The Knight on the Grid
Encyclopedia
"The Knight on the Grid" is the eighth episode of season three of Bones
which originally aired on November 20, 2007. The title refers to the victim's involvement with the Knights of Columbus
, and his placement on a symbolic map of Washington, D.C.
by the cannibalistic
killer introduced in the season premiere, "The Widow's Son in the Windshield".
calls Camille
to a construction site where a badly decomposed body was found. Cam realizes that the victim's patellas were removed, and the cause of death was likely a stab wound to the heart. After examining the body in the lab, Zack
determines that the kneecaps were surgically removed, and Cam and Hodgins
decide the victim has been dead for three days. The body also has a gemstone on it.
That evening, Brennan
brings in the mail, and hears a knock on her door. It is Amy Hollister, her brother Russ' girlfriend. Amy asks Brennan where Russ is, as her daughter (who thinks of Russ as her father) is sick with cystic fibrosis
. Brennan tells her she does not know where Russ is and hasn't talked to him in months, but advises her to see their father, Max, and ask him to contact Russ. She also advises Amy to contact a cystic fibrosis expert with whom Brennan is friends. As she writes down the doctor's contact information, she notices a bloody spot has appeared on a small manila envelope that arrived in the mail. After Amy leaves, Brennan cautiously opens the envelope, which contains two kneecaps wrapped in a piece of fabric with a seal printed on it.
The next day, Dr. Sweets comes into the autopsy room where Cam is examining the body. Zack has determined that the chest wound was made by the Gormogon knife, and the gang updates Sweets on the Widow's Son case. Sweets hypothesizes that the stolen kneecaps probably have some sort of significance to the killer. Brennan brings in the patellas, which bear stress markers indicating the victim spent a lot of time on his knees. Indeed, the victim is soon identified by dental records as Father Douglas Cooper, Vicar General to the Archbishop of D.C., Father Stephen Wallace. Upon interviewing Wallace, Booth and Brennan discover that Father Cooper had been on sabbatical writing a book about early Christianity.
Back at the lab, Angela and Hodgins analyze the seal on the piece of fabric and the related artifacts in the Gormogon vault. They realize that Barabbas
, a rapist who appears in the New Testament
, features on the seal and a tapestry in the vault. They use his symbolic association with everything backwards and upside-down to interpret a sequence of numbers on the fabric mailed to Brennan (it reads "Civitas Capitolium," meaning "Capital City"), and a map of Washington, D.C.
with markers where the Gormogon's victims were found and where the vault was located. The points correspond to an inverted pentagram
and a compass, which when flipped points to a mausoleum in Silver Hill Cemetery and a mansion which is now a nursing home. Booth and Hodgins visit the mausoleum, which they discover holds another Widow's Son sculpture. The sculpture is identical to the one found in the bank vault, except it is made entirely of bones.
At the lab, Zack determines that the bones in the sculpture are from at least 18 different victims, and some of them date back over 50 years, implying that the Gormogon had a master who must be at least 70. Hodgins has determined that the gemstone is a violet jade found only in the Anatolian region of Turkey
, thought by many to be the actual location of the Garden of Eden
. Meanwhile, Brennan visits Amy and her daughter Haley in the hospital, and Amy pleads with her to have her father call Russ. Brennan tells her Russ probably won't come, as he is liable to be arrested for violating his parole.
Sweets, having been given the Widow's Son case file by Booth, analyzes the tapestry and notes that a series of (these cards were created for the show, no tarot decks have any such cards i.e. 'Musician', 'Corrupter' etc) tarot images on the tapestry correspond to the order of the murders: a Musician (the violinist, Gavin Nichols, discovered in "The Widow's Son in the Windshield") followed by a Bishop (Father Cooper). The next victim should be a Corrupter, which Sweets says, considering the historical context of the artwork, means a heretic or a pretender to the throne. He also argues that the master-apprentice relationship is key to the Gormogon's operations. Since the Gormogon's apprentice had been killed before he completed the Widow's Son sculpture found in the vault (another event in "The Widow's Son in the Windshield"), Sweets suggests the Gormogon was probably searching for another apprentice, likely a disturbed youth. He advises Booth and Brennan to use the older sculpture against Gormogon, and explains that he sent Brennan the kneecaps in the hope that she might install them in his sculpture.
Further detective work reveals that Gavin Nichols and Father Cooper were both on a trip to the Anatolian region of Turkey in the previous year. The trip was organized by a lobbyist named Mr. Porter, who seems to fit the Corrupter description, and who furthermore is a member of the Knights of Columbus
. Mr. Porter doesn't believe Booth and Brennan when they warn him about his safety, telling them he thinks it's a scare tactic related to some other business he has with the F.B.I. As Mr. Porter leaves, Russ walks into Booth's office, and Booth promptly arrests him. Russ blames his sister for betraying him, and Brennan goes to the prison to confront her father, who admits he told Russ that Booth wouldn't arrest him if he came to D.C. In sympathy, Booth allows Russ to visit Amy and Haley in the hospital before taking him to jail.
