TV Review: BONES – Season 10 – “The Woman in the Whirlpool”

By RACHEL REITSLEFF / Contributing Writer

Posted: August 24th, 2015 / 09:56 AM

Stars: David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel, Michaela Conlin, TJ Thyne, Tamara Taylor, John Boyd, Laura Spencer
Writers: Kathy Reichs & Kerry Reichs, series created by Hart Hanson, based on the life and writings of Kathy Reichs
Director: Dwight Little
Network: Fox Network, Thursdays @ 8 PM
Airdate: May 28, 2015

Booth (David Boreanaz) interviews a cookie jar collector in BONES "The Woman in the Whirlpool" | © 2015 Patrick McElhenney/FOX

The BONES Season 10 episode “The Woman in the Whirlpool” moves several subplots along effectively and has some especially intricate forensic details. However, it is most notable for being scripted by novelist and forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs, whose books and life are credited onscreen as the inspiration for the series, along with her daughter Kerry Reichs.

A better title for the episode might have been “The Collector in the Cove,” as technically the body of water isn’t much of a whirlpool. The body discovery occurs during an immersive religious baptism in a lake fed by the Potomac River. The victim, Leslie, is identified by remnants of her hardware store uniform. She turns out to have been an avid collector of cookie jars.

Suspects include the woman’s daughter, who resented the fact that her mother seemed more obsessed by cookie jars than family, and other collectors. However, the culprit turns out to be Leslie’s hardware store boss, who was in love with her and accidentally hit her with a champagne bottle while he was trying to destroy some of the cookie jars, which he saw as competition for her affections.

The BONES art department looks like it had a lot of fun finding a wide variety of a certain style of cookie jar, while details of the painting and glazing provide both a good initial mislead (the forensic team at first thinks Leslie was intentionally poisoned due to the amount of toxic elements found in her organs) and a caution against storing actual cookies in these antiques.

The central romance is at a point of caution, with Brennan (Emily Deschanel) clearly wanting Booth (David Boreanaz) back after she threw him out the previous week, but holding firm until he gets a handle on his gambling addiction. We also see Booth trying to avoid dealing with his issues until, at the episode’s end, he finally stands up and speaks about what he did at a Gamblers Anonymous meeting. We don’t hear a lot about the Twelve Steps, but solid points are made about the need to verbalize shameful deeds and accept responsibility.

Lastly, there is some flirtation between Booth’s partner Aubrey (John Boyd) and lab assistant Jessica Warren (Laura Spencer). This is agreeable enough, provided that the show doesn’t attempt to make them take over for Booth and Brennan (yes, he’s an FBI agent and she’s a forensic anthropologist, but presumably the creative team doesn’t suppose that the basics in this instance are a substitute for detail).

Altogether, “The Woman in the Whirlpool” is a solid installment on all levels.

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Related: Exclusive interview with BONES star John Boyd on Season 10

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