Bones season 12 episode 9 review: Gordon Gordon returns; demolition fun

Gordon Gordon returns -

We are nearing the Bones series finale so we expect this weeks installment (episode 9 called “The Steel in the Wheel”) to bring it’s A-game like it has all season. We love Bones, we don’t make any secret of that, but season 12 has been one of our favorites, because it’s filled with memories, cameos and deeply emotional performances from Emily Deschanel (when her father died) and David Boreanaz (unraveling the mystery of who was trying to kill him). Our eyes have been filled with tears and our bellies full of laughter with each and every episode of Bones season 12.

On the last episode of Bones we saw Brennan facing the death of her father, which was very difficult for us to watch in it’s own right, but what was even more difficult to watch was Brennan sending Booth off to Canada and leaning on Sully in her time of grief. It’s fairly normal for this to happen when someone is grieving (leaning on someone unexpected), but it was just another reminder of how patient and loving Booth and Brennan’s love is and why they are one of the all time best TV couples on the planet.

As we mentioned earlier, there have been a lot of really important cameos this season, but one person we haven’t seen (and can’t see because the character is deceased) is Lance Sweets. Losing him from the show was quite difficult to swallow for a lot of fans since he’s someone that has been a staple of the show and has beautiful chemistry with the entire cast, so we were thrilled to hear that there was going to have another mention of him in this week’s episode. We have heard his named mentioned earlier this season, but it was briefly and in passing as the team continued to work towards making one other thing happen: Exonerating Zack Addy.

Specific, we had Hodgins working hard to find new evidence in order to make it happen (since his trial is coming up in two weeks). Cam and Bones feel that the other evidence Hodgins came up with earlier this season (Zack’s microbial signature not appearing anywhere) could’ve been tampered with by Hodgins and threw it out. Very weird that his own team doesn’t trust him and Bones told him straight out that she thinks he would falsify his work for a friend – we don’t agree. Bones says she has examined every bit of evidence a dozen times and didn’t think Zack’s sentence will be overturned — at least in the moment. A returning guest star helped to rectify that.

Gordon Gordon Wyatt (Stephen Fry is back, even for just one episode!) had many sessions working with Sweets and was going to help go over his many years of notes with Booth to find evidence to help with the Zack Addy case. In between rounds of contemplation / fried chicken up with the idea to find the notorious Gormogon’s apprentice that was killed to make room for Zack and examine that body – murdered and disposed of 10 years ago. After finding a potential lead (with Gordon Gordon’s help) Hodgins finds the apprentice’s body! Not only that, but there is dried blood on the cuff of the dead body and if it’s from the lobbyist, then Zack will be exonerated.

Consider this to be a rather wonderful sideplot wedged into a larger episode that featured a mystery that brought back some wigs, some alter egos, and the demolition derby. This is one that seemed to actually make Brennan feel a little better, given that she was dealing with a lot in between the Zack crisis and the loss of her father. While the majority of the episode may have been very much Bones filler, it was filler of the most entertaining variety possible. So much of the fun of this show comes out of the fish-out-of-water dynamics that we do sometimes see with Brennan and various other members of the team. This had that in spades.

Also, hope for Zack. We needed that. Grade: B.

What did you think of Bones season 12 episode 9? Did you enjoy having an episode where Gordon Gordon returns? Leave us a comment below and tell us how you think it’s all going to end. If you want to know what’s coming up next time on Bones season 12 then head on over to the link here and check out our promo for Bones season 12 episode 10. (Photo: Fox)

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