Friendly rivalry
Jan. 3rd, 2011 08:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mistletoeNice day. Only one friend out for lunch. I had a very tasty steak pie.
I feel in need of a Booth fix. In keeping with the current month's theme I'm going to look at who Booth encounters in Season 2 that could have been a friend, but wasn't.
SEELEY BOOTH IN SEASON 2 -All's fair in love and war.
Yeah, well all the older ladies say they like me.
This entry has little to do with Booth's history. After The Girl in the Gator the next 3 episodes are pretty much about Booth in the here and now. What he shares with Dr Wyatt has already been considered so I need to look at Booth at work in the aftermath of his "evaluation" and that must include his changing perception of Bones and his reaction to a rival for her attention:Sully.
Sully is initially assigned as his replacement in The Girl in the Gator but Booth sees him as very much a temporary glitch. We have seen little of Booth's interaction with fellow agents and nothing with his superiors since Judas on a Pole. He certainly doesn't hang out with any of them and that includes Sully. Even he can not be seen as a friend of Booth's. However, Booth knows quite a bit about him.
BOOTH AND SULLY
Sully's a great guy, okay?
In this episode, they never actually meet; Booth just gives little bits of information out to Brennan on the phone.
BOOTH: Well, look, he's one of the best, all right? He just likes to keep his options open.
BRENNAN: I've noticed.
BOOTH: Listen, Bones, Sully he lost his partner about a year ago, all right. Something like that happens, you hear that clock on the inside ticking just a little bit louder. So you know what, you're in good hands.
He knowa other things about Sully too.
BRENNAN: Is Sully for real?
BOOTH: What?
BRENNAN: I just can't decide whether or not to take him seriously.
BOOTH: Well is he acting unprofessional?
BRENNAN: No, he's very professional, it's just can he really do all he says he can do?
BOOTH: Oh you mean that whole master carpentry thing. Yeah, you know he made me a dining room set last year.
BRENNAN: He's a carpenter as well?
BOOTH: As well as what?
This may be the first warning sign. By the time Booth gets back to work Bones and Sully are already going out.
Booth has a poor track record as far as Bones's boyfriends go. He has not approved of any of them. How will he cope with someone to whom he has already given his seal of approval? Matters are complicated when Sully turns to him for advice and becomes the first, apart from Angela and various suspects, to state the obvious.
BOOTH: You just don’t get it.
SULLY: What! I’m asking for guy advice, you are a guy – what’s not to get?
BOOTH: First of all, guys, they don’t ask for advice. And secondly, I’m not going to help you get my partner into bed.
SULLY: Why not? It’s not like you want her.
(Booth’s lips twitch, but he doesn’t say a word.)
SULLY: Unless … Do you want her?
BOOTH: Nah. Come on, Bones is, you know, my partner.
SULLY: That is why you need psychiatric treatment, because you have the hots for your partner!
BOOTH: I’m not in psychiatric treatment, okay? It’s an evaluation. Big difference.
SULLY: I can tell that Brennan is the go slow type, but you gotta help me out on how slow, because too slow is worse than not slow enough.
The last thing that Booth seems to want to do is admit he has feelings for his partner. Which card is he playing there? Is he hiding behind the Bureau's policy with regard to dating partners? Maybe, because Sully waited until the case was finished before asking Brennan out.
Could it be that he worries that he would frighten Bones off? Also a possiblity when you consider this exchange with Bones in The Bodies in the Book
BOOTH: Just doing my job, okay Bones? Are you gonna come at me like you came at Sully?
BRENNAN: What is that suppose to mean?
BOOTH: Look, far be it for me to stick my nose into your bedroom but I've known Sully a long time and believe me, he's one of the good guys.
BRENNAN: Well, I know Sully, Booth.
BOOTH: And I know you. All right, somebody gets too close, you just wanna push them away.
Even this early there is an element of self preservation there. Rather than spoil his chances he seems to have resolved to stick to the partners relationship and keep his line intact.
So keeping his cards close to his chest he really shouldn't be surprised when Sully steps in where he dare not. Yet he is, perhaps surprising himself at how it makes him feel.
BRENNAN: Wow. Those socks. Those are...amazing.
BOOTH: That’s right. The socks, the tie, the belt buckle - all escape valves for my socioeconomic rage.
BRENNAN: I hate psychology.
BOOTH: Oh, you know, they help me deal with the day-to-day irritations of dealing with people that are more privileged.
BRENNAN: I slept with Sully last night.
BOOTH: Oh. I thought you already, uh …
BRENNAN: No. Last night.
BOOTH: Ah. It’s really none of my business.
BRENNAN: Except we’re partners.
BOOTH: Yeah, there’s that-
BRENNAN: And you...told me about your socks.
BOOTH: Mhm. Sex. Socks. Pretty much the same word.
As she leaves he becomes flustered and says to himself I'm gonna need a flashier tie. Already, he is seeing Sully as more privileged than himself. Over the rest of Sully's arc that self worth issue continues as we see jealous!Booth in action when the object of his frustration is working with him.
