In Which He'll Never Let Her Fall

Season 4, Episode 12
The Fire in the Ice



BRENNAN: I don't think there's anything else to be learned here, so let's get this Popsicle back to the lab.
BOOTH: Hey, look at that. Bones, you made a joke.
BRENNAN: Well, I can be quite amusing.



Heehee. Oh, Bones.



BOOTH: Bones, what are you doing on the ice?
BRENNAN: I get nervous when you fall down and don't get up. Come up here.



It is so cute when she phrases her concern in awkward ways.



So, do you know how we continue to counter-act the shocking effects of an angst-ridden episode from several weeks ago?
End an episode with a scene full of fluff, that's what!



BRENNAN: I'm not positive this is a good idea.
BOOTH: Oh, I got you! I got you. Stay up here. (Brennan falls down) Okay, it's all right. Here we go, one more. (Booth picks Brennan up) Well, you know what, I got to stay up all night, so who better to keep me company than you?
BRENNAN: You and me skating is saving you from slipping into a coma?
BOOTH: Oh, easy, Bones. Now I'm gonna go down.
BRENNAN: I have a lot of natural athletic ability.
BOOTH: Oh, yeah, natural. I can... I can see that. Real smooth and natural. That's it. Well done.
BRENNAN: That Agent Perotta, she really enjoyed working with us.
BOOTH: Yeah.
BRENNAN: But, um... you're the only FBI agent I want to work with. Will you tell me what the Lucky Luciano told you?
BOOTH: He's not an Italian opera singer. Bones, why do you always say that wrong? You do it on purpose, don't you?
(Booth and Brennan skating holding hands)
BRENNAN: I would like to know what he said.
BOOTH: He said that I'm not like my old man. He said I'm made of better stuff.
BRENNAN: Well... I don't know your old man, your father, but... I think you're made of very, very good stuff.
BOOTH: Hey, you know what? Forget about Agent Perotta, all right? Nothing's gonna change between me and you.
BRENNAN: Well, entropy is a natural force that pulls everything apart at a subatomic level. Everything changes.
(Booth pushing Brennan on the ice)
BOOTH: Not everything, Bones.
BRENNNAN: Don't.
BOOTH: Not everything.
BRENNAN: You're gonna make me fall.
BOOTH: I'm never gonna make you fall. I'm always here.
BOOTH: Here comes the big spin. (laughter fade out)



THAT SCENE is so damn sweet, I can hardly stand it.
When she tells him he's the only FBI agent she wants to work with... it's just perfect. There's no “Oh, haha, you liiiiiiiiike me!” There's nothing like that. Because Booth knows that for Bones to step forward and admit something like that, to admit something emotional like that, it doesn't happen very often. And so when it does, it's a big deal. And it's thoroughly genuine. So he just smiles.



So, remember that time I was writing the post for 2.16, and I said the whole speaking-to-the-fans-through-a-character thing didn't happen again until the end of season 4? And then 4.2 came along, and I said that that was an exception, but the speaking-to-the-fans-through-a-character thing after that REALLY didn't happen again until the end of season 4?



Well, I got it wrong, again (give me a break, I haven't watched this season since it aired!)



The whole “things won't change between us!” “but everything changes!” “not everything, Bones!” exchange is pretty obviously one of those things. What exactly are we supposed to gather from it? Well, it's a murky kind of message. Basically, that Booth and Bones won't change, but they will. That even once they “change” (once their relationship progresses more, once they get together, etc.), they will still always be “Booth and Bones”.



Interesting how the one insisting they won't change, Booth, ends up being the one to suggest they have a real relationship, and the the one who insists everything changes, Bones, is the one who makes it so they essentially don't change. Can definitely be seen as a statement on how we don't always stick to what we think at one time, or how we don't always apply seemingly “universal” truths to certain situations.



After that, though, there's another thing Booth says that isn't so much speaking-to-the-fans-through-a-character as it is just a metaphor, but I love it just as much. When he says “I'm never gonna make you fall. I'm always here.” If it weren't so entirely sweet and heart-melting, I would say it's much too obvious and direct, and therefore, cheesy.



BUT IT'S SO ENTIRELY SWEET AND HEART-MELTING. So I won't say it.
He's never going to make her fall. He's always there.
<3<3<3<3<3<3