Bones: The Widow's Son in the Windshield (season premiere)

(S03E01) Now that I gave you an early look about this episode, and you had a chance to watch it yourself, let's talk about what happened during the season premiere of Bones.

The main thing is that we are introduced to a serial killer storyline that will probably last throughout the entire season. This isn't your run-of-mill serial killer, though. If it was, then we wouldn't be seeing him or her on this very television show. This killer actually seems to, um, gnaw on some of the bones of his victims a bit after he kills them. That's right, not only is he a serial killer, but a cannibal as well. A perfect fit for Booth, Bones and the other Squints at the Jeffersonian!

The killer has also taken ten different bones from ten different victims and added them to this a silver-plated skeleton. As we all know from science class there are 206 bones in the human body. So, there's a potential of 196 additional victims. Gee, I hope Bones and Booth catch this killer soon.

Not too soon, though, because this mystery has piqued my interest. Not only is the killer snacking on his victims and creating his own personal skeleton, but it all seems to be connected to some sort of clandestine society that's part of the legendary Illuminati. This gives everyone, FBI and Squints included, a chance to participate in this investigation. For Booth and Bones, it's a chance for them to work together after being separated for a few months (due to Dr. Brennan, which we'll talk about in a bit). For Zack, who just returned from Iraq because he didn't work well in a military environment, it lets him sink his teeth back into something he loves to do. And for Jack? Well, you've seen his eyes light up when something smells of a conspiracy.

Oh, speaking of Jack . . . what do you think of his new look? Personally, I think he looks pretty good without a head and face full of bushy hair. The clean shaven (or stubble-shaven) look gives his face a younger feel to it. It also gives him a more professional look. Perhaps this all came about after he came so close to marrying Angela (who is looking just great). Maybe after finding the woman of his dreams he decided to grow up a bit.

Back over to Bones and Booth. After nearly an entire hour we finally found out what was eating at Temperance, to the point that she wouldn't even go out with Seeley on investigations. It wasn't the fact that he arrested her father -- she was sort of appreciative about that at the end of last season. It wasn't the awkwardness she felt when Jack and Angela left her and Booth at the altar -- that didn't seem to phase her at all. No, it was the fact that Booth didn't stop Zack from going to Iraq.

If you look at it a certain way, Zack is like a younger sibling to Temperance. Like any protective older sister, Bones didn't want to see him go off to danger. She threw this back at Booth, saying that it was some sort of alpha-male bonding. Booth countered that, replying that it was really just giving Zack a chance to leave the Jeffersonian Institution nest and explore the world -- just like he gave Bones that chance at the end of the first season.

There was one thing that surprised me about this season premiere: the lack of an ick factor. I'm so used to seeing maggot-infested corpses and bathtubs filled with liquefied bodies that I actually missed it during the hour. The only thing that came close to being creepy was Bones and Booth's interrogation of a suspect they thought was the killer. He wasn't, but he did join in a meal with the actual serial killer. His description of how everything tasted and the feeling of baby to his lips was a bit oogy.

I was quite happy with this episode. As I said in my earlier post on this episode there is a felling of stability in this cast now after all of the changes that took place during the second season. Even though there seems to be a bit of tension at the beginning between some of the characters you can still feel everything clicking on the screen. Everyone feels comfortable with one another and there is some very good chemistry between Bones/Booth and Angela/Jack. In addition, Cam is no longer a stranger and is really showing a strong camaraderie to the Squints she manages. I am looking forward to some more storylines involving this serial killer. They can certainly solve other mysteries during the season, especially if it's one involving the Gravedigger, but they need to keep revisiting the serial killer angle in order for us to remember what it's about.

That's it for this week. I'll talk to you in seven days.