In Defense of Brennan

jro54 wrote:I REALLY like this topic. I never understand why people hate Brennan's character. I have always wondered why people even watch a show that is all about the main character if they hate the main character. Do they even find this show and the characters interesting? And she shouldn't be blamed for what happened in the 100th and the finale because it was completely in her character. If she was completely normal who would run into Booth arms and tell him how much she loves him (just like every other girl would) then she wouldn't be Temperance "Bones" Brennan, she would just be some girl.

Yeah, it is kind of funny when someone hates the character the show is based on. As for the 100th and Brennan, it was a writing choice that sucked. Booth was written as being temporarily insane, thus setting Brennan up for a very Brennan-like reaction. I can't hate either character. The writers I'd like to guillotine - metaphorically, of course.

I can't hate Brennan for what happened in the 100th, because if you didn't expect that reaction you obviously don't know her character well enough and Booth should have expected her to knock him back under those circumstances. And now with the finale although the outcome wasn't the best, at least it it set up so that we can get a different response from Brennan when she returns, after as she said 'gets some perspective', so I really don't get how people can hate her, all that she has done should have been expected from the beginning.

bones_fanatic19 wrote:I can't hate Brennan for what happened in the 100th, because if you didn't expect that reaction you obviously don't know her character well enough and Booth should have expected her to knock him back under those circumstances. And now with the finale although the outcome wasn't the best, at least it it set up so that we can get a different response from Brennan when she returns, after as she said 'gets some perspective', so I really don't get how people can hate her, all that she has done should have been expected from the beginning.

I disagree because Booth has proven himself time and time again as a man who can be trusted, loved and respected. He is a good friend and partner. They trust each other with their lives. A few seasons ago, or even last season, I would not have expected Brennan to say yes but this season? She assumes Booth wants her to change when in fact, he loves her just the way she is.
There isn't one reason I can think of that would make her say no to giving their more than friend/partners relationship a CHANCE! She can use the "If it doesn't work it might ruin our friendship/partnership excuse" but she is not thinking of what COULD BE by having it "all" with Booth.
I really hope the writers let her gain some perspective and have her give their relationship a CHANCE!

joybrennan wrote:

HermioneGirl101 wrote:Preach to the choir, all of you. I've been so sick of all the Brennan-hate. Sure, we all wish that she had been able to take that leap and attempt a relationship with Booth, but would that have been in character? No. And that's why I didn't really understand how people were so incredibly upset with the 100th episode; it stayed true to their characters 100%!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS THREAD!
Booth says it best - she's Iceland, cold on top, but all volcano underneath. One of my favorite B&B moments is when Brennan is on the stand testifying at her father's trial. She's misleading the jury into thinking she could have been the killer. She is total Iceland on the stand and they cut to Booth. He looks like his heart is breaking as he watches her implicate herself to try and save her dad - the man who abandoned her, who's criminal past goes against everything she believes in. It's still her dad. Booth watches her doing this and whispers, "That's alot of heart, Bones." Frankly, that's the moment, for me, that he KNEW he loved her.

I also didn't hate the 100th because of Brennan. I've said why in enough threads - no need to do so in this thread Just saying it had nothing to do with Brennan.
LOVE HER! (love Booth too, but that's a different thread - we can talk about his ass..sets some other time )

I love Brennan too! There isn't much to not love- I mean, yes, she's quite... frank... sometimes, but there's so much more to her character that people don't take into consideration due to her cold exterior.

Also... by talking about Brennan, we are, in extension, talking about Booth, right? So admiring/talking about/drooling over his ass...sets could technically be on-topic...

Posters have stated on how that they can't believe some people can hate the character Brennan. Her insensitivity to Booth's feelings( her being smarter, makes more money flys first class ETC,ETC,ETC) turns a lot of people off about her. None of that bothers me because I really believe she is not trying to be mean. The scene that sticks in my crawl, is when she was with a VERY BOOTH LITE Jared, she actually believed that Booth was a loser.(her words). What made this worse for me, is that she never gave an apology to the gorgeous Booth for thinking that way.

When I first started watching this show....I couldn't stand her. I'm not going to lie about it. I couldn't stand anything about her or the actress for that matter. BUT......(and this is a big BUT) I had only ever watched one or two episodes and never in any type of order.

When I actually took the time to sit down and watch seasons 1-4 from start to finish.....I not only grew to like her....I flat out LOVED her. To the casual viewer, who pops in from time to time, I can deff see how they wouldn't like her. But when you watch the story unfold from the very beginning....I don't understand how you couldn't like her.

