Seeley Booth
Encyclopedia
FBI
Special Agent "In charge" Seeley Joseph Booth is a fictional character in the US
television series, Bones
(2005–present), portrayed by David Boreanaz
. Agent Booth is a co-protagonist of the series alongside Dr. Temperance Brennan
(Emily Deschanel), to whom he affectionately refers as "Bones."
in the United States Army
who served in the 101st Airborne Division
, the 75th Ranger Regiment
, and the U.S. Army Special Forces. He is also an expert knife thrower. He is currently a special agent with the FBI
. Before leaving the Army, Booth held the rank of master sergeant. He served in the Gulf War, Somalia
and Kosovo. While in the military he earned a Bronze Star
, National Defense Service Medal
and the Army Good Conduct Medal. He also holds the record for the longest shot ("Well over a kilometer") made in combat. Booth frequently consults with his professional partner Dr. Brennan
, whom he has nicknamed "Bones," and her team (he refers to them as "squints" or "squint squad"), acting as a liaison between the FBI and the Jeffersonian Institute. When it comes to solving crimes, Booth has a very different approach from Brennan and her team, preferring a more human, interpersonal and intuitive set of methods. While he finds the information Dr. Brennan and her team uncover to be valuable clues, he often finds their means overly convoluted and restrictive, and prefers to add his own intuition and knowledge of people to it; as a result, his methods often clash with Dr. Brennan's scientific, objective, and analytical approach.
In the episode "The Beginning in the End," Booth is offered the opportunity to further serve his country in Afghanistan. He is offered a promotion to sergeant major and a position as an advisor to the Afghan National Army
who are being trained by coalition forces to take an increased role in battling Taliban insurgency. According to the unit patch on his uniform shown in the episode "The Mastodon in the Room," he is assigned to a Special Forces group. He is also shown wearing a 101st
combat patch, Special Forces
and Ranger
qualification tabs
, and Combat Infantry, HALO, Air Assault
and Parachutist
badges
.
Although Booth tries to keep personal and professional life strictly separate, aspects of his personal life leak through. He is a religious
man by nature, having been an altar boy
as a child. He knows some Latin
and is still a practicing Roman Catholic
, seeking to atone for the lives he took as a sniper and since through his work in the FBI. While in the Army Rangers, he was apparently tortured, leaving him with emotional and physical scars (revealed in "Two Bodies in the Lab
").
Booth has a troubled relationship with his family. After flying fighter planes during the Vietnam War
, Booth's father was a barber and an abusive alcoholic. His mother composed jingles for television
advertisements. He later reveals that, had it not been for his grandfather, he might have killed himself as a teenager. He also has a brother, Jared, a former lieutenant commander
in the Navy
who worked at the Pentagon
and has a drinking problem. Jared Booth is a recurring character on the series, and his arrivals are often met with tension by Booth.
He has a nine-year-old son named Parker with his ex-girlfriend, Rebecca, who he states refused to marry him. Originally, the communication between Seeley and Rebecca seemed hostile, as she denied him visitation out of spite, but it is later revealed relations between them have dramatically improved. Parker Booth is named after a friend of Booth's from the Army Rangers, Corporal Edward "Teddy" Parker, who was slain in battle while spotting for Booth on a sniper mission. Booth is characterized as an excellent father.
He has stated that he is from Philadelphia, and is a fan of the Philadelphia Flyers
with pictures on the back wall of his office. However, he grew up in Pittsburgh. In season 1, episode 13 "The Woman in the Garden" he is seen drinking from a Pittsburgh Steelers
coffee mug in his office, suggesting he may also be a fan of the football team; in season 6, episode 16 "The Blackout in the Blizzard" he acquires a row of seats from Veterans Stadium
and recounts for Dr. Brennan how he attended game 6 of the 1980 World Series
with his father. He is also recovering from a gambling addiction, which possibly arose as a coping mechanism after separating from the military and leaving a stressful, war-time environment (in the episode "The Soldier in the Grave," Booth stated, "I've been good, I've been going to my meetings" when a former Ranger squad-mate inquired about his gambling problem).
As the series continues, Booth becomes closer with the Jeffersonian team, particularly Dr. Brennan. At the end of the second season, Booth agreed to be Jack Hodgins
's best man in his wedding to Angela Montenegro
(albeit as the second choice after Zack Addy
turned the position down).
Booth also shows to have temperamental issues, and has shot inanimate objects on repeated occasions, such as shooting an ice cream truck's clown head in season 2 episode "The Girl in the Gator" due to coulrophobia
, and a Black metal
band's guitar amplifier after the guitarist spat on his badge in season 4 episode "Mayhem on the Cross," explaining that he found the shooting "justifiable".
Recently, Booth suffered from a brain tumor
(that led to him hallucinating that Stewie Griffin
was having conversations with him), which was successfully removed but left him with residual memory loss and a lack of confidence in the field. In the episode "The Proof in the Pudding," Booth is revealed to be a descendant of John Wilkes Booth
, something he had previously confided to Dr. Brennan on their first case (as shown in the flashback of "The Parts of the Sum of the Whole", when she deduced the relationship due to their similar bone structures) and asked her never to bring up.
During the sixth season, while also dealing with his complicated relationship with Brennan and his new girlfriend, Hannah Burley, Booth finds himself facing his old mentor, Jacob Broadsky, a former army sniper who has apparently gone rogue, killing the Gravedigger -- a serial kidnapper/killer who threatened both Booth and Brennan -- only for Broadsky to escape after destroying any evidence that might have confirmed his role, pointing out that Booth has no definite proof that would allow him to feel "comfortable" shooting his old teacher. Although Booth has so far avoided shooting Broadsky even when he caught him in the middle of a hit- - shooting Broadsky's weapon rather than Broadsky himself, even after Broadsky stated that he had no problem making Parker a fatherless child -- Booth is nevertheless comforted by the news that Brennan doesn't see him and Broadsky as identical, reasoning that the difference is that Booth is good and Broadsky is bad. At the end of season six Angela Montenegro
gives birth and Bones Temperance Brennan
is worried, and confesses to Booth that she is pregnant and he is the father.
when she joined the Jeffersonian team. However, Seeley ended the relationship for the second time after an intense case nearly cost Camille her life, with Seeley asserting that on-the-job romantic relationships endanger the team in high-pressure situations. Booth is shown to have known Dr. Saroyan for some length of time (she mentions she has known Booth and his brother Jared for 15 years in the fourth season), with both of them possessing extensive familiarity with the other's family members. Despite the breakup, Camille and Seeley have remained close friends, working together on cases and giving each other advice on numerous occasions. Seeley even came to Camille, seeking advice, when he began to fully realize his feelings of love towards Brennan, unsure of whether or not he was "the same guy" after his brain surgery. Camille encouraged him to "forget the bruised brain, and go with his lion heart", telling him to act on his feelings for Temperance but to be sure that they were real.
