It’s hard to believe it’s over. 

Bones Season 12 wrapped up leaving our TV Fanatic round table team of Ashley Bisette Sumerel, Christine Orlando, and Bones fan, Pam, with a lot to talk about.

Were they satisfied with how Bones Season 12 Episode 12 tied up the story? Which character’s ending did they enjoy the most? And what were their favorite installments from the entire series?

Read on and find out...

Were you satisfied with how the series ended?

Pam: Yes, I laughed, clapped and cried. It was a good ending and a happy one which doesn’t happen often in TV land.

Kudos and many thanks to cast and crew for their talents and storytelling. I was very pleased with the finale.

They wrapped up our characters very well. Saying goodbye to Bones is like saying goodbye to an old friend, one you know you won't likely see again.

Ashley: I think it was a definitely a satisfying ending, and my favorite thing about it was similar to what Pam said: it made me feel good. I felt like it was a nice goodbye and a happy ending. 

Christine: Yes! There have been several series finales lately that were lacking, (Castle, The Good Wife, HIMYM), but Bones did it well. It really honored all of the characters and the fans and left everyone with a sense of hope. 

Did you think that Bones would get her cognitive function back or be left to figure out how to live without it?

Pam: They had me guessing, because wouldn't that be some ending where she becomes "normal.” A whole new series comes from that happening!

I figured she would either be hit on the head again, or the swelling would go down and she'd eventually get some of that memory function working again. Lots to do in 42 minutes of airtime.

Ashley: I really believed they were going to make that permanent, and that was going to be how the show ended.

I think that would have been a great way to end the show as well, but I'm glad we got to see her regain it just in time to help Booth when he needed it. 

Christine: They had me guessing until the end! I thought that was a really unique twist and something we hadn’t seen before. It shook Brennan to her core and allowed Booth to be her rock.

I thought it was wonderfully dramatic, yet a great way to bring us to a happy ending. 

Which character's final story were you the happiest with?

Pam: Bones and Booth, because they reinforced their love and commitment and we even got a microsecond kiss, but if you blinked you really could have missed it.

They were partners again in every way and stood by each other, which left me with the good feelings that all is right in the Bones world.

Ashley: I was pretty happy with all of them, but it brought me so much joy to see Hodgins exclaiming that he was king of the lab. That was amazing. 

Christine: I’m going with Cam and Arastoo adopting three brothers in foster care. That one literally brought me to tears. 

Was there anything in Bones Season 12 Episode 12 in which you were disappointed? 

Pam: I didn't understand the 447 which we saw in so many episodes. It didn't make sense to me what Bones meant. It was explained so quickly and just thrown in there. I thought it would have a much bigger connection to the pattern.

Maybe the creator and writers never knew what they were going to do with that 447 and this is what they came up with.

Ashley: I think, in general, it was also too rushed, which is what I felt about the whole the season. There was just so much happening and so much to be explored.

It would have been great to focus an entire episode, for instance, on Brennan's injury. But that's me being pretty picky because overall I really thought it was a perfect ending. 

Christine: I thought they did a heck of a job. My only disappointment is that we won’t get to see all of the storylines they set up play out: Cam and Arastoo’s new family, Hodgins as King of the Lab, Aubrey and Karen’s budding relationship.

I wish we could watch them all but they would mean a season 13!

What was your favorite quote or scene from this episode?

Pam: After everyone gathers at the end, and Cam tells the others she is adopting. They are all sitting on what is left of the lab platform steps and they all survived, together. They’re laughing, like in so many episodes from the early seasons. 

It was so nice to see Aubrey and Karen off to eat their fried chicken together. I got that relationship right in our predictions in previous Bones round tables. That scene left me thinking they will get together in the future. 

I almost got the prediction of the Bones book right, but Angie and Hodgins wrote one which was way better. The Bones finale left me wondering if the orange sofa they used to all sit on had survived the bombs!

Ashley: Booth telling Brennan that he loved her regardless of whether or not she could use her intelligence in the same way was my favorite scene. It was sweet and moving while also referring back to old stories in this Bones quote…

Brennan: If the thing that made me me is gone, who am I?
Booth: You're the woman I love. You're the woman who kissed me outside a pool house when it was pouring rain, took me to shoot tommy guns on Valentine's Day. That's who you are. You're the one who proposed to me with a stick of beef jerky in your hand, even though you're a vegetarian. You're the Roxy to my Tony and the Wanda to my Buck. Who else is going to sing Hot Blooded with me? And besides, we are way better than Mulder and Scully.
Brennan: I don't know what that means.
Booth: I don't care if you know about the bones or if we know how to solve crimes, all I know is that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. This is you, Temperance Brennan. You. You're my partner. Don't forget that.

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Christine: Ashley’s quote was definitely my favorite but I’ll go with Brennan explaining her predicament to her team. It showed just how much this work meant to her and how heartbreaking losing it would be...

I remember the day each of you was hired. I remember the name of every victim I've ever identified. I remember just how meaningful this work can be but I don't remember how to do it. I can't make sense of the evidence. I don't even know what I'm supposed to do with this.

Brennan

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Did you have a favorite episode or story arc from the entire series?

Pam: If I have to select just one it would be Bones Season 2 Episode 9, ”Aliens in a Spaceship.”  Bones and Hodgins are buried alive in Bones car by the gravedigger. I loved the gravedigger stories the best.

Second place would be Bones Season 6 Episode 22, “The Hole in the Heart.”

Ashley: Oh man, that's such a hard question. My gut reaction to this question is Bones Season 1 Episode 9, "The Man in the Fallout Shelter," because we started to learn more about all of the characters in such a unique way. I think that was the episode that really made me fall for this show.  

Christine: Pam already called my first favorite, Bones Season 2 Episode 9, with Hodgins and Brennan being buried alive, so I’m going to go with Bones Season 11 Episode 22, “The Nightmare in the Nightmare.”

The build-up to the big reveal that Zack had abducted Brennan had my heart pounding. It was a fantastic episode that had me clamoring for the final season. 

Now it's your turn TV Fanatics. What grade do you give the Bones series finale?

If you are already missing Bones as much as we are, you can watch Bones online any time here at TV Fanatic.

C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.