Temperance "Bones" Brennan

For the character in Kathy Reichs' novels, see Temperance Brennan.

Temperance Brennan
Bones character
Photograph of Brennan, as portrayed by Emily Deschanel.
First appearance	"Pilot"
Created by	Hart Hanson
Portrayed by	Emily Deschanel
Information
Nickname(s)	Bones (By Seeley Booth), Tempe, Bren, Dr. B, Morticia, Mamma Bones (By Seeley Booth)
Aliases	Joy Keenan, Wanda Moosejaw, Roxy Scallion
Gender	Female
Occupation	Forensic anthropologist
Title	Dr., Ph.D.
Family	Father: Max Keenan (a.k.a. Matthew Brennan) Mother: Ruth Keenan (a.k.a. Christine Brennan; deceased) Brother: Kyle Keenan (a.k.a. Russ Brennan) Sister-in-law: Amy Hollister Step-niece: Hayley Hollister Step-niece: Emma Hollister Second cousin: Margaret Whitesell
Significant other(s)	Seeley Joseph Booth
Children	Unnammed Daughter (Currently Expecting; with Seeley Booth)
Religion	Atheist
Nationality	American

Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan, Ph.D. (born Joy Keenan), is a fictional character portrayed by Emily Deschanel in the American Fox television series Bones. Brennan first appeared on television, along with other co-protagonists, in the "Pilot" episode of Bones on September 13, 2005.

While Brennan is loosely based on author Kathy Reichs, her name originates from the heroine in Reichs's crime novel series,^[1] The main similarity the two characters share is their occupation as a forensic anthropologist.

Character history

Temperance "Bones" Brennan is a board-certified forensic anthropologist who works in the Medico-Legal lab at the fictional Jeffersonian Institute in Washington D.C. She received her Ph.D degree from Northwestern University, as stated in "The Girl in the Fridge." There is reason to believe that she may actually have as many as three doctorate degrees, based on a comment that Dr. Jack Hodgins makes during the flashback episode "The Parts of the Sum in the Whole." Although it is implied that most of her work at the lab was related to either long-dead bodies or victims of genocide^[2][3] her occasional contract work for the FBI shifted the focus of her work.^[3] She was paired with FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth, and helped to solve two difficult cases;^[2][3] since then, they have worked together almost exclusively on modern-day murder cases.

Brennan works with a group of other well-qualified colleagues, including the entomologist Jack Hodgins, her boss and forensic pathologist Camille Saroyan, forensic artist Angela Montenegro, and a host of eager graduate students. Booth refers to her crew of colleagues as "squints", because they come to crime scenes and squint at evidence. He is also responsible for her nickname, "Bones".^[2] As of Season one it can be determined that Brennan is at least 30 years old because in the first season finale she mentioned that her parents went missing over 15 years ago and states that she was born in 1976, also she has said numerous times that they disappeared when she was 15 years old. In "The Death of the Queen Bee" it is revealed that her actual age is 33 years old.

In the season 3 episode, The Baby in the Bough, it is revealed that Brennan is a registered foster parent, at her brother's request, to take in his stepdaughters, incase anything should happen to him and his girlfriend.

Family and early life

Although Brennan seemed to have a relatively normal childhood, her parents disappeared when she was 15 years old.^[4] Her older brother, Russ, was unable to care for her, and she was put in the foster care system. There has been contradictory evidence about her time in the system; in one episode, Brennan stated that her grandfather got her out of the foster system,^[5] but in a later episode, she indicates that she never knew her grandparents (possibly the two references are to two separate sets of grandparents, paternal and maternal).^[6] Her time in foster care was quite traumatic and abusive; Brennan indicated that she was once locked in the trunk of a car for two days because she broke a plate,^[7] and in the episode "The Finger in the Nest", she reveals to Booth that she walked into her elderly neighbor's house to find the woman dead. In the same episode, she also mentions to Booth that her parents were very concerned about her afterwards, because she started faking her own death.

