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Keepers of the Cocky (Belt Buckle)

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First of all, a shameless plug for the OTHER loves of my life who just KILLED it on the ACM country music awards tonight.

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Even Tim McGraw couldn’t resist the Backstreet Boys. 🙂 #fangirling

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If you want to see an entire stadium of country people LOSE THEIR MINDS with joy, watch this: https://www.axs.com/watch-florida-georgia-line-and-backstreet-boys-bring-harmonies-and-thr-116867

But back to the issue at hand.

In a nod to what really got me hooked into the Bones fandom, an old IMDB thread called “Keepers of the Cocky” (in which we swore to always look out for sightings of the belt buckle), I thought I’d bring to mind some favorite Cocky moments.

1. Vest Cocky

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2. Cocky Booth is the best Booth

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3. Shoulder Holster Cocky

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4. Joyful Cocky

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5. Fierce Cocky

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6. Optimistic Cocky

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7. Emotional Cocky

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8. Saint Cocky

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9. Evidence (of what?) Cocky

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What is your favorite Cocky sighting? Feel free to add gratuitous Cocky images/links in the comments. My personal favorite is Joyful Cocky, because Brennan replaces his lost Cocky and you best believe that works on more than one level 🙂 It’s a sweet gesture on her part and his reaction is basically the same one he has when she tells him she’s pregnant. Lol

103 thoughts on “Keepers of the Cocky (Belt Buckle)”

  2. I always loved the appearance of the Cocky belt buckle. That’s the Booth I love: a little cocky, a little brash, deliberately in your face, and underneath it all, a hint of vulnerability. I bought a Cocky buckle for myself on Ebay several years back (you can also sometimes find them with University of South Carolina fan merchandise), and it’s on my shelf of ‘Bones’ stuff.

    • That is AWESOME that you have a Cocky buckle!! And I love your description of Booth. I 100% agree with you, I loved that mix of cockiness and vulnerability. Part of the Bones magic 🙂

  3. Such awesome cocky pictures Bnb! MJ said she got a cocky buckle and I remember one time AA saying somebody had got her a cocky belt buckle.
    I’ll have to look on my next day off, but I remember a cocky moment when Brennan noticed in season five Booth was wearing his cocky belt buckle again. She said it was “Boothy”

    Oh! And another one with Gordon Gordon on the platform! Gordon Gordon told him it was a “modern day codpiece.”
    Such great Cocky memories! I will have to look for gifs of them Thursday or if you have time feel free! 👍🏼😀

    LOL, going to work this morning I heard them discussing on the radio about the Backstreet Boys performance with Florida-Georgia line, and I thought of you bnb!

    • “Gordon Gordon told him it was a “modern day codpiece.””

      It does rather draw the eye…ummm…downwards, doesn’t it?

  5. More cocky yummyness Shanny! 😍 LOL.
    – I remember AA started the cocky thread because cocky disappeared when Hannah appeared in S6. We wanted cocky back!
    – One time our whole thread with like 400 comments got deleted because somebody complained. AA had to restart a Keepers of the Cocky thread- part two.

  6. It is hard to pick a favorite cocky!
    – I am leaning towards Vest cocky because that is the first episodes I ever saw. I did not notice so much the belt buckle but the three-piece suit with vest was very yummy.
    – Number 2 I think I like cocky with shoulder holsters. That pic reminds me of season 7 Memories when B&B first returned and we finally saw them as as a couple, Living together, expecting a baby, kissing, first I love you! That episode made my head explode! B&B loveliness 😘

    All the Cockys though are yummy! 😍
    Uhoh better stop thinking about cocky and get to bed! LOL 😜

  7. Um….you should never stop thinking about Cocky!! Lol

    One of the nice things about our beloved belt buckle is when Booth didn’t need it anymore. When he had a partner for work and a partner for life, he was a happy guy. And then Christine and Hank…and then the Mighty Hut. That was all the Boothiness he needed right there. There’s something cool about that ❤️

  10. DB is so funny, usually his collar and his cuffs are undone. This time, only his cuffs. I’m guessing he didn’t like to wear dress shirts? Did he ever talk about that anywhere?

  11. Well, we’ve certainly complained enough about ED’s wardrobe, so now it’s DB’s turn!

    The undone cuffs kind of annoyed me. I never minded the undone collar as much because I think it’s somewhat common for men to loosen their tie and collar a bit as the day goes on, but what man walks around with undone cuffs while wearing a suit jacket? It’s looks odd.

    Number one DB wardrobe complaint were those stupid Vans! Ugh….

    However, to cut him a tiny bit of slack, I’m sure wearing a fully buttoned up dress shirt, suit, and dress shoes practically every day while filming can’t be all that fun.

  12. Um….you should never stop thinking about Cocky!! Lol”

    Too funny!
    When was the last time Booth wore Cocky? Did he retire it after the wedding?
    Trivia question! Which episode was the last time we saw cocky? (besides the finale)

    I know when he stopped wearing Cocky, the consensus was that now that Booth was married and had kids, Cocky was not needed anymore. 😦

    Season 2 The Man in the Mansion-
    Special Agent Seeley Booth: Oh, hey, Doc, Doc, Doc, um… W-why is it that the, uh, the belt buckle is provocative?
    Dr. Gordon Wyatt: Oh, it’s a modern day codpiece. It forces the eye to the groin.
    🙂

    I am trying without success to find a pic of Booth from Hero in the Hold wearing tuxedo & cocky! Also cannot find when Cocky was used in Hero to ignite the explosion! Remember when Teddy slid it across the floor. That is why Booth needed a new Cocky. Lol!

