{Edit from Seels: BBMagic sent me this the other day, and I emailed her back and said… ‘are you SURE you want to go there? This subject is so touchy’. She just laughed and said yes, she could take it. Well, she’s the first inductee into the Steel Ovaries Club; that’s what I’m saying! Okay, enough from me. I’m sure you’ll have a lot to talk about!}
Good morning! Okay, this post has a longer working title, which is:
Between Them: Did Booth forget all about the sanctity of “what goes on between us is ours” when he told Hannah (and Sweets) about Brennan’s feelings?
I’m not going to lie: my first thought when I saw the episode was: what the heck happened to what’s ours is ours!! C’mon, Booth!! This is a question I have agonized over since that episode many a times and though I don’t know that I’ve achieved any kind of coherent answer, the conclusion that I’ve come up with is that I don’t think he forgot, in fact I think he very much remembered, but ultimately he still broke his side of the deal.
And while I don’t like it, I’d like to at least evaluate it somewhat rationally … or as rational as we can be about what some might see as an egregious betrayal on Booth’s part. Since Booth actually tells two people—Sweets and Hannah—I’d like to analyze them separately because, honestly, the fact that he tells Sweets is not that big a deal to me.
Sweets:
The whole “what’s ours” thing first developed within the context of significant others (i.e. Hacker) and so, to me, it has always felt like a barrier between Booth and Brennan as a unit and whichever person they are involved with romantically at the moment. It’s almost like they are saying, “no matter who I’m with, who I sleep with or who I date, there are some things that are just ours.” Obviously, Sweets is not a significant other to either of them, but rather he’s their baby duck. Thus, in this sense, he’s actually within the unit that they’ve created for themselves. So when Booth comes to Sweets for advice and thus tells him about Brennan’s confession, it doesn’t bother me—it is still keeping what is theirs within their unit. Does that make sense? Brennan ALSO did confide in Sweets in season five (after The Night at the Bones Museum), when she told Sweets (and then, he told Dr. Wyatt) about Booth’s changes in behavior after his brain surgery. In that instance, Sweets was considered part of the unit; Brennan is perceived to have done the right thing by confiding in Sweets. Because we never actually saw Booth confide issues in Brennan or saw her analyze his changes in behavior doesn’t mean that those changes weren’t just as personal/private to Booth as her confession in Doctor in the Photo.
Hannah:
Now, oh, boy, she is certainly not within their unit … she’s actually the threat to that unit, am I right? So, when he chooses to go ahead and tell her … that’s when I want to toss my cookies. But let’s analyze rationally:
I actually do understand that Booth was in a difficult position (no question about it), especially because Brennan and Hannah were friendly (I refuse to go so far as to buy the whole BFF thing). In addition, Brennan is not exactly known for her discretion, so I’m sure Booth was having all kinds of nightmares about it. Let’s just picture the kind of conversation he might have been imagining:
B: “Hannah, I would to apologize for my inappropriate behavior. I would like you to know that I was highly emotional and …”
H: “Whoa, whoa, Temperance … I’m not following …what exactly are you talking about?”
B (confused): I’m referring to my regrets regarding Booth. I assumed he told you …
H: “No. No, he didn’t, but why don’t you go ahead …”
B: Oh, well, I don’t think—
H: “Temperance, it’s too late now. Just tell me what happened.”
B:(a little frantic): “Last year, when he wanted me to give us a shot, I should have said yes. I should have said yes. And he’s with you now and he loves you and if you make him happy then that’s all that matters and I should have never even brought it up and I’m sorry, I didn’t mean …”
H:” Wait … Seeley wanted you to what? I thought you were just partners!”
I’m sure you get the gist. Don’t tell me Booth didn’t realize that if Hannah found out this way, it would raise a whole lot of angry questions, especially because she knows how close they are. So his struggle about whether to tell her is perfectly understandable. I also don’t doubt that he struggled –hence why he went to Sweets for advice. And I think that his main struggle (and here’s where I cut Booth some slack) was this: he recognizes that this is a “what’s ours” moment and he doesn’t want to betray that. But how do you excuse it to yourself not telling the woman you’re living with about it? Obviously, he seriously thought about doing exactly that and not telling Hannah, but then, THEN, he goes to talk to Sweets, and Sweets pretty much says to him: “Why wouldn’t you tell her? Unless you still have feelings for Dr. Brennan …”
Okay, so I don’t think those were the exact words, but the gist was basically this: why are you struggling with this? Why are you even considering not telling her? Maybe because your feelings for Dr. Brennan haven’t gone anywhere despite what you’ve been telling yourself? And I think this is what pushes Booth to make his decision. To prove to Sweets, to Hannah, but more importantly to himself that all those feelings he has are gone, that Brennan is just his partner. After all, when you’re just partners with someone, there’s no need for “what goes on between us, is just ours” is there? No need for that unspoken agreement of “no matter who I date, nothing can change what’s between us and what’s between us is just ours.”
When you’re just partners with someone, then you can’t really form a unit with said partner and raise barriers against your significant other, can you? Not telling Hannah would have been tantamount to agreeing with Sweets that he still has feeling for Brennan , right? And if he admits that—right in the heels of her own admission of her feelings—then what does that say about this whole happy, moved on, song and dance he’s been putting on for the last few months?
I honestly think Booth couldn’t do that. So the only viable option was to come clean to Hannah. And he did. Sort of. He describes everything between himself and Brennan in the past tense, though this doesn’t actually seem to be true. So that raises the question…if he’s lying to Hannah (was he?), does that mean that he actually kept up his part of the ‘between them’ bargain?
If not, I can understand it. But … I don’t like it. I really don’t. And I can only hope that at some point we see some repercussions. Not necessarily Brennan angrily pointing out that he broke their “what’s ours” pact (though, how awesome, would that be?). But rather something that tell us that despite all that’s gone down, they can’t help the need or the desire to be a unit, to have the words “what goes on between us is just ours” actually mean something again. Maybe even, this time, to have it mean something more.
Now, that I’ve spilled my thoughts, I wanna hear yours! Is there any rationality to this at all? Do you think Booth never broke their pact? Do you think he did but can still understand it? Can you neither understand it nor forgive it? I wanna hear your thoughts!!!
Bones Theory 
March 7, 2011 at 7:27 am
To me the “what’s going on between us is ours” was said when, from Booth’ perspective he had feelings for Brennan that went beyond just being a partner. When Brennan rejected him in the 100th, that “understanding” was swept off the table with Booth’ statement “but I have to move on” (or words to yhat effect).
In my mind they both have to push the te-set button if they want to move beyond being just partners.
I didn’t perceive any conversation with Hanna as a betrayal, because of Brennan’s rejection. Sure, Booth still has feelings for Brennan, but being the straight shooter he is, he’d rather suffer than act on them. At least that’s how I see it (from a male perspectibe, BTW).
Peace
March 7, 2011 at 7:57 am
I might agree with the dissolution of “what’s ours” if Brennan had been fully aware of Booth’s feelings at the time of Museum and if she were one who would be more cognizant of these “unwritten” rules. In other words, I think your logic is sound for a more intuitive woman.
On the other hand – they share a close friendship and partnership -one that relies heavily on trust, so is it fair to completely disregard this “what’s ours” credo? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they should have to keep everything locked in a vault – it seems like Brennan should be able to confide in Angela, for example, as Booth might want to confide in Sweets, but friendship still holds its own unwritten rules and guidelines, too.
March 7, 2011 at 7:42 am
I remember seeing the promo for this episode and coming to my own conclusions about what might actually happen . . . because promos are never what they seem and folks in the fandom were doing their usual flipping out. For a change, the promo WAS what it seemed, for the most part and I ended up being disappointed, too.
