S12.E07: The Scare In The Score

[WendyCR72]

When a series of corpses with ties to Booth’s former Army unit appear around D.C., Booth must dive into his past to find the killer before the killer finds Booth. Meanwhile, Brennan’s father, Max, hides a serious medical procedure from Brennan, leaving her to grapple with her father’s trust and mortality, as well as her family being in danger.

[shapeshifter]

Argh. Early in the episode they referenced the Dark Triad, claiming it was a psychological condition in which a person exhibited the four traits of "narcissism, sadism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy." Even if I am likely the only viewer who used the Dark Triad this week as part of a demonstration to teach college students how to search the PsyINFO database, I would think the writers would expect the average viewer to know that "Triad" denotes a set of three, not four. The APA scope note for the term Dark Triad (introduced in 2015) is:

Quote

A set of three traits (narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism) underlying several anti-social behaviors, including aggressiveness, a lack of empathy, impulsivity, and the pursuit of sexual activity for selfish reasons.

Maybe the writers were just using this as a signal that all the following psychoanalysis in the episode was supposed to be understood to be fiction? 

At least Max had a noble death with fond memories rather than having to disappear into the oblivion of this last season.

I get that they were trying to make the orphaned killer way worse than any sniper and totally irredeemable, but that was way too graphic description of the torture — not to mention that torture has been proven to be ineffective at extracting reliable information. 

I thought I'd see this show to the bitter end, but I'm not so sure.

[Beezella]

I hated this episode. I can't think of a redeeming moment. Maybe Max's

Quote

noble death with fond memories

of Tempe's childhood.

[ae2]

Nothing about this show feels natural any more. And it hasn't for a long time, but it somehow gets even worse. The characters don't feel like characters at all. It's wretched. 

I was happy Max got to go out the way he did.

And I can't begin to convey how much I am DREADING next week's episode after that preview...

[bobbybee]

9 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Argh. Early in the episode they referenced the Dark Triad, claiming it was a psychological condition in which a person exhibited the four traits of "narcissism, sadism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy.

I heard them say the Dark Tetrad (which extends the Dark Triad to include psychopathy).

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, bobbybee said:

I heard them say the Dark Tetrad (which extends the Dark Triad to include psychopathy).

They might have. I use closed captioning, and was pretty sure I both heard and read "Triad." Regardless, although a Dark Tetrad could work in the fictional world of Bones, there is no Dark Tetrad in the DSM-5 or the controlled vocabulary of PsycINFO. BTW, psychopathy is included in the Dark Triad—sadism is not part of the Triad. It probably bugged me so much because it seemed like a fictional excuse for gratutious violence. They were probably trying to send a PSA about sadistic war crimes still being a sad reality, but I just don't think they needed to make up a fictional psychological condition to make the point. My understanding is that war crimes are the result of societal ills rather than individual psychological illness. But I guess in a 42 minute episode they had to mush it all together since the son was psychologically damaged rather than a war criminal like his father. IMO, the episode didn't succeed in expressing the PSA, if that was the writers' intent.

Edited February 15, 2017 by shapeshifter

[Ms Lark]

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

They might have. I use closed captioning, and was pretty sure I both heard and read "Triad."

I also heard "Triad" and saw it on CC. I came here to see if someone could expand on it. So, thank you Shapeshifter! Interesting that's what a lot of us took away from this episode. Unfortunately, to me it sounds very current and familiar.

ETA: I went back and rewatched the bit On Demand and they did say "Tetrad" and it was "tetrad" in the CC. Hmm.

I was also wondering why the FBI and a museum employee (Bones) got involved in the sad death of an old lady in her apartment. I would think the MPDC and our local coroner's office would take care of that. I still can't figure why they're involved in 90% of the cases presented. Time to end this silliness.

Edited February 15, 2017 by Ms Lark
Please do not even reference politics. Thank you.

[Aliconehead]

Just watched the scene and I heard Tetrad. 

