It is and always will be a real pity that Hart Hanson didn't choose "The Verdict in the Story" to be this season's finale and to leave this episode out altogether. Only think, if it hadn't been for the writers' strike Bones would have been one of the very few shows not to ruin its impeccable record...

Seriously? Brennan believes her partner, her friend, her Booth to be dead and she doesn't shed one tear? Fine, Sweets tested her, how she would react emotionally to that great a loss but Brennan punching Booth because she was hurting and storming into Booth's bathroom didn't convince me of her real feelings for Booth. And Booth not being more upset about her lack of emotion? I just didn't buy it - I mean, those two talk about everything...literally everything. They wouldn't talk about something as important as what they just went through? Him taking a bullet for her, her lack of emotion, his lack of emotion?

Considering that Bones is the charming, heartwarming, entertaining and brilliant show that it s because of the quality of the interaction between its two protagonists, their dialogue, their chemistry and the intensity of their relationship this episode was very disappointing, almost heartbreaking in its failure to live up to the standard of this show.

I wish I could blend this episode out forever and forget it was ever part of the Bones canon.

Maybe the problem lies in the fact that simply too much happened in this episode and the writers/creators didn't take the necessary time to focus on Brennan's and Booth's relationship. Ruining Zach's character for ever? Another poor choice...very, very poor choice. We have come to love Zach over the last 3 years. How can a Bones fan go back to watching all the previous seasons and episodes of Bones without a bad feeling in their stomach everythime Zach appears on the screen? And another thing, if TPTB decide to turn a series regular into a villain it should be done with lots of care and thought - make the fan understand their decision and convince them that it was a brilliant move, worth the loss. In Zach's case we were overran with something completely out of the blue - there was no built-up, no intense surprise, just bafflement, in the most negative sense this word can have. This episode was definitely not worth having an additional hour of Bones...truly sad.

Apparently, many Lost fans didn't like this episode much...granted, Lost is a plot-driven show and people like to see things happen. And things did happen in that episode, maybe not mystery-related things, but things happened: Kate and Sawyer get back to their island, even though Kate repeatedly tries to get Sawyer to turn back for Jack who explains to her that Jack is on his own now. Something that Kate has much trouble accepting. A crucial dialogue between Kate and Sawyer reveals Kate's guilt over sleeping with Sawyer and provides much insight into Kate's head and heart. Juliet's trial or rather the canceling thereof through Jack is another event that marks the episode.

However, I believe what makes Lost so unique and worthy is that as much as it is plot-driven, it is the characters that make this show truly great. The psychological aspects are almost always mind-blowing, and without the characters the island wouldn't be much. It is the whys and the hows of those characters' behavior in the context of the island that makes this show so great; and one of, to me the most intriguing, special character is Jack.

