The remains of a surgeon are found hanging from a tree in a tough neighborhood, and similarities in their lives have Brennan finding herself in the deceased and questioning whether she's truly happy with her life choices. As she compares herself to the deceased more and more, she starts retracing the woman's steps and accepting the advice of a Jeffersonian security guard, Micah Leggat (Enrico Colantoni).
Tropes
- Almighty Janitor: In security guard form, Micah.
- Ambiguous Situation: It's left ambiguous whether Micah is real or just a Helpful Hallucination manifested by Brennan, as she's the only one that interacts with him and only when she is alone.
- Anguished Declaration of Love: Not wanting to end up alone like Dr. Eames, Brennan gives one to Booth at the end of the episode, but he turns her down since A) Brennan had turned him down the season before and B) Booth was in a loving relationship with Hannah.
- Identical Stranger: The Victim of the Week is found to be of similar height, weight, and demeanor to Bones. Bones begins to hallucinate that the victim is her.
- Unrequited Love Switcheroo: It was building up in the previous episode, but Brennan finally cracks and tells Booth her feelings for him, only for him to turn her down and informs her that he has moved on with Hannah now and Brennan can only lament she missed her chance when she turned him down last season.Booth: Hannah, she's not a consolation prize. I love her. The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but those are the facts.
