The He in the She 

Half a decomposed body is discovered by a pair of beach combers. They find the deceased was leader of a local religious congregation. When the other half of the body is found, they learn the leader had a hidden past.

Director:

Craig Ross Jr.

Writers:

Hart Hanson (created by), Kathy Reichs (inspired by the life of forensic anthropologist and author)

Stars:

Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz, Michaela Conlin

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Emily Deschanel	...	Temperance Brennan
David Boreanaz	...	Seeley Booth
Michaela Conlin	...	Angela Montenegro
Tamara Taylor	...	Camille Saroyan
T.J. Thyne	...	Jack Hodgins (as TJ Thyne)
John Francis Daley	...	Lance Sweets
Ryan Cartwright	...	Vincent Nigel-Murray
David Gallagher	...	Ryan Stephenson
Bruce Thomas	...	JP Gratton
Blake Shields	...	Chuck Kennedy
Nancy Youngblut	...	Cecilia Stephenson
John Livingston	...	Wade Schmidt
Sylva Kelegian	...	Rita Gratton
Brett Gilbert	...	Hippie #1
Dustin Hess	...	Hippie #2

Storyline

Two 'hippies' fishing at the beach find a nearly consumed corpse, a few weeks old. It's Patricia Ludmuller, the missing reverend of the close-knit Inclusion church parish on a fairly isolated island. She was a closet transsexual. Bones' blatant disbelief embarrasses devout Catholic Booth. Anthropology student Vincent Nigel-Murray proves his forensic talent and conversational wit. Angela reconstructs her male identity: TV preacher Patrick Stephenson, presumed dead, disappeared with a fortune in Thailand six years ago, leaving a wife Cecilia and teenage son Ryan, who left commercial religion.

---

Plot Keywords:

villainess | female killer | father son relationship | false identity | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance

---

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song played in the background is "River of Sorrow" by Anohni of the band Antony and the Johnsons. Hegarty is a self-identified transgender person and many of her songs are concerned with sex and gender.

---

Goofs

There are several references to the "Thai Federal Police", there is no such force. The correct term is "Royal Thai Police".

---

Quotes

Dr. Temperance 'Bones' Brennan: Would you like me just as much if I were a man?
Special Agent Seeley Booth: Oh yeah, much better. Wouldn't have to be so polite and accommodating. How about you, would you like me better if I were a woman?
Dr. Temperance 'Bones' Brennan: No. I would not.
Special Agent Seeley Booth: Why?
Dr. Temperance 'Bones' Brennan: I'd be jealous that you might be prettier than I am.
Special Agent Seeley Booth: I would be too. I'd be hot. Smokin' hot.

---

Soundtracks

Bones End Theme
Composed by Peter Himmelman

User Reviews

Our fave Bones episode deals intelligently with hot-button issues

This episode is just about our favorite episode of our favorite series, because the characters have serious and intelligent discussions of a couple of our favorite subjects, religion and transgendered persons. Even more important, the scientists treat the deceased woman, who happened to be born as a man, with the utmost respect. Even the conservative Catholic Agent Booth insists that "she" will be referred to as such, because that's what she was at the time of her death. During the investigation, Brennan and Booth discuss, between themselves and with other characters, the relationship between religion and the LGBTQ community, especially regarding people with gender identity issues who choose to act on their innate tendencies. In the end, identifying the guilty party who's responsible for the woman's death becomes less important in the episode than what happens with the relationships and work that the deceased person had before her transformation and those to which she'd dedicated her life after she became the self she felt herself to be. And besides the fact that, as usual, the contrast between Brennan's atheism and Booth's mainstream faith adds a level of insight and humor, the added factor of the liberal religion of the deceased and her fellow worshipers give rise to some of the best parts of this episode. All in all, this episode gives B & B one of their best chances to do what they do very well!

Details

Official Sites:

Fox [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 October 2008 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 6, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Josephson Entertainment, Far Field Productions, 20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

43 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1