It’s fairly commonplace these days for a procedural crime series, no matter how procedural it may be, to have central romances that keep audiences watching. No matter how committed a fan of the crime genre you may be, there still has to be an element of characters worth rooting for to keep you tuning in on a weekly basis. The long-running FOX crime drama series Bones was certainly no exception to this unwritten rule of television.
From the very beginning of the series, it was clear that Bones was building toward the union of at least once central couple in Seeley Booth and Dr. Temperance Brennan. But along the way, countless other couples came and went, including couples who never should’ve been together in the first place; couples who deserved a happy ending they never got; and couples who turned out to be some of the best choices the series ever made. Here, we take a look back at the best and worst couple of them all.
Best: Cam and Arastoo
As the head of the Jeffersonian Institute’s Forensic Division, Dr. Camille Saroyan was portrayed for quite a long time as one of the most emotionally unavailable characters in the series. But all of that changed when she met Dr. Arastoo Vaziri, one of Dr. Brennan’s squinterns within the Division. In the series’ eighth season, Cam and Arastoo began a secret relationship, complete with romantic Farsi poetry, critical coworkers, poorly timed breakups and reunions, and more.
By the series’ end, these two lovebirds finally realized they were made for each other, which all dedicated fans of the series knew from the very beginning of their relationship. The couple made things officially official, as they married in the series finale - and, hopefully, lived happily ever after.
Worst: Hannah and Booth
Starting a relationship from a rebound is never a good idea, especially when the relationship becomes far more serious than it ever really had any right to. After Brennan rejected a lovestruck Booth in the series’ fifth season, Booth soon hit it off with reporter Hannah Burley. What quickly began as a purely sexual relationship soon spiraled into something much more serious, with Hannah moving in with Booth, Booth declaring that he was in love with her, and Booth even impulsively deciding to propose.
Of course, Hannah rejected his proposal, leading to a few more episodes of a sulky, bitter Booth, which only affected the series’ overall quality. Their relationship, though relatively brief in the series’ overall landscape, still lingered for far too long - especially when it was only ever meant as a roadblock to Brennan and Booth’s relationship.
Best: Sweets and Daisy
Few couples in the series deserved a happy ending more than Dr. Lance Sweets and Dr. Daisy Wick. Few couples deserved a happy ending more than Daisy and Sweets did - and sadly, a happy ending just wasn’t in the cards for them. Daisy Wick was one of the series’ most beloved squinterns, and as Booth and Brennan’s psychologist, Lance Sweets quickly became a beloved character, too.
Their romantic relationship, therefore, was an instant hit with fans, and progressed quite quickly at first. While it seemed like smooth sailing to start, the pair would have more bumps in their journey than they deserved, including breakups, Sweets’ inability to commit, and, eventually and tragically, his death, while Daisy was pregnant with their son, Seeley.
Worst: Booth and Rebecca
Sometimes, just because two people have a child together, it doesn’t mean that they should be together for real. Look no further than the example of Bones’ Seeley Booth and Rebecca Stinson for the perfect example of that. While we don’t get to learn much about their history together, the past relationship between Rebecca and Booth resulted in the birth of the adorable little Parker Booth, who goes on to become a major player in the series in his own way.
The two clearly care about one another, and share enough sexual chemistry to slip up a few times during the series’ early run and wind up in bed together again. But there’s nothing in this relationship that suggests it would work out long term, and nothing that suggests it should have been revisited at all during the series’ timeline.
Best: Wendell and Angela
Sometimes, a placeholder relationship winds up being a pretty great one, even if viewers know all the while that it won’t last. During the series’ fifth season, while Angela and longtime love Hodgins are still separated, she becomes romantically involved with the adorable squintern Dr. Wendell Bray. The duo seem like they have nothing in common - Angela is much more emotionally driven and free-spirited, while Wendell is totally by the books and awkward.
But that’s exactly what makes their relationship work, no matter how brief it may have been. The series always excelled in pairing together total opposites, who somehow made it work despite the odds. And even though Wendell and Angela both came to realize that Hodgins was truly the man for her, their adorable romance was enjoyable, as long as it lasted.
Worst: Roxie and Angela
As we’ve already seen, rebound relationships are almost never worth devoting any significant amount of screentime. That also holds true even when there is a significant amount of history behind the rebound. When it was revealed that Angela was bisexual, and had a past artistic girlfriend named Roxie, it came as a welcome surprise to viewers, even when Roxie entered the series through a case and therefore not exactly the best occasion for a rekindling of a romance.
But it also became immediately apparent that these two had no chemistry, and no real reason to try things out again - other than to keep Angela occupied and unattainable for a few more episodes. Roxie was never right for Angela, and always seemed to want more than Angela could give.
Best: Booth and Brennan
From the series’ pilot episode, it’s clear that the show is expecting us to root for the eventual coupling of polar opposites Seeley Booth and Dr. Temperance Brennan. The duo practically perfected the back and forth of will they, won’t they banter, and even if the series sort of cheated viewers out of the joy of their first coupling by having it occur off-screen without their knowing, there’s no denying that these two were made for each other.
They survived multiple serial killers and assassination attempts, produced a beautiful family all on their own, and emerged as the series’ true power couple. Though occasionally thrown some hackneyed curveballs for the sake of drama, Booth and Brennan are able to endure whatever comes their way, and emerge stronger because of it.
Worst: Sweets and Sparling
Lance Sweets was, at one point, one of the series’ most beloved characters, thanks in large part to John Francis Daley’s totally winning on-screen presence. But in the later seasons of the series, Sweets began to be an insufferable character, due in large part to his inability to commit romantically, and his wandering eye.
The worst instance of these behaviors came in his brief dalliance with FBI agent Olivia Sparling, played by Danielle Panabaker. Sweets and Sparling kiss while Sweets is still with Daisy, putting a sour start to their relationship from the get go. When their relationship goes on to not even last an entire episode thereafter, it’s not exactly a disappointment. But it is a colossal waste of time, and some real character assassination, too.
Best: Angela and Hodgins
Booth and Brennan may have been the central couple of the series Bones, but the couple truly at its heart is none other than the adorable pairing of Dr. Jack Hodgins and Dr. Angela Montenegro. Pairing a total cynic with a daydreamer artist should have been a recipe for disaster, or at the very least chaos. And at times, their relationship was hardly smooth sailing, including multiple breakups and blowout fights for the ages.
But at the end of the day, Hodgins and Angela were at their strongest individually whenever they were together. Hodgins made Angela believe there was still good in the world, and Angela was able to grow from a free-spirited wild child into a more responsible adult through their bond. They would go on to have a beautiful family all their own, too, toughing it out through every hardship that came their way.
Worst: Cam and Booth
Cam Saroyan and Seeley Booth are both incredibly strong characters, with deft and sophisticated writing and development over the years. But when Cam was first introduced as the series’ new head of the Jeffersonian’s Forensic Division, it probably wasn’t the best idea to immediately undercut her authority with the reveal that she and Booth were sexually involved.
The series dealt with relationships in the workplace all throughout its run. But there was something immediately off-putting about this pairing that the series never quite seemed aware of. Coupled with the total lack of chemistry between actors, the relationship between Cam and Booth is certainly not one worth remembering, never mind rooting for.