For me, though, was not the disappointment or anger that Booth told anyone – because I believe it is more than reasonable, fair, and right that Hannah (with whom he had hoped he had a lasting relationship), at the minimum, should be aware of both Brennan’s and Booth’s feelings. Your scenario of Booth’s imagined scenario seems very plausible to me. We can say all we want that there is no real reason for Booth to share these things with Hannah, but the truth is that these things almost always come to light at some point (in a presumably lasting relationship) and it is far far better for them to do so earlier rather than later. Honesty, folks, is where it’s at. I suppose we can argue the full extent of Booth’s honesty in his relationship with Hannah, but I’d rather focus on this one issue of this post, and Booth and Hannah are no longer together, anyhow, so I don’t really care anymore about how honest he was with her overall (mostly because Hannah is not a permanent part of the ensemble).
Instead, the disappointment for me was that he did not talk to Brennan about it, first. Brennan should have had warning rather than finding out from Hannah that Booth had shared this info. I really believe that if Booth had simply told Brennan of all these rational reasons for telling Hannah, Brennan would have totally understood and agreed with him. The fact that Brennan ended up being a little blindsided by it all is what rankled me.
March 7, 2011 at 7:47 am
I agree with Happy_55. Booth did not betray Brennan. (I know a lot of people are going to disagree with me; but, I hope they will at least consider this.) I firmly believe that when he said “what is ours is ours” he really felt that he had a chance with Brennan and that what they said to each other was personal. This goes back to Verdict In The Story when Sweets remarked: Okay. See. That thing that you do when you talk to each other while excluding the third party, namely me. It’s an adaptive mechanism. For, uh, disparate entities to bond together against their own individual impotences to dissociate.” Booth and Brennan have a tendency to exclude others (except Sweets and GG) in their personal lives. Before the 100th, Booth really considered everything they did to be theirs. After the 100th, he didn’t think there was a theirs. Brennan said there wasn’t a theirs. Then Hannah came into his life, Booth wanted to make it work. He wanted to be in love. Imagine his fear when Brennan told him she had made a mistake and he knew that Brennan and Hannah were friends. Booth was trying so desperately to be the perfect boyfriend and he probably had a feeling that if he didn’t tell Hannah what Brennan said and Brennan did blurt it out to Hannah, he would be toast. He was in a lose lose situation. Risk upsetting Brennan or possibly losing Hannah. He was already fragile and any more pressure was going to break him. That Hannah said no latter did just that. I felt sorry for Brennan that Booth told Hannah; but, I understand why he did it. Fear.
March 7, 2011 at 7:52 am
I think I am in the minority as I have never been as up in arms as others over the whole ‘what’s ours is our’s thing’. I always saw it that Booth was being upfront with his girlfriend. In Booths mind he had moved on & had a prospective life partner in the making so he was being honest with Hannah. I think the close proximity of Brennan & Hannah also made a difference.
I don’t see it as a betrayal as Hannah was his first consideration in his life at the time, not Brennan.
Now I know many, many others have differing thoughts on this touchy subject so I am going to take myself off to bed & check back in the morning for the onslaught!! Play nice lol
March 7, 2011 at 8:19 am
I am in the minority too, then. His primary obligation was to Hannah at that point in his life. I can’t blame him for feeling sufficiently conflicted about it to consult Sweets, although I wish the venue had been Sweets’ office rather than the FBI gym!
March 7, 2011 at 8:14 am
I agree with Janet (ProfeJMarie) she pretty much stated what I feel about this. I was hoping the promo was misleading, which this time it actually wasn’t. So I was disappointed in how things happened, but I can see that Booth really had to tell his live-in girlfriend…someone he saw a long-term future with…about what happened. Many of the things that people are blasting him for not telling Hannah could from his viewpoint be seen as being in the past, but this confession from Brennan was in the here and now, and could have a big impact on his relationship with Hannah as well as his relationship with Brennan.
I really do believe this is different from his egg and what’s our is ours. Her revealing her feelings for him while he is in a serious relationship with another woman has or at least can have a direct impact on that relationship. Booth’s story about his mother would have no impact at all on Brennan’s relationship with Hacker rather is was serious or not.
I just really wish he had let Brennan know about it so that she didn’t get blind-sided the way she did. Especially after he told Hannah and she said that she didn’t see how she couldn’t bring it up with Brennan, that she’d know something had happened. After that discussion he really should have sought Brennan out to let her know what was going on.
Now what bugged me more than him telling Hannah was the way he told Sweets about it. Now it didn’t bug me as much as it did some, but that just didn’t seem right. I understand he needed input from someone because he really was torn about what was the right thing to do, but the way he went about it was just so not right.
March 7, 2011 at 10:29 am
Exactly.
As much as I like to protect Brennan, I don’t think that her confession falls in the “what’s ours is ours” category — because it wasn’t just theirs. It was something that would impact both Booth and the woman he had chosen to build a life with. It was all three of theirs.
Now, the way in which he told Hannah is what actually bothered me. While he told her, I don’t think he properly illustrated what B&B meant to each other at some point. He sort of downplayed the epicness of their last 5 years and that’s what made me feel a little betrayed. But I guess I can understand that he was trying to downplay it for himself as much as for Hannah and Sweets… I guess denial can make you do some silly things.
March 7, 2011 at 10:34 am
I think if he wanted to have a relationship with Hannah, he needed to downplay the last five years. Any sane person hearing all that they’ve been through, including baby making plans and coma dreams, would turn around and RUN!
March 7, 2011 at 12:53 pm
I disagree. And I’m crossing the line between the Bonesverse and the real world at this point but I’m of the opinion that in order to have a healthy lasting relationship, honesty is paramount. Now I’m not saying that you need to divulge every minute detail to your significant other or that people can’t have their secrets, but rational, truthful discussion about previous relationships and experiences is healthy and is an indication that the past has been put behind you.
So, that said, the fact that Booth couldn’t really do that. That he couldn’t discuss his and Bones past with Hannah more truthfully just indicated to me that there are still residual feelings. Which is why at the end of it all, I was okay with what went down… he’s still not over her 🙂
March 7, 2011 at 1:16 pm
Like! Catalina, that is very well said! I don’t know where this post is going to show up, so forgiving me for just copying your entire reply below, but this is so true and I agree wholeheartedly!
“I’m of the opinion that in order to have a healthy lasting relationship, honesty is paramount. Now I’m not saying that you need to divulge every minute detail to your significant other or that people can’t have their secrets, but rational, truthful discussion about previous relationships and experiences is healthy and is an indication that the past has been put behind you.
So, that said, the fact that Booth couldn’t really do that. That he couldn’t discuss his and Bones past with Hannah more truthfully just indicated to me that there are still residual feelings. Which is why at the end of it all, I was okay with what went down… he’s still not over her”
March 7, 2011 at 7:08 pm
I definitely agree with you on both counts. Well put indeed.
March 7, 2011 at 8:16 am
I’m going to continue as others have said above. I see nothing wrong in Booth telling Hannah about what Brennan said to him in DitP. My reasons are similar to those above.
“What’s ours is ours” came when Booth and Brennan seemed to be developing something personal/ romantic — or the potential for it, anyway — between them. Brennan’s rejection of Booth in the 100th meant there was no “personal” in the romantic sense. So, in some sense, there was no longer any “ours.”
Booth tried moving on with Hannah. He was doing his best to convince everyone else as well as himself that this was true. In that context, not telling Hannah was not an option. And, I don’t see that as because he is afraid that Brennan will blurt something out. That may be a potential problem, but as Hannah’s boyfriend, he has an obligation to tell her this important truth. He now has “ours” with Hannah and telling her things like this were part of his obligations to her.
As Janet suggests above, he might have warned Brennan that he’d have to tell Hannah, but I don’t fault him for that either. Telling her in the car at that moment would have been awkward. So, he’d have had to find another moment. He was probably somewhat reluctant to raise the issue again because it would be giving Brennan more pain, which he doesn’t want to give her. He might have realized that Brennan might feel betrayed on the basis of “ours,” but there was no more “our” and explaining these kinds of things to Brennan could no longer be his first priority. Explaining these kinds of things to Hannah was his first priority.
