A celebration of Christine's first birthday should have been sweet, but instead Bones Season 9 Episode 18 fell flat on just about every level.

Sometimes nothing in an episode really seems to fit and this was one of those times. Brennan's inability to process the importance of her child's first birthday was just icing on the cake.

The case of the week was rather irritating in how it combined the children's show with a woman's obsession for a man dressed in a carrot costume. In conjunction with Christine's birthday, it felt dirty to be associated with the timing of the case.

UPDATE: When this review originally posted, I was thinking this was Christine's 1st birthday party, instead of her first birthday PARTY. Have you ever had a moment when your reading comprehension throws you off and you're certain everything you just read was true? I fell under a spell and Lilian pointed out in the comments what a grievous error I had made. So, thank you! 

Carrying on, It may seem as though I'm picking on Brennan, but Booth didn't really have an excellent idea for the party either. I'm with Brennan on this one.

Booth: Show one person who doesn't like a one man band.
Brennan: I'm sure many don't like them which is why they're such a rarity.

• Permalink: I'm sure many don't like them which is why they're such a rarity.

A one man band is about as exciting as a clown. My expectation was for Booth to show up in the instruments and for the kids to run away in fear. Maybe they would have had they actually been one year olds like I originally thought!.

It's easy to cut Brennan some slack because she has an interesting mind, but not having done any research on birthdays or children just because she herself didn't have parties growing up seems counter intuitive to her intelligence. She's inquisitive by nature so why is she always so uninformed when it comes to the everyday mundane things that should interest her because of her new life?

She's also very much beyond opening up her mouth to speak as she did to the carrot's brother when she told informed him his brother was dead and corn is not a vegetable. The inconsistencies in her character in episodes such as this one as compared to what she felt when she worked with the professor in Bones Season 9 episode 11 after his daughter died. 

Brennan's growth needs to be more consistent and not a necessary plot device when it feels like it might be humorous. By this point and after 9 years of working with emotionally stable and respectable people who have helped her see through their eyes how to treat others, a backward slide isn't cute.

The woman who startled Joe the carrot (who then died) and made the horrible decision to ditch his dead body because she didn't want people to think she was responsible for his death was also a sticking point for me because Brennan said she was responsible for his death. Was she really? Sure, she kind of stalked him and honked her horn but he stopped taking medication that kept him alive.

What the woman was responsible for was creating a cover-up for his accidental death. She didn't kill him outright and it wasn't nice of Brennan to make it appear as if she was. 

Finally, Clark writing a novel that contained some absolutely horrible writing in it only to find out it was published before his friends had to give him the bad news that it was truly awful was another unfunny storyline. I'm not exactly sure what the point of it was. I sincerely hope books submitted with writing that atrocious aren't often rewarded with publishing deals.

So what did you all think? Was I just in the wrong frame of mind? Was this a fun installment of Bones that celebrated Christine's life in a meaningful fashion? You can relive all of Christine's early years when you watch Bones online. Then have at it in the comments. 

Did you enjoy Christine's birthday party?

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.