Bones Review: The Loyalty in the Lie (Season 11 Episode 1)

Bones is back, and it’s breaking from form in the best possible way.

When Bones Season 10 ended, it wrapped up the story in a way that could have made for a nearly perfect series finale. So where do we go from here?

Bones Season 11 opens with a time jump, showing our happy couple and the new addition to their family. While they seem, at first, to be content with their new lives, we all know they’re going to have to go back to doing what they do best sometime soon.

But the next case that Brennan finds herself working hits a little too close to home. Not long after Booth leaves for work (with a worried, regretful look on his face that lays the foreshadowing on thick) a body is found with his gun on it. The Jeffersonian Team comes to the conclusion that the body is Booth’s, and it sure seems like it must be.

They call Brennan to give her the news, which she refuses to believe. She insists on working the case. She insists on examining those bones. And through that we get a taste of what this season is going to be like — at least we hope. It’s an opportunity to see Brennan as we used to see her, meticulously examining bones, and letting those bones speak to her in a way that nothing else can.

This time, it’s more personal than it ever has been, as she studies bones that may or may not belong to her husband. As those bones speak to her, we get a few nice flashbacks that tell their love story. Though the episode tells a story in a way we aren’t quite used to with this show, at its heart, it feels like the Bones we knew and loved in earlier seasons.

The way the story is told does feel very different. We follow along with subtle clues as the team pieces the case together, all with a tone that seems more cinematic.

Kim Raver (24, Grey’s Anatomy) plays our bad guy for this one, questioning Booth in a way that offends everyone who knows him. That, I think is an important element, though I wish someone would eventually just cut Booth some slack. He seems to always be accused of terrible things by other FBI agents.

Okay, so thankfully, Brennan’s skills and attention to detail, combined with how much she knows about her husband, leads her to realize that the body isn’t is. It is, however, his brother’s (hence the similarities). If you’d basically forgotten Booth even had a brother, you’re not alone — so despite the tragic way we’re reminded of that fact, it’s nice for those threads to find their way back into the story. Especially with Brennan’s reaction, and her interaction with Jared’s wife.

With a show lasting as long as Bones has, it has to have staying power. And part of that is for it to continue stories from past seasons and remind us of things that have happened in the past. I appreciated this with Booth’s gambling storyline in Season 10, and I appreciate it now with Booth’s brother.

Here’s the bad news: Booth is involved in something bad, and he’s bleeding out. Whatever he’s been up to does involve his brother but has he crossed a line? He’s also been keeping something from Brennan, yet again. I’m definitely interested to see how all of that plays out.

Overall, it’s a really strong, suspenseful season premiere that gives me high hopes for Bones Season 11.

What did you think of the season premiere of Bones? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Bones airs Thursdays at 8/7c on FOX.

Ashley Bissette Sumerel

Ashley Bissette Sumerel is a television and film critic living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV as well as Eulalie Magazine. Ashley has also written for outlets such as Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, and Insider. Ashley has been a member of the Critics Choice Association since 2017 and is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. In addition to her work as an editor and critic, Ashley teaches Entertainment Journalism, Composition, and Literature at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.