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The Best Episodes of Bones Season 5

Every episode of Bones Season 5 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Bones Season 5!

Binge this in 16h 8m•Peaking at 8.8/10

Dr. Temperance Brennan and her colleagues at the Jeffersonian's Medico-Legal Lab assist Special Agent Seeley Booth with murder investigations when the remains are so badly decomposed, burned or destroyed that the standard identification methods are useless.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Bones Season 5 Episode 1 - Harbingers in the Fountain
    8.0/10(1343 votes)

    #1 - Harbingers in the Fountain

    S5:E1

    It's been six weeks since Booth and Brennan have seen each other. Booth has been recovering from brain surgery, and Brennan has been on a dig in Guatemala. Angela's psychic, Avalon Harmonia reveals while reading Angela's tarot cards that there are multiple bodies buried under a Washington,DC fountain. Angela shares the information with Brennan and Booth, but they're both a little skeptical. The lead pans out, and the duo find the remains of 11 bodies exactly where the psychic said they would be. Meanwhile, Sweets has certified Booth mentally fit to return to duty after his brain surgery, but Booth is still experiencing some side effects from the coma.

    Director:Ian Toynton
    Writer:Hart Hanson

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  2. Bones Season 5 Episode 2 - The Bond in the Boot
    7.9/10(1220 votes)

    #2 - The Bond in the Boot

    S5:E2

    Brennan and Booth are asked to investigate the death of a man who was murdered for the secret contents of his briefcase. They suspect that secret operatives are at work, and their theory is proven correct when they find the liquefied remains of a CIA agent in the trunk of a car. Meanwhile, Brennan's new best-selling book causes tension between her and Booth, and Wendell loses his scholarship.

    Director:Alex Chapple
    Writer:Michael Peterson

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  3. Bones Season 5 Episode 3 - The Plain in the Prodigy
    7.8/10(1250 votes)

    #3 - The Plain in the Prodigy

    S5:E3

    When human remains are found alongside the railroad, Brennan and Booth are called to the case. The bones belong to Levi Yoder, a member of the Amish community who disappeared two months ago, during his Rumspringa, or exploration of the outside world. Brennan and Booth discover that Levi was a piano prodigy, and their investigation leads them to believe that his extraordinary talent may have lead him to an untimely death. Meanwhile, Cam copes with the stress that comes from being a new parent.

    Director:Allan Kroeker
    Writer:Karine Rosenthal

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  4. Bones Season 5 Episode 4 - The Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
    7.6/10(1163 votes)

    #4 - The Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

    S5:E4

    Brennan and Booth investigate human remains found at a neighborhood block party. Suburban politics and secret scandals give each neighbor in the cul-de-sac a motive, leaving Brennan, Booth and Sweets to sift through the drama to find their suspect. Meanwhile, Jeffersonian intern Arastoo comes clean about his background, and Booth's son attempts to find Booth a girlfriend.

    Director:Gordon Lonsdale
    Writer:Janet Lin

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  5. Bones Season 5 Episode 5 - A Night at the Bones Museum
    7.9/10(1177 votes)

    #5 - A Night at the Bones Museum

    S5:E5

    Brennan and Booth are called to investigate what appears to be charred human remains on an electrical fence. The mysterious corpse is later determined to be a mummified Egyptian royal on loan to the Jeffersonian. The anthropological mystery has Brennan in a tizzy, and when the Jeffersonian curator prepping the mummy for exhibition is murdered, the team suspects foul play. Brennan’s investigation of the curator sheds new light on the life of the Egyptian royal, turning their case into one of historic proportions. Meanwhile, Brennan goes on a date with Booth’s supervisor and former intern, and Sweets’ girlfriend Daisy Wick (guest star Gallo) returns to the Jeffersonian.

    Director:Jeannot Szwarc
    Writers:Josh Berman, Carla Kettner

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  6. Bones Season 5 Episode 6 - The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken
    7.3/10(1093 votes)

    #6 - The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken

    S5:E6

    Remains of a chicken farmer are found on the bank of a nearby river, and Booth and Brennan are called in to investigate. The farmer, who was an animal rights activist, was about to inherit a chicken factory and had many enemies with motive to kill him – leaving the team with a lot of murder suspects to sort through.

    Director:Dwight H. Little
    Writer:Dean Lopata

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  7. Bones Season 5 Episode 7 - The Dwarf in the Dirt
    7.7/10(1162 votes)

    #7 - The Dwarf in the Dirt

    S5:E7

    Stephen Fry returns as Dr. Gordon Wyatt. Booth, still suffering some lingering effects from his brain surgery, has to get re-certified for FBI marksmanship, but is not the accurate shot he was before going under the knife. He and Brennan investigate the death of a little person who was a former wrestling star.

