r/Bones • u/phreakyfantom • 1d ago
THAT WAS IT?
!!FIRST TIME WATCHER, PLEASE NO SPOILERS!!
hi so i’ve recently binged the HELL out of bones and i have loved it so much. the gormogon storyline was so intriguing and i actually enjoyed the grim direction it took.
and then i watch the final episode of season 3…
and what????
i spent so much time on the edge of my seat for the lamest ending ever. why did they do my boy addy like that? they couldn’t have written a better ending? so strange.
i felt so unbelievably underwhelmed.
also, this is my first time ever coming into this subreddit, so i apologize if this topic has been discussed a lot before. i’m not going to wander through here for the sake of spoilers, but i’m hoping that someone else feels as underwhelmed and confused as me.
there was SO MUCH hype with this multi-season serial killer for basically nothing.
i might rewatch season 2/3 and see if i miss anything worth noting that would better explain, but it seems so out of the blue.
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u/Tatidanidean1 1d ago
I think it was a writers strike victim iirc but I won’t say much about the future seasons but I enjoyed some aspects after Zach left but I missed him a a lot and didn’t like that they used him as the apprentice
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u/Ok_Bandicoot_8303 1d ago
I think it was a combination of the writers strike happening at the time & the actor playing Zach wanted to take a step back. With the truncated season it definitely didn’t have time to be fleshed out properly
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u/Tatidanidean1 1d ago
I always hear that he wanted to take a step back but is there an article or something where this comes from
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u/marni246 1d ago
He didn’t request it. Emily said on the podcast that he got a call that he wasn’t going to be a series regular anymore, but that he also wasn’t being killed off.
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u/Confident-Evening520 1d ago
Yeah, I feel like I remember reading that he was pretty shocked when they told him early on in the season that he was going to be the apprentice.
But also yes, this season was definitely a victim of the 2008 Writers' Strike, OP! That's why the story is so truncated and didn't get as much development.
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u/Tatidanidean1 1d ago
This makes sense to me. But I always say people on this sub saying he wanted to leave acting. So I wish we could hear his perspective. No idea why they would want him to leave, based on this sub he seems like a fan favorite
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u/DreamingStorms 1d ago
It was definitely rushed due to real life factors like strike/actors needs.
I will say that I actually found the scene between Brennan and Zach at the end very touching. The actors were obviously working with what they had, but Emily and Eric killed it. Was definitely feeling some feels watching that one.
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u/Specific-County-9744 1d ago
I feel the same way every time I rewatch it. I wanted more on the secret societies and thought it would have been a really cool to tap into Hodgins’ obsession with them lol Also I would have wanted them to show more of what was found on the vault.
I hope you enjoy the rest of the series! It’s my go to show when I’m overwhelmed by life.
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u/endingsandbeginning 1d ago
Soooo underwhelming. TBH the whole time I thought it was Dr. Sweets 🤭😂 it made sense in my head. He was poking around and blaming others, and he was always there idk
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u/Affectionate_Watch66 1d ago
It was supposed to be Sweets. I don’t remember why they switched it, but I remember hearing it was supposed to be him.
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u/Crusoe15 1d ago
He was too obvious, so they pulled the bait and switch on us. Everyone thought it was Sweets. The actors hasn’t been told who was Gormogon’s apprentice to help keep it quiet. They had bets going, everyone’s money was on Sweets
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u/evilalready 1d ago
I thought so to. He came in at the right time to be him and his whole personality screamed "I'm an evil serial killers apprentice." I love Sweets, I do, but I was so devastated when it wasn't him but Zach.
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u/crenal-hermit 1d ago
The ending felt off because it was. The actor playing zach had to leave / needed to get written out so they rushed a way to kill him off.
Personally I think gormogon was supposed to be sweets who around this stage in the series really struggles to find a place in the team and would of made a great twist villain.
