In Which We Get Some Straight-Forward Statements

Season 4, Episode 4
The Perfect Pieces in the Purple Pond



BOOTH: Well, because, you know, you always get overly precise... that's how I usually know. Hey, so, you want me to uh, talk to them, break them in a little bit?
BRENNAN: No, Booth, you don't need to fix everything for everyone all the time. You know? I can handle myself.
BOOTH: Partners watch out for each other.
BRENNAN: Well, if that were true, you'd let me fix your back.



For the sake of avoiding redundancy, I won't post the other four or so quotes like this one that are in this episode, because the implications for them all are all the same: Booth is mega-protective in this episode. He's defending Bones at the slightest provocation, and she realizes how slight these are, because she continually tells him that she can take care of herself. And, like in this quote, Booth responds with a “well, you're my partner, that's what we do” sentiment, but really, it's just an excuse. He won't let her help him. Not with his back, or anything. And in this, we really start to see the white knight issue coming in.



BRENNAN: But I don't wanna be a sexy scientist.
BOOTH: Well that's like me saying I don't want to be a sexy FBI agent. We can't change who we are. (He reaches down to pull out the pages.) Oh god, this is just. This it not good for the back. (Beat.) Suspenseful, and chilling. Temperance Brennan leads the pack. Anthropology has never been more exciting.
BRENNAN: You memorized my reviews?
BOOTH: Angela can scan these, and get them back on your computer.
BRENNAN: You know my reviews, Booth, but do you read my books?
BOOTH: Every single word.
BRENNAN: You never said anything.
BOOTH: Well I figure you know, I'm all over your real world, why would you want me in your fantasy world too? (He offers her the manuscript. After a pause, she takes it.)
BRENNAN: I can appreciate that.
BOOTH: You see? How this works, huh? It's give and take. We're partners, huh?



Here's the deal with the white knight issue: from a psychological standpoint, it becomes a truly unhealthy situation when the balance between how much it is about the white knight himself and how much it is about the feelings he has for the person he's protecting becomes unbalanced. This is one of the scenes that shows his particular brand of white knight is indeed decently healthy (or, at least, not unhealthy). He memorized her reviews. He reads every word of her books. He cares about her enough to memorize her review. His choice of who to “protect” is not arbitrary in the least.



Also, the deal with the whole “ I'm all over your real world, why would you want me in your fantasy world too?” needs to be mentioned. From what we've heard about her books from other characters on the show, I'm fairly certain we can assume that in Bones' books, there is some sort of fictionalized Booth, some Booth counterpart to her main character, which is her own counterpart. A bit more of a jump, but just for the hell of it, we can also assume that said counterparts are in some way romantically involved. Despite the fact that both she and he deny that they are their fictional counterparts, subconsciously, they know. And one can assume that this is the first time they've really talked about it at all. And even know they both know that he is his fictional counterpart, they can't admit it to each other, because the implications are just too much for them at the moment, which is why they've never talked about it before. But now that Booth has thought of an excuse (why would she make a fictional character him, when she has to spend nearly all her waking hours with him anyway) that they can both accept, they can openly talk about the book, because they have this sort of safety-net of a false explanation.



BRENNAN: I also help you by explaining a lot of things to you. (She stands behind him.)
BOOTH: Yeah, well you know, I explain things to you just as much as you explain things to me. (BRENNAN winds her arms under BOOTH's shoulders and places her hands on the back of his neck.)
BRENNAN: Well, my things are more important. (She pulls back.)
BOOTH: That's debatable, WOAH. OW.
BRENNAN: Ah, necessary pain.
BOOTH: Yeah, necessary. Ah, the way you really help me is, is, you let me be a guy. (BRENNAN rotates him.)
BRENNAN: I help you be a guy?
BOOTH: Yeah, you know, it's a guy's thing to fix things and make them right. When I fix things I feel like I am one with the universe. (BRENNAN hooks him below the spine.) Oh! Ah. Woah! God! That's amazing. How'd you do that?
BRENNAN: See? We help each other. Quid pro quo.



And now we start to get some straight-forward statements about what we've known for seasons now (what I talked about in the post for the pilot, actually). They help each other. She explains things to him, he explains things to her. She fixes his back. He defends her. Obviously, the whole “it's a guy's thing to fix things and make things right” sets in place the white knight issue to be expanded on later. It also sets in place how the issue could be problematic: it's the first time it's really acknowledged that Booth likes this whole “fixing things, making things right” situation. That is satisfies him psychologically. But, like I said in the paragraph for the last quote, it is mostly about her. His choice of whom to “fix” is not arbitrary. The fact that it's a psychological need for him just makes it that much easier to get it done