Though denying a romantic relationship, they tended to spend more and more time together outside work throughout the series and a sexual attraction between the pair became more and more evident. In "The Woman in the Sand," Booth shows he is impressed when he sees Brennan in a somewhat revealing dress he picked out for her, and slaps her butt later in the episode. In other episodes, he appears somewhat stunned whenever he sees her in revealing clothing, most notably a Wonder Woman
Halloween
costume ("Mummy in the Maze") Booth has admitted to Brennan and her father that he finds her "well-structured" and "beautiful," and once reassured her that she has "her looks and a whole lot more."
On a deeper level, Booth has also demonstrated a deep devotion to and admiration for Brennan's character. He has shown an apparent jealousy of Brennan's romantic relationships, particularly in the episodes "Two Bodies in the Lab
," "The Woman in Limbo", "The Headless Witch in the Woods", "The Man in the Mansion", "The Boneless Bride in the River", "The Con Man in the Meth Lab", and "A Night at the Bones Museum". Booth has shown a tendency throughout the series of intimidating, confronting or competing with anyone he believes to have a sexual interest in Brennan, including his own brother and his boss.
He is extremely protective of her in general, and is often defensive of her to the point of physically assaulting those who pose a threat to her safety. He has saved Brennan's life in several episodes, digging her out by hand when she was buried alive ("Aliens in a Spaceship"), taking a bullet meant for her ("The Wannabe in the Weeds"), and violently threatening a gang member into calling off a hit put out on her ("The Woman in the Garden"). In instances where he believes Brennan's life to be endangered, Booth often (to Brennan's annoyance) refuses to leave her side, once offering to sleep on the couch at her apartment, taking a blow from a bomb meant for her and leaving the hospital later to rescue her despite being in a medically crucial condition to the point of barely being able to walk ("Two Bodies in the Lab
"), flying immediately from Washington, DC to New Orleans after Brennan wakes up bloodied, beaten and possibly raped in her hotel room ("The Man in the Morgue
").
In the third season, their relationship took on a new component when they were forced to undergo partners therapy with Dr. Sweets. Sweets observed that while they were very close to one another, there was emotional and sexual tension between them. Their experiences in partners therapy – which has been extended indefinitely – continue to be an important part of their relationship on the show.
The partners shared their first (in a flashback) and third kiss in "The Parts in the Sum of the Whole," the second being in "The Santa in the Slush" when Booth and Brennan agreed to kiss in front of prosecuting attorney Caroline Julian, who bargained the kiss in exchange for pulling strings for Brennan's family Christmas. Before the kiss Bones was chewing gum, and after the kiss Booth was chewing gum.
Since the time of that second kiss, although they have not since mentioned it, the partners have only grown closer. Nearly every episode since season three has ended with a scene of Booth and Brennan bonding at the conclusion of a case. These scenes have become increasingly romantic over time, reflecting the ever-growing affection Booth and Brennan have for each other.
This came to a head in "The Critic in the Cabernet," in which Brennan asks Booth to donate sperm to father her child, which startles him visibly. He eventually agrees, and the two begin making plans for her insemination, but before she can go through with it, Booth is diagnosed with a brain tumor. As he is being wheeled into surgery, he tells Brennan she can have his 'stuff' (referring to the donation he made) to have her baby. After a successful surgery to remove the tumor, Booth spends four days in a coma, during which he dreams about an alternate reality where he is married to and expecting a baby with Brennan, whom he calls "Bren." Upon waking up, it takes Booth a week to re-acclimate himself to reality.
Season five began with Booth realizing his love for Brennan as he recovers from his tumor. However, he was cautioned by both Dr. Saroyan and Dr. Sweets to be sure of his feelings before confessing his love to the very rational Brennan. Afraid that his feelings for her were related solely to his tumor and coma, Booth was conflicted about whether or not to tell Brennan. Although Booth and Brennan did exchange words of love, they both qualified their confessions with professionalism. And afterwards, their relationship remained fraught with sexual tension. They nearly kissed again in "A Night at the Bones Museum" and in "The Dwarf in the Dirt," Gordon Wyatt directly states to Booth "Temperance Brennan… You're in love with her" — a statement that Booth does not deny but simply replies that it doesn't make any sense because they are so different. To this statement by Booth, Dr. (now Chef) Wyatt responds that the heart cannot always help what it wants. Booth, however, seemed certain that his feelings were not reciprocated, saying "She doesn't love me. I would know if she loved me," to which Wyatt suggested he have patience and hope. In "The Foot in the Foreclosure," Booth's grandfather, Hank, encourages the relationship, urging both Booth and Brennan separately to stop holding back. In "The Parts in the Sum of the Whole," it is revealed, to the shock of Dr. Sweets, that Booth and Brennan shared a kiss while working on their first case together and nearly wound up sleeping together, showing that the pair have entertained romantic possibilities from the outset of their relationship. After leaving Sweets' office, Booth attempts to initiate a relationship with Brennan and kisses her after being told by Dr. Sweets to take a gamble. Booth tells Brennan that "he knew, right from the beginning" that Brennan is the one he wants to spend his life with. Although she obviously returns his feelings, Brennan rejects his advance and states her uncertainty about the possible outcomes of such a relationship given their seemingly conflicting personalities, Booth agrees to respect her wishes and attempt to move on as they continue to work together.
It is heavily suggested throughout the series that Booth and Brennan are complementary personalities that complete each other. In "Harbingers in the Fountain", Avalon Harmonia (Cyndi Lauper
), a tarot reader and Angela's psychic, suggests that Booth and Brennan are destined lovers stating that "'this' ('this' being Booth and Brennan's feelings for each other and the evident sexual and romantic tension between the pair) will all work out eventually".
In the episode "The Boy with the Answer", Booth is confronted with the possibility that Brennan, claiming she is "tired of dealing with murders and victims and sadness and pain", might leave the Jeffersonian permanently. In the final scene of this episode, Booth watches as Brennan turns to face him while riding away in a taxi, a scene that mirrors the one in "The Parts in the Sum of the Whole" after they kiss outside of a bar. This similarity may signal that much to Booth's disliking that history may be about to repeat itself and he may lose Brennan for an extended amount of time, just as he did when they first met. This is proven true when Brennan departs for a year-long anthropological expedition to the Maluku Islands
while Booth agrees to spend a year in Afghanistan
, training soldiers to apprehend terrorists. They say goodbye at the airport, agreeing to meet one year later by the Mall reflecting pool, at 'their' coffee cart.