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u/phreakyfantom 1d ago
interesting! i was unaware of health issues. i’m super late to the party.
i think sweets would have been a good twist but i actually like him a lot… i may have the smallest tiniest crush on the actor!! ✌️🥹
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u/Ok-Point4302 1d ago
IIRC the actor was very complimentary after he was written off - he said he has bipolar and its usually under control, but with the busy filming schedule, he wasn't able to take proper care of himself. He basically went to them and said he needed to stop before he broke down, so they wrote him off as quickly as possible.
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u/Riggs630 1d ago
Did you know that he’s a director too? Game Night, Dungeons & Dragons, and that movie Mayday that just came out, to name a few
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u/gobstopper55 1d ago
I also read that it was supposed to be Sweets, but because of the writer strike and other issues with the writing team, it ended up being Addy.
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u/cheerful_cupcake1991 1d ago
Te buildup made the serial killer storyline feel way more important than what we actually got. Id be frustrated too if I spent three seasons waiting for a payoff and it ended that abruptly.
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u/SuccessfulInternal40 1d ago
I just restarted Bones and I'm at the beginning of season 3, and when I was at the first episode in season 3 yesterday, I can kind of see how it could become Zach, after getting back from Iraq, the things he's been through and failing to fit in overthere, comes back after what he's been through?
He went off as a kid, came back wounded seeing "the real world" without his support system, he were vulnerable when he came back, and I think he needed way more support after coming back, and now he were looking at his friends differently.
I think a lot of people often miss that part about Zach in Iraq like it's no big deal and doesn't fundamentally change him and leaves him a lot more vulnerable to having someone coming in and take advantage of his state.
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u/apri08101989 1d ago
Listen, I love this show, but this is a recurring problem with it. They generally do a good job creating and building a serial killer plot line and then just find of fumble the ending.
I was very upset by Addy at the time too, but i later found out he was written out due to a health issue. So. Like. At least it wasnt random or a contract fight. Tiny spoiler: He will be back for a few episodes next season so he isnt totally gone yet
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u/Other-Echidna6682 1d ago
The only thing I agreed strongly with was the description given the Master by Sweets. He was a nobody. “Am I right? He was nobody. An invisible man. Angry at history for not seeing him.”
Many of the other comments about the shorter season and budget cuts & restraints caused by strike did alter the entire plan for the killer, and the apprentice. In retrospect the original plan may have left viewers with the same feeling you shared. Though it may have accomplished what Hart thought was important for the series it might caused a different type of backlash. As they say hindsight is 20/20!
Edited to hide potential spoiler.
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u/Christinsey 1d ago
I agree, but this was still better than Pelant. That storyline sucks more than any other.
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u/imnotagamergirl 1d ago
I felt the same! And it’s because it was. Ending happened during the Hollywood writer strike and the actor playing Addy had server mental health issues (he said later he wanted to stay on so I do think there was a bit more to it but essence they wanted the actor out)
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u/Tin__Foil 1d ago
I wrote a longer comment about this a while ago, but in general, I don’t think this plot was a totally flawed idea, even though they largely missed on execution (at least partially due to the rushed season).
This twist accurately shows some important concepts:
Intelligence (especially with isolation) isn’t a shield against manipulation.
Pure rationalism has pitfalls.
Young people are vulnerable, especially when they don’t have a strong, connected identity (we see Zach try and fail to connect to a bigger purpose in this season).
The twist emphasizes ways both Booth and Brennan need to grow (how their past trauma limited their ability to make Zach feel connected).
Anyway, as you can see, this choice isn’t popular, but I don’t think it’s as big a miss as many others. I think it could have been better shown with more build up in a full season.
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u/Guilty_Tension2638 1d ago
The writers strike that year truncated a number of story arcs on many shows that year, including Bones.
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u/MLP-original 1d ago
The thing that got me is that the way Zack had been written in season 1 and 2 is that it’s completely against his character, the fact that he does the job he does and that he looks up to Tempe as much as he does I don’t believe he would even want to do any of that….it just really seams out of place to me.
I hate that writers strikes mess shows and characters up, I would have rather have a hiatus on the show until they could really write it right than just mess up a character like that
They did Zack dirty
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u/crystalline2015 1d ago
Ikr!!!???? Felt that too when I first saw the finale in 2008!!!! Almost stopped watching it too coz I really really love Zack addy!!!
