Ep 19. The Finder

The finder is the nineteenth episode of the sixth season of the American television series Bones. Directed by Dwight Little, the episode was written by Carla Kettner, and aired on March 31, 2011, on the Fox network.

The episode follows the protagonist Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan, a forensic anthropologist who works at the Jeffersonian Institute and is part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) team, as she and her partner Special Agent Seeley Booth tackle a case involving a traveler named Will Hastings who went missing from his flight after arriving in the United States and never made it home.

As they work on solving the case, they cross paths with a man named Walter Sherman, known as "The Finder." Sherman is a recovering Iraq War veteran with an exceptional talent for finding things and an unorthodox approach to life. Sherman agrees to help Bones and Booth find Hastings, as he has a personal connection with the missing man.

The trio starts their search at the airport where Hastings went missing, and Sherman uses his unique skills to piece together clues that lead them to a flight attendant who looks strikingly similar to a woman in a photo that Hastings had in his possession. The flight attendant denies knowing Hastings, but the trio continues their investigation, eventually uncovering a conspiracy involving industrial espionage, corporate malfeasance, and human trafficking.

The episode focuses on the dynamic between Brennan, Booth, and Sherman, who is portrayed by Geoff Stults. The character is charming, shrewd, and always carries a glass jar filled with sand from Iraq with him - an item that he refers to as his "memory jar." Throughout the episode, he tests the limits of Brennan and Booth's patience as he breaks all the rules, yet somehow always manages to find what he's looking for.

The Finder is a backdoor pilot for a proposed spin-off series that never materialized. Despite that, the episode stands on its own as a classic Bones installment. The episode doesn't shy away from addressing the challenges that soldiers face when returning home from war, touching on issues such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the difficulties of assimilating back into civilian life.

The Finder also explores Brennan's personal history, delving into her strained relationship with her estranged father and her fears of being a bad parent following the birth of her daughter. Brennan is forced to confront her beliefs regarding fate and chance as Sherman challenges her to have faith in the seemingly-random events of life and to trust that things will work themselves out in due course.

The episode features a stellar guest cast, including actress Saffron Burrows, who portrays the flight attendant, and actor Michael Clarke Duncan, who gives an excellent performance as a gruff truck driver who helps Sherman, Booth, and Brennan in their investigation.

The Finder is a unique episode of Bones that successfully blends drama, comedy, and action. It introduces audiences to a new character who has a fascinating backstory and an intriguing approach to life. While the spin-off didn't materialize, the episode remains a standout in the series, showcasing the excellent writing, acting, and directing that made Bones one of the best crime dramas on television.