Bones – Lots of Jersey, not a lot of smarts

There were some strange goings-on in Bones this week. And I’m not just talking about Vincent Nigel-Murray’s Colin Fisher’s mood change. Maybe it was just that whatever planets aligned to bring Bones and The Jersey Shore together stirred up some strange juju. It wasn’t bad weird, just decidedly… weird.

I don’t know, maybe it’s because I’ve never caught onto the whole Jersey Shore thing. I will watch all sorts of trash television, but I draw the line at this. I personally blame my New Jersey extended family. My friends watch it as a sociological study, much like Brennan, but when you’ve actually met those sorts of people, they’re pretty much the opposite of charming. Let’s put it this way — I don’t support murder, but I think when I sympathize more with the murderer than with the victim, it’s a problem. When Booth had his whole monologue about how the victim was just a kid trying to enjoy the shore, I wasn’t cheering him on. Instead I was wondering where he’d gotten that from. When did we learn anything credible about the victim besides that he didn’t use steroids? Because excuse me for not believing the girl who claimed to have a deep and everlasting connection with him when he called her a “grenade” as far as character assessment goes.

But I think the strangest thing of all is Hannah. She’s supposed to be smart, right? Because I have seen zero evidence of that trait. Quite the contrary, she seems almost painfully stupid. In fact, there seemed to be a lot of stupid abounds this episode, so far as characters attempting to deal with their emotions. I can only conclude, then, that there is something in the air in New Jersey, and simply by taking a case related to the state, everyone has become less intelligent by extension. That’s the only logical conclusion. (I’m sorry, New Jersey. I mock because I … well, I don’t love. How about, I mock because I can.)

But seriously, Hannah. How she could, after being in Booth’s and Brennan’s presence for five minutes, feel that there’s nothing between them, or that they don’t have feelings for each other, is honestly baffling. Brennan gave her that whole long speech on how much Booth loves rotary phones and all she did was thank her for “being a good friend”? On what planet, Hannah, does any friend know that level of detail? On what planet does a man like Booth disclose that level of detail unless he has feelings for someone? And who after being in a relationship for such a short time (even shorter when you consider the actual physical amount of time spent together) thinks its a good idea to not only to move to the same city as them, but to then move in with them? Is she confident, arrogant, or simply stupid beyond any chance of redemption? And how much longer am I going to have to deal with Booth being painfully in denial and Brennan pining so palpably it makes me want to tug her out of my television, hug her, and make her a nice cup of chocolate milk? At least if you’re going to keep them in stasis, writers, could you not have it be in such a way that I want to punch one of them? (Or clock him with his fancy new phone?)

Whatever. As cranky as I sound, there was a lot of charm and good in this episode. Brennan was brilliant yet clueless, Angela was adorably pregnant, Cam was adorably happy about the fact, Colin Fisher was amusing, crime was solved, hoorah, hoorah. So in the words of my Jersey brethren, the rest? Fuhgeddaboutit.

Clacked by Julia Hass
on Oct 08, 2010 @ 08:04 EST5EDT