In Which The Ascent Is Paused

Season 2, Episode 12

The Man in the Cell

 (non-episode related note: Sorry for the lack of posts yesterday. I'm moving to a different state tomorrow and had some major packing to do. If I ever skip a day, don't fret, I'll always just post the posts from that day, the next day, like I did today. And also, thank you to everyone who has commented to reassure me that they're reading - that means so much to me, truly. And thanks to the Anon who has been commenting on every episode - your reactions and insights are a joy to read :))

We begin, again, with another FANGIRL MOMENT:

The way he pulls her back when the prisoner grabs her, and then holds onto her <3 And when he's all like “You stay close, okay?” <3<3

And then this line:

BOOTH: Well, you know, you’re a smart, strong, confident woman. (Brennan smiles.) And, uh, figured him out. You made him feel powerless so he’s gonna want to, uh, prove that, uh, you’re weak and inferior. So, you are not to go out on your own, ever.

He inadvertently compliments her and gets all protective of her in the same line?! OH THIS IS JUST TOO MUCH. <3

After that, though, the rest of the episode is pretty intense, especially for Booth. Cam gets poisoned. Epps comes in contact with Parker. And Epps dies after slipping from Booth's grip, which he's not entirely sure was an accident or not.

Which leads him to this:

BRENNAN: Cam gets released from the hospital today?

BOOTH: Yeah.

BRENNAN: What?

BOOTH: You know, what happened to Cam happened because . . . we had a personal relationship.

BRENNAN: Had?

BOOTH: Yeah. People who work in . . . high-risk situations they can’t be involved romantically because it leads to things like what happened.

BRENNAN: High-risk situations.

BOOTH: Every single day it’s with us. There’s this line, and we can’t cross it. You know what I’m saying?

BRENNAN: Yes. I understand. (she takes a deep breath. Parker waves from the merry-go-round. Looking at Parker.) He seems okay now.

BOOTH: Yeah, you know, it’s important to make things right. I just don’t know how. I don’t know how.

So much shit happens to you at one time, you can't help but come to some sort of life lesson revolving around it. And this is what Booth came up with. And of course, it's a completely valid point. Especially because one can assume he thought, what if it had been Bones in the situation? Bones who had almost died because of him? The thought is too much for him.

So, he puts a moratorium on them. He essentially stops this “ascent” in their relationship that I've been squawking about. Although, truly, he hasn't stopped the ascent itself (it may not be as steep as it has been in these past few episodes, but it doesn't stop). Their relationship continues to grow and deepen, a LOT, as we'll see. What stops is any bit of idea in either of their minds that anything romantic can ever come from this ascent. The possibility is gone. And that fact is what makes the next three and a half seasons so great and overall easy to watch – they still have all their things, their moments, but since they both 1) know (or think they know) they can't and won't actually get together, and 2) are mostly ridiculously unaware of both the fact that their feelings for each other are becoming romantic and that the other is having romantic feelings for them, they are generally angst-free.

Of course, they're both fooling themselves.

But for now, that's where they stand.