Last month, the Bones cast said major changes were ahead on the show's fifth season finale.

They were't kidding. (Warning: stop reading right now if "The Beginning in the End" is sitting unwatched on your DVR...)

On this week's shocking episode, Brennan left for a year-long research project in the Maluku Islands; Booth headed off to Afghanistan; Angela and Hodgins jetted to Paris. The whole gang split up - and while we'll be seeing them again in September, producer Stephan Nathan says some major time will have gone by in their lives.

“The start of the season will have Booth and Brennan meeting [12 months later] at the coffee cart, and the series will start again... though on very different footing,” he told EW.com. “There will be big changes.”

Such as (gulp!) new relationships for Booth and/or Brennan? These two will meet up again, but "perhaps not alone," Nathan teased. He added:

“There’s a potential for a new recurring character or two next season.”

After multiple seasons, the producer said: “Our intention was to really shake things up, so that we don’t just come back with the same dynamic.”

Mission very much accomplished! What did you think of these developments? Are you worried about the show? Or, to cite one of last night's Bones quotes, are you taking the attitude "here's to change?"

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.