However, their relationship takes a downturn after their return to DC due to Booth's relationship with journalist Hannah Burley. Although Hart Hanson has stated that Booth will always be in love with Brennan, referencing Booth's old comment about how 'everything happens eventually' to suggest that the potential for the two to reconcile still exists, shown in such moments as Brennan's apparent disappointment after learning that Hannah gets along with Parker. When Brennan was recently encouraged by a case to admit that she still had feelings for Booth, he turned her down, remaining silent when she stated that they had 'missed their moment' and simply saying that he loved Hannah. Despite this, with Hannah's departure after she turned down Booth's rather half-hearted proposal, the two have begun to reconnect, admitting during a recent case that, while they are not ready to get into a relationship, they would like to try when healed.
In episode 22 of season 6, "The Hole in the Heart", which saw the death of "Squintern" Vincent Nigel-Murray at the hands of renegade sniper Jacob Broadsky, Booth has Brennan stay at his apartment for her safety. Later that night, Brennan, still overcome with shock and grief over Vincent's death, comes to Booth for comfort and the two fall back into his bed together in a seemingly intimate, yet non-sexual, embrace. However, it remained unclear whether something more had happened between the two. The next day she told Angela Montenegro
that she "got into bed with Booth". In the following episode, she tells Booth that she is pregnant with his child. Thus revealing that the two had sex that night.
At the start of Season 7, a very pregnant Brennan and Booth are a couple but are going back and forth between apartments. Booth suggsts that they should have their own place, whereas Brennan wants Booth to move into her apartment. It causes a minor rift between them but is resolved when Booth admits why he wants to move into a new house and Brennan having some time to think over it says its a good idea because she'd need him practically, emotionally and sexually. At the end of the episode they are in bed looking at houses on the internet. Booth also tells Brennan he loves her.
. When she became pregnant, Booth proposed but she turned him down not wanting to get married. They named their son Parker Matthew Booth. They have since occasionally engaged in a liaison but are mostly just friends, Booth resolving to end their liaisons after Rebecca assured him — following a talk with Brennan where Brennan admitted that she thinks Booth feels that Rebecca turned him down because he would be a bad father — that he was a good father to Parker. Due to Jessica Capshaw's commitments to "Grey's Anatomy", it is unlikely the character will appear again on "Bones".
to Afghanistan, Booth met a war correspondent
played by Katheryn Winnick
when arresting her for being in a restricted area.
While Booth himself appeared to be serious, they had yet to be seen in a truly relational sense, although Hannah did attempt to bond with Parker during a recent episode, and the two appeared to get on relatively well. Booth stated that Hannah wasn't a "consolation prize" when Brennan was encouraged by a recent case to admit that she has feelings for him, but the extent to which this is motivated by genuine affection for Hannah or just his fear of Brennan changing her mind again is unclear (Particularly when noting that Booth simply stated that he loved Hannah without saying that he didn't feel that way about Brennan any more). In the end they split when Hannah declined Booth's half-hearted attempt to get married, which itself was prompted by a fear of being unmarried for the rest of his life, because she's "not the marrying kind." Booth's true motivation for the proposal, however, is subject to questioning, considering Hannah had made clear long before the proposal that she was strongly opposed to ever marrying. Thus, he must have foreseen her response. This left Booth demonstrating to Brennan that he was angered and heartbroken, ultimately wondering if there was something wrong with him, since all of the women who rejected him (including Brennan) rebuffed him shortly after earning his full trust and total commitment. Hannah's rejection hit Booth particularly hard -- or so he complained to Brennen during an alcohol-fueled emotional session immediately after ordering Hannah out of his apartment -- because he fearfully interpreted this as an emerging "fact" of his life: that women would continue to dismiss his love and passion because of some major flaw that he himself is blind to. Most significantly, he used Hannah's refusal to formalize their cohabitation with marriage as an excuse to break up with her entirely, forcing her out of his life as she exited the story, seemingly for good, inviting suspicion that his proposal was aimed at that very outcome.
). Booth often refers to himself as a jock, having played football and several other sports in high school and college. A signed picture of Bruins player Bobby Orr
can be seen in the background behind his desk.
Booth is a fan of Classic rock
and Arena rock
music. He has expressed great affection for the group Foreigner
and poked fun at Bones for her interest in world, rap, and hip hop music. He also likes the band Poco
and sang their song, "Keep on Tryin'" with Bones. In the season three finale, it is also shown he listens to the hardcore punk/punkabilly band Social Distortion
. It could also be inferred that he is or at least was a fan of the original wave of hardcore punk, as in the Season 4 episode "Mayhem on the Cross" he mentions that his father thought that Black Flag
and the Dead Kennedys sounded the same (with the implication that Booth disagrees). Given the relatively underground nature of the California hardcore punk scene (of which Social Distortion, Black Flag and the Dead Kennedys were all seminal members), lacking radio airplay, mainstream press coverage, etc., it is most likely that the only way Booth's father would have heard these bands was if Booth himself had been playing their records.
It is revealed in the season three episode "The Mummy In The Maze" Seeley suffers from coulrophobia
. When they were traveling through a haunted house, Booth was frightened of an evil clown mannequin, while Brennan was bewildered by his behavior, with him feeling ashamed when he purposely avoided walking by the mannequin. This provided insight into the event in a previous episode from season two, "The Girl in the Gator", when he shot a large plastic clown head on a ice cream truck, annoyed with the music.
Booth wears a "COCKY" belt buckle in episodes following "The Boneless Bride in the River" in season two. The buckle is absent in the first episode of season five after recovery from surgery. While not as noticeable as the red "Cocky" buckle, Booth did wear a stylized eagle buckle throughout season one and the first part of season two. He also likes to wear colorful socks.
Seeley's brother, Jared, comments in "The Con Man in the Meth Lab" that Seeley is a fan of the Philadelphia Flyers
hockey team. He is also a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers
mentioned by Gordon Watt, also a cup with a Steelers logo is visible on his desk in several episodes. Also in the season three finale he is wearing a Steelers hard hat for drinking beer in the tub and a framed Mario Lemieux jersey is visible on the wall as Bones leaves the bathroom.
Out of the numerous squints at the lab, Seeley seems to get on the best with Angela Montenegro. Angela finds him extremely hot, flirts with him on multiple occasions (particularly in Season one), and frequently does her best to get Brennan and Booth together. Booth does not seem unnerved by Angela's flirtations as he does with that of most women, and has occasionally acted protective of her in his "Alpha male" way. Booth also seems to get along fairly well with Jack Hodgins, although he occasionally threatens to shoot Hodgins if the latter gets too annoying, with Hodgins generally being the 'squint' who accompanies Booth into the field the most after Brennan herself (Camille tends to carry out her own investigations without Booth when a case requires her on-site assessment). They get into an argument in the episode "The Man in the Mansion", when Hodgins compromises a case, but they make peace later in the episode.
