David Boreanaz may possibly read a specific thread on the Boneyard tomorrow (Tuesday, July 29), so I've added my own "Dear David" post! Here's what I wrote:

Dear David,

Congratulations on a job well done in Season 3! As a newer fan of the show, I am impressed with the quality Bones continues to give us each season. I look forward to seeing how the characters will evolve in Season 4. Thank you for bringing my favorite hero to life and infusing him with your wonderful sense of humor. It is truly a pleasure to tune in each week and see what Booth is up to!

Enjoy the rest of your break and good luck next season!

Sincerely,
Jessica

Wouldn't that be amazing if he really did read what everyone wrote?! Here's hoping. :)

There's a reason I try to avoid most spoilers. While I don't mind plot spoilers and good shippy spoilers, I just can't know about other potential love interests for Booth or Brennan. After Wannabe in the Weeds, I freaked out about Booth getting shot and cruised the spoiler sites trying to make sure he would survive (boy am I pathetic). That's when I first learned about Brennan dating two guys next season. I was crushed. At that point, I had recently gritted my teeth through the Sully episodes for the first time. My only consolation while watching them was that I knew he was just a temporary obstacle (Since I became addicted during the writers' strike, I was watching Season 2 at the same time as Season 3). Finding out that Brennan is going to start dating again next season, I was almost turned off the show completely. Luckily, my devastation only last a couple days. I came to my senses by thinking about all the Booth angst over Sully (good stuff).

This morning I read an article from someone who attended Comic-Con (http://www.obsessedwithbones.com/2008/07/comic-con-fan-report.html) in which a (new?) possible love interest for Brennan is mentioned. Again, I feel dread knowing that Brennan will be dating in Season 4. Ugh. Why does it bother me so much? Booth's relationship with Cam didn't bother me half as much as the Brennan/Sully relationship. The reason: Booth didn't really love Cam. The entire time he was with her, he was more focused on Brennan. His relationship with Cam actually highlighted his true feelings for Brennan. Brennan's relationship with Sully was a different story. She was truly falling in love with him, which caused her to take a step back from Booth. As much as I loved Booth's jealousy over Sully, I just don't think I can see Brennan falling for someone new next season.

I keep telling myself that the two have come so far, are even closer than they were when Sully came into the picture. Brennan, in typical Brennan style, is freaking out about her relationship with Booth. Like she does every time they get "too close," she tries to put up more walls. As usual, it won't work. I'll just have to grit my teeth once again and plow through it. I just hope it doesn't last as long as the Sully-hell did. :\

I just got back from a week-long camping trip with my hubby. During this trip, I realized that I have a Bones problem. I think I need to go to rehab or something. I was apparently suffering from Bones-withdrawal the entire time we were gone. I tried to get as much of a fix as possible before we left, but it didn't take long for me to go into withdrawal. I kept thinking about the show, dreamt about it one night, found references to it in the real-world... I squealed with delight when I spotted both a "Seeley" and a "Booth" in the cemetery where Lincoln is buried! I tried to keep it to myself, but found myself talking about it several times. I couldn't wait to get home and get another fix! Am I losing it? This can't be normal! I think I need psychological help! Are there other nuts like me out there? Please, if you're out there, contact me. Let me know I'm not the only one. I beg you.

Okay, so I might be slightly exaggerating my problem, but only slightly. If anyone actually decides to read my blog, I don't want to scare them away with my psychosis. :O

Let me just start by saying that this is one of my favorite episodes, which is why I decided to write my first episode review. I thought the case was engaging, the B&B relationship progressed quite nicely, and Brennan's relationship with her father has taken the first tentative step in the right direction. Also, there were some great comedic scenes. This episode is an example of Bones at its best.

*Note: My review is focused on the character development of Brennan and Booth as well as the evolution of their relationship. I will not recap the episode and have left out major plot points. I am assuming you have seen the episode, so beware that possible spoilers may follow!

