In Which Leila Physically Can't NOT Talk About The Promo

OK, SO. I may or may not do the blog post for tonight's episode tonight, depending on how I feel at the end of this post.
What is this post, if not the post for this last episode, you ask?
It's about something I simply CAN'T go to sleep tonight without commenting on: THE PROMO.

SO, if any of you are extreme spoiler-phobes and don't even watch the promos, DON'T READ THIS. THIS IS YOUR WARNING. I will not discuss anything in this post that can't be derived from the promo itself, i.e. no independent spoilers that can't be backed up in the promo, but if you're on the fence, you should probably skip this post, just to be safe.
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Link to promo

Let's get this out of the way, since it is oh-so-necessary:
OH. MY. GOD. OH MY GOD. I CAN'T. WHAT. LSDJHY3784Y782HF78HR7IUR.

And now that that's done, some actual meaningful sentences:
Everything I just said aside, let me make very clear what I advise - DO NOT RAISE YOUR EXPECTATIONS TOO HIGH. The only thing you should really have expectations for at all is some kickass acting from Emily Deschanel and some form of a revelation on Brennan's part.

See, the thing is, promos are meant to draw you in and think certain things will happen, even if they actually won't. Sometimes they do. But sometimes they don't. Remember the promo for the season 4 finale and they used the clip of Booth saying, "Hint: it's not what you think!" to Sweets? This is like that. I'm not saying for SURE that this is entirely meant to manipulate us into thinking something that actually won't happen, but knowing this show's history with promos and the like, I wouldn't be surprised. At all. I'd actually be way more surprised if everything happened exactly like we think (or hope) it will.

The biggest thing I want to relate to this, obviously, is the very last part. "I don't want to have any regrets. I missed my chance." First, most of us are already inclined to think she's automatically talking about her and Booth. That's what we hope; that's what we want to happen. So most of us look for things that could imply that (which is called "deductive reasoning"). And the fact that they show clips from their goodbyes at the end of season five seems to back up that hope completely, perhaps even solidifying it from a hope to a fact for some. But you have to be aware of the other possibilities in order to avoid getting let down; she very well might NOT be talking about Booth specifically. She might be talking about her love life as a whole, her emotional life as a whole, or something completely different. We can't actually know, no matter how definite it seems, until we see it in context.

Yes, the clips from the airport are a compelling case, but 1) they're not part of the actual episode, it's just for the promo, and 2) there are things that also make a compelling case for it to NOT be about Booth specifically. Like how he's still driving even though she's crying nearly harder than we've ever seen her cry. Yes, Booth's has some "temporary personality defects", as I like to call them, going on, but he would never, never just let her sit there are cry like that. I do admit that it's very likely that right where they cut off the clip, he pulls over and holds her or something of the like, or she insists that he keep driving, etc. etc., but the point is that we cannot be sure or even be heavily leaning toward ANY idea of what this episode is going to mean for them until we actually see it.

So for the sake of your own mental health, I strongly, strongly advise to do your best to walk into this episode with as little expectations as possible. Don't go into it thinking "Oh, this is TOTALLY it for them, she'll admit she was wrong, he'll say he'll leave Hannah for her, and they'll live happily ever after!" If that was the case, HH would have made this the final episode before the winter hiatus to begin with (which he did not - the episode that aired tonight was originally supposed to be the midseason finale, but they decided that next week's episode would fit better). And not only that, it doesn't make sense creatively; he'd reach the climax of the season far too soon, and then what the hell would he do with the rest of the season? I'm not saying it won't happen - I wish with all my little fangirl heart that it will. I'm saying it's very unlikely, and even hoping too much that it actually WILL happen will end in nothing but frustration and sadness.

Enough with the Debbie Downer though. Now, here's what you might maybe kind of can expect, I believe, other than what I said above: progress. In some way, shape, or form. Bones obviously has some sort of revelation: what exactly it is about we cannot be entirely sure, but the fact that she has a revelation of a sort means progress for her emotional growth, which in turn means progress for the B&B relationship, perhaps not immediately, but the two go hand in hand, so at some point. And then there's Booth. Seeing her have his revelation, this mini-breakdown, again, regardless of what it is exactly about, I think will at the very least plant some seeds with him about their relationship. I say this because there is no way he can see her like this going from being so good and happy and fine and hyper-literal and totally ok with his relationship with Hannah to this rained-on, confused, crying mess of a person in his driver's seat, talking about how she missed her chance and not wanting regrets. There is simply no way. Something, whether it be little or big, will be changed in him, specifically in the way he sees her, and I think it will be for the good. That little part in the back of his mind where he's stored away all his conflicting feelings and issues and everything with her is going to get prodded a little bit; it's going to be poked forward, away from where it's been hiding. Again, whether we'll see any immediate effect from this is highly debatable, but I think in the very least we will see something of the poking, something of a seed being planted.

You know how I've been saying basically all this season that progress with them will happen, it just might take awhile?
I think it's very possible that it might begin, even in just the slightest way, soon.
Get the tissues, kiddos. And keep that mind open.