Often the really good ones are also the really boring ones. Not so with Jack. While he undoubtedly has a truly good and kind heart, he is a very complex man and I'm always happy to learn more about him and get into his head.
The issues with his father obviously run very deep. He is constantly struggling to prove to his father, to the world, but above all to himself that he has what it takes, that he has the will to make it work. This constant struggle with himself, his lack of faith in himself combined with his unique commitment and sense of responsibility, and with his truly good heart lead to a troubled and complex man, or as Kate called it, "damaged goods". The fact that he always tries to move beyond anything any other person could bear, that he always wants what is good for the individual people he cares about and the group he's responsible for demonstrates immense strength. He is willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of others, something that is perfectly expressed by his credo: "Live together, Die alone" (unlike Sawyer's which is "Every man for himself"). There is an altruism there paired with human fallacy that make him such a complex, intriguing and appealing character. He needs to fix things and people so much that he is often blind to the things that are whole. His commitment and his fear of not having what it takes never allow him to let go. And while that can lead to a self-destructive path, it is this very attitude that enabled him to save many people, many lives, among these Charlie's. Unlike many other men of science, Jack is anything but cold or unfeeling. Rather the very opposite: while he believes in reason he does not lack the ability to believe and has immense ability to love. He puts his faith in people and is guided by his heart, as his father said about him: "He always does what's in his heart". The fact that he doesn't deny anyone his help, not even his enemy, that his integrity is so comprehensive that he will stick out his neck, not only to ensure the safety of his friends, but that of Juliet who is in trouble, that he never abandons his principles, is stressed in this episode…and if you ask me, these points cannot be stressed enough. He's also very contradictory, or surprising. Next to his bedside manner, which from a guy like Jack we'd expect to be impeccable but really isn't, the probably most unexpected or contradictory aspects about Jack are his tattoos, and his master skill in poker. That particular skill, not only enabled him to get back the medicine for the people he's responsible for, but also provided some hilarious scenes between him and Sawyer :) In this episode the background of both those aspects is finally explained. Jack's quest for himself after his divorce lead him to Thailand, where an admittedly horribly acting Bai Ling, not only "sees" who Jack is, but because of Jack's insistence also marks her words forever on him. Those words, words that directly contradict his father's accusation that he doesn't have what it takes to make decisions, have a kind of liberating, maybe even redemptive effect upon Jack who forces his "gifted" acquaintance to brand him with them forever. Jack defies Achara's warning who is reluctant to mark him since he's not one of her people, because he never wants to forget who he is again. While the tattoo may not use the words Jack heard from Achara it carries their very meaning to him. However, only a part of his tattoo is explained through his encounter with Achara. The rest has yet to be revealed…and I can't wait for that to happen.
Interestingly enough, Juliet is given a mark that identifies her as well, thereby providing a link between Jack and Juliet

A truly great episode which was brilliantly written throughout, very well executed by Matthew Fox and which provided further valuable insight into Jack's psyche.

Wow...the psychological context of this episode is simply amazing!!! While we were lead to believe that Ben failed to execute his plan to break Jack, it is exactly what he managed to do.

Coincidence that they put Kate and Sawyer close to each other and Jack alone and secluded? That they repeatedly put Sawyer's life in danger in front of Kate? More or less forced her to confess her love for Sawyer? Coincidence that they picked those three people whom they know everything about, and that includes the complex nature of those three's relationship?
Coincidence that they made Kate beg Jack to do the surgery to save Sawyer's life? That this would estrange Kate and Jack and that right after she would end up in Sawyer's comforting arms feeling that she's let Jack down once again? Coincidence that Jack's door opened the very moment after Sawyer and Kate spent the night together? That Jack would get a clear shot of it on one of the screens in the observation room? Ahm...methinks...NO!!!

As thrilled as I am for the Kate/Sawyer fans, it broke my heart to see Jack's face when he saw Kate in Sawyer's arms. His heart was breaking at that moment and that was the only one thing that could have worn Jack out, ever! The Others knew all along that the only way to make Jack give in was to break his heart, therefore his spirit, making him feel that there is nothing left worth fighting for, nothing worth staying for. Make him give up. It is inredible how skillfully Ben messed with Jack's head and used the Jack-Kate-Sawyer triangle in a cunning, genius psychological gameplan to get Jack where he wanted him - there was never another plan to break him down because Ben knew that they could never earn Jack's trust. This was the only plan all along. Ben knew, that from the moment Jack would see Kate with Sawyer, Jack, having himself nothing worth staying for anymore, would be properly motivated to do the surgery. What they didn't anticipate though is Jack's good heart, immense commitment and his sense of responsibility that go far beyond his pride and personal feelings. They had no clue that Jack would do anything - say cut in Ben's kidney sack - to ensure the safety of Kate and Sawyer, saving Sawyer's life at the very last second. It is always amazing to see Jack always keeping the upper hand in the most impossible situations, never giving up the fight, always thinking of the people he cares about and feels responsible for - even if those people broke his heart - and putting their wellfare above his own. He truly is a leader and a hero. What a guy ;)

Although brilliantly written and executed, I couldn't bring myself to give the episode a perfect rating because my heart, throughout the whole episode, was going out to hurting, never-bendig Jack.