    Director:Chad Lowe
    Writer:Karyn Usher

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  8. Bones Season 5 Episode 8 - The Foot in the Foreclosure
    7.8/10(1137 votes)

    #8 - The Foot in the Foreclosure

    S5:E8

    Booth’s grandfather comes to live with him and tags along as Brennan and Booth investigate human remains that were found by a real estate agent while showing a property to prospective buyers.

    Director:Jeff Woolnough
    Writer:Pat Charles

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  9. Bones Season 5 Episode 9 - The Gamer in the Grease
    7.5/10(1142 votes)

    #9 - The Gamer in the Grease

    S5:E9

    When the remains of a competitive gamer are discovered in a grease truck, Brennan and Booth are called to investigate the case. The victim, Steve Rifton, is the only active player known in the gaming community to have received a perfect score on a famous video game. Steve turned his success into a lucrative partnership with a gaming referee and charged fans to play on the very machine that gave him the perfect score. But between sour business deals and bitter competitors, the team at the Jeffersonian must work to narrow down the many suspects with motive for ending Rifton’s reign as gaming king. Meanwhile, Hodgins, Sweets and Jeffersonian intern Colin Fischer take turns camping out for tickets to a movie premiere.

    Director:Kate Woods
    Writer:Dean Lopata

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  10. Bones Season 5 Episode 10 - The Goop on the Girl
    8.1/10(1367 votes)

    #10 - The Goop on the Girl

    S5:E10

    When a man dressed as Santa Claus blows himself up during a botched bank robbery, Brennan and Booth work to identify the bomber and determine his motives. Meanwhile, Brennan makes plans to spend Christmas in El Salvador, but her father convinces her to spend the holidays with him and Margaret Whitesell, a newly discovered distant relative.

    Director:Tim Southam
    Writer:Carla Kettner

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  11. Bones Season 5 Episode 11 - The X in the File
    7.8/10(1146 votes)

    #11 - The X in the File

    S5:E11

    Brennan and Booth travel to New Mexico to investigate human remains with extraterrestrial attributes. Meanwhile, Angela and intern Wendell come clean about their relationship.

    Director:Allison Liddi-Brown
    Writer:Janet Lin

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  12. Bones Season 5 Episode 12 - The Proof in the Pudding
    8.5/10(1397 votes)

    #12 - The Proof in the Pudding

    S5:E12

    Mr. White and his team of government agents put the Jeffersonian Lab on lock down and demand that Brennan and her forensics team determine a cause of death for an unidentified, but highly classified set of remains. As the team gets to work, their findings lead them to suspect they are investigating one of the most famous presidential assassinations in history. Meanwhile, Booth's boss, Andrew Hacker, helps him break into the lab and determine the motive behind the mystery investigation, and a frustrated Cam worries that Michelle may be keeping a big secret from her.

    Director:Emile B. Levisetti
    Writer:Bob Harris

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  13. Bones Season 5 Episode 13 - The Dentist in the Ditch
    7.4/10(1065 votes)

    #13 - The Dentist in the Ditch

    S5:E13

    When a human skeleton is discovered in the trenches of an old Civil War battleground, Brennan and Booth are called to the case. Despite the historical location, Brennan quickly identifies the bones as belonging to Dan Pinard, a present-day local dentist. While Booth investigates suspects, including the victim’s former boyfriend, Hodgins and lab intern Vincent Nigel-Murray work doggedly to clean the bones of a stubborn clay residue which is preventing the team from determining a cause of death. Meanwhile, Booth’s brother, Jared, returns from his travels with some suprising news.

    Director:Dwight H. Little
    Writers:Josh Berman, Pat Charles

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  14. Bones Season 5 Episode 14 - The Devil in the Details
    7.7/10(1103 votes)

    #14 - The Devil in the Details

    S5:E14

    Brennan and Booth investigate a set of uniquely disfigured remains allegorizing biblical text. As they acquire more information about the victim, a former patient of Dr. Adam Copeland at Havenhurst Sanitarium, they are confronted with suspects who are hard to characterize as either good or evil. Meanwhile, Jeffersonian intern Arastoo Vaziri reveals a secret about his past.

