The Final Episode of “Bones” ever, “The End in the End,” completed the 12 season story of the now venerable series of Crime Fighting and forensic anthropology while suggesting that the story, after several life changes experiences related to a bomb, will continue. But, sadly, the further adventures of the folks at the Jeffersonian will proceed without us. Still, things did finish on a high note, while teasing an awful tragedy for Temperance Brennan, the robbing of her of her intellect via brain damage.
From the solving of the final case to the scattering of our intrepid heroes to the four winds, albeit temporarily while the lab was repaired, the final episode pulled all the clichés of final episodes from the tool box and used them with gusto.
The one thing that “Bones” failed to do was to jump the shark before making its final bow. The show left us wanting more.
The police procedural has been around television from its very beginning. “Bones” was one of the pioneer shows that emphasized the intellectual side of solving crimes, of taking physical evidence from a kill site and combining it with law enforcement leg work to come to the final scene in which the killer was forced to confess his or her crime. The cerebral but emotionally stunted Brennan and the physical and passionate Booth made a great team, in life as well as crime fighting. The love story of those two rang true and never descended into mawkishness.
The other characters, Hodgins, Angela, Cam, and the whole secession of interns starting with the even more emotionally stunted Zach and going through quirky characters of all genders and ethnic background, made the show fresh and unique and mystery after mystery was solved and criminal after criminal brought to justice.
Hodgins, albeit still confined to a wheelchair, finally became “king of the lab” in the literal sense. People found love and accomplishment, just as one would wish for old friends.
The End of “Bones” is going to leave a hole in the TV schedule. But, after 12 years, it was a hell of a ride and left many great memories.
