The Perfect Pieces in the Purple Pond

The fourth episode of the fourth season aired tonight on FOX. Read the BeeSight BeeCap to find out what happened.

BeeCap

The show begins with a young couple in a garage. The boy goes off to take a leak and pees on an evaporation pool. This causes the water to turn purple and body parts to float to the top. The gang arrives. Booth is having back problems and Bones wants to help him. He insists he's fine, bickering ensues and persists throughout the episode.

Back at the office, we meet the new guy Wendell Bray, a grad student who is helping with the case. The crew examines the body and finds that it's been dead for a few days. A unique pair of shoes found at the crime scene lead the crew to a guy named Jared. Booth and Bones go to Jared's house, talk to his mother, examine his room, and discover he's a science fiction writer. They call in Sweets. He deciphers that Jared has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and most likely had a new love interest. They search the room and find a picture of an older woman who owns a flower shop, so they bring her in for questioning.

Booth finds herself alone with Bray and asks him about dating older women. He panics, thinking she's hitting on him. He then goes to Angela, concerned about losing his job because he may be unable to satisfy Bones. Angela then takes the information to Sweets, who clears up the confusion. Angela makes it clear that she blames Sweets for breaking up her and Hodgins. Angela goes back to Bray to tell him not to worry. Bray is relieved, but is not sure that he wants to work in their environment.

Meanwhile, the gang finds clues from the body including coffee grounds, seaweed, a finger injury known as a 'boxer's fracture', and a fly egg. Booth and Bones follow a series of leads including Jared's OCD therapist who has a black eye, another OCD patient who admits to killing Jared, but turns out it was just in his head, and a coffee shop owner who admitted to pushing Jared, but denied anything more. The team uncovers Jared's phone bill showing a call placed everyday to his publisher, who is brought in for questioning. He lies at first, but later admits to being punched by Jared. He turns out not to be the killer since he hired Jared back, therefore, he had no motive.

The fly egg finally hatches and turns out to be a rare fly that only lives in hot and humid areas. That leads the crew back to the flower shop where they meet the woman's son. He tells them that Jared had asked his permission to marry his mom, but he refused. Hodgins finds more flies and Booth swabs for traces of blood, but comes up clean.

During the episode, Sweets and Hodgins visit Zach in the psych ward. Hodgins hands him the case files to look over. Hodgins is supposed to move into Zach's space, but he is unable to do so. While the crew hits a dead end in the case, Zach shocks everyone when he walks in with the information to solve the case. It turns out Jared's mother had OCD too and a motive to kill her son. When Sweets takes Zach back to the mental facility, Zach says he actually didn't kill anyone, but tells Sweets he can't repeat the information. Back at the office, Bones finally gets to fix Booth's back.

BeeThoughts

I don't think it's fair for Angela to blame Sweets for breaking up her relationship with Hodgins. She seemed pretty willing to walk away with very little reason. I think she just wants Sweets to feel guilty, and it might be working. As for the other office romance, I hope Booth and Bones don't start dating. The tension between them makes for a more interesting dynamic. I also like the new guy. I appreciate that he's uneasy with the awkward work environment and I think he would make a good addition to the team.

Buzzing Questions

• Do you think Sweets should be blamed for Angela and Hodgins failed relationship?
• Do you want Bones and Booth to get together?
• Will the new guy last?