One year after burying her mother, Brennan is still unable to confront her feelings about her mother's death and her father's involvement. Like Booth (in The Titan on the Tracks), Angela takes Brennan to visit her mother's grave and tries to convince her to deal with her emotions. Angela and Booth instinctively understand that Brennan needs to explore her issues with her parents, but Brennan continues to resist. When her father, Max, makes several attempts to connect with her and resolve some of her resentment, she refuses to hear what he has to say. Even when he tries to talk to her about her mother, Brennan shuts him out. Booth's kidnapping is the only thing important enough to force Brennan to seek out her father's help. Desperate to find Booth, she reaches out to Max and accepts his assistance.

I really feel for Max in this episode. Unlike in Judas on a Pole (when he essentially abandoned Brennan a second time), he's trying desperately to connect with his daughter. He understands that his abandonment has deeply affected her and he is trying to make up for it now. He learns quickly that Brennan is a strong, stubborn woman who blames him for her mother's death. He also learns that she doesn't trust people easily. When the one person she unconditionally trusts disappears, he uses it to get closer to her. On one hand, I think it is sneaky for him to use Brennan's weakness to his advantage. He's a con, a criminal. He helps, not to save Booth's life (Booth wants to arrest him!), but to get what he wants: a foot in the doorway. On the other hand, he does it for a noble reason. He genuinely wants to connect with his daughter. As Booth himself points out numerous times, Max is a good man who does bad things.

Brennan is frantic when Booth is missing (reacting much like he has when she's been in danger). She reluctantly accepts Max's help out of desperation. When the two track down a bounty hunter with ties to Booth's possible kidnapper, Brennan loses control of her carefully suppressed emotions. Finding Booth's tooth at the scene, she snaps, punching the bounty hunter and screaming, "Where's Booth?!" This is a completely irrational reaction from the typically reserved scientist. Max stops her from attacking the bounty hunter and stares at her in astonishment. Despite his continued attempts to connect, nothing else has elicited such an emotional response from her.

The intensity of Brennan's reaction to the kidnapping is not lost on the rest of the Squint Squad either. Angela, in her typical atypical **** tries to offer her help and support. Brennan refuses her help (because she doesn't want anyone to know Max is helping her) and Angela tries to push hers way in. She acknowledges that she isn't a fighter (but "can spit with deadly accuracy"), but wants to be there because she understands how upset Brennan is. Cam, on behalf of the Squints, tells Brennan that she's not alone and that they are all worried about Booth. Like Brennan, Cam is concerned about Booth, but her reaction is much more understated. The difference in their reactions speaks volumes about each woman's feelings toward Booth. Brennan is more distraught than Cam and we all know why... ;)

In the end Brennan finds Booth, with help from Max and the Squints. Instead of letting the FBI arrest her father, Brennan allows him to escape. She's grateful that he helped her rescue Booth and is finally ready to take the first tentative step toward a relationship. She's slowly beginning to trust him.

Much like in Aliens in a Spaceship, Booth's faith in Brennan is absolute. When she asks why he allowed himself to be tortured rather than give his captors information, he tells her, "I needed to give you time to find me." He wasn't sure she would find him in time, but he knew she would never stop trying. Even though his life has never been in her hands before, he knows that she would do everything she can to save him. The partners share a bonding moment in the diner when Brennan asks Booth if he knows the song, "Keep on Tryin'" (a fond childhood memory she has of Max). He starts to sing it and she joins in, much to Booth's surprise and delight. They have a strong bond that you can practically feel in this scene. As they sing together, Booth looks at her with such affection that I'm convinced he's in love with her (and knows it).

Is Brennan in love with Booth?

Yes, but she doesn't know it yet. As she explained to Angela in The Glowing Bones in the Old Stone House, "I know that sharing a strong emotional attachment with another human being can be a good thing. But there seems to be a disconnect between my mind and..." Brennan feels things just as deeply as any person, but her brain has difficulty processing her emotions. Always the scientist, she tries to explain her feelings in a sterile, clinical way. Love (and other strong emotions) cannot be measured or scientifically cataloged, yet she keeps trying instead of allowing herself to experience it. Angela told her, "Sometimes your brain just shuts off because you're in love," yet Brennan cannot and will not allow that to happen. In her mind, things that cannot be studied scientifically are non-existent (how she views God), not worthwhile (how she views psychology), or just plain scary (how she views strong emotion).