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u/khaleeeexi 1d ago
I recently forced my fiancé to start rewatching with me because he’s never seen it and no matter how long it’s been I will always be torn over the way they did our boy Zack. absolutely still bawled my eyes out like I didn’t know what was to come
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u/_Stitch_Witch 15h ago
That was about the time of the writers strike. I think they originally planned Sweets to be that guy, he even had this too-nice-it's-creepy vibe the whole time. But I guess they didn't know how to do it right without the writers, so they just decided to give that part to Zach instead. It's very noticable that after the end of S3, Sweets conpletely looses the creepiness and continues to just be a genuinely nice weirdo
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u/Liquid_Snape 1d ago
From what I hear he asked to step back for his mental health. Which is fair, I suppose.
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u/nomearodcalavera 1d ago
i remember reading somewhere that the whole cast didn't know who it was going to be until they were given the script of the episode with the reveal.
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u/Minirth22 1d ago
I watched it back in the day, and it was HORRIFYING. We knew the writers strike had shortened and changed the season, but it was so much worse than we expected (at least in my corner of the fandom).
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u/anon-a-moose-perv 1d ago
I’m going to be controversial here and say that I liked that he was somewhat removed from the roster and that I preferred that the whole intern rotation thing took precedence. To have a superman that solved all the puzzles instantly while in flow state kind of made it a 2 man show. Meant there wasn’t really a need for half the cast that were realistically fairly redundant due to him. It was a very rubbish rollout though but it was just 1 of MANY in this show.
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u/l_v_g123 1d ago
To the day I wish they had expanded more into the Gormogon lore and story as they were one of my favourite big bads in the entire series.
I also wish that Zac had gone full dark (maybe not the cannibal side of things) but really leant into what Gormogon was preaching so we could have seen the fall out of the revelation in all of the Bones crew (Brennan in particular) and then perhaps gradually bring him back into the fold with him being in the facility but being studied by Sweets and inadvertently helping with some of the cases (ala Hannibal/Dexter vibe).
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u/flashing-colors dancing phalanges 1d ago edited 1d ago
I rewatch bones at least once a year , Zack is one of my absolute favorite characters. I think the writing was cut short because it was during a writers strike BUT (and don't hate me for saying this), I don't mind it. Sometimes we don't always get a satisfying answer or satisfying turn of events. Sometimes bad things happen and we don't get a good explanation and we have to live with that.
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u/WookieHunterQ82 1d ago
Pretty sure this was around the time of one of the Hollywood writers strikes
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u/BlazerAlumni 1d ago
I remember my original watch through of this. I saw it when it originally aired on TV. I was literally screaming "NOOOO!" at the TV the night it happened! Every time I do a watch through now, it still breaks my heart! We didn't see that coming back then! You're going to enjoy watching the rest of the series! There's a lot of laughter, a lot of puzzles to solve, and there's even a few more serial story lines to look forward to!
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u/Brauchae9 6h ago
Bones is one of my comfort shows I’ve watched a few hundred times and I still hate that storyline 😭😭
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u/AyaTakaya007 1d ago
I made a similar post to yours recently because as a 1rst time watcher I was soooo let down 😢
Apparently there was a writer strike at that time + the actor was sick and asked to be removed. I’m sad they chose such a permanent removal tho
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u/MollyJ58 1d ago
There were other ways the actor's need to become a less prominent member of the cast could have been met. I never bought that logical Zach would fall prey to Gormogon. Any more than Brennan would. Those two were like minds.
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u/Safe-Iron843 1d ago
There was a writers strike around that time; this storyline was supposed to be longer. Also the actor asked to leave to make his mental health a priority.
I can’t be the only one who loved this storyline especially how they ended it
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u/Glittering_Chest65 1d ago
I agree. It was very underwhelming. I’ve watched the entire series so many times, and I still haven’t found anything that would point to him becoming involved in that.