    • ^Thanks Estella! I remember the scene when he as getting ready in the mirror, I think he pats his Cocky belt buckle. Then he tells Brennan on the phone he is all ready with his best tuxedo and cocky belt buckle. 🙂

  14. From season 5 The Plain in the Prodigy

    ” Brennan: Hey, you’re wearing your belt buckle again. “Cocky.”
    Booth: Yeah. Ever since the whole coma thing. I just kept staring at it, thinking to myself “Why would I wear something like this?”
    Brennan: Because you love it. You always have
    Booth: Yeah, that’s what I landed on.
    Brennan: I like it. It’s – Boothy.

    Awww, so sweet!

    • I did find these cocky pics though…
      Yummy! That’s exactly what I was looking for, thanks Estella!!
      😘😘😘😘

  16. It was so disappointing when we didn’t get to see them together all dressed up! Cocky was so ‘Boothy’.

    ‘Number one DB wardrobe complaint were those stupid Vans! ‘
    I agree but we didn’t have to see them that often not like the boots! It is so strange not to be looking for any spoilers! Not following Bones is going to take some getting used to for sure!

  17. “t is so strange not to be looking for any spoilers! Not following Bones is going to take some getting used to for sure!”

    😩😩 Don’t remind me I am still in a state of denial! Tuesday came & I first was thinking, “It’s Bones Tuesday”. I used to post that on the IMDb board 😥

    We will have a season 13 spoilers thread! Remember? Angela is having a girl! And there’s going to be a lot of B&B kisses this season!

  20. “When was the last time Booth wore Cocky? Did he retire it after the wedding?
    Trivia question! Which episode was the last time we saw cocky? (besides the finale)”

    I think technically it was Dude in the Damn but that was a S8 episode kept over and slotted into S9.

    Last episode was S8 finale Secret in the Seige if we go by shooting order. 👀🐓

    (Did he wear it at the wedding? I honestly can’t remember. Know what that means? Rewatch!!)

  21. I think technically it was Dude in the Damn but that was a S8 episode kept over and slotted into S9.

    Why did that happen? Was the episode filmed during s8? Or was the script just held over until s9 for some reason?

  22. Its all confusing cause of additional eps that had to be slotted anywhere…

    But basically because they shot 13 eps for S7 + 4 additional ones (Gunk, Patriot, Joke & Ghost)

    Those 4 eps carried into S8 but that meant S8 would of had supersized to 26 eps , so they took 2 eps from S8 (shot in S8 – El Carnicero & Dude) and placed them in S9. So S8 only had to air 24 eps and not 26.

    Phew!

  23. Well I remember the additional episodes for s7, but didn’t realize that it actually effected 2 seasons down the line! The little details we forget along the way! Thanks Shanny

    • Gosh, every other co-star just pales in comparison to DB. *in my mind* I don’t care who is next to him, Sweets, Aubrey, Agent Anyone Else….. I look at them, and then those cocky hands-on-the-hip, and there’s one clear winner 🙂

    • “^ Was that season 9??”

      OMG! That was season 9 Women in White! B&B practicing for their wedding. Emily’s real hubby David is the priest! Time to rewatch WiW!!

      Lol, remember the church burned down after Booth, Max & Aldo (RIP!) lit candles? They had go to an alternative sight.

  30. “Anyone Else….. I look at them, and then those cocky hands-on-the-hip, and there’s one clear winner 🙂”

    🎯 Right on target with that bnb!
    We know that that pic was after the wedding because “wedding band alert”

  32. It was hard to find this thread! It is listed under Picture of the day!

    So… Since we are looking back on Bones…when is the first episode that Booth wore Cocky?? Not season 1 for sure. Did it first appear in season 2?? That what I heard, but not sure which episode.

    Keep our eyes open for it!

  33. 👀🐓 Cocky made its first appearance in “The Boneless Bride in the River” S2!! I think David got it as a Xmas gift from him acting coach, guess this was the first episode back filming in Jan 2007?

  34. Thanks for that Shanny! There is a post of this ep. on Vintage Bones BT board! That lovely final scene where Sully sails off into the sunset and Booth tells Brennan “Everything happens eventually” Maybe Booth started wearing Cocky at that time because Sully was in the picture. Lol, “if forces the eyes to the groin” GGW said.

    Goodbye Sully!!

    Here is the link to Vintage Bones BT board on that ep. 2×16

    Vintage Bones: The Boneless Bride in the River

  36. I think they just showed close ups of B&B in that 2×16 end scene? Not sure though… Same, same, I never rewatch his eps….😷😷 Dully’s unnecessary return made me extremely detest his character before it was only major dislike, lol.

  37. ‘Dully’s unnecessary return made me extremely detest his character before it was only major dislike, lol.”

