When we last left the gang at the Jeffersonian, things were not great.  Sweets had been a target of Pelant (ugh Pelant), Bones was finally ready to get married (an institution in which she never believed before Booth) and proposed to Booth in the sweetest way, only to have him turn around and say no (after saying yes) when Pelant told him that if Booth stayed engaged and/or told Bones why they needed to not be engaged, Pelant would kll a handful of people, at random, for no good reason because he’s awful (did you follow all that?  If not, Buzzfeed cleared it up for you).

When BONES returns tonight on FOX, at 8/7c, the group is still feeling the effects of last year’s finale.  Not a lot of time has passed, and everyone is offering their advice – unsolicited in most cases – about how Brennan and Booth should handle their end-of-engagement-because-of-creepy-and-awful-half-faced-man.  Bones doesn’t understand why Booth won’t talk to her, Angela’s mad at him for Brennan (rightfully so, in my opinion), Booth is spending time chatting with an ex-clergy-man played by one of my favorite people (Mather Zickel), and in general, everything just feels off.  Like most weeks, when another gruesome murder happens in the DC area and the gang is dispatched to solve the case (side note, whoever works on creating just how disgusting these crime scenes are going to be is some sort of mad genius).  The episode plays out as any BONES episode has played out in the past – red herrings, wrong suspects, and eventually, the right person brought to justice for their hand in the murder of the week.

What felt different about this episode, and maybe what should be adding tension to other episodes from the past few years, is that Pelant is still out there – he’s still causing issues, wreaking havoc on our gang’s lives in ways they aren’t aware of, and Booth has taken to speaking freely in locations where no technology can be found.  He has to be getting tired of keeping the secret, and watching the show, I’m getting a bit tired of waiting for him to spill the beans, let alone waiting to see when this guy will finally be out of the characters’ (and our) lives.  And I have to say that the murder of the week didn’t necessarily hold my attention, even with guest stars Freddie Prinze, Jr – who is looking really good – and  Kathleen York (Andrea+Toby 4eva).

Is it a solid episode the way that BONES always tends to be a solid show?  Sure, but does it do enough to renew my interest in seeing how Pelant’s story plays out?  Not really.  In short, BONES will always be an old stand-by for me, but on a night of the week that finds 10-15 other shows worth watching, I can’t say it will be the first thing I’m turning the channel to.  Check out some pretty pictures and a preview of tonight’s episode in photos (click on any image to start a slideshow) –

What do you think?  Are you still on the BONES train, 9 seasons in?