3.15 "The Pain in the Heart" Spoiler Discussion (with tags!)

[BlasterBoy]

The summary of the episode:

When a human jawbone shows up at the Jeffersonian, Brennan and the team quickly realize that the Gormogon serial killer has struck again. In a shocking turn of events, an explosion in the lab sends Zack to the hospital; Gormogon's silver skeleton goes missing from the basement vault; and every Jeffersonian employee becomes a suspect, with the very real possibility that one of their very own may be working with the twisted and elusive serial killer.

Well, this is exciting! In just three days, we'll know the thrilling conclusion of Season 3. And I, personally, cannot wait. From the last episode's cliffhanger and the trailer, this episode is gonna be awesome.

Any speculation? All speculation does not have to be in spoiler tags, but all real spoilers need to be in tags. What are your expectations? What do you want from this season finale?

[sherrilina]

Man, what a spoilery description! And what an utterly HORRIBLE epp! What on earth were the writers thinking?!?!?!? Why would they DO this?

Now I'll never be able to watch Zack again in the same way again.....and he is integral to the show and cast! He was so cute singing last week....dammit! I have to say this is almost a "jump-the-shark"-worthy level of badness.....it is absurd to ruin a character and remove him from the show just for freaking shock value! I am UTTERLY disgusted by the Bones writers, and have lots a huge portion of my love for this show--because a big part of my love is named Zack, and without him, a big part of the show WILL die!

I can't believe the writers were so foolish.....I am so furious with them right now! Almost as furious as I am with CBS....which is a LOT!

Plus the episode itself just SUCKED! I mean, Booth's fake death? Please! And it was so chaotic and incomprehensible.....

What a terrible way to go out for the season....

[BlasterBoy]

SPOILERS THAT YOU MIGHT WISH WERE NOT TRUE!

Zack being Gormagon.....wow, I can't forgive Hanson for this. Way to ruin a character that has been around since the beginning. Thanks, Hart Hanson. Thanks, writing crew. Great. Definitely unbelievable and only for shock purposes. Ridiculously idiotic.

Let's start from the beginning. Booth's fake death. It was convenient. It was really convenient. However, Brennan's reaction to his death was priceless, and worth it all. However, the graveyard scene was really lame and unnecessary. Next....Caroline. She was another unnecessary person in this episode. That only scene she needed to be in was the one in the hospital, but other than that, just useless. I enjoyed the bathtub scene, but Sweets is bugging the hell out of me. I'm glad Bones told him off.

Onto Cam. I loved her in this episode. She was perfect! Her comforting Zack, "hating" Zack, and her face when Brennan and Booth came to the hospital Heartbreaking. Hodgins being suspected as Gormagon almost killed me, because I really didn't want him to be Gormagon. Luckily, he wasn't. Unfortunately, another unnecessary squint was chosen, which leads me to my last point

Zack....is Gormagon. As I've said above, I cannot believe this, and will not be okay with this. Ever. I have nothing more to say except for wow, that's dumb, and even though it was so dumb, the montage of finding creepy!Gormagon was excellent. Again, dumb. Dumb. And dumber.

Overall, it was a pretty okay episode, with some major faults. Then, the last ten minutes hit. After the last ten minutes, it went from okay to bad. Extremely disappointed, and I'm still shaking from this heart wrenching episode.

[Jenni Lou]

Zack....is Gormagon.

Technically, he was the apprentice.

Well, I'm not sure how I feel. I Zack so much and it certainly does feel like a betrayal to the character. On the other hand, Caroline said it really well; it happens how it always happens, a strong personality manipulates a weaker one. And I have to say--while I do not like the idea of turning Zack into a "bad guy" I can understand how he would be manipulated. He was always trying to be somebody within the lab; he always sought approval and praise. I think he felt largely ignored (yet still loved.) The squints were his family but they weren't enough. Somebody broke him. It happens all the time in real life. It doesn't have to be as extreme as becoming a killer. It can just be a woman who is slowly succumbing to the will of an abusive man. Eventually, she does everything he says and even begins to believe all the horrible things he will tell her. So I can see Zack as a little boy lost, for sure.

But I have to reiterate again--so I don't get flamed --that I do not like Zack being the apprentice! I'm just saying.....I can see how the writers made that jump, however ludicrous it may appear. And obviously, it was all for shock value.

I'll miss you, Zack. 'Cause man, I really loved him and the way he thought. How logic always ruled over him.