1. Assets. What does Booth have to put up against Peanut?
BOOTH: Okay, Bones. We gotta go. They found a floater in the marina. (he grabs her arm)
BRENNAN: Uh, my partner, Seeley Booth. This is the publicist for my book, Ellen Laskow and her assistant Hank -
ELLEN: Hello. Now I see why Temperance writes those dirty little scenes in her books.
BOOTH: That – That's not me -
BRENNAN: It's not him.
BOOTH: Not me. No.
ELLEN: Right. You must let me get you that therapist's number, dear.
BOOTH: Oh, no, seriously. She's got someone.
BRENNAN: Booth.
BOOTH: Well, it's nothing to be ashamed of. He is kinda short.
BRENNAN: He's not short. Just because he's not freakishly tall like you are-
BOOTH: He's short, okay?
Hmm, playing the tall card seems a tad shallow. He has other options though when Sully invites himself onto the case in The Bodies in the Book .
2. I'm in charge.
SULLY: Hey, How's it going?
BRENNAN: What? What are you doing here?
BOOTH: Uh, yeah.
SULLY: Well, I heard we had a copy cat killer using your book as -
BRENNAN: That hasn't been established.
BOOTH: Yeah, I got it covered here, Sully.
SULLY: Well, two hands are better than one, Booth.
BOOTH: Well, last time I looked, I have 2 hands, see? (he holds up his hands) Thanks.
ANGELA: Testosterone spill on aisle 4.
BRENNAN: We don't' know that my book is the cause. So far what we do know is -
SULLY: Someone died exactly the way described in your book. Do you keep any of your old fan mail?
BRENNAN: No. I don't read it. The publicist deals with all that.
BOOTH: Yeah, I mean, why are you asking, Sully? I'm in charge of this investigation.
SULLY: Well, Booth, I was a profiler for two years. I have a lot of experience with these cases. This could be someone showing what big fan he is or someone trying to get close to her. Too close.
BRENNAN: I don't need to be protected...
BOOTH & SULLY: (in unison) Yes. You do.
SULLY: (to Booth) Look. You still call the shots. I just think I'd be an asset to the team.
BOOTH: Okay, Fine. We send all the fan mail to Sully – in his office.
BRENNAN: Fine. I'll call Ellen.
3. I'm better for Bones than you.
BOOTH: I'm sorry, but-
BRENNAN: Look, I'm not burying my head in the sand here. I wanna catch whoever did this as much as you guys do, but I have a method and the method doesn't change. I'll be back in my lab. (she storms out of the office)
BOOTH: She wasn't this emotional before you came in the picture.
SULLY: Ah, I thought you weren't interested.
BOOTH: Ha. All right, look, I don't need that, okay? Believe me, okay?
4. I'm just doing my job here.
SULLY: Wait, there's still potentially one more victim. I – I think you should cancel.
BRENNAN: What? The – the killers not after me, Sully. If he is using the book that makes me the object of these actions not the target. I mean, you're the profiler, right?
SULLY: I'm just trying to help.
BRENNAN: What?! (Booth starts to back away slowly) You're making this – this personal! You got yourself assigned to this case just because of me!
SULLY: Absolutely! What? You're gonna give me more crap because now because I care about you?
BOOTH: Be over here making a few calls...
(They both turn to him)
SULLY: A little help, Booth. Do you think she should go alone?
BOOTH: No, no. Not at all. But there seems to be other stuff going on here, I don't wanna get involved -
BRENNAN: No. You agreed with him. You are involved.
SULLY: All right, so let Booth take you and that way it won't be personal between us.
BRENNAN: Fine!
SULLY: Fine.
BRENNAN: Fine.
SULLY: Fine.
(they turn to Booth)
BOOTH: Fine.
Yet, by the end of the case, Booth has not got rid of Sully. In fact, he is now surplus to the needs of Bones altogether it would seem.
BOOTH: Oh, yeah. There's that.
Brennan sees Sully standing in the doorway of her office
BRENNAN: Sully.
BOOTH: Yeah, you know you really should apologise. I mean, you were really ragging on the guy. He seemed a little frail.
SULLY: Eh, I'm a lot strong than I look.
BOOTH: Oh, you were – (Booth gets up and stands by the desk) Hey, Sul.
SULLY: Hey. So, congratulations. You guys, make a great team.
BOOTH: Mmhmm. It's true. ( he looks at Brennan – she looks back at him) So true.
BRENNAN: (to Sully) Thanks for your help.
SULLY: Sure.
(Sully and Brennan are lost in their own world and Booth seems a bit uncomfortable)
BOOTH: You know, I should run. Bones, ya know, I – I got stuff. (Brennan continues to stay focused on Sully, not hearing a thing Booth is saying.) See ya at work, Sul?
SULLY: Yeah, I'll see ya man.
