Sides ~ S05E18 "The Predator in the Pool"

Eh, yeah, ok, so I'm the only one looking forward to this...
*shrug*

Frankly, I saw it coming. Right from the whole-dream thing of the finale. It was just time for them to have a break. They'd been too long in the same path and with very little movement. A shift in direction can snap 'em out of the rut they're in. And yes, I know, most of you would prefer for that shift to be in the direction of B/B action, but eh, I find this much more intriguing. Have they ever been actually away from each other? No. They've grown closer but never apart, not even momentarily apart. Not even with Sully -she stayed, after all, and in the next ep it was hinted that she'd done it for Booth. That kind of constant togetherness is.... well, it's not healthy. Distance can be a good thing sometimes.

Distance can be a good thing sometimes.

I disagree vehemently. Distance can NEVER be a good thing in a relationship. NEVER! Distance can (and usually does!) break a relationship down.

Lucky you if you can look forward for something like this.
For me it's a pure torture, and that for the next 3 months. My heart literally hurts the whole time after I read the sides.

I disagree vehemently. Distance can NEVER be a good thing in a relationship. NEVER! Distance can (and usually does!) break a relationship down.

Life experience has shown me that's only the case when the relationship was going to break down anyway. But then, we all have different experiences, n'est pas?

Don't worry. Sides for the next episode after this one will be out in a month at the most. We'll have an update on the ship by then.

heirofloki wrote:Sides for the next episode after this one will be out in a month at the most.

You're killing me here. I'll go crazy if it'll take a whole month.

We'll have an update on the ship by then.

Or we'll have an update on his new relationship with this woman.

Maybe it's just a one week thing this whole new-woman-business.
And if that's the case, I think it could actually be a good thing.

Let's say they go out on a date, Brennan goes out with Hacker too. (whichever date came first, most likely caused the second one)
They realize, that it just doesn't feel right and finally admit why it doesn't feel right to go on dates anymore.

We would have to suffer through one episode, maybe two, but after that the reward would be nice.

Or maybe Brennan finally realizes it, but Booth is trying to get over her.
And that would be a nice, although toturous, turn as well.

So it could turn out to be okay after all.
And like always I think we shouldn't worry too much, the sides may be fake or maybe nothing happens on that date, or maybe the date doesn't even happen at all.

Ah Toz, you know how "optimistic" I am when it comes to the third parties for BB. I always think about the worst possible scenarios. And it doesn't help that his decision to go on a date with that woman seems to be in the very end of the episode (page 58 or so). Hence, most likely, there will be no resolve for this torture in this ep. I feel so bad right now, you can't even imagine.

I know mereva and I can understand it too, but you can't be nervous about this for the next 3 months. That can't be healthy.
And ED said that their relationship would change in a good way, now of course we don't know what she thinks would be good, but I guess that they won't let something horrible like other relationships happen and still think it's great.
So maybe that's just a small obstacle on the way to happiness.

Nervous?! Dear, I'll go completely crazy for the next 3 months! And it is very(!) unhealthy, I know.

heirofloki wrote:Eh, yeah, ok, so I'm the only one looking forward to this...
*shrug*

Frankly, I saw it coming. Right from the whole-dream thing of the finale. It was just time for them to have a break. They'd been too long in the same path and with very little movement. A shift in direction can snap 'em out of the rut they're in. And yes, I know, most of you would prefer for that shift to be in the direction of B/B action, but eh, I find this much more intriguing. Have they ever been actually away from each other? No. They've grown closer but never apart, not even momentarily apart. Not even with Sully -she stayed, after all, and in the next ep it was hinted that she'd done it for Booth. That kind of constant togetherness is.... well, it's not healthy. Distance can be a good thing sometimes.

I'm getting progressively more calm about these sides. You are very right, Booth and Brennan have been steadily growing closer and closer for 5 years to the point that the only difference between their "partnership" and a romantic relationship is sex. Maybe they need to take a step back to gain a little perspective (It's looking less and less likely but I'm still really hoping that B/B are together by the end of the season)

If it affects you so much, you probably shouldn't read spoilers

ToZiKa wrote:If it affects you so much, you probably shouldn't read spoilers

Not going to happen. I'll always read the spoilers, otherwise I'll get a heart attack during the ep.

treble21 wrote:

heirofloki wrote:Eh, yeah, ok, so I'm the only one looking forward to this...
*shrug*

Frankly, I saw it coming. Right from the whole-dream thing of the finale. It was just time for them to have a break. They'd been too long in the same path and with very little movement. A shift in direction can snap 'em out of the rut they're in. And yes, I know, most of you would prefer for that shift to be in the direction of B/B action, but eh, I find this much more intriguing. Have they ever been actually away from each other? No. They've grown closer but never apart, not even momentarily apart. Not even with Sully -she stayed, after all, and in the next ep it was hinted that she'd done it for Booth. That kind of constant togetherness is.... well, it's not healthy. Distance can be a good thing sometimes.