    Agree Shanny! Major dislike to revulsion & gagging!!

    Here we have Cocky with three piece vested suit & trench coat!

  42. ^ ^!very nice Cocky pick Shanny! I think that was from season five Predator in the Pool.

    “Also I noticed Booth only wore cocky with a suit , never with casual wear, I think. 👀”

    Hmmm… You may be right about that. I think he only wore it when working. Will have to investigate that further! I know I’ve seen pics of David posing with it on wearing jeans and a shirt but not Booth.

  43. “Will have to investigate that further! ”

    Looking for pics of Booth in casual wear, I mean if you insist….someone has gotta do it, right? HAAA!!! 🔥😍

  48. “I love this picture of Brennan reaching over Cocky to grab Booth’s gun. ”

    Lol, Love that scene!! Booth and the light blue shirt is yummy! Conman in the Meth Lab is one of my favorite episodes! The end scene with B&B at his birthday party…great ep!!
    Sometimes i don’t see these posts until they pop up again on the left side menu! I missed Shanny’s cocky pic until just now!

  49. I can’t watch Con Man without wanting to slap Brennan. Then Jared. Then both of them again just for good measure. #MyVeryBad ✋😮

    😀

    • Don’t even get me started with Brennan and Jared. One episode where I really got mad at Brennan. Like for real, girl? You can’t tell that sleazy charm is fake??!? And then she goes and does it again with Hacker later. Some lines you just shouldn’t cross and those relationships just made me feel icky. Not okay, Dr. B.

      • I honestly don’t get what Hart was trying to do with Brennan & Jared… I felt a huge betrayal on Booth’s behalf, I was so glad he got mad at her thinking he was a LOSER….him a loser, Booth Booth-lite? the guy she called a warrior a few months before, just because Jared , a utter stranger planted seeds in her mind…its like she didn’t know Booth at all….made me so mad. Still does….Jared plot was straight from the soap opera books, B&B deserved better than that. 😈😈 *deep breath Shanny* 😀

    • Love that pic! Funny though how sometimes the pic posts and other times just the link. That pic is gorgeous and I wish it showed it!

      • If anyone wants to reload it & try again?! Feel free. It really is an adorable part pic of David & cocky with Emily, BTS I think too ❤

    • I couldn’t find the original website for this pic, but I’ve noticed that when you link the website the picture shows on this site, but not when you link the .jpg itself. Seems weird to me, but that’s been my experience!

  51. ^ Yummy Booth smile, Cocky belt buckle, Shanny!

    Oh, I wanted to slap Brennan also, but she did redeem herself at Booth’s birthday party with her speech about Booth being a real alpha male. And she did push Jared of the bar stool.
    And I loved the scene where she came out to give Booth some birthday cake and he told her that “my dad drank”

  52. Brennan gets a lot of flack for this episode that, IMO, is undeserved. She never called Booth a loser. Jared never called Booth a loser. Not only that, but how Jared described Booth was essentially correct. Yes, he flavored what he said with some little brother/big brother saltiness but that doesn’t mean he was wrong. Booth isn’t the flashy type and he doesn’t do the work so he can grab the glory. He succeeds by being the first man through the door, by making the hard decisions and taking responsibility for the results. Personally, I thought the RICO thing was a bit out of character for Booth. Not before or since (at least through S9) did he peacock like that.

    Jared has issues (that Booth enabled) but how was Brennan to know that when it’s not something Booth talks about? Or acknowledges, frankly. I mean, he’s still making the same mistakes with Jared a year later when he shows up with Padme.

    Brennan saw an attractive Booth male who was available in a way that her Booth wasn’t. Without knowing otherwise, it would be a reasonable assumption that, since they’re brothers, Jared might share some of the same qualities that she found attractive in Booth. When Cam and Sweets put a bug in her ear that maybe that’s not the case, she confronts Jared and learns the truth, and then is as angry with herself for not seeing through Jared’s false front (although, why would she? She’s not good at that sort of thing and has no reason not to trust him) as she is Jared.

    AND her opinion of Booth didn’t really change, before or after, she just learned a lesson about what real strength is and was able to more appreciate Booth’s version instead of the flashier type.

    My opinion, obviously, but this episode always makes me pull out Temperance Brennan Defense Squad battle gear. :-)​

    (If this comment shows up multiple times, I apologize. I’ve tried every log-in I have, and even created a new WordPress account and still, it hates me. Grrrrr.)

  53. BRENNAN: Jared warned me that you tend to sabotage yourself. (Booth turns back). BOOTH: Jared said that? BRENNAN: Mm-hmm. He said that you were afraid of success. BOOTH: Mmm, so basically I’m a loser.
    BRENNAN: No, he never said the word loser.
    BOOTH: Do you think I’m a loser, like that guy in there. Some clown in some dumb-ass uniform who basically can’t do any better? Is that what you think?
    BRENNAN: Well, anthropologically, males tend to rank themselves into a hierarchy. There’s no shame in not being at the top of the hierarchy.
    BOOTH: You’re not answering the question Bones. Answer my question. (His cell phone rings, he answers). Booth.

