Is magic always as harmless as it seems? Is magic merely a fantastical form of deception? And is deception ever okay? Episode 11.07, "The Promise in the Palace", attempts to tackle these heady questions...and I think it does a fine job of it.
RECAP
Booth and Brennan, as usual, start the episode by verbalizing some opposing philosophies on whether or not to perpetuate the myth of the Tooth Fairy with Christine, who just lost her first tooth. While Booth considers it harmless fun, Brennan would prefer to be honest with their daughter and explain the biological process of growing up (and avoid suggesting that strangers can enter their house and deposit money under her pillow).
In the lab, however, the Jeffersonian Team discovers a darker side of magic; a beautiful, twentysomething magician ends up on their slab with half of her flesh missing. The roommate and her boyfriend point to the boss, the boss points to a competing performer, the performer suggests drug use, the alleged drug dealer turns out to be a flexibility trainer. Emails turn out to be threats from the employer's son, who saw the victim kissing some guy...who turned out to be the roommate's boyfriend. For a brief moment, we think it might be the roommate, sending decoy flowers to root out the deception, but it turns out that the victim is abandoning the employer that gave her everything. Brennan manipulates him into confessing by bluffing her way through forensic evidence details.
Although Brennan sends the majority of the episode skeptical of the value of magic (and deception), she ends up cracking the case by engaging in a bit of deceit herself. Again, she decides to compromise her opinion in favor of Booth's, and she slips a dollar under her daughter's pillow at the end of the episode.
There are two other lovely sources of whimsy in this episode. The first is that Dr. Edison (with some help from Hodgins) attempts to dissuade Brennan of her low opinion toward magic by performing some basic tricks; Brennan stares tiredly at both attempts and immediately identifies how the tricks are performed, much to Dr. Edison's chagrin.
DISCUSSION
So is it too soon for Cam to get another romantic storyline? She's never been my favorite character on this show, and I really liked her with Arastoo, so a new love interest makes me squirm a little bit. But hey - maybe I am just jealous. What do you boneheads think of Cam? And are you more excited OR annoyed by her new romantic potential?
Also, this season is seriously emphasizing Brennan's ability to compromise and see other people's perspective. It's almost too much. I kinda miss when Brennan was prickly and stubborn and generally right. When Booth consulted Aubrey about his disagreement with Bones, Aubrey pointed out that Brennan was a smart lady, and she might be seeing something that they're just overlooking...but then Brennan caved to Booth's parenting idea. Again. Did anyone else kind of want to watch Brennan bounce her daughter on her knee and sing a little educational song about bicuspids and canines? That would have been adorable, and you know it.
Finally, I am dying for a compelling storyline involving Angela. She's such a stark contrast to the fact-finding nerds in the lab and has a massive artistic streak. In earlier seasons she got to be a sexually independent free thinker. Now she just dispenses advice and talks about her kid. When's the last time you think Angela got to shine? What storylines would you like to see?
There's a comment section below. You know what to do!
