Temperance "Bones" Brennan

For the character in Kathy Reichs' novels, see Temperance Brennan.

Dr. Temperance Brennan
Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan
First appearance	"Pilot"
Created by	Hart Hanson
Portrayed by	Emily Deschanel
In-universe information
Alias	Joy Keenan, Wanda Moosejaw, Roxy Scallion
Nickname	Bones, Tempe, Brennan, Bren,Sweetie (by Angela), Dr. B, Morticia (in high school)
Gender	Female
Title	Dr., Ph.D.
Occupation	Forensic anthropologist
Family	Father Max Keenan Mother Christine Brennan (deceased) Brother Russ Brennan Sister-in-law Amy Hollister Step-niece Hayley Hollister Step-niece Emma Hollister Second cousin Margaret Whitesell Angela Montenegro Best Friend
Spouse	None
Children	None
Religion	Atheist

Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan, Ph.D. (born Joy Keenan), is a fictional character and one of the co-protagonists of the US television series Bones (2005–present), very loosely based on author Kathy Reichs and portrayed by Emily Deschanel. Although the character is named after the heroine in Reichs' crime novel series, her characterization was based on Reichs herself rather than the books' protagonist. The only similarity the two characters share is their occupation as a forensic anthropologist.

Character history

Temperance "Bones" Brennan is a board-certified forensic anthropologist who works in the Medico-Legal lab at the fictional Jeffersonian Institute in Washington D.C. She received her Ph.D degree from Northwestern University, as stated in "The Girl in the Fridge." There is reason to believe that she may actually have as many as three doctorate degrees, based on a comment that Dr. Jack Hodgins makes during the flashback episode "The Parts of the Sum in the Whole." Although it is implied that most of her work at the lab was related to either long-dead bodies or victims of genocide her occasional contract work for the FBI shifted the focus of her work. She was paired with FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth, and helped to solve two difficult cases; since then, they have worked together almost exclusively on modern-day murder cases. Brennan works with a group of other well-qualified colleagues, including the entomologist Jack Hodgins, coroner Camille Saroyan, forensic artist Angela Montenegro, and a host of eager graduate students. Booth refers to her crew of colleagues as "squints", because they come to crime scenes and squint at evidence. He is also responsible for her nickname, "Bones".

Family and early life

Although the character of Temperance "Bones" Brennan seemed to have a relatively normal childhood, her parents disappeared when she was 15 years old. Her older brother, Russ, was unable to care for her, and she was put in the foster care system. There has been contradictory evidence about her time in the system; in one episode, Brennan stated that her grandfather got her out of the foster system, but in a later episode, she indicates that she never knew her grandparents (possibly the two references are to two separate sets of grandparents, paternal and maternal). Her time in foster care was quite traumatic, and Brennan indicated that she was once locked in a car trunk for two days because she broke a plate. And, in the episode "The Finger in the Nest", Brennan reveals to Booth that she walked into her elderly neighbors house to find the woman dead. After that, for some reason she never understood why she kept faking her own death.

It is later revealed that her parents, who were bank robbers, changed the family's identity after they testified against some other bank robbers; Brennan's birth name was actually Joy Keenan. Her mother (real name Ruth Keenan, known under the assumed identity of Christine Brennan) had hoped to someday return to her children and family, but made a tape for Brennan to watch on her 16th birthday in case that never happened. Brennan later discovered that Ruth/Christine was murdered in 1993, two years after she and her husband went on the run. Her father, Max Keenan, re-entered Brennan's life when she and her brother were being threatened by an old acquaintance, who turned out to be Booth's boss, Deputy Director Kirby. Max evades capture after killing Kirby, and takes Russ into hiding to protect him. Later, Max allows Booth to arrest him in order to improve his relationship with his daughter. At trial, Max is acquitted of murdering Director Kirby, and he begins to rebuild his life. He temporarily works at the Jeffersonian as a guide for childen visiting the place and demonstrates his brilliant talent as a former science teacher. However, Brennan is concerned about a convicted felon having access to a lab that investigates crimes. Max also introduces Brennan to her cousin Margaret Whitesell, portrayed by Deschanel's real-life sister Zooey Deschanel. In the 6th season premiere it was revealed that Brennan loves Angela "like a sister" and is going to be an "aunt" to Angela's unborn child.

Characterization

Throughout the course of the series, Brennan appears to be a brilliant anthropologist who lacks social skills. Her social ineptitude is especially apparent when it comes to pop culture jokes, sarcasm, and metaphors which she often interprets very literally. An example of this is when she mistakes Will Ferrell for Colin Farrell.

She had a difficult adolescence, and it is implied that her withdrawn social tendencies are a defense mechanism. She also sometimes struggles in identifying and explaining her emotions, and takes comfort in the rationality of her anthropologic discipline. Although it has been stated that Brennan was based on a person with Asperger syndrome, this has never been confirmed in the plot of the series. The creator of the series has stated that the character was never labelled as having the syndrome in order to increase the appeal of the show on network television. This influence on her character also helps to explain her extreme rationality in early seasons, as well as some of her social difficulties. Brennan is a self-proclaimed atheist and often points out what she believes to be the irrationality of religious and spiritual beliefs. This has led to more than one argument with Booth, who is a devout Roman Catholic; he becomes particularly irate when she compares less common religions, such as voodoo, to Christianity.

The character of Brennan is written as a bestselling author, who has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for 18 weeks. She is trained in three types of martial arts, has hunting licenses in four states, and has a legally-registered gun as well as a diving certificate. She promised to consider becoming a vegetarian after seeing how pigs were slaughtered (which was also the way her mother had been killed). However, in "The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken" (season 5, episode 6) Angela cites health reasons for Brennan's vegetarian diet. Brennan is also a trained amateur highwire performer, and speaks at least seven other languages, including Spanish, French, Latin, Chinese, Japanese, Norwegian, and German. She has also admitted to knowing a bit of Russian and has stated that she can say "skull" in nearly every language. She often says she does not "put much stock in psychology" and makes a point of noting that Dr. Sweets is not a real scientist as he "bases his life on the vagary of psychology and emotions".