It is later revealed that her parents, who were bank robbers, changed the family's identity after they testified against some other bank robbers; Brennan's birth name was actually Joy Keenan.^[8] Her mother (real name Ruth Keenan, known under the assumed identity of Christine Brennan) had hoped to someday return to her children and family, but made a tape for Brennan to watch on her 16th birthday in case that never happened. Brennan later discovered that Ruth/Christine was murdered in 1993, two years after she and her husband went on the run. Her father, Max Keenan, re-entered Brennan's life when she and her brother were being threatened by an old acquaintance, who turned out to be Booth's boss, Deputy Director Kirby.^[9] Max evades capture after killing Kirby, and takes Russ into hiding to protect him.^[9] Later, Max allows Booth to arrest him in order to improve his relationship with his daughter.^[6] At trial, Max is acquitted of murdering Director Kirby (due in large part to a defense Booth indirectly came up with, positing an alternate theory of the crime in which Temperance was the killer instead, creating reasonable doubt), and he begins to rebuild his life.^[10] He temporarily works at the Jeffersonian as a guide for children visiting the place and demonstrates his brilliant talent as a former science teacher. However, Brennan is concerned about a convicted felon having access to a lab that investigates crimes underground. It is very mysterious what Brennan first finds in the lab.^[11] Max also introduces Brennan to her cousin Margaret Whitesell,^[12] portrayed by Deschanel's real-life sister Zooey Deschanel. Brennan is best friends with her coworker Angela, saying in the 6th season premiere she loves Angela "like a sister" and is going to be an aunt to Hodgins and Angela's newborn child. It is revealed at the end of the season six finale "The Change in the Game" that Brennan is pregnant and the father is Booth.

Characterization

Throughout the course of the series, Brennan appears to be a brilliant anthropologist who lacks social skills. Her social ineptitude is especially apparent when it comes to sarcasm, metaphors which she often interprets literally, and pop culture jokes.^[2] An example of this is when she mistakes Colin Farrell for Will Ferrell.^[5]

She had a difficult adolescence, and it is implied that her withdrawn social tendencies are a defense mechanism. She also sometimes struggles in identifying and explaining her emotions, and takes comfort in the rationality of her anthropologic discipline. Although it has been stated that Brennan was based on a person with Asperger syndrome, this has never been confirmed in the plot of the series.^[13] The creator of the series has stated that the character was never labelled as having the syndrome in order to increase the appeal of the show on network television.^[14] This influence on her character also helps to explain her extreme rationality in early seasons, as well as some of her social difficulties. Brennan is a self-proclaimed atheist and often points out what she believes to be the irrationality of religious and spiritual beliefs. This has led to more than one argument with Booth, who is a devout Roman Catholic; he becomes particularly irate when she compares less common religions, such as voodoo, to Christianity.^[15]

The character of Brennan is written as a bestselling author, who has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for 18 weeks.^[16] She is trained in three types of martial arts,^[15][17] has hunting licenses in four states,^[15] and has a legally-registered gun^[2] as well as a diving certificate.^[18] She promised to consider becoming a vegetarian after seeing how pigs were slaughtered (which was also the way her mother had been killed).^[8] However, in "The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken" (season 5, episode 6) Angela cites health reasons for Brennan's vegetarian diet. Brennan is also a trained amateur highwire performer,^[19] and speaks at least seven other languages, including Spanish,^[20] French,^[2] Latin,^[21] Chinese,^[22] Japanese,^[23] Norwegian (although she says only "skull" and avers that, as a forensic anthropologist, this is a word she knows "in just about every language"),^[7] and German.^[24] She has also admitted to knowing a bit of Russian.^[19] She often says she does not "put much stock in psychology" and makes a point of noting that Dr. Sweets is not a real scientist as he "bases his life on the vagary of psychology and emotions".

Brennan's personality undergoes significant changes throughout the course of the series. Her thinking becomes less rigid in later seasons, something which is observed by Dr. Gordon Wyatt, who notes that she is now able to distinguish the difference between accuracy and truth.^[25] She is also able to put aside her rationality to support her friends in sometimes irrational pursuits, such as Angela's quest to raise money to save a pig from slaughter.^[26] Her sensitivity and empathy towards others are also much improved, seen quite strongly when she comforts Booth's grandfather,^[27] and when she attends a funeral so that the victim's mother won't be alone.^[12] She also displays more "typical" human emotions when in extreme stress. One example of this is her fear of snakes in "The Mummy in the Maze," when a girl is in the process of being scared to death in a room, the floor teeming with snakes. This goes against her empirical nature, as, when Booth tells her that the snakes aren't poisonous, she states that she is aware, but will not step in the room, causing Booth to carry her on his back.

