Bones: The Passenger in the Oven

Posted by: Jolee  •  November 25, 2008 @ 2:24pm

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

This recap is pretty late – sorry all. I blame all the company I've had lately!

Brennan and Booth are on a flight to China – Brennan is in first class of course, which annoys Booth, who is in coach. Booth keeps catching a teenager sneaking booze off of the booze cart. Brennan is excited to get to China to identify some really old bones in a cave. However, during the 14 hour flight, a body is found in the airplane's oven, burnt to a crisp. Since the airplane is still "American soil" until it touches down in China, Booth and Brennan are on the case.

The Case

Booth runs errands for Brennan as she examines the body, requisitioning tweezers, measuring tape, and magnifying glasses from a lady in coach who loves murder mysteries. Brennan takes photos and sends them via the Internet to the team. Booth discovers one of the flight attendants was in the kitchen last, using the phone to call her boyfriend.

Seat 3B is the victim, Elizabeth. In questioning the surrounding passengers, we find a man and his sick wife who are agitated, and it is their son who was stealing all the booze from the cart – he's drunk now, and the parents don't seem terribly concerned.

Brennan boils the skull, and needs to make an impression to find the weapon. Booth asks the passengers for denture cream, baby powder, and a butane lighter. Making the cast helps them figure out that the victim whacked her head on the knob of the stove before she was shoved into the oven.

Hodgins figures out that the victim was small, female, brown hair, wearing fake nails. There is something inorganic stuck in the sternum, it turns out to be a plastic video game cartridge. Cam helps find out that the victim was in the oven for about 6 and a half hours.

There are a couple of suspects: the flight attendant who was on the phone (giving credit card numbers of passengers to her boyfriend), the pilot (who had a drunk driving charge and the victim wrote negatively about it in a magazine article), and a man in coach (who likes guns). They are all eventually eliminated as evidence comes in.

Sweets finds out, from the victims boss, that Elizabeth was sleeping with a married man named Artie. Way to contribute, Sweets!! This tidbit of info ends up solving the case. B&B question the man with the sick wife and drunk son. He WAS sleeping with the victim, but there isn't much evidence to suggest he killed her.

Taking some yellow glasses from a passenger and using a blue light, B&B find a blood trail leading to the drunk son, who has a video game player, missing the game cartridge. Apparently the son found out that his dad was cheating on his sick mom, and got rid of the mistress. Poor kid just loves his mom.

Booth has to make a quick case to Caroline back in the USA, because they are landing very soon, and need to make an arrest before the plane touches down. Caroline is hesitant (she's going to have to deal with US and Chinese governments about this), but signs the arrest warrant just in the nick of time.

Booth: (as the plane is 10 seconds from touchdown) I am placing you under arrest for the murder of Elizabeth Jones, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law because THIS IS the Unites States of America! (Touchdown – now it's China!)

B&B stay on the plane with the (now handcuffed) kid, about to return to the USA. Booth finally gets to ride first class. Case closed.

The Squints

With Brennan away, the team is taking the weekend off: Sweets and Daisy are going to karaoke, Hodgins is going biking, Angela and Roxy are going to an artist retreat, and Cam is doing... anything to get out of going to karaoke with Sweets and Daisy. None of them are happy to be called back in to help with Brennan's case.

Hodgins asks Sweets about his opinion on Angela and Roxy's relationship. He's concerned that the two only had one suitcase between them... that has to mean something, right? Yup, sure does. Angela and Hodgins have to work together a lot in this episode, and they actually do very well together. They are a great team, and acknowledge that. Hodgins asks her about Roxy, and is obviously wondering if Angela has always been a lesbian and thats why they didn't work out. Angela reassures him that no, she can fall in love with men, and she's sorry that it makes it harder for him to understand.

Angela and Roxy meet up for drinks when the case is closed. Angela asks Roxy to move in with her, which is a first for Angela. Roxy declines, because it's too soon, and she knows Angela isn't ready. They're still all lovey dovey though.

Brennan's Real Passion

Brennan is excited to get back to her "real passion", identifying old anthropologically important remains. Booth takes this as a sign that she is tired of working with him. They sound like an old married couple as Booth wonders if the "spark is gone". She tries to explain to him that she is a scientist first, and a crime fighter second.

There's this awesome moment that has nothing to do with anything, as Brennan is wearing old lady glasses (as magnifiers). Booth grins and says, "Okay, what I want you to do is take off your glasses, shake out your hair and say 'Mr. Booth, do you know what the penalty is for an overdue book?'" Booth has moved in quite close, and Brennan looks confused and asks, "Why?" When Booth leaves, she tries it, and is still confused.

Brennan is sad that she can't stay in China when the case is over, she doesn't get to check out the old Chinese remains and do her research. Booth is sorry that he got her into crime fighting... but Brennan reminds him that she was the one who initially wanted to get into the field with Booth four seasons ago. She likes what she does now, she just misses being a "scientist" sometimes. She's happy with Booth though. Plus, they get to drink champagne all the way back to the USA.

Tags: Bones, Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz

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