Summary

• Despite their opposite personalities, Booth and Bones bonded over their shared ion for solving crimes, resulting in entertaining banter throughout the series.
• Fans were disappointed that the show didn't feature the on-screen development of Booth and Brennan's relationship, especially after waiting six seasons to see them together.
• The revelation of their first kiss happening off-screen and their constant denial of their feelings contradicted their eventual relationship, leaving viewers questioning the authenticity of their bond.

When Booth (David Boreanaz) and Bones (Emily Deschanel) got together in the series was a crime procedural, the emotional center of the show was a result of the relationships formed by the teammates, including the slow-burn romance between Booth and Bones.

Booth and Brennan were opposites, in who they were and what they believed, but they had crime-fighting in common. That alone led to much of their banter over the years, both before and after they got together. Because the show was a procedural, the focus wasn't exclusively on romance. Sometimes, that didn't allow for enough time for conflicts and consequences to play out. It was inevitable that the two characters would get together. However, the road they took didn't always make sense. Fans waited years to see them together, yet too much of their relationship took place off-screen. Viewers (and the characters) deserved better after the time they invested waiting for the show and the couple to get their act together.

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Bones Didn't Show Them Getting Together

"The Hole In The Heart" Revealed The Relationship

Fans sat through six seasons, made up of 128 episodes, waiting for the two main characters to get together. They watched Booth and Brennan's will they/won't they dance. They saw them each have other love interests (and in some cases, they had significant relationships). Then, for some reason, Bones had Booth and Brennan get together off-screen. Fans saw him comforting her after an enemy took the life of one of the squinterns, Vincent Nigel Murray.

However, in the episode "The Hole in the Heart", the audience didn't see the kiss or overt romance. Instead, Brennan and Angela spoke about what happened briefly the next day. Then, in the next episode, the season 6 finale, Brennan announced that she was pregnant. Booth and Brennan's relationship — and fans — deserved better from the main couple of the show after the wait.

Their Relationship Didn't Have a Typical Beginning

A Time Jump Meant Relationship-Building Was Skipped

The series played out the usual tropes of a will they/won't they couple with Booth and Brennan. For six seasons, fans watched them ignore their feelings and it they could be more. They watched their friends and family talk to them about their relationship without the two agreeing to explore their feelings. Fans even watched them date others - and Booth proposed to another woman.

Yet, the drama skipped the beginning of their romantic relationship entirely. They got together, and then Bones told him about her pregnancy in the season 6 finale. The time jump between seasons meant that fans didn't get to see the beginning of their romance. As a procedural, Bones was never going to dedicate whole episodes to them dating. However, it just doesn't make sense that fans didn't get to see the beginning of them going from friends to more. In contrast, Angela and Hodgins were also one of the best Bones couples and had a lot more screen time devoted to developing their relationship.

Their First Kiss Was a Surprise

The Mistletoe Kiss Happened In Season 3, Episode 9 "Santa In The Slush"

For years, fans thought that Booth and Brennan's first kiss happened under mistletoe in season 3. However, the 100th episode revealed that they kissed — and nearly were together — after their first case. Booth and Brennan only briefly worked together then. When that was no longer the case, they thought they could then be together. However, because she had consumed alcohol, they only kissed. Then, they both went home.

Yet, for five seasons (and 99 episodes), there had never been a hint of that happening or the two considering more. Sweets was surprised — as was the audience — when they revealed what had happened years ago. He'd always thought that a kiss would lead to more for them.

They Constantly Denied The Possibility Of More Between Them

Booth And Brennan Already Knew There Was More After A Secret Kiss

The usual trope with will they/won't they couples on TV shows is that the two characters involved deny the possibility of anything romantic existing between them. They refuse to acknowledge that they could get together to friends, family, or anyone who asks about their relationship. That was what happened with Booth and Brennan until they finally were together and discover they're having a baby.

Yet the 100th episode revealed they'd kissed and almost were together after their very first case together. Denying that there could be more between them after that makes no sense. Yet, that's what happened for 99 episodes, before that reveal. The shock of that first kiss called into question everything Booth and Brennan said about each other up until then. It might have worked if they hadn't both been so vehement about just being coworkers and friends.