However, Booth does not seem to get along that well with Zack; he finds Zack's cold naïveté a little disconcerting. Booth leads Zack to believe ignoring him is a form of male bonding, when in actuality it is a way to avoid talking to Zack. Booth justifies this as "being nicer than shooting him." Booth calls Zack things such as Brennan's "weirdo assistant" and has threatened to shoot him more times than any other main character on the show. However, Booth's opinion of Zack does not seem to be mutual; in general, Zack looks up to Booth as a man of experience, asking him for advice on numerous occasions. Booth makes it clear that he will not give sex advice; when Zack asks, Booth replies, "If you even try, I will take out my gun and shoot you between the eyes." However, Booth does seem more open to giving Zack advice about war when Zack is recruited to go to Iraq, and Zack says to Booth, "You know more about honor and duty than anyone else I know." It is also implied that Zack has grown on Booth; Booth looks a little sad when he sees that Zack has been recruited to go to Iraq in "Stargazer in a Puddle", and it is revealed in The Pain in the Heart that Booth gave him a harmonica when he left. Booth also seems as sad as everyone else that Zack turned out to be the Gormogon's apprentice in this episode. Later, when Zack returns in "The Perfect Pieces in the Purple Pond", Booth comments after Zack makes a "squint-y" comment that "this is one side of him I don't miss at all," implying that he has missed other aspects of Zack. During a dream sequence where Booth re-imagines his friends and colleagues at the Jeffersonian as the staff and guests at a night-club, Vincent- here the club DJ- refers to Zack as an idiot who confessed to a crime he didn't commit, suggesting that Booth knows or suspects on some level that Zack is innocent (Zack claimed to have participated in a man's murder when he actually just helped Gormogon find him, setting up his diagnosis so that he would go to an asylum because he recognised that he wouldn't do well in prison).
Booth stated in "The Girl in the Gator" Howard Epps was his fiftieth kill. However, Booth was not technically responsible for Epps death, so as of "The Man in the Cell" his official kill count is at 49, including the terrorist he shot in "The Man in the SUV". However, as of "Harbingers In the Fountain", Booth's official kill count is at least 52, as he killed the serial killer dressed as a clown in "Mummy in the Maze", bringing it to 50, Gormogon at the end of "The Pain in the Heart", bringing it to 51, and a doctor who attacked Dr. Brennan in "Harbingers in the Fountain", bringing it to 52. He also shot a conning sheriff who shot Dr. Temperance Brennan
in "The Con Man in the Meth Lab", though a death was never confirmed, possibly bringing the total to 53. He also kills a terrorist in "The Mastodon in the Room", which makes his kill count 54.
Booth's grandfather (Hank Booth) gave Booth the nickname Booth 'Shrimp', because Seeley was a young child when Hank took Booth in, after Hank saw his grandson being beaten by his father.
It has been said in a TV Guide article Booth is supposed to be a relative of historical figure John Wilkes Booth
, which was confirmed in the episodes "The Proof in the Pudding" and "The Parts in the Sum of the Whole", which he is very ashamed about, and made Bones promise not to tell anyone. Ironically, it has been stated that Lincoln is his favorite president.
Through out the series Booth is most known to say I'll shoot you. Every time someone got on the bad side of him or bones he would threaten them with that.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
Special Agent "In charge" Seeley Joseph Booth is a fictional character in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television series, Bones
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...
(2005–present), portrayed by David Boreanaz
David Boreanaz
David Boreanaz is an American actor, television producer, and director, known for his role as Angel on the supernatural drama series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, and as Special Agent Seeley Booth on the television crime drama Bones....
. Agent Booth is a co-protagonist of the series alongside Dr. Temperance Brennan
Temperance Brennan (Bones)
Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan, Ph.D. , is a fictional character portrayed by Emily Deschanel in the American Fox television series Bones...
(Emily Deschanel), to whom he affectionately refers as "Bones."
Character history
Seeley Booth is a former sniperSniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
who served in the 101st Airborne Division
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
, the 75th Ranger Regiment
75th Ranger Regiment (United States)
The 75th Ranger Regiment , also known as Rangers, is a Special Operations light infantry unit of the United States Army. The Regiment is headquartered in Fort Benning, Georgia with battalions in Fort Benning, Hunter Army Airfield and Joint Base Lewis-McChord...
, and the U.S. Army Special Forces. He is also an expert knife thrower. He is currently a special agent with the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
. Before leaving the Army, Booth held the rank of master sergeant. He served in the Gulf War, Somalia
Operation Gothic Serpent
Operation Gothic Serpent was a military operation conducted by special operations forces of the United States with the primary mission of capturing warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid...
and Kosovo. While in the military he earned a Bronze Star
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
, National Defense Service Medal
National Defense Service Medal
The National Defense Service Medal is a military service medal of the United States military originally commissioned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower...
and the Army Good Conduct Medal. He also holds the record for the longest shot ("Well over a kilometer") made in combat. Booth frequently consults with his professional partner Dr. Brennan
Temperance Brennan (Bones)
Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan, Ph.D. , is a fictional character portrayed by Emily Deschanel in the American Fox television series Bones...
, whom he has nicknamed "Bones," and her team (he refers to them as "squints" or "squint squad"), acting as a liaison between the FBI and the Jeffersonian Institute. When it comes to solving crimes, Booth has a very different approach from Brennan and her team, preferring a more human, interpersonal and intuitive set of methods. While he finds the information Dr. Brennan and her team uncover to be valuable clues, he often finds their means overly convoluted and restrictive, and prefers to add his own intuition and knowledge of people to it; as a result, his methods often clash with Dr. Brennan's scientific, objective, and analytical approach.
In the episode "The Beginning in the End," Booth is offered the opportunity to further serve his country in Afghanistan. He is offered a promotion to sergeant major and a position as an advisor to the Afghan National Army
Afghan National Army
The Afghan National Army is a service branch of the military of Afghanistan, which is currently trained by the coalition forces to ultimately take the role in land-based military operations in Afghanistan. , the Afghan National Army is divided into seven regional Corps. The strength of the Afghan...
who are being trained by coalition forces to take an increased role in battling Taliban insurgency. According to the unit patch on his uniform shown in the episode "The Mastodon in the Room," he is assigned to a Special Forces group. He is also shown wearing a 101st
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
combat patch, Special Forces
Special Forces Tab
The Special Forces Tab is a service school qualification tab of the United States Army, awarded to any soldier completing either the Special Forces Qualification Course, or the Special Forces Detachment Officer Qualification Course , at the U.S. Army John F...
and Ranger
Ranger Tab
The Ranger Tab is a service school military decoration of the United States Army signifying completion of the 61-day long Ranger School course in small-unit infantry combat tactics in woodland, mountain, and swamp operations. In December 2009 a British NCO earned the Ranger tab...
qualification tabs
Tabs of the United States Army
In the United States Army "tabs" are patches displaying a word or words that are worn above the shoulder patch that identifies the unit to which the soldier belongs....
