Bones Season Finale Round Table: "The Change in the Game"

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Fans are still talking about the Bones season finale, and it's not hard to see why. For better or worse, "The Change in the Game" certainly lived up to its title.

Below, TV Fanatic's Bones critic, Chandel Charles, is joined by fellow staff members Christine Orlando, Carissa Pavlica and Steve Marsi for an in-depth Q&A.

Here's what we thought of the finale. Weigh in with your own answers below!

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One word to describe the finale. Go!

Chandel: Unsettling.

Carissa: Happy.

Christine: Cheated.

Steve: WHAT!?

What predictions do you have for the relationship between Booth and Brennan now that a baby is in the mix?

Chandel: I think it's certainly going to take their relationship to the next level. I don't know how the conception of the child in the wake of Vincent's death is going to play into how they feel about the pregnancy, though I don't think it's something that can be ignored. It's certainly going to have an impact on the people around Booth and Brennan, which will inevitably affect their relationship as well. There will be a push and pull between the two on where they'll live, Booth will probably want to get married, and now that Angela and Hodgins have a baby, it's going to cause them to compare what they're doing to another couple close to them.

Carissa: I wish they had recognized their relationship before having a baby tossed into the fray. Especially so closely on the heels of Angela and Hodgins. I did like the look on Bones face when she told him, but other than that moment, my mind cannot imagine what this means for the show.

Christine:I think it should make things really interesting. These two come at things from opposite directions so raising a child can complicate their relationship as well as draw them closer.  

Steve: Injecting a baby into this non-relationship definitely begs the question of ... are they even in a relationship?! I have to assume the answer is yes, but no one - including the characters themselves - knows for sure at this point. I hope they settle into a nice, romantic life together, however unconventionally and unexpectedly.

Did Hart Hanson et. al. jump the shark by putting a baby in the mix?

Chandel: I'm still deciding how I feel. He did  manage to avoid the moonlighting course by taking them straight from partners to parents, having already established their strong relationship throughout each season, but when I didn't immediately find myself disappointed with the decision to go the pregnancy route, I figured it must make sense.

I think I could see the foreshadowing of the situation through the 4:47 a.m. time stamp on the clock reminiscent of the clock in the Season 3 finale. "The End in the Beginning." There was a baby announcement there too. Plus I kind of saw it coming when Brennan kept making reference to children at the bowling alley. I saw it coming whether I wanted to or not. We'll have to see how Hart and company choose to play with it.

Carissa: See answer above.

Christine: I don't mind the surprise baby. The Booth / Brennan relationship was at a standstill and the writers couldn't seem to move it forward. This is definitely a game changer and could be fun to watch. My issue is that after all of these seasons, they kept the love scene OFF SCREEN! I know (or at least hope) that they may show it to us in flashbacks next season but at this moment I feel totally cheated out of something I've waited years to see.

Steve: Too soon to tell. I don't buy for a second that this wasn't specifically planned around Emily Deschanel's real-life pregnancy, but that's neither here nor there. How the writers handle it next fall will make or break this surprising twist, which could go down as an epic shark jump, but has the potential to be wonderful if done right.

Big Bones Moment

Would you have Booth and Brennan immediately tell the rest of the Jeffersonian team or keep it to themselves?

Chandel: They are going to have a lot of explaining to do once this thing goes public. Whether or not now is the right time is beyond me. Angela just had a baby herself, to deal with that and Brennan's bombshell might be too much complication. It's going to be easiest for Brennan to tell Angela given she "confided," however vaguely, that she and Booth had spent that night together and a little bit more. I would have Booth and Brennan work it out between themselves first and give the team time to recover from all the recent changes.

Carissa: Not one character hasn't noticed a difference in Booth and Brennan since they had sex, even if they don't know they had it, so the odds on keeping a pregnancy from everyone? Near impossible. They will all know very shortly, and it will be shocking since so many don't know they have done the deed.

Christine: Part of me thinks they should keep it to themselves so they can work things out privately but I can't wait for Brennan to tell Angela. Plus I think Brennan is going to need the advice of her best friend to help her navigate this.

Steve: Keep it to themselves for now. That will make for a lot of awkward scenes in which people suspect something is up but aren't positive. Except Sweets. He'll figure it out.

What do we think of Hodgela's baby being named Michael Staccato Vincent Hodgins?

Chandel: It took me until I started writing the review of this episode to realize "Vincent" was there. When I did, I immediately appreciated the use of Angela's father's choice "Staccato" with what was inevitably both Angela and Hodgins choice of "Vincent" for the middle names. It exhibits both the unconventional and "normal" aspects of Angela and Hodgins relationship, which their newborn son is a combination.

Carissa: Very cute. Especially with his little Michael hat with the fake dreadlocks. 

Christine: To be honest I always thought of Vincent Nigel Murray as simply Nigel in my head so it took me a minute to make the connection.

Steve: What a great name. I love that Hodgins actually came around to her dad's absurd name suggestion, and when I heard the second middle name - a tribute to their late squintern colleague - it definitely got a little dusty in my house.

So many good quotes last night. What was your favorite?

Chandel: "You are a horrible child!" Not only was it Brennan's final comment about children before confessing her pregnancy to Booth, but the utter look of horror on Brennan's face was priceless.

Carissa: "Every time you take my hand I feel your whole life vibrating with mine."

Christine: "I'm pregnant. You're the father." Simply because I never saw it coming. And I did love Booth's grin as it sunk in.

Steve: Any of the lines where Brennan posed as Booth's fiancee at the bowling alley, because we essentially get to watch Emily Deschanel act like a bad actress.

Favorite character at the bowling alley and why?

Chandel: Cougar Grandma, I just couldn't believe she was hitting on Booth, and it was a funny addition to the episode.

Carissa: None of them. I thought they were all annoying cliches to bowling. I don't understand why everyone thinks the only people who bowl are trashy and odd. 

Christine: Booth in that mullet. I didn't want to look but I couldn't look away.

Steve: The pre-teen taskmaster. Someone's gotta run the show.

What's your bowling average (last time you checked)?

Chandel: 150. I used to league bowl every Saturday until I entered high school, which was several years ago now. I even participated in a couple tournaments and I can tell you that a vast majority of the competitive spirit portrayed in this episode is no work of fiction, it's fact. The only difference is no one bothers to taunt one another out loud. It's all nonverbal!

Carissa: I spent my childhood with migraines every Sunday after bowling on a team with a bunch of boys I didn't know. They thought my name was Carl instead of Cari. My average? 13.

Christine: I can count on one hand the amount of times I've bowled in my life. Bowling average = pathetic.

Steve: I don't know about my average, but barely triple digits if I'm lucky. My all time best/worst outing was when I bowled a 29. That's not a typo, however it is approximately the number of alcoholic beverages consumed beforehand.

To weigh in on the Bones season finale, or how the TV Fanatic staff would likely form the worst bowling team in human history, leave a comment below!

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.

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Bones Season 6 Episode 23 Quotes

I think we should just let the hot sauce do its magic.

Hodgins

Angela: One of these days I'm sure the Guiness people are going to come measure me.
Hodgins: You look beautiful.
Angela: Yeah, for a water buffalo.