Bones – Season 8 Episode 14 – Recap – The Doll in the Derby

Here’s the recap of Bones – Season 8 Episode 14 – “The Doll in the Derby.”

Episode 14 of Bones kicked off with the discovery of yet another murder victim this season. In a series of unusual circumstances, a couple of police officers were “hanging out” at a slaughterhouse when they discovered a dismembered and melting body. I’m not exactly sure why they were inside the slaughterhouse. (I’ll have to go back and take another look at the beginning scene). One of those said officers actually fell on top of the body, and well… it was gross. Though the corpses used are absolutely, positively fake, the artists do an amazing job in making them look real to the naked eye.

The murder victim was revealed to be a Caucasian female named Melinda Perkins. She died only eight hours prior to the discovery of her body. The forensic team figured out that her killer doused her with corrosive liquid—a liquid that quickly melts the flesh and tissue off of the body.

The forensic squad examining the remains

Intern Wendell (Michael Grant Terry) revealed to Cam (Tamara Taylor) and Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) that he will be turning 29 years old. Then, Hodgins poked fun at Wendell for “not achieving enough” and supposedly “not fulfilling the pre-30 bucket list.” However, Wendell retorted back that he has, in fact, achieved a lot of things on the pre-30 bucket list including Angela (Michaela Conlin) painting a picture of him naked. Wendell and Angela used to date prior to Angela marrying Hodgins… This was definitely awkward for Hodgins because his own colleague saw his wife naked. FYI: Angela has never painted a picture of Hodgins’ naked body.

Before her passing, Melinda Perkins was one of the top roller derby skaters at a rank called “Derby Doll.” In an effort to solve this murder case, Agent Booth (David Boreanaz) and Dr. Sweets (John Francis Daley) interrogated many suspects including Melinda’s ex-husband, her roller derby coach, and her fellow skaters. Booth initially thought her ex-husband was the killer because he caught her having sex with another man on his own lawn… but he wasn’t the killer. Next, Booth moved onto her coach—Nick. He confessed to sleeping with Melinda on-and-off, but he wasn’t the killer either. Finally, Booth interrogated other skaters at Derby Doll. [There will be more info on that later in the recap].

In addition to being a top roller derby skater, Melinda lived a wild life filled with lots of drugs, men, and sex. She just couldn’t get enough & she couldn’t control herself either—which was why Booth interrogated her ex-husband and her roller derby coach. Also: her fellow skaters used pen names instead of their real names—two of whom were called Pummel Anderson and Ivanna Kickass. These aliases are not that inventive, btw. Come on now: “Pummel Anderson” and “Ivana Kickass”?! I wish the writers came up with better names because this appears to be another copy of Pamela Anderson and Ivana from Austin Powers.

Meanwhile, Booth was hiding the real reason as to why he was spending so much time at the hospital. Only Brennan (Emily Deschanel) was aware of the truth, until Cam pushed for an answer. It turns out that Booth was giving back to charity by creating a carnival for the sick children at the hospital. Cam originally thought that baby Christine was ill, but she soon realized that wasn’t the case.

Melinda’s death opened up a spot at Derby Doll, and Angela decided to try out for the spot. However, her true intention of trying out was to go undercover, not to change her career. Earlier in the episode, she discovered that Melinda was beaten with a skate…. and, Angela found blood on all the skates at the rank. Also: while she was having “dinner” with Pummel Anderson, Booth dropped by the restaurant to pretend to be her boyfriend. Angela then planted a big one on Booth’s lips. Uh-oh! What will Hodgins think of this kiss—even if it occurred while Booth & Angela were undercover? I’m also wondering if Brennan is the jealous type…. I wonder how she’ll react to this kiss?

Angela and Booth undercover

The squints at the Jeffersonian Institute figured out that Melinda’s killer had stabbed her in the eye. It turns out Ivanna Kickass was the one who stabbed, murdered, and dismembered Melinda. Ivanna killed Melinda because she was constantly stealing stuff from the lockers, and getting involved with other girls’ boyfriends.

The killer: Ivana Kickass

Wendell later revealed that he made a bet with his brother all those years ago. His brother bet that Wendell would still be a loser at age 29… and, his brother was wrong. (Wendell is currently making bank by interning for Dr. Brennan). He also mentioned that his brother bet him $200 bucks; when he hesitated to ask his brother for the cash, Hodgins pushed him through it. He also showed Angela & Hodgins his naked painting. Though this embarrassed Angela, Hodgins told her that it was okay. (He actually thought it was funny).

Angela's painting of Wendell