Bones – Season 8 Episode 15 – Recap – The Shot in the Dark

The recap of Bones – Season 8 Episode 15 – “The Shot in the Dark”:

Executive producers Hart Hanson and Stephen Nathan have brought their A-game this season. Just when I thought Bones couldn’t get any better, Hart, Stephen, and the cast members proved me wrong again. I didn’t think any episode could surpass Christopher Pelant’s episode this season, but I was wrong. Dead wrong. Episode 15 centered on solving the attempted murder case of the beloved Dr. Brennan (Emily Deschanel). And the thought of potentially losing a major character on my favorite show, nonetheless, just boggled my mind. (Rationally speaking, however, the main characters rarely get killed off the show. Rarely.)

At the top of the episode, Booth (David Boreanaz) suggested that he, Brennan, and baby Christine should go fishing. However, Brennan—being the rational girl that she is—said that Christine wouldn’t remember anything because she is only 6 months old. This caused an explosive argument between Booth & Brennan (all Booth wanted was for Brennan to be spontaneous). She immediately left their home, and drove to the lab to work on a case.

Back at the lab, a security guard named Hal accompanied Brennan. (Hal actually killed the victim that she was examining). Later, someone came down to the lab, shot and killed Hal, and then attempted to murder Dr. Brennan as well. Booth stopped by the lab just in time to rush her to the hospital via an ambulance. The surgeons weren’t able to find a bullet or an exit wound in Brennan’s body.

Though Brennan flat-lined twice during the surgery, she was stabilized. She also entered another reality/hallucination when she flat-lined. She saw her late mother in this other reality. Christine—Brennan’s late mother—told Brennan that she’s honored to have a granddaughter named after her.

When Brennan flat-lined…

Brennan had a reaction to the antigens that the doctors gave her, so she flat-lined a third time. Her mother gave her some advice: “Find the little girl that you’ve locked inside of yourself for so many years. It’s not about surviving anymore. It’s about flourishing. It’s about living a full life.” Thankfully, after the doctors stabilized her for a third time, Brennan let Booth know that she had seen her mother in her dreams.

Brennan’s late mother, Christine

Back at the Jeffersonian, Dr. Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) figured out that the shooter used a “blood bullet.” When a blood bullet exits the weapon, and enters the flesh, the blood bullet releases inside of the flesh whilst mixing with the victim’s blood. This is why they weren’t able to locate a bullet or an exit wound. She reacted to the antigens because the blood in the blood bullet wasn’t hers—it belonged to the shooter: Dr. Batoine.

Batoine—an employee of the Jeffersonian Institute—was arrested for the murder of the security guard Hal, and the attempted murder of Dr. Brennan. He used his own blood for the blood bullet.

The shooter / employee of the Jeffersonian Institute

While all of this was going on, Sweets (John Francis Daley) and Agent Sperling revealed their secret to the viewers: they had a one-night stand. Agent Sperling burned Sweets though: she doesn’t think he’s good in bed.

I will be keeping a tally/scoreboard of these two! Sperling is in the lead: 1-0. Will Sweets tie up the scoreboard in the future? Only time will tell. I guess we will find out in the next episode that she appears in.

Thanks for reading my recap of “The Shot in the Dark”!