I'm rating this episode 5/10 because I'm feeling very generous and because I'm trying more positive approach to everything lately
What I loved:
- London. It's my second favorite city in Europe so yeah, for personal reasons.
- Hodgins, except for the break up scene and that thrown-in-the-trash one which I'll get back to, he firmly stays my favorite (and currently only) character on the show. Also TJ looks fiiiine! Please don't straighten his hair later in the season like we've seen in promo pic
- J/A "bells" kiss and most of their interactions in the first hour.
- Brennan's mention of Zack in the opening scene. I like it when she gets emotional. Just too bad for Booth's reaction.
- Brennan. For no specific reason.
- Indira Varma
What I hated:
- There's as many Brits vs Yanks jokes one can handle. Same with "fish out of water" humor. It bothers me on so many levels and I'm not even British. It's the same as the freak out my friends here had after the Paris episode of GG a couple of years ago and it's the same annoyance I have every time I'm forced to watch an Eastern European character being a hooker or a Russian mobster with a thick accent. It's simply stupid, overdone and fake.
- Some of B/B. I wish they went back to the natural, genuine interactions of S1/2. Back when not every single scene between them had to be a bone (lame pun not intended) thrown to the shippers. *is ready for the tomatoes*
- Sweets. I love JFD and right now I'm just gonna stick to Sam Weir, because him as Sweets? Meh. I never particularly cared about him, but 1. his "expertise" is not needed (you know, once upon a time it was a show about people working in a lab, solving crimes thanks to skeletons and bugs
). Squints+Booth were successfully solving crimes for 2 seasons without a help of genius profiler/therapist/clinical psychologist (they have to decide which one is his specialty, BTW. Most therapists don't work as profilers and clinical psychologist =/= therapist); 3. he's there to bring together B/B and state the obvious which makes me long for days when us, the viewers, were shown things and not told 4. he offends my former field of work but then again the approach this show has always had to psychology and mental health specialists was at best slightly offensive so... And please, he was such a cartoon in that scene between J/A and her ex.
- J/A... *sigh* Considering I watch for these 2 together and separately, their break up broke my heart. And I was spoiled as hell... It's contrived, cheap drama at its soapest. It's OOC for both of them, it's destroying Angela for me, it's gonna destroy Hodgins and I absolutely hate it. There's no such thing as an obligatory break-up to make things interesting on a TV show. There are couples written together who are fascinating because their problems and tensions are real, feel real. What we got with J/A is a lame plotline right from the end of S2, clearly written in to stir troubles and nothing more. If you'd scratch the surface more often, dear writers, you'd see there are tons of better ideas to create conflict and tension between a couple than an out-of-nowhere break up that doesn't make much sense. It was rushed and unneeded. Angela's reasoning was weak, Hodgins not putting up a fight was OOC. Lame, lame, lame.
- Birimwhatever... Not as god-like-looking, IMO. But then again I'm biased and I'd take Hodgins over any guy on this show any day *shrugs*
- Cam/Birimwhatever? I have soap operas for stories like that. Just because you make your character do something doesn't mean it suddenly has a storyline.
- Zack... I already miss him dearly. His absence is noticeable. I guess, he wasn't as expendable as the writers thought
I probably have more to say but that's all I remember now.
Overall an average season opener of a show that apparently peaked in S2. It feels like a waste of potential and excellent actors...
Just my 2 cents and I realize they're probably seem harsh and that a lot of people won't agree.