IGN: 'Bones' Season 3 Review

Bones: Season 3 Review
The squints step into the limelight as Booth and Brennan recover from the writers' strike.
by Laura Burrrows

May 27, 2008 - Bones is all about science: the science of cultural anthropology, and as much as the title character hates it, psychology. Dr. Temperance Brennan was the subject of much psychological testing and analyses in this season of Bones and we not only saw her undergo numerous psychological evaluations, but saw all of the main characters go through their own type of psychological upheaval and transitions into new and enlightened characters.

The addition of Dr. Lance Sweets, played by John Francis Daley, added just the right amount of disorder and disruption to the classic Bones formula to really bring out the intricacies of the two lead characters. Booth is Brennan's antagonist, but Sweets is the catalyst through which all of their witty banter really took aim in the third season.

Sweets was the most significant addition to Bones, but each 'squint,' or lab worker at the Jeffersonian, also added a unique element to this season. Without giving too much away, we learned a great deal more about each of the squints in this season than in any other. Angela and Hodgins, for instance, continued on in their hot relationship, but we see them doing more than just forensic investigating in the halls of the Jeffersonian and see Angela come into her own as she enlightens Hodgins of her plans of birthing a football teams-worth of children.

Other, less present, squints also stepped into the limelight this season. Zack Addy's most significant contribution occurred in the season finale and shocked Bones fans everywhere, but he also stepped up his game in earlier episodes such as "Soccer Mom in the Mini Van" where he and Hodgins stole the spotlight from Booth and Brennan with their clever sci-fi and super-nerdy banter. Latter episodes such as "The Man in the Mud" and "The Wannabe in the Weeds" also added interesting twists in the show's traditional story arc and the conclusion of "The Wannabe in the Weeds" saw one of the most shocking events in the show's short run and nearly ended its trademark dichotomy.

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Unfortunately, these were the best of the episodes; there were several lackluster episodes thrown into the mix. This was partly due to the writers strike and partly due to the repetition of several storylines. The Gormogon serial killer was significant to season two, but the season three finale saw this story line come back into play, but it was anticlimactic and underplayed. The episode "The Verdict in the Story" was one of the most un-Bones and uninteresting stories in the show's run. It was slow and had nearly no interesting relational controversies that make this show standout against other investigative dramas.

As a whole, the season was not the Best of the three as it was significantly altered by the pause in production, but it did have several good episodes and storylines. Sweets was like a breath of fresh air to the cast and the final few episodes show promise for season four where Booth and Brennan are rushed off to Britain to solve and international mystery. Next season is bound to bring back more of the Bones relational drama and character peculiarity that made it one of the best serial dramas on FOX. It will have to find new and innovative ways to keep the Booth-Brennan relationship alive, but has enough momentum from a solid first two seasons that it will be able to overcome the deficits made in the third season.

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