Why Did Sweets Leave Bones In Season 10?

Why Did Sweets Leave Bones In Season 10?

Bones, a police procedural comedy-drama, was shown on FOX in 2005, at a time when this genre of television was at the pinnacle of its popularity. The show followed a team of forensic archaeologists and forensic anthropologists who collaborated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to solve crimes. 

In contrast to other television shows, such as Law & Order and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, this one takes a different approach. Hulu now has access to all 246 episodes of the television show Bones, which was initially shown on Fox between 2005 and 2017.

With Emily Deschanel playing the role of Temperance “Bones” Brennan, a forensic anthropologist, alongside David Boreanaz playing the role of FBI Agent Seeley Booth, the series centered on the relationship between the two characters. The lifestyles of the scientists working at the Smithsonian Institution were another primary topic of the show. Who is Sweets on Bones? One of the characters is an FBI psychologist named Lance Sweets, played by John Francis Daley.

The Fox show Bones hasn’t really featured the kind of stunning deaths of prominent cast members that other shows of its kind are known for, despite the fact that it deals with crimes that are particularly gruesome and disturbing. 

However, that all changed during the premiere of the tenth season when the longstanding series regular Lance Sweets, played by John Francis Daley, was murdered at the end of the episode in an event that left fans of the long-running procedural shaken.

Sweets in Bones, an FBI psychologist, was not quite as well-liked as the series protagonists, Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan (played by Emily Deschanel) with FBI agent Seeley Booth (played by David Boreanaz). However, his youthful manner and the fact that he had a long-lasting father-son connection with Booth garnered him a large number of followers. 

Consequently, why would the show decide to get rid of such a well-liked character? The reality behind Sweets’ exit from Bones is indeed steeped in some behind-the-scenes factors that left the showrunners with little choice. Those who are devoted to watching television are aware that the answers to that issue are never as straightforward as “the story called for it.”

Bones Growing Popularity

Bones was a groundbreaking addition to the genre of crime procedural television due to the quality of its characters, even though there are a significant number of shows that are centered on clever investigators. 

In spite of the fact that the title itself is a veiled allusion to Emily Deschanel’s character, Dr. Temperance Brennan, Bones invested a lot of time and effort into creating a distinctive ensemble of characters, all of whom demonstrated that they were deserving of serving on the team. 

After the FBI ordered Brennan and Booth to consult with a psychologist, the character of Sweets Bones made his debut in the third season of the television show Bones. In the beginning, his relationship with both of them is comically hostile because he is attempting to provide psychiatric counseling to two individuals who are exceedingly unwilling to receive it. 

However, as the seasons go on, Sweets will eventually become a permanent member of the team. A very deep connection is formed between him and Booth. Booth is able to act as a mentor figure in Sweets’ life due to his young age as well as his relative lack of experience in the real world. By the time Sweets’ tenure on Bones came to an end, the two men had developed a very poignant connection with one another.

When asked about the most challenging aspect of leaving the program, John Francis Daley mentioned that the relationship that his character had with Booth was one of these. In an interview with USA Today in September 2014, he stated, “There was a brotherly bond that Sweets had with Booth, a real connection, a real friendship.” 

Daley went on to explain that all three performers were highly emotional during the production of the scene in which Sweets gives his farewell words to Booth and Brennan and that Sweets “cried like a baby for a minute.”

The series performed an excellent job of contrasting more serious criminal cases with humorous character moments, and the cast contributed to the series’ ability to achieve this distinctive tone balance across the course of the show. 

Unfortunately, any significant changes made to the main cast of Bones were a substantial factor in determining the show’s stability. The killing of the fan-favorite character Lance Sweets, played by John Francis Daley, was a big mistake that caused the series to go into a downward spiral from which it never recovered.

Examining The Circumstances Surrounding Sweets’ Death On Bones

Examining The Circumstances Surrounding Sweets' Death On Bones

Because Bones and Sweets was one of the earliest members of the team to recognize the romantic connection between Booth and Brennan, his observations proved to be exceptionally valuable to the development of Bones. The book written by Sweets, which offers a perspective on the efficiency of their relationship, turned out to be a recurrent element in the story. 

What happened to sweets on the TV Series Bones? In the tenth season episode titled “The Conspiracy and the Corpse,” Sweets is tragically slain, despite the fact that the show appeared to be preparing him to develop his skills as a writer and psychologist. After discovering evidence of a government cover-up that exonerates Booth of a crime that he did not commit, Sweets is beaten to death by a renegade Navy SEAL who is participating in the conspiracy. 

Booth is no longer held accountable for the murder. After successfully submitting all the evidence, Sweets gives in to his wounds and passes away in front of Booth and Brennan. He was successful in delivering the proof.

Despite the fact that Bones included a number of heinous crimes, the passing of Sweets stands out as one of the most heartbreaking events that occurred during the series. It is a surprise to the characters who had been working closely with him that he has passed away because he was a character who embodied the “heart” of the team. 

Even though Daley delivers an emotionally charged portrayal that effectively communicates the harshness of the situation, Sweets’ passing comes across as far too sudden to be considered an authentic plot event. In the aftermath of his passing, Daisy is still carrying his kid, which means that major narrative events remain unsolved on the story’s timeline. 

Even while it would have been an exciting progression for the series to see Sweets and Booth swap notes on fatherhood, the series never got the chance to follow these characters to their natural conclusion.

The passing of Sweets created a large void in the ensemble of Bones, which the show failed to fill in the concluding seasons of its run. In spite of the fact that FBI Agent James Aubrey, played by John Boyd, was brought on board as a new cast member not long after Sweets passed away, he did not possess the same charisma that Daley had contributed to the series. 

The problem was that Aubrey’s viewpoint was essentially comparable to that of Booth, whereas Sweets had compelled him to examine the situation from a different point of view. Despite the fact that the veracity of Bones has been the topic of controversy, the psychological perspective did not appear in any of the future seasons.

The Actual Reason Of Sweets’ Exit From Bones

Bones why did Sweets leave? It goes without saying that the events that transpired in the series itself are simply a portion of the full explanation for the reason why Sweets was murdered. It was more about actor John Francis Daley’s blossoming directorial career than it was about a fictional government plot with far-reaching implications that led to the decision to finish off a main character for the very first time in the history of the show. 

Stephen Nathan, the executive producer of the program, disclosed in an interview with TVLine that Daley had been engaged to co-direct a remake of National Lampoon’s Vacation, which was finally published as Vacation in 2015. Nathan also mentioned that Daley’s schedule made it difficult to retain the character on the show.

Nathan says, “It gave us something very rich and very emotional to play within the first half of the season.” This is in reference to the decision to murder Sweets rather than simply sending him on some type of lengthy sabbatical. This greatly impacts everyone in a significant way.

Even the creator of the series and the former showrunner, Hart Hanson, acknowledged that it was a successful decision despite the fact that it was probably difficult for everyone involved. In an interview with E! News, Hanson stated that if he had been in control at the time, he would not have been able to bring himself to kill Sweets, but that “it obviously was a good idea.”

John Francis Daley’s Insight On Sweets’ Death

John Francis Daley's Insight On Sweets' Death

To what extent does the individual