, and Combat Infantry, HALO, Air Assault
Air Assault Badge
The Air Assault Badge, pictured to the right, is awarded by the U.S. Army for successful completion of the Air Assault School, a two-week course. The course includes three phases of instruction involving U.S. Army rotary wing aircraft: combat air assault operations; rigging and slingload...
and Parachutist
Parachutist Badge (United States)
The Parachutist Badge, also commonly referred to as "Jump Wings" or "Snow Cone", is a military badge of the United States Armed Forces awarded to members of the United States Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy...
badges
Badges of the United States Army
Badges of the United States Army are military decorations issued by the United States Department of the Army to soldiers who achieve a variety of qualifications and accomplishments while serving on active and reserve duty in the United States Army....
.
Although Booth tries to keep personal and professional life strictly separate, aspects of his personal life leak through. He is a religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
man by nature, having been an altar boy
Altar server
An altar server is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian religious service. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell and so on....
as a child. He knows some Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and is still a practicing Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, seeking to atone for the lives he took as a sniper and since through his work in the FBI. While in the Army Rangers, he was apparently tortured, leaving him with emotional and physical scars (revealed in "Two Bodies in the Lab
Two Bodies in the Lab
"Two Bodies in the Lab" is the 15th episode of the first season of the television series, Bones. Originally aired on March 15, 2006 on Fox network, the episode is written by Stephen Nathan and directed by Allan Kroeker. The episode features FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth and Dr. Temperance...
").
Booth has a troubled relationship with his family. After flying fighter planes during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, Booth's father was a barber and an abusive alcoholic. His mother composed jingles for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
advertisements. He later reveals that, had it not been for his grandfather, he might have killed himself as a teenager. He also has a brother, Jared, a former lieutenant commander
Lieutenant commander (United States)
Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...
in the Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
who worked at the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
and has a drinking problem. Jared Booth is a recurring character on the series, and his arrivals are often met with tension by Booth.
He has a nine-year-old son named Parker with his ex-girlfriend, Rebecca, who he states refused to marry him. Originally, the communication between Seeley and Rebecca seemed hostile, as she denied him visitation out of spite, but it is later revealed relations between them have dramatically improved. Parker Booth is named after a friend of Booth's from the Army Rangers, Corporal Edward "Teddy" Parker, who was slain in battle while spotting for Booth on a sniper mission. Booth is characterized as an excellent father.
He has stated that he is from Philadelphia, and is a fan of the Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
with pictures on the back wall of his office. However, he grew up in Pittsburgh. In season 1, episode 13 "The Woman in the Garden" he is seen drinking from a Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
coffee mug in his office, suggesting he may also be a fan of the football team; in season 6, episode 16 "The Blackout in the Blizzard" he acquires a row of seats from Veterans Stadium
Veterans Stadium
Philadelphia Veterans Stadium was a professional-sports, multi-purpose stadium, located at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex...
and recounts for Dr. Brennan how he attended game 6 of the 1980 World Series
1980 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 14, 1980 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaThe Royals jumped on Philly rookie starter Bob Walk early with a pair of two run bombs—one by Amos Otis in the second and another by Willie Aikens in the third...
with his father. He is also recovering from a gambling addiction, which possibly arose as a coping mechanism after separating from the military and leaving a stressful, war-time environment (in the episode "The Soldier in the Grave," Booth stated, "I've been good, I've been going to my meetings" when a former Ranger squad-mate inquired about his gambling problem).
As the series continues, Booth becomes closer with the Jeffersonian team, particularly Dr. Brennan. At the end of the second season, Booth agreed to be Jack Hodgins
Jack Hodgins (Bones)
Dr. Jack Stanley Hodgins IV, Ph.D., is a fictional character in the American television series, Bones. He is portrayed by T. J. Thyne. Jack is introduced to the series primarily as an entomologist/forensic entomologist, but also as a mineralogist/forensic mineralogist, a palynology/forensic...
's best man in his wedding to Angela Montenegro
Angela Montenegro
Angela Pearly-Gates Montenegro Hodgins is a fictional character in the television series Bones , portrayed by Michaela Conlin...
(albeit as the second choice after Zack Addy
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...
turned the position down).
Booth also shows to have temperamental issues, and has shot inanimate objects on repeated occasions, such as shooting an ice cream truck's clown head in season 2 episode "The Girl in the Gator" due to coulrophobia
Coulrophobia
Coulrophobia is a fear of clowns. The term is of recent origin, probably dating from the 1980s, and according to one analyst, "has been coined more on the Internet than in printed form because it does not appear in any previously published, psychiatric, unabridged, or abridged dictionary," however...
, and a Black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
band's guitar amplifier after the guitarist spat on his badge in season 4 episode "Mayhem on the Cross," explaining that he found the shooting "justifiable".
Recently, Booth suffered from a brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
(that led to him hallucinating that Stewie Griffin
Stewie Griffin
Stewie Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. Once obsessed with world domination and matricide, Stewie is the youngest child of Peter and Lois Griffin, and the brother of Chris and Meg....
was having conversations with him), which was successfully removed but left him with residual memory loss and a lack of confidence in the field. In the episode "The Proof in the Pudding," Booth is revealed to be a descendant of John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor...
, something he had previously confided to Dr. Brennan on their first case (as shown in the flashback of "The Parts of the Sum of the Whole", when she deduced the relationship due to their similar bone structures) and asked her never to bring up.
During the sixth season, while also dealing with his complicated relationship with Brennan and his new girlfriend, Hannah Burley, Booth finds himself facing his old mentor, Jacob Broadsky, a former army sniper who has apparently gone rogue, killing the Gravedigger -- a serial kidnapper/killer who threatened both Booth and Brennan -- only for Broadsky to escape after destroying any evidence that might have confirmed his role, pointing out that Booth has no definite proof that would allow him to feel "comfortable" shooting his old teacher. Although Booth has so far avoided shooting Broadsky even when he caught him in the middle of a hit- - shooting Broadsky's weapon rather than Broadsky himself, even after Broadsky stated that he had no problem making Parker a fatherless child -- Booth is nevertheless comforted by the news that Brennan doesn't see him and Broadsky as identical, reasoning that the difference is that Booth is good and Broadsky is bad. At the end of season six Angela Montenegro
Angela Montenegro
Angela Pearly-Gates Montenegro Hodgins is a fictional character in the television series Bones , portrayed by Michaela Conlin...
gives birth and Bones Temperance 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...
is worried, and confesses to Booth that she is pregnant and he is the father.
Camille Saroyan
Seeley rekindled an old relationship with Dr. Camille SaroyanCamille 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...
when she joined the Jeffersonian team. However, Seeley ended the relationship for the second time after an intense case nearly cost Camille her life, with Seeley asserting that on-the-job romantic relationships endanger the team in high-pressure situations. Booth is shown to have known Dr. Saroyan for some length of time (she mentions she has known Booth and his brother Jared for 15 years in the fourth season), with both of them possessing extensive familiarity with the other's family members. Despite the breakup, Camille and Seeley have remained close friends, working together on cases and giving each other advice on numerous occasions. Seeley even came to Camille, seeking advice, when he began to fully realize his feelings of love towards Brennan, unsure of whether or not he was "the same guy" after his brain surgery. Camille encouraged him to "forget the bruised brain, and go with his lion heart", telling him to act on his feelings for Temperance but to be sure that they were real.
