Of all the things to find in a bird’s nest, it had to be a finger. A phalange, actually. A singular, partly flesh-covered phalange, which is usually an indication nineteen other phalanges will be found nearby, attached to a very singular corpse.
That’s the commencement of this week’s Bones, which finds Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) and his dauntless 6-year-old son Parker (Ty Panitz) discovering on a sunny day in the park one of nature’s most special treasures: a dead guy’s finger in a tree.
When the rest of the remains are found the body is identified as Dr. Seth Elliot, a veterinarian with a gambling problem. Close inspection by the Squint Squad reveals the murder weapon to be of the furry, four-legged variety, meaning Booth and his forensic anthropologist partner Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) must set out in search of the owner of the Fido at fault.
It’s quite the circumstance: If a dog is a man’s best friend, what does he make of that man’s enemy? Kibbles ‘n bits, in this case.
But after determining innocent an ex-con who may have held a grudge against Dr. Elliot, Booth and Brennan head to the home of Robbie, a teenager who worked part-time at the vet clinic and is studying to go to medical school with the encouragement of his down-and-out father. It’s on their property police discover a fighting ring, a pack of chained dogs and lots of canine remains. All Michael Vick jokes aside, it turns out to be Robbie’s tutor, a medical student, who ordered his dog to make a chew toy of Dr. Elliot after the veterinarian happened upon the dog fights and snapped a few photos as proof.
Clues this week came courtesy of Scott, a new-to-the-lab intern and middle-aged jack-of-all-trades who sold Dr. Jack Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) a bum 1950s hotrod when Hodgins was still a gullible, silver spoon-fed kid. Fresh off an awkward run-in with ex-fiance Angela (Michaela Conlin), Hodgins sourly cracks wise about Scott’s unwanted presence while swatting away a hovering Dr. Lance Sweets (John Frances Daley), who later manages to assure him his bad mood is purely a coping mechanism.
Don’t worry, Bones isn’t going the way of Edward Herrmann’s extended stay on Grey’s Anatomy. Scott is headed out to a dig assignment by the episode’s end, leaving a vacant spot on the Jeffersonian roster once again. But with a revolving door of lab techs, Bones continues to lack the center on which it has balanced for the past three seasons. Its infamous, quick-jabbing lab discussions have waned as the core characters spend more time apart than they do as a collective.
The Dog Whisperer‘s Cesar Milan also makes an appearance, acting as himself to help solve the case. And lucky for Booth, Parker is more bothered by bully troubles at school than the grisly day-at-the-park souvenir.
Still left to our imaginations are the whereabouts of last season’s Zack, though rumor has it next week he’ll be called onto a case, and perhaps make an appearance at the Jeffersonian. No word either on last week’s Daisy Wick, the short-lasting intern who captured Sweets’ attention (Anyone who enjoyed Carla Gallo’s guest spot should check out her The 40-Year-Old Virgin stint; it’s a riot).
But this episode does, as most usually do, throw a bone to those hoping Booth and Brennan become more than just friends. After the case is solved, Brennan decides to give the at-fault dog a new home, one where he won’t be forced to attack. Booth has to break the news that the dog was put down, as is policy, and the two give him a proper burial.
“Like all dogs, Ripley only saw the good in people. Dogs are like that. People should take a lesson,” says a teary Brennan, leaning down to place the dog’s tags on the ground.
It’s as much as any good dog could hope for, Booth says, but not before swiftly wiping away a tear of his own.
Jennifer Morris is a journalist and frequent contributor to the What’s Up Arts and Entertainment movie review column The Screening Room.