Fear is probably the biggest reason Brennan can't or won't connect with her emotions. At the young age of 15, she lost her entire family. She was bounced around in the foster care system for an indeterminate length of time. Her superior intellect caused to her be socially awkward and have few friends. These experiences left her with tremendous feelings of abandonment and isolation. Therefore, she learned to rely on herself and retreated into her head. Instead of seeking external validation, she found satisfaction within herself. She taught herself that she didn't need others to make her happy. That's not to say she didn't try to form relationships with others. Most of her attempts at relationships, however, were superficial (until she met Angela and Booth).

Angela and Booth have become Brennan's emotional touchstones, but not easily. Fear has taught Brennan to keep other people at a distance. She has built strong walls around her emotions and defends them fiercely in an attempt at self-preservation. "If I don't let anybody in, I can't get hurt." Unfortunately, this led her to a lonely existence. Somewhere along the way, she met Angela, a free-spirit who wouldn't let Brennan chase her away. Through her friendship, Brennan started to learn that not everyone will abandon her. Angela tries to open Brennan up to the world, despite her resistance.

Like Angela, Booth has refused to be driven away. He has had more difficulty getting Brennan to open up to him because he has the potential to fill an even more significant role in her life. From the beginning she resisted allowing him to know her, first because she didn't like him, and later because he was getting too close. It took some trial and error, but he learned how to communicate with her and slowly earned her trust. Likewise, she reached out to him and a friendship was forged. As long as Brennan isn't aware of her emotions, she and Booth can work together smoothly. However, any time she begins think about her feelings towards Booth, she tries to force some distance between them. This, as well as Booth's own confusion and frustration, causes them to bicker frequently. These arguments are carefully (though unconsciously) constructed to keep an emotional distance from one another without causing lasting hurt.

What Brennan doesn't admit, even to herself, is that she has come to rely on Booth, to need him. She feels her strong attachment to him, but uses logic to rationalize it. She tells herself that all partners are protective of one another and that it is normal for partners to be close friends. This is true on the surface. What she doesn't consider is the depth of her feelings for him. As Sweets pointed out in Pain in the Heart, her reaction to losing Booth went far beyond the normal feelings one would experience losing a co-worker (which is truly what Booth is supposed to be). Her world fell apart. She reverted back to the closed-off, work-centric Brennan from the Pilot. She was furious with him because she felt he had betrayed her. Without Booth, she had no outlet for her emotions, so she turned inward once again.

Brennan's self-perception also stands in the way of a romantic relationship with Booth. Growing up, her peers were intimidated by her intelligence and she was socially awkward. In The Girl with the Curl, she described herself (as a child) as "gawky and uncoordinated." In The Woman in Limbo she said, "Everyone knew I was Russ Brennan's little sister. I wasn't cool or pretty, so being his sister..." If she weren't so disconnected from her emotions, she would probably have self-esteem issues (which she likely struggled with as a child/teenager). It's not that she doesn't care about her looks; she just doesn't realize how beautiful she is. Even though Booth has complimented her looks several times, it never occurs to her that he is attracted to her, much less in love with her.

Until Brennan's brain catches up with what she's feeling and Booth realizes how important he is to her, the two are stuck at an impasse. Hopefully Season 4 will push their relationship in new directions and open them up to the possibilities that are right in front of them. :)

Comments please!

I didn't realize anyone was actually reading my blog posts on here, so I quit posting. I started a new blog but since people were reading my posts here, I'll copy what I've been working on. :)

Are they in love?

