Bones was one of the more unique crime procedural shows that FOX ever aired. While there have been quite a few investigative thrillers focused on the cops and secret agents that solve crimes, Bones, which stars David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel, features a team of forensic anthropologists and FBI agents who examine deceased individuals in their postmortal state. Since Bones took a more scientific approach to its subject material, the series was able to avoid many of the storytelling clichés that had become common in other criminal investigation shows. However, that doesn’t mean that Bones didn’t feature a great rogue’s gallery of recurring villains that appeared throughout several episodes, and sometimes even entire seasons. Serial killer Christopher Pelant (Andrew Leeds) is among the most ruthless screen antagonists to ever haunt broadcast television, showing that the most gruesome content didn’t necessarily have to air on specialty networks like HBO or FX. Pelant raised the stakes of Bones, transforming a somewhat standard procedural series into a must-see television event that succeeded in its use of serialized storytelling. Leeds may have been an unknown at the time of his casting, but he ended up becoming an essential component to why the series managed to last as long as it did.
Christopher Pelant Changed ‘Bones’
The first few seasons of Bones were highly entertaining, but never attempted to go beyond simple “case of the week” style investigations. A majority of the episodes focused on individual cases that were wrapped up by the time that they concluded; the murders were solved, the criminals were caught, and the characters could rest easy knowing that justice had been served. Bones had a quirky sense of humor, which made the early cases more entertaining. Since the roles that these characters played in putting together the pieces of an investigation weren’t exactly typical, it made sense for each of the actors to bring something more idiosyncratic to the screen. One of the joys of broadcast television is that it often takes shows like Bones a few seasons to find its footing; none of the earlier seasons are necessarily bad, but it did reflect a period in which the series was unclear if it wanted to be a more grounded crime thriller or something more upbeat and fun, in the vein of Castle or Psych.
While this may not have suggested a greater ambition on Bones’ part, the more simple approach to the series’ origins helped develop an emotional authenticity to the characters. It was necessary to develop the “will they or won’t they relationship” between Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and FBI Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz in his first major role post-Angel). The series showed the empathy that characters like Jack Hodgins (T.J. Thyne), Angela Montenegro (Michaela Conlin), Camille Saroyan (Tamara Taylor), and Lance Sweets (John Francis Daley) had for the recently deceased, and how each of their roles in the investigation were equally important. The detailed approach that Bones took to its character development within the first few seasons made its gradual shift into darker territory feel more earned. So much time was dedicated to showing the backstories of Booth, Brennan, and the rest of the characters that it felt more shocking when they were placed in legitimate danger. Although individual villains introduced for specific episodes may not have posed a compelling enough threat in their own right, the notion of a recurring antagonist had the opportunity to make Bones feel far more electrifying.
Although the series had flirted with the idea of a recurring villain in the third season with a ruthless murderer known as Gormogon (Laurence Todd Rosenthal), this early antagonist was mostly used to give the character of Zack Addy (Eric Milligen) a graceful exit from the series. However, Bones changed its stakes in the seventh season with the introduction of Christopher Pelant (Andrew Leeds). A ruthless cyber criminal who often manipulated other killers to do his will, Pelant was a stark contrast to the other “big bads” on Bones. Brennan and Booth were used to examining corpses for details about a case, but Pelant committed his crimes digitally, ensuring that any evidence of his wrongdoing would be erased. Bones was able to explain how Pelant pulled off his evil deeds to a point, and was able to retain the genuine scientific background that had always given the series more credibility than other crime procedurals. The fact that Bones, Brennan, and the rest of their team were forced to continue doing their duty in the face of a more equipped and highly motivated antagonist ended up inspiring some of their greatest moments of heroism.
Why Was Christopher Pelant So Scary on ‘Bones’?
Although Bones took liberties with how criminal investigations actually work, a lot of the show relied on actual forensic science principles, making it feel more realistic. This is part of the reason that Pelant is so scary. A self-confessed “hacktivist” and anti-authoritarian extremist, Pelant resembled the sort of cybercriminals that had become more common in news headlines during the time that Bones was on the air. Serial killers can easily become sensationalized, particularly in procedural crime shows that don’t bear any resemblance to reality. However, the notion of a criminal that creates anarchy through electronic threats was a terrifying reminder of the types of extremists that have gained more power thanks to the rise of the digital era. Pelant felt like a reflection of the anxieties that many viewers may have had, as the writers were able to intertwine his storylines with hot button issues that were currently being discussed. Bones has always been at the forefront of showing how technology can be used to help Brennan and their team perform their jobs with a greater degress of accuracy; Pelant forced them to double check their accepted truths, making the line between “law” and “justice” even more fungible than it already was.
