Hero in the Hold

Yay or Nay?

I did NOT like this episode.

I did not think this was put together well at all. Plus, I thought everyone was out of character, and I rolled my eyes at the entire ghost bit. Plus, when Brennan and Hodgins were in the car, there was REAL emotion going on, but tonight, emotion was seriously lacking.

Yeah, I was let down with this.

Total and complete yay from me!!

I liked the episode because Brennan showed more emotion in this episode and you saw how Booth's military experience had an effect on him. At the end, if Brennan doesn't believe--- Booth knows the real deal.

It was choppy in some parts, and some of them were a little OOC. Having the agent that tailed Brennan and Hodgins be FBI Barbie seemed more like a ploy so we'd remember who she was.

But we got some background on Booth's military experience, which was good. Not to mention the fact Brennan got wicked emotional. And Jared...who actually kind of redeemed himself.

So...yay from me.

MoonlightGardenias wrote:It was choppy in some parts, and some of them were a little OOC. Having the agent that tailed Brennan and Hodgins be FBI Barbie seemed more like a ploy so we'd remember who she was.

But we got some background on Booth's military experience, which was good. Not to mention the fact Brennan got wicked emotional. And Jared...who actually kind of redeemed himself.

So...yay from me.

I was just typing an almost identical response, when i realised that you saved me the trouble!

I agree, it was choppy and not nearly as emotionally ridden as the orginal gravedigger episode. Didnt like the whole Vega recast, they should have left him out, like the left the orginal DA out. Oh, and the big reveal of who the gravedigger was-- whooptie dooo

On the positive side, I did like seeing the background into Booths military service as well as getting some of his demons dealt with. Loved the part about, Teddy said to Booth about telling "someone" he loves them!!!! I liked seeing Angela so involved in a case again, she was more involved than normal, loved that.

The ending and the new COCKY beltbuckle--loved it!!!!

"Brennan got wicked emotional"??????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You mean because she hit that random woman they picked to be the gravedigger with a chair and then she hugged Booth at the end??

She had more emotion when Booth found her earring.

shopgirl909 wrote:"Brennan got wicked emotional"??????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You mean because she hit that random woman they picked to be the gravedigger with a chair and then she hugged Booth at the end??

She had more emotion when Booth found her earring.

I felt that she only really started getting emotional was when she was in the helicopter. Maybe she was trying to put on a brave face....?

I gave it a 4.5 just for the back story on Booth alone, it's about BLOODY time!! Loved it! So many choppy bits, but some good emotion and turmoil. Me likey!!

Bella

If I could give it a 5 1/2, I would. It was beyond excellent. It was angsty, wonderful, sweet... And the ending was perfect. We watched the first half on MegaVideo before it crapped out and EVEN MY HUSBAND was as freaked out as I was. He searched for an alternate link for twenty minutes before he found one and at the end, he was as pleased as I was, saying "That was a really good episode!"

So if my hubby's impressed, then you know that it's good!

ok, 4.5 from me, I'm still waiting for the perfect episode and I had some problems with this one, just minor ones, but still...
I've been reading fan reviews and recaps the whole morning, the reactions are mixed and I understand why... The most problematic parts for people were: Teddy/hallucination/ghost thing, identity of GD and high expectations (in my opinion). I don't know why people wanted this epi to be Aliens Part II. I'm glad it wasn't because that would feel like cheating to me, lol... This one was more action packed, fast-paced, it reminded me of Knight on the Grid...
I agree that the identity of GD was kinda random and that they could explain her motives better (did they actually say something about her motives? or was she just a brilliant sociopath?)...
On the other hand, I liked the Teddy character and I think he provided a good opportunity to learn more about Booth. And I love how the writers highlighted the difference between Booth - the emotional one and Brennan - the rational one. In Aliens, Brennan used her science to get out of the car, in Hero Booth relied on his emotions/beliefs/faith or whatever it was that brought Teddy in to 'help' Booth.
Sorry for my rambling, I had the urge to defend the epi, I don't know why, lol...

wow, what an intense, suspenseful episode! this one really had me holding my breath til the very end. i thought db did a great job in this episode!! and i didn't mind the hallucination part at all. made more sense to me than the bit with luc robitaille.

hey, and is everyone reconciled with jared now? i sure am, i really liked him in this epi! perotta showing up didn't make much sense, but it didn't bother me either.

the only thing that disappointed me was the ending. after how scared they all were, i would have expected a little more emotion from both booth and brennan once they rescued him. i actually half expected them to kiss or profess their love for each other (especially after what teddy said to booth). the whole army pathos doesn't do anything for me, i would have much preferred a b&b-centered ending!

but other than that the episode was great, so i gave it a 4.5!

lena152 wrote:...the only thing that disappointed me was the ending. after how scared they all were, i would have expected a little more emotion from both booth and brennan once they rescued him. i actually half expected them to kiss or profess their love for each other (especially after what teddy said to booth). the whole army pathos doesn't do anything for me, i would have much preferred a b&b-centered ending!..

