San Diego Comic-Con 2016
First published in Press Pass LA on July 24, 2016
Author: Ariel Landrum
Season 11 of Bones aired its last episode one night before its farewell panel at San Diego Comic-Con, ending on a shocking cliffhanger. The episode featured The Jeffersonian team, hard at work locating the whereabouts of the serial murderer, The Puppeteer.
So engrossed in the search, the team was unaware that their leader, Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel), had been kidnapped. Moments before credits rolled, the scene ended with (SPOILER ALERT) past squint, Zack Addy (Eric Millegan), leaving fans with more questions than answers.
As the panel entered the room, con attendees eagerly waited, cheering for their favorite actors and exclaiming show quotes, such as, “King of the lab!” Once everyone was seated, actor and moderator Dave Thomas immediately began to fire questions to the cast and crew of the show. The audience learned that Zack, brought back because of his popularity, will be featured in about three episodes, including the season opener. Deschanel expressed how honored she was for directing the first episode of the 12th season.
Executive producers Jonathan Collier and Michael Peterson stated how there would be one more undercover episode for the dynamic duo Booth (David Boreanaz) and Brennan. They also confirmed that two more characters are written to die. (Don’t fret; they aren’t show regulars.) Collier and Peterson assured fans that characters Camille “Cam” Saroyan (Tamara Taylor) and Arastoo Vaziri (Pejman “Pej” Vahdat) will have a wedding and that the series finale will be a two-part episode.
Surprise guest Eugene Byrd, who plays graduate squit, Dr. Clark Edison, joined a fan on the floor during her question. He stood, arms around her shoulders, as she nervously explained how her life was tandem with the show. Squintern Wendell Bray (played by Michael Grant Terry) had been diagnosed with cancer the same week this devotee had. She was happy to report that, also at the same time, she and Wendell both beat their cancer. After cheers and clapping, she continued with her question, Byrd still at her side. By sheer coincidence, the question pertained to whom the cast thought was most deserving of graduating from Brennan’s doctoral program. It is not hard to guess that Byrd chose Dr. Edison.
Another fan questioned if their characters changed any of the actors. T.J. Thyne joked that playing the entomologist, Jack Hodgins, has allowed him to learn more about bugs, yet he still hates them. When asked if there were any last-minute ideas to enter the final season, Boreanaz expressed a desire to see more hockey-themed episodes or save the cast from a shipwreck using only his lucky belt buckle. John Boyd, who plays Agent James Aubrey, goofed that eating food all day (a quirk his character is known for) would be a fun day job if the food wasn’t always cold and smelly.
Family is the only word that can describe the camaraderie felt in the room. Throughout Ballroom 20, fans and cast alike ended the panel by holding back tears with laughter as they gave a proper send-off to a show on the air for over a decade. Tune in on Fox in early 2017 to answer cliffhanger questions, enjoy final surprise guests, and catch the crew of The Jeffersonian solving their final cases with a classic mix of comedy and drama.