I don’t want to see any fallout from it. I also don’t think there really can be much. If Brennan raises the issue, Booth has a pretty straightforward — and rational — response. She said no, so his obligations to Hannah took precedence over “ours.”
March 7, 2011 at 7:46 pm
Woah, I just realized that your response is almost the same as mine! Hahaha! Sorry, I didn’t mean to be redundant or seem like I was copying. I posted my response before I read the others.
I suppose we’re very like-minded on this subject. 🙂
March 7, 2011 at 8:18 am
I was more upset that he told Sweets, although I can buy the baby duck reasoning and that you always need someone to confide in, though Sweets has been a spotty choice for that at best. He didn’t give Brennan a heads up before telling Hannah, and I think that’s where his mistake was. I think he would have lost a lot of integrity if he hadn’t told Hannah though. Although it’s been a pattern ever before Night at the Bones Museum, I think the between us idea needs to be placed in context and not seen as a monolithic rule. As you pointed out, Brennan told Sweets about Booth’s changed mannerisms and that was seen as good. In NaTBM, Brennan shares a personal story about Booth’s mother (who we have exactly two pieces of information on) on a first date to his Boss, whom she is dating over Booth’s asking her not too. Hacker has a lot of control over Booth and his career, much more so than Cam does in comparison over Brennan’s. In Doctor, Brennan made what Booth considered a romantic overture, or at least the start of one before he stopped her short. A romantic overture from a person he works with over 12 hours a day when on cases, and after Hannah had already asked if there was something going on between the two of them. I agree that if you’re with someone, then they have to be your top consideration (outside of Parker). Not telling her destroys the honesty in their relationship, something that has already taken a beating b/c of his nondisclosure of other events (sniper, former feelings, gambling, etc). As Janet mentioned, it will come out sooner or later and if it didn’t come from Booth, he’s got some serious explaining to do.
Most people didn’t like Hannah, but we have to consider her more evidence of how Booth may behave in a romantic relationship. Do we want him to act badly given that his behavior might very well carry over into a relationship with Brennan? I would hope not. Maybe he would act differently with Brennan, but it still would have been a black mark on his record.
March 7, 2011 at 8:25 am
For me, it wasn’t that he told Hannah, but how he told her. I don’t really consider it a betrayal, because he didn’t give her all the details. I can’t say he told her the full truth of the situation. Actually, it was more of a coloring of the situation of how he wanted it to be, not how it actually was (Brennan “loved” him – come on!). But it was how he saw it, living happily in his land of denial. Would Booth have actually said anything about his (former) feelings if Hannah didn’t ask him? I’m not sure to believe to what extent Booth moved on over Brennan. The problem with TV is that we only see part of what happens. I understand that Booth was trying to reassure Hannah of his commitment with his confession. But overall, it felt a little patronizing towards Brennan, even though that may not have been the writers’ intent. The blindsiding from Hannah didn’t help, either. But even if Booth warned her, what would he say? “So…umm…Bones. You know what you told me the other night in the car? I have to tell Hannah about it, because she’s my girlfriend, I love her and I want to make this work with her.” Awkward, awkward (channeling Angela.)
I agree that Booth needed to tell Hannah something. But I’m not sure that it had to Brennan’s feelings versus his own previous ones for his partner. What was really relevant for Hannah to know from him? Is it possible that maybe it should have been Brennan who informed Hannah of her feelings?
March 7, 2011 at 8:51 am
Booth went to the only person he felt he could consult with during this situation: Sweets. Immature as he can be, the guy is also a professional and has a clinical relationship with both Booth and Brennan. One would hope that anything mentioned to him would stay in his “shrink vault.” After all, he’s already privy to a lot of their personal information. Brennan obviously spoke about the whole mess to Angela, since she adviced Brennan to move on. Booth, by nature, seldom shares anything with anyone other than Brennan. That this was weighing so heavily on him that he had to corner Sweets in the gym speaks to Booth’s anxiety level. He still works wth Brennan every day, and now he has to contend with Brennan and Hannah being buddies. There’s no doubt that as blunt as they both are this damaging piece of info would have come out eventually and without putting it into context it could have been explosive indeed. Could it have been put more delicately-probably. But Booth is a very impulsive guy, so he just blurts it out. He’s also a good Catholic boy and what he says feels a whole lot like a confession. I think that what is B/B’s is still theirs, but in this instance not telling was not only potentially hurtful but also very close to dishonesty-and we know Booth can’t go there. There really was no good solution to this quandary and I believe he handled it realistically and as well as he could.
March 7, 2011 at 8:59 am
I agree with the gist of a number of the responses above: I don’t take issue with Booth telling Hannah (or Sweets, actually) about Brennan’s confession. Not at all. This wasn’t a potentially embarrassing story Booth didn’t want told to his boss, it was an issue that had the potential to lead to infidelity. I’ll admit that the way it went down was somewhat embarrassing for Brennan, but I think there had to be some accountability there for Booth, otherwise the temptation to act on his feelings for Brennan once he knew how she felt (and the fact that he felt the need to ask Sweets for advice and then tell Hannah what happened is an indication that he still did have feelings for Brennan, whether or not he was willing to admit it) might well have gotten the best of him. I’m a B&B shipper all the way, but never under those circumstances.
Now I’m still not convinced he was completely honest with Hannah about HIS feelings for Brennan…or Brennan’s feelings for him for that matter (referring to both in the past tense), and I’m not sure what to think about that. I might be inclined to agree with whoever mentioned that his “fudging” of the truth in that instance WAS his attempt to protect Brennan a la the “what’s ours is ours” promise, but I’ll admit that it kind of bugs me. I wish we’d seen that entire “confession.”
Anyway, interesting topic for a Monday. There’s nothing like a hot topic to take the chill off an early spring morning.
March 7, 2011 at 9:36 am
I have discussed this topic in various occasions with my husband. He is of the opinion that Booth did the right thing. That he was in a difficult situation, and that it was indeed a topic that should be discussed with your girlfriend. He insists that the problem was Hannah. Hannah didn’t need to discuss it with Brennan. And I agree with him that it’s really hard to believe a journalist couldn’t pretend not to know anything.
In a way Hannah is portrayed like an innocent 5 year old. If she trusted Booth and she is Brennan’s friend, she should have kept that knowledge to herself. In a way, you could say that what is between Booth and Hannah should be between them, and she should have kept her mouth shut.
I understand his point of view, I even agree, but I can’t help to resent Booth a little. I always end up saying that Brennan has been his partner for years, and I believe she deserves a little more loyalty than someone who has been around for months, even if she’s sleeping with him.
March 7, 2011 at 12:36 pm
I don’t think Hannah intended on having that conversation with Brennan. She was trying to figure out what to say and what to do, and she was avoiding Brennan. But Brennan insisted on them meeting. Not blaming her, because it was through Angela’s influence, and I didn’t disagree with her reasoning.
Do you think Brennan should have told Hannah herself?
March 7, 2011 at 4:50 pm
Hannah called to confirm and then canceled a lot (and I mean A LOT) of times. Like Angela said recently “there is more than one way of communicating”. Also, quoting Angela again “that’s code”. Hannah was clearly demonstrating that something was wrong. If she really didn’t want to let Brennan know she could have canceled one time. I don’t believe she couldn’t wait to see Brennan another day. She could keep canceling for a while. She could have made an effort to not talk about it. Brennan wanted to know what was wrong BECAUSE Hannah had let her know with her behavior.
And no, I would have been really angry with Brennan if she had told Hannah. Maybe she could have discussed with Booth if he planned to share that conversation with Hannah to know what to expect, but I don’t think she (like the rest of us) even considered that a possibility. She was surprised and hurt when she found out.
