Death in the Saddle

They like maggots on this show way more than they should. The corpse-of-the-week is laden with them, up to his eye sockets.

Cam called Booth in when a body was found (fleshy, not bony) and Bones wants to know why she's there, since she doesn't examine corpses with skin on them. She thinks that Cam only called her in because she was looking for an excuse for Bones and Booth to work together. Why would Cam care? Yes, she wouldn't want Bones to avoid real work, just because she's wary of Booth, but I don't think she would fabricate a case, just to get them working together.

Bones assures Cam that she and Booth have worked out their problems and Cam said, "that's not why I called you." But just as I have absolved her of manipulation, she offers a lame excuse (that the corpse's feet are missing) with Booth's help, for why she brought Bones there. Based on the way she fumbles and Booth chimes in, it looks like she did call Bones, just because Seeley wanted her to, as an excuse for them to be together.

I'm fed up with Bones giving him the slip. When there's no real basis for her doing so, why do the writers think that should be the focus of this new season? [turns out that wasn't an issue in this episode. I complained too soon]. But solid excuse or not, Bones seems mollified by it. Cam said she called her in because the corpse was missing feet and feet implied the presence of bones that need to be investigated. How so? When they find the feet, they still have meat on them too. They're no more bony than the rest of the body! Why do they require Bones' expertise. Still, the excuse is enough to get Bones happily involved in the investigation.

In the lab, Bones seems to be competitive about what method can elicit more evidence in the case: the examination of flesh or bones. Every time Cam says flesh revealed something, Bones said that the foot bones they found revealed the same thing. Cam asks why they are vying. Bones doesn't think that she is competing with Cam's skills, is she? Cam says she detected a tone, but that was fine. Once again Cam is expecting people to speak to her in a certain deferential tone.

Based on his diet and attire, the victim seemed to live (or at least die) like a horse. Upon discovering this, the crew starts singing the Mr. Ed theme. Bones doesn't get it. I'm surprised she's not familiar with the song. She usually recognizes older pop culture, just not the new stuff.

Angela wonders if Jack told everyone she was being hypnotized (to remember the name of her mystery husband). Yes, he did. They always tell all of their personal business to each other, usually while working. Why is she surprised?

The victim was into horse fetishism, pony play. At the hotel where he partook, Booth and Bones see other role players. Bones said it is about sexual gratification without having to engage. Booth says that sex is all about engaging and if you don't want to, you could just masturbate. Bones said that masturbation can be a fetishism too. Are the writers just having blatant fun with the sexual harassment allegations that have been made about DB (that he masturbated while an employee looked on)? Booth looks at Bones with widened, "she's crazy" eyes and changes the subject.

Booth is more amazed by the role-playing than Bones is. She just seems to view it as another human science. "Pony fetishism has been around since the greeks."

She says Aristotle was into it. Booth says that Aristotle also thought the purpose of the heart was to solve math problems. Bones is surprised he knew that. She says the King of Turkey was into it. He says the King of Turkey was a freak. Booth feels that when you turn someone into an object of sexual pleasure, it's wrong. Bones disagrees. Why? She is usually railing against the objectification of women. Why is this different just because both men and women rode ponies in this fetish group? The fact that it is co-ed kink doesn't make it less demoralizing, I would think. She says that if saying "getty up" heightens sexual pleasure, what is wrong with that?

"Maybe if Ed lived like a man, he wouldn't have died like a horse. That's all." Booth concludes.

This is all just an excuse for them to have a patented humorous conversation while driving, but I still find her stated position the opposite of what it has been in other sex cases.

In the interrogation room, Bones tells the wife that there was probably a part of her husband that could never have been satisfied by love alone. Booth cuts her off, but I wonder if she sees herself that way, without the horse fetish, of course.

Bones tells Booth they need to investigate the murder like they would equine culture, because the murderer disposed of the body ritualistically, the way you would a horse in by gone days. So, she doesn't think the wife did it. When they get to the elevators, they seem to race to see who can push the button first. Bones wins.

Back at the horse hotel, Bones tells him she's not interested in pony play, but she will be the first to admit that in sexual situations she has indulged in role play. This reminds me of the S1 conversation in which she insisted she wasn't into S & M and he asked if she was sure, because she could be kind of bossy. She seemed to be turned off by role play then, especially the kind involving whips and spurs. Now, she seems almost charmed by it and amused by Booth's incredulity about what the people are doing around him (whinnying in saddles and such), activity which she takes in horse-aware stride.

As he guides her to the group of people they will talk to, he reminds me of someone leading a horse. I'm surprised she doesn't point that out, since he usually has a guiding hand on her back or arm in most episodes. She says when he finds a woman beautiful or when she wears lipstick they are both objectifying and role playing.

Bones lies to the suspect to get him to confess that he called the victim's wife, to expose him as an adulterer. Booth asks her why she did it and she said it was more role playing. She was being "lard ass and bad cop." He says that the correct term is "hard ass and good cop," but I haven't heard of that one either. I'm more used to the terms Mutt and Jeff, or just good cop, bad cop.

As Angela prepapres to go to the therapist, Jack offers to hold Angela's hand when she goes under. It reminds me of Scully reaching out for Mulder's hand when she was hypnotized.

Jack and Zach decide that Mr. Ed didn't just play like a horse, he was slaughtered like one too. Duh? That was established 30 minutes ago when they told us that his feet were cut off like the hooves of champion horses were.

Angela is trying to meditate in an office, to prepare for another stab at hypnosis. I thought it was actually Temp's office, because it has a cushy sofa and glass doors, but maybe it is Angela's own office.

Booth and Bones find a suspect who runs a butcher shop. He runs when Booth shows his badge. Bones says, "stop or I'll kick you in the testicles." Booth questions that warning and says they have to work on her cop talk. He easily slams the guy up against the wall and she says, "you're strong."

At headquarters, the perp asks Booth what he hit him with. "A building," Bones answers.

At the Royal Diner, Booth says he has lost his appetite because Bones has made him think of all those fetishists running around like ponies having "crappy" sex. She wonders how he knows it was bad sex. He says because we're all lonely people looking for connections, sometimes in the wrong places. Still, when it happens, when you connect, it may start because of looks, but then you make love and that's when two people become one. She listens, prepares to reply and stutters, effected by the certainty in his voice as he stares into her eyes. Finally, she says it is physically impossible for two people to occupy the same space. He says no, but we get close. "To what? Breaking the laws of physics?"

"Yeah Bones. A miracle." The role playing does not compare to the real thing, he finishes.

She says he is right. He is about to object and stops in surprise that he just won that argument. She smiles and stares at him.