You're reading my mind here, I'd sign every word.
It was the best time for the kiss...

lena152 wrote:wow, what an intense, suspenseful episode! this one really had me holding my breath til the very end. i thought db did a great job in this episode!! and i didn't mind the hallucination part at all. made more sense to me than the bit with luc robitaille.

hey, and is everyone reconciled with jared now? i sure am, i really liked him in this epi! perotta showing up didn't make much sense, but it didn't bother me either.

the only thing that disappointed me was the ending. after how scared they all were, i would have expected a little more emotion from both booth and brennan once they rescued him. i actually half expected them to kiss or profess their love for each other (especially after what teddy said to booth). the whole army pathos doesn't do anything for me, i would have much preferred a b&b-centered ending!

but other than that the episode was great, so i gave it a 4.5!

I concur vehemently...
They should have extended the helicopter scene. I think Brennan was crying.
I think Brennan was emotional during that episode. Not the kind of emotional she got in Finger in the Net or other episodes...But she seemed to be desperate to me.

Don't you all think that Brennan's denial of her love for Booth was a little fast?!

I'm left feeling a little meh, and a little let down after that. I don't read spoilers, so all I knew was that Booth was kidnapped by the gravedigger. So I expected alot of emotions. I did not feel alot of emotions.

Much as I loved getting to delve into Booth's backstory and war guilt, I do not appreciate doing it through ghosts. This is the sort of gimmick that Bones has never gone to, and in the last two episodes, there has been a dream sequence followed by a hallucination/ghost. nuh uh. Not my thing.

Angela and Cam were most in character. With Brennan I felt they were going backwards. You'd think after nearly four seaons she would be a little more emotional when Booth was kidnapped rather than looking worried and frowney. Hodgins felt off for the entire ep. Why was he not going to the celebration thing?

I loved the phone call between Booth and Brennan in the beginning, there was a hugely missed opportunity for a kiss or a decleration of love of some kind at the end. We got the most clear indication ever that Booth knows he loves Bones. So that was all good.

But not good enough. It all just felt wrong. and now I'm a bit grumpy because I've to wait two weeks to see if they redeem themselves, and I'm not sure if they will, judging by the trailer...Oh and the whole hugging as the ship loudly blew up, cheesy in a die hard sort of way. Not what I expect on Bones.

So I can't believe it but I'm giving it two skeletons. And I feel I am being generous.

ok... this is totally cheating as i already posted this in the show disscussion thread... but i can't be bothered to re phrase it... so here it is in it;s entirety.... and i gave this episode 4.5 thingys...

hmmm... i think it's time i added my opinion to this mess! i liked this episode, yes there were some things that grated slightly, but overall i think they pulled it off considering the level of anticpation from the fans and the large time gap between this episode and aliens.

first the issue of the identity of the grave digger, originally (and correct me if i'm wrong) but the grave digger was supposed to be the journalist from aliens, but they changed their minds and left that episode open ended so the reveal in this was always going to come out of nowhere. i thought the actress did a great job looking truly creepy and while it might have been nice to hear a bit of her motivation it was ultimately going to be something along the lines "i'm a freaky sociopath, i like to kill people" which while it would have been mildly satiisfying in the moment isn't really very interesting. on reflection i quite like that they kept her silent, i feel it fit with the anonymity of the crimes and allowed screen time for other plot points.

second the 'ghost' of teddy parker. i am of the opinion that he was a hallucination and not a ghost, this show may toy with the possibilites on occasion (headless witch and santa in the slush) but ultimately it is a scientific show with a whimsical side and for me a ghost is just a step too far. we must not forget that booth has been drugged, electrocuted, is under great stress and it is, somewhat convieniantly, the anniversary of a traumatic event all of which could contribute to a hallucination and more specifically the hallucination of teddy. to address the issue of teddy 'helping' him, your mind can fill in blanks with all sorts of things and also if you notice teddy never really suggests things but just tells booth things he already knows. as a plot device i think he is well conceived, just watching booth down there on his own would have been dull and he offered insight to booths past which is massively overdue! as for brennan seeing him at the end, i am going to try and take that as a symbol of her acceptance that what booth saw is real to him and her belief in him, rather than him actually being real...

brennan. i know a lot of people may have liked to have seen a little more emotion from her in this episode, and originally i was with you but as i watched the scene where she gets the phone call and the absolute look of horror (so well done my emily deschanel) convinced me of the pain she was feeling. furthermore the tacit acknowledgment of her experience early on in the episode reenforced, for me, the unspoken and less demonstrated agitation she must be feeling. her willingness to break all the rules she has built for herself by being prepared to give evidence back to the grave digger and also following booth like heart vs head advice from angela i think said a lot more about how affected she was by booths absence that any tears or shouting would have done. lastly her damning conviction of jared redeeming herself for believing him so unquestionably in conman and walloping the gravedigger with the briefcase provided nice counter point to how deceivingly calm she was for the rest of the episode.

ok... i promise i am nearly done (and if you have read all of this, then well done you! this is seriously just my ramblings).