Booth tries once more, unsuccessfully, to get Brennan's attention and then leaves her office. Sully moves closer to where Brennan is sitting.
BRENNAN: I – (she stands up in front of him) I did feel responsible, Sully. Do.
SULLY: And you thought if I saw you, vulnerable, needing me- that I'd run.
BRENNAN: I've been alone my whole life. It's all I know.
SULLY: Eh, don't worry. You'll learn fast.
Sully and Brennan kiss. As the scene fades out, we see Booth outside of Brennan's office talking to Hodgins. Hodgins walks away as Booth turns back, looking through her office window, and sees the two of them kissing. He appears to be dejected, drops the folder down on the nearest desk and heads out the door.
This introduction of Sully makes us think for the first time about Booth's situation vis-a-vis relationships. He is an acknowledged ladies man, has been since high school. He has had three long term sexual partners that we know of: Rebecca, Cam and Tessa. After Tessa walked out on the Caribbean holiday he seems to have lost touch with her, but he had on and off dating with Rebecca, for old times' sake and Cam until the events of The Man in the Cell made him draw his line. It would seem that his main hope could have been Brennan, yet he is loath to go there. As a result he seems to have missed his chance and it looks like it could be for good when Sully buys a boat in The Boneless Bride in the River.
It is in this episode that Booth's new BFF shows up for the first time: the Cocky belt buckle makes its first appearance. He also seems more defensive about his dealings with Bones.
BRENNAN: I'm supposed to be on vacation? You know, spending time with Sully.
BOOTH: Oh, that's a good lesson for Sully then, huh? Next time he actually takes you 'away' on vacation, you should go away. You know, leave town.
BRENNAN: Ha! You had a vacation and never left town.
BOOTH: It wasn't a vacation, it was a suspension.
BRENNAN: Plus compulsory therapy...
BOOTH: Dude, don't' knock therapy, okay. Dr. Wyatt has helped me realise that there are certain pressures that build up on the job and I need creative ways -
BRENNAN: (Interrupting) We do everything together -
BOOTH: ..of dealing with them.
BRENNAN: What? What exactly do you have to contend with on the job that I don't?
BOOTH: (laughs) You Bones. You don't have to contend with you.
He then proceeds to find ways to contend with her for the rest of the episode - and Sully. Even Angela seems to be on Sully's side when it comes to what Brennan needs.
ANGELA: So, a boat, hmm?
BOOTH: Oh, Sully? Yeah. Hmph. Last month, he wanted to live in a tree house.
ANGELA: Hm. He's like me.
BOOTH: Yeah. (he pauses and thinks) Ya know, I don't see that.
ANGELA: Well, he's not really made for all this murder and corpses and empty eye sockets crap. He's a romantic.
BOOTH: Unlike me?
ANGELA: No. You're a romantic of a narrow kind. You live to catch bad guys. Sully lives wide. ..............
BOOTH: Okay, I'll got visit her fiancée tomorrow...and I, I live wide too. Far and wide. All right? There's nothing wider than Seeley Booth.
This sounds like he is trying to convince himself that his brand of romanticism, if subtle, is just as good as Sully's. Of course, he also has to convince Brennan and it is here that we have Booth being Booth: always thinking of the other person, and especially his partner, first.
BRENNAN: Sully bought that boat.
BOOTH: Yeah? Ha. Next thing you know he'll be shipwrecked on some island talking to a volleyball.
BRENNAN: He's leaving for the Caribbean.
BOOTH: Really. (she nods) Look, I'm – I'm sorry, Bones. I – I know that the two of you were kinda hittin' it off -
BRENNAN: He wants me to go with him.
BOOTH: (looks a bit thrown) Oh. Oh..yeah...
BRENNAN: He – he says I should take a year off, a sabbatical. He says it'll be fun.
BOOTH: Yeah, it would be.
BRENNAN: But you just said he'd be shipwrecked with a volleyball.
BOOTH: Well, he's got you. He doesn't need the volleyball.
BRENNAN: You think I should go?
BOOTH: (he takes a moment) Yeah. (it's obvious that he wants to say no) Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know it's, uh, one year out of your life, huh? I mean a person's gotta - live wide. And this is kinda narrow.
Having committed, sort of, to the idea of Bones leaving he goes into it whole heartedly. She does not see where he is coming from, or the point he is making.
BOOTH: You know, Sully's a nice guy.
BRENNAN: You sound condescending.
BOOTH: I'm just trying to be nice, okay? I'm complimenting the fact that you got a good one this time.
BRENNAN: Thereby implying I'm incapable of making my own judgments.
BOOTH: The physicist who couldn't tie his shoes? Oh, the former professor who was, uh, jealous of your own success. Should I stop?
BRENNAN: Yes -
BOOTH: Oh, the guy that you found on the Internet and ended up being some kind of recruiter for a cult. Oh, and this is my favorite – the guy who cut off his own brother's head because he thought he was possessed by a witch.