I did like the last moments of the episode though. I liked to watch them grieve over Zack, as if he were dead. How they still had a fondness for him. How they knew he was a good person who got roped in by a warped ideology that was tailored specifically to manipulate him. And that sort of redeems the whole storyline for me. That (most of) them chose to remember him that light. Because the real Zack was the squint Zack. And when Brennan embraced him and explained how his logic was flawed in interpreting what Gormogon told him...he accepted that and directed them to Gormogon.

So yeah...don't yell at me please! It sucks...but I get it...kinda.

And yes, the fake death? Lame. I totally thought it was going to be a dream sequence...and then the opening credits came on and I surmised that wasn't the case.

And I will have to agree with Ben....Sweets was irking me this episode! I was really liking him but then he went all psycho-analytical...more than usual. It was a little annoying. Calm down on that shit next season, wouldya, Sweets? Thx.

[sherrilina]

Technically, he was the apprentice.

Well, I'm not sure how I feel. I Zack so much and it certainly does feel like a betrayal to the character. On the other hand, Caroline said it really well; it happens how it always happens, a strong personality manipulates a weaker one. And I have to say--while I do not like the idea of turning Zack into a "bad guy" I can understand how he would be manipulated. He was always trying to be somebody within the lab; he always sought approval and praise. I think he felt largely ignored (yet still loved.) The squints were his family but they weren't enough. Somebody broke him. It happens all the time in real life. It doesn't have to be as extreme as becoming a killer. It can just be a woman who is slowly succumbing to the will of an abusive man. Eventually, she does everything he says and even begins to believe all the horrible things he will tell her. So I can see Zack as a little boy lost, for sure.

But I have to reiterate again--so I don't get flamed --that I do not like Zack being the apprentice! I'm just saying.....I can see how the writers made that jump, however ludicrous it may appear. And obviously, it was all for shock value.

I can see how it could happen, but I feel like someone who had dealt with as many murders as he had would have learned the value of human life by now, and not succumbed to a creepy-ass guy with pointy teeth....and the unwelcome "shock" of him being the apprentice was not worth the ruination of his character, and the destruction of this show! And that's what happened IMO b/c of this utterly idiotic move....Zack is an integral part of the team, and with his departure, a part of the show dies as well!

I'll miss you, Zack. 'Cause man, I really loved him and the way he thought. How logic always ruled over him.

Exactly! If he had died or stayed in Iraq, though, I could have at least gone back to earlier epps and enjoy him there, even if I missed him in future epps....but this way he is forever ruined, and cannot be enjoyed in past epps either! The show is destroyed.....it will never be the same, in the future or the past....I can't believe the writers would DO THIS!

In some ways this is even more depressing to me than the cancellation of "Moonlight".....

And yes, the fake death? Lame. I totally thought it was going to be a dream sequence...and then the opening credits came on and I surmised that wasn't the case.

Lol, me too! My friend actually saw the clip before hand and said "this has to be a dream sequence!" though I didn't know at the time what she meant, since I didn't watch it.....I think a dream sequence would have been less lame actually....

And doesn't it usually take longer for people to heal from gunshot wounds before they're back on their feet and running around?!

And I will have to agree with Ben....Sweets was irking me this episode! I was really liking him but then he went all psycho-analytical...more than usual. It was a little annoying. Calm down on that shit next season, wouldya, Sweets? Thx.

I know! I can't believe he would do that to Brennan, what a jerk! I so wish he had been Gormagon, I had grown to like him enough that I thought I'd be disappointed if it was him....boy was I wrong!

The only time I liked him was when he sarcastically said he stole the skeleton b/c he's Gormagon....

[ciderdrinker]

So I've just watched this episode, and have to admit that I'd read all your comments before I watched, so there was no shock really.

First off I thought that the teaser negated the tense and emotional ending of the previous episode. When Angela says to Brennan that she'd been crying for days and she needed her best friend, I thought that was great, but then when Booth "appeared" at his own funeral, there was no reaction, no shock from anyone - even Brennan punching him seemed off. Also, I don't think she would've been that cool about Booth dying, not after her pleading with him in the previous ep.

So the episode moves onto the Gormagon case, and for the most part I thought it was pretty good. I enjoyed the mislead that it was Hodgins, especially the scene with Cam when he says that he didn't have to tell her that his house was included in the properties with lead piping. I thought that was very well done by TJ Thyne, he definately comes off as scared that they would suspect him.

