Senator Bethlehem, the boss of the murder victim, gets Booth kicked off the case after Brennan confronts him and pisses him off.
Tropes in this episode
- The Ace: Brennan
- Agent Scully: Lampshaded (somewhat) by Booth, when his way of turning over a new leaf with Brennan is by referring to them as Mulder and Scully.
- Atonement Detective: Booth was an Army Sniper before joining the FBI; he tells Bones that he wants to catch at least as many murderers as people he killed in the line of duty.
- Badass Bookworm: Brennan is a brilliant scientist, who easily takes down multiple agents with guns
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Starts a seasons-long tradition between Brennan and Booth.
- Big Damn Heroes: What Booth was going for: "Save" Brennan from Homeland Security to get her to owe him one and help him on the case. She sees through it, though
- Conspiracy Theorist: Hodgins
- Distracted by the Sexy: What Angela does to get the airport clerks attention.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Booth calls Brennan Bones, much to her dismay.
- I Have Boobs, You Must Obey!: Angela opens her shirt and flashes her bra to an airport clerk who's ignoring her attempts to get information on Brennan's flight.
- Mythology Gag: Brennan tells Booth he'd have to go to Montreal to find another forensic anthropologist of her caliber. She is referring to Dr. Temperance Brennan from the novel series.
- No Social Skills: Brennan, though not as bad as she'd get later on.
- Odd Friendship: Angela and Brennan
- Premiere:
- Red Herring: No, it wasn't Cleo's stalker. And it wasn't the Senator, either, it was Cleo's boyfriend.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Brennan confronts the Senator on her own, without proof. Consequently, that gets Booth (and her) removed from the case.