I'm getting progressively more calm about these sides. You are very right, Booth and Brennan have been steadily growing closer and closer for 5 years to the point that the only difference between their "partnership" and a romantic relationship is sex. Maybe they need to take a step back to gain a little perspective (It's looking less and less likely but I'm still really hoping that B/B are together by the end of the season)

Dude, exactly! I don't know that they'll be together by the end of the season, but I bet they'll be in a much more secure path toward something more than what they have...even if it takes them right to the end scene of the season finale to get there.

Okay, so after reading, I am really excited for this episode. I have been so annoyed by this holding pattern that those two have been in and I think this is the push I have been waiting for. I don't think that them seeing other people will last but I do think that it will make them see what we have been seeing for years now...that they are meant for each other and no one else can come close! So back away from the ledge, people. I think this episode has the potential to be very, very positive for B&B's relationship.

mereva wrote:Ah Toz, you know how "optimistic" I am when it comes to the third parties for BB. I always think about the worst possible scenarios. And it doesn't help that his decision to go on a date with that woman seems to be in the very end of the episode (page 58 or so). Hence, most likely, there will be no resolve for this torture in this ep. I feel so bad right now, you can't even imagine.

I think that because it is near the end of the episode, Brennan, Angela, Cam, and Hodgins are at the Founding Fathers and either Booth doesn't show up because he is going out with the doctor or Brennan and the gang see him on the date; both of these scenarios are perfect for showing Brennan that she would get really jealous of Booth in a relationship with another woman. So while I don't think we will see it resolved in this episode, I would be very surprised if Booth's date sticks around for more than one episode. Most likely, we will see the fallout though in the next episodes and that fallout will result in B&B coming closer together. Stay positive! "Everything happens eventually."

It appears the sides for 5x18 have provoked a highly predictable reaction from the fans of the show. I believe it is important to remember that the TV business is all about ratings. Ratings flow from controversy. The writers seem to have done an excellent job in this case. I am quite certain the writers, actors, and producers of Bones are far more interested in the ratings than any character development issues. If they break up in the last episode and the ratings were good, why would they care. If anyone wants to change this trajectory, just let the ratings drop for a few weeks in a row and watch the reaction. What the viewers have taught the writers is that this sort of build up and ambiguity drives ratings higher. Ergo, get ready for more of it. It is one gigantic tease rather than a real people story. The tease and tension is the product that sells. Watching B&B resolve their realtionship is a closure mechanism that ends the show. They are committed to a sixth season so resolution before about the 20th episode of season six is highly problematic. The writer's balancing act is to keep the hope of rapid resolutuion alive while feeding the tension and fear of the failure of the realtionship. For me, the culpable wimp in the scenario is Booth. If I were Brennan, I would have given up on him after episode 1 of season 5. Booth is reputed to be the one with the Heart of a Lion. He refuses to roar and prefers to marinate in his sterotyped Catholic schoolboy angst. He needs a dope slap and he is unlikely to get it for about 12 months.

The overlapping date schtick response to the jealousy twist was just used in last week's Castle. In fact, it is quite interesting how Castle, now in mid season 2, is retracing and imitating, with some modification, the Bones plot trajectory. They seem to have learned from some of the things the Bones writers screwed up in seasons 3 and 4. If Castle is renewed for seasons 3 and/or 4, it will be interesting to see how they deal with the resolution question after watching the Bones plot line play out. It will be BnB 2.0.