[Sarnia]

34 minutes ago, Aliconehead said:

Just watched the scene and I heard Tetrad. 

Me too.

[Willowsmom]

3 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

 

I was also wondering why the FBI and a museum employee (Bones) got involved in the sad death of an old lady in her apartment. I would think the MPDC and our local coroner's office would take care of that. I still can't figure why they're involved in 90% of the cases presented. Time to end this silliness.

Because  if they hadn't Booth wouldn't have found out his buddy was her delivery guy and Max couldn't have a heroic death. This show should have ended with the wedding.

[Mama No Life]

Is it wrong that I'm looking forward to next week?  Maybe they will have to actually pay attention to each other.  I was actually glad Max died because Booth hugged her.  THIS IS WHAT THIS STUPID SHOW DOES TO ME.

Good luck finding a babysitter that sticks with your crazy hours B&B.  I mean, sure, Max was able to sneak off and get a pacemaker and you didn't even notice because he probably took the kids with him....

[BooksRule]

I kind of figured that Max would be the one to die, but I was really worried for a couple of minutes when Aubrey and Caroline were standing right out in the open on that public sidewalk.  I didn't really worry too much about Aubrey (for some reason I figured he would be okay), but I was really worried that Caroline was going to get shot.  I really like her, and I hope to see the actress on many more shows after 'Bones' is finished.

[Mama No Life]

Well just so you know, actors don't die in real life when they are shot on a show....  :)

Edited February 16, 2017 by Mama No Life

[BooksRule]

Quote

Well just so you know, actors don't die in real life when they are shot on a show....  :)

Ha!  I know.  I just meant that I'm going to miss Caroline and hope that I have fond memories of her character and not have to remember her as a character who died on the show.

[mojoween]

Caroline rules full stop!

I hate that they killed off Max.  Fuck you, Hart.

When Bones said "we should have gotten there sooner" I thought for sure the episode would end and they would just be looking at each other and I was getting so angry.  

Watching reruns is torture.  No pun intended.

[Mama No Life]

It really is.  I find myself pretending this show ended when they got married.  Because even the honeymoon episode was dumb.

[Autistic Queer]

I've been watch a few season 2 episode in the past week or so and the thing that stood out to me was how much Booth has corrupted Brennan's science. She now gets evidence to fit Booth's theory and ignores anything else. 

Angela think Serbia was part of the USSR? The same Angela that has visited Europe. Does the muppet who wrote this think everything behind the Berlin Wall was the USSR. 

Also the war criminal's kid has no mental health problems, so he much be up to torture and murder? Are you kidding me? Also by that example someone lock away Christine and Hank now, Booth and Brennan have done some dodgy thing, especially Booth. 

Arastoo and Cam are the only decent characters left. 

I wish Hodgins had been killed in that bomb blast. TJ Thyne cripping up, and doing it badly is offensive. 

[ae2]

3 hours ago, AutisticSpoonie said:

I've been watch a few season 2 episode in the past week or so and the thing that stood out to me was how much Booth has corrupted Brennan's science. She now gets evidence to fit Booth's theory and ignores anything else. 

Also the war criminal's kid has no mental health problems, so he much be up to torture and murder? Are you kidding me? Also by that example someone lock away Christine and Hank now, Booth and Brennan have done some dodgy thing, especially Booth. 

Arastoo and Cam are the only decent characters left. 

I wish Hodgins had been killed in that bomb blast. TJ Thyne cripping up, and doing it badly is offensive. 

Oooh, I have to take a HARD disagreement with you about Arastoo and Cam. They're terrible, awful, and annoying and always have been. (Okay, Cam has had a few good moments spread over 11 seasons, and Arastoo was tolerable before he dated Cam.) I'd love to hear what you like about them, because I can't stand them.

The guy's lack of mental health problems... I get what they were going for. The guy was squeaky clean, much too clean for someone who's dad was assassinated in front of his eyes and who saw action in war. I mean, it's TV logic, but it's no crazier than half the stuff they give us on this show.