Brennan begins to feel both dissatisfaction and discomfort with her work toward the end of the fifth season.^[28] She also sees some futility in her work, stating that no matter how many killers they catch, there will always be more.^[29] She decides to head up an anthropological expedition to Indonesia for a year to identify some ancient proto-human remains.^[29] However, 7 months later, she and everyone else return to D.C. in order to save Cam's job, and they all decided to stay.

As season 6 progresses, Brennan must confront her feelings for Booth, whom she rejected in the 100th episode from the previous season. Having returned from 7 months of introspection, she has come to terms with her romantic affection towards him, even admitting that rejecting Booth is a "regret" mid-way through the season. However, Booth returns from Afghanistan with a new love interest, war correspondent Hannah Burley, whom Brennan not only likes but becomes good friends with. When Hannah rejects Booth's proposal, Brennan must help him through the emotional fallout.

In the second to last episode of season 6 Booth and Brennan had sex, consummating their relationship, and it is revealed in the last few moments of the season finale that Brennan is pregnant and Booth is the father. Throughout the episode ("The Change in the Game") Brennan has been seen asking Angela questions and making comments that make her seem excited and apprehensive; when she sees that Booth is happy with the news, she also seems overjoyed. This reflects her earlier desire to become a mother, circa season 4, as well as her desire that Booth be the father of the baby.

During season 6 Brennan begins to move out of her shell and seems to have more understanding of the colloquialisms that often confused her earlier in the series, though she must frequently talk through the language associations that make a joke humorous, etc.

Relationships

Brennan has had a number of relatively short relationships, including an ill-fated date with what turned out to be a murderer^[30] and the re-kindling of a romance with her former thesis supervisor. She has stated that although she does not always feel the need for a committed emotional relationship, she has engaged in casual relationships to "satisfy biological urges".^[31] In one episode, she was spending time with two men, one for his intelligence and the other for his sexual skills.^[32] In Season 5, episode "The Plain in the Prodigy", she tells Booth she lost her virginity when she was 22 and when asked why she waited so long, she said it was because the decision was "important to her".

Seeley Booth

FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth is Brennan's partner, and the principal liaison between the Jeffersonian and law enforcement agencies. He is also Brennan's principal love interest throughout the series. Although his working style initially clashed with Brennan's,^[2] they have since become full-fledged partners. Their compatibility has become one of the central points of the show, with many new characters assuming that they are already "more than partners."^[15] Booth and Brennan have repeatedly risked their safety to save each other, including when Booth took a bullet meant for Brennan.^[16] After Booth rescues Brennan from the corrupt Agent Kenton, Booth lifts her off the hook she was hung on by putting her tied hands around his neck even though he was severely injured. Brennan once commented to Dr. Wyatt that she "[couldn't] think of anything [she] wouldn't do to help Booth."^[33]

The relationship between Brennan and Booth has often become strained when either partner has a significant other. For example, Booth was quite irritable when Brennan dated Agent Sully,^[34] and their relationship was also strained when Booth's brother Jared was showing an interest in Brennan. Brennan constantly needled Booth while he was dating Tessa.

When Brennan decided that she wanted to have a baby, she asked Booth if he would be the sperm donor. He agrees to Brennan's request at first, but subsequently struggles with the thought of not being involved in the life of his prospective child. Eventually he tells Brennan he cannot let her have his child if he is not allowed to be a father to it. Soon thereafter, it is discovered that he has a (benign) brain tumour.^[35] He has to undergo surgery, and when he awakens, he initially suffers from amnesia, believing that Brennan is his wife and that she was pregnant. This was a dream he had in his coma due to her reading one of her books to him. ^[36][37]

Although for the majority of the series Booth and Brennan denied that their relationship was anything more than friendly professionalism, they admitted to Dr. Sweets that they kissed and nearly spent the night together after their very first case together. After this discussion, Booth attempted to convince Brennan to give a relationship a try. However, she declined, telling him that she, unlike him, is not a gambler, and isn't able to take that kind of a chance.^[3] They have subsequently attempted to date other people,^[38] although the fact that Booth once comments that he regards Brennan as his "standard" for other women suggests that he, at least, has not completely moved on. Brennan does admit to her best friend Angela Montenegro that as time has gone on, she is unsure if she wants to keep doing consulting work for the FBI, citing that she is tired of murderers, victims, and is constantly worried that something will happen to Booth and she will be unable to save him. In the climax of Season Five, Brennan and Booth part ways for a year – he goes to Afghanistan while she leaves for the Maluku Islands in Indonesia – but they promise to meet, one year from that day, at the coffee cart by the reflecting pool.^[39]