Temperance Brennan
Temperance is Seeley's professional partner and his primary love interest throughout the series. While Seeley and Brennan maintained a professional relationship and friendship for six years, there was obviously a level of deep emotional attachment evident, and hints of romantic and sexual tension within their relationship. This tension is crucial to the plot of the series, with fleeting minor characters constantly mistaking Booth and Brennan for a romantic couple, an accusation which they consistently and vehemently denied.Though denying a romantic relationship, they tended to spend more and more time together outside work throughout the series and a sexual attraction between the pair became more and more evident. In "The Woman in the Sand," Booth shows he is impressed when he sees Brennan in a somewhat revealing dress he picked out for her, and slaps her butt later in the episode. In other episodes, he appears somewhat stunned whenever he sees her in revealing clothing, most notably a Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
costume ("Mummy in the Maze") Booth has admitted to Brennan and her father that he finds her "well-structured" and "beautiful," and once reassured her that she has "her looks and a whole lot more."
On a deeper level, Booth has also demonstrated a deep devotion to and admiration for Brennan's character. He has shown an apparent jealousy of Brennan's romantic relationships, particularly in the episodes "Two Bodies in the Lab
Two Bodies in the Lab
"Two Bodies in the Lab" is the 15th episode of the first season of the television series, Bones. Originally aired on March 15, 2006 on Fox network, the episode is written by Stephen Nathan and directed by Allan Kroeker. The episode features FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth and Dr. Temperance...
," "The Woman in Limbo", "The Headless Witch in the Woods", "The Man in the Mansion", "The Boneless Bride in the River", "The Con Man in the Meth Lab", and "A Night at the Bones Museum". Booth has shown a tendency throughout the series of intimidating, confronting or competing with anyone he believes to have a sexual interest in Brennan, including his own brother and his boss.
He is extremely protective of her in general, and is often defensive of her to the point of physically assaulting those who pose a threat to her safety. He has saved Brennan's life in several episodes, digging her out by hand when she was buried alive ("Aliens in a Spaceship"), taking a bullet meant for her ("The Wannabe in the Weeds"), and violently threatening a gang member into calling off a hit put out on her ("The Woman in the Garden"). In instances where he believes Brennan's life to be endangered, Booth often (to Brennan's annoyance) refuses to leave her side, once offering to sleep on the couch at her apartment, taking a blow from a bomb meant for her and leaving the hospital later to rescue her despite being in a medically crucial condition to the point of barely being able to walk ("Two Bodies in the Lab
Two Bodies in the Lab
"Two Bodies in the Lab" is the 15th episode of the first season of the television series, Bones. Originally aired on March 15, 2006 on Fox network, the episode is written by Stephen Nathan and directed by Allan Kroeker. The episode features FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth and Dr. Temperance...
"), flying immediately from Washington, DC to New Orleans after Brennan wakes up bloodied, beaten and possibly raped in her hotel room ("The Man in the Morgue
The Man in the Morgue
"The Man in the Morgue" is the 19th episode of the first season of the television series Bones. Originally aired on April 19, 2006 on FOX network, the episode is written by Noah Hawley and Elizabeth Benjamin, and directed by James Whitmore Jr.. The episode features Dr...
").
In the third season, their relationship took on a new component when they were forced to undergo partners therapy with Dr. Sweets. Sweets observed that while they were very close to one another, there was emotional and sexual tension between them. Their experiences in partners therapy – which has been extended indefinitely – continue to be an important part of their relationship on the show.
The partners shared their first (in a flashback) and third kiss in "The Parts in the Sum of the Whole," the second being in "The Santa in the Slush" when Booth and Brennan agreed to kiss in front of prosecuting attorney Caroline Julian, who bargained the kiss in exchange for pulling strings for Brennan's family Christmas. Before the kiss Bones was chewing gum, and after the kiss Booth was chewing gum.
Since the time of that second kiss, although they have not since mentioned it, the partners have only grown closer. Nearly every episode since season three has ended with a scene of Booth and Brennan bonding at the conclusion of a case. These scenes have become increasingly romantic over time, reflecting the ever-growing affection Booth and Brennan have for each other.
This came to a head in "The Critic in the Cabernet," in which Brennan asks Booth to donate sperm to father her child, which startles him visibly. He eventually agrees, and the two begin making plans for her insemination, but before she can go through with it, Booth is diagnosed with a brain tumor. As he is being wheeled into surgery, he tells Brennan she can have his 'stuff' (referring to the donation he made) to have her baby. After a successful surgery to remove the tumor, Booth spends four days in a coma, during which he dreams about an alternate reality where he is married to and expecting a baby with Brennan, whom he calls "Bren." Upon waking up, it takes Booth a week to re-acclimate himself to reality.
Season five began with Booth realizing his love for Brennan as he recovers from his tumor. However, he was cautioned by both Dr. Saroyan and Dr. Sweets to be sure of his feelings before confessing his love to the very rational Brennan. Afraid that his feelings for her were related solely to his tumor and coma, Booth was conflicted about whether or not to tell Brennan. Although Booth and Brennan did exchange words of love, they both qualified their confessions with professionalism. And afterwards, their relationship remained fraught with sexual tension. They nearly kissed again in "A Night at the Bones Museum" and in "The Dwarf in the Dirt," Gordon Wyatt directly states to Booth "Temperance Brennan… You're in love with her" — a statement that Booth does not deny but simply replies that it doesn't make any sense because they are so different. To this statement by Booth, Dr. (now Chef) Wyatt responds that the heart cannot always help what it wants. Booth, however, seemed certain that his feelings were not reciprocated, saying "She doesn't love me. I would know if she loved me," to which Wyatt suggested he have patience and hope. In "The Foot in the Foreclosure," Booth's grandfather, Hank, encourages the relationship, urging both Booth and Brennan separately to stop holding back. In "The Parts in the Sum of the Whole," it is revealed, to the shock of Dr. Sweets, that Booth and Brennan shared a kiss while working on their first case together and nearly wound up sleeping together, showing that the pair have entertained romantic possibilities from the outset of their relationship. After leaving Sweets' office, Booth attempts to initiate a relationship with Brennan and kisses her after being told by Dr. Sweets to take a gamble. Booth tells Brennan that "he knew, right from the beginning" that Brennan is the one he wants to spend his life with. Although she obviously returns his feelings, Brennan rejects his advance and states her uncertainty about the possible outcomes of such a relationship given their seemingly conflicting personalities, Booth agrees to respect her wishes and attempt to move on as they continue to work together.