Any other episode I would probably agree with you about Bones no longer relying purely on her science without any other preconceived notions. But in this episode it was deliberately pointed out that she was ignoring the science, so I have to give them a pass on it. 

[Mama No Life]

ITA.  Camstoo is THE worst.  I hated her when they introduced her, and while she hasn't been too awful alone these last few years, her relationship with the Stoo is DREADFUL.  He is the worst of all the interns, and that includes Fisher and the cocky one and the dead ones.  I hate them, and will not be able to stomach their wedding.  Vomit vomit vomit

I saw an early ep the other day, and I really don't think the writing is that much worse...it's the delivery.  ED and DB have both gone wooden and robotic over the years....even they are over this show. 

TJT is still my fav...he's normal compared to the rest.  Sweets and Aubrey tying for second...

[GreenScreenFX]

FILMING QUALMS:

Did anyone else notice the weird blocking and strange shot choices in this episode? I'm not sure if they lacked enough good takes, or if the editor and director are just bad. Also, the color saturation  in the hospital scenes was like an anvil (the dark blue lighting telegraphed the entire scene). I don't watch  "next ons" so I had no idea anyone was going to die... I knew the second Bones was sitting in an oddly vacant blue-lit hospital hallway that Max was going to die.

STORYLINE QUALMS:

The oddly contrived storyline the Cam watches a HSM like network that "happens" to sell a weird pendent she instantly recognizes. They then deduce the victim is an old lady, and her delivery man will know her details.

How  long was Caroline creeping in the alley? Did she just assume Aubrey was going to walk right past her at that time. And why creep up on him?

Also... what was the point of telling us that the elderly lady had rotator cuff and right hand injuries when it had no meaning at all? So the intern can detemine she is a knitter? Wtf does that have to do with anything besides proving these people jump to wild conclusions?

Amd then... THEN. Why would the killer go after a delivery mans client? This would suggest a delivery man would tell a "shut-in" classified information. Wtf? Granted, the killer might have been torturing this woman only to get info out of this man for his sympatheties toward his client.

Then....the killer seems surprised Booth was the assassin...yet it is obvious he stalked Booth and Brennan for months if not years. Why bother torturing all those people when he knew the answer. Maybe he wasn't sure...I have a headache now...

[kili]

Quote

Amd then... THEN. Why would the killer go after a delivery mans client? This would suggest a delivery man would tell a "shut-in" classified information. Wtf? Granted, the killer might have been torturing this woman only to get info out of this man for his sympatheties toward his client.

That's why they tortured her. To get Booth's friend to tell them what he knew about Booth. They explained in the show, that is the reason why the killer killed the woman - to put her out of her suffering. With the two other victims, they were tortured to death. The first one committed painful suicide to escape the torture and second one was tortured to the point of death and revived before finally dying. 

The first time, the killer didn't get the information he needed because the victim committed suicide. So, the killer refined his technique by capturing somebody the victim cared about (at least somewhat - presumably, he had become friendly or at least sympathetic to the shut in) and tortured her. Booth's friend couldn't do what the previous victim did because that would leave an innocent old woman being tortured. While one might be able to withstand torture on oneself, it can be more difficult to keep a secret when somebody else is being tortured. Once he gave up the info, the woman was put out of her misery. The torturer decided to continue punishing Booth's friend who had also been part of the group that had shot his father.

[ForReal]

"I knew the second Bones was sitting in an oddly vacant blue-lit hospital hallway that Max was going to die."

I didn't know anyone was going to die so it was a total surprise to me, but I was fine with it being Max. What I thought was weird was that with their family at risk, their security breached, and her father fighting for his life, Bones is sitting alone in an empty hallway. I thought the killer was coming for her.

I did think earlier that Caroline was at risk of getting shot...she seemed to be featured in this episode, and when they were standing outside, I was worried for her...

[Starscream]

I was kind of disappointed that Bones getting in that ambulance was played straight.  It was staged as a perfect setup for the medic to kidnap her.