I'm re-watching season one right now and Brennan has so much heart it's crazy to me anyone couldn't see that. Even booth sees it and tells her "that's a whole lot a heart temperance."

Yes, she speaks her mind. Yes she's rather socially inept and doesn't realize what she says can come out wrong and hurt people. But, her friends know that about her. They tell her it's wrong (as angela and booth point out a lot) and she makes an attempt to fix it.

Here are just a few examples from season 1....

-She dropped everything at the jeff to fly out to the dessert to help Angela identify the remains of her boyfriend. She didn't have to. In fact, Angela told her not to...and brennan went anyway knowing her friend needed her. She then calls booth and practically forced him to come out to help too.

-She paid for a funeral for that gang member's father and sister. Funerals are EXPENSIVE. Not many people would do that and she wasn't even as rich in season one as she is (supposed to be) in later seasons.

-She spent all of christmas identifying those remains and then getting in touch with the woman even though hated christmas.

-She helped out booth with the first howard epps case because "he asked her to and as a favor to him." It's very clear even from that exchange that there is nothing she wouldn't do for him.

-She was reading a book about how to get along better with colleagues because she WANTED to get better at communication with booth. She's always trying to change.

-The foster case from a boy in a bush speaks for itself and I know we all know how much love/heart/emotion she showed there.

You could make a list even longer than this for every season. Yes, she has her moments where you want to hit her. But, people need to remember that she uses most of that "i don't know what that means" as an excuse to build up walls. People call her out on it all the time.

All the characters have flaws. That's what makes them so great. Who really wants to watch perfect people going through their perfect lives all the time? That's unrealistic, and boring. Some of brennan's moments are cringe worthy. I agree. But, I don't agree with people calling her cold or heartless and I don't agree that she is constantly hurting booth intentionally. The Jared thing was awful, and she realized it and apologized. The 100th episode....while she hurt him....she did exactly what he and everyone else assumed she would do which is shut down or run away. No surprise there.

Booth has just as many flaws as brennan his just aren't as out in the open because he doesn't talk about them. He also has hurt brennan a few times with comments and such. In season one he said a few things that you can tell by the look on her face hurt her. They both did. So....hating just brennan doesn't make any sense to me. But, I suppose.....Seeley Booth is just so perfect that a mere mortal like brennan could never be good enough.

tinkrella wrote:When I first started watching this show....I couldn't stand her. I'm not going to lie about it. I couldn't stand anything about her or the actress for that matter. BUT......(and this is a big BUT) I had only ever watched one or two episodes and never in any type of order.

When I actually took the time to sit down and watch seasons 1-4 from start to finish.....I not only grew to like her....I flat out LOVED her. To the casual viewer, who pops in from time to time, I can deff see how they wouldn't like her. But when you watch the story unfold from the very beginning....I don't understand how you couldn't like her.

I'm re-watching season one right now and Brennan has so much heart it's crazy to me anyone couldn't see that. Even booth sees it and tells her "that's a whole lot a heart temperance."

Yes, she speaks her mind. Yes she's rather socially inept and doesn't realize what she says can come out wrong and hurt people. But, her friends know that about her. They tell her it's wrong (as angela and booth point out a lot) and she makes an attempt to fix it.

Here are just a few examples from season 1....

-She dropped everything at the jeff to fly out to the dessert to help Angela identify the remains of her boyfriend. She didn't have to. In fact, Angela told her not to...and brennan went anyway knowing her friend needed her. She then calls booth and practically forced him to come out to help too.

-She paid for a funeral for that gang member's father and sister. Funerals are EXPENSIVE. Not many people would do that and she wasn't even as rich in season one as she is (supposed to be) in later seasons.

-She spent all of christmas identifying those remains and then getting in touch with the woman even though hated christmas.

-She helped out booth with the first howard epps case because "he asked her to and as a favor to him." It's very clear even from that exchange that there is nothing she wouldn't do for him.

-She was reading a book about how to get along better with colleagues because she WANTED to get better at communication with booth. She's always trying to change.

-The foster case from a boy in a bush speaks for itself and I know we all know how much love/heart/emotion she showed there.

You could make a list even longer than this for every season. Yes, she has her moments where you want to hit her. But, people need to remember that she uses most of that "i don't know what that means" as an excuse to build up walls. People call her out on it all the time.

