Monday’s Bones finale wasn’t as game-changey as last season’s baby bombshell-themed climax, but it still packed a rather fierce punch. In case you missed it (as if!), evil mastermind Christopher Pelant framed Brennan for murder. But rather than stick around and wait for the “hacktivist” to further incriminate her, the new mom ditched Booth and went on the lam with daughter Christine. Here, series creator Hart Hanson tackles key questions from the episode and offers a very early sneak peek at Season 8.
TVLINE | Will there be a significant time jump between seasons?
It always works for us to have the same amount of time pass for our characters as it did for our audience, and I believe we will be very close to that again. A couple of months will have gone by.
TVLINE | Will Brennan have been a fugitive for that length of time?
Here’s what I’ll say: There is an arrest warrant out for her and she is avoiding that warrant. If she gets [arrested and] gets into the system, then Pelant can do anything he wants to her, which would be pretty terrible. So she’s outside the system in that time, with the help of her dad.
TVLINE | How many episodes will this play out in next fall?
It will be many episodes before the Pelant story is resolved. I think we will have Brennan and Booth back together — and her back working at the Jeffersonian — by the end of the first episode. I don’t know if I want to say that or not, but I just did. [Laughs]
TVLINE | Is he going to be pissed? She just ran off with his daughter!
She’s in a huge pickle, and I think Booth recognizes that as well. If she told him that she was going to evade an arrest warrant, that would be it for him; he would not be able to remain an FBI agent. So that was a kindness not to tell him. It also makes sense to her rationally, which is he has to catch Pelant. They’re not mad at each other. They’re facing a situation together.
TVLINE | Is she going to have any assistance while on the run, aside from her dad?
The question is who is in on it with her and who is not. As we set up in the finale, everyone she works with [takes a position]. Does that continue? Who is, in fact, an accomplice to her. And who is, in fact, maintaining a professional, objective attitude. You need both of those things to survive Pelant, and perhaps even catch him.
TVLINE | Did he put a bomb in the clock?
[Laughs] I will never tell you. What the hell was he doing in the house?! You’ll have to tune in and find out.
TVLINE | Regarding the four standalone bonus episodes, I imagine they can’t air at the start of the season since you’d have a major continuity issue with Brennan’s disappearance.
We’re counting on airing one or two of them early in the season, but it won’t be the premiere. And I doubt it would be the second episode. We might be able to get away with airing one of them in the third or fourth spot. But beyond that I don’t know.
http://tvline.com/2012/05/15/bones-seas
I wish there wasn't going to be a time jump. I'd really like to see the emotions of everyone after Brennan's leaving. I think it would provide for some great acting/scenes. They're already going to have her back in the first episode? I might be in the minority I know A LOT of fans like Booth/Brennan together but that's just too rushed.
I understand Booth not being out right mad at her...but it'd be human for him not to have some conflicting feelings about all of it.