BRENNAN: You made your point.
BOOTH: Look I'm just saying a guy who wants to take you away from all of this on a sailboat – that's a step up.
BRENNAN: Condescending.
Is he being condescending? No, Booth always has been superior to Brennan's other choices of dates and I think he is superior to Sully, not because he is narrowly romantic, but because he has a dedication to keeping the streets, and his friends, safe by doing his job. Sully is a good agent, a good guy, but he is also a dreamer with all sorts of wild schemes that have no guarantee of success. One thing Booth is successful at is his job.
In the end, Brennan does not sail off with Sully and Booth is there to pick up the pieces.
BRENNAN: What are you doing here?
BOOTH: I'm waving goodbye. See? (he waves)
BRENNAN: What do you want?
BOOTH: Breakfast.
BRENNAN: I'm not hungry.
BOOTH: Oh, come on, huh? What are ya gonna vomit when we come across one of those, uh, horrific cases?
BRENNAN: I don't vomit.
BOOTH: Give it time, Bones, okay? Give it time. Everything happens eventually.
BRENNAN: Everything?
BOOTH: All the stuff, okay, that you think never happens – it happens. You just gotta be ready for it.
So it would seem Booth is content to bide his time. Sadly, he chose not to bide at the wrong time much, much later.
The Sully arc was focused again on Brennan and Booth was rather peripheral, but it gave him the chance to reassess where he was going in his life through the intervention of Wyatt and his own strength. It also allowed the audience to see that Booth is becoming more invested in his partner as a woman rather than a colleague. Is it coincidence that the next three episodes dealt with things important to him: religion, stoic resistance to pain and sport? Brennan is not interested in any of these. Or that the remaining 3 give us the final frontier, Brennan cooking for Booth and a wedding?
These episodes were for looking at Booth in context; they told us nothing beyond where he came from and that he and his dad were tight. Everything else is new Booth, current Booth.
There will be a shorter coda to Season 2 to come.
RIP Pete Postlethwaite. He was a consummate actor, with a remarkable range, from Father Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet to Danny, a dying miner and brass band conductor in Brassed Off. He was Oscar nominated for his role in In the Name of the Father. I found him magnetic to watch.
Some language in this extract so NSFW. Here the colliery band have won the national championship at the Royal Albert Hall. His speech says it all.
I feel in need of a Booth fix. In keeping with the current month's theme I'm going to look at who Booth encounters in Season 2 that could have been a friend, but wasn't.
A BOOTH FOR ALL SEASONS
SEELEY BOOTH IN SEASON 2 -All's fair in love and war.
Yeah, well all the older ladies say they like me.
This entry has little to do with Booth's history. After The Girl in the Gator the next 3 episodes are pretty much about Booth in the here and now. What he shares with Dr Wyatt has already been considered so I need to look at Booth at work in the aftermath of his "evaluation" and that must include his changing perception of Bones and his reaction to a rival for her attention:Sully.
Sully is initially assigned as his replacement in The Girl in the Gator but Booth sees him as very much a temporary glitch. We have seen little of Booth's interaction with fellow agents and nothing with his superiors since Judas on a Pole. He certainly doesn't hang out with any of them and that includes Sully. Even he can not be seen as a friend of Booth's. However, Booth knows quite a bit about him.
BOOTH AND SULLY
Sully's a great guy, okay?
In this episode, they never actually meet; Booth just gives little bits of information out to Brennan on the phone.
BOOTH: Well, look, he's one of the best, all right? He just likes to keep his options open.
BRENNAN: I've noticed.
BOOTH: Listen, Bones, Sully he lost his partner about a year ago, all right. Something like that happens, you hear that clock on the inside ticking just a little bit louder. So you know what, you're in good hands.
He knowa other things about Sully too.
BRENNAN: Is Sully for real?
BOOTH: What?
BRENNAN: I just can't decide whether or not to take him seriously.
BOOTH: Well is he acting unprofessional?
BRENNAN: No, he's very professional, it's just can he really do all he says he can do?
BOOTH: Oh you mean that whole master carpentry thing. Yeah, you know he made me a dining room set last year.
BRENNAN: He's a carpenter as well?
BOOTH: As well as what?
This may be the first warning sign. By the time Booth gets back to work Bones and Sully are already going out.
Booth has a poor track record as far as Bones's boyfriends go. He has not approved of any of them. How will he cope with someone to whom he has already given his seal of approval? Matters are complicated when Sully turns to him for advice and becomes the first, apart from Angela and various suspects, to state the obvious.
BOOTH: You just don’t get it.
SULLY: What! I’m asking for guy advice, you are a guy – what’s not to get?
BOOTH: First of all, guys, they don’t ask for advice. And secondly, I’m not going to help you get my partner into bed.
SULLY: Why not? It’s not like you want her.
(Booth’s lips twitch, but he doesn’t say a word.)
SULLY: Unless … Do you want her?
