First, I apologize for the late review. As most of you know, I’m on the East Coast, and so, this review normally would have gone out 2 hours ago. But, this week, I’m on the West Coast for San Diego Comic-Con, and so, everything’s a tad bit delayed. Also, normally I don’t write any recaps while I’m at SDCC simply due to the lack of time, and I have to do some things like, you know, eat and sleep. But hey, this season 11 finale of Bones was so big, so shocking that I finally decided I had to **make** time. Ready, everyone? You sitting down? If not, you better be. Here it goes!

LET US MEET DR. BRENNAN’S PELANT 2.0

As some of you may recall, the team had been pursuing a serial killer that I’m going to dub here “The Puppeteer” (no,no, Dr. Saroyan, NOT “Puppito”!). This particular psycho likes to drill holes in his victims’ bones, and string them up like marionettes, thus the name “puppeteer.” To make it even freakier, the killer also leaves a Bible at the scene as well as a cassette tape of children’s songs. As of this week, the trail had gone cold on the case at least until a badly-burned body is discovered with drilled holes in key areas of the body.Oh wait, this actually isn’t the new case because before the opening credits, we discover that the entire thing is just Brennan (Emily Deschanel) having a horrible nightmare that she credits to the lack of sleep. Dr. Brennan has been obsessing over the Puppeteer case, not sleeping, and that has resulted in nightmares and borderline hallucinations. Okay. Cool.

But, even though Extra Crispy isn’t the new case-of the-week, the Jeffersonian team does have a new murder, and it does appear to be the work of the Puppeteer. But, this victim is a Caucasian female, staged in a classroom in an abandoned building, and just like all of the other cases, had a crime scene all too familiar — a Bible in a drawer, a cassette of children’s songs, and evidence that the killer had groomed the victim and altered her appearance post-mortem.

But, there is one major difference and one that immediately sends Dr. Brennan spiraling. The clothes on the victim are much more modern than those found at the other crime scenes, and what’s more, Dr. Brennan actually recognizes the outfit since she used to have one just like it before she donated it to a thrift store. Uh, oh. Our biggest fears are confirmed when Booth (David Boreanaz)  finds a price tag from that same thrift store still attached to the blouse. Without a doubt, the victim is a surrogate for Dr. Brennan, and it looks like the hell she went through with Pelant just a few seasons ago is about to start all over again.

HERE COMES THE LINE OF USUAL SUSPECTS…BUT NO DICE

The victim is a Melissa Coleman, and unlike the innocent schoolteacher she was staged to be in her death, turns out to be far from a pillar of the community. She’s an alcoholic, has a criminal record, and is separated from her husband. As a result of her alcoholism and depression, she had also started seeing a therapist, Dr. Faulk (guest star Tim Guinee). But, the strange part is after beginning treatment, Melissa also started showing new symptoms. Sleeplessness, terrible nightmares, premonitions. Now, doesn’t that sound familiar? Booth certainly notices the connection and decides it warrants a visit to the good doctor.

The visit really doesn’t pan much out, with the exception of one detail that does seem to stick with Dr. Brennan — our fears are often manifested in our dreams, and so, there’s a good chance Melissa’s killer had been in her nightmares. On the surface, this seems like an insignificant detail, but it becomes very important when Dr. Brennan has another very disturbing nightmare. This time, she’s at the Jeffersonian, the power goes out, and she sees that same burnt corpse from the beginning of the episode. She then sees Wendall (Michael Grant Terry) with 2 burnt hands, which causes her to wake up screaming and completely terrified (those of you who are very observant and have been with the show since the beginning probably have a very good idea where all of this is going by now). Brennan’s sleep-deprived, she’s desperate, she’s not thinking straight, and so, she decides to pay Dr. Faulk another visit, but this time, for his help with her nightmares.

If you’re thinking that perhaps Dr. Faulk seems like a pretty good suspect, you’re not alone. Brennan does ask for his help, but what she gets, in my opinion, is borderline brainwashing, almost as if he’s trying to plant memories into her psyche. Booth seems to agree because he shows up, guns-a-blazing, at Dr. Faulk’s office. Unfortunately, while Dr. Faulk may use questionable methods and is more than a little strange, Dr. Brennan doesn’t agree, and so, for now, Dr. Faulk is dropped from the suspect list.

In the meantime, Aubrey has some luck and identifies a potential suspect, Graeme Reynolds, who owns a puppet shop in Virginia. He’s a felon, has been in prison for attempted murder, and he puts on some seriously f*cked-up puppet shows for children. The good news is Booth and Aubrey pay the freaky puppeteer a visit in Virginia and uncover the killer’s lair in the store’s basement. Bad news — he’s not our guy. Reynolds is scared. Reynolds isn’t that smart. But, the killer is confident, extremely intelligent, and very knowledgeable in anatomy.

So, they strike out 2 for 2.

AND THEN COMES THAT BIG “OH, CRAP!” WTF ENDING

As I had mentioned before, if you’re a big fan of the show, have been with it since the beginning and have really been paying attention, I’m sure you know what all of this has been leading up to. After eliminating 2 suspects, the team regroups and put all the clues on the table. The killer is likely from Michigan since the children’s songs on the tape had been traced to a book that had been published in that area. He was probably born around or after 1978 since that was the year the children’s book was published. He’s extremely intelligent, has medical knowledge as well as a talent in robotics. And, because of Dr. Brennan’s nightmare with Wendall having burnt hands, the killer also may have burnt his hands in some sort of accident.

So, when Dr. Brennan is kidnapped at the Jeffersonian after a fake email is sent to the team to leave and meet at the Founding Fathers. it takes about 5 seconds for Booth and Co. to put the pieces together. In the final moments of the episode, the person who kidnapped Dr. Brennan is finally revealed.

Dr. Brennan, it is good to see you again. We have so much to talk about — Dr. Zack Addy

Peeling your jaw off the floor yet? It’s no secret that plans to bring the Zack Addy character back for the show’s final season have been in the works for some time. It also makes complete sense given the fact that Zack’s storyline was never resolved, and the entire arc is one of the biggest hanging chads in the history of television. But, what I think no one expected was for the character’s reintroduction to happen in tonight’s finale. And, even more importantly, I don’t think anyone would have guessed that poor Zack would be implicated as a serial killer just like he had when he made his abrupt exodus from the series back in season 3. That just goes to show you that even after 11 seasons, the writers can still manage to pull a fast one on the viewers. So, kudos and plaudits for that.

Now, for the million-dollar question: Is Zack Addy really the Puppeteer? For those of you who may be fuzzy on those early seasons of Bones, while Zack Addy may have gotten in cahoots with a serial killer by the name of the Gormogon, he never actually killed anyone. Zack is a good person with a good heart, and I’m not even sure he’s capable of hurting — let alone killing — anyone. So, I think there’s much, much more to this story.

The bad news is we now have this dreadful wait until the 12th, and final, season. But, I do have some good news. As I said, I’m at San Diego Comic-Con, and care to guess who I’m interviewing tomorrow? Yep, the cast and Executive Producers of Bones! I’m also talking with Eric Millegan himself, and so, be sure to check back this weekend to get all the deets on what we can expect for what I’m sure will be an epic send-off.

Critic Grade — A

Bones returns for a 12-episode final season in early 2017.

s are closed.