The case this time is the dead letter office of a post office (interesting use of the word "dead"). After a period of time, packages are opened when they have no addresses. After the usual stuff, a small package is opened and in it are blood and guts and a human head. Several other packages contain body parts. So who is it? And how is the Post Office a part of things? Of additional interest is that overzealous young woman who is absolutely taken with Booth and law enforcement. I really like her character. Then we have former postal workers who quit because they shared a huge lottery prize. Finally, we have the reappearance of Booth's Grandpa (Ralph Waite of The Waltons) with the news that Booth's father has died. Booth submerges himself in loathing for the man he grew up with. Brennan can't get him to open up. The conclusion of this one is really touching.
2 Reviews
Dealing with Loss
mediamusings124 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Hi Bones Booth Pod!
The case is interesting, but ultimately less important than the B plot this week. The central emotional arc of the episode concerns Booth finding out that his father has died. I really appreciate that the episode doesn't shy away from addressing Booth's complex reaction to the news. While initially, he adopts an almost dismissive response, I like that we get more of an emotional reaction by the end of the episode. Booth is allowed to have complicated feelings, (his father was an abusive alcoholic), but even so, he is allowed to give himself permission to mourn his loss. Maybe not the loss of a who he was, but the loss of what their relationship could have been had things been different.
My two favorite scenes are between Booth and Pops, and then the scene with Booth and Brennan at the end of the episode. After insisting for most of the episode that he didn't care that his father was dead, Pops reminds Booth that he is not the only one who is experiencing this loss, and dealing with complicated emotions. Booth's dad was Hank's son. Hank knows that his son made choices in his life that hurt his family. You can acknowledge that and still mourn their loss, (and maybe even be a little sad about it), and that is what Pops is trying to emphasize to Booth in that scene. Booth doesn't have to forgive his father for his misgivings, in order to confront his feelings about the loss.
The scene between Brennan and Booth at the end of the episode is one the most memorable of the series for me. Like Pops, Brennan is not asking Booth to disregard his negative feelings towards his father, or to forgive him for the things he did, but simply acknowledge that he was a person who is now gone. Booth is under no obligation to try to preserve any positive memories of his father from his childhood, but I think that doing so is important for his own healing. The end scene is touching and always makes me a little emotional.
The case is interesting, but ultimately less important than the B plot this week. The central emotional arc of the episode concerns Booth finding out that his father has died. I really appreciate that the episode doesn't shy away from addressing Booth's complex reaction to the news. While initially, he adopts an almost dismissive response, I like that we get more of an emotional reaction by the end of the episode. Booth is allowed to have complicated feelings, (his father was an abusive alcoholic), but even so, he is allowed to give himself permission to mourn his loss. Maybe not the loss of a who he was, but the loss of what their relationship could have been had things been different.
My two favorite scenes are between Booth and Pops, and then the scene with Booth and Brennan at the end of the episode. After insisting for most of the episode that he didn't care that his father was dead, Pops reminds Booth that he is not the only one who is experiencing this loss, and dealing with complicated emotions. Booth's dad was Hank's son. Hank knows that his son made choices in his life that hurt his family. You can acknowledge that and still mourn their loss, (and maybe even be a little sad about it), and that is what Pops is trying to emphasize to Booth in that scene. Booth doesn't have to forgive his father for his misgivings, in order to confront his feelings about the loss.
The scene between Brennan and Booth at the end of the episode is one the most memorable of the series for me. Like Pops, Brennan is not asking Booth to disregard his negative feelings towards his father, or to forgive him for the things he did, but simply acknowledge that he was a person who is now gone. Booth is under no obligation to try to preserve any positive memories of his father from his childhood, but I think that doing so is important for his own healing. The end scene is touching and always makes me a little emotional.
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