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The new 'Bones' - The Killer in the Crosshairs

By Wayne Hall Mar 11, 2011, 5:35 GMT

Emily Deschanel - 2010 Fox Upfront Programming Presentation Afterparty - Arrivals - Wollmink Rink, Central Park - New York City, NY, USA © Charles Norfleet / PR Photos

‘Bones’ is new and back on the tube, so let the “Hallelujahs” begin!
 
Here’s this episode’s summary from tv.com: “Jacob Broadsky returns with his vigilante justice and a case that will pit Booth's skills once again against Broadsky's, and this time it will come down to the wire as Booth tries to save the intended victim. Back at the lab, Angela's father descends with one of his unusual requests.”
 
It seems like a long time since ‘Bones’ has been gracing my Thursday nights, yet it has only been a few weeks. Still, they got back into the TV groove with a good episode. I was fascinated that they still included the word "crosshairs" in the title even with the recent talk about not using that word.
 
This storyline continues the Gravedigger saga, which has now shifted to Jacob Broadsky, played by Arnold Vosloo. He does a strong, pensive job as the assassin who’s taken his talents to the next level, removing baddies without waiting for the courts.
 
The creepiest part of the episode was when Booth returned to his apartment to find Broadsky waiting in the dark for him. The shooter was smart enough to wait until he heard Booth lock away his gun before revealing himself. Then there was a really dark discussion between the two, with Broadsky finally threatening to make Booth’s son an orphan if he was interfered with.
 
Booth was obsessed with stopping Broadsky, which caused Brennan to question if there really were any differences between the two. That storyline ends well at the hour’s conclusion, when Brennan uses the simplest terms possible to show how she sees them--Booth, good; Broadsky, bad. Hey, Booth liked it!
 
The usual fun twists and turns keep us wondering just how it will resolve. It’s another fun mystery to unravel.
 
The secondary plot focused on Angela’s father, who returned to announce that he came up with the perfect name for Angela and Hodgins’ baby. Without ever hearing the name, Angela agrees to use it. Hodgins is not so easily convinced.
 
It was fun to see the rest of the group react to Angela’s dad. Sweets “walks” away from any discussion about what should be done. After all, the last time Hodgins disagreed with him, the squint woke up with a tattoo, something Sweets doesn’t want to endure himself.
 
Finally, after considering his options, Hodgins stands up to Angela’s pop and tells him just what names he and she have decided on. This causes Angela’s dad to leave the room, but we know that’s not the end of the issue.
 
It isn’t long before Hodgins wakes up in an alley, now with a new tattoo of the face of Angela’s dad on his right arm. The good news is that Hodgins has won--he and Angela will get to name their child as they wish. He just wishes he weren’t so sore from the new ‘too.
 
This was one of the best uses of Angela’s pregnancy all season long. I wish the other angles having to do with it were half as interesting.
 
I would have liked for more of the Vincent Nigel-Murray thread in which the normally talkative squint is much less so, even biting his own lip to stop him from showering people with factoids. But there was too much going on to give that much time. I just hope we return to this soon. Seems like every squint is doing a 180-degree personality change this season.
 
Next week, the episode is titled, “The Blackout in the Blizzard.” When a blizzard causes a power outage during a critical murder investigation, the team finds they must adapt to their low-tech environment in order to prevent a possible biological catastrophe. Elsewhere, Sweets gets a little too interpersonal when Brennan and Booth find themselves trapped in an elevator, while Angela and Hodgins worry over some test results.