Thanks to his brain tumor-induced coma, Booth is more aware of his feelings for Brennan.  He's also aware that, on paper, they make a terrible couple.  And now, thanks to the always-fabulous Gordon Gordon, he's aware that the heart wants what the heart wants (and when it doesn't get it, that frustration bleeds into other areas) and a little bit of patience could go a long way.  But the one thing that Booth is painfully unaware of, is the fact that Brennan has the same feelings for him and she is just as frustrated by them.  If she weren't, she never would have written a story in which she and Booth were nightclub owners, married and expecting a baby.  Ever since she deleted that story, she has seemed changed.  There have been two moments this season when it appeared that had Booth closed his eyes and jumped in, she would have followed.  The first one was during the premiere when he told her he loved her (and then abruptly took it back by passing it off as their partner relationship), and the second was when her exhibit opened and he brushed the hair off her shoulder.  I'm convinced that had Booth not chickened out, Brennan would have dove in with him.  I guess we'll never know for sure.  I don't think that she ever considered the possibility prior to his tumor, and now she's probably trying to determine whether his feelings are real.

This week, Booth took a few steps that made a pretty convincing argument that his intentions are genuine.


First, he noticed the changes that she has been making within herself.  Her willingness to crack jokes (as bad as they may have been) and to call forensic evidence "crap" marked interesting points of growth for Brennan.  She's loosening up, and in doing so, opening up.  Second, he showed her what she means to him.  She knew he was having a difficult time with his marksmanship.  She knew that he was nervous about his upcoming evaluation, but she thought that he needed to practice more.  But according to Gordon Gordon, Booth's frustration with not being able to be with Brennan caused him to have difficulty firing his gun (gotta love the innuendo!).  So, on Gordon Gordon's advice, Booth asked Brennan to attend his evaluation as a favor and she did.  With her looking on, he nailed the shots one after another.  And the significance didn't seem lost on Brennan.

THE GOOD: GORDON GORDON!!!  It was so wonderful to have him back.  I love his interaction with Booth and with Brennan.  He has an uncanny ability to bring out the truth in people -- even as a chef!  His scenes with Sweets were fantabulous as well.  Much love to Gordon Gordon.

THE BAD: Hodgins having to sift through all that "crap" from the sink hole. Just thinking about it is tedious!

THE UGLY: Booth in the wrestling ring.  It wasn't pretty for anyone involved!

If you missed last night's episode ("The Dwarf in the Dirt"), check it out for free at Hulu.com. More at Pass The Remote...

There were looks at the table at the diner with Sweets, which led Booth to easily conclude that something was bothering Brennan.  When he learned that it had to do with Angela, he proclaimed that he'd do anything for her, including die for her and kill for her, but he wouldn't come between her and Angela.  Did anyone else notice how fearlessly he stated the whole "die for and kill for" her bit?  He didn't even pause!  Later when she went to leave, he grabbed her hand.  But more importantly, she grabbed his back.  Neither let go until she was literally walking away and even then, it lingered.  At the end of the episode, there were too many looks to recount.  LOVED the way she knew about his love of brown sugar.  I know Booth feels a little scattered right now, but if he's looking for someone to put the pieces back together, then it's nice to know that Brennan's able to do it for him.  Between this week and the last episode, I think Brennan is fully aware of her feelings for Booth.  Her last, long lingering look as this episode faded to black was telling.  I'm not sure that she's ready to embrace it, but she's aware.  With Booth still feeling scattered, it's going to be hard for her to trust anything that he may think he feels, though.  As usual, it's not going to be easy.  I just hope the show is actually going down the right road this time and not leading us astray once again.

THE BAD: Brennan schooling those poor Woodchucks about leaving a crime scene alone. She took the wind right out of their sails!

THE UGLY: The fingers (and toes) in the nuggets!  Although, I have to admit, it was pretty funny that the show played on this popular fast food fear.  Let's just say that I'll be ordering my chicken grilled from here on out!

If you missed last night's episode ("The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken"), check it out for free at Hulu.com.

ETA: Star Emily Deschanel sent out the following message via Bones's official Twitter account and Facebook page:

"Now that you've watched the episode, if you want to learn more about factory farms, and what you can do to help, please visit farmsanctuary.org. You could even adopt a pig of your own (it's not nearly as expensive as Angela's!)."

You can also help Angela name her newly saved pig by emailing your name suggestions to angelaspiglet@gmail.com. More at Pass The Remote...