Why the Timing Was Finally Right(ish) for Booth & Brennan: Bones 6×22 “The Hole in the Heart”

“The Hole in the Heart” was about death; Jacob Broadsky was back and aiming to kill Booth and the Jeffersonion gang by his warped code of ethics and sense of duty to rid the world of bad people, and the people in his way. Booth is the protector of life; he has emotional scars from his time as a sniper but has chosen to deal with these feelings in a positive way, becoming an FBI agent and choosing happiness, life.

If we look back to “The Blackout in the Blizzard” Booth and Brennan made a sort of a pact. They both decided that there would be certain things they need to work on about themselves before they could be together.

A time could come when you aren’t angry anymore, and I’m strong enough to risk losing the last of my imperviousness. Maybe then we could try to be together.

I think that the events of “The Hole in the Heart” were really the turning point that allowed Booth and Brennan to finally get together, and I don’t mean solely for comfort.

Jacob Broadsky is the embodiment of Booth’s anger, his discomfort about his past, and fear of what he could have become. When Broadsky last appeared in “The Killer in the Crosshairs” Booth had a bit of a crisis seeing his former mentor turn out so, wrong. In talking to Sweets he became more assured that he was dealing with his past correctly, that he really is a well adjusted person.

Unfortunately it was not so easy to catch Broadsky, and there were casualties along the way. Using a high tech cellphone tracking device paired with a heat sensor, Broadsky, with a bullet intend for Booth, killed the kind, oddly charming, trivia obsessed squintern Mr. Vincent Nigel Murray, leading him to die in the arms of Booth and Brennan, pleading to stay.

Mr. Nigel-Murray’s death was a catalyst for Booth and Brennan to get together, but for anyone who has been watching this show knows, it’s not the cause.

Booth seems to have a moment of clarity after Mr. Murray’s death. When the team is all gathered in the boardroom discussing what to do next he seems to take a breath and take charge. He knows this pain, and he realizes he know how to handle it. Booth, still struggling with the fact that the bullet was meant for him, takes a pause. He advises everyone to go home, rest up, because there will be lots to do tomorrow.

Despite her hard exterior we’ve learned that Brennan is quite sensitive at times, and feels very deeply, especially when friends and family are involved. She just doesn’t always know how to express her feelings, or know how to deal with them.The emotional impact of Vincent dying in her arms, seemingly calling out to her was overwhelming. Her moment of emotional growth was being able to understand that, communicate her feelings of confusion and sadness, and reach out to someone she loves, Booth, for comfort.

I don’t know what date was written on the piece of paper that they made a deal over, but it seems that the requirements were fulfilled that day. So when Brennan climbed into Booth’s bed that night they were ready to be with one another.

The montage sequence when Broadsky was setting up his rifle on the crane and the camera visited all of our Jeffersonion Team was simply brilliant. The music (Fever Ray – Keep the Streets Empty for me) fit beautifully with the tone of the episode and the pace of the sequence, haunting and expectant. I’ve noted before the intricate beauty of the camera work on Bones, there is the occasional, more artistic sequence like this where it becomes very apparent.

The slow panning camera movement gliding past our characters, slowly, the calm before the storm. I was sitting holding my breath, something awful is about to happen, but when will this beauty come to a jarring halt. The contrasting high and low angles meeting Hodgins and Angela’s faces, first separately and then together, capturing their complete happiness. Slowly zooming in gracefully on Sweets as he pensively sips his coffee in the diner with careful reflections on the glass. Moving into Broadsky, the swift zoom out, the crane, the city, he is above, alone. Until the music slows, and the camera settles on Vincent Nigel Murray. The poor thing.

A few other notes:

Angela and Brennan’s girl talk conversation about the night spent with Booth was just adorable.

You still have blood on your hands (Brennan to Booth following Mr. Nigel Murray’s death)
She means literally

Props to Ryan Cartwright, amazing run as Vincent Nigel Murry and such a beautiful job in his final scene

The T-Rex vs. Human arm wrestling match – Vincent was great prancing around the lab in his dino suit, plus him and Brennan laughing so heartily over how hilarious their presentation will be, We will be the toast of the conference

On a very shallow note, David Boreanaz looked super hot in the scene where he has Brennan in his arms in bed.

The Lime in the Coconut. This send off didn’t really work completely for me, it makes sense to try and lighten the mood, but it seemed almost too light for the tragic death of someone so young.

Watch: Fever Ray – Keep the Streets Empty for me