Bones 9.20 Review: “The High in the Low”

After taking a brief hiatus to finish reviewing the final few episodes of How I Met Your Mother, I am back to review the remainder of the ninth season of Bones.  If you were unable to catch the latest episode entitled, “The High in the Low,” because you were too busy preparing for the Connecticut vs. Kentucky basketball game, I am here to fill you in on what you missed.

Though I have not reviewed the last four episodes of Bones, I have been watching them. After all, I have been a fan for years. To be honest, I have not been impressed. The episodes lacked the luster that had been present earlier in the season. It has been leaked that the finale will end in a cliff hanger, so hopefully the momentum will start building up to one of those endings you never saw coming.

Like usual, the episode begins with a random character finding the remains. This time the lucky person is a convict trying to elude the police. While hiding in the perfect spot, he lets out a blood curdling scream when he is face to face with the victim. Bones has always been known to bring the gore, and this case is not any different. When Booth (David Boreanaz) and Brennan (Emily Deschanel) arrive on the scene, they are bickering, something we have not seen from the couple recently. The witty banter is what has been missing and it is nice to see it back. These characters play off one another through this playful repartee.

Back at the lab, we find out the “Squintern of the Week” is Wendell (Michael Grant Terry), who is my favorite. The last time we saw Wendell, he had just found out he had a rare form of bone cancer. Ironic, that an episode about marijuana (if you have seen the previews, you already know this) features the one intern who most likely uses the drug  because of his health issues.

While the team is working in the lab, Booth meets with Sweets (John Francis Daley) to see if he can put together a profile of the killer. Sweets asserts that the killing was spontaneous because a grave was not dug for the victim. Angela (Michaela Conlin) is also hard at work in her new lab. Using a machine called THEO, she is able to show a 3-D image of the victims skull and comes up with the perfect facial reconstruction. If labs really do have this type of technology, you would think more victims would be identified and murderers captured.  Abby Briggs is the the victim and had been diagnosed with Lupus. She was using cannabis to treat the pain, legally of course.

Now comes the time when the interviewing begins. The first person up is Dr. Richard Burke (not to be confused with the Grey’s Anatomy character). He was not surprised to hear Abby had been murdered four months ago. A very helpful security guard points the finger at a local college student. Booth interrogates the student named Adam, who made a fake medical marijuana card. Booth lets him know that Abby fought with her killer and he has proof Adam visited the hospital for two broken ribs. Adam explains this was caused by the security guards’ flashlight.

Sweets unearths Abby’s sketchbook. She was able to take up drawing once again after being medicated by marijuana. In every picture. the helpful security guard is always watching her. Looks like he is the next person to be questioned. Back at the lab, Wendell admits what I already predicted. He has a medical marijuana card. Also, Brennan has come to the conclusion that the weapon that killed Abby was a blunt, curved object: AKA a flashlight like the one the security guard possesses. Carl, the guard, says he no longer has the flashlight. This means two things: he is looking awfully guilty and he probably did not do it. Later, Brennan and Wendell figure out that the make and model of Carl’s flashlight was not used to kill Abby.

Everyone becomes angered at Cam (Tamara Taylor). She fires Wendell after he informs her he has been using cannabis to heal the pain from the cancer. Since they work in a Federal building, the use of drugs is prohibited. Cam makes a good point that the murderer could win in court if the prosecution brings up Wendell’s drug use compromising the findings. Though Cam is playing by the book, it does make me happy that everyone is mad at her. Now if only she were to get written out… Even though he was being a whiner about Wendell getting let go, Hodgins (TJ Thyne) discovers where Abby was murdered. At the site, the team finds pot plants, half of which have been stolen.

Once Angela uncovers evidence that proves Abby was dealing her own pot at the dispensary, the fingers point back to Dr. Burke. Booth believes he murdered Abby to save his practice. The doctor lawyers up, which doesn’t look good for him. However, the team learns an award that was given to Adam was the murder weapon. It turns out Adam was selling Abby’s pot. It was not getting Adam’s customers high because it was strictly medicinal. Since the Dr. and the security guard looked so guilty, it was not a surprise Adam was the culprit. I think nine years of watching this show has given many people the gift of figuring out the killer early on in the episode.

In the end, the future looks bright for Wendell, aside from the fact he is fighting a cancer with a 20% survival rate.  Though he can not be hired as a Federal employee, it is perfectly fine for him to be hired as a consultant, as long as he does not come into contact with any of the evidence. He gladly accepts. How nice of the Jeffersonian to hire someone as a consultant, who is only used roughly every five weeks to solve a murder.

[Photo via Patrick McElhenney/FOX]