BOOTH: Nah. Come on, Bones is, you know, my partner.
SULLY: That is why you need psychiatric treatment, because you have the hots for your partner!
BOOTH: I’m not in psychiatric treatment, okay? It’s an evaluation. Big difference.
SULLY: I can tell that Brennan is the go slow type, but you gotta help me out on how slow, because too slow is worse than not slow enough.
The last thing that Booth seems to want to do is admit he has feelings for his partner. Which card is he playing there? Is he hiding behind the Bureau's policy with regard to dating partners? Maybe, because Sully waited until the case was finished before asking Brennan out.
Could it be that he worries that he would frighten Bones off? Also a possiblity when you consider this exchange with Bones in The Bodies in the Book
BOOTH: Just doing my job, okay Bones? Are you gonna come at me like you came at Sully?
BRENNAN: What is that suppose to mean?
BOOTH: Look, far be it for me to stick my nose into your bedroom but I've known Sully a long time and believe me, he's one of the good guys.
BRENNAN: Well, I know Sully, Booth.
BOOTH: And I know you. All right, somebody gets too close, you just wanna push them away.
Even this early there is an element of self preservation there. Rather than spoil his chances he seems to have resolved to stick to the partners relationship and keep his line intact.
So keeping his cards close to his chest he really shouldn't be surprised when Sully steps in where he dare not. Yet he is, perhaps surprising himself at how it makes him feel.
BRENNAN: Wow. Those socks. Those are...amazing.
BOOTH: That’s right. The socks, the tie, the belt buckle - all escape valves for my socioeconomic rage.
BRENNAN: I hate psychology.
BOOTH: Oh, you know, they help me deal with the day-to-day irritations of dealing with people that are more privileged.
BRENNAN: I slept with Sully last night.
BOOTH: Oh. I thought you already, uh …
BRENNAN: No. Last night.
BOOTH: Ah. It’s really none of my business.
BRENNAN: Except we’re partners.
BOOTH: Yeah, there’s that-
BRENNAN: And you...told me about your socks.
BOOTH: Mhm. Sex. Socks. Pretty much the same word.
As she leaves he becomes flustered and says to himself I'm gonna need a flashier tie. Already, he is seeing Sully as more privileged than himself. Over the rest of Sully's arc that self worth issue continues as we see jealous!Booth in action when the object of his frustration is working with him.
1. Assets. What does Booth have to put up against Peanut?
BOOTH: Okay, Bones. We gotta go. They found a floater in the marina. (he grabs her arm)
BRENNAN: Uh, my partner, Seeley Booth. This is the publicist for my book, Ellen Laskow and her assistant Hank -
ELLEN: Hello. Now I see why Temperance writes those dirty little scenes in her books.
BOOTH: That – That's not me -
BRENNAN: It's not him.
BOOTH: Not me. No.
ELLEN: Right. You must let me get you that therapist's number, dear.
BOOTH: Oh, no, seriously. She's got someone.
BRENNAN: Booth.
BOOTH: Well, it's nothing to be ashamed of. He is kinda short.
BRENNAN: He's not short. Just because he's not freakishly tall like you are-
BOOTH: He's short, okay?
Hmm, playing the tall card seems a tad shallow. He has other options though when Sully invites himself onto the case in The Bodies in the Book .
2. I'm in charge.
SULLY: Hey, How's it going?
BRENNAN: What? What are you doing here?
BOOTH: Uh, yeah.
SULLY: Well, I heard we had a copy cat killer using your book as -
BRENNAN: That hasn't been established.
BOOTH: Yeah, I got it covered here, Sully.
SULLY: Well, two hands are better than one, Booth.
BOOTH: Well, last time I looked, I have 2 hands, see? (he holds up his hands) Thanks.
ANGELA: Testosterone spill on aisle 4.
BRENNAN: We don't' know that my book is the cause. So far what we do know is -
SULLY: Someone died exactly the way described in your book. Do you keep any of your old fan mail?
BRENNAN: No. I don't read it. The publicist deals with all that.
BOOTH: Yeah, I mean, why are you asking, Sully? I'm in charge of this investigation.
SULLY: Well, Booth, I was a profiler for two years. I have a lot of experience with these cases. This could be someone showing what big fan he is or someone trying to get close to her. Too close.
BRENNAN: I don't need to be protected...
BOOTH & SULLY: (in unison) Yes. You do.
SULLY: (to Booth) Look. You still call the shots. I just think I'd be an asset to the team.
BOOTH: Okay, Fine. We send all the fan mail to Sully – in his office.
BRENNAN: Fine. I'll call Ellen.
3. I'm better for Bones than you.
BOOTH: I'm sorry, but-
BRENNAN: Look, I'm not burying my head in the sand here. I wanna catch whoever did this as much as you guys do, but I have a method and the method doesn't change. I'll be back in my lab. (she storms out of the office)
BOOTH: She wasn't this emotional before you came in the picture.