    I agree that Jared never said Booth was a loser, and neither did Brennan. Jared said that Booth was afraid of success, which is incorrect. Booth’s measure of success is different than Jared’s. Clearly he was very successful at his two jobs since becoming an adult…Ranger sniper and FBI agent.

    Actually this scene was interesting because how often do we see Booth showing insecurity? More often than not (especially in the early seasons) he is cocky and arrogant. Yes, we know the he has underlying issues regarding his past as a sniper, but how often have we seen him come out with talk about being a loser? Is this the only time?

    The only thing I faulted Brennan for here is that she didn’t swiftly reassure him that she didn’t think he was a loser. Booth is her partner and her friend and I think it was pretty clear that he was hurting (and jumping to conclusions) and it would have been nice if she had told him in no uncertain terms that she doesn’t see him as a loser. Instead she launched into an anthropological argument which only served to reinforce his notion that she thinks he’s a loser (“no shame in not being at the top of the hierarchy”)

    Of course, the real reason she didn’t reassure him here is so they could set up the final scene with her speech in the bar and their discussion on the bench outside.

    [I’m also having trouble posting, and lost my original. I tried to recreate it…sorry if there are duplicate posts]

  54. BRENNAN: You took advantage of him. You know you made me think that he’s a loser. And what really makes me angry is that I believed you. You know I wouldn’t blame Booth if he never spoke to me again. You’re the loser.

    *************
    If Brennan hadn’t of said this I could buy the excuse of her mindset

    BUT

    Brennan also said that, sorry but to me this confirms she believed in her mind what Jared said equated to loser…….And she was mad at herself . Which is good to know because so was I……I guess Jared & Brennan missed the memo where Booth worked his way out of the bullpen to head of the Major Crimes division in the FBI.

    My being pissed at Brennan is actually on Hart. Like I said earlier I have no idea what Hart was trying to do with this plot, except making Brennan look shallow, gullible & callous, ugh, I detest bringing in brothers/sisters to cause trouble between a pairing….it is soap opera land.

    The start of S4 was so shaky for me with what Hart was trying to do with Brennan – from Brennan & Ian discussing hooking up in England, Ian who was a “hit on anything that moved” slimeball, Brennan using two guys for her own needs behind their backs, to having the new intern “misunderstood” thinking she wanted to have sex with him and him being worried if he didn’t he would lose his job, ugh, ( when she was completely innocent of this!!!…but let’s play it for laughs, ugh) then having her be attracted to Jared & actually thinking/asking was Booth actually Booth lite loser, when she just met Jared for two seconds……this was all in the space of 9 episodes…. I don’t think early season 4 was a great time for Brennan’s character tbh, the narrative was not worthy of her….by time Jared episode rolled round I guess I had enough of it *off soap box*

    • “from Brennan & Ian discussing hooking up in England, Ian who was a “hit on anything that moved” slime ball”

      Wait, what? Ian Toynton? Cuddly, teddy-bear Ian Toynton is a slime ball? The same Ian Toynton who writes the “Hooligan Bear” books?

      Do you mean for real, or in his direction of the show (meaning that he himself is in fact a cuddly teddy bear but he wanted to portray Brennan and/or Booth as a slime ball?)

      I am so out of the loop on the behind the scenes Hollywood stuff.

      • OMG nooooooo, not sweet Santa white haired Ian T. …. I mean Dr. Ian Wexler the sleaze in Yanks ep….remember Ian & Pritchard?

      • LOL…not sure why my mind jumped to Ian Toynton!!!

        Thanks for clearing that up quickly. Yes I now remember Ian Wexler.

        Thank goodness Ian Toynton is in fact a grandfatherly teddy-bear (at least as far as we know.) 😉

  55. Both of those quotes just prove my point. Brennan didn’t call Booth a loser. Jared didn’t call Booth a loser. Booth called himself a loser, out of his own deeply rooted insecurities. Of course he’s successful. Of course he works hard for that success, often putting himself in harm’s way. Brennan’s anthropological response makes sense in context. She doesn’t know that Jared’s “sabotage” comment is just a jealous little brother being snarky about the over-protective big brother in whose shade he’s always lived. Of course it’s ridiculous and untrue, but she doesn’t understand their dynamic at that point.

    When the evidence proves Jared’s character, Brennan’s use of the same word during her confrontation with him – – after Booth had put that word into her head – – only shows how much her opinion had changed and how affected she was over her mistake. She wasn’t thinking “loser” until Booth said it, and I’ll go to my grave defending Brennan from *ever* thinking Booth was a loser. If anything, she gets points for re-informing herself on what might be considered the more standard definition of male success, Jared’s flashy version, to put Booth’s ‘quiet man’ version at the top level.

    As for Brennan’s sexual history, she’s single and the time is long past when the heroine is expected to remain inviolate while she waits for True Love’s First Kiss. Wexler’s reputation is his alone and even if Brennan had slept with him, his reputation is still his, not her’s. Hunky Diver and Mr. Intellectual? If she wanted to sleep with both of them in the same episode (*cough*), she wasn’t committed to either one so she’s allowed. That slut-shaming episode doesn’t work. Mr. Intellectual with his friend-zone whining and Hunky Diver for expecting more out of what was obviously an infrequent, casual hook-up, all wrapped up in an episode about cheating spouses, just to make the judgmental vibe a bit more obvious.
    Ugh. That was also Brennan’s last relationship we saw until Hacker, right? I can’t remember if the Killer Brother date was before or after this.