The reveal of the apprentice being Zach, was obviously very upsetting. I did enjoy that it was Brennan who realised he had lied, and the scene in the hospital just killed me, but as with everyone else I am sad that it was him. Like Jenni Lou said it has some reasoning behind it which I can grasp, but I'm struggling to believe that Zach would've fallen for whatever Gormagon told him. Gormagon approached him three months earlier (presumably just after the previous apprentice died/was killed in prison in the first ep) and Zach was already on the Gormagon case. I find it hard to believe that there would be a logical arguement that Zach would've bought without running it past Jack or Brennan, or telling Booth that he had met Gormagon. That's the part that doesn't ring true to me. Zach may have been in some ways the squint most likely to be the apprentice, with his logical thinking overriding his heart so to speak, but it doesn't seem to have been thought through properly, to really convince the audience that he could do it.

Overall, as a finale it was disappointing. The previous two episodes were sooooo good, that I was expecting much more, and it seemed rushed. I guess we can put it down to the writer's strike, but surely those writers were allowed to THINK whilst they were on strike, why couldn't they have thought through everything a bit better!

[Risa]

Just got done watching this episode. It all felt kinda rushed. I was hoping when they got back to the whole Gormogon plot line that it would take a few episodes to catch him.

The opening of the episode actually had me crying (yes im pathetic). I knew deep down that they couldn't actually kill Booth off, cause they would have to end the show if they did that. But just seeing it all made me weepy. I love how Brennan hit him though. I'd like to smack Sweets for not telling Brennan. That was cruel and heartless. I was so hoping Sweets would be Gormogon's apprentice, so he would be arrested and off my television screen.

I hate that they made Zack the bad guy. I liked his character. He fit in wonderfully with the rest of the crew. However, I can see how he was manipulated. He was a weak personality and they are very easy to prey on. If you manipulate them enough, they will do whatever you ask of them. You can get them to believe anything, even if it goes against their every principle, if you are a strong enough individual. And even though we know Zack set the explosion, that was definitely shocking. My mouth just dropped open when that happened.

[Jenni Lou]

One thing about the episode I LOVED and forgot to post....

When Brennan has her students rifling through the the bone boxes and the one chick is like "I'm third in my class!" and then Brennan all non-nonchalantly says "I'd like the names of the two students ahead of you." Classic Brennan. Loved that!

[BlasterBoy]

Jenni, I get where you're coming with the reasoning with Zack, but like you, I feel like they could've done that, only a little less....drastic? However, I rewatched the last ten minutes (), and I realized that in the hospital scene, Zack seemed so evil, and it pissed me off. But, then, Brennan started talking logic with him, and he talked logic too, and it was ZACK! I loved that he risked everything to save Hodgins. It's the redeeming factor in this plotline. And I read a interview with EM (Zack) that already came out about him, and he said that:

[spoilers for season 4 cast:]

Spoiler:

He will not be coming back for Season 4. There might be a guest appearance, but no promises.

And he did not want to leave the show. The Gormagon apprentice thing was decided after the strike, and it was a way to make a good finale, he told. Oh, and he said something so important. IN THE ORIGINAL SCRIPT, IN THE HOSPITAL SCENE, ZACK CRIED, "I'M SORRY," AT THE END. Why'd they cut this out?

And, I'm working out the time line. So, Gormagon approached Zack sometime in "The Knight in the Grid", and we're apparently supposed to believe that was Zack at the end, killing that guy? Why don't I believe that?

[sherrilina]

And he did not want to leave the show. The Gormagon apprentice thing was decided after the strike, and it was a way to make a good finale, he told. Oh, and he said something so important. IN THE ORIGINAL SCRIPT, IN THE HOSPITAL SCENE, ZACK CRIED, "I'M SORRY," AT THE END. Why'd they cut this out?

And, I'm working out the time line. So, Gormagon approached Zack sometime in "The Knight in the Grid", and we're apparently supposed to believe that was Zack at the end, killing that guy? Why don't I believe that?

A good finale?! It made it the WORST FINALE EVER! It ruined the integrity of the show perhaps even more than VM's move to the CW did! (Since at least we can go back and see old VM epps--now we can never view old Bones epps the same way again! The show is irrevocably ruined!)

And yeah, that "I'm sorry!" certainly would have helped, what the hell?!

Clearly the writers weren't thinking, and as a result they have killed the show--there's no turning back now....it almost makes me want to quit the show altogether.....this is in major "jump-the-shark" worthy!

I think I feel more depressed about this than about Moonlight being cancelled....at least ML wasn't ruined! And this is something that can never been redeemed by better writing either....

EDIT: I think this comment puts it well:

Speaking as someone who did and sometimes does this for a living, I'd suggest that what once started out as a noble attempt to keep up with Joss Whedon -- when it came to killing off characters -- has become an excuse for lazy writer/producers to create false drama out of their own arrogant refusal to honestly develop the very fiction they created. It's a coward's way out, and I'm sorry to see it happen to Bones.