SULLY: Ah, I thought you weren't interested.
BOOTH: Ha. All right, look, I don't need that, okay? Believe me, okay?
4. I'm just doing my job here.
SULLY: Wait, there's still potentially one more victim. I – I think you should cancel.
BRENNAN: What? The – the killers not after me, Sully. If he is using the book that makes me the object of these actions not the target. I mean, you're the profiler, right?
SULLY: I'm just trying to help.
BRENNAN: What?! (Booth starts to back away slowly) You're making this – this personal! You got yourself assigned to this case just because of me!
SULLY: Absolutely! What? You're gonna give me more crap because now because I care about you?
BOOTH: Be over here making a few calls...
(They both turn to him)
SULLY: A little help, Booth. Do you think she should go alone?
BOOTH: No, no. Not at all. But there seems to be other stuff going on here, I don't wanna get involved -
BRENNAN: No. You agreed with him. You are involved.
SULLY: All right, so let Booth take you and that way it won't be personal between us.
BRENNAN: Fine!
SULLY: Fine.
BRENNAN: Fine.
SULLY: Fine.
(they turn to Booth)
BOOTH: Fine.
Yet, by the end of the case, Booth has not got rid of Sully. In fact, he is now surplus to the needs of Bones altogether it would seem.
BOOTH: Oh, yeah. There's that.
Brennan sees Sully standing in the doorway of her office
BRENNAN: Sully.
BOOTH: Yeah, you know you really should apologise. I mean, you were really ragging on the guy. He seemed a little frail.
SULLY: Eh, I'm a lot strong than I look.
BOOTH: Oh, you were – (Booth gets up and stands by the desk) Hey, Sul.
SULLY: Hey. So, congratulations. You guys, make a great team.
BOOTH: Mmhmm. It's true. ( he looks at Brennan – she looks back at him) So true.
BRENNAN: (to Sully) Thanks for your help.
SULLY: Sure.
(Sully and Brennan are lost in their own world and Booth seems a bit uncomfortable)
BOOTH: You know, I should run. Bones, ya know, I – I got stuff. (Brennan continues to stay focused on Sully, not hearing a thing Booth is saying.) See ya at work, Sul?
SULLY: Yeah, I'll see ya man.
Booth tries once more, unsuccessfully, to get Brennan's attention and then leaves her office. Sully moves closer to where Brennan is sitting.
BRENNAN: I – (she stands up in front of him) I did feel responsible, Sully. Do.
SULLY: And you thought if I saw you, vulnerable, needing me- that I'd run.
BRENNAN: I've been alone my whole life. It's all I know.
SULLY: Eh, don't worry. You'll learn fast.
Sully and Brennan kiss. As the scene fades out, we see Booth outside of Brennan's office talking to Hodgins. Hodgins walks away as Booth turns back, looking through her office window, and sees the two of them kissing. He appears to be dejected, drops the folder down on the nearest desk and heads out the door.
This introduction of Sully makes us think for the first time about Booth's situation vis-a-vis relationships. He is an acknowledged ladies man, has been since high school. He has had three long term sexual partners that we know of: Rebecca, Cam and Tessa. After Tessa walked out on the Caribbean holiday he seems to have lost touch with her, but he had on and off dating with Rebecca, for old times' sake and Cam until the events of The Man in the Cell made him draw his line. It would seem that his main hope could have been Brennan, yet he is loath to go there. As a result he seems to have missed his chance and it looks like it could be for good when Sully buys a boat in The Boneless Bride in the River.
It is in this episode that Booth's new BFF shows up for the first time: the Cocky belt buckle makes its first appearance. He also seems more defensive about his dealings with Bones.
BRENNAN: I'm supposed to be on vacation? You know, spending time with Sully.
BOOTH: Oh, that's a good lesson for Sully then, huh? Next time he actually takes you 'away' on vacation, you should go away. You know, leave town.
BRENNAN: Ha! You had a vacation and never left town.
BOOTH: It wasn't a vacation, it was a suspension.
BRENNAN: Plus compulsory therapy...
BOOTH: Dude, don't' knock therapy, okay. Dr. Wyatt has helped me realise that there are certain pressures that build up on the job and I need creative ways -
BRENNAN: (Interrupting) We do everything together -
BOOTH: ..of dealing with them.
BRENNAN: What? What exactly do you have to contend with on the job that I don't?
BOOTH: (laughs) You Bones. You don't have to contend with you.
He then proceeds to find ways to contend with her for the rest of the episode - and Sully. Even Angela seems to be on Sully's side when it comes to what Brennan needs.
ANGELA: So, a boat, hmm?
BOOTH: Oh, Sully? Yeah. Hmph. Last month, he wanted to live in a tree house.
ANGELA: Hm. He's like me.
BOOTH: Yeah. (he pauses and thinks) Ya know, I don't see that.
ANGELA: Well, he's not really made for all this murder and corpses and empty eye sockets crap. He's a romantic.