In the beginning of season six (7 months later), they reunite in the stated place. Booth came back from Afghanistan, along with everyone else from various places, to help save Cam's job. They all decided to stay. Booth has a serious new girlfriend, Hannah and despite the hints of her colleagues at Brennan's unconscious jealousy of their relationship, she vehemently denies feeling uncomfortable with the new situation. Through subsequent episodes her jealousy and resentfulness began becoming more apparent as Hannah and Booth started becoming more serious. In the episode "The Doctor in the Photo", Brennan realizes her feelings for Booth and confronts him, but she is let down when Booth says that he loves Hannah and she is not a "consolation prize", prompting Brennan to conclude that she has missed her chance, later reflecting that she should move on. In episode 10 of the sixth season "The Body in the Bag", Booth tells his girlfriend about the incident, stating that it (his love for Temperance) was all in the past and whatever he felt, he does not feel it anymore, except for Hannah. However it was clear in the following episode that he still has feelings for Brennan.

Despite her apparent resolve to move on, Brennan later showed sorrow when her father noted that he always thought she and Booth would end up together. During a subsequent case involving a polygamist who would spend the night with his first wife on the night he was scheduled to sleep alone, Booth commented that, while you can love several people, there is only ever one person you love the most, adding further weight to the implication that he still has feelings for Brennan. Following Hannah's departure, the two have begun to reconnect, to the point that, during a recent case, the two admitted that they are each interested in a relationship, but require more time to sort out their own feelings before they make such a commitment.

In episode 22 of season 6, "The Hole in the Heart", which saw the death of "Squintern" Vincent Nigel-Murray at the hands of renegade sniper Jacob "on the loose" Broadsky, Booth has Brennan stay at his apartment for her safety. Later that night, Brennan, still overcome with shock and grief over Vincent's death, gets into bed with Booth and it is implied in the following day that they had sex. In the last scene of the season 6 finale, "The Change in the Game", after the birth of Angela and Hodgins' son, Brennan tells Booth that she is pregnant and that he is the father, making Booth overjoyed.

At the start of Season 7, a very pregnant Brennan and Booth are a couple but are going back and forth between apartments. Booth suggests that they should have their own place, whereas Brennan wants Booth to move into her apartment. It causes a minor rift between them but is resolved when Booth admits why he wants to move into a new house and Brennan having some time to think over it says its a good idea because she'd need him practically, emotionally and sexually. At the end of the episode they are in bed looking at houses on the internet. Brennan also tells Booth she loves him.

Tim "Sully" Sullivan

Brennan had a brief relationship with FBI Agent Tim Sullivan (Eddie McClintock), also known as Sully, whom she met while on a case when Booth was in therapy due to his grief-induced rage over his self-perceived role in the death of serial killer Howard Epps. Sully asked Bones out on a date after their case was completed, and they began a relationship.^[34] Their relationship ended, however, when Sully decided to sail a boat down to the Caribbean, and Brennan declined to leave the Jeffersonian to go with him despite Angela trying to persuade her to follow him;^[22] psychiatrist Doctor Gordon Wyatt (Stephen Fry) speculated that this was due to Brennan being unable to live a life without purpose. Despite Dr Wyatt's original perception as to why she stayed, there exist strong indications, especially through Angela's observations of the situation, that the real reason she stayed was because of Booth.

Assistant Director Andrew Hacker

More recently, Brennan has been in a relationship with Booth's boss, Andrew Hacker (Diedrich Bader). Although they were dating for a while, he was not mentioned when Bones made the decision to go to Indonesia for a year,^[29], nor has he been seen in Season 6 (except for giving Booth a phone call to inform him about a new case in one episode) probably indicating that their relationship has ended.

