Bones Review: The Grief and the Girl (Season 12 Episode 8)

Bones Season 12 Episode 8, “The Grief and the Girl,” focuses on Booth and Brennan’s relationship in a new and important way while paying tribute to Max.

Booth and Brennan have been through losses before. They’ve been through hell and back.

But this time, it’s different. It’s exceedingly more personal, and while Brennan’s grief is visible beyond the walls she tries to put up, Booth’s pain is heart-wrenching.

Booth always shoulders some blame when bad things happen. He always feels he’s in some way responsible, and in this case, he’s not exactly wrong.

Booth is a good man, and of course he’s going to feel guilty, but he always places too much responsibility on himself.

Brennan’s way of looking at it is much more appropriate. Her speech at Max’s funeral is beautiful, likening her father to a warrior who earned a place among the gods.

Because, as I mentioned in last week’s review, Max was afforded the opportunity to die a hero.

It was an honorable death, and nothing could be more fitting for his character.

The way that Brennan deals with the death of her father is exactly what you’d expect. She throws herself into work, pushes her husband away, and wants to throw out the cream soda that she thought only her father drank. (One of the most emotional moments in the episode is Booth explaining why he thought they should keep cream soda in the house — a grandpa milkshake. Cue the tears.)

While it might be easy to be upset with Brennan as she pushes Booth away, her reasoning makes sense. She can see the pain and the guilt in his eyes, and she doesn’t want to make it worse for him.

That reveal, and Brennan’s explanation of why Sully is important, is one of the most poignant moments we’ve seen for Booth and Brennan in a long time.

And about Sully…

My only issue with Sully’s return is that it feels contrived. Okay, sure, maybe he does want to come to be there for Brennan after hearing about her father, but it’s been so long since we’ve seen him that it seems out of place for him to do so.

In fact, it just seems like this is the final season, and so an important character from early seasons is coming back as a way to say goodbye to the series. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it could have been done more smoothly.

Sully’s presence has nothing to do with trying to get between Booth and Brennan (though it doesn’t stop basically everyone in the Jeffersonian from freaking out about it). He’s there to check on someone he cares about, and ultimately, to push her back toward Booth.

In this instance too, it’s easier for Brennan to open up to someone she hasn’t seen in a long time than to the people who are a part of her everyday life. He’s exactly what she needs in that moment, and she even gives him some advice before he leaves.

Other thoughts:

• If ever there was a bad time for a man to shoot an arrow at Booth, it’s now. That poor guy didn’t stand a chance.
• I really wish we could have seen Russ at the funeral.
• Aubrey, as usual, makes me laugh with his food obsession. “That’s thoughtful. They left us some jerky and some fingerprints.”
• Angela’s way of hinting to get Clark out of the room so she can talk to Brennan is priceless.

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

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Bones airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on FOX.

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