REVIEW: Bones “The Sign in the Silence” S6 E21

There didn’t seem to be a lot of love for this episode of Bones and I’m not sure why.  I really enjoyed it on a many levels.  First, it was different because Bones was dealing with a living breathing person that she could connect with vs. just a victim and their bones.  Second, the dynamic between Bones and Vaziri and Sweets and Bones and their difference of opinion on Brennan.  And finally, Hodgins and Angela and her delivery scare.   Hodgins had me crying laughing.  He was so hysterical so let’s start with that one.

Hodgins and Angela

We all know these two have been through the ringer when it comes to this pregnancy.  But they have always handled whatever was thrown at them with class and dignity and while sometimes their emotions got the better of them, someone was always there to calm and comfort the other and get everyone back on the right track.  I have always loved their relationship and this pregnancy has solidified that view for me even more.  However, when Angela thought she was having contractions and needed to go to the hospital, instead of staying calm, Hodgins completely freaked out.    He started yelling and spazing so Angela, who was in labor, had to calm him.   She had to remind him to get the car and when he couldn’t find his keys, he started asking her where they are.   Priceless!!!!  It was so funny to see him come completely unglued like that.

They get to the hospital and it turns out it was false labor.  I love when couples always say they feel so stupid when it turns out to be false labor.   Why?  This is your first baby.   You have no idea how to tell the difference between real labor and fake labor.   You feel what you think is labor pains so you go to the hospital.   There is no reason to feel foolish!   But they joke about what a good and funny test run it was and that hopefully next time when it’s real, they will be slightly calmer and more prepared.  I loved it.  Although there is one comment I would like to make.   Why the hell was Angela driving?  When Hodgins went to get her out of the car, he got her out on the driver side.  The woman just had false labor pains and you’re making her drive herself?   That seemed odd to me.

Brennan and Vaziri

There was a point where Brennan and Vaziri were examining the bones of the victim who Amy/Samantha alleged to have killed.  Vaziri made a comment about Brennan being distant and this is now the second time in the episode that someone has made a comment about Brennan being cold.  Earlier at the diner, Sweets was giving Brennan a hard time about not wanting to find the real reason why Amy/Samantha may have killed a man twice her size.  She explains that her motive is very important to her because she wants to get behind the real reason for this crime.  She also thinks since the door of the victim’s apartment was busted through, there is no way someone of Amy/Samantha’s size and stature could have done it.   Therefore there could be something else going on.   “I’m not as cold as everyone thinks I am” she tells Sweets and he apologies to her.

Back to the scene with Vaziri, you could tell how upset Brennan is that this is now another person that has made a comment about her “chilliness.”  Vazini made a comment about Brennan becoming very attached to this case.  She asks him what he means by that and he explains that normally she insists on maintaining distance in a case.    She teaches him that it’s objectivity that allows them to analyze evidence without being clouded by personal judgement or wishes for how a case should turn out.  “I’m sorry if you think that means I don’t care.”  He tells her that he didn’t mean it like that and she tells him that’s exactly what he meant.    She finishes by saying that if she knew how to communicate how she felt she would, seeing as that it would make everyone else’s lives much easier.

Now I see both sides to this.  From Sweets and Vaziri’s side, their assumptions are very logical.  Brennan is not an outwardly warm person.  She is very clinical and direct in her logic and expression.  Therefore it’s easy to see how they can make the assumption that she is cold and unfeeling.  She has even on several occasions bragged about how scientific she can be in not allowing feelings to cloud her work.  She takes pride in it.  But on Brennan’s side, just because she treats her job as a science and keeps to being 100% objective, doesn’t mean she doesn’t care about the victims and the truth.  She is the best in the world because of how she is able to conduct herself.   But Sweets and Vaziri have known Brennan long enough to know better than to assume she is a cold, unfeeling person.  Especially Sweets.  With all the sessions he had with her and Booth, he knows better.  Vaziri I would give the benefit of the doubt a bit more because he doesn’t interact with Brennan as much as the others.   I think this was a classic case of miscommunication and assumptions gone wrong.   But the air has been cleared and hopefully everyone knows now that when Brennan acts the way she does in the case, it’s for the betterment of the victim so she can get to the truth.  That is her showing that she cares.

Amy/Samantha

This was a very sad case that thankfully ended on a very happy and touching note (which of course made me cry!)   Amy is a deaf-mute who was found covered and blood and wielding a knife.  At the Jeffersonian, there are having a terrible time getting her to cooperate so they could find out who she is and what happened.  Sweets at one point goes to Brennan to remind her what being a foster child is like and how you never trusted anyone and people made decision that hurt you because they were in a rush.  She agreed and decided to take a softer approach with Amy and it finally got her to cooperate.  Unfortunately, her x-rays showed years and years of physical abuse that started around age 3.   They were able to trace her parents, the Mike and Denise Sheffield, to a town in Pennsylvania and brought them down to the FBI office.  Once the judge approved Amy be moved to child protective services, her parents flipped out and left to get a lawyer.  Brennan realized that Amy had some sort of condition that at least one of her parents has to have.  She tested both and neither showed signs of the disease proving they aren’t her biological parents.  Booth and Sweets question the parents and while Denise is opening up, Mike keeps telling her to shut up.  She doesn’t so he loses his temper and hits her in the face.  Great guy!!!   Booth then loses it and punches the guy.

Later investigating shows Mike knew the victim.  When Amy ran away to DC, he called his friend to pick her up and hold her until he got there.  Amy was so afraid that she grabbed a knife off the man’s counter.    They struggled and fell down.  He went to hit her and she stabbed him to protect herself.  It was all self-defense on Amy’s part.   She then left and ended up in the alley where the cop found her at the beginning of the show.   When Mike showed up at his friend’s apartment and saw him lying in his blood, he just took off back to PA.  Again, nice guy!!!

So now the hunt is on to find Amy’s real parents.  They believe she was kidnapped around the age of 3.   They ask her if she can remember anything from that time.   Any sort of happy memory.  She says she remembers a favorite stuffed bunny she had and that was it.   Now here comes the part that I think has to be far-fetched.  There is a lot of stuff that happens on TV where I can find a logical explanation for how it could be real.   This next bit of forensic work, I can’t buy.  They decide to pull one of Amy’s wisdom teeth to see where she was from.  Apparently, the isotopes that developed in her jaw line, where her adult teeth were forming, can show particulates that will show where she grew up.  Yeah right!!!   I don’t believe that for a second but I am going to go with it because I like happy endings.   They trace her back to a town around L.A. and found a missing persons report that shows Amy’s picture with the bunny she talked about.  Turns out her real name is Samantha and they contact her parents immediately.

Outside the Jeffersonian, Booth and Brennan are there with Samantha and she looks so pretty.   She asks Brennan if she looks ok and if she thinks her parents will like her.   KLEENEX STAT!!!!!   Then the Winslows show up and they are so excited to see her.  They signed to her that they never gave up looking for her and pull out her bunny and ask if she remembers.  She does and she runs to hug her parents.   MORE KLEENEX NOW PLEASE!!!!!   What a great moment.   As B&B are walking away, Booth confides in Brennan that he was upset at himself for hitting Mike Sheffield.  She tells him that she understands why he did it but Booth says he has to be better.  Just because he was abused, doesn’t mean he can pop off like that.  He doesn’t ever want his son to see him like that and he expects better of himself.   Brennan tells him that Parker is very lucky to have a dad like him and Booth tells her, that he wants it to be more than just luck.

I thought it was a great episode and I really enjoyed it.    This is all building to next week’s season finale…..The Change in the Game.   What will that change be Bones fans??