BOOTH: Unlike me?
ANGELA: No. You're a romantic of a narrow kind. You live to catch bad guys. Sully lives wide. ..............
BOOTH: Okay, I'll got visit her fiancée tomorrow...and I, I live wide too. Far and wide. All right? There's nothing wider than Seeley Booth.
This sounds like he is trying to convince himself that his brand of romanticism, if subtle, is just as good as Sully's. Of course, he also has to convince Brennan and it is here that we have Booth being Booth: always thinking of the other person, and especially his partner, first.
BRENNAN: Sully bought that boat.
BOOTH: Yeah? Ha. Next thing you know he'll be shipwrecked on some island talking to a volleyball.
BRENNAN: He's leaving for the Caribbean.
BOOTH: Really. (she nods) Look, I'm – I'm sorry, Bones. I – I know that the two of you were kinda hittin' it off -
BRENNAN: He wants me to go with him.
BOOTH: (looks a bit thrown) Oh. Oh..yeah...
BRENNAN: He – he says I should take a year off, a sabbatical. He says it'll be fun.
BOOTH: Yeah, it would be.
BRENNAN: But you just said he'd be shipwrecked with a volleyball.
BOOTH: Well, he's got you. He doesn't need the volleyball.
BRENNAN: You think I should go?
BOOTH: (he takes a moment) Yeah. (it's obvious that he wants to say no) Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know it's, uh, one year out of your life, huh? I mean a person's gotta - live wide. And this is kinda narrow.
Having committed, sort of, to the idea of Bones leaving he goes into it whole heartedly. She does not see where he is coming from, or the point he is making.
BOOTH: You know, Sully's a nice guy.
BRENNAN: You sound condescending.
BOOTH: I'm just trying to be nice, okay? I'm complimenting the fact that you got a good one this time.
BRENNAN: Thereby implying I'm incapable of making my own judgments.
BOOTH: The physicist who couldn't tie his shoes? Oh, the former professor who was, uh, jealous of your own success. Should I stop?
BRENNAN: Yes -
BOOTH: Oh, the guy that you found on the Internet and ended up being some kind of recruiter for a cult. Oh, and this is my favorite – the guy who cut off his own brother's head because he thought he was possessed by a witch.
BRENNAN: You made your point.
BOOTH: Look I'm just saying a guy who wants to take you away from all of this on a sailboat – that's a step up.
BRENNAN: Condescending.
Is he being condescending? No, Booth always has been superior to Brennan's other choices of dates and I think he is superior to Sully, not because he is narrowly romantic, but because he has a dedication to keeping the streets, and his friends, safe by doing his job. Sully is a good agent, a good guy, but he is also a dreamer with all sorts of wild schemes that have no guarantee of success. One thing Booth is successful at is his job.
In the end, Brennan does not sail off with Sully and Booth is there to pick up the pieces.
BRENNAN: What are you doing here?
BOOTH: I'm waving goodbye. See? (he waves)
BRENNAN: What do you want?
BOOTH: Breakfast.
BRENNAN: I'm not hungry.
BOOTH: Oh, come on, huh? What are ya gonna vomit when we come across one of those, uh, horrific cases?
BRENNAN: I don't vomit.
BOOTH: Give it time, Bones, okay? Give it time. Everything happens eventually.
BRENNAN: Everything?
BOOTH: All the stuff, okay, that you think never happens – it happens. You just gotta be ready for it.
So it would seem Booth is content to bide his time. Sadly, he chose not to bide at the wrong time much, much later.
The Sully arc was focused again on Brennan and Booth was rather peripheral, but it gave him the chance to reassess where he was going in his life through the intervention of Wyatt and his own strength. It also allowed the audience to see that Booth is becoming more invested in his partner as a woman rather than a colleague. Is it coincidence that the next three episodes dealt with things important to him: religion, stoic resistance to pain and sport? Brennan is not interested in any of these. Or that the remaining 3 give us the final frontier, Brennan cooking for Booth and a wedding?
These episodes were for looking at Booth in context; they told us nothing beyond where he came from and that he and his dad were tight. Everything else is new Booth, current Booth.
There will be a shorter coda to Season 2 to come.
RIP Pete Postlethwaite. He was a consummate actor, with a remarkable range, from Father Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet to Danny, a dying miner and brass band conductor in Brassed Off. He was Oscar nominated for his role in In the Name of the Father. I found him magnetic to watch.
Some language in this extract so NSFW. Here the colliery band have won the national championship at the Royal Albert Hall. His speech says it all.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-03 09:03 pm (UTC)I'd chat more, but really? Babe? If I did, I would ramble. and holy hell you know how I ramble.
See OK. Ill ramble a bit. I? think pre-the katrine eppy? Booth knew. I am one of the ppl who belive he knew from the beginning. I watched up to the end of s5 w/o fic, spoilers or fandom and watching all together like that? I always knew he loved her. Right from the beginning.
