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Big in the Philippines

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Big in the Philippines is the thirteenth episode of the ninth season of Bones.

Summary[]

The Jeffersonian team investigates the death of Colin Haynes, a struggling country music singer whose remains were found in a shallow grave. When the team learns about the victim's music career, it leads them to his record label, which, they discover, was deceitful in its dealings with him. Meanwhile, Wendell breaks his arm during a hockey game and Brennan takes a closer look at his injuries, only to discover some shocking news.

Synopsis[]

The episode opens at the crime scene with FBI techs everywhere. It is a somewhat run-down spot, and allegedly, the First Lady chose it for a new community garden. There are no security cameras, which might have been helpful in figuring out how the victim came to have severe trauma to his ribcage.

The team takes the body to the Jeffersonian and as Brennan and Wendell examine the skeleton for clues, Hodgins and Angela work with a napkin found in the victim’s pocket. They trace it to a nearby bar. Booth pays the place a visit, and a picture of the victim is recognized.

The Victim: Colin Haynes (played by Charlie Worsham), a singer/songwriter trying (and failing) to make his living with his music. The bar manager and waitress tell Booth that Colin didn’t have a band or a manager and while he had some regulars, he didn’t have issues with anyone in his usual audience.

The Case Progression: Booth and Sweets take a look at Colin’s apartment and speak with his landlord, a woman named Kara. She tells them Colin didn’t really cause any trouble or make much noise, except for his music. Booth and Sweets find some music — recorded and written —  as well as a torn up check.

They then pay a visit to Colin’s manager, Harriet. She is smarmy and admits that business is bad (with a Miley Cyrus dig included) and that most of her clients are upset with her, but that she is planning a comeback.

Later on, Angela and Sweets analyze Colin’s music, looking for themes to suggest his emotional state. Over the course of a couple of albums, his melodies and lyrics went from optimistic to melancholy. Sweets remembers the lyrics found on Colin’s typewriter. They are positive again, suggesting Colin was happy about something.

Brennan and Wendell continue examining the skeleton, and Wendell suggests damage to the ribs is cause of death, and that somehow the ribs were broken outward, as if a wrench was shoved in and yanked out. Brennan agrees with his assessment. Booth and Sweets return to Colin’s apartment; they find several cassette tapes of recorded songs. Kara tells them that his songs were getting a little old and annoying for her, having heard them over and over. Just then, a man rushes out of Colin’s apartment. Booth immediately goes on the chase and catches up with Adrian, a Filipino super-fan of Colin’s.

When Sweets and Booth bring him in for questioning, he insists he only wanted a piece of Colin’s personal effects for the museum in The Philippines — Colin’s music was hugely successful there.

Angela starts viewing Filipino videos of Colin’s music, and she comes across one where a fan is talking to him. It was geotagged, which gave Adrian Colin’s location. This makes him a suspect, but Sweets finds out that his alibi checks out. More importantly, they learn Colin was not receiving any of the royalties from his success in The Philippines. When Booth questions Harriet about this, she doesn’t deny it. He suggests that Colin came looking for her when he found out she was holding back on his money.

At the lab, Hodgins identifies several ingredients on the body, including lemon juice and eggs, possibly the combination of a cocktail drink. Brennan and Wendell try to figure out the murder weapon. The wound was too narrow for a shovel, but it’s possible a knife was used as a fulcrum.  They decide that the victim was stabbed near the heart. The blade got stuck, so the killer hit him on the head with a shovel to knock him out before digging around to find the blade. Nasty.

Sweets pulls up some of Colin’s lyrics. Some were in the trash and some were in a closet — they are all love songs. Sweets suggests he was really in love, but Kara says she didn’t know of anyone. Colin had several one night stands for a while, but then not really anyone over. When Booth finds out that Colin was seen with Kara on the night of his death, he questions her again. She admits she went on a date with him and threw a drink on him. She said he was bragging about some big success. She thought he was lying and told him to drop dead.

At the lab, Brennan, Angela and Cam discuss some trip tickets that Colin never received, and records reveal that the person who signed for the package was the bartender, presumably in a relationship with Kara.

The Verdict: Booth and Brennan visit the bar and find the bartender’s shovel is clean. But Brennan points out the bartender’s watch, which caused some markings on Colin’s bones, when he was trying to reclaim his knife blade. There is blood on the watch, and the bartender somewhat confesses to the murder.

In the end, Sweets reveals to Kara that Colin was telling her the truth and gives Kara a copy of Colin's love songs for her so that someone who cares for Colin can mourn him. Kara is later seen in her apartment crying as she listens to Colin's music. As Booth and Brennan celebrate, Wendell arrives with the news that he has decided to fight his cancer after all.

Cast[]

Main Cast:[]

Intern of the Week[]

Guest Cast[]

Featured Music[]

  • "Young to See" by Charlie Worsham
  • "How I Learned to Pray" by Charlie Worsham
  • "Want Me Too" by Charlie Worsham
  • "Love Don't Die Easy" by Charlie Worsham

Trivia[]

  • This episode is loosely adapted from the life of singer/ musician Sixto Rodriguez.
  • The video Booth showed Brennan of Wendell breaking his arm paying hockey was unused video footage from Fire in the Ice. Pete Carlson (Hockey Player 12 and the victim in the episode) knocks Wendell to the ground during the game before Booth attacks him and breaks his own hand.
  • All the signatures on Wendell’s cast:
    • “Keep your head up and never stop fighting. We need you on our team.” -Booth
    • "You’re much stronger than your radius would suggest. You are not in this alone. -Your friend, Dr. Brennan"
    • “Just Breathe” -Cam
    • “King of the cast!”-Hodgins
    • A mermaid drawn by Angela
    • A Philadelphia Flyers logo

Gallery[]

Video Gallery[]

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