Bones: Soccer Mom in the Mini-Van

(S03E02) I've noticed something new about the opening sequences to Bones this season. Rather than starting the scene with Booth and Bones walking into the middle of the investigation we actually see how it all happens. This week we got to see the soccer mom's mini-van blow up. And, what an explosion it was! Did anyone catch the leg that came flying out of of the smoke and flame? How about the fact that her hands were melted onto the steering wheel while the rest of her body went in various directions?

The charred body itself didn't make me queasy. I've watched enough episodes of the series that one charred body is like another charred body. However, when Bones (or was it Cam? I can't remember) pulled out the piece of the victim's tongue as well as a bit of brain matter for additional evidence I got a bit ooged out. All of the insects eating the charred flesh off of the victim's bones to clean them off didn't make me feel too hot either.

This, of course, means that Bones was in fine form this week.

Lord, there seemed to be a lot going on this week. We had the investigation, an introduction to one of Booth's mentors, Bones' meeting with her father, and Jack's animal lust for a government explosives expert. Usually, that much story slows down a show and one plot tends to be pushed out of the way for another. But, it didn't seem like that in this episode. All of the sub-plots flowed together and actually influenced each other.

The investigation first. There were so many suspects that it was hard to discern who really did it. I thought that the victim's husband was the culprit, but he seemed so devastated that I kind of pushed that idea out of my mind. Sam Reilly became my main suspect after he was found at Watkins' house. He was so full of anger about the whole investigation that I could see him making the explosives that killed Amy Nash just so he could have some closure.

Special Agent Sam Reilly. As soon as I saw him and heard him yelling at Bones and Caroline I immediately thought Roger Murtaugh from Lethal Weapon. He just had that crusty attitude which just screamed 'I'm too old for this sh*t'. I definitely thought he was out of line when he told Booth that Bones must be that good in bed for him to put up with her frankness. Personally, if I were Booth I would have smacked Sam around a bit for saying that.

Now, Bones and Max. I think that one of the things that makes Temperance the woman that she has become is her relationship with her father, who Booth arrested at the end of last season. There's a great amount of pent up anger in her for what her father did in his life (she says he's a criminal, he says he was an outlaw) and how he abandoned her while she was still a teenager. I think, with this episode, some of that anger abated a bit.

Some of that had to do with advice from Booth, who told Bones that she needs to let go at some point. Some had to do with her father, who really loves Temperance and thinks that him being in prison is the perfect time for them to get to know each other again. Most of it came from a letter that Watkins wrote to Amy Nash just before she was murdered. In the letter he admitted that he did bad things and that the only way to move on was to try to forgive and do the right thing. It was after Bones read that letter that she realized she may need to relax a bit when it came to Max.

Finally, Jack. Tonight was probably the first test of his and Angela's fairly new relationship. I don't think that Hodgins stammered as much with Angela when they were in the flirting stage then he did when he saw Special Agent Frost mosey into the Jeffersonian. If that wasn't animal lust I don't know what is. Bless Angela for not getting utterly pissed off at him.. She must know Jack extremely well to be okay with his looking. However, she did give him a stern warning to, uh, keep it in his pants when around her. Luckily, Jack's crush ended suddenly after Agent Frost nearly threw away a priceless air filter that Hodgins could use for evidence. I enjoyed how his demeanor changed from puppy dog to suspicious government employee when she tried to do that.

Other items of note:

• Caroline was back again, and she laid it on the line for Agent Reilly, telling him to stop whining and acting like a girl.
• Angela's line to Agent Frost about doing face reconstructions and Jack. She's quite the minx, isn't she?
• Booth's line to Bones when she pulled her gun out at Watkins' house 'Gee, why didn't you bring the big one?' By the way, there seemed to be a great deal of sexual innuendo going around this week. Not too sure why.
• A drunk Booth. If he has been drunk before I don't know about it. Actually, drunk Booth isn't that much different than normal Booth.
• A mention of the Widow's Son case. Good to keep that around, if only in the background, just to keep us thinking about it.
• Cam and Zack. I've noticed that these two get paired up quite a bit. They work well together, in my opinion. They have that no-nonsense way of speaking to each other.
• The return of the holo-tank. I wonder if I can get one of those for Christmas?

A great episode. I'm glad Bones is off to such a good start in the new season. Next week, something about horse teeth and Mr. Ed. Bye for now.