Bones 3.8 Review

Bones

FOX Tuesday's at 8 pm EST

Episode 3.8 "The Knight on the Grid"

Grade: A

Previously on Bones ....: Angela and Hodgins are still not married. Booth and Brennan are still seeing the therapist, who is awesome. Zack isn't really doing much of anything. Brennan's father is in jail, and her brother is on the run. There's this cannibal killer they call Gormongon due to the ritualistic style of the murders, and a silver skeleton.

General Summary: A corpse is found stabbed and with the kneecaps surgically removed. Brennan's brother, Russ, gets brought back into the picture as his girlfriend Amy shows up looking for him because her daughter is very ill. At the same time, Brennan is sent the missing kneecaps in the mail. They realize this is part of the Gormongon myth, and the corpse is a Vicar General from DC. Booth and Brennan's therapist, Sweets, turns out to be an invaluable source. Russ comes back because his father lied and told him he wouldn't be arrested; but naturally, Booth is forced to do just that. Booth and Brennan are almost killed by a bomb, and Booth almost captures the villain ... who manages to get away and then kill his next victim regardless. Russ has 30 days in jail thanks to Booth not speaking against him, and they may have found the original elder Gormongon.

Yes this is a lot. Trust me, a loooot.

What was good: Sweets the therapist, he is freaking awesome. Russ returning. Seeing Brennan's dad again. Booth's continued respect of her family of criminals. Brennan giving Booth a kiss on the cheek. The explosion. Gormongon throwing the kid into the pool. Creepy old Gormongon without teeth, creeeepy.

What was bad: They are not using all their characters well.

Comments: Now this is the kind of Bones episode I love! I did not realize how passive the past few episodes really were until something like this comes along. It had action, mystery, scientific theory, emotional development/change for Brennan, and pushed the plot of the season along well. Great acting all around, and it was really good to see the return of the Brennan family, and their convoluted distrust of one another. It will be good for Brennan to have Russ around again, and their father's ability to be both conniving, manipulative and sympathetic continues to astound me.

Next week is the Christmas episode, from what I can tell, and Booth and Brennan will be kissing under the mistletoe. We'll see about that, I'm sure something will cause it to stop. It's all a matter of time, people!

Sweets the therapist is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters. I really liked Booth's therapist from last season, the British older man, but Sweets has charmed me. He also seems to have quite the mind for solving mysteries, and is swaying both skeptical partners to have more faith in him.

However, his growth is contrasting to the lacking use of the other characters we know and love. I've said this before, but I really miss Zack, Hodgins and Angela. They're used sparingly these days, and that is a real shame since the little family at the Jeffersonian was always one of the more favorable aspects of the show. I think what the show has suffered for the Gormongon's storyline, trying to stretch it out over several episodes as a running arc, is the lack of time to renew the relationships and friendships we enjoy. Still, this is not a terrible criticism, and one easily rectified once they utilize their fabulous actors again.

Overall, though, really invigorating episode! It made me excited to see where this story is going, and the blood pumping in my veins again. They really needed an episode like this since the past few have been so blah.

Questions I'm Left With: Are Angela and Hodgins ever getting married? How much longer will this Gormongon storyline go on? Will Brennan and Booth really kiss next week? Is Russ going to be a regular guest star now that he's back in the area? When the heck is Daddy Brennan's trial?

Tune in next week!