Okay... I'm back with a more positive outlook. :)
Stephan Nathan isn't the best at interviews, but some of his answers in interviews following the finale seem to be helpful. After each section's interview answers, I'll give my point of view.
Are they a couple?
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY:
I just spent five minutes yelling “WHAT?” at my TV — in a good way. I can’t believe Brennan is pregnant. Some fans are worried that because Angela used the word “dream” in conversation with Brennan, Brennan’s conversation with Booth was just a dream. But she really is pregnant, correct?
Absolutely. This is not a dream.
What was the time jump between Nigel-Murray’s death last week and this week when she told Booth that she was pregnant?
It’s probably at least a month.
Did they sleep together just that once, or have they been sleeping together since that night?
I think that’s up to every viewer. I have my little feeling about it, but I don’t want to impose my opinion on that on anyone.
After last week’s episode aired, some fans felt cheated that if there was a real love scene, we didn’t get to see it. Will we ever get to see that moment, or will we just move forward?
Well, we’ll now see them as a couple — whatever a couple means to Booth and Brennan. [Laughs] It will be that unique couple. It won’t be what you expect.
TVLINE
First, please assure me that this isn’t going to be some kind of bait and switch. Brennan is really carrying Booth’s child, right?
It was not a dream. There is no alternate reality. What you see is what you get. They are having a baby. She is pregnant with his child. She [slept with] him in the previous episode and this was the outcome.
So this isn’t just two co-workers having a baby together after a one-night stand. This is a full-fledged couple starting a family?
They are as much of a full-fledged couple as two unique and difficult people can be. Brennan is not a fan of marriage. Booth is somebody who’s always wanted to get married. These issues still remain. The tension that has existed in their relationship up to this point will continue. They’re now sharing something and they’re committed to each other in a way they always wanted and there’s no way to avoid that. They have to deal with the reality that they’ve gotten what they secretly wished for.
This is a very unconventional path to take. I mean, these two haven’t been on a real date together and now they’re having a baby.
The reality is, Booth has been with Brennan more than he ever was with [a real girlfriend like] Hannah. Which is always the case when people work together in a high-pressure job. [By making Brennan pregnant] we avoid all of the [trappings] that people commonly associate with the Moonlighting curse, which is, “Oh, now they have to date,” or “Oh, now they have to hug each other and kiss and share desserts.” They never have to share dessert. [Laughs]
My take on this...
Comfort Sex: I'm okay with it only because they have loved each other for so long (even if Brennan didn't realize it). I would like to believe it was more than sex. They made love. What is the evidence? At the end of Hole in the Hart (HitH), Brennan went to him and put her arm through his. Booth didn't smile right away. When he did smile, to me it looked like he realized that she wasn't going to panic or run. He knew that they were okay. He knew they were a couple.
The Change in the Game (TCitG) didn't show the affection I was expecting. However, they were very comfortable around each other. The way Booth looked at her when he told her she could be his girlfriend, to me, it looked as if that was a given because she already was his girlfriend. They didn't have to make that part up. I was surprised it was changed to engaged. With both of those situations, Brennan was not balking at the idea.
I think they probably continued progressing in the new level of their relationship between episodes. If they didn't, whatever the reason, I think they would have acted awkwardly around each other. Why did they walk so far apart from each other at the end of the finale? Well, I think that was Brennan's unspoken choice. Throughout the episode, she was testing Booth's reaction about babies and kids. She was nervous about how he would react. Of course, Booth wanted another child, but he was once again doing it without a marriage. The smile on his face once it sunk in was priceless. What shocked me was Brennan's smile. They are happy.
Are they a couple? In my opinion, yes. They are a couple.
What will happen in season 7?
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY:
Would this be happening now in the story if Emily Deschanel hadn’t become pregnant in real life?