It is heavily suggested throughout the series that Booth and Brennan are complementary personalities that complete each other. In "Harbingers in the Fountain", Avalon Harmonia (Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
), a tarot reader and Angela's psychic, suggests that Booth and Brennan are destined lovers stating that "'this' ('this' being Booth and Brennan's feelings for each other and the evident sexual and romantic tension between the pair) will all work out eventually".
In the episode "The Boy with the Answer", Booth is confronted with the possibility that Brennan, claiming she is "tired of dealing with murders and victims and sadness and pain", might leave the Jeffersonian permanently. In the final scene of this episode, Booth watches as Brennan turns to face him while riding away in a taxi, a scene that mirrors the one in "The Parts in the Sum of the Whole" after they kiss outside of a bar. This similarity may signal that much to Booth's disliking that history may be about to repeat itself and he may lose Brennan for an extended amount of time, just as he did when they first met. This is proven true when Brennan departs for a year-long anthropological expedition to the Maluku Islands
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone...
while Booth agrees to spend a year in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, training soldiers to apprehend terrorists. They say goodbye at the airport, agreeing to meet one year later by the Mall reflecting pool, at 'their' coffee cart.
However, their relationship takes a downturn after their return to DC due to Booth's relationship with journalist Hannah Burley. Although Hart Hanson has stated that Booth will always be in love with Brennan, referencing Booth's old comment about how 'everything happens eventually' to suggest that the potential for the two to reconcile still exists, shown in such moments as Brennan's apparent disappointment after learning that Hannah gets along with Parker. When Brennan was recently encouraged by a case to admit that she still had feelings for Booth, he turned her down, remaining silent when she stated that they had 'missed their moment' and simply saying that he loved Hannah. Despite this, with Hannah's departure after she turned down Booth's rather half-hearted proposal, the two have begun to reconnect, admitting during a recent case that, while they are not ready to get into a relationship, they would like to try when healed.
In episode 22 of season 6, "The Hole in the Heart", which saw the death of "Squintern" Vincent Nigel-Murray at the hands of renegade sniper Jacob Broadsky, Booth has Brennan stay at his apartment for her safety. Later that night, Brennan, still overcome with shock and grief over Vincent's death, comes to Booth for comfort and the two fall back into his bed together in a seemingly intimate, yet non-sexual, embrace. However, it remained unclear whether something more had happened between the two. The next day she told Angela Montenegro
Angela Montenegro
Angela Pearly-Gates Montenegro Hodgins is a fictional character in the television series Bones , portrayed by Michaela Conlin...
that she "got into bed with Booth". In the following episode, she tells Booth that she is pregnant with his child. Thus revealing that the two had sex that night.
At the start of Season 7, a very pregnant Brennan and Booth are a couple but are going back and forth between apartments. Booth suggsts that they should have their own place, whereas Brennan wants Booth to move into her apartment. It causes a minor rift between them but is resolved when Booth admits why he wants to move into a new house and Brennan having some time to think over it says its a good idea because she'd need him practically, emotionally and sexually. At the end of the episode they are in bed looking at houses on the internet. Booth also tells Brennan he loves her.
Rebecca Stinson
Rebecca Stinson is Booth's ex-girlfriend portrayed by Jessica CapshawJessica Capshaw
Jessica Brooke Capshaw is an American actress. She is known for her role as Jamie Stringer in The Practice and for her role as Dr...
. When she became pregnant, Booth proposed but she turned him down not wanting to get married. They named their son Parker Matthew Booth. They have since occasionally engaged in a liaison but are mostly just friends, Booth resolving to end their liaisons after Rebecca assured him — following a talk with Brennan where Brennan admitted that she thinks Booth feels that Rebecca turned him down because he would be a bad father — that he was a good father to Parker. Due to Jessica Capshaw's commitments to "Grey's Anatomy", it is unlikely the character will appear again on "Bones".
Hannah Burley
In the episode "The Mastodon in the Room," it is revealed that while on his recent deploymentMilitary deployment
Military deployment is the movement of armed forces and their logistical support infrastructure around the world.-United States:The United States Military defines the term as follows:...
to Afghanistan, Booth met a war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
played by Katheryn Winnick
Katheryn Winnick
Katheryn Winnick is a Canadian film and television actress.-Life and career:Etobicoke-born Winnick, who is of Ukrainian descent and speaks fluent Ukrainian, has appeared in numerous studio films including Paramount's Failure to Launch and New Line's Amusement.She has guest starred in multiple...
when arresting her for being in a restricted area.
While Booth himself appeared to be serious, they had yet to be seen in a truly relational sense, although Hannah did attempt to bond with Parker during a recent episode, and the two appeared to get on relatively well. Booth stated that Hannah wasn't a "consolation prize" when Brennan was encouraged by a recent case to admit that she has feelings for him, but the extent to which this is motivated by genuine affection for Hannah or just his fear of Brennan changing her mind again is unclear (Particularly when noting that Booth simply stated that he loved Hannah without saying that he didn't feel that way about Brennan any more). In the end they split when Hannah declined Booth's half-hearted attempt to get married, which itself was prompted by a fear of being unmarried for the rest of his life, because she's "not the marrying kind." Booth's true motivation for the proposal, however, is subject to questioning, considering Hannah had made clear long before the proposal that she was strongly opposed to ever marrying. Thus, he must have foreseen her response. This left Booth demonstrating to Brennan that he was angered and heartbroken, ultimately wondering if there was something wrong with him, since all of the women who rejected him (including Brennan) rebuffed him shortly after earning his full trust and total commitment. Hannah's rejection hit Booth particularly hard -- or so he complained to Brennen during an alcohol-fueled emotional session immediately after ordering Hannah out of his apartment -- because he fearfully interpreted this as an emerging "fact" of his life: that women would continue to dismiss his love and passion because of some major flaw that he himself is blind to. Most significantly, he used Hannah's refusal to formalize their cohabitation with marriage as an excuse to break up with her entirely, forcing her out of his life as she exited the story, seemingly for good, inviting suspicion that his proposal was aimed at that very outcome.
Characterization
Booth does not fit in socially with the collection of "geeks" (whom he and his FBI colleagues refer to as "squints") making up Dr. Brennan's team. Booth fills out the stereotype of the "All-American boy" — now all grown up — very well. He is world-wise, socially at ease with people, very athletic, and apparently sexually confident with women (a contrast to the humorous social bumbling sometimes exhibited by some of Dr. Brennan's team, namely, Zack AddyZack 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...
). Booth often refers to himself as a jock, having played football and several other sports in high school and college. A signed picture of Bruins player Bobby Orr
Bobby Orr
Robert Gordon "Bobby" Orr, OC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Orr played in the National Hockey League for his entire career, the first ten seasons with the Boston Bruins, joining the Chicago Black Hawks for two more. Orr is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest...
can be seen in the background behind his desk.
