While Bones fans are thrilled over the assurance of a tenth season, they’re also filled with trepidation over what shocking plot twists are in store in this season’s finale, “The Recluse in the Recliner,” which airs on May 19. 

The finale has been greatly teased by executive producers Stephen Nathan and Hart Hanson who have announced that two different story lines will converge to throw Booth and Brennan’s work relationship into turmoil and causes big, big changes. What? Yeah, just hang on.

A History of Inducing Hysteria

Bones is famous for its nail-biting, jaw-dropping, game-changing cliffhangers. To jog your memory and get you in the mindset of just how cliffhanger-y the past finales have been, we’ve compiled a list for you.

Season 1 “The Woman in Limbo” – Christine Brennan’s remains are found in Limbo

Season 2 “Stargazer in a Puddle” –  Brennan and Booth are left standing at the altar

Season 3 “The Pain in the Heart” – Zack Addy is revealed as Gormegon’s apprentice 

Season 4 “The End in the Beginning” – Booth awakens from brain surgery and isn’t sure if Brennan is his pregnant wife or his crime-solving partner

Season 5 “The Beginning in the End” – Brennan leaves for Indonesia and Booth deploys for Afghanistan

Season 6 “The Change in the Game” – Brennan announces she’s pregnant

Season 7 “The Past in the Present” – Brennan is forced to leave Booth while she, Christine, and Max seek anonymity to keep them out of the system and safe from Pelant

Season 8 “The Secret in the Siege” – Booth turns down Brennan’s marriage proposal

Is your heart racing yet? Well, if it isn’t it will be as soon as you see what we’ve collected about the season nine finale. 

So You Think You Can Predict a Bones Finale?

We’ve been teased mercilessly about what’s in store for us in Bones‘ ninth season finale on May 12, but we still have no idea what all the clues will add up to, do we?  If we take a look back at finale teases from previous years and then at what they turned out to mean, it might make sense, but the Bones fairies never fail to deliver something different–and much, much better–than we even dreamed.

This time we are going to beat the system, right? What, you don’t think it could happen? Neither do I, but we are going to give it the good old college try. Granted, we haven’t the slightest idea what goes on in the creative minds of those sneaky Bones fairies, but that doesn’t mean we can’t throw a couple of our own crazy ideas at the wall and see if anything sticks. 

The Dynamic Duo’s Dynamic Gets a Make-Over

Okay, Boneheads, we’ve scoured the net to find anything and everything pertaining to this finale. We’ve searched our own BuddyTV archives as well as those of our esteemed colleagues at TVLine, Give Me My Remote, TV Guide: Keck Exclusives, and Shesgotmoxiedotnet from around the net. 

Read through what we found and weigh in with what you think we might be in for come May. 

Booth is Up for Promotion

Here’s what’s been teased around the net and what we’ve gleaned from previous Bones episodes about Booth’s promotion: 

  • Booth’s relationship with his crime-fighting is going to change
  • A promotion complicates things in unpredictable ways
  • Booth was hesitant about this promotion back in “The Cold in the Case,” but as of “The Nail in the Coffin” he seems to be looking forward to it
  • Even as of “The Nail in the Coffin” it appears it still isn’t clear exactly what the promotion will entail


Well, boys and girls, that’s what we have for you right now. If we find out that Stephanie wasn’t the Ghost Killer, we will go back to the mattresses and provide you with our copious notes about the specifics of her/his victims and their cases. Until then, hang onto your hats. The evidence is clear: It’s gonna be a bumpy Bonesy ride!

(Images courtesy of Fox)


Catherine Cabanela

Contributing Writer, BuddyTV