All the characters have flaws. That's what makes them so great. Who really wants to watch perfect people going through their perfect lives all the time? That's unrealistic, and boring. Some of brennan's moments are cringe worthy. I agree. But, I don't agree with people calling her cold or heartless and I don't agree that she is constantly hurting booth intentionally. The Jared thing was awful, and she realized it and apologized. The 100th episode....while she hurt him....she did exactly what he and everyone else assumed she would do which is shut down or run away. No surprise there.

Booth has just as many flaws as brennan his just aren't as out in the open because he doesn't talk about them. He also has hurt brennan a few times with comments and such. In season one he said a few things that you can tell by the look on her face hurt her. They both did. So....hating just brennan doesn't make any sense to me. But, I suppose.....Seeley Booth is just so perfect that a mere mortal like brennan could never be good enough.

I def agree. I think Brennan is a lot more of a heart person than people give her credit for.

Excuse me!! when did she apologize for thinking Booth was a loser. I must be looking at a different show. Your comment about Booth is dripping with sarcasm. That's okay too, if that is your opinion.

dreamerktm411 wrote:You're so right. The moment I was thinking about when I posted this was the last 30 seconds of the Con Man in the Meth Lab, where she's sitting on the bench outside with Booth. They hardly talked, but it was so obvious that she loved him.

I love that scene! But I think the most telling scene is the airport scene in the finale when she and Booth walk away and she turns around. The expression on her face almost makes want to cry. It's obvious that she was regretting her decision.

the beaver1965 wrote:Posters have stated on how that they can't believe some people can hate the character Brennan. Her insensitivity to Booth's feelings( her being smarter, makes more money flys first class ETC,ETC,ETC) turns a lot of people off about her. None of that bothers me because I really believe she is not trying to be mean. The scene that sticks in my crawl, is when she was with a VERY BOOTH LITE Jared, she actually believed that Booth was a loser.(her words). What made this worse for me, is that she never gave an apology to the gorgeous Booth for thinking that way.

I understand that some people don't like her because some her comments are a little intensive. Some of the things that she says makes me cringe too, but doesn't mean that I hate her character. I have always admired some aspect about her character.

As for the "Booth is loser" comment, I don't know because I haven't seen that episode in a long time, but as I recall it, she and Booth were sitting on a bench and they didn't really have much to say.

the beaver1965 wrote:Excuse me!! when did she apologize for thinking Booth was a loser. I must be looking at a different show. Your comment about Booth is dripping with sarcasm. That's okay too, if that is your opinion.

she apologized in her public speech at the end during Booth's birthday celebration at the founding fathers.

Transcript:

Brennan: I would like to propose a toast, to my partner, Seeley Booth.

Everyone: To Booth!

Brennan: I know who he is, but I forget sometimes, because ... because he never shines the light on himself. He shines it on other people.

Booth: Yeah, right after I conked 'em on the head with it.

Brennan: Anthropology teaches us that the Alpha male is the man wearing the crown, displaying the most colorful plumage, and the shiniest baubles, he stands out from the others. But I now think that anthropology may have it wrong. In working with Booth, I have come to realize that the quiet man -- the invisible man, that man who is always there for friends and family -- that's the real Alpha male. And I promise that my eyes will never be caught by those shiny baubles again. Happy Birthday.

Imo, I think the ton of Brennan backlash was more due to how she was written, especially towards Booth, after the 100th, starting with Queen Bee and OCC with Hacker and pushing the Catherine relationship. Imo, I do agree with Beaver, re: Loser comment, I needed an actual *sorry* not a speech that said a lot without the actual word, sometimes a simple "I'm sorry" is more than enough and just as affective ... That said, all the characters are flawed, like we are too in RL, and do and say things that we like/dislike, imo.

Hello Salty Goodness wrote:Imo, I think the ton of Brennan backlash was more due to how she was written, especially towards Booth, after the 100th, starting with Queen Bee and OCC with Hacker and pushing the Catherine relationship. Imo, I do agree with Beaver, re: Loser comment, I needed an actual *sorry* not a speech that said a lot without the actual word, sometimes a simple "I'm sorry" is more than enough and just as affective ... That said, all the characters are flawed, like we are too in RL, and do and say things that we like/dislike, imo.

To me, her speech was more meaningful, than just two words that anyone can say. It not only showed that she knew she was wrong, but that she had learned from her mistake.

Salty, Thank you. A simple SORRY would have sufficed , not all that mumbo jumbo.