  56. Brennan clearly said to Jared “You know you made me think that he’s a loser.”

    You, Jared. Not Booth. The *you* was Jared, he made her think that. And she believed it. At least Brennan owned it.

    I am not going to argue about tbh, obviously you have you opinion and I have mine. Brennan is more than being a sex object or to be objectified by the writers. Or being a cheap plot point to make funnies about sexual harassment in the work place (Wendell plot) or let’s make Brennan learn a lesson about dating two guys at once were she is the bad guy and they both dump her. Early S4 did, IMO

    • FWIW, I completely agree with your final point. How Brennan was written by the time I stopped watching pretty much qualifies for character assassination in my book. I just couldn’t even . . . so I stopped. *lol*

      • Props on that 👍 I always check in for series finales when I drop off the series, its an infliction 🙂

    • For me it’s not about her thinking he’s a loser or anything. She went out with Booth’s BROTHER. That’s just weird. And then his BOSS. B&B were more than just plain partners. So I think that it’s awkward.

      And I’m not to trying to “blame” Brennan per se, but the writing, when I make these comments. As an anthropologist, she should have a better understanding of human interaction, and as Booths partner and friend, she maybe should have thought it through and respected some boundaries.

      To personalize it, what if my sister started dating my coteacher? (I’ve worked closely with him for 10 years) It would feel weird. I’d wonder what they’d talk about, it’d be awkward at family gatherings, watching them do PDA, having them form a bond…and there’s nothing romantic between me and my coteacher at all. It just would be weird.

      Just my two cents.

      • “She went out with Booth’s BROTHER. That’s just weird.”

        Yes, but I do excuse her a little for this because I think that she really wanted Seeley Booth (but didn’t really understand it or know how to deal with it) so she went out with Jared Booth instead.

      • Then Hart promoting it like this at the time….I seriously had issues with S4 at the start, the way it was promoted for a start.

        This was a stale old blue moudly carrot to entice fans…

        An actual spoiler…..

        *****

        According to Hart, Booth’s younger brother will also be joining the fray and will definitely become an obstacle to the Booth-Bones romance we all crave. He told me, “Jared Booth is also conceived as a multiepisode character. There are very real sparks between Brennan and Jared Booth. He is a very real complication for Brennan and Booth. We are very close to casting him, and we really hope the person we’re pursuing works out.”

      • Kind of like this Sully spoiler….

        ““He comes back at a time in Brennan’s life when she is emotionally unbalanced,” teases exec producer Michael Peterson. “She and Booth are going through a very difficult time, so it’s a strange time for this love from the past to show up. And it’s going to have some slight reverberations.”

        Stated so the fandom would freak out about whether Sully would damage B&B.

  57. To me, the fact that so many people find her behavior a bit off putting says alot. I think that’s exactly 100% what they intended when they wrote it. They wanted us to go “WTF Brennan!” and get mad/upset about it. So she could get to her nice speech at the end and the great ending scene outside. They messed with her character to give us that last scene and speech. It did not have to be done that way, but by this point they are having her relearn lessons she had already learned before, so this is nothing new.

    • “They wanted us to go “WTF Brennan!” and get mad/upset about it. So she could get to her nice speech at the end and the great ending scene outside. They messed with her character to give us that last scene and speech.”

      Yes, exactly. Quite often I find that the ridiculous scene in the middle of the show that has you scratching your head is there just so they can set up some sort of cute/sweet/touching ending B&B scene.

  58. “Yes, but I do excuse her a little for this because I think that she really wanted Seeley Booth ”

    Agreed. I think Angela said something just like that when calling Jared “Booth lite” Something like, “why not date the real Booth?”

    Brennan: “You know you made me think that he’s a loser. And what really makes me angry is that I believed you.”

    That is what made me mad at Brennan. Why would she believe Jared after one date with him and believe his assessment of Booth? She should have immediately reassured him he was not a loser, instead of reinforcing it in Booth’s mind by saying “no shame in not being at the top of the hierarchy” Anyway, as Estella pointed out, it was all to give us that last scene and speech. Which was quite lovely! “We do things for family”

    “That was also Brennan’s last relationship we saw until Hacker, right? I can’t remember if the Killer Brother date was before or after this.”

    Hmm…I think that was before Conman. Lol, what was the name of that episode and I can look it up on IMBd Bones episodes.

