The Prince in the Plastic

The Prince in the Plastic is the third episode of the seventh season of Bones.
== Synopsis ==
After the remains of a female toy company executive are found shrink-wrapped with a Prince Charmington doll, the company's CEO gives Booth and Sweets access to the company headquarters' highly classified prototype lab, where details of the victim's personal life begin to emerge. Meanwhile, Sweets, with the support of his girlfriend, squint Daisy Wick, prepares for his gun certification test despite Booth's opposition to Sweets carrying a weapon. Mom-to-be Brennan, wonders whether she will be a good mother and uses the case as a way to understand the importance of toys and playing with her child.
==Summary==
A couple is hunting for antiques in a nasty dumping ground when a dislodged refrigerator comes tumbling down a hill. They dodge the appliance, which knocks over a tub to reveal a rotting corpse wrapped in shrink wrap. Terrified, the couple screech in unison and flee the scene.
Meanwhile, Booth, Brennan, and Sweets are getting coffee. Sweets says he's going to get certified to carry a weapon. He then tries to change the subject by bringing up the couple's living arrangement. Brennan wants an acre of land while Booth wants a man cave. Back at the Jeffersonian, the crew examines the body inside the shrink wrap. Camille cuts holes in the shrink wrap and the body drains out. Daisy says It is revolting, but kind of fun. Brennan determines the victim is a female -- one buried with a "Prince Charmington" doll of all things.
Angela finds non-liquefied skin inside the plastic wrap that IDs the victim as Debbie Cortez. Booth is soon interviewing her brother, Rick, who explains their parents were killed in a plane crash when the victim was nine. Rick, now unemployed, used to work as a security guard at a toy company where his sister was a big executive. He claims not to know who would want to hurt his sister. Booth and Brennan then head to the toy company, where executive Bianca gives them a tour and says Debbie developed hit after hit. Employee Lawrence, on the other hand, hasn't had a best seller in years. He denies killing Debbie, though he admits he was jealous of her success. Lawrence then explains Debbie was surreptitiously texting and calling a mysterious someone. "Fishy" behavior, he says.
Back at the Jeffersonian, Hodgins finds Prince Charmington's leg in the remains -- and it shows a chemical burn. Angela is trying to put together a complicated toy she bought for her baby. Neither brilliant scientists can make any sense of the directions. So they take a break to look at the victim's bone scan, which reveals very precise blows to the upper part of the body. "The injuries were all caused by one huge crushing blow," Brennan notes. The murder weapon must have been huge.
Later, Booth and Daisy head to the toy company. Bianca shows the pair where the company develops new products. Plastic wrap is everywhere. Booth then notices a heavy loading dock door...and, using Daisy's black light, blood on the floor. Debbie was killed inside the toy products lab. Sweets is practicing at the gun range. Daisy approaches and confesses she finds the armed and dangerous Sweets to be very sexy. Back at the lab, Hodgins finds a shard of the loading dock door in the victim, confirming the murder weapon. Hodgins also finds evidence a common tire jack was used to break into the lab through the loading dock door. Debbie may have been just in the wrong place at the wrong time when an intruder entered to steal toy prototypes.
It gets more complicated. Daisy performs an autopsy on Prince Charmington and determines the doll's leg was pulled off during a struggle. She also notes the doll comes from the original run of the toys -- dating back some 40 years -- and is worth more than $10,000, which could be a motive. Angela examines Debbie's computer and finds a series of emails in which Debbie writes to someone demanding he/she return the stolen Prince Charmington. Angela traces the address -- it belongs to Debbie's brother.
Booth and Sweets confront Rick. They search his truck and find vintage toys. Rick has been stealing historic items from the toy company all along and selling them to the highest bidders. Rick swears Debbie wasn't there when he broke into the factory. Booth then shows Rick the Prince Charmington doll. Rick says it was Debbie's and was the last thing their mom gave her. He denies dropping a loading-dock door on his sister. He also claims he loves and she was all that he had. Later, Booth returns home to find pregnant Bones on the couch. The two cuddle. Brennan worries that she won't be able to connect with their child because she's no good with toys, but Booth reassures her.
The next morning, Hodgins finds what might be DNA from the killer fused in the plastic wrap. Later, Sweets goes to the range to take his marksman test - and is surprised to find Booth administering. Sweets then goes through the course, shooting pop-up criminals. One of his shots ricochets off a metal target and hits Sweets in the shoulder. Booth stops the test and tells Sweets he has passed. Meanwhile, Cam is doing a search on the DNA found by Hodgins. It matches with a military man named Brock Vorback. Daisy immediately recognizes the soldier as the man who plays Prince Charmington in all the toy advertisements.
Booth and Sweets bring in Brock/Prince Charmington for questioning. He admits to having a secret affair with the victim, but denies having killed her. "Haven't you ever been scratched when you were making love?" Brock asks. Brock then explains Debbie was considering quitting the toy company and striking out on her own. Later, Hodgins finds the burn on the doll's leg originated from a car battery. He traces it back to a specific sports car with a battery near the trunk. The victim's leg might have been burned while being transferred in the trunk of a car.
The owner of the specific model is Bianca. Booth and Brennan search the woman's trunk and discover traces of the victim's blood. Bianca explains without Debbie, their stock would've taken a terrific hit. She claims the door striking Debbie was an accident. Brennan points out death would've taken time, so Bianca must've stood there while Debbie expired.
Angela can't assemble the toy and concedes the "toy won." She then asks Brennan to accompany her to the toy store. The two friends go toy shopping. Later, Booth returns home and Brennan open fire with a toy gun that shoots foam bullets. "Our daughter's going to love this," she says. A fake gunfight ensues.
==Cast==
===Main Cast===
*Temperance Brennan - Emily Deschanel
*Seeley Booth - David Boreanaz
*Jack Hodgins - T.J Thyne
*Angela Montenegro - Michaela Conlin
*Camille Saroyan - Tamara Taylor
*Lance Sweets - John Francis Daley
=== Intern of the Week ===
* Daisy Wick - Carla Gallo
===Guest Cast===
*Bianca Chiverton - Morgan Fairchild 
*Rick Cortez - Rick Gonzalez 
*Lawrence Deighton - John Ross Bowie 
*Brock Vorback - Ryan Bittle
*Mat Garliek - Tom Beyer 
*Karen Garliek - Camille Chen
*
==Featured Music==
*"No Control" - Slighter
*"Fade Into You" - Mazzy Star
==Trivia==
*Brennan is unaware of the Prince Charmington toys, which appear to be a wildly popular equivalent to Barbie dolls. Cam, Daisy, and Angela are all surprised at this admission, as it seems that everyone they knew had one, inculding themselves.
Category:Season 7
Category:Episodes