Bones Sets Off an "Explosive" Cliffhanger Ahead of Series Finale

If you're going out, you should go out with a bang, and that's literally what the final season of Bones did in its penultimate episode.

The last moments of "The Final Chapter: The Day in the Life" ended with the Jeffersonian being blown up with Bones (Emily Deschanel), Booth (David Boreanaz), Hodgins (TJ Thyne) and Angela (Michalea Conlin) still inside. The explosives were set by Mark Kovac (Gerard Celasco) after he escaped from prison to continue his vendetta against Booth and everyone the FBI agent loves.

The Bones cast reflects on the end of the series

Kovac's escape was enough to stop Cam (Tamara Taylor) and Arastoo (Pej Vahdat) from going on their honeymoon and bring the full team to the lab. A new piece of the puzzle was presented as the night of Cam's wedding and the subsequent morning was told from each major character's perspective. Cam's missing I.D. badge helped Booth figure out that Kovac had already snuck into the lab and set the bomb, giving everyone just enough time to get the Jeffersonian staff out of the building, but leaving our core four stuck inside trying to find another exit. Bones was gathering the notes she had that would reveal the key to finding Kovac just seconds before the bomb went off.

Fans must wait one more week to find out the fate of the core four, but the explosion is a symbolic sign of the end of the series. The Jeffersonian is as integral to the show as Bones and Booth's relationship is. The lab is where the team formed their bonds and where all of their major mysteries were solved. Even if everyone emerges from the explosion completely okay, the place where they first met has become so special to them that it will never be the same.

That's in part what makes this series finale so different from Season 10, when the show filmed a season finale that could also serve as a series finale in case Bones wasn't renewed. At that crossroads, Booth and Brennan found new jobs that took them away from the Jeffersonian, but the lab remained there in case they ever needed to return home. The show was picked up, and as expected Booth and Brennan returned to their rightful places.

The death of the Jeffersonian is as monumental a demise as any member of the team dying and shows the commitment of the producers to give Bones a conclusive end. It's the next step in allowing fans to say goodbye to a show they have supported and kept on the air for over a decade and 250 episodes. We still need to find out how much damage the explosion did to the team and see Kovac brought to justice, but saying goodbye to the Jeffersonian is truly the beginning of the end for Bones.

We'll miss you, shiny lab.

The Bones series finale airs Tuesday, March 28 at 9/8c on FOX.