  60. Interesting discussion!
    While watching Brennan go out with Jared wasn’t fun, I don’t fault Brennan in Conman.
    Because B&B were so dumb and slow about admitting their feelings, Neither one was very good at relationships…..so this episode was just another example of that.
    Booth allowed/enabled it all – he said they could go out. He knew what Jared was like and he allowed him access to Brennan, who even though she ‘acts’ like she knows everything, she doesn’t and he knows that (and she does too when it comes to reading people).
    She was actually a typical female (or should I say human) in this one, led astray by a pretty face. But I agree with Estella, Jared never did much for me! LOL
    Once Booth, in anger, honestly told her what he felt, she realized her error.
    Brennan owned up to her mistake and she put Jared in his place, which was enjoyable!
    The experience actually brought B&B closer as the ending scenes symbolize. If they had only been MORE HONEST and made crazy love then!!! LOL

    Interesting that HH led people on with his spoiler. H could be mean. I didn’t start watching live and following spoilers until s5. But I was thinking the other day about him and The Finder. Awhile back on twitter he said something about the Finder not making it still hurts. And I was thinking, he was pretty dumb to pull the crap he pulled in s6 of Bones and then think fans were gonna follow him to The Finder!! S6 about imploded the Bones fandom……
    If the tensions were getting taught in s4 – HH really miscalculated with how far he could go with s6. It was too far – and I honestly think that’s why The Finder failed. He put Bones fans through too much! I know he’ll never admit that! LOL

  61. I agree that this episode and Outhouse were written to make Brennan look bad, and that’s partly why I don’t see her that way (because I’ll be damned if I’ll let bad writing lead me around by the nose! *lol*). Booth slept with Cam, Brennan’s coworker and boss, and I don’t recall anything near the pearl-clutching over that relationship that there is over Brennan with Jared and/or Hacker — and she didn’t have sex with either one of them (at least it’s not 100% clear that she slept with Hacker). And even though she was only having sex with Hunky Diver, Outhouse was written to make everyone wag their finger at her, while Booth *actually* slept with two women in the same episode, without any reaction (written into the episode, not from fans). Because boys will be boys, I guess. Pardon me while I vomit.

    I just can’t be as harsh on Brennan over Jared as seems to be the majority consensus. Anthropologist she may be but she’s clearly not an expert on emotional human behavior, and predicting Booth’s response is (IMO) way outside her wheelhouse. I give her major props for (i) realizing her mistake, (ii) fixing her mistake, and (iii) changing her opinion as to the true meaning of ‘alpha male.’

    And, Booth gets a lot of credit, too, for using that opportunity to finally (!!!!) let her in a little to his past. “My dad drank.” HUGE step forward for him. If he’d tiptoed into that a little bit sooner, Brennan would not have been blindsided by a pretty face, even if it did belong to a Booth.

    IMO, obviously. No harm, no foul.

    (Also, I 100% believe that the failure of The Finder and Backstrom is the reason HH basically took his ball and went home. I blame the decline of S7-S9 directly on his inattention. While there are rough patches in almost every season prior to S6, I think network bungling and his distraction share the majority of the blame. He left my precious Brennan to Stephen Nathan, and there aren’t curse words enough for how I feel about how he treated her character. Ugh.)

    • Not to be nit picky or anything, but when Booth hooked up with Cam, it didn’t change his allegiance to Brennan. He told Cam to her face that he’s with Brennan all the way. I guess that’s the distinction my mind made. (I am not a Brennan hater by any means, it’s more of what they did to her character that bothered me.) The big difference with the Hannah relationship (for me) is that finally his allegiance was blurred and made him make some legitimately stupid decisions and he wasn’t following his allegiance to Brennan.

      I don’t blame either of them for dating other people before they got together. But Brennan, in her quest to date “Booth lite” aka a Booth without the emotional entanglements, did cause some awkwardness with her partner. Booth made plenty of his own mistakes, true. Brennan may not have intended to cause those effects and was unaware of them, but the fact is that it did cause some issues.

      • ‘Not to be nit picky or anything, but when Booth hooked up with Cam, it didn’t change his allegiance to Brennan. He told Cam to her face that he’s with Brennan all the way.’
        BUT – he wasn’t open with Brennan about it. He hid it. That in itself told me he thought what he was doing was wrong. And I of course agree! LOL
        Cam/Booth had that discussion in Aliens at the diner.
        Then when Cam/Booth have that exchange in Glowing Bones about whether or not they thought about ‘them’ getting married, it kinda creeped me out. (I know that’s shocking)! LOL Booth and Cam to be coming at the relationship in very different ways….or maybe it was how crappy HH wrote it! He seemed to be just friends with benefits….but if it was so casual, why even contemplate marriage? Or why play Cam as even a teeny bit jealous in the Vegas episode? And then that episode where Booth stays with Brennan and the donuts…..he’s leaning across that table like he could eat Brennan up….and Cam is observing from the ground floor. She shrugs it off…..what self respecting woman continues to sleep with that guy she just saw coming on to another woman? I just didn’t like the creepy vibe I got from that relationship at all.
        Hannah – he lied to as well about so many things, I really didn’t feel like an allegiance break so much as him needing physical space from his former life. Because he kinda totally shut himself off from his circle of friends until closer to the end. It was like Booth was having an imaginary relationship to mend his heart…..it just needed to end in the worst way! LOL
        Brennan entered into the Jared thing blind. She mistakenly (but understandably) thought the brothers were alike. Jared is/was a con man….Brennan fell for it before she wised up.

  62. “Also, I 100% believe that the failure of The Finder and Backstrom is the reason HH basically took his ball and went home. I blame the decline of S7-S9 directly on his inattention.”