aardvark508 wrote:It appears the sides for 5x18 have provoked a highly predictable reaction from the fans of the show. I believe it is important to remember that the TV business is all about ratings. Ratings flow from controversy. The writers seem to have done an excellent job in this case. I am quite certain the writers, actors, and producers of Bones are far more interested in the ratings than any character development issues. If they break up in the last episode and the ratings were good, why would they care. If anyone wants to change this trajectory, just let the ratings drop for a few weeks in a row and watch the reaction. What the viewers have taught the writers is that this sort of build up and ambiguity drives ratings higher. Ergo, get ready for more of it. It is one gigantic tease rather than a real people story. The tease and tension is the product that sells. Watching B&B resolve their realtionship is a closure mechanism that ends the show. They are committed to a sixth season so resolution before about the 20th episode of season six is highly problematic. The writer's balancing act is to keep the hope of rapid resolutuion alive while feeding the tension and fear of the failure of the realtionship. For me, the culpable wimp in the scenario is Booth. If I were Brennan, I would have given up on him after episode 1 of season 5. Booth is reputed to be the one with the Heart of a Lion. He refuses to roar and prefers to marinate in his sterotyped Catholic schoolboy angst. He needs a dope slap and he is unlikely to get it for about 12 months.

The overlapping date schtick response to the jealousy twist was just used in last week's Castle. In fact, it is quite interesting how Castle, now in mid season 2, is retracing and imitating, with some modification, the Bones plot trajectory. They seem to have learned from some of the things the Bones writers screwed up in seasons 3 and 4. If Castle is renewed for seasons 3 and/or 4, it will be interesting to see how they deal with the resolution question after watching the Bones plot line play out. It will be BnB 2.0.

Sorry to say that, but you have defenitly read too much about the Moonlighting-factor thing everyone is so afraid of.
While I agree that the ratings have to be the most important thing for them (otherwise the show wouldn't run anymore, so there would be no character development for sure) I still believe that they want a good show and not something that has only high ratings.
And of course there is always the possibility that fans just stop caring, if they get strung along for too long.
So while I see that some of your arguments are correct I think that your conclusion lacks in some major parts.

ToZiKa wrote:

aardvark508 wrote:It appears the sides for 5x18 have provoked a highly predictable reaction from the fans of the show. I believe it is important to remember that the TV business is all about ratings. Ratings flow from controversy. The writers seem to have done an excellent job in this case. I am quite certain the writers, actors, and producers of Bones are far more interested in the ratings than any character development issues. If they break up in the last episode and the ratings were good, why would they care. If anyone wants to change this trajectory, just let the ratings drop for a few weeks in a row and watch the reaction. What the viewers have taught the writers is that this sort of build up and ambiguity drives ratings higher. Ergo, get ready for more of it. It is one gigantic tease rather than a real people story. The tease and tension is the product that sells. Watching B&B resolve their realtionship is a closure mechanism that ends the show. They are committed to a sixth season so resolution before about the 20th episode of season six is highly problematic. The writer's balancing act is to keep the hope of rapid resolutuion alive while feeding the tension and fear of the failure of the realtionship. For me, the culpable wimp in the scenario is Booth. If I were Brennan, I would have given up on him after episode 1 of season 5. Booth is reputed to be the one with the Heart of a Lion. He refuses to roar and prefers to marinate in his sterotyped Catholic schoolboy angst. He needs a dope slap and he is unlikely to get it for about 12 months.

The overlapping date schtick response to the jealousy twist was just used in last week's Castle. In fact, it is quite interesting how Castle, now in mid season 2, is retracing and imitating, with some modification, the Bones plot trajectory. They seem to have learned from some of the things the Bones writers screwed up in seasons 3 and 4. If Castle is renewed for seasons 3 and/or 4, it will be interesting to see how they deal with the resolution question after watching the Bones plot line play out. It will be BnB 2.0.

And of course there is always the possibility that fans just stop caring, if they get strung along for too long.

That's why I stopped watching SVU. Strung along too long. I think they did the same thing with JAG too. They kept Harm and Mac apart until the very last episode, and it seemed really rushed when they finally did get together. The show ran for 10 seasons, and even though you clearly knew that they would be together some day, it's almost like they were thrown together because the show was ending. I feel like I watched it forever, but I got nothing out of the way then ended up together. It was weird. I don't want that to happen to Bones. I kinda want to see how their relationship plays out after their together.

Sorry to say that, but you have defenitly read too much about the Moonlighting-factor thing everyone is so afraid of.
While I agree that the ratings have to be the most important thing for them (otherwise the show wouldn't run anymore, so there would be no character development for sure) I still believe that they want a good show and not something that has only high ratings.
And of course there is always the possibility that fans just stop caring, if they get strung along for too long.
So while I see that some of your arguments are correct I think that your conclusion lacks in some major parts.