Booth Had Brennan Detained at the Airport

Booth Abused His Power To Get Her Assistance

The first time Booth and Brennan were on screen together in the pilot, he manipulated the system. Brennan returned from two months in Guatemala identifying victims of crimes. In the airport, an agent from Homeland Security detained her for having a human skull in her bag.

Then, Booth showed up to fix things. He used the opportunity to try to recruit her to help with a case. She only agreed when he agreed to her conditions. On the one hand, it led to the first time fans saw the two banter. On the other hand, Booth enlisted another federal agency and had Brennan detained at the airport. He took things a bit too far to get her help.

Booth Lost Out On Time with Christine Because of Brennan

Christine Was Born In Season 7, Episode 7 "The Prisoner In The Pipe"

One of the team's recurring nemeses was Christopher Pelant, a computer genius. He managed to not only evade capture more than once, but he also framed Brennan for a crime. With no way to prove her innocence immediately, she took a page out of her father's book. She went on the run, and she took Christine, the daughter she shared with Booth, on the run as well.

Her time away meant that Booth lost out on time with Christine, and that should have been a bigger deal than it was. It was a lose-lose situation; one of them would have had to be separated from her. However, Bones could have remedied that by having it be a serious discussion for the couple that lasted longer than it did and wasn't forgotten about after a handful of episodes.

Brennan Shouldn't Have Needed Aldo to Understand Why Booth Turned Down Her Proposal

Brennan Proposed To Booth In Season 8, Episode 24 "The Secret In The Siege"

Just like it took years for Booth and Brennan to get together, it took time for them to get married. It was up to Brennan to do the proposing, and she did. Booth accepted until their recurring nemesis, Christopher Pelant, intervened. Pelant threatened the lives of five innocent people if Booth married Brennan. Booth had to turn down her proposal, but it took Brennan talking to Aldo to understand that he had his reasons.

Considering how long she'd known Booth by that time — and that she knew how important religion was to him — she should've figured that out on her own. She likely would have, too, if the series hadn’t brought in Booth's former Army buddy and counselor to provide even more insight into Booth.

Caroline's Obsession With Their Relationship

Patricia Belcher Played Caroline Julian

Everyone in Booth and Brennan's life commented on their relationship (or lack thereof) at one point or another. Why weren't they together? Had they ever been together? Don't they want to be together? Anyone who entered their lives and was around them for even just an episode seemed to have an opinion.

However, Caroline Julian took that one step further. When Brennan wanted to orchestrate a family get-together — in prison — she had one condition. She made Booth and Brennan kiss under the mistletoe. Fans liked it because it was the couple's first kiss, on-screen, at least. However, it's strange how invested Caroline was in their relationship and how that was dropped seasons later.

Their Conflict Over Brennan Going On the Run Shouldn't Have Been Resolved So Quickly

Brennan Goes On The Run For Three Months

When a recurring nemesis, Christopher Pelant, framed Brennan for a serious crime, she had to go on the run. She and the others couldn't clear her name quickly enough. So, she did what her father would have done. She took Christine, and she left her life behind for a new one for months. That meant leaving Booth behind.

That should have led to more tension in her relationship with Booth than it did. However, like other aspects of their relationship, that was addressed (but resolved quickly) or glossed over. While no one would have wanted to see Booth and Brennan separated any longer considering that they had been, she did make a decision that directly affected him.

They Both Forgot Hannah Existed

Katheryn Winnick Played Hannah Burley

After leaving the FBI and the Jeffersonian behind for months, both Booth and Brennan returned to DC. He wasn't alone. He'd met a journalist, Hannah, and they were not only together, but it was serious. It was serious enough that he proposed. It would never have lasted, even if she'd said yes, though, because of Booth and Brennan's relationship.

Hannah wasn't just Booth's girlfriend. She and Brennan were at the very least friendly. Booth and Hannah's breakup occurred in the same season he and Brennan finally got together. However, once they got together, it was like Hannah never existed. Neither mentioned her, and it seemed like no one ed the role she had in either of their lives.