Bones (TV Series) The Spark in the Park (2013) User Reviews

Average episode saved at the last minute.

[kathrynfraser-29590 · 7/10 · 18 October 2015]

I decided to write a review because I think this episode is better than others would have you think. It does plod along a bit and it's not a thriller, but the team get the job done. Cam gets to confront the woman who stole her identity and the team solve the murder of a teenage girl. My main criticism is Booth's attitude towards the victims father. The father is a math professor, and Booth sees his lack of emotion as an admission of guilt. Brennan tries to get Booth to see that the father is behaving just as she would but Booth doggedly refuses to see it. You would think that after being with Brennan for so long, Booth would have been more sensitive. The saving grace of this episode is the final scene with Brennan and the father. Beautiful and emotional. It's the reason this episode gets a 7 and not a 6.

Nice Side of Bones

[ezragonyuie · 8/10 · 2 August 2021]

An episode where a young prodigy is the victim of murder and an unfortunate post-death event. The father is a workaholic Physics professor and resonates with Brennan, Booth on the other hand gives him a tough time and is genrally rude towards him. Its nice to see Brennan as the more emotional character in the pair though you'll hate Booth's personality in this one. Kam. Cam finally gets to meet the woman who stole her identity.

At rest

[30hertz · 9/10 · 20 March 2024]

Yet another superb performance from Richard Schiff; I've never seen him deliver anything less than the perfect goods, and he does so here as a man whose brilliance shuts him off from his daughter without him realising. I'm not afraid to admit that the last 4 minutes of the episode left me in tears -- finally Brennan sees an expression of grief that she can understand to its fullest extant. I've been binge watching the entire Bones series over the last few weeks and can honestly say that of all the 8 series and 11 episodes I've seen so far, this was the best few minutes of all. I will continue watching to the last episode of the last series, but this is one denouement I will return to.

Tears everytime

[debkijiji · 10/10 · 3 June 2022]

I love this episode.

It has heart in a completely different way - and shows a whole other side of Bones.

The ending makes me cry every single time. A beautiful way to remember a life.

Such poignant portrayal of grief

[djewoofoo · 10/10 · 13 August 2021]

One of my only real gripes with Bones is the ease with which the relatives and friends of the victims receive the news of the death. Not in this episode. The quiet, controlled way that grief is shown in this episode is heartbreaking and the final scene is one of the most moving of the entire series.

Sometimes I hate Seely

[MydnightRose · 6/10 · 15 January 2017]

There are sometimes when I can't stand Booth and his macho jock meat head ways. This is one of those episodes; after years interacting with highly intelligent people Booth should be more compassionate to the victims father and his unique way of dealing with grief. It was clear from his behavior that he was being pushed to the brink of suicide by his daughters death. This show hardly ever makes me cry but this one did and the actor playing the father was fantastic and made me feel his pain at his loss. Unlike the country singer episode I felt nothing for the murder victim but everything for her lonely father. Cam confronting the woman who stole her identity, wow just wow; that woman must be a sociopath to rationalize her behavior like that.

An episode that gets to your heart

[Thally447 · 10/10 · 13 May 2022]

I just finished this episode in my 6th rewatch and it always makes me cry, I feel so identified with the Profesor Watters and the way he griefs, you can feel his pain in a different way that we always see, you can see he loved his daughter very much, and the way Brennan understands him is very beautiful and we can see that the whole episode. And the last scene always gets me in tears, such a good acting from Emily Deschanel and Richard Schiff. One of my favorite episode without doubt.

Arastoo is not a saint.

[apd8 · 6/10 · 15 July 2021]

Forgiving does not make you a saint. It was not just a revenge. It is also about the security and the piece of mind when you know that you can live on in the society without someone (or one fewer person) trying to sabotage your life.

Forgiving is a good thing but it is not everything, especially when that thief did not show any remorse. Cam's decision was wrong and parts of it were because of Arastoo's speech.

The Great Richard Schiff

[Hitchcoc · 10/10 · 26 February 2023]

I have never seen a bad performance by Richard Schiff. He was consistently stellar on The West Wing. Here he plays the father of a young, world class gymnast, who has been murdered. When Booth and Brennan go to interview him, he proves to be a sad, morose man, who has trouble with the daily stuff of life. He has lost his daughter and previously his wife. The daughter has held him up, but he doesn't have the ability to show gratitude, and only sees her great worth and love after her death. Booth comes off as the complete ass here--again. He thinks he is some 1940's interrogator. If people act differently, he goes after him. Not just in interviewing the father, but in the way he treats Lance Sweets. Sweets tries to evaluate things and Booth bullies and puts him down, not letting him even get a word in. It's because his mind is made up before a word is spoken.

As far as Cam's thing with the identity theft, I can certainly see where she is coming from. The thing that is left out is what the punishment is without the aggravated label. Is she still getting nailed? There is something to be said for not letting something ruin your life. It took me more than a year to get over a break in and burglary of my house. I was on edge and angry and couldn't sleep. One thing that interests me is why it would take so long to rectify her situation. Now that the person is caught, wouldn't there be people can get her back on the road. Angela's character seems to have amazing talent for rectifying it.

I wouldn't get into the gymnastics stuff. I know that one young lady spoken to was a an Olympic medalist. She did a decent job.

Definitely not a 10.0 so to speak

[animalsavior110 · 4/10 · 7 November 2018]

As a former gymnast and current gymnastics coach, the gymnastics in this episode is GARBAGE. I mean, she "broke three toes" trying to stick the landing of a simple tumbling pass that the level 7s at my gym did tonight (roundoff back handspring back layout), especially when these girls are nationally ranked? And then she's spotting her teammate on a double pike?! Not to mention the fact that the victim was out of the gym for a few weeks, which doesn't happen because most coaches of nationally ranked gymnasts are not as compassionate as the coach on this episode. While I strive to be that compassionate, I still expect my girls to come in and participate in whatever way they can that has been cleared by their doctors. I know tv shows don't often get things right, but when you have a gymnast the caliber of McKayla Maroney on the show, I expect better. And yes, I know that insurance of the show doesn't cover the girls to do the big skills. But surely they could've done some creative editing? Ok. Now that we have that out of the way, on to the actual episode.

While I absolutely love Arastoo, I hate that he's always using his background to try to influence Cam or whoever he's talking to. I think that Arastoo absolutely should not have talked Cam out of the aggravated identity theft charges. Honestly that's my opinion, so Cam is apparently a better person than me.

And Booth. This episode reminds me of why I really dislike Booth sometimes. He's a bully who he becomes adamant that a certain suspect is the killer even if he turns out to be wrong and then apologizes for it in a completely unrepentant manner. Bones on the other hand shows the compassion I would've expected from Booth in this episode, as he claimed in a previous episode to understand people like Bones. This episode shows the amazing change in Temperance Brennan as a character. Booth should be able to sympathize with the victims father because of the similarities between Brennan and the father. But no, he instead refuses to even hear her out like the stubborn donkey he is until they catch the real killer.

Overall, I have to say this was a poorly written episode other than the end. The equations Amanda's father wrote on his chalkboard are a magnificent idea. I'm sure there's mistakes there as well as I pointed out in the gymnastics, but that's not my area of expertise. I do think, however this episode was saved by the ending. It really goes to show that Temperance Brennan is the true main character and heart of the show.