Yes, Booth and Brennan are in love. The real question is, "Do they know they are in love?" That is a much tougher question and there are a lot of opinions out there. This is my own:

I believe Booth is cognisant of the fact that he loves Brennan. He knows he loves her like a very close friend. What he is struggling to deal with is whether he is in love with her. This is an important distinction. Booth has no problem acknowledging his deep attachment to Brennan, as a friend. As he realizes she is more than just a friend/partner, however, he doesn't quite know how to deal with it. Trying to convince himself that he wasn't in love with Brennan, he started relationships with his exes: first Rebecca and then Cam. He already had a history with both women, so it was easy to jump into relationships without having to invest much time and emotion.

Booth spent several months in a relationship with Cam, trying very hard to suppress his feelings for Brennan and gradually realizing that it wasn't working. In "The Girl with the Curl," he acknowledged his attraction to Brennan (saying she's structured well) in a way that wouldn't scare her away or admit his true feelings. He also chose to stay with her instead of going home with Cam. Each time her life was in potential danger (the Gravedigger, Howard Epps, her father, Will the fireman), he discovered just how much she means to him. Gradually he realized he can't force his feelings for Brennan to be platonic, so he broke it off with Cam. He knew it wasn't fair to Cam to continue their relationship if his heart wasn't in it (although he used work as an excuse for ending things). Since then, he hasn't even attempted to start another relationship, because he knows it wouldn't be fair to another woman and because he doesn't want to. Anyone who's ever been in love knows it's a feeling you don't want to lose.

So why doesn't Booth act on his feelings for Brennan?

Booth, who never seems to have trouble interacting with women, is unable to express his feelings for Brennan. He isn't the type of guy to mince words, play dumb, or avoid his feelings, yet he's somewhat out of his emotional element with her. In most instances, he is able to understand and connect with her on an emotional level, but he can't get a read on how she feels about him. He understands that she has a "deep emotional connection" with him, but he isn't sure if her feelings go beyond a close friendship. He realizes that if Brennan knew how deep his feelings for her are, she would distance herself from him. He is afraid to risk alienating her until he is sure she loves him in return. As long as there is no risk of losing her to another man, he is willing to wait and see.

Brennan's intelligence presents another obstacle that Booth must overcome. Despite being an extremely confident (often to the point of being arrogant) man, Booth is intimidated by her. Her intelligence makes him feel like he isn't smart enough. Compared to her friends, the Squints, he feels inferior. He isn't used to feeling intimidated by anyone, so he feels resentful of people who are smarter than him (this is often reflected in his attitude toward the Squints). He thinks that Brennan thinks she is better/smarter than him, but this is all in his head. Brennan knows she is more intellectually intelligent than Booth but she doesn't feel superior. She understands that her intelligence has limitations and respects Booth's interpersonal/emotional intelligence (which she lacks).

Booth's confidence often belies his feelings of inadequacy and guilt. He is afraid of disappointing the people that matter most to him, such as Brennan and Parker. He is a wonderful, attentive father, yet he doesn't think he spends enough time with his son and worries about his career's impact on Parker. He feels tremendous guilt for his past as a sniper, which is reflected in his gambling addiction and the anger he displayed early in the show. His entire career has been molded by his past; he is trying to make up for the lives he took by catching that many murderers. In other words, he views himself as "bad" but is trying to go back to being "good." He doesn't think he is good enough for Brennan and is afraid of letting her down (like her family did). Brennan, like every human on this planet, has her flaws, but Booth has placed her on a pedestal. He blames her flaws on her past: "her flaws are not her fault, but I chose to do/be..." Until he realizes that he is actually good for Brennan (and that she isn't better than him), he will continue to feel inadequate.

I'll post the next part (about Brennan's feelings) when I finish it. :)

I've moved to Blogger. Check out my Bones blog here.