David Simmons

Brennan met David Simmons (Coby Ryan McLaughlin) when she forays into the online dating world, although their first date was interrupted by gunshots.^[40] He was initially a suspect in the shooting but was later cleared of any involvement. Bones canceled their re-scheduled date to spend time with Booth in the hospital.^[40] Their short relationship came to an end, with the reasons initially unknown; Booth alluded, in a later episode, that he may have been a recruiter for a cult.^[22]

References

1. ^ Goldman, Eric, "Digging Up Secrets With the Cast of Bones", IGN, May 31, 2007. Retrieved on June 4, 2007.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "Pilot". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 1, season 1.
3. ^ ^{a b c d} "The Parts in the Sum of the Whole". Bones (TV series). Fox. 2010-04-08. No. 16, season 5.
4. ^ "The Man in the Fallout Shelter". Bones. No. 9, season 1.
5. ^ ^{a b} "A Boy in a Bush". Bones (TV series). Fox. 2005-11-08. No. 5, season 1.
6. ^ ^{a b} "The Stargazer in the Puddle". Bones (TV series). Fox. 2007-05-16. No. 21, season 2.
7. ^ ^{a b} "Mayhem on the Cross". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 21, season 4.
8. ^ ^{a b} "The Woman in Limbo". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 22, season 1.
9. ^ ^{a b} "Judas on a Pole". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 11, season 2.
10. ^ "The Verdict in the Story". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 12, season 3.
11. ^ "The Bones that Blew". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 11, season 4.
12. ^ ^{a b} "The Goop on the Girl". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 10, season 5.
13. ^ "Ellen Gray | Boreanaz says 'Bones' is not procedural | Philadelphia Daily News | 01/31/2007". Philadelphia Daily News. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/ellen_gray/20070131_Ellen_Gray___Boreanaz_says__Bones__is_not_procedural.html. Retrieved 2010-05-22. 
14. ^ "How TV shows try (or choose not) to depict Asperger's syndrome". nj.com. 2010. http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2010/02/how_tv_shows_try_or_choose_not.html. Retrieved 2010-03-01. 
15. ^ ^{a b c d} "The Man in the Morgue". Bones (TV series). Fox. 2006-04-16. No. 19, season 1.
16. ^ ^{a b} "The Wannabe in the Weeds". Bones (TV series). Fox. 2207. No. 8, season 2.
17. ^ "The Aliens in the Spaceship". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 9, season 2.
18. ^ "The Man with the Bone". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 18, season 1.
19. ^ ^{a b} "Double Trouble in the Panhandle". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 12, season 4.
20. ^ "The Woman in the Garden". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 13, season 1.
21. ^ "A Boy in a Tree". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 3, season 1.
22. ^ ^{a b c} "The Boneeless Bride in the River". Bones (TV series). Fox. 2007-03-21. No. 16, season 2.
23. ^ "The Girl in the Mask". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 23, season 4.
24. ^ "The Blonde in the Game". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 4, season 2.
25. ^ "The Dwarf in the Dirt". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 7, season 5.
26. ^ "The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 6, season 5.
27. ^ "The Foot in the Foreclosure"". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 8, season 5.
28. ^ "The Boy with the Answer". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 21, season 5.
29. ^ ^{a b c} "The Beginning in the End". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 22, season 5.
30. ^ "The Headless Witch in the Woods". Bones (TV series). Fox. 2006-11-26. No. 10, season 2.
31. ^ "The Girl in the Fridge". Bones (TV series). Fox. 2005-11-29. No. 5, season 1.
32. ^ "Bones: Episode 4.2 "The Man in the Outhouse" Recap" (web article). BuddyTV. http://www.buddytv.com/articles/bones/bones-episode-42-the-man-in-th-22676.aspx. Retrieved 2010-05-22. 
33. ^ "The Dwarf in the Dirt". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 7, season 5.
34. ^ ^{a b} "The Girl in the Gator". Bones (TV series). Fox. 2007-02-07. No. 13, season 2.
35. ^ "The Critic in the Cabernet". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 25, season 4.
36. ^ "The End in the Beginning". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 26, season 4.
37. ^ "Harbingers in the Fountain". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 1, season 5.
38. ^ "The Predator in the Pool". Bones (TV series). Fox. No. 18, season 6.
39. ^ "The Beginning in the End". Bones (TV Series). Fox. season 5. No. 22, series 102.
40. ^ ^{a b} "Two Bodies in the Lab". Bones (TV series). Fox. 2006-03-15. No. 15, season 1.