Still basking in their back-on engagement, Booth and Brennan cracked the case of a high school principal with their usual flair for the quirky. How are the duo's wedding plans shaping up? Can I get through this review without constantly criticizing Angela? Yes! Because Oliver Wells was in this episode, too! Here are my thoughts:
Is there anything cuter than Booth and Brennan planning their wedding? Short answer: no. I loved everything about this aspect of the episode, from Brennan's shy reveal to Angela that she has a dream dress, to Booth declaring pigs in blankets firmly non-negotiable. Yes, Booth, they are God's perfect food.
It seems as if the pair don't really know where to start, but once they get the ball rolling, the plans fall into place in beautiful and touching ways. Brennan shows her vulnerable side by approaching Angela about the dress, and the sincerity of her love for Booth by deciding she'd like to be married in his church, with all of its "superstitions." It's wise of Seeley and Temperance to anticipate that the Jeffersonian crew, as well as their FBI friends, are sure to begin picking apart their wedding ideas with criticisms. Hence, Brennan tells Angela the wedding's going to be the way the bride and groom want it, and that's all there is too it...and Cam's version of an invite is an assurance that Dr. Saroyan's preexisting calendar commitments are of no concern.
The "bucket list" theme of the episode, which was brought in by the victim's inspirational journey, gave the characters a pleasant opportunity to canvass some of their own dreams, finally leading Booth and Brennan to conclude that they are simply happy with the way their lives already are, "every day." This gave a nice, full circle feel to the structure of the episode and a reminder of the pair's blissfulness, which is incredibly well-deserved.
Oliver Wells is back...Sigh. As I've mentioned a few times, when I love a squintern, I will ride or die for them, but when they are annoying characters shoehorned into the episodes, I get really irritated. When it comes to Wells, we're not talking about funny-obnoxious, like Fisher, or peppy-obnoxious, like Daisy. No, we're talking boring, monotone obnoxious. At least the over-the-top quirkiness of the other squinterns serves the central idea of each of their characters and may provide a few chuckles. However, I can't really see what the writers are trying to do with Oliver. In Fisher, they already had a functioning misanthrope, so another seems repetitive and unnecessary. The portrayal isn't endearing or amusing, as Fisher can be.
Brennan's reactions to Wells' inappropriate comments provided the only enjoyable moments in this week's squintern scenes. Her ability to let every rude comment bounce right off of her, only to return it in kind, is priceless and awesome. Okay, it was also fairly smirkable that Oliver was the only one who liked VAL...one disposable automaton naturally would bond with another.
Angela...#smh...So Angie finally acknowledged her rude behavior towards Booth, but it seemed as if Brennan was actually prodding her to say something about that. Does Temperance question whether her bestie is actually pleased that she is going to marry Booth? A distinct possibility, and understandably so. Angela admits that she "probably should have trusted Booth" and known that there must be a good reason for his breaking off the engagement. Yes, Angela, probably.
Additionally, are the writers trying to suggest something by having Angela flinch at being called a "matron" of honor? I hope she's just reacting to the dowdy implications of the title as she perceives it, and not indicating discontent in her marriage. Who wouldn't want to be married to Hodgins? He rules.
This week's murder mystery was really more about the emotional message of the victim's mission to redeem his former co-worker and his feelings about facing death than anything else...and that's alright. The identity of the killer was a bit apparent as soon as we met him, since he came off super-creepy and practically had cartoon dollar signs flashing in his eyes. The aspect of having the hawk in the lab was an interesting and sometimes funny idea, and the opening sequence of Booth and Brennan hanging from the cliff was an intriguing visual.
What did you think of this week's episode? Are you getting excited for the big wedding? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Thanks for your review. One thing: no one really refers to them as Seeley and Temperance. It's Booth and Brennan or B&B if you will. Its jarring to see them referred to otherwise. Agreed about Fisher. We need more of him. And yay about Hodgins! He IS awesome. :)
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding me? Angela had every right to be mad at Booth. Consider this: if your best friend's guy suddenly called off their engagement, starts behaving strangely like not coming back home and not returning phone calls and blatantly lies when asked what would your reaction be? I sure as heck would be telling her to get away. Also, Angela never implied to Brennan that Booth was cheating. That was Brennan's conclusion (the scene in the diner with Daisy and Ange). Angela only confronted Booth and that too it was in an attempt to discover his motives. Ugh! I don't even like Angela and its frustrating how many times I've had to defend her to this fandom. It amazes me how the writers have brainwashed so many people into apologizing to Booth (and how the fans buy into it) when Booth was the one who lied to Brennan and broke her heart (again). Did he do it because of Pelant? Yes. Does that mean he did the right thing? Hell to the no! When Sweets explains Pelant's plan to Booth my only thought was yeah, you are at fault here. Booth LET Pelant get in between him and Brennan because yet again, he didn't trust his partner. So this whole thing about how Angela should have trusted Booth? How about Booth should have trusted Brennan? Once again Booth unilaterally makes a decision affecting both of them and once again he is the martyr. I have lost count how many time Brennan has referred to Booth as a 'good man' in the last two seasons. *rme* Brennan and Hodgins were the best parts of the episode and the show yet again.
I must of missed Angela flinching,but she is married so that is her title Matron of Honor...
ReplyDeleteI think Angela over reacted to the situation between Booth and Brennan.First of all she shouldn't have gotten involved,it wasn't her place.But she also should have known Booth better than that,he was so un-Boothy she should have known it had something to do with Pelant,or something other than changing his mind...Sorry,Angela went a little to far,and it didn't help the situation at all.
I didn't particularly care for this squint,i can't quite put my finger on it,its just something....?
I am hoping and i know its a L O N G shot,but i hope they can somehow get Zack back for the wedding.I think it would be a nice way to have him back even if its only for this episode.It would also be nice for the viewers who miss him... I doubt it but we'll see..
Good review,thanks!
Virginia, I understand the "Seeley and Temperance" as referring to the little placard in some of the photos publicizing the wedding episode, so I didn't mind that reference, although Alex is correct in that B&B haven't ever, that I can recall, called each other that. Daddy Bones and Russ call her Tempy, and people do occasionally call her Temperance in more formal situations, and Cam always calls Booth, "Seeley." So I get it.
ReplyDeleteI loved the wedding planning, and I thought that Brennan's shy reveal to Angela was a sweet little vignette, since we rarely see her as anything other than confident. So it was sweet to see her revealing her childhood dream to Ange. I was glad they finally dealt with Angela's anger toward Booth. I felt that they needed to resolve it before the wedding episode.
I dislike Wells probably more than Daisy, though they run a close race in my book. They both seem like fingernails running down a chalkboard to me. But it was delightful to see Brennan put him neatly in his place, as well as Cam. He's just too arrogant for a squintern. He's about a polar opposite from Zack, who had a sweet deference to Brennan, even though he too was very bright.
Yeah, I've kind of wished for a re-appearance of Zack at the wedding, but I won't hold my breath or be terribly disappointed if he doesn't make an appearance. Given Brennan's deep affection for him, it would be awfully sweet to reunite them for the wedding, her happy day!
I am so looking forward to the wedding, and the sweet bliss of B&B in their relationship and anticipation of their wedding is so refreshing to see after all their trials during the last 9 years! I am getting so pumped up over this upcoming episode, I can hardly wait!