March 7, 2011 at 10:20 am
This is one of the many things that fans want to resent Booth for, and hope that Brennan will eventually yell at him for and I have to say….I think the fans who want that are going to be very disappointed.
Booth said he was going to move on and he did. Perhaps he shouldn’t have said it so quickly, but he did say it, and Brennan agreed that he should move on. She encouraged him to do so.
I don’t think it was the rejection of his offer of a personal relationship that so altered Booth’s feelings about their partnership, it was Brennan’s leaving for Maluku. She had her reasons, and to her they made sense, but for me, I see Booth interpreting her departure as an abandonment. Her lack of contact only reinforced that.
Perhaps he subconsciously wanted to punish her for that, which is why he behaved quite coldly, shoving Hannah’s picture in her face, being short with her, being so distant in DiTP.
When the reality of her confession hits home to him, I think Booth got hit with a triple dose of guilt. He feels guilty for how he’s treated Brennan since he came back, he feels guilty about keeping things from Hannah and maybe he feels guilty about whatever little stirrings of feelings for Brennan came back in that car in the rain.
He’s Catholic; he feels guilty, he confesses.
Is that perhaps a generous interpretation of an extremely subtle DB performance? Perhaps. Am I giving HH too much credit? Perhaps. But I am trying to accept the story that’s been given to me, and make sense of it. Booth suddenly being a jerk after 5 seasons of being a good man does not make sense.
The reason I think there won’t be a big yelling confrontation from Brennan is that sh has grown. She knows how it feels to feel abandoned and to nurse that resentment and to want to keep score and hurt the person who hurt you. She did that with Russ and Max. She knows now it did nothing but waste time and deprive her of relationships she wanted. So when the time comes, I think she’s not going to yell at Booth, she’s going to understand how he felt and want them to not waste any more time punishing each other.
March 7, 2011 at 12:59 pm
I really like what you have said here. I agree that what was more hurtful to Booth was the leaving and not necessarily the 100th, but I also fall into the camp that says he would have never left if she hadn’t. The playing field changed for “what’s between us” and I think he would have felt he was betraying the person he was supposed to be sharing his life with if he hadn’t told Hannah.
I agree there that there will not be any big Brennan confrontation about it, though more because Bones just doesn’t seem to do that. There are lots of dropped emotional threads on this show but I think it’s only us obsessed fans who really think about them.
March 7, 2011 at 8:10 pm
I also don’t think we’ll see Brennan yelling at Booth. And I would rather she didn’t. Totally agree about how being mad at him would just take time away from being in the relationship she wants to be in with him. But I hope she can at least share some of her feelings of hurt, while not placing blame on his shoulders.
March 7, 2011 at 10:44 am
I need to learn to comment right away. You guys are all too good and covered mostly everything I was going to say! Haha. 😉
Anyways, I was actually happy that Booth told Hannah about the he and Brennan situation. I had been uncomfortable leading up to that because Hannah didn’t know. I actually think he should have told Hannah sooner. I don’t think he told Hannah earlier on because he *did* remember and feel strongly about the “what’s ours is ours” pact. I believe that no matter who Booth and Brennan’s significant others are, they will still have those special things between them. This was just too big for Booth not to tell his serious girlfriend.
I don’t mind that he asked Sweets for advice either. As Barb said, he was conflicted and needed someone’s advice. I can also see where Janet is coming from. While it didn’t bother me at the time. I *do* agree that Booth could have told Brennan he was going to share that information with Hannah so she wouldn’t have been caught so off guard.
So, basically, I still think that what happens between them belongs to them, but I am happy he told Hannah (and irked that he waited so long). This was a serious relationship that he was expecting to last a long time. It was the respectable thing to do.
March 7, 2011 at 11:12 am
All I need to decide whether Booth was right or wrong to betray Brennan’s confidential remarks to him is to remember the look on Brennan’s face when she asked Reporter Barbie, “He told you that?”
For me, that’s the end of the discussion.
I also completely disagree about Booth’s imagined scenario. There was no way Brennan would have told Hannah about that conversation. What’s between them is theirs.
Or, when it suits Booth, it is.
March 7, 2011 at 5:56 pm
Your first point actually makes sense. If we treat BB as a real life drama, there’s no way to know what goes on between BB, so we can’t judge the betrayal. But if Bones feels betrayed, and I agree her expression gave it away, whatever the rest of the world thinks, the betrayal it there. It happened.
March 7, 2011 at 12:01 pm
I think the argument about Sweets being their “baby duck” and part of the unit makes some sense. However, I highly disagree with this: “Because we never actually saw Booth confide issues in Brennan or saw her analyze his changes in behavior doesn’t mean that those changes weren’t just as personal/private to Booth as her confession in Doctor in the Photo.”
Brennan confines HER personal observations about Booth’s BEHAVIOR in regards to his MEDICAL condition. Booth tells Sweets BRENNAN’S soul-baring confession of “love.” He could have just said, “Hypothetically, if a good friend tells you a secret, but it’s one that could effect your romantic relationship if found out by your girlfriend, should you just tell your girlfriend?” He didn’t do that. As for the rest of it. It’s interesting. IF Booth really was over Brennan, this wouldn’t have been an issue. He wouldn’t have thought about telling his girlfriend because he’d see it as inconsequential. He’s a guy, the past is the past and “why are you even concerned about her, baby?” Then there’s usually some comment about the girlfriend being insecure. So, yet again, another schizoid moment, since we’re SUPPOSED to believe Booth is really over Brennan and in love with Hannah. So, yes, I do think it was a betrayal.
March 7, 2011 at 12:01 pm
What no one ever mentions in defending Booth’s integrity is that he DIDN’T tell Hannah the truth either. He told her a partial truth, which is a cowardly and deceptive thing to do to both his live-in girlfriend and to Bones, since it misrepresents everything. I am not going to enjoy the sniper arc or any other storyline that has him as the “most moral man” until they talk about this. And the “what goes on between us” debate doesn’t even matter until Booth starts admitting the truth, which is that he wasn’t truthful to himself, Hannah or Bones.
March 7, 2011 at 12:45 pm
I agree with you that it was partial truth. But I’m not as upset about it. I think Booth was at the point where he had to believe certain things to be true in order to keep moving on with his life. All along, he had been protecting others (esp. Brennan), but after being completely devastated when she said no, he had to find a way to pick up the pieces of his broken heart. And that means shoring up defenses and looking after himself to not be hurt like that again. It sounds selfish, but in light of that history, it makes sense to me.
But it is time, or hopefully will soon be time, for Booth to stop leaning on his crutches of denial and face the truth of his feelings.
March 7, 2011 at 12:51 pm
I can understand that and even sympathize. But then he (and the show) has to give up the “crutch” that he’s the most moral man on tv right now. I’m ok with your explanation and ok with him not being perfect, but not the hypocrisy of pretending he acted honorably through the Hannah arc.
March 7, 2011 at 8:27 pm
I can understand your point, too. Even though I believe in truth and morality, it can be pretty complicated. We’ve seen great leaders who changed the course of history, or just do great things in their community…but then do something that isn’t illegal but wrong, like cheat on their wife. Does all their good get thrown out the door? Were they basically a good person who made a mistake, or were they just revealing the kind of person they really are?
I don’t know answers to any of these, so I settle for being unhappy with some of Booth’s personal choices, but still recognize him as a good man in a civil sense. And I think he did pretty well considering the circumstances, the circumstances being not being able to handle the truth of the situation and his steely resolve to move on for his own sake. But I agree that saying he was acting honorably is just giving him too much credit when he was/is in such a personal mess.
March 7, 2011 at 2:09 pm
Awesome post…brave to! 😉
I think i swung back and forth between wanting to kick Booths ass and being A-OK (ish) with it before i settled somewhere in the ‘Hmmmmm’ section.
I have a few issues with how this all went down with Booths reveal of Brennans feelings.