SO true!

[BlasterBoy]

Well, someone on another forum came up with a good and wonderful way to make this problem all go away, which obviously won't happen, but I'll share it with you just because it's so well thought out. This person wants 3.15 all to me Zack's "nightmare":

A. so many people used the word 'dreamlike', 'surreal' or equivalents to describe the season finale. I was originally totally opposed to the idea that it's all a dream but...

B. in the episode discusssion and after starting the thread on why the episode was all wrong (please note: this was not a thread on 'why I hated the episode' but one on what didn't ring plausible) I noticed that the number of plotlines, gross mis-characterisation of the team etc was ridiculously high. It's too much!

1. It would make sense that Booth and Brennan's relationship lacks depth. Now we know why: Zack isn't capable of understanding their relationship and in his dream it's a bit 'off'.

2. The bathtub scene would also make sense (thanks to whoever suggested that): this is how Zack imagines Booth (beer-guzzling, cigar-smoking, comic-book-reading macho guy), not how Booth sees himself.

3. The affection Brennan displays for Zack but not for Booth: many people thought it was odd that she displays more emotion for Zack than for Booth. But of course it would make sense if this is what Zack wishes for, to be important to her, more than Booth and/or other people.

4. Ok, this one is the most difficult to explain: why would Zack dream of himself as Gormogon's accomplice? And the answer is... because since he's made a mistake in Verdict in the Story he's terrified of making another one (the mistake was a big blow to his ego, since he likes to see himself as infallible). So he dreams (i.e. has a nightmare) about making a huge mistake on the Gormogon case...

5. The story with his being somewhat traumatised in Iraq (as it was brought out by some people on this thread) would also fit in.

6. The final scene where all pay a tribute to Zack would also make sense: it's from his perspective, how he would like to be seen by the people he works with. Also, this would explain the 'King of the lab' thing that many people noticed. We never ever see him actually win the competition with Hodgins, so I guess iit would be that he realises his wish in the dream.

7. So if he is indeed in hospital in season 4, then it's not because he's Gormogon's apprentice, but because he's had some sort of mental health problem that he needs to deal with and the character will disappear temporarily from the show.

[Jenni Lou]

Thanks for sharing! It is pretty well thought-out and makes a lot of sense. I hadn't quite noticed how a lot of the behaviors of the characters seemed off. But in retrospect, I guess they kinda do. That would totally be how Zack would see things. It actually makes a lot of sense. So again, thanks for sharing! Love those thoughts.

[sherrilina]

Thanks for sharing! It is pretty well thought-out and makes a lot of sense. I hadn't quite noticed how a lot of the behaviors of the characters seemed off. But in retrospect, I guess they kinda do. That would totally be how Zack would see things. It actually makes a lot of sense. So again, thanks for sharing! Love those thoughts.

Yeah, if only they were true! But then why is Zack dreaming? And why isn't he in the next season?

I think I'm just going to deny the season finale happened for the moment....Gormagon is Sweets or someone random! Then I can watch "Judas on a Pole" and other epps in peace!

And yeah, I was wondering about the "Kind of the Lab" thing myself--he NEVER was declared it unconditionally! Unless they meant for that to be in an epp cut for the strike....that would be the most salient piece of evidence I think!

Okay, maybe this is explaining how he got into the psych ward, and next season we will see how it really happened....but even so, it'd be lame mind games!

[BlasterBoy]

Yeah, if only they were true! But then why is Zack dreaming? And why isn't he in the next season?

I think I'm just going to deny the season finale happened for the moment....Gormagon is Sweets or someone random! Then I can watch "Judas on a Pole" and other epps in peace!

Zack would be dreaming because of his trauma in Iraq. Or, like this person said in later posts (I'll find 'em all later if ya want ), it could be a mystery they're trying to solve. He wouldn't be in the next season because he would still be in an insane asylum, due to Iraq trauma. That would deal with both problems. We could have a nice end to the Gormagon arc, and a nice Zack arc. If only that would ever happen!

Funny thing is, I rewatched 1.01-1.04 (doing an epic rewatch!), and I love Zack. I can watch him and Hodgins fight over a lesbian and laugh, I still love him. It's weird.