    I absolutely agree with this. I’ve said for a long time that Hart got upset when Bones fans didn’t love Hannah as much as he did. I think that he even extended her presence in S6 because he loved her character so much, and might have extended it even longer if the network hadn’t intervened.

    In any case, my theory is that he started to become disenchanted with Bones (and Bones fans) during the whole S6 debacle so he turned his primary focus to The Finder. That failed so he turned his attention to Backstrom, and when that failed he was, for all intents and purposes, done with Bones.

  63. In any case, my theory is that he started to become disenchanted with Bones (and Bones fans) during the whole S6 debacle so he turned his primary focus to The Finder.

    Yes, but I think HH was so ‘cocky’ that he thought Bones fans would follow him to The Finder. He should have thought about that end when he conceived the s6 other woman scenario from the get go. Screw with the fan base in such a major way, alienates your followers. It was the Paley Center interviews (in March of s6 I think) where he had a major break down and told a fan off in a very crude way! lol
    He liked to say he KNEW what fans wanted and the internet fans were not important because they were such a minor group etc….He really miscalculated how pissed off long time fans were of the show at that point. He lost a third of the audience that season and the ones that stayed had been burned so bad, they weren’t signing up for his next endeavors.
    I think HH ended up being his own worst enemy in the end. He didn’t have the guts to put B&B together when it was time. No plan ended up being a poorly executed story that left many feeling cheated I think.
    I think if he had had a better story for s6 – he might have had a second success The Finder or Backstrom (I had forgotten about that one!)
    At some point, I’d love for him or SN to answer some of those questions….WHY did they think that the other woman story was gonna be so great? And if they were gonna write a triangle, then write it well – watch a soap – but they didn’t do that! LOL

  64. ” I’ve said for a long time that Hart got upset when Bones fans didn’t love Hannah as much as he did. I think that he even extended her presence in S6 because he loved her character so much, and might have extended it even longer if the network hadn’t intervened.”

    He certainly had a thing, IMO, for the actress who played Hannah. Ugh…
    Two repeats from season 6 were on my local channel last night. I could only stomach watching the endings of them.
    First, a stinker, Feet on the Beach. Even the ending with B&B at the bar was stupid. Brennan talking about being contrite, from the Latin contritas, or something stupid like that. And “apology derives from the Ancient Greek “apologia” which means “a speech in defense.” I could quote it from the IMBd site, but it is so dumb!! B&B were floundering here. And this episode followed the wonderful Blizzard!

    Well, the next ep. Truth in the Myth, the ending was better, I remember watching this first airing of it, so badly wanting something to happen between B&B now that Hannah was gone, and Blizzard ep. declaring they want to try and be together. The ending was at FF and B&B toasting to “jelousy & greed. The two things that keep us employed”
    B&B walk out together and Booth is teasing her about the Yeti. “Are you trying to confuse me?” she asks him. Then he tells her some things don’t make sense, “like us. we don’t make any sense at all”.

    Then Brennan leaves him standing at the curb (like twice before) as she drives away alone in the Taxi. This reminded me about one of my wishes after B&B were together, that we would get to see them BOTH get in the taxi and drive away together!!

    Anyway, season 6 was rescued by ED getting pregnant for sure!

    Cheers!

  65. I don’t think it helped that the payoff for waiting six seasons for a romance was a bit of a dud. We got that “Can I just….” fade to black scene after VNM’s death, followed by the arm tuck at the airport, followed by the kiss on the cheek after Max told them to be more affectionate, and ending with “I’m pregnant. You’re the father,” and a summer hiatus, and an S7 that started with them already living together basically.

    ???????

    I felt cheated. I still feel a bit cheated. I wanted all those sweet courtship moments, all those dates, all those mornings waking up in bed together, all that figuring out what they were becoming. And we got zilch. And I get it, Emily was pregnant so they worked with what they had to work with.

    But just imagine an S6 where the whole season is spent figuring out a new relationship between the two of them, that still ends with the pregnancy. Imagine an S6 where the only triangle involves Booth/Brennan/partners vs. lovers. The whole thing could have been so much more satisfying. Instead, fans were left to their imaginations and when we complained, HH’s response was “oh, blow me.” Dude……

    Amongst all the obituaries when the show ended was a chart showing the ratings per season, and the drop was significant and on-going. Ratings don’t lie, and they bled viewers until the only ones left were the dedicated core, like you guys here, who were determined to see it all through no matter what. Looking back at these early episodes is very bittersweet. So much potential lost, for whatever the reason.

  66. Recently I was reading some fan fiction by labsquint on Livejournal that was written around 2010-2011. Tucked into the stories was a commentary about an appearance by Hart Hanson in Toronto at the Directors Guild of Canada in September 2010, which was while S6 was airing.

    Some interesting bits:

    “there was a sit down conversation with Richard Crouse (a well known Canadian film critic) and Hart. Hart mostly comes off as a good ol’ Canadian boy, but I must say, every once in a while, there is a definite trace of arrogance that creeps in. But from what I know from my brothers about the L.A. scene, that’s not a real surprise.