Brennan's personality undergoes significant changes throughout the course of the series. Her thinking becomes less rigid in later seasons, something which is observed by Dr. Gordon Wyatt, who notes that she is now able to distinguish the difference between accuracy and truth. She is also able to put aside her rationality to support her friends in sometimes irrational pursuits, such as Angela's quest to raise money to save a pig from slaughter. Her sensitivity and empathy towards others are also much improved, seen quite strongly when she comforts Booth's grandfather, and when she attends a funeral so that the victim's mother won't be alone.

Brennan begins to feel both dissatisfaction and discomfort with her work toward the end of the fifth season. She also sees some futility in her work, stating that no matter how many killers they catch, there will always be more. She decides to head up an anthropological expedition to Indonesia for a year to identify some ancient proto-human remains. However, 7 months later, she and everyone else return to D.C. in order to save Cam's job, and they all decided to stay.

Relationships

Brennan has had a number of relatively short relationships, including an ill-fated date with what turned out to be a murderer and the re-kindling of a romance with her former thesis supervisor. She has stated that although she does not always feel the need for a committed emotional relationship, she has engaged in casual relationship to "satisfy biological urges". In one episode, she was spending time with two men, one for his intelligence and the other for his sexual skills. In Season 5 "The Plain in the Prodigy" she tells Booth she lost her virginity at the age of 22.

Seeley Booth

FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth is Brennan's partner, and the principal liaison between the Jeffersonian and law enforcement agencies. Although his working style initially clashed with Brennan's, they have since become full-fledged partners. Their compatibility has become one of the central points of the show, with many new characters assuming that they are already "more than partners." Booth and Brennan have repeatedly risked their safety to save each other, including when Booth took a bullet meant for Brennan. After Booth rescues Brennan from the corrupt Agent Kenton, Booth lifts her off the hook she was hung on by putting her tied hands around his neck even though he was severely injured. Brennan once commented to Dr. Wyatt that she "[couldn't] think of anything [she] wouldn't do to help Booth."

The relationship between Brennan and Booth has often become strained when either partner has a significant other. For example, Booth was quite irritable when Brennan dated Agent Sully, and their relationship was also strained when Booth's brother Jared was showing an interest in Brennan. Brennan constantly needled Booth while he was dating Tessa.

When Brennan decided that she wanted to have a baby, she asked Booth if he would be the sperm donor. He agrees to Brennan's request at first, but subsequently struggles with the thought of not being involved in the life of his prospective child. Eventually he tells Brennan he cannot let her have his child if he is not allowed to be a father to it. Soon thereafter it is discovered that he has a (benign) brain tumour. He has to undergo surgery, and when he awakens, he initially suffers from amnesia, not knowing who Brennan is. Although he does eventually regain his memories, the issue of a child is not once revisited in Season Five (whether it will be in subsequent seasons, however, remains to be seen).

Although for the majority of the series Booth and Brennan denied that their relationship was anything more than friendly professionalism, they admitted to Dr. Sweets that they kissed and nearly spent the night together after their very first case together. After this discussion, Booth attempted to convince Brennan to give a relationship a try. However, she declined, telling him that she, unlike him, is not a gambler, and isn't able to take that kind of a chance. They have subsequently attempted to date other people, although the fact that Booth once comments that he regards Brennan as his 'standard' for other women suggests that he, at least, has not completely moved on. Brennan does admit to her best friend Angela Montenegro that as time has gone on, she is unsure if she wants to keep doing consulting work for the FBI, citing that she is tired of murderers, victims, and is constantly worried that something will happen to Booth and she will be unable to save him. In the climax of Season Five, Brennan and Booth part ways for a year – he goes to Afghanistan while she leaves for the Maluku Islands in Indonesia – but they promise to meet, one year from that day, at the coffee cart by the reflecting pool.

In the beginning of season six (7 months later), they reunite in stated place. Booth came back from Afghanistan, along with everyone else from various places, to help save Cam's job. They all decided to stay. Booth has a serious new girlfriend, Hannah. Despite the hints of her colleagues at Brennan's unconscious jealousy of their relationship, she vehemently denies feeling uncomfortable with the new situation.

Tim "Sully" Sullivan

Brennan had a brief relationship with FBI Agent Tim Sullivan, also known as Sully, whom she met while on a case when Booth was in therapy due to his grief-induced rage over his self-perceived role in the death of serial killer Howard Epps. Sully asked Bones out on a date after their case was completed, and they began a relationship. Their relationship ended, however, when Sully decided to sail a boat down to the Caribbean, and Brennan declined to leave the Jeffersonian to go with him despite Angela trying to persuade her to follow him; psychiatrist Doctor Gordon Wyatt (Stephen Fry) speculated that this was due to Brennan being unable to live a life without purpose.

Assistant Director Andrew Hacker

More recently, Brennan has been in a relationship with Booth's boss, Andrew Hacker. Although they were dating for a while, he was not mentioned when Bones made the decision to go to Indonesia for a year, possibly indicating that their relationship has ended.

David Simmons

Brennan met David Simmons (Coby Ryan McLaughlin) when she forays into the online dating world, although their first date was interrupted by gunshots. He was initially a suspect in the shooting but was later cleared of any involvement. Bones canceled their re-scheduled date to spend time with Booth in the hospital. Their short relationship came to an end, with the reasons initially unknown; Booth alluded, in a later episode, that he may have been a recruiter for a cult.