Bones: Aliens in a Spaceship

(S02E09) Now, before you get excited, this was not a X-Files themed show where Booth and Bones discover an alien skeletons and then go all Mulder and Scully to find the spaceship that they came in. No sir, the spaceship in this episode is a beer vat that holds the skeletons of two twins who died at the hands of the Grave Digger. This is where this week's very well done episode of Bones begins.

After last week's somewhat disappointing showing they really righted themselves. Taking a more serious tone than they normally do, this week's episode focused on the race to save Bones and Jack from being buried alive by a serial killer. Many of the subplots were pushed aside (although there was a brief look at the secret relationship between Booth and CAM), and the skeleton's were barely addressed. It was all replaced with high emotions and guesswork.

Let's talk about the burial scenes for a bit. As I've said before, I didn't see the first season of Bones, so I don't know how Jack and Bones acted together previously. But, the characters looked to have a great deal of chemistry and trust for one another while trying to survive. I also think they are kindred spirits channeling MacGyver. I mean, look at what they cobbled up while waiting to be rescued:

• Bones performed meatball surgery on Jack to relieve pressure on his injured leg;
• Jack analyzed the dirt that surrounded them with perfume and a SLR 35mm camera;
• Bones was able to send a text phone message to Booth by hooking her cell phone to the car horn;
• Jack created a CO2 scrubber in an ashtray;
• Bones used the explosives that push out the car's air bags to propel them out of the vehicle.

Gosh, with some thread, bubble gum, and a paper clip they could've have created a time machine and gone back to prevent the tragedy. Seriously, all of that stuff worked this episode without seeming corny. I also liked seeing both Jack and Bones out of their element, which is normally very controlled.

Over to Booth and the rest of the squints of the Jeffersonian. Other than Cam, they were all out of their element. Seely, who is seen as being pretty level-headed in most cases, was shown as being quite frustrated with the rest of the Institutes's team of crack scientists. It was mostly due to the fact that they weren't thinking outside of the box. Booth had to practically shout at them to stop looking at the situation as a bunch of numbers and equations and start to make some guesses. He was particularly hard on Zach, who he was relying on to interpret the text message Bones and Jack sent to his phone. Luckily, Seely's rant got to the young graduate student and he was able to solve the mystery of the message, which allowed the two doctors to be saved.

A few more highlights to mention from this week's episode:

• Benito Martinez, who plays David Aceveda on The Shield, appears this week as KNR (Kidnap-Negotiation-Release) expert Thomas Vega who wrote a book on the Grave Digger. Who's with me in the belief that Vega is the Grave Digger? He just seems to meet all of the requirements.
• I thought that the Grave Digger would be caught this episode, but he wasn't. I actually liked this, because it allows the story to continue somewhere down the line this season (well, I hope they continue it). If Thomas Vega appears again we'll know something is coming up.
• We had a couple of revelations this week. In addition to Cam and Seely's romance, Jack revealed that he was extraordinarily wealthy (don't know if that was revealed last season) and he was head-over-heels in love with Angela. Well, duh on that! Finally, Angela came to realize that she really cared for Jack. It looks like the relationship we thought wouldn't happen will resurface in the next few weeks.

Gosh, I hope you enjoyed this week's episode as much as I did. No new episode next week due to the 'Eat Your Weight in Turkey, Fall Asleep in Front of the Television" holiday. So, I'll see you in two.