While the flashbacks to Rose's and Bernard's life may not necessarily be the most exciting flashbacks, since they do not involve any of the main cast, they are still very important in terms of the Island and the secrets it holds. John Locke, as Rose knows, is not the only one who has been cured miraculously since the crash.

What made this episode very special to me, was the interaction between Jack and Kate. Since Kate had kissed Jack and ran away from him, Jack had clearly distanced himself from her, and after the incident where Kate defied Jack and got caught by the Others the relationship between the two had been even more tense. Kate made some endeavours to med things with very little success. I remember having trouble with the fact that their kiss was never mentioned by either one of them, and after waiting paitently, finally in this episode Kate did. But before she does there are some important and hilarious moments between the two of them. The important moment I'm referring to is the one where Kate - who obviously does not believe herself worthy of having anything good in her life and seems to have so much in common with Sawyer - finds a crucial link or sommonality between her and Jack: They are both damaged goods. While Jack does not react to that, it is obvious that Kate has been thinking about how things have changed between them and why that is, and is trying very hard to get Jack to 'let her back in the club', i.e. into his confidence. It seems that while Kate feels the need to run away from anything good, like Tom and Jack, she is unwilling to let Jack run away from her.

The funny moments ensue when Kate falls into a trap and Jack, trying to stop her, is caught in it right along with her. The close proximity, their inability to move leads to a very funny scene where Kate tries to reach for the gun in Jack's pants and basically feels him up a little. Kate, convinced that she is a better shot then Jack misses the rope, does not believe that Jack can make the shot either. Their whole dialogue is very funny, and when Jack makes the shot it makes for another great little scene.

Now to the kiss. As they're sitting at a fire, waiting for the Others to appear, Kate apologizes for having kissed him. While Jack is surprised that Kate actually adresses their kiss, he is also visibly relieved telling Kate after a short moment that he is not sorry. Kate looks up at him in surpise and they hold each other's gaze, slowly leaning into each other when they hear a sound (Michael) and the whole mood is spoiled ;)
It was very interesting to see Kate being surprised at jack not being sorry for her kiss. Up to that point, I was pretty sure that Kate knew that Jack was not mad at her but hurt by her actions. Apparently, Kate's issues and her conviction that she will never have anything good in her life run so deep that she wasn't able to realize the real reason for Jack's distance.

The Pilot episode of Bones is a wonderful example of a great pilot, the best I've ever seen.
In several very well written dialogues between Booth and Brennan, brilliantly executed by David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel, all they dynamics between tem become visible: the fun, the banter and the moments of truth. We get to know who those two are and why they are such a great team: Brennan is a head person, Booth a heart person, she goes with logic, he with his gut, she reads bones, he reads people.
And he reads her as well and explains to her something very important that she takes seriously and foreshadows everything she'll learn from him: in dealing with alive people in order to get close to them you have to offer up a little bit of yourself, it bilds trust. The fact that she chooses Booth to be that person to whom she offers up a part of herself shows how much she respects him, in spite of their different world views - "Please, you don't really believe that there is a cosmic balance sheet?" - and the special bond that is there between them from the beginning.

In a very well written final scene that perfectly expresses who Booth and Brennan are and what they'll become to each other, Brennan offers up a part of herself - something she's never done before - to Booth by telling her about her parents' disappearance when she was 15, something Booth knew only from reading the report and the case file but had never heard from Brennan herself. In return, in order to show her how much he appreciates her trust, Both offers up a part of himself to her by telling her that having taken many lives as a sniper he's like to try to catch at least as many murderers. And while Brennan does not understand his reasoning she knows enough of Booth and feels their unique connection to tell him that she'd like to help him with that and their partnership is born. They've told each other what drives them to do what they're doing, and in spite - or because - of their differences they become the perfect team.