As Brennan is tending to him, Booth lies dying. The vision is disappearing from the mind of Brennan, and she’s back in the laboratory, operating on a skeleton. Squints filed in, clad in black, preparing to attend the funeral of Booth. Brennan informs the Solemn Party that she’s not going to join. In accumulating around a hole in the earth, she does not see the meaning. Brennan is taken aside by Angela. She wants her closest mate, Brennan, to be with her at Booth’s funeral if she is going to get through this stressful period. Brennan decides to resign, and Angela agrees.
The party is assembled around Booth’s casket at Arlington National Cemetery while Caroline Julian speaks a few sentences. It’s apparent that Brennan is uncomfortable; she will happily accept the bullet that was intended for her. A strange looking man is observing from a distance as the Honor Guard steps into position. The seven-man guard is poised to aim when the mystery man making his way to the grave of Booth. The guy takes a single white rose from his jacket and is immediately brought down by Booth, disguised as an Honor Guard who is knocking the man to the ground. The two men are fighting, knocking over the casket and inside the mannequin. The funeral-goers are watching as Booth fights with the guy. Brennan beats him in the head with a mannequin’s arm as the mystery man reaches for a knife. As Booth jumps up to thank his girlfriend, the mystery guy is lying unconscious on the deck. Through a jab in his chest, Brennan greets him, before storming off.
Later in the laboratory, Booth attempts to explain how Brennan staged his death.
It was the only thing the FBI could do at the funeral to apprehend the mystery man. The wanted guy had gone underground, vowing to dance one day on the grave of Booth. There’s no Brennan having to know it. She knew the funeral of Booth was going to be “a complete waste of time.” And she promises him that she’s not going to be in his next one. He instructed the FBI to alert her; it wasn’t his fault. Booth assumed Brennan understood that he was not gone. The main reason Brennan is sad, Sweets points out, is that the funeral made her confront thoughts that she would have rather held secret. Brennan feels like she’s been tricked, but when Zack gives Brennan a box with her name on it, the topic instantly flips around. In order to find a jawbone with two silver screws hammered through it, she opens it. Teeth markings on the mandible are defined by Brennan. The silver and the gnaw traces all refer to Gormogon, the serial murderer.
Brennan, Cam, Hodgins, Angela and Zack watch as Sweets are questioned in the laboratory regarding the case of Gormogon on Telev. On the roped-off platform, Booth is considering what to do. The platform is now a crime scene, so to solve the crime, they require the platform. Cam takes the decision to head to the platform for Booth and the squints, eager to get to work on finding the victim. Around the jawbone, Brennan, Cam, Hodgins and Zack huddle together. Cam claims she would check the tooth sockets for DNA in order to locate the identity. And Hodgins is going to attempt to pull any mineral remains from the water because the bone seems to have been boiled, while Zack points out the gnaw signs. Back in his apartment, Booth relaxes with a beer cap, a cigar, a comic book and some noisy music in his bathtub. Brennan is barging in as he slurps his malt. She is also angry that he didn’t tell her that he was still alive. Booth shows her how he just adopted the procedure, but Brennan feels as if she doesn’t worry for her partner.
An frustrated Booth rises to prove his case, pointing to the truth that he took a bullet for her. The naked Booth falls back into the pool after an uncomfortable beat. Brennan also needs an explanation to clarify why she was not told. Booth promises to figure out why he failed to tell her from his superiors. Brennan is retiring and Booth is going to his beer and comic book.