Meanwhile, Zack has discovered that the Gormogon has a video feed in the vault which uses mirrors to see all parts of the room. He has been watching the team's every move in the vault. Realizing that Sweets might be right, Brennan installs the kneecaps and prepares to transport the sculpture, hoping the Gormogon will attempt to intercept it. As the van carrying the sculpture leaves the Jeffersonian, Booth and Brennan follow in a taxi. A motorcyclist cuts them off, and Booth calls the other agents' attention to the cyclist, but the cyclist drops his backpack in the middle of the road and speeds off away from the van. Booth immediately puts the taxi into reverse, but he can't get away from the pack before it explodes, causing the car to flip several times. With multiple injuries, Booth drags a wounded Brennan from the car, and pulls a piece of shrapnel from her shoulder. The object turns out to be a human tooth, which Zack matches to the marks left in the bones in the sculpture. He also determines that teeth recovered from the accident scene were pulled from a mouth using pliers.
Booth locates the lobbyist, who is bound in the Widow's Son position and tells him the Gormogon is still in the area and has a knife. Booth chases the killer, but the Gormogon finds a child outside and drags him to the bottom of the pool, then climbs out of the water and escapes while Booth rescues the child. Meanwhile, Brennan goes to see Russ and explains she never told their father that Booth wouldn't arrest Russ. She implores Mrs. Julian, the prosecutor on her father's case, who has named Russ as a material witness, to let Russ go.
On further study of the older Widow's Son sculpture, Zack discovers the number "1026" etched into one of the ribs. Angela suggests it might be a signature, and that they look in the safety-deposit box at the bank with that number. Zack prepares the box to be opened, expecting there to be an explosive installed. They retrieve from the box a key card for a Social Services office, once occupied by a man named Arthur Graves who was a legend for helping dozens of youth. Dr. Sweets' suggestion that the Gormogon targets at-risk youth seems supported, and it's no coincidence that Graves is now a resident of the nursing home located at one point of the compass on the Washington, D.C. map.
Booth and Brennan go to the nursing home with a warrant to obtain dental imprints from Graves, who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease
. Graves hisses at Brennan when she attempts to get the imprints, revealing that he has no teeth. The nursing home attendant says Graves had no teeth when he arrived at the home, and that he used to be visited frequently by a man who rode a motorcycle. Brennan tells Graves they know what he did, prompting a sinister smile from the man.
At the courthouse, Booth informs Brennan he has decided to obtain a court order to monitor all of Graves' visitors. Amy approaches Brennan with a thank-you card from Haley, whom Brennan's doctor friend was able to help tremendously. Judge Watkins calls Booth into his chambers to discuss Russ. The judge reveals that Archbishop Wallace and Dr. Sweets have offered their support in Russ' case, pinpointing Booth's involvement, and considering Russ' parole officer's advice to forgive Russ' violation, allows Russ to serve 30 days with electric monitoring afterward, much to Julian's chagrin. Outside, Amy thanks Booth for his help.
After a montage of the various characters (Russ and his father reconciling, the squints working, Booth closing his eyes tightly as he fires a pistol) Mr. Porter walks into his home where a man lunges at him with a knife in the cloakroom.
and the cannibalistic practices of a serial killer termed the Gormogon for his associations with the anti-Masonic
order, the Gormogons
.
in which the killer is someone already introduced in the storyline.
Bones (TV series)
Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent...
which originally aired on November 20, 2007. The title refers to the victim's involvement with the Knights of Columbus
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus....
, and his placement on a symbolic map of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
by the cannibalistic
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
killer introduced in the season premiere, "The Widow's Son in the Windshield".
Summary
BoothSeeley Booth
FBI Special Agent "In charge" Seeley Joseph Booth is a fictional character in the US television series, Bones , portrayed by David Boreanaz. Agent Booth is a co-protagonist of the series alongside Dr...
calls Camille
Camille Saroyan
Dr. Camille Saroyan, M.D. is a fictional character in the American television series, Bones. She is portrayed by Tamara Taylor. Camille was introduced as a forensic pathologist in The Titan on the Tracks, Season 2, Episode 1, as the head of the Forensic Division, a new division formed during the...
to a construction site where a badly decomposed body was found. Cam realizes that the victim's patellas were removed, and the cause of death was likely a stab wound to the heart. After examining the body in the lab, Zack
Zack Addy
Zachary Uriah 'Zack' Addy, Ph.D is a fictional character in the television series Bones. He is portrayed by Eric Millegan. The character was introduced as Dr...
determines that the kneecaps were surgically removed, and Cam and Hodgins
Jack Hodgins
For the fictional character from Bones see Jack Hodgins Jack Hodgins is a Canadian novelist and short story writer....
decide the victim has been dead for three days. The body also has a gemstone on it.