    Director:Ian Toynton
    Writer:Michael Peterson

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  15. Bones Season 5 Episode 15 - The Bones on the Blue Line
    7.8/10(1090 votes)

    #15 - The Bones on the Blue Line

    S5:E15

    When a subway train is thrown off the track by 60,000 gallons of flood water, a partially skeletonized body emerges out of the overflow. While Dr. Sweets, a passenger on the derailed train, copes with post traumatic stress, the rest of the team and intern Daisy Wick get to work on identifying the victim as Martin Aragon, a professional ghost writer caught up in a deadly love triangle. Meanwhile, Brennan releases her second book to great success, but has to accommodate a nosy reporter, and Sweets' near-death experience leads him to make a drastic decision.

    Director:Chad Lowe
    Writer:Carla Kettner

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  16. Bones Season 5 Episode 16 - The Parts in the Sum of the Whole
    8.8/10(1757 votes)

    #16 - The Parts in the Sum of the Whole

    S5:E16

    When Dr. Sweets' book gets published, both Booth and Brennan read it and tell him about the first time they met: 6 years ago. The episode will give a new perspective on Booth and Brennan's relationship, and will also give viewers the chance to see Zack Addy again, and Dr Saroyan as a New York Coroner.

    Director:David Boreanaz
    Writer:Hart Hanson

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  17. Bones Season 5 Episode 17 - The Death of the Queen Bee
    8.3/10(1285 votes)

    #17 - The Death of the Queen Bee

    S5:E17

    The team’s latest case takes Brennan back to her alma mater, Burtonsville High School, where she and Booth investigate the discovery of an unidentified skull and upper torso. With Angela’s help, they identify the victim as one of Brennan’s classmates, and notice a possible connection to a second murder committed 15 years prior. Brennan and Booth go undercover as a married couple at her class reunion to interrogate a set of suspects, where even as an adult, Brennan is still predictably misunderstood and her only friend lies in a strangely dark and offbeat janitor. Meanwhile, Hodgins spills a lab secret

    Director:Allan Kroeker
    Writer:Mark Lisson

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  18. Bones Season 5 Episode 18 - The Predator in the Pool
    7.5/10(1084 votes)

    #18 - The Predator in the Pool

    S5:E18

    When human remains are discovered in the belly of a shark, Brennan and Booth are brought in to identify the missing person. Evidence suggesting the victim had been the prey of several fish directs the team’s investigation to The Aquarium of the Atlantic, where a guest lecturer and notorious self-help guru preaching the healing power of the ocean has gone missing. Meanwhile, both Brennan and Booth navigate their own relationship when a marine biologist shows interest in Booth.

    Director:Dwight H. Little
    Writer:Karyn Usher

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  19. Bones Season 5 Episode 19 - The Rocker in the Rinse Cycle
    7.3/10(1103 votes)

    #19 - The Rocker in the Rinse Cycle

    S5:E19

    Booth and Brennan investigate a death at a rock-n-roll fantasy camp where the murder weapon is a Gibson ‘57 Les Paul “Black Beauty.”

    Director:Jeff Woolnough
    Writer:Karine Rosenthal

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  20. Bones Season 5 Episode 20 - The Witch in the Wardrobe
    8.0/10(1244 votes)

    #20 - The Witch in the Wardrobe

    S5:E20

    A cabin burns down in the woods revealing two bodies, one of a modern-day witch and one from the days of the Salem Witch Trials leading Booth and Brennan into the world of Wicca to find a killer. Meanwhile, when Hodgins' reckless driving gets him and Angela arrested and thrown in jail, Sweets and intern Clark Edison step into unfamiliar territory to help out the team

    Director:François Velle
    Writer:Kathy Reichs

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  21. Bones Season 5 Episode 21 - The Boy with the Answer
    8.5/10(1273 votes)

    #21 - The Boy with the Answer

    S5:E21

    The trial of The Gravedigger hits close to home for members of the team, and everyone at the Jeffersonian must work overtime to uncover the forensic evidence to elicit a conviction.

    Director:Dwight H. Little
    Writer:Stephen Nathan

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  22. Bones Season 5 Episode 22 - The Beginning in the End
    8.2/10(1206 votes)

    #22 - The Beginning in the End

    S5:E22

    The team works to uncover clues buried under a life’s worth of possessions saved by a hoarder in order to solve the mystery of his death. Meanwhile, Angela’s father has a specific purpose for his most recent visit, and Brennan and Booth are confronted with unique opportunities.

    Director:Ian Toynton
    Writers:Stephen Nathan, Hart Hanson

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Season 5 Ratings Summary

"Harbingers in the Fountain" is the best rated episode of "Bones" season 5. It scored 8/10 based on 1343 votes. Directed by Ian Toynton and written by Hart Hanson, it aired on 9/17/2009. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "The Bond in the Boot".