 4

Tonight's episode of Bones titled The Woman in Limbo starts with Brennan being rushed off to court. She is looking for her notes. Booth wants her to leave now. wants her to stop at archeology. Zack has brought up a Jane Doe from "limbo." Booth finally gets her out of the lab, but she once again rushes back to look for her notes. she walks in and sees Angela with the visual of the Jane Doe, and she freaks out. She goes to grab the artifact bag from Zack, and after dumping out its contents she finds something she recognizes. Booth comes back to look for Bones, and Angela shows him the visual. He automatically recognizes the woman as Brennan's mom.

Booth goes to Brennan, and she is obviously upset. Zack also goes to her office, and he tells Brennan her mother's remains have been at the Jeffersonian as long as she's been working there. Tests run by Zack and Hodgins tell Bones that her mother died in 1993, but she disappeared in 1991. Booth sticks by Brennan through this, even going to her apartment the night she finds out about her mom. He had been looking into her parent's disappearance for her since she gave him the file on it. He says now with her mother's death, the FBI can officially get involved, and he proceeds to look into it further. A prime suspect in the mother's death is Brennan's estranged brother. Booth goes to interview him, and he is less than forthcoming.

Upon further inspection, Hodgins finds something in the soil sample, a movie ticket that is dated for 1993. This also dates the death of her mother for that time period. Before going to Bones, he goes to Angela to ask if they should tell her about the find, and they decide to. At first, Brennan isn't as accepting with this new information, but further finds show that this is more than likely true. Booth brings her brother, and she doesn't want to talk to him. After Booth searches a bit through the NCIS database, he finds her parents, and they are not the Brennan's. They stole those identities from some other couple. Brennan confronts her brother on this, she learns her true name was Joy. She slaps him.

After talking to Angela, Booth comes to find her. They have found the FBI agent in charge of their case. The woman tells them they were specialized bank robbers that focused on safe deposit boxes. They got mixed in with a worse crew than they should have, and after one bad case they disappeared in 1978. It was at that point, they became the parent's Brennan knew. Angela talks to Russ, Brennan's brother, and she finds out more about what happened during that time. Apparently, Russ was old enough to remember someone that his father told him that if he saw again, he should take his little sister and run. Angela tells him that when he is ready, she wants him to tell her about that man. Those working on the Brennan family car also find blood in the car from more than one individual.

Booth once again goes to Brennan's for a late night visit with Chinese food, but he leaves soon after. Brennan returns to the lab because she is unable to sleep. She finds Zack there, and he tells her the rest of her team will stay until they find out what happened to her mother. Booth uses his contacts to find the man that worked with her parents, and they go to interview him. It was his blood that was found in the car. He knows who Brennan is, and he tells her that it wasn't him that killed her mother. He fingers her father for that crime. This upsets Brennan a great deal.

Booth gets a warrant to search the man's farm. They bring back every possible weapon that could have been used to kill her mother. They don't find a match. So they go to the man's farm, and they do find a possible match. The man tries to talk Brennan out of having him charged, or she will never learn about what happened with her dad. She has him taken away anyway. Afterwards, she returns to the carnival where her brother works, and the two reconcile. She invites him home with her, and while there we learn two things. Brennan dedicated her second novel to her partner Booth. He had been asking to read her manuscript all episode long. Second, we hear a message on her answering machine from her father telling her to stop looking for him. This is how the season ends.

Bones has been one of favorite series' this season. I love the characters, and their development over the season. I also enjoyed how they kept revisiting this story line about her parents and their disappearance over the season. I never saw this twist coming, and it fits the episode and the characters. I'm looking forward to what happens next season with this show.