Agree completely with Toz. Not to mention, they don't leak the sides for controversy. They are casting sides. People not in the business read them at their own frakking risk. As with all spoilers: you wanna make a thunderstorm, you do it. You wanna wait and see, same deal. The fact remains that we don't have all the information yet, so we can't judge what'll happen. I remit everyone to the sides-discussions on CitML. This? This thing that is happening now with everyone crying for blood? Happened last year as well. And once the episode aired everyone named it the best of the season and one of the best during the run of the show (an assessment I still stand by).

And can we skip the Castle/Bones comparison? I refuse to go there because frankly, aside from the so-called sexual chemistry between the leads, the shows are not that similar. Not to mention the Castle characters are...not that interesting to me. By the way, not saying it's a bad show, just that it fails to hold my interest.

How about Dr. Catherine Klein (Is it wrong that I keep going to call her Calvin Klein? What's that ABY peeps? It IS wrong. Dang it! ) and Mr. Big Forehead start dating? She can make him laugh, he can make her laugh afford to buy her bigger diamond earrings, she likes FBI guys, he likes Dr's...They can get engaged...we could have a Jared & Padme and Forehead & Calvin double wedding in the finale! (Then Forehead and Calvin can go on honeymoon...on a cruise and get lost in the same Bermuda type triangle *cough yawning chasm of a black hole cough* that Sully disappeared into! )

TinkonBrink wrote:How about Dr. Catherine Klein (Is it wrong that I keep going to call her Calvin Klein? What's that ABY peeps? It IS wrong. Dang it! ) and Mr. Big Forehead start dating? She can make him laugh, he can make her laugh afford to buy her bigger diamond earrings, she likes FBI guys, he likes Dr's...They can get engaged...we could have a Jared & Padme and Forehead & Calvin double wedding in the finale! (Then Forehead and Calvin can go on honeymoon...on a cruise and get lost in the same Bermuda type triangle *cough yawning chasm of a black hole cough* that Sully disappeared into! )

good plan
we would get rid of both of them at the same time

Okay. I joined this forum because the Fox forums are getting lame. It's like an overprotected high school band trip over there.

Moving on... I believe something is fishy about this. That little "smile" they share in the elevator is just puts things in speculation for me.
We have Brennan blatantly saying she's having coffee with Andrew, almost in a "in you face Booth" kind of way.

So this strikes two different scenarios for this episode. First scenario. This episode is the second (correct me if I'm wrong) episode after the Big 100. I've never been one to speculate an underground relationship in Bones, but maybe they confront something in the 100th, something transpires, and we have them trying to cover their relationship up to everyone. Like, Booth going for dinner with the Doc, and Brennan going for coffee with Andrew (which is weird, because after last time we saw him I thought Brennan's interest in him was way faded), to make it seem things are normal.

The second scenario I could see playing out, and most LIKELY in my opinion, is all this just being miscommunication ending in another great B&B scene at the end of the episode. When Brennan and Booth are in the elevator and after they share that smile, Brennan kind of shoves the "I'm having coffee with Andrew" comment in Booth's face. It's like her saying, "See Booth! Look at me! You're not the only one who can snag a date!". Knowing that Booth has a date forces Brennan to face the fact that she doesn't like that, and causes her to get JEALOUS. Which is necessary to push her even closer to her true feelings for Booth.

Sorry if I've repeated thoughts already previously posted here. I'm happy to be a part of a forum that isn't overprotected.

heirofloki wrote:

Sorry to say that, but you have defenitly read too much about the Moonlighting-factor thing everyone is so afraid of.
While I agree that the ratings have to be the most important thing for them (otherwise the show wouldn't run anymore, so there would be no character development for sure) I still believe that they want a good show and not something that has only high ratings.
And of course there is always the possibility that fans just stop caring, if they get strung along for too long.
So while I see that some of your arguments are correct I think that your conclusion lacks in some major parts.

Agree completely with Toz. Not to mention, they don't leak the sides for controversy. They are casting sides. People not in the business read them at their own frakking risk. As with all spoilers: you wanna make a thunderstorm, you do it. You wanna wait and see, same deal. The fact remains that we don't have all the information yet, so we can't judge what'll happen. I remit everyone to the sides-discussions on CitML. This? This thing that is happening now with everyone crying for blood? Happened last year as well. And once the episode aired everyone named it the best of the season and one of the best during the run of the show (an assessment I still stand by).