That evening, Brennan
Temperance Brennan
Temperance Daesee Brennan is a fictional character created by author Kathy Reichs, and is the hero of her crime novel series . She was introduced in Reichs' first novel, Déjà Dead, which was published in 1997...
brings in the mail, and hears a knock on her door. It is Amy Hollister, her brother Russ' girlfriend. Amy asks Brennan where Russ is, as her daughter (who thinks of Russ as her father) is sick with cystic fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis is a recessive genetic disease affecting most critically the lungs, and also the pancreas, liver, and intestine...
. Brennan tells her she does not know where Russ is and hasn't talked to him in months, but advises her to see their father, Max, and ask him to contact Russ. She also advises Amy to contact a cystic fibrosis expert with whom Brennan is friends. As she writes down the doctor's contact information, she notices a bloody spot has appeared on a small manila envelope that arrived in the mail. After Amy leaves, Brennan cautiously opens the envelope, which contains two kneecaps wrapped in a piece of fabric with a seal printed on it.
The next day, Dr. Sweets comes into the autopsy room where Cam is examining the body. Zack has determined that the chest wound was made by the Gormogon knife, and the gang updates Sweets on the Widow's Son case. Sweets hypothesizes that the stolen kneecaps probably have some sort of significance to the killer. Brennan brings in the patellas, which bear stress markers indicating the victim spent a lot of time on his knees. Indeed, the victim is soon identified by dental records as Father Douglas Cooper, Vicar General to the Archbishop of D.C., Father Stephen Wallace. Upon interviewing Wallace, Booth and Brennan discover that Father Cooper had been on sabbatical writing a book about early Christianity.
Back at the lab, Angela and Hodgins analyze the seal on the piece of fabric and the related artifacts in the Gormogon vault. They realize that Barabbas
Barabbas
Barabbas or Jesus Barabbas is a figure in the Christian narrative of the Passion of Jesus, in which he is the insurrectionary whom Pontius Pilate freed at the Passover feast in Jerusalem.The penalty for Barabbas' crime was death by crucifixion, but according to the four canonical gospels and the...
, a rapist who appears in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, features on the seal and a tapestry in the vault. They use his symbolic association with everything backwards and upside-down to interpret a sequence of numbers on the fabric mailed to Brennan (it reads "Civitas Capitolium," meaning "Capital City"), and a map of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
with markers where the Gormogon's victims were found and where the vault was located. The points correspond to an inverted pentagram
Pentagram
A pentagram is the shape of a five-pointed star drawn with five straight strokes...
and a compass, which when flipped points to a mausoleum in Silver Hill Cemetery and a mansion which is now a nursing home. Booth and Hodgins visit the mausoleum, which they discover holds another Widow's Son sculpture. The sculpture is identical to the one found in the bank vault, except it is made entirely of bones.
At the lab, Zack determines that the bones in the sculpture are from at least 18 different victims, and some of them date back over 50 years, implying that the Gormogon had a master who must be at least 70. Hodgins has determined that the gemstone is a violet jade found only in the Anatolian region of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, thought by many to be the actual location of the Garden of Eden
Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
. Meanwhile, Brennan visits Amy and her daughter Haley in the hospital, and Amy pleads with her to have her father call Russ. Brennan tells her Russ probably won't come, as he is liable to be arrested for violating his parole.
Sweets, having been given the Widow's Son case file by Booth, analyzes the tapestry and notes that a series of (these cards were created for the show, no tarot decks have any such cards i.e. 'Musician', 'Corrupter' etc) tarot images on the tapestry correspond to the order of the murders: a Musician (the violinist, Gavin Nichols, discovered in "The Widow's Son in the Windshield") followed by a Bishop (Father Cooper). The next victim should be a Corrupter, which Sweets says, considering the historical context of the artwork, means a heretic or a pretender to the throne. He also argues that the master-apprentice relationship is key to the Gormogon's operations. Since the Gormogon's apprentice had been killed before he completed the Widow's Son sculpture found in the vault (another event in "The Widow's Son in the Windshield"), Sweets suggests the Gormogon was probably searching for another apprentice, likely a disturbed youth. He advises Booth and Brennan to use the older sculpture against Gormogon, and explains that he sent Brennan the kneecaps in the hope that she might install them in his sculpture.
Further detective work reveals that Gavin Nichols and Father Cooper were both on a trip to the Anatolian region of Turkey in the previous year. The trip was organized by a lobbyist named Mr. Porter, who seems to fit the Corrupter description, and who furthermore is a member of the Knights of Columbus
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus....