The thing this person thought decided the dream thing was that there was five clocks in Booth's bathroom. I never thought about it, or even remember seeing it, but it apparently happened

[litzie]

I really like that dream idea - I was completely traumatized by that episode! I had to make my girlfriend stay up past our bedtimes and watch the how I met your mother finale to cheer myself up (thank goodness that was so awesome!). First, why did it have to be someone from the lab in the first place? It was totally cheap! The whole episode was cheap, from the manipulative opening to Zack being the apprentice. And, it messed with my expectations! Which, to me, is the gravest of sins from Bones. A huge part of the appeal of Bones, for me, is the way in which each episode is exactly what you expect. It's comforting. Booth and Bones get the bad guy, the mystery is solved, they exchange entertaining, sexually charged banter, the squints save the day...and this episode was just totally and completely NOT THAT!!! I'm really angry about it - it's kind of like the writers broke a contract with the viewers. LAME.

Anyway, so I'm subscribing to the dream idea. Because I like a good fanwank as much as the next person, and because the only other option for me is pretending this episode didn't happen, and I'm finding that very difficult.

[sherrilina]

I really like that dream idea - I was completely traumatized by that episode! I had to make my girlfriend stay up past our bedtimes and watch the how I met your mother finale to cheer myself up (thank goodness that was so awesome!). First, why did it have to be someone from the lab in the first place? It was totally cheap! The whole episode was cheap, from the manipulative opening to Zack being the apprentice. And, it messed with my expectations! Which, to me, is the gravest of sins from Bones. A huge part of the appeal of Bones, for me, is the way in which each episode is exactly what you expect. It's comforting. Booth and Bones get the bad guy, the mystery is solved, they exchange entertaining, sexually charged banter, the squints save the day...and this episode was just totally and completely NOT THAT!!! I'm really angry about it - it's kind of like the writers broke a contract with the viewers. LAME.

Anyway, so I'm subscribing to the dream idea. Because I like a good fanwank as much as the next person, and because the only other option for me is pretending this episode didn't happen, and I'm finding that very difficult.

Very cheap indeed! And yes, it's the perfect fanwank!

And sorry, couldn't help sharing another comment I love, which expresses how I feel:

This show didn't jump the shark, it went to an aquarium, stole five sharks, and then just ran over them with a van.

[Wolfie Gilmore]

And sorry, couldn't help sharing another comment I love, which expresses how I feel:

That is a brilliant line. I'm stealing that

What really bugs me is that I don't think Zac would care about human history! I mean, while he's an abstract-thinking kind of a guy, I don't think he'd see history as something that can be mapped and evaluated in the same way that the physical world would - I'd see him taking Bones's line on the social sciences. So I'm not buying that some nutter with dodgy teeth would convince him otherwise. I could totally see him being capable of bad things if he felt he had a reason... but I don't think Gormogon's reason would be enough.

I was glad it wasn't Sweets (because introducing someone just to make them the killer is also cheap) but this felt like a retcon... and as someone I think said above, the writers agreed, that they'd just made it up after the fact when the writer's strike was on.

[litzie]

And sorry, couldn't help sharing another comment I love, which expresses how I feel:

Good line.

I don't think it has to jump the shark completely though - I don't think this will ruin the rest of the series for me, and I'm trying not to let it ruin previous episodes via the whole dream/ignoring the episode approach. I just think it was the absolute worst, lamest, cheapest, most lazy writing choice EVER.

I was glad it wasn't Sweets (because introducing someone just to make them the killer is also cheap) but this felt like a retcon... and as someone I think said above, the writers agreed, that they'd just made it up after the fact when the writer's strike was on.

yes, exactly! LAME.

[Tudor]

To go with the dream theory, Zack did say painkillers give him nightmares and then hodgins gave him lots via the button thingy, and when bones asked Booth why he was drinking beer in the bath he couldn't seem to come up with a reasonable answer either. So it could be a Nightmare of Zacks?

[Nikki]

So much lame /sigh

I really feel that they should have used last week's episode as the finale, give us a bit of a cliffhanger with Booth being shot and then start season 4 nice and strong with Gormagon.

I'm glad it wasn't sweets, but I honestly think Zack was worse. I love his character and really don't believe he would have been capable. Yes he's weak and easily manipulated with logic but killing someone, working for Gormagon when he's worked for so long trying to find out who he is.. just felt like such a rushed cop out.

And the whole Booth funeral thing... who was the guy he got.. what was that all about? It was rushed, silly and just not in keeping with the way the show has been going. Sweets really annoyed me in chosing not to tell Brenan that Booth was alive, he's definitely got his own agenda and I feel it's ruining the dynamics.

Yeah I'm going with this episode being Zack's nightmare, honestly any other version of what really happened is so much better!