1) I was seriously unimpressed with the way in which Booth approached Sweets. I can (at a push) be ok with him telling Sweets but i will never be ok with him announcing it in the FBI gym. I understand it was played for some kind of comedic effect but i was angry with Booth for hours after that moment….what was wrong with discussing in Sweets office? Or even in the Diner? Or Founding Fathers?
2) Like Janet, i didn’t appreciate the way Brennan was taken by surprise. I understand Booth had to tell Hannah. In all honesty i would have thought less of him if he hadn’t. But the least Brennan deserved was a heads up. That’s all….just a little pre-warning from her Partner. That wasn’t asking a lot surely?
March 7, 2011 at 2:35 pm
I think we all also have to remember that for the purposes of the show, an extra scene in which Booth tells Brennan that he told Hannah is however many minutes less that they have to show some other aspect of the show, like furthering the murder investigation.
Each episode must serve many masters: the weekly murder, with enough clues to make the killer believable but enough red herrings to make it interesting. Short term plotlines are developed, as are long term ones. There has to be some humor, some squint interaction, and finally some B &B.
That’s a lot to put into 43 minutes.
The scene with Booth telling Sweets on the treadmill was done so they could end on the joke of Booth speeding up the treadmill. Just as Booth throwing the ring in the pool at the end of DDiTM was done because it was a dramatic shot (a lot of fans really hate that scene and seem to think Parker’s life is ruined because Booth threw away his college fund or something).
As invested as we all may be in B/B, it’s ultimately just one part of the show and what would make the most sense to us isn’t always what works for the purposes of a 43 minute comedy/drama/crime show.
March 7, 2011 at 3:52 pm
Barbara,
This is very true! And something that we as viewers tend to forget.
Honestly, I don’t think how Booth could have told Brennan, “umm, and now I have to tell my girlfriend, is that okay with you?” So that we didn’t get that scene made sense to me. For some reason, the whole gym thing doesn’t have me up in arms, lol. To me, the fact that he couldn’t wait for a session or for lunch at the Diner was just an example of Booth feeling the guilt and needing the advice sooner rather than later because it was probably driving him insane. And I did smile when he pushed up the speed on the treadmill, mainly because it made me feel he was annoyed at Sweet’s whole “well if you’re over your partner, then this should be an easy decision, right” attitude. Ha!
P.S. This is totally random, but I wanna thank everyone for being so polite and rational, lol, in their responses. I’ve been to some forums where the discussion is uncivilized to put it mildly and I absolutely hate it! Seels warned me this might be a touchy subject and obviously we all have strong opinions about it but you’all are awesome! 🙂
March 7, 2011 at 4:18 pm
Your right. Most of us have made up our minds and we agree to disagree. Everyone here is very polite in giving their opinions and I also appreciate it. I have stopped going to other sites because a lot of people on those sites are very rude and not interested in hearing anything but their own words. I like to read other opinions and sometimes, they even make me rethink my take on something. I don’t like people to be rude about it though. Everyone here IS very nice. Thanks everyone.
March 7, 2011 at 8:32 pm
Thank goodness for Bones Theory! Reading comments on other sites can be vicious. Although, I find ironically that the comments of Bones videos on YouTube are pretty safe, lol
March 7, 2011 at 7:12 pm
But this has always been true. It’s not a new curve ball for the writers. They should have considered the constraints and I don’t think it’s a good explanation for the failure of the whole way BBH went down. It’s not like they spent the 43 minutes developing interesting mysteries or side stories. In fact, most the complaints from fans and especially from critics has been that they wasted screen time on the contrived triangle. So it wasn’t that they didn’t spend time on the plot, it’s just that they didn’t do it well.
March 7, 2011 at 8:40 pm
There’s certainly an element of “what they think they were showing us is not really what we saw.” Especially with things like the sunglasses scene. HH and SN had to take to the internet and explain what that scene meant, which is an obvious sign that it failed!
I guess I just feel that DB would not sign on to a storyline that had his character becoming a complete jerk, so I feel compelled to look for clues that he’s not being a jerk!
March 7, 2011 at 3:56 pm
“What’s between us, is ours” – if ever there was a more frustrating statement in the context of significant others!
I see what you’re saying BB…that you can sort of accept Booth telling Sweets because he’s not an SO, and how you don’t like that he told Hannah. I too was flabbergasted that he actually told her (and Sweets) and it made me re-evaluate Booth’s stance on his relationship with Hannah.
One could interpret that the original statement of “between us” was a cover-all to include all people that might meddle in their partnership. That would include SOs and any other people (Cam, Angela, Sweets, etc.). Basically, private conversations that B&B have had regarding personal matters weren’t to be shared. However, when Booth first said this to Brennan, he seemed to imply that in particular it applied to significant others (in that case Hacker). If it’s the first case, then he shouldn’t have told either Sweets or Hannah about what happened in DitP. It was something very personal between them, and was definitely an “ours” moment. If it’s the second case, then maybe telling Sweets was okay, but telling Hannah was not. Then again, Hannah is in a much more serious relationship with Booth than Brennan was with Hacker, and ultimately Brennan’s revelation was something he should tell his girlfriend, because it’s the honorable thing to do (towards Hannah, not towards Brennan).
Here’s my take on why he told Hannah: When Booth came back from Afghanistan he had freed himself of his association with Brennan. He had (mostly) moved on. When Hannah followed him to DC, it sealed the deal so to speak. Up until DitP, I think he was trying his best to show that he had moved on and convince himself and others that he truly had. When Brennan confessed her regrets to him in that car, he had no choice but the answer the way he did – he was with Hannah now, sorry (as heart-crushing and unfair as that is). I think that moment re-defined for him what his boundaries with Brennan would be and where his relationship with Hannah had stood. I feel like he had finally made a concrete choice in that moment, one that he couldn’t take back, and he chose Hannah. We saw evidence of this in the aftermath where he lost the cocky belt buckle and decided to tell her about Brennan’s confession, and finally, in deciding to propose to Hannah. In choosing Hannah he left behind the “us” between him and Brennan; essentially, there was no longer a “between us” between them. They were just partners, and that’s it. Hannah was now his “us” so he had to be faithful to her to the extent that he would tell her everything and even propose marriage. (Side note: my heart literally hurts to say that…)
We all know, of course, that that’s not completely true. We know (hope, pray, have faith in, plead, beg) that deep down he still loves Brennan. We’ve seen smidgens of that coming through sporadically this season. It’s why the end scene in Sisterhood confuses/frustrates me, because he’s still Hannah’s at this point (but I digress). I think it’s going to take a long time (at least until the end of the season) before we start seeing the “between us” of old between B&B, and then, hopefully it will also be accompanied with “something more.”
March 7, 2011 at 4:42 pm
Thanks for this post!
I’m glad I’m not only one who has been thinking about . . . I was sorta sad when Booth told Hannah – not sure why? Maybe, I didn’t think it mattered. Maybe, I thought deep down Hannah knew could sense something between B&B. I just wonder exactly what he said, since it was never shown, it’s up to our imaginations.
March 7, 2011 at 5:12 pm
Resounding NO. Nothing was broken for all the same reasons mentioned above. Never even crossed my mind while I watched the episode until someone mentioned it on one of these forums. I’m one of those that doesn’t understand the resentment or anger towards Booth. What does a person do when they’ve been rejected over and over again? They try to rebuild a life and that’s what he did. Whatever “relationship” Booth and Bones had pre-100th episode went out the window after her rejection of him. Regardless of how he posed the “question” of “let’s give it a shot”…a rejection is still a rejection and moving on was the only thing he could do. Any notions of what is sacred between two people is null and void at point of rejection. Yes…respect is still necessary in the fall out of a relationship, but if a person does move on….a NEW sacred is created between that person and their new significant other. I would have thought less of Booth if he had totally withheld any information from Hannah on his prior feelings for Bones. We can’t look at Hannah as an intrusion into Booth and Bones’ relationship. She didn’t create the “split” between the two. She deserved the full attention of Booth as that person that was helping him heal from Bones’ rejection. As such she deserved full disclosure…especially given the fact that he still worked with Bones and Hannah and Bones had developed a friendship on their own.