S2? is just when he got two things??? the line?? I never once thought he was saying TO her, he was musing aloud and sad as shit cuz Cam wasnt OK. and then she was and that? scared him... he cmpromised them all for his kid, its Booth BUT. Theres a huge but there.
Sully? Is the first REAL time his girls been ... well what i think hes always thought of in some way as his girl, has been "taken" from him, by someone as you said, he approves of. and yet again... He fucks himself so SHE will be happy. Thats Booth. The belt buckle, the flashier ties... she notices. oh she notices everything about him.
This analysis? I adored. as I do YOU. I have read them ALL. If I dont comment it just means RL is crazy not that you dont rock cuz you soooo do.
(PS If I have 56578 typos, ignore em. Spell check is my enemy.)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-03 09:26 pm (UTC)Booth has always seen Bren as his girl, he just kept it to himself. The relationship became more central as we are given more examples of their interactions outside of the workplace: in the Diner, in Founding Fathers; in each others homes. Those moments are still quite scattered in Seasons 1 and 2 and as you say, Sully is the first SO who takes centre stage and gives Booth pause.
Of course, the writers don't really follow it up until Season 4, so that will have to wait. For now, I'm still looking at secret Booth and as far as I'm concerned, his feelings for Bones are no secret.
Mwah.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-03 09:37 pm (UTC)I LOVE your analysis though, the deconstructing our hidden Booth. Cuz our boy??? Never shines a light on himself but YOU ARE. and I love it.
I LOVE that YOU TOO think he knew from day one, that those were NOT just words he said.
I Knew NOTHING about the 100th when I saw it. I watched in order and really??? Now that I can watch it with a BIT of perspective??? It still told me what I already knew. she was always his girls and sully?? challanged that. alot. a hell of alot. I think it was the first time since they met that he was scared someone would "take her away" from him.
and yah. Our Booth still said ok.
Oh babe. You sooo rock.
I gotta go get my sweet kid. but yes. I LOVE THIS. & you
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-03 10:00 pm (UTC)hugs and kisses.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-03 09:23 pm (UTC)My take on why Booth is better for Brennan than Sully is because I think in the end, Sully won't commit to anything. He's a grass might be greener on the other side and I don't think that's the type of person she'd be happy with in the long run.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-03 09:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-03 10:20 pm (UTC)The last thing that Booth seems to want to do is admit he has feelings for his partner.
It seems so, even though he knows it will lead to Sully asking Brennan out. But then, if he had admitted it, he would have had to deal with it. He's not going to try and stop Sully. Had Sully been in line with some of the other men Brennan has gone out with he would have, but as he says Sully's a great guy, okay?. Sully lives wide, he has the courage to ask.
(BTW is Oh, the guy that you found on the Internet and ended up being some kind of recruiter for a cult. supposed to be an explanation for what happened to David/Dick 437?)
As shallow as it is of Booth playing the tall card etc , I like it that he can't help expressing his jealousy!
Sad news about Pete Postlethwaite.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-03 10:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-03 10:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-03 11:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-03 10:59 pm (UTC)PS - love that icon
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-03 11:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-03 10:42 pm (UTC)For me, the kicker line is Sully's: "too slow is worse than not slow enough." Strangely, he was too slow to ask and not slow enough to declare.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-03 10:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-03 10:56 pm (UTC)I always loved that little bit at the end where we see Booth talking to Hodgins then wallking off dejected. He has a little bit of that "what's wrong with me" attitude to his shoulder slump.
The last scene of Boneless Bride is one of my favourites and frankly, Booth looks so good in that scene I don't know why she didn't just tackle him and strip him right there on the dock; broken heart or no.
He demonstrates to her how constant he really is, but it's a long time before she really gets that.
I had read somewhere that Cocky was airbrushed out for many episodes, before it was allowed to appear. I wonder why the change of heart. No matter.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-03 11:18 pm (UTC)Yes about being intimidated by Brennan. Although he had dated strong women before, they were from his own milieu and Bones is in no way like that. I keep feeling that however strong Booth appears on the surface, he is deeply insecure about his abilities being appealing to women. Who wants an ex-gambler, ex-sniper from a broken home with control issues.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-18 05:17 pm (UTC)Sully definitely earns a place on that list of Brennan'a unsuitable suitors, imo. He obviously didn't stick at anything for long and if Brennan had decided to sail off into the sunset with him she could easily have found herself out on a limb when he reverted to form and suddenly decided to ditch the boat idea and go off somewhere else instead. Whether she came to realise that is moot, really.
I SO agree with Huronia - that last scene on the dock in Boneless Bride was a real demonstration of Booth's constancy, and his thoughtfulness. (Probably peppered with a little bit of relief though, I'm guessing. Bless him.)
And yes, he looked SO good. Standing there.....! Sigh..
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-18 05:26 pm (UTC)dwarfshorter person however large certain parts of his anatomy were! Cam found Booth satisfying so that's good enough for me.