Visit. Read. Comment. :oops:

After reading and commenting on this blog at: http://obsessedwithbones.blogspot.com/2008/05/evolution-of-zack-addy-how-he-became.html , I feel like reflecting on Zack being the apprentice. (Check out Evi's blog if you haven't already. I love reading her thoughts on the show. Very insightful! :) )

To me, Zack is the perfect candidate for Gormogon's apprentice, as hard as it has been for me to accept. What we must remember is that Zack was acting on a misguided idea that he was helping mankind. He believed that by sacrificing one person, he was saving everyone else. Quoting Brennan, "The historical human experience as a whole is more important than a single person's life." In a way, he was doing exactly what Booth did as a sniper. The cannibalism, silver skeleton, and other Gormogon rituals were unimportant to Zack, as evident by the fact that he did not participate in them.

Zack stated in Season 1 that he would go to the others for advice if faced with a moral dilemma (Agent Pickering in "The Woman in the Car"). Despite his superior intellect, he has difficulty connecting to his "heart" and looks to the others to help him connect on an emotional level. We know that Brennan and Zack are very much alike, but Brennan has Booth and Angela to help her connect with her emotions. Watch some of the early Season 1 episodes and you will see just how far she has come (her reaction to Booth's "death" also shows this, but that's a topic for a different blog). Zack, especially early in the series, constantly tries to emulate the others in an effort to feel normal. While they try to help him, he never really seems to connect with anyone on a deep level. His closest friend is Hodgins but being a couple of guys, they don't develop a deep emotional connection like Brennan has with Booth and Angela. While Brennan is hyper-rational like Zack, she is also becoming more and more in touch with her emotions, something Zack has failed to do. (Paraphrasing Evi) With his closest friends becoming absorbed in their own relationships, Zack is left isolated and vulnerable. Perhaps in his own way, Zack was trying to get in touch with his "heart." He didn't accomplish this in Iraq and maybe he was still looking for a way to "get out of the lab" (or rather, get out of his head) like Brennan did.

It's interesting to think about how all the characters have evolved throughout the series and how each person's evolution has affected what happened to Zack. We are not supposed to think of Zack as the bad guy. Despite what he did, which he believed was for the good of humankind, he loved his friends and didn't want to hurt any of them. While he didn't die in a heroic way (a trap the writers could have easily fallen in to), he is still leaving us a hero.

Okay, enough rambling. I tend to over-analyze things. :)

This is my very first blog! I'm so excited! :) Where do I begin?

I'm actually a pretty new Bones fan. You wouldn't know it based on how well I know the show, but I started watching it during the writer's strike. I had seen a few reruns and thought they were okay, but I didn't realize what a great show it is until much later. I hadn't found a TV show that really hooked me since The X-Files. In fact when I first got into Bones, I thought it couldn't possibly be as good as The X-Files. I compared Brennan and Booth to Mulder and Scully and, at first, I thought B&B were not nearly as good. I stand corrected.

The best part of The X-Files, in my opinion, was the Mulder/Scully chemistry. I am a hopeless romantic, and I loved watching for little things that showed the M&S connection. Maybe I am biased now, but Brennan and Booth have so much more chemistry than Mulder and Scully had. Part of the difference is that Hart Hanson and the writers of Bones embrace the chemistry of their characters and make it the real focus of the show, whereas Chris Carter tried to make the Mulder/Scully chemistry secondary. I am not saying that was wrong. It worked for The X-Files. Bones is something different entirely.

What is great about Bones is that it is really a show about people, not about solving crimes. It is not CSI or all the CSI-clones out there. We tune in each week to see how the characters are connecting or sometimes, how they have come apart. The cases are interesting. The characters are hilarious. I have tried (unsuccessfully) to get my friends to start watching Bones. I've explained how funny, romantic, and dramatic it is, to no avail. I guess Bones will remain my own personal obsession.

I should add that even though I only started watching Bones a short time ago, I got hooked quickly. I bought Seasons 1 & 2 on DVD, and caught up on Season 3 online before the writer's strike even ended! I have seen most episodes at least twice, so I consider myself pretty much an expert now. That's probably not something to brag about but, hey, I know I'm not alone out there. There are others like me... somewhere... we will find each other eventually. :)