After the “fallout” from the premiere about the lack of Parker time, I started thinking again about Booth, his father, and what it means for Booth as he tries to raise children of his own. Awhile back, I wrote about Nature vs. Nurture regarding both B&B, attempting to sort out what part of Booth’s issues are genetic, what part are from his upbringing, and how Booth will raise Parker with all those factors in play.
Well, now we have BBB on the horizon. I decided, as I think the show will, sort of give BBB the front seat and make Parker take the back seat (sorry, Parker!) because they’ve already set up that Parker’s primary residence is with his mother, and Booth never seems to get the time with him that he wants to. Presumably, he will get to do this with BBB, as long as B&B are together. (Which better be forever!) So the situations are a bit different.
So back to BBB. This Bible verse came to my mind today in regards to Booth:
Exodus 34: 7 “Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
Booth, as a devout Catholic, is probably familiar with this passage of Scripture. Assuming that applying this verse starts with Booth’s father (we don’t know what kind of father Hank (Pops) was, but backstory hints point to him being a good guy, plus it’s Hank here! ) , then Booth’s dad’s sins will affect the Booth family for generations (beyond this, James Wilkes Booth started them off on a bad foot too I suppose!).
We have seen this already, haven’t we? Booth’s life has been filled with instances where he is either trying to make up for what his father has done/didn’t do, he’s alternatively filled with anger, guilt, sadness, over past events. He is doing things to atone for his father’s sins and mistakes even now. His handling of his brother Jared, his past romantic relationships, how he views his upbringing of his first child, and now his thoughts about living with Brennan, so that their child can feel secure in her father’s presence and love. Booth’s father is always a part of him. He’s constantly trying to do things that “are not his dad”.
This has also made Booth the man he is today in positive ways. He is kind, protective, loving, and he has that “lion heart” we all love. Again, this is very real to me, as my own father is “Boothy” in that way as far as his own upbringing vs. my own upbringing (me being Parker I suppose 🙂 ). My father’s unpleasant past in turn gave me a great dad, who wanted to do things differently for his children. I completely relate to, and understand Booth’s motivations in the show. Which is probably why I forgive Booth almost anything!
So…how does this relate to BBB? He will be having a little girl, who he is going to want to protect, guide, love. He is actually going to be living with the mother of his child, in some sort of committed relationship, under the same roof, which are all new experiences for Booth. How will Booth handle this new situation? How will his upbringing manifest itself as he tries to be a present, hands-on, involved everyday dad with BBB?
And how will the sins of the father affect the future generations of the Booth family?
{Edit from Seels: I know this topic is very…shall we say, relevant, to the next episode of Bones. Discuss away, but please, keep it spoiler free! 🙂 )
Bones Theory 