Ask Matt - February 14

Question: After watching the last 10 minutes of last week's Bones play out, I was left disappointed and heavy by what happened (which was a big bummer after watching the wonderful Friday Night Lights finale beforehand). Booth clearly should not have been so presumptuous in proposing, when clearly (at least in my humble opinion) he was doing it to prove to himself that he has moved on and can have a successful, lasting relationship. I understand how he could say the things he said at the bar to Brennan. He was upset. I guess what bothers me most is that this episode highlighted just how off and not fun the relationship between Booth and Brennan has been this season, which has made the show much less enjoyable to watch. It makes me even more mad to read comments by the writers who act like they haven't made a misstep. What do you think about the whole situation? Do you think the tone of the show and the central relationship can be fixed? After reading all the heated comments on the community boards (which I know you advise against), it would be nice to hear a levelheaded assessment. — Amy

Matt Roush: Well, maybe it isn't the best idea to use Bones as a Friday Night Lights chaser. Honestly, I'm not sure what the show's writers could do to please the unruly constituents. They break up Booth and the opposite-of-loved Hannah, and you'd think there'd at least be a cheer for that. They give Booth and Bones a climactic scene of emotional reconciliation at the bar, which incidentally is one of David Boreanaz' most affecting scenes in a long while. It's called drama, folks. That said, I don't think anyone is blind to the fact that fans were more irritated than pleased about the Hannah obstacle, but now that they've fixed it and reset the Booth-Bones partnership with some new shadings of awareness of just what they mean to each other, I'm thinking maybe we can just sit back and enjoy the show again for a while. I don't think the show or certainly the central relationship is irreparably broken, and the numbers (thankfully abetted by the American Idol lead-in) seem to bear that out.

Source: TV Guide
Tipster: lysaleelee