March 7, 2011 at 5:29 pm
But she never got full disclosure. Not about his relationship with Bones, not about any other part of Booth’s life. That’s on Booth. And a lot of the resentment against Booth is about the way he treated Bones as a friend, about the mixed signals, about not being open with Hannah, etc. Not about his moving on. If you don’t understand many, many viewers’ criticism of Booth, fine. But don’t reduce the argument into “Booth isn’t allowed to move on.”
March 7, 2011 at 8:16 pm
General Amen!, SJ.
It was my impression that most of the Booth hating was because of how he was treating Bones. I never saw anything wrong with how he treated Bones. He was keeping her at arm’s length, as he needed to under the circumstances. I didn’t think he was any more snarky than he has been in the past. As for full disclosure to Hannah. We don’t really know how much he did or didn’t disclose. And, since I didn’t want him to be with Hannah, I have no problem with his actions there. Actually, I think he was trying pretty hard with Hannah. And, he did disclose what happened in DitP.
In short, I have no problem with anything Booth has done since ep 100. Esp after he agreed to continue to work with Brennan which he would have been entirely justified in deciding not to do. Given that Bones then effectively abandoned the partnership she had insisted on continuing, his desire to keep her at arm’s length is even more justified, not just because of the relationship with Hannah, but out of his need to protect himself from further hurt from Brennan.
March 7, 2011 at 10:33 pm
I’m with you gals Angelena and sarahjane. I have no problem with anything Booth has done since ep 100 either; especially after Daredevil once I finally understood that he did, in fact, love Hannah (to some degree).
March 8, 2011 at 9:21 am
In the absence of information, I go with the benefit of the doubt….especially when dealing with a beloved character. The anger at Booth at other websites was horrendous and I didn’t understand where it was coming from….especially since we saw him develop into this great…honorable guy throughout the series. It was as if he was a totally foreign character
in a lot of people’s eyes.
We never knew, at least I didn’t, how much Booth told Hannah. I assumed she knew everything at point where he told her about Bones’ feelings. Regarding how he treated Bones…I’m with Angelena…there was nothing out of the ordinary that I saw. His moving on is part of reason for his behavior towards Bones which many people resented. They couldn’t believe how he could be distant with her or keep her at arm’s length as Angelena posted…but under the circumstances…the most honorable thing to do is to keep this person you once professed to love, at arm’s length when you’ve gotten into a new relationship. I would have thought less of him if he had continued to show Bones that he still wanted her. A honest go of making a relationship with Hannah work was the only path he could take at this point in the story and if that meant putting distance between him and Bones….then more power to him.
March 7, 2011 at 7:49 pm
Geez, I am in the group that I don’t think Booth was wrong in tell his live-in girlfriend that moved to the country that he was in to be with him. Nor was Hannah wrong in telling Brennan why she was upset. I was actually irked by Brennan for thinking Booth wouldn’t tell his gf. I understand her issues and near aspergers personality but even her hyper logic she should have deduced that Booth would discuss this at least to not to be so shocked that he told her.
As far as telling Sweets, seriously is he not allowed to have any friends. I guess it’s evident by my post that it gets old that Booth must be super human and not respond to his emotions of having his heart ripped out and then having to continue to work with her. I guess I assume we didn’t see most of his conversation with h about what Brennan said so everyone assumes he lied about what happened. hope this doesn’t irked to many people. 🙂
March 7, 2011 at 7:59 pm
What arguably makes Booth the most moral man on television isn’t that he’s a saint, but that he tries to do right thing regardless of personal cost, often agonizing over his choices. And yes, there will be times when his actions, and Brennan’s as well, are perceived by part of the audience to be the wrong ones. The fact that there is such disagreement here on what took place with Hannah proves that regardless of what he did, there was no answer that could satisfy everyone. That’s because the situation was without a winning solution. I’m with the poster above who mentioned that maybe Hannah was mostly at fault for turning around and revealing the information to Brennan. This was not the most mature of choices, although maybe even that is understandable given how little she really knew Booth and Brennan. The fact is that there have been plenty of missteps and misunderstandings between most of the characters on this show and this was one of them, not unlike what happens in real relationships.
People can choose to be angry at Booth; I find that his behavior towards Brennan over the five+ years we have seen them together speaks louder than one scene. Just like I chose to get over Brennan’s sudden withdrawal from Booth at the end of the 5th season. She had to go for her own sanity, but few would argue that this wasn’t without some pretty hefty collateral damage to her partner. To me there have never been any saints on this show. Just people making their way (and often muddling their way) through difficult times, mending fences and supporting each other to the best of their ability. The fact that they do this with grace and heart is ultimately what makes these characters so appealing.
March 7, 2011 at 8:44 pm
Yes! Better than I could have said. “The fact is that there have been plenty of missteps and misunderstandings between most of the characters on this show and this was one of them, not unlike what happens in real relationships.”
And “To me there have never been any saints on this show. Just people making their way (and often muddling their way) through difficult times, mending fences and supporting each other to the best of their ability.”
We stress out too much over their imperfections. They have to have them. It’s what makes them human. What makes them amazing is to see them work through them, helped along with a little love and grace.
March 7, 2011 at 8:51 pm
But the past 5 years doesn’t give him a free pass either. I can appreciate his overall character and still believe he love Bones, but also point out that his behavior during season 6 leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, it’s in honor of how good he can be that I’d rather not be in denial when he is being dishonorable. The “most moral man” title just bugs because despite what you say so well and what fans believe, the show never acknowledges he’s not a saint. He’s always the wronged party.
And I really agree overall with your assessment of what makes Booth moral, but he’s so confused this season that I haven’t seen him practice it. It sounds like a better description of Bones herself this season. And I’ve also been following the discussion at GMMR and have to admit the posters who aren’t as invested in the shipper drama make some excellent points about the limitations of Booth’s personal morality, separate from the Hannah arc.
I also like that this is a nice refuge for Bones fans, but it’s also the most pro-Booth site online, and doesn’t necessarily reflect the mainstream view. Sometimes, the stupid comments on bigger sites are good reflections of problems in how the show is depicting Booth.
March 7, 2011 at 9:11 pm
That may be, but I suspect that our ability to remain positive and see the silver lining is what makes this such an inviting place for many of us. I personally have stopped reading or posting at most of these other sites for the very reasons you state. As long as people here remain civil and people can address their views without antagonism, this site will remain my port in the storm.
March 7, 2011 at 10:17 pm
I agree with Jan. I think Maria does a good job of describing why Booth is so moral. But I also think excusing and justifying everything he does goes too far sometimes. One thing (justifiable confusion over heartbreak) is not an answer for the other things people point out. I was one of those who thought Booth deserved a nice rebound fling to flaunt in front of Bones. But I had major issues with the way he went about it.
I also champion keeping our views in perspective. I think the “stupid comments” are still valid fan reactions. I don’t know about you, but all the more extreme antagonistic name calling comments I’ve seen on EW, TVLine and GMMR are from so called positive fans. Not that anyone here does it, but I’ve been so embarrassed by the hysterical Booth/DB fans that will attack any critical fan. Y’all know what I’m talking about. I really think the ratings decline before AI + negative fans are to thank for Hannah not lasting the entire season.
March 8, 2011 at 8:50 am
Thanks Maria, you are like the calm in the Booth Brennan Storm.
March 7, 2011 at 11:24 pm
You know, because of my love for Brennan, I wanted to be offended on her behalf–I wanted to get upset for her because I knew she wouldn’t. But rationally speaking–that rationality gets you every time, doesn’t it–Brennan’s confession couldn’t be just between them, and theirs, by the very nature of the content.