. Mr. Porter doesn't believe Booth and Brennan when they warn him about his safety, telling them he thinks it's a scare tactic related to some other business he has with the F.B.I. As Mr. Porter leaves, Russ walks into Booth's office, and Booth promptly arrests him. Russ blames his sister for betraying him, and Brennan goes to the prison to confront her father, who admits he told Russ that Booth wouldn't arrest him if he came to D.C. In sympathy, Booth allows Russ to visit Amy and Haley in the hospital before taking him to jail.
Meanwhile, Zack has discovered that the Gormogon has a video feed in the vault which uses mirrors to see all parts of the room. He has been watching the team's every move in the vault. Realizing that Sweets might be right, Brennan installs the kneecaps and prepares to transport the sculpture, hoping the Gormogon will attempt to intercept it. As the van carrying the sculpture leaves the Jeffersonian, Booth and Brennan follow in a taxi. A motorcyclist cuts them off, and Booth calls the other agents' attention to the cyclist, but the cyclist drops his backpack in the middle of the road and speeds off away from the van. Booth immediately puts the taxi into reverse, but he can't get away from the pack before it explodes, causing the car to flip several times. With multiple injuries, Booth drags a wounded Brennan from the car, and pulls a piece of shrapnel from her shoulder. The object turns out to be a human tooth, which Zack matches to the marks left in the bones in the sculpture. He also determines that teeth recovered from the accident scene were pulled from a mouth using pliers.
Booth locates the lobbyist, who is bound in the Widow's Son position and tells him the Gormogon is still in the area and has a knife. Booth chases the killer, but the Gormogon finds a child outside and drags him to the bottom of the pool, then climbs out of the water and escapes while Booth rescues the child. Meanwhile, Brennan goes to see Russ and explains she never told their father that Booth wouldn't arrest Russ. She implores Mrs. Julian, the prosecutor on her father's case, who has named Russ as a material witness, to let Russ go.
On further study of the older Widow's Son sculpture, Zack discovers the number "1026" etched into one of the ribs. Angela suggests it might be a signature, and that they look in the safety-deposit box at the bank with that number. Zack prepares the box to be opened, expecting there to be an explosive installed. They retrieve from the box a key card for a Social Services office, once occupied by a man named Arthur Graves who was a legend for helping dozens of youth. Dr. Sweets' suggestion that the Gormogon targets at-risk youth seems supported, and it's no coincidence that Graves is now a resident of the nursing home located at one point of the compass on the Washington, D.C. map.
Booth and Brennan go to the nursing home with a warrant to obtain dental imprints from Graves, who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
. Graves hisses at Brennan when she attempts to get the imprints, revealing that he has no teeth. The nursing home attendant says Graves had no teeth when he arrived at the home, and that he used to be visited frequently by a man who rode a motorcycle. Brennan tells Graves they know what he did, prompting a sinister smile from the man.
At the courthouse, Booth informs Brennan he has decided to obtain a court order to monitor all of Graves' visitors. Amy approaches Brennan with a thank-you card from Haley, whom Brennan's doctor friend was able to help tremendously. Judge Watkins calls Booth into his chambers to discuss Russ. The judge reveals that Archbishop Wallace and Dr. Sweets have offered their support in Russ' case, pinpointing Booth's involvement, and considering Russ' parole officer's advice to forgive Russ' violation, allows Russ to serve 30 days with electric monitoring afterward, much to Julian's chagrin. Outside, Amy thanks Booth for his help.
After a montage of the various characters (Russ and his father reconciling, the squints working, Booth closing his eyes tightly as he fires a pistol) Mr. Porter walks into his home where a man lunges at him with a knife in the cloakroom.
Arc and continuity
This episode continues the season 3 story arc (begun in "The Widow's Son in the Windshield") involving competing secret societiesSecret society
A secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...
and the cannibalistic practices of a serial killer termed the Gormogon for his associations with the anti-Masonic
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
order, the Gormogons
Gormogons
Formed by expelled Freemason Philip Wharton, the Ancient Noble Order of the Gormogons was a short-lived 18th century society which left no records or accomplishments to indicate its true goal and purpose. From the group's few published articles it is thought that the society's primary objective was...
.
Response
The episode drew an audience of 8.7 million. Some reviewers began to speculate that the Gormogon killer is already known to the audience as another character (possibly Dr. Sweets)—an expansion of the typical plot hook in procedural dramaProcedural drama
Procedural dramas are television programming series which rely on an episodic format that does not require the viewer to have seen previous episodes. Episodes typically have a self-contained, also referred to as stand-alone, plot that is introduced and resolved within the same episode...
in which the killer is someone already introduced in the storyline.
External links
- "The Knight on the Grid" at Fox.com