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Pelant’s personality is one of chaos, which presents a challenge to Booth and Brennan. A typical investigation could be traced to an underlying motive, in which the characters could identify why a crime was committed. However, Pelant did his best to upend any expectations that people had about his intentions and often used political imagery to make a splash. Pelant made his debut in the episode “The Crack in the Code,” in which he attempted to publicly shame the FBI by detailing their history of corruption. This hits Booth on an emotional level, because if he’s not able to trust the institution that he has committed his life to, then what good has his service amounted to? There would be no point in having an antagonist on Bones that committed evil acts purely for the sake of it, as this type of villain is better used on a more straightforward show about the battle between good and evil. Pelant may not have ever been a character that the audience could empathize with, but his willingness to expose legal conspiracies does suggest that he is motivated to point out the hypocrisy within the FBI. Considering that Bones relies upon the notion that the FBI is designed to enact justice, it was if Pelant was challenging the audience to reflect upon the inherent premise that they had already spent seven seasons dedicated to.
Pelant Was Fixated on Brennan on ‘Bones’
Unlike other serial killers on Bones, Pelant develops a specific fascination with Brennan herself. It’s as if he was conceived as a dark alter ego to the endearing forensic scientist. Both characters are fascinated with human behavior but don’t quite understand it. While Brennan attempts to elevate her understanding through empathy, Pelant seeks to manipulate other people to torture them. Among his most cruel acts was framing Brennan for the murder of a friend in the episode “The Past in the Present.” Pelant wasn’t just trying to stump Brennan; rather, he wanted to discredit both her and the line of work she had committed her life to. The connection wasn’t necessarily romantic, as Pelant never attempted to position himself as a romantic partner to Brennan. However, his insistence that she engage with him by playing through his petty games was a spookily accurate depiction of the ego that comes with toxic masculinity. The show also did a great job at showing the slow deterioration of his physical form; by the point that Pelant had become physically scarred and reliant on assistive technology, he almost felt like the sort of enhanced, supernatural villain that could have shown up in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or The X-Files.
Pelant added a level of intensity to Bones, which may have eroded some of the more amusing aspects of its first few seasons. However, the change in stakes also created some of the series’ more rewarding moments. After getting stumped by Brennan and her team one too many times, Pelant seeks his revenge in the episode “The Corpse in the Canopy.” During the episode’s conclusion, Pelant gives Booth a heartbreaking choice: saving five innocent people or getting to marry Brennan. Booth can’t help but choose his duty over his relationship and ultimately decides to leave his marriage to the woman he loves for another day. By disrupting the romance that was so integral to Bones, Pelant made Booth and Brennan’s eventual reunion and wedding even more rewarding. Although Bones managed to wrap up with a genuinely terrific series finale that brought each core character arc to a satisfying conclusion, it did feel as if all the subsequent villains introduced lacked the unique mix of intelligence and relentlessness that had made Pelant so captivating.
It’s a testament to Leeds’ excellent performance that he was able to embody such a creepy character, and it would be hard to argue that Leeds was not worthy of a nomination for Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series, particularly for his final episode. The magnitude of his performance almost made it shocking when he popped up in Barry as Gene Cousineau’s (Henry Winkler) son, as the two characters could not have been more distinct in terms of their goals and mindset. Self-obsessed, ruthless, and cowardly, Pelant represented the worst of what television villains could be. Bones changed for the better because of the storylines involving Pelant, even if the series could never find another villain to top him.
F.B.I. Special Agent Seeley Booth teams up with the Jeffersonian’s top anthropologist, Dr. Temperance Brennan, to investigate cases where all that’s left of the victims are their bones.
- Release Date
- September 13, 2005
- Cast
- Emily Deschanel , David Boreanaz , John Boyd , Michaela Conlin , Tamara Taylor , T.J. Thyne
- Main Genre
- Crime
- Seasons
- 12
- Studio
- Fox
Bones is available to watch on Hulu in the U.S.
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