And to be completely honest, I think part of Booth was trying to protect Brennan here. Old habits die hard. Think about how much time passed between her confession and his conversations with Sweets and Hannah. He kept it bottled up for a while–it’s not like he dropped Brennan off and then blabbed to Hannah when he got home. He wrestled with it for some time–he tried to not tell her. Booth hadn’t forgotten Brennan–he knew what that confession cost her–what it’s costing her still!–and for that reason, among others, I believe, he tried to avoid telling Hannah.
But in the end he knew he couldn’t–because doing so would mean he wasn’t in it 100% with Hannah, and because doing so would mean he had something to hide about Brennan (which he does!). Booth is Booth, and in the end, his conscience won out and Hannah got told–submitting to the conscience that says “Tell her, she’s your girlfriend,” and telling the conscience that says, “You’re still in love with Bones,” to shove it, all in one fell swoop. What could the man do? Apart from–no, I don’t think he could even dump Hannah really. Things have happened in good, right time, and I wouldn’t change it.
So I wasn’t offended at Booth at all really, as much as I sort of wanted to be (I’ve never really been able to bring myself to it–deep down I never think he deserves it, :)). But I was so hurt for Brennan. As much as my brain told me it was necessary, that Booth being the man that he is couldn’t have kept it to himself, it made me almost nauseous to know that Hannah knew about it. Brennan’s confession–I firmly believe it was the most vulnerable she’s been since she was fifteen years old. Not only was it a difficult and painful thing to do, but it was also a huge accomplishment, a huge step forward–it was hard, but I believe she should be proud of herself for having that kind of courage and heart. It was a beautiful, unforgettable moment–in our eyes, but I hope she recognizes the beauty of it for herself someday, too.
But to know that Hannah knows about it, that to Hannah it was just an awkward someone-I-know-hit-on-my-boyfriend kind of moment, it makes me a little bit ill. That’s why Booth’s telling Hannah upset me. I wasn’t upset at Booth–I wasn’t upset at Hannah even! I was just upset that Hannah had to know, knowing that she could never understand what it meant for Brennan to say those words, what Brennan had been through to get to that moment. Hannah, while reacting in a completely natural way, could only cheapen, or almost even demean, Brennan’s confession. That’s what was upsetting for me. And yes, Booth’s downplaying kind of encouraged that reaction in Hannah, but I think it would’ve been a betrayal of Brennan for him to go into any more detail than he did. I don’t want to saint-ify Booth by saying he only thought of Brennan when he downplayed it all–I think he was hiding from his feelings by making it sound so insignificant–but still. Whether his conscious intent was to avoid betraying Brennan or to convince himself and Hannah that it didn’t mean what it really did, he told her the bare minimum, and I have to give him credit for that. I know that sounds contradictory–how could Hannah cheapen it vs. being glad Booth didn’t tell her how big of a thing it was–but there it is. That’s the way I felt. It was painful that Brennan was on the receiving end of Hannah’s awkward, cringeworthy sort of pity, but it was a relief that Hannah didn’t know any better, that Booth never told her how monumental it really was, that confession, in its own way. What’s between them is theirs, even if it doesn’t seem like it. The outer layers of what’s between them may need to come out here and there, but the heart of these matters, they’re still private, and I can appreciate that.
March 8, 2011 at 12:07 am
My problem with this situation isn’t so much that Booth told Hannah but that he didn’t give Brennan the heads up that he did. Hannah avoided Brennan and placed Brennan in an awkward position. Hannah told Brennan what Booth told her. Brennan’s comment to this was that he shouldn’t have shared that with her. Brennan did think in this situation that, whats between us is ours. Booth no longer feels this way and it no longer applies to to their friendship and doesn’t really care about how his actions might effect Brennan. Booth seems to be looking out for himself alone and is really quite selfish this season in my opinion. Everything is about him and he doesn’t really care about anyone or anything that doesn’t revolve around his own little world. Brennan was bothered by Booth’s telling Hannah, but she didn’t confront Booth about it though. Unlike Booth, she does worry about how her actions may effect Booth now that he is in a relationship. She wants him to be happy and she is willing to make that happen. I have yet to see Booth enquire or worry about Brennan’s happiness and that is what has bothered me the most about Booth as a character this year. He has become self-centered and uncaring towards those around him. Brennan has been very careful this season and she really didn’t want to come between Booth and Hannah. Brennan has never confronted Booth but I think she should have. Yes, Brennan broke down and made her big confession to Booth, but she was under alot of stress and wasn’t really herself. She told him she had regrets but I never heard her beg Booth to ditch Hannah. I did hear Booth ask Brennan if he could call someone for her. Knowing that Angela was the only one he could of called in a situation like this, his working really irked me. He didn’t really care about her. When I watched this episode I only saw that he wanted to drop her off so he wouldn’t have to deal with her emotional meltdown. He at this point no longer cares about her and doesn’t have any feelings for Brennan. His only concern is Hannah and sex at this point.
I find that Booth tends to make up his own rules as he goes along. He changes them to suit himself and only holds others to his standards, not himself. If it is to his advantage he’ll do whatever makes his life easier. He isn’t as moral as they seem to claim in interviews. Booth has lost most of his appeal as the leading man, in my eyes.
I really would rather see Brennan with someone else. Brennan has lost all her drive and individuality because she has tried to morph into someone that Booth would approve of more.
As a consequense of her relationship with Booth, Brennan has deemed herself lacking and not as deserving as others in many areas. I don’t think Booth has been at all healthy for her. She was much more interesting in the first two seasons before Booth started to mess with her individuality and began showing her that she just doesn’t quite measure up to everyone around her. I really prefered the Brennan that could care less about others opinions. Who had the tack to be tackless and had the determination to stand out and be a strong opinionated woman. Booth has changed this and I really don’t like it.
I tend to see all episodes through Brennan’s eyes and really don’t enjoy Booth’s character. I’m probably in the minority, but this is how my viewing experience has been since I first tuned in.
I connect more with Brennan and just don’t see where Booth is all that great.
March 8, 2011 at 8:58 am
If Booth didn’t care about anyone else (Brennan) he would not have been following her around on a rainy night and he would not have saved her life. He does care for Brennan. Very much.
March 8, 2011 at 10:37 am
K. I think each of us sees the situations on this show through our own life-colored glasses. So while I totally empathize with your point of view, and at some point in my life, I may have agreed with you, I don’t now. So just to reply to some of your points:
K: “Brennan was bothered by Booth’s telling Hannah, but she didn’t confront Booth about it though. ”
C: I know that this has been mentioned several times in the above posts. Brennan’s face and the way she said “he told you that?” Now, originally, I thought I saw the same thing a lot of people saw – betrayal. But after some reflection and some rewatches I think she was just surprised. Now hear me out — I kind of started noticing through out the season that Brennan kept doing these little gut checks on Booths feelings for Hannah — starting in The Couple in the Cave. I think that her reaction to finding out that Booth had told Hannah about Brennan’s feelings was realization and disappointment. More evidence that he did love Hannah. I think Brennan wanted to believe (as many of us did) that Hannah was a consolation prize, a rebound, etc. I think her reaction to that moment was more about her coming to terms that Booth really did love Hannah.
K:”I have yet to see Booth enquire or worry about Brennan’s happiness and that is what has bothered me the most about Booth as a character this year. He has become self-centered and uncaring towards those around him.”
C: To be honest I kind of saw a reversion back to Booth’s Season 1 snippy, kind of douchy self – before he realized and processed that he loved Bones. And to me, that was okay because as many people have pointed out, in order to make an honest effort at having a successful relationship with Hannah, that something in his and Bones’ relationship had to give. He couldn’t allow himself to be with her all the time and be her protector outside of their partnership. I agree that he didn’t spend as much time with her or the squints after work any more (although he did spend some time with her on occasion), but he never got so distant as to put her in danger. He was always a good partner to her.
