When we last saw our heroes, one had a bullet wound to the chest while the other was clinging to his hand in horror.  Not our Booth, no!  He's tall!  He's dark!  He's handsome!  He's really just waiting for the perfect time to announce his undying devotion to Brennan!  He's... the star, and the show's co-producer.  Hands up if you're a bit skeptical that he's actually dead in the first few minutes of the season finale. 

All right, so you can't fool us, silly writers.  We are the fans with the Great Deductive Reasoning.  However, suspend your disbelief, if you will: the reaction to Booth's supposed death is one that is absolutely perfect for Brennan.  Doesn't matter what you believe: the first couple of minutes of this week's episode are a perfect example of Brennan's character, from her initial refusal even to attend the funeral of her former partner to her eventual surrender under the guise of providing strength for Angela.  I can honestly say that even though the character has remained consistently as detached as possible, it is truly gut-wrenching to see Brennan struggling to come to terms with her loss. 

That is, of course, until the late Booth springs into action from the line of mourners, capturing an as-of-yet unnamed baddie who swore only to reemerge at Booth's funeral.  I am a bit put out by how quickly this story arc concerning Booth putters to a halt, but I shall blame lack of time.  When the hubbub dies down, Brennan is understandably rather upset.  The ensuing punch to Booth's jaw is one that made me giggle, though not quite as much as the later visit to the house for explanation.  And for all us crazed Booth/Brennan shippers: there is Booth, Brennan, a bath, a rubber ducky, and a beer hat.  Let your imagination run wild.

In what has to be my favorite scene of the episode, Brennan reads the riot act to a naked Booth, who asserts, with some measure of disbelief, that SHE is the one breaking and entering into HIS home.  Cue his impassioned leap to standing, and Brennan's valiant attempt to keep her eyes above the waist.  The scene is cute and lighthearted, a welcome reprieve from the rather depressing note we began with.  And If everyone else can ignore the fact that Booth got shot two weeks ago but seems to have no lasting effects besides a rather small band aid, hey, so can I.

Take this moment of silliness and hold it deep in your heart: the rest of the episode is not nearly as fun.

Zack is in an unfortunate accident that results in his hands being swathed in bandages; I muse to myself about the frequency with which Zack is blown up. There is much waffling about the identity of Gormogon's apprentice.  First Hodgins is implicated, and then Sweets, whose character is a bit more intense than is usual for the extremely intelligent but somewhat ditzy psychologist.  Then we enter Salem for about twenty minutes.  Cries of "Witch! Witch!" resound throughout as first Cam blames Sweets, Sweets blames Hodgins, and Hodgins acknowledges that man, this looks bad for him, but you guys are barking up the wrong tree.

In one particularly incriminating move by Hodgins, Zack begins to posit a theory of… something, but Hodgins hits the fun button on the Vicodin Zack is hooked up to, and well, off Zack goes.  This is our cue to begin to prepare ourselves for an ending that removes our dear, sweet Zack.  I am displeased. 

 And finally, thanks to a team of interns working for Brennan, we have proof.  Zack lied.  Cries of distress ring out among Addy-fans everywhere.  My slow internal chant of no, no, no commences.  In a rather anti-climatic confession, Zack reveals his apparent predisposition for groveling to a psychotic master who has great plans concerning world domination  adding chlorine to the human gene pool  secret societies.  But once more, we are foiled by lack of time.  This behavior is just not consistent with Zack's behavior thus far, and I almost miss the very cool application of logic that Brennan uses to wring information from He Who Just Isn't In Character Anymore.  The explosion that Zack wrought upon himself was only as serious as it was out of his need to ensure Hodgins remained unhurt, and this challenged the view that Gormogon held regarding the welfare of many over one.  It's an interesting thought, really, but I'm still reeling from the shock of having it be logical, rational Zack who has been assisting in killing innocent people.  

The season finale ends with no real cliffhanger – Zack is guilty, Brennan is torn, the other squints are depressed.  The fans are still in a state of bwuh?, the writers are staring dejectedly at their condensed scripts, and the producers are rubbing their hands together in anticipation of the new season.  I'm still carefully watching for one last hurrah of Booth/Brennan goodness.  

I get a one-armed side hug before blackout.  A side hug?!  That drops the BBUST (Booth/Brennan Unresolved Sexual Tension) level for this episode down from a solid seven to an ending value of two.  And with a sigh, off goes the television until next season.

Or at least until I watch "Santa In The Slush" again.  I need something shippy to carry me through the long summer.