“Catch the son of a bitch who did this to my daughter.”
This is one of the first episodes of Bones that I remember really breaking my heart. But of course, it was the first of so many that would do so. It’s one of the things Bones is best at: making you laugh and making you cry, in equal measure.
I find the case in this episode to be among the most interesting cases that Bones ever does. There’s not much scarier than the thought that a bone-grafting ring could exist, and that cancerous bone grafts could be put into healthy people, give them terminal cancer, and kill them. I mean, that’s a terrifying thought. We put so much trust in our medical system–more than we think we do, I’d say–and the thought of that trust being so betrayed is scary. It’s also really interesting to watch on TV. I love stuff like this. A conspiracy about the failure of our medical system–something I’m glad is fiction, but it’s good fiction. 🤷🏻♀️
This episode also really changed my perspective on Deputy Director Cullen. His teenage daughter, Amy, is how Booth & Brennan find out about the bone-grafting ring in the first place. Brennan, upon hearing that Amy had mesothelioma, instantly knew that something was off. A teenage girl shouldn’t have a cancer like that. Despite Booth’s concerns that she would be rude by asking the Cullens questions, and asking to see Amy’s x-rays, they were more than happy to talk with her and let her take a look. Given the previously antagonistic relationship between Brennan and Cullen, I appreciate that he trusts her expertise. In this situation, Booth got it all wrong. I hope he apologized to Brennan later.
I always viewed Cullen as a Walter Skinner-esque character, mostly adversarial but at times a vital ally. I never hated him, but I didn’t have a reason to like him, either. In this episode, Bones does one of my favorite TV tropes: they make me like, and feel incredible amounts of compassion and empathy, for a character I hadn’t previously liked. This usually only happens when the character is about to be killed off, or we never see them again. In this case, it is the last appearance of Deputy Director Cullen. By the end of the episode, I cried–this may have been the first time I cried watching Bones (and certainly, certainly not the last). I think we can assume that his daughter died, and he needed to take a leave of absence or leave the FBI entirely. It makes complete sense why we never saw him again. It would have been cool if he’d stayed on and become a more involved figure with Booth & Brennan. You know, like Mulder, Scully, and Skinner. 🥹
I love when Cullen bursts into the interrogation room and attempts to kill the mortician. I am not a parent, but I can imagine the blind rage that would make a parent want to kill the person who hurt his little girl. I also love when people who typically show restraint completely lose their cool. I gained so much respect for Cullen in that moment. Of course one of the last moments we ever get with him!
The other thing I love so, so much about this episode is Angela’s relationship with Amy. Amy is a budding artist, and Angela meets her and takes such a liking to her. They spend time together, talking about life, and art, and love, and her future. I adore the little friendship they forge with each other. I can only imagine how much it meant to Amy to have someone treat her like an actual person instead of a sick person. To be her friend without treating her like she was fragile. To do such an incredible thing in creating the Louvre in VR. It’s beautiful. Love when we get good Angela character development time. 💜
I also love, upon a second viewing, noticing that Hodgins is clearly already falling hard for Angela. I think I noticed something about this in the last episode, or the last couple of episodes, but it’s very blatant at this point. I keep forgetting they are not a couple! I love this for them. 💜💜💜💜💜
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The song for this episode is “Cumulus” by Imogen Heap. Imogen is one of my husband’s favorite musical artists, to the point where he named his (our) cat after her. When this song came on when we watched the episode together, he was excited. And it’s a beautiful song, delicate, strong, and emotional, in an episode about a delicate, strong, and emotional teenager.
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In conclusion, this episode is perfect to me. One of my top 25 I think. It’s a serious episode with a really interesting case, emotional and bittersweet–no happy ending, which I also loved. An easy 10/10 for me.
The Bones Files 
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