K: “She was much more interesting in the first two seasons before Booth started to mess with her individuality and began showing her that she just doesn’t quite measure up to everyone around her. I really prefered the Brennan that could care less about others opinions. Who had the tack to be tackless and had the determination to stand out and be a strong opinionated woman. Booth has changed this and I really don’t like it.”
C: Last one, I promise. Okay, so I think at the end of this entire series, we’re all going to look back and see that the ‘moral’ of the story, at least from Brennan’s perspective was “Taking a chance on love is worth the risk of pain.” There are so many examples of this theme throughout the series but one in particular comes to mind. In ‘The Girl in the Mask’ Brennan has this conversation with Ken Nakamura, Booth’s friend, about the risks of losing someone when you love them. It’s as if she can’t grasp this idea that it’s worth it. And I think that’s where she is in seasons 1 and 2 (and 3 and 4). While she may have seemed stronger and more composed on the outside in those previous seasons, she was severely damaged inside. I think season 5 and season 6 have been her journey out of that. Slowly and with Booth’s help, she’s beginning to let the walls down and while it may make for a sadder life (as she tells Micah), it’s better than being dead inside. It’s also important to remember that Booth is dealing with his own demons — his self doubt, and his insecurities about gambling and addiction. And he’s slowly starting to deal with them as well. All that said, I definitely appreciate all the growing they’ve done as characters and think they’re both better off today than they were 5 years ago. It’s a journey. There are some bumps. But it will all be worth it in the end, I think.
Alright… I think I’ve commented this post to death.
March 8, 2011 at 1:38 pm
I agree that Booth does tend to make up rules as he goes along. I believe that is def true, though I wouldn’t say he does it to hold others to standard he doesn’t hold against himself. It seems that like those who can see no wrong in Booth no matter what he does, you have reached the point where you can’t see anything good. That’s not a criticism, merely an observation based on your comments.
I believe the writers have taken some questionable detours with Booth’s actions this season, but as cliche as it may be, nobody is perfect and Booth, while fictitious, is still a flawed individual. Respectfully, I’d disagree that he doesn’t care about Brennan or that he’s tried to change her into someone he’d approve of. Yes, Brennan has changed, but it’s the world that’s changed her, it’s her experiences in working and solving murders with Booth that has done that, not some Machiavellic brain washing by Booth. In fact, I believe Booth likes Brennan as she is, including all the shall we say quirky things about her. Like he said to Hacker, “that’s what makes her Bones.” Has he tried to get her to come around to his point of view on some subjects? Of course he has, but don’t we all do that with friends or significant others? For example, marriage. I don’t believe in it but a lot of my friends do and they’re always trying to get me to come around to their point of view. It doesn’t mean they are trying to change my personality and I don’t begrudge them their attempts are persuasion.
Doesn’t Booth validate Brennan completely when he gives her brainy smurf? She wanted Smurfette, in Brennan’s eyes, a more socially accepted representation of female beauty, right, even if she’s not too smart. But Booth tells her she doesn’t need to be Smurfette, she’s got her brains and a whole lot more. She doesn’t need to be someone other than who she is. Not to say that Booth doesn’t get annoyed with some of Brennan’s actions, like when she takes shots at his religion but I think Brennan does too, like when Booth uses his gut without scientific evidence.
This season, yes, we have seen a more distant Booth, but I think it would have been completely unrealistic to have seen otherwise. He’s trying to move on and work with her at the same time. I’ve never experienced it myself, but it has to be a delicate balance to be close friends with someone, work with them all the time, have feelings for them and then try and figure out how to deal with all that when those feelings aren’t returned and you have to try and get over them. I don’t blame Brennan at all, just like I don’t blame Booths, I think they’ve both made mistakes and in one way or another they’re both paying for them! 🙂
March 8, 2011 at 5:34 am
I don’t blame Booth for the fact that he told Hannah on itself. However, there are two things about it that don’t sit well with me:
Firstly, He should have told Hannah about the past of his relationship with Brennan long before he let the situation force him to tell her about it. That was just not nice. Not to himself, not to Hannah, and not to Brennan. Booth of all people should know you can’t just ignore something to just make it not exist anymore. It’s going to bite you in the arse sooner or later.
Secondly, He should have warned Brennan about him telling Hannah. Hannah could have reacted very different than she did, and it just feels like he threw Brennan in front of the wolves.
It’s not like anything was realy going to change. Brennan said she would adapt. I just feel that Booth’s own feelings should have been the reason to tell Hannah (earlier), not Brennan’s feelings.
I’m not sure I buy the ‘He is so scared that Brennan is going to tell first” theory. When Brennan told Hacker about Booth’s egg, she didn’t realise that he’d never told anyone about that before. But would Brennan who has such difficulty naming her own feelings spread those feelings around for Hannah to hear? I just don’t think so. But I agree about him being afraid of his own feelings, and feeling he has to prove them wrong.
March 8, 2011 at 6:24 pm
I’m not too worried over Booth telling Hannah. At first I was upset because of the whole “what’s between us is ours” thing, but then when I rewatched the episode I realised he didn’t really break that barrier. He said to both Hannah and Sweets that Brennan said she loved him and he didn’t even mention his past feelings towards her to Hannah. I know it’s a fine line but I hope that Booth did it on purpose. I think that especially with something like this, he would’ve wanted to keep it as much ‘theirs’ as was possible.
March 9, 2011 at 3:39 am
Nice write up, but like many other comments, the “between us” doesn’t bother me half as much the honesty angle. It was clear from what we saw that Booth passed off the seriousness and history of the whole relationship. That’s not acting with honor or integrity.
If he had been more honest with himself and Hannah, and given Bones a heads up and treated her like a friend, I would have been disappointed on Bones’ behalf, but would not have blamed him for doing his best to move on. But based on what was shown, that’s not what happened.
April 26, 2011 at 10:12 am
My two cents here:
#1 I think Booth did NOT betray the “Ours” clause, because Brennan forfeited those rights in ep 100.
#2 Brennan did feel betrayed, but this just illuminates that she has stronger feelings for Booth than she will admit/act upon.
#1: Sweets: “Does it seem that your partnership provides a surrogate relationship making it more difficult to form other bonds?”
Up through the #100, they had a total surrogate relationship. They sabotaged their other relationships and focused on their partnership bond. Booth tried to make the surrogate part drop off of the relationship title. Brennan said no. Booth told her he’d have to move on, and she understood that. I see this as the end of their “surrogate relationship”. Now, they still have a “partnership” even though Booth is with Hannah, but as Booth stated, he has to move on and fully commit to another. I think his sharing with Hannah was an attempt to truly forge a real bond with someone other than Brennan and he was truly trying to make that happen. Now, should he have told Brennan? Probably. But I think he was primarily trying to put Hannah first, thereby automatically relegating Brennan to 2nd place by default. He has to start treating only Hannah as his “relationship” and has to start treating Brennan as a “partner” for his own piece of mind.
#2 Yes, Brennan did feel betrayed. Because as much as she didn’t want to go there in ep 100, she did have those feelings for him. Though he has “moved on” with Hannah and is actively trying to forge a tighter bond with her, Brennan hasn’t moved on. This new relationship he’s having with Hannah is different because its not just a fling he will ultimately sabotage to be with Brennan, but this is a legitimate, close relationship, and Brennan is kind of freaking out. He might actually leave her, because she pushed him away.
His sharing with Hannah was “evidence” to Brennan that he was in fact moving on. He was actually building a life with Hannah, sharing things with her that were once just his and Brennan’s. While he is still with Hannah, that ship has sailed for her, and I think Brennan is realizing this. Deep down, she knows that she pushed him into this, so to speak, but seeing the reality of it does affect her.
Anyway, that’s my 2 cents 🙂 Take it for what its worth!