    Hannah. Ugh. Well, Hart says he knew how her storyline was going to go when she came in, but then he said she’s so interesting that he’s ‘adjusted’ things. He was VERY vague about anything having to do with Booth and Brennan, and this is certainly no spoiler because he said nothing definitive, but I’d be prepared to see her for most if not all of the season.

    He talked about how to replace the UST with something IF B&B get together. He said he’s known for 2 years what he would do if he needs to, but he also basically said that he’s not going to put them together until the ratings start to fall. While the ratings stay where they are, watch for B&B to stay apart.

    Hart said that he was personally responsible for pretty much all the stuff I hated in the Jersey Shore episode – from Brennan’s crab posturing to her way over-the-top constant spouting of anthropological facts (that was nothing short of irritating for me because I feel that Brennan is now simply a caricature of her former self).

    He commented on his 25,000 Twitter followers. He said that 25,000 out of the 10 million that watch is simply not representative of the fan base so he shouldn’t pay attention to their opinions.

    That’s about all I can remember at this point…But I can’t say that I’m any more optimistic about the future of the show coming out than I was going in. If anything, I’m more resigned that the show that I loved is gone. The characters are so different from their earlier incarnations, the direction of the writing has changed. Maybe I’m in the minority, but I think it’s a real shame because they had something really good and they are slowly killing it for me and for many others. If you are not in the group, good for you, but I didn’t hear anything tonight that gave me hope that the show I loved is ever coming back.”

    To me, those are pretty spot-on observations considering what we know about S7-12. Of course, not everything was awful about those seasons:

    Pros of S7-S12:
    – Lovely, lovely B&B wedding (I will always be grateful to Hart for not screwing that up)
    – Christine…I can’t imagine thinking about Bones and it not including Christine. She became such an integral part of their family and even with the Stupid Brennan Mom Moments (ie. tooth fairy) for the most part it was wonderful
    – baby Hank…loved his arrival in the family
    – Aldo…we finally got to see that Booth has a friend. I discount his gruesome death so in my mind he’s still around

    There is hardly any need to recap the cons of S7-S12, because we discussed them episode by episode on the IMDB board. Over the top villains, convoluted story lines that went no where, no recognition of the death of Pops, gruesome death for Aldo, death for Max, death for Jared, startling lack of B&B romance especially in S11 and S12, etc…

    At the end of the day, I’m very glad we had Bones, warts and all, but I won’t be following Jon Collier, Michael Peterson, Dave Thomas, Stephen Nathan, or Hart Hanson to any other TV shows they might do in the future.

  67. “But just imagine an S6 where the whole season is spent figuring out a new relationship between the two of them, that still ends with the pregnancy. Imagine an S6 where the only triangle involves Booth/Brennan/partners vs. lovers. The whole thing could have been so much more satisfying.”

    That would have made millions of fans too happy! LOL I do kinda gloss over the first half of s6 now in my mind! It was beyond stupid on so many levels! HH trashed Brennan and Booth for stupid Baghdad bimbo and to what end? It all made zero sense. I swear he was being vindictive. But fans got the last laugh in the end…..when his ‘new babies’ failed!

    Thanks for doing the research Estella!
    A trip back to the very frustrating HH! The problem with his theory of waiting for the ratings to fall, was that once people leave…..they are likely gone. To get them back, you’re gonna have to do super stuff! I mean people were getting so pissed on boards it was scary sometimes!LOL
    Once those flood gates opened, there was little chance of getting them back. People would check in on boards to see if anything good was happening or to find out how bad it got….sort of thing.
    I think HH miscalculated all along the way. If I’d been watching ‘live’ since the beginning, I would have left in s2! Did not like the Booth/Cam thing at all (as you all very well know) or the Brennan/Sully thing! So had I not seen s3/4 first and fallen for B&B hook line and sinker, there is no way I would have survived s2 without knowing about s 3/4.

    “At the end of the day, I’m very glad we had Bones, warts and all, but I won’t be following Jon Collier, Michael Peterson, Dave Thomas, Stephen Nathan, or Hart Hanson to any other TV shows they might do in the future.”

    My sentiments exactly Estella. B&B were great. ED and DB created something very special and there are eps I will enjoy forever and some I’ll never watch again! LOL
    I thought it was funny when a Fox executive said that Bones would come back when the time is right for the actors and when HH and SN bring them some ideas/reasons to bring them back. They didn’t say JC or MP – they really messed things up!

  68. “Imagine an S6 where the only triangle involves Booth/Brennan/partners vs. lovers. The whole thing could have been so much more satisfying. Instead, fans were left to their imaginations and when we complained, HH’s response was “oh, blow me.” Dude……”

    We did get ripped off! We were expected to use our imaginations and fan fiction for any of that!
    ” HH trashed Brennan and Booth for stupid Baghdad bimbo and to what end? It all made zero sense. I swear he was being vindictive. But fans got the last laugh in the end…..when his ‘new babies’ failed!”
    “there are eps I will enjoy forever and some I’ll never watch again! ”

    Any Hannah eps, except Doctor in the Photo, are unwatchable to me.

  70. I do not see anything waiting for moderation…maybe it got trapped in the Internet somewhere? Can you try posting again, jmg?

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