Booth is a fan of Classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
and Arena rock
Arena rock
Arena rock is a term used to describe rock music that utilised large arena venues, particularly sports venues, for concerts or series of concerts linked in tours...
music. He has expressed great affection for the group Foreigner
Foreigner (band)
Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
and poked fun at Bones for her interest in world, rap, and hip hop music. He also likes the band Poco
Poco
Poco is an Southern California country rock band originally formed by Richie Furay and Jim Messina following the demise of Buffalo Springfield in 1968. The title of their first album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, is a reference to the break-up of Buffalo Springfield. Highly influential and creative,...
and sang their song, "Keep on Tryin'" with Bones. In the season three finale, it is also shown he listens to the hardcore punk/punkabilly band Social Distortion
Social Distortion
Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness , Jonny Wickersham , Brent Harding and David Hidalgo, Jr...
. It could also be inferred that he is or at least was a fan of the original wave of hardcore punk, as in the Season 4 episode "Mayhem on the Cross" he mentions that his father thought that Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
and the Dead Kennedys sounded the same (with the implication that Booth disagrees). Given the relatively underground nature of the California hardcore punk scene (of which Social Distortion, Black Flag and the Dead Kennedys were all seminal members), lacking radio airplay, mainstream press coverage, etc., it is most likely that the only way Booth's father would have heard these bands was if Booth himself had been playing their records.
It is revealed in the season three episode "The Mummy In The Maze" Seeley suffers from coulrophobia
Coulrophobia
Coulrophobia is a fear of clowns. The term is of recent origin, probably dating from the 1980s, and according to one analyst, "has been coined more on the Internet than in printed form because it does not appear in any previously published, psychiatric, unabridged, or abridged dictionary," however...
. When they were traveling through a haunted house, Booth was frightened of an evil clown mannequin, while Brennan was bewildered by his behavior, with him feeling ashamed when he purposely avoided walking by the mannequin. This provided insight into the event in a previous episode from season two, "The Girl in the Gator", when he shot a large plastic clown head on a ice cream truck, annoyed with the music.
Booth wears a "COCKY" belt buckle in episodes following "The Boneless Bride in the River" in season two. The buckle is absent in the first episode of season five after recovery from surgery. While not as noticeable as the red "Cocky" buckle, Booth did wear a stylized eagle buckle throughout season one and the first part of season two. He also likes to wear colorful socks.
Seeley's brother, Jared, comments in "The Con Man in the Meth Lab" that Seeley is a fan of the Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
hockey team. He is also a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
mentioned by Gordon Watt, also a cup with a Steelers logo is visible on his desk in several episodes. Also in the season three finale he is wearing a Steelers hard hat for drinking beer in the tub and a framed Mario Lemieux jersey is visible on the wall as Bones leaves the bathroom.
Out of the numerous squints at the lab, Seeley seems to get on the best with Angela Montenegro. Angela finds him extremely hot, flirts with him on multiple occasions (particularly in Season one), and frequently does her best to get Brennan and Booth together. Booth does not seem unnerved by Angela's flirtations as he does with that of most women, and has occasionally acted protective of her in his "Alpha male" way. Booth also seems to get along fairly well with Jack Hodgins, although he occasionally threatens to shoot Hodgins if the latter gets too annoying, with Hodgins generally being the 'squint' who accompanies Booth into the field the most after Brennan herself (Camille tends to carry out her own investigations without Booth when a case requires her on-site assessment). They get into an argument in the episode "The Man in the Mansion", when Hodgins compromises a case, but they make peace later in the episode.
However, Booth does not seem to get along that well with Zack; he finds Zack's cold naïveté a little disconcerting. Booth leads Zack to believe ignoring him is a form of male bonding, when in actuality it is a way to avoid talking to Zack. Booth justifies this as "being nicer than shooting him." Booth calls Zack things such as Brennan's "weirdo assistant" and has threatened to shoot him more times than any other main character on the show. However, Booth's opinion of Zack does not seem to be mutual; in general, Zack looks up to Booth as a man of experience, asking him for advice on numerous occasions. Booth makes it clear that he will not give sex advice; when Zack asks, Booth replies, "If you even try, I will take out my gun and shoot you between the eyes." However, Booth does seem more open to giving Zack advice about war when Zack is recruited to go to Iraq, and Zack says to Booth, "You know more about honor and duty than anyone else I know." It is also implied that Zack has grown on Booth; Booth looks a little sad when he sees that Zack has been recruited to go to Iraq in "Stargazer in a Puddle", and it is revealed in The Pain in the Heart that Booth gave him a harmonica when he left. Booth also seems as sad as everyone else that Zack turned out to be the Gormogon's apprentice in this episode. Later, when Zack returns in "The Perfect Pieces in the Purple Pond", Booth comments after Zack makes a "squint-y" comment that "this is one side of him I don't miss at all," implying that he has missed other aspects of Zack. During a dream sequence where Booth re-imagines his friends and colleagues at the Jeffersonian as the staff and guests at a night-club, Vincent- here the club DJ- refers to Zack as an idiot who confessed to a crime he didn't commit, suggesting that Booth knows or suspects on some level that Zack is innocent (Zack claimed to have participated in a man's murder when he actually just helped Gormogon find him, setting up his diagnosis so that he would go to an asylum because he recognised that he wouldn't do well in prison).
Booth stated in "The Girl in the Gator" Howard Epps was his fiftieth kill. However, Booth was not technically responsible for Epps death, so as of "The Man in the Cell" his official kill count is at 49, including the terrorist he shot in "The Man in the SUV". However, as of "Harbingers In the Fountain", Booth's official kill count is at least 52, as he killed the serial killer dressed as a clown in "Mummy in the Maze", bringing it to 50, Gormogon at the end of "The Pain in the Heart", bringing it to 51, and a doctor who attacked Dr. Brennan in "Harbingers in the Fountain", bringing it to 52. He also shot a conning sheriff who shot Dr. Temperance Brennan
Temperance Brennan (Bones)
Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan, Ph.D. , is a fictional character portrayed by Emily Deschanel in the American Fox television series Bones...
in "The Con Man in the Meth Lab", though a death was never confirmed, possibly bringing the total to 53. He also kills a terrorist in "The Mastodon in the Room", which makes his kill count 54.
Booth's grandfather (Hank Booth) gave Booth the nickname Booth 'Shrimp', because Seeley was a young child when Hank took Booth in, after Hank saw his grandson being beaten by his father.
It has been said in a TV Guide article Booth is supposed to be a relative of historical figure John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor...
, which was confirmed in the episodes "The Proof in the Pudding" and "The Parts in the Sum of the Whole", which he is very ashamed about, and made Bones promise not to tell anyone. Ironically, it has been stated that Lincoln is his favorite president.
Through out the series Booth is most known to say I'll shoot you. Every time someone got on the bad side of him or bones he would threaten them with that.