"The Girl in the Fridge" is the eighth episode of the first season of the television series, ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

''. Originally aired on November 29, 2005 on

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

network, the episode is written by Dana Coen and directed by

Sanford Bookstaver Sanford Bookstaver (born September 1, 1973) is an American film, television director and television producer. Early life In 1995, Bookstaver graduated from the USC School of Cinema-Television The University of Southern California School of Ci ...

. The episode features FBI Special Agent

Seeley Booth Seeley Joseph Booth is a fictional character in the US television series '' Bones'' (2005–2017), portrayed by David Boreanaz. Agent Booth is a co-protagonist of the series with Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel), whom he affectionately re ...

and Dr. Temperance Brennan's investigation into the human remains of a teenage girl found inside a refrigerator and a subplot concerning the relationship between Brennan and her former lover and professor, Michael Stires.

Summary

Dr. Brennan's former professor from Northwestern University, Dr. Michael Stires, drops by for a visit. The two also have a casual sexual relationship which Brennan assumes is not complicated. She also thinks that they have a healthy professional rivalry. Both these assumptions are tested in a new case that starts with the decayed remains found in an old refrigerator. The remains belong to Maggie Schilling, a 19-year-old dancer who was estranged from her family. She was briefly held for

ransom Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''red ...

11 months earlier before the negotiations suddenly terminated. Dr. Jack Hodgins and Brennan's assistant, Zack Addy, determine that the victim had

hyperparathyroidism Hyperparathyroidism is an increase in parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels in the blood. This occurs from a disorder either within the parathyroid glands (primary hyperparathyroidism) or as response to external stimuli (secondary hyperparathyroidism). ...

, which is confirmed by the victim's former doctor. The doctor discloses to Booth and Brennan that his former office manager, Mary Costello, had supplied the victim with drugs. The investigation swiftly leads to two likely suspects, Mary Costello and her husband, when Booth sees their new refrigerator and later finds handcuffs in their basement that Brennan suspects may have caused the

stress fractures A stress fracture is a fatigue-induced bone fracture caused by repeated stress over time. Instead of resulting from a single severe impact, stress fractures are the result of accumulated injury from repeated submaximal loading, such as running or ...

on the victim's wrist. The twist in the tale occurs when Michael is recruited by the defense as an expert witness. The trial boils down to a contest between the cold factual style of Bones and the charming layman approach of Michael. The prosecution's jury consultant highlights this standoff as a "choice between reality and perception", and she goes on to state that perception wins cases. In the first few rounds, the expert witness for defense has the upper hand with his charming layman approach and his smear campaign against Brennan. Booth decides to bring out an emotional testimony from Brennan by asking the prosecution to bring up her missing parents and the reason for her being a

forensic anthropologist Forensic anthropology is the application of the anatomical science of anthropology and its various subfields, including forensic archaeology and forensic taphonomy, in a legal setting. A forensic anthropologist can assist in the identification o ...

. This breaks the proverbial ice between the jury and Brennan, leading to a

conviction In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which is consid ...

by the jury. Michael tries to reconcile with Brennan, who ignores him. Booth apologizes to Brennan for breaching her privacy but states that it was necessary for their case. Seeing Brennan's sadness, Angela Montenegro tries to invite her for a drink but Brennan declines. Booth brings Brennan to another crime scene, where he apologizes to her again. Brennan accepts his apology, saying that she would have done what he did in the same situation.

Music

The episode featured ''Hold Tight'' by

Mark Geary Mark Geary is an Irish singer-songwriter born in Dublin, Ireland, into a large family with seven siblings, one of whom is actor Karl Geary. In 1992 he emigrated to New York City with a one-way ticket after winning a lottery green card. Living ...

Production details

In chronological order, "The Girl in the Fridge" was written and filmed after "

The Man in the Wall "The Man in the Wall" is the sixth episode of the first season of the television series ''Bones''. Originally aired on November 15, 2005, on FOX network, the episode is written by Elizabeth Benjamin and directed by Tawnia McKiernan. The plot fea ...

", which was aired as the series' sixth episode while "The Girl in the Fridge" was aired as the series' eighth episode.Production codes for "

" and "The Girl in the Fridge" are 1AKY06 and 1AKY07. According to the writer of the episode, Dana Coen, the main focus of the episode was on Brennan's character, showing the audience "why she struggles to live a life of science in the service of her heart" and "how the loss of her parents defined her."

References

External links

"The Girl in the Fridge"
at Fox.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Girl In The Fridge Bones (TV series) episodes 2005 American television episodes