And can we skip the Castle/Bones comparison? I refuse to go there because frankly, aside from the so-called sexual chemistry between the leads, the shows are not that similar. Not to mention the Castle characters are...not that interesting to me. By the way, not saying it's a bad show, just that it fails to hold my interest.

I got back to normal rather soon this time around, but the first shock almost always leads to some freaking out on my part......but I think now, that maybe it will turn out to be a good episode, maybe even a great one.
And until the minute it airs, we can't know for sure anyway.

I think that only people who don't watch Castle would actually compare those two shows.
They are far from being the same.
Sure there is the UST, but isn't that present in almost all shows these days?
Say NCIS Tony and Ziva for example......they have this will they/won't they thing, or maybe now the did they or didn't they thing, going on but no one says that it is the same as Bones......
And the only other similarity is that one part of the team isn't a Cop/Agent, but even their jobs are totally different, because Brennan is an anthropolgist (writing is more like a hobby) and Rick is an author.

CiscoAg wrote:Okay. I joined this forum because the Fox forums are getting lame. It's like an overprotected high school band trip over there.

Moving on... I believe something is fishy about this. That little "smile" they share in the elevator is just puts things in speculation for me.
We have Brennan blatantly saying she's having coffee with Andrew, almost in a "in you face Booth" kind of way.

So this strikes two different scenarios for this episode. First scenario. This episode is the second (correct me if I'm wrong) episode after the Big 100. I've never been one to speculate an underground relationship in Bones, but maybe they confront something in the 100th, something transpires, and we have them trying to cover their relationship up to everyone. Like, Booth going for dinner with the Doc, and Brennan going for coffee with Andrew (which is weird, because after last time we saw him I thought Brennan's interest in him was way faded), to make it seem things are normal.

The second scenario I could see playing out, and most LIKELY in my opinion, is all this just being miscommunication ending in another great B&B scene at the end of the episode. When Brennan and Booth are in the elevator and after they share that smile, Brennan kind of shoves the "I'm having coffee with Andrew" comment in Booth's face. It's like her saying, "See Booth! Look at me! You're not the only one who can snag a date!". Knowing that Booth has a date forces Brennan to face the fact that she doesn't like that, and causes her to get JEALOUS. Which is necessary to push her even closer to her true feelings for Booth.

Sorry if I've repeated thoughts already previously posted here. I'm happy to be a part of a forum that isn't overprotected.

Hi CiscoAg and welcome at the ABY!!

I think both of your theories are possible though the first one is not very likely I could imagine the second scenario.
Another scenario similar (well kinda) to yours is that Sweets 'made them' date other people.....I think I read that here or somewhere else today, so it is not my idea although I like it.
Let's say they act strange after the whole husband/wife thing in the highschool reunion episode, Sweets sees this and tells them that they are more than partners or whatever and to prove him wrong they date other people.
(That theory has some major holes and I know that, but it would explain the whole smiling in the elevator scene)

CiscoAg wrote:Okay. I joined this forum because the Fox forums are getting lame. It's like an overprotected high school band trip over there.

Moving on... I believe something is fishy about this. That little "smile" they share in the elevator is just puts things in speculation for me.
We have Brennan blatantly saying she's having coffee with Andrew, almost in a "in you face Booth" kind of way.

So this strikes two different scenarios for this episode. First scenario. This episode is the second (correct me if I'm wrong) episode after the Big 100. I've never been one to speculate an underground relationship in Bones, but maybe they confront something in the 100th, something transpires, and we have them trying to cover their relationship up to everyone. Like, Booth going for dinner with the Doc, and Brennan going for coffee with Andrew (which is weird, because after last time we saw him I thought Brennan's interest in him was way faded), to make it seem things are normal.

The second scenario I could see playing out, and most LIKELY in my opinion, is all this just being miscommunication ending in another great B&B scene at the end of the episode. When Brennan and Booth are in the elevator and after they share that smile, Brennan kind of shoves the "I'm having coffee with Andrew" comment in Booth's face. It's like her saying, "See Booth! Look at me! You're not the only one who can snag a date!". Knowing that Booth has a date forces Brennan to face the fact that she doesn't like that, and causes her to get JEALOUS. Which is necessary to push her even closer to her true feelings for Booth.

Sorry if I've repeated thoughts already previously posted here. I'm happy to be a part of a forum that isn't overprotected.

Welcome to the ABY!!

Thanks guys! Glad to be here!