Yes. This was something that we had been discussing even before Emily found out she was pregnant. It’s very difficult to find a way to deal with two characters who everybody knows should be together without embracing what everybody calls the Moonlighting curse. We had to find a way to keep the integrity of those characters intact, and yet move them along because you can only wait so long. So we wanted to avoid that part of the relationship where you first get together and the fresh glow of love, and you’re sharing dessert, and you’re overly polite. We didn’t want to do that. Booth and Brennan have disagreed about fundamentally everything — except each other — for six years. That will continue. Their characters will remain the same: Booth and Brennan will have completely different ways of dealing with the pregnancy, completely different ways of dealing with where their life goes from here. Booth is the marrying kind as we know, and Brennan is not. Where are they gonna live? How are they gonna raise the child? How are they gonna continue to catch murderers together when they have a baby hanging around? So all of these issues will be dealt with in the way that they’re always dealt with — from opposite sides. The ultimate pragmatist meets this romantic who has faith that everything will be worked out as long as you look at it the right way. These are issues that won’t die. We hopefully have found a way to continue what everyone loves about Bones while really kicking it up a notch and adding a whole new set of complications now that these two people actually find themselves together.
Do you anticipate a time jump when the show returns in the fall?
It’s not gonna be two weeks later. We’ll see them a little bit further along. Exactly how far along remains to be seen. We’re working that out now.
Well, we’ll now see them as a couple — whatever a couple means to Booth and Brennan. [Laughs] It will be that unique couple. It won’t be what you expect.
What would you like to say to fans who are weary of the show bringing a baby into the Booth and Brennan dynamic?
It’s not like Alf has come into their lives, it’s something real. We want that to affect the show, but it’s not gonna be a show about having babies. It’s not Parenthood. I’m sure there are gonna be some viewers who are upset. “Oh, the baby’s gonna do this and do that.” A lot of viewers always make up their mind on how we’re gonna ruin the show before it happens. [Laughs] And hopefully we will disappoint those viewers. And the viewers who have faith that we’ll be able to take the show into new territory well, we hope we won’t disappoint them. We’re very, very excited about being able to do the show that we love doing, but do it with fresh eyes
TVLINE
What impact did Emily’s pregnancy have on this story? Would you have gone this route regardless?
Emily being pregnant certainly figured into it to a certain extent. But [series creator] Hart [Hanson] and I were leaning toward this independently of that. The biggest problem we faced going into Season 7 was how to get these two people together while keeping the integrity of Brennan and Booth’s characters in tact. By going this route, we didn’t have to have them go through the traditional love-dovey stage where everything was wonderful and they understood each other and they got past their differences. That’s never going to be the case. They now are together but are essentially the same exact characters. They’re going to disagree on everything they disagreed about before, including how to approach their lives together, religion, family and now how to approach having a child. So we lose nothing but gain a huge amount with the reality that they are now together sharing the biggest thing in their lives.
Will they move in together?
That will be addressed in Season 7. When we open in Season 7, it’s not Ozzie and Harriet. It’s not a perfect little domestic family situation. They haven’t figured out where they’re living, how they’re living and what their future is. They just know that they’re together.
How much time will have passed?
That’s something we’re still deciding. We will probably pick up a couple of months down the line.
My take on this...
B&B do everything backwards. So have a baby already? Why not? They've known each other for 6 years. They know each others pasts, faults, and beliefs. They know they will have to work to maintain their relationship. And most importantly, neither one of them wants to fail and lose the other.
I think the bickering and bantering will continue centered around their life-styles and raising a child together. I believe they will remain a couple and not just raise the child as friends and partners. I don't see either of them "running away." The baby bonds them. This is B&B. I know this kind of foundation doesn't work with a lot of people in the real world, but B&B are unique. They're the center and the center must hold.
Will we see more physical affection? I sure hope so. Watching old episodes from seasons 1-5 can be sad sometimes. They touched each other a lot. We haven't seen this in so long. I think we need it and deserve it. B&B need it and deserve it. I'm not asking for a sex scene, but I wouldn't complain if we saw something like in the coma dream. I don't mind if they keep what's theirs to themselves. I just want to see the chemistry return.
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