lastly the element of this episode that made my little shipper heart squee, the acknowledgment on both sides of a deeper bond they share. while i'm sure many fans are convinced that they know they love each other, it will be very hard for even die hard non-shippers to deny the unspoken agreement on both side shown in this episode that they love each other (maybe not "omg i love you, lets have babies and live happily ever after" love, but more than just partners and just friends). also the hug on the helicopter, while i wish it had been a little longer is was, in my humble opinion, the most passionate hug they have ever shared, brennan practically threw herself at him and there was no thinking or hesitation on either part and i think that is this wasn;t a tv show that relied on UST to draw in viewer and they were normal people they would have kissed.

i am not saying there weren't flaws to this episode (the one thing that annoyed me most is that brennan is walking around with freaking huge earrings in all night, who wouldn't have taken those out?!) but i think some of the problems people have with it are a result of not looking closely enough and wanting a BB outcome that just isn't possible at this point in the season.

once again i apologise for the length... once i started i couldn't stop..... also it it is too long and too late here for me to seriously spellcheck it or go fix all the grammar, so sorry about that....

Okay, here's my take...I really don't see why people have such a problem with the 'ghost' thing. Whether you believe it or not isn't the issue. It is such a 'Booth' thing to do, which is why I think it fit very well into the show. You are right...everything in this show is always scientific and rational, which is Bones' area...why can't we have Booth's pov? Booth thrives on his emotions, and whether the ghost was real or just in his imagination isn't the point. The point is that Booth believed it...and that is so in character with him.

I think the writers did an excellent job exploring Booth's thoughts and emotions, while at the same time staying true to Bones' skepticism...we see at the end that she doesn't believe him, but she let it go instead of arguing because she's accepted Booth for what he is...a very emotional driven character, who is going to believe what he wants, and I think she knows by now that she's not going to change his mind.

Anyway...I really didn't mean to rant. I just wanted to share my opinion. I think the show was excellent, I think that the 'ghost' brought about a great opportunity to give us some back story, and I think we saw a part of Booth that we haven't seen before. So believe it was a ghost or a hallucination, it matters not. The show isn't about the viewer, it's about the characters, and I think that Booth is a character that would believe in that circumstance.

flyersfan35 wrote: I think that Booth is a character that would believe in that circumstance.

I agree. It was a bit of a suspension of reality. What I really loved was the fact that Brennan saw it, too--kind of hints at the fact that she really DOES NOT know everything.

Oh, I loved that he showed up in the last scene, mama! And again, you can take what you will with that...could be that it was someone else, and Booth just saw what he wanted to see...

flyersfan35 wrote:Okay, here's my take...I really don't see why people have such a problem with the 'ghost' thing. Whether you believe it or not isn't the issue. It is such a 'Booth' thing to do, which is why I think it fit very well into the show. You are right...everything in this show is always scientific and rational, which is Bones' area...why can't we have Booth's pov? Booth thrives on his emotions, and whether the ghost was real or just in his imagination isn't the point. The point is that Booth believed it...and that is so in character with him.

I think the writers did an excellent job exploring Booth's thoughts and emotions, while at the same time staying true to Bones' skepticism...we see at the end that she doesn't believe him, but she let it go instead of arguing because she's accepted Booth for what he is...a very emotional driven character, who is going to believe what he wants, and I think she knows by now that she's not going to change his mind.

Anyway...I really didn't mean to rant. I just wanted to share my opinion. I think the show was excellent, I think that the 'ghost' brought about a great opportunity to give us some back story, and I think we saw a part of Booth that we haven't seen before. So believe it was a ghost or a hallucination, it matters not. The show isn't about the viewer, it's about the characters, and I think that Booth is a character that would believe in that circumstance.

fly... that's exactly my take on Parker being there
I didn't like the flaws in the episode... But I really liked it for what it was
My thoughts have been said before, so I won't repeat them. But you expressed my view on the 'ghost' and I had to say that

Thanks loe! And I know there were some flaws to the ep, but I enjoyed it, and I loved the ghost part.

Ugh. I'm sorry...but I hated it. I absolutely and completely loathed it. I know other people liked it and enjoyed the Booth background and all that...and I respect that and value their opinions...but I was just disgusted by it. And I really don't mean that to be an insult to anyone who liked it! Its standard, for me, was just worlds away from what I've come to expect from Bones.

The dialogue...the plot...the acting even in some places...I could go into detail but I'd be afraid that some people could take that the wrong way and feel personally insulted.

Anyway, to sum it all up, I am beyond disappointed. I really feel let down! And, I hate to say it, but if this is the direction the show is going in, I will not be watching it for much longer. Ugh. I just...ugh.

Again, really want to emphasise that I am NOT trying to belittle anyone else's thoughts and feelings. I have the utmost respect for other people's opinions. Mine just differ slightly in this regard.

Oh kiki, everyone has their own opinion, silly! No one is insulted, sweetie!

Exactly. If you hate it, you hate it. As long as you still love Bones, you're my girl.

HEY, FLYERS FAN!!! You're Caroline Julian! That's the first time I've seen one of those! That's awesome!!!