Bones: The He in the She

Posted by: Jolee  •  October 10, 2008 @ 1:28am

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

Two stoners find the top half of a female body in the ocean. Cam is out at the scene again, and this time she's brought the new "Zack's Replacement" with her. He is Australian and knows a lot of random trivia, which is basically all he's got going for him. His ex-girlfriend called him Vino Delectable.

The victim had facial plastic surgery and a boob job, and the serial number leads us to a name.... but then the bottom half of the body is found, and the pelvic bone tells us that it's actually a male, but since there is still flesh, it is clear to see that the victim was clearly NOT a male when he/she died...

Hodgins is still cranky (surprise, surprise), and insults Vino a LOT. Angela has no patience for the very young man-boy, and Brennan dismisses him like he's an old sock. Cam tries to help him fit in, to no avail.

Bones and Brennan have some fun discussions about the vanity of religious leaders, in which Brennan successfully trashes the Pope. Ba-zing! Brennan also gives us a very detailed description of the process in which male parts are turned into female parts, and male viewers everywhere are extremely disturbed.

Turns out the victim was a pastor in a small town, which was odd because of the he/she thing. This episode does not focus on much forensics, but instead the trail of people leading to the motives and suspects. A guy named JP left a "I miss you" message on the victims answering machine, and thus we have the first suspect.

The pastor's church followers are very shaken and rattled, and aren't sure that the church will survive without the pastor. It's an "Inclusion Church", taking in all types of people – felons, former addicts, etc. People with a "past". JP is one of these church followers.

A former jailbird, JP had been a confidante of the victim, and knew that she used to be a man. It sounds like he wanted to get involved with her, but he is married, and the victim didn't allow him to let their friendship go any further. He seems to be genuinely grieving for a friend, and I believe him.

Tox screens lead us to the Far East, and we assume that the victim fled to Thailand or some such place to get the sex change, so there would be no American record. Angela's drawings lead the team to the conclusion that the female small-church pastor was once a well-known male TV preacher! His family thought he had "disappeared" or had "gone up in the rapture". He had a wife and son, that he gave up to become a female... Very interesting.

Random interjection: Vino and Hodgins have a fun conversation...

Vino: Can I ask you something?

Hodgins: Is there any way to say "no"?

Vino: Whatever happened to whoever it was that used to work here before me?

Hodgins: He joined forces with a serial killer who was the last in a long line of cannibalistic murderers specializing in knocking off members of secret societies and building skeletons out of their body parts.

Vino: Wow. I – I hope that doesn't happen to me.

The son of the man-turned-woman had initially taken over the TV-preaching business, but took off one year later, having a crisis of faith. B&B watch videos of the kid preaching, and he seems rather ignorant and angry, condemning people who turn their faces on God. Sweets thinks that he knew about his father becoming a woman. B&B go to bring him in.

B&B and talking about what to call the victim, by his male name, or her female name.

Booth: You think the minute [she] came to exist, [he] stopped existing?

Brennan: When the butterfly emerges, does the caterpillar cease to exist?

Booth: Okay, what are you? Some kind of kung fu master?

Later in this discussion, we also find out that Booth would like Brennan just fine is she were a man. Brennan, on the other hand, would not like Booth is he was a woman... he'd be too pretty. And Booth agrees. "I'd be hot.... smokin' hot."

The preacher-kid , Ryan, is found. He had left the TV-preaching business to be a counselor at detox center and actually help people. He has had a life changing experience of faith, and is very accepting of everyone and their vices. He almost makes me cry, I feel infinitely sorry for him, and I find myself wishing I had the same kind of spiritual conviction.

Ryan: One of God's challenges to us is to see past the surface. To the deeper essential nature, which lies right beneath. Rip off the cover, see what's underneath. See, all this time I thought my father had abandoned me, but that's not what happened. He didn't want to shake my faith. He was protecting me from the truth, he didn't want me to have to choose between him and God, and I love my father for that. I just hope God can forgive me for making him feel that way.

The crack forensics team (who have done very little in this episode), find out that the victim was killed by a boat. Also, the boat hit her twice. Good work team. Vino Delectable quits, because he likes random trivia, and no one at the Jeffersonian appreciates it. Everything has be be so "relevant". Geez.

B&B go to the pier, and find JP's boat, which matches the killer boat. JP didn't do it though, it was his wife. She doesn't believe that he wasn't sleeping with the pastor, and knew that he loved the pastor more than her. Case closed.

Ryan, the pastors son, takes over preaching at the Inclusion Church where his father had been leading the flock of misfits. His first sermon is touching, and I really wish he'd be a recurring character. I like him. But that's just me.

Tags: Bones, David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel

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