Read more after the jump.
Almost as a rule of the genre, procedurals often mine topical events or subjects for stories (that is, when they're not ripping their stories from headlines -- I'm looking at you, Law & Orders). And since Bones already has a reputation as a procedural that's also lighthearted, I wouldn't expect it offer as delicate and moving a story as "The He in the She." What jumps out most of this episode is its subject matter -- a post-op trans pastor, who, of course, has been murdered -- but the episode actually transcends matters of biology and approaches something much more spiritual. In fact, Sweets cuts to the chase: "The term 'trans' conveys a meaning of 'beyond the cross,' moving further. There's a very spiritual component," and in the worldview of this episode, the spiritual component -- not the physical body -- lies at the core of human essence. Which is where the church angle enters the discussion, and where "The He in the She" closes: a congregation of "gay and straight, black and white, fat and thin, man and woman, saint and sinner," as preached by Ryan Stephenson, the prodigal son who sought redemption among the fallen (e.g. the addicts at a detox center) to find redemption at his father's Inclusion Church, which was entirely composed of people from society's margins. Thus borne out of familiarity with the Other, arises a utopic vision of religion at its most hopeful, its most all-embracing.
Indie rating: Antony and the Johnsons - "My Lady Story"
1 comment:
When we first started watching this episode, I didn't expect it to be either smart or moving, but it turned out to be both, in its peculiar Bonesy way.
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