Episode Three - The Maggots in the Meathead

Yo! Sup? This week’s episode of Bones was so random ya’ll. In the vernacular, that is of course. In “The Maggots in the Meathead”, the discovery of some bones on the beach leads Booth and Brennan into the heart of an anthropological dream – the Guido tribe. After viewing a “documentary” on television, Brennan has become something of an expert in Guido culture – their customs, ornate costumes, music, speech patterns and dance rituals. Tattoos, fake tan, fist fights, fist pumping and muscles all make for a magical Bones episode where pseudo-reality TV meets murder mystery.

So back to the bones on the beach. The body is decomposing at a rate of knots and contains a whole lot of maggots, so hopped up on energy drinks and male cosmetics, they are literally jumping in the air trying to bite their own butts. Who hasn’t seen the human equivalent of this!?

As the body rapidly decomposes (live fast, decompose fast it seems) our dynamic duo heads to the Jersey Shore to find the killer of “Richie the V”, a fine fellow who met his fate at the end of something concrete (not cement) and covered in yellow plastic.

Much yo-ing, sup-ing and muscle flexing later (look out for Brennan throwing the crab and Booth preparing to throw a bouncer after he gives Brennan a shove – he can be very manly), it turns out our victim was killed over ice, ice baby. Not the rapper and not the illegal stuff. Ice. Water. Frozen. It seems people can go a little ballistic over ice. The Ice Man (no, not Val Kilmer) smacked Richie the V over the head with his ice-smashing tool, in a case of mistaken identity.

The moral of the story – one really never should go out dressed like twinsees, especially if your fashion twin is a bit of a dipstick.

While all this is happening, Hannah is preparing to move in with Booth, but not before Brennan throws a metaphoric crab her way in the form of a well meaning warning not to mess with Booth’s heart. Nice. Brennan also helps Hannah choose a house warming gift for Booth – a retro rotary phone. What a trooper.

There was the potential for this episode to be ridiculous but it was pulled off beautifully with some understated humour, some overstated humour, an endearing support cast and a couple of moments that tugged gently on the heart strings.

So on to my “Five Stars and a Wish”:

Star One

Eureka! A gathering of Guidos! Basically anytime Brennan went all Guido on us in this episode was some pretty fine television. Her “Yo. Sup?”, teamed with the handshake hug, was suitably understated and therefore amusing. Her David Attenborough-esque narration for Booth, of things such as the mating rituals of the tribe, was informative and entertaining. Are we not all just a little bit wiser for knowing that GTL stands for Gym Tan Laundry?!

Star Two

The cat’s out of the bag! The scene where Cam discovers Angela is pregnant was really nice. I always delight in characters being human and for some reason, having to eat always normalises people. For this reason I loved the fact that Angela was lying down eating crackers. What’s more, she was making a mess. Imperfection is endearing. Cam’s reaction to her pregnancy was joyous (I’m really liking Cam so far this series) and it was very sweet when Angela said, “I could be having a little Hodgins. How cute would that be?”

Star Three

Don’t mess with the crab, you might get the claws. The dynamic between Bones and Hannah continues to develop. While friendly, you can still sense the caution with which Bones interacts with the new kid on the block. When Hannah arrived at the Jeffersonian you could tell Bones was confused and I loved her tentative hello. This then provided a perfect contrast to how animated she became when talking about Booth and the fact Hannah should get him a vintage Rotary phone as a housewarming gift. One wonders what Hannah is beginning to surmise from such an exchange? This scene was also golden as we got to see just how much Brennan cares for Booth when she warns Hannah to be careful with his heart.

Star Four

The simple things in life are often the best. Bones is always full of magic moments that you may miss if you blink at the wrong time. From a glance to the way Brennan often puts the back of her hand on Booths arm when she’s explaining things to him, they make a moment memorable. One such moment in this episode is when Booth and Bones enter the Diner together and both reach for the menu at the same time. The familiarity of such a thing is almost intimate. And while we’re on simple things, I couldn’t not mention the cheeky little way the writers managed to get the “F” word in an episode – 4Q. I think it’s self explanatory.

Star Five

I shall take my leave. Bones has long had a lovely tradition of finishing every episode with a scene featuring Booth and Bones together. The tradition has continued this season, with a slightly sadder lilt. The closing scene of this episode was a tear jerker (if you are inclined to jerk tears, which I am not, but even I felt a little sting behind the eye). I cringed for Bones when she and Hannah simultaneously told Booth he was welcome when he said thank you for his gift and I felt for her in the awkwardness of realising she was the third wheel (seriously , Angela, what kind of a friend would have left her there?!). But then good people, the little light in the darkness. Booth followed Brennan to the door. Booth held near his heart the ribbon off the gift. Do I read too much into it to think he knew it was really a gift from Bones? Was he saying more than see you tomorrow? The looks are making a comeback people. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what makes Bones rock!

The Wish

I know this won’t be popular with everyone, but despite Booth’s very pleasing hip to shoulder ratio, I really don’t need to see him tripping the light fantastic with Hannah every episode. I get it. They get down with the rumpy pumpy. Perhaps the writer’s are trying to establish a future point of difference between the relationships – with Booth and Hannah it’s about sex. With Booth and Brennan it’s about intimacy? Whatever the case may be, please spare my ailing heart and soul anymore such scenes!

And that my learned friends is ‘sup!