Bones Review: High Treason in the Holiday Season (Season 11 Episode 8)

There’s nothing quite like looking at human tissue to make you hungry for a Thanksgiving turkey. Or not.

Bones gets us in the holiday spirit with a Thanksgiving episode that has everyone reflecting on their own values.

Booth and Brennan’s interactions are fun and light-hearted as they discuss why Booth should get to have an actual turkey for Thanksgiving dinner rather than meatless version. They also discuss Christmas, and Booth hopes a secret he knows Brennan is keeping from him is about buying him a jet-ski.

Its nice to get these slice-of-life moments that give us some insight into what their marriage is like. After all the darkness these two have seen, the fact that we get to see them laugh together and still have their differences is refreshing.

There’s also a visual image of Booth in footie pajamas that I doubt I’ll forget any time soon. I really hope Booth gets that jet-ski for Christmas.

The case itself also brings up their differences, with both of them staying believably true to their characters. Booth is also especially stubborn in his views — maybe even more so than usual. And that’s a good thing.

This particular case gives Hodgins a chance to shine with his conspiracy theories as well, which it turns out, are true more often than you’d think.

The added pressure of being listened to as the team works to solve the case makes this episode even more interesting. Admittedly, I don’t often care much about the case-of-the week. I’m always more concerned with how the characters react to it instead. But in this instance, both are equally important and entertaining.

Once everything is said and done, the entire team celebrates Thanksgiving at Booth and Brennan’s. This is something I wish we could have enjoyed a little longer, honestly.

Angela and Hodgins bring Michael-Vincent, and we even get to see him sitting with Christine. Cam and Aubrey are also there, which makes sense, but I do find it unbelievable that the only squintern there is Fuentes. It seems Daisy might have been there too, and that Aubrey would have brought Jessica Warren along. I do realize that logistically, it has to do with which squintern is in the episode otherwise, but it still rings a little bit false.

I’ll forgive that, though, because there’s one more person at Thanksgiving dinner who trumps them all. Parker. There’s rarely a mention of Booth’s oldest son, so for Brennan to bring him in is a really nice surprise.

Other Thoughts:

• Kudos to Cam for standing her ground and telling Gill to leave, and doing so with both authority and grace.
• Aubrey mistaking basking tofu for a chicken square is hilarious. The guy loves to eat, but he draws the line at fake turkey.
• This isn’t the first time Angela mentions she’d like to have more children. I’m curious to see what happens with her and Hodgins in the coming episodes.

What did you think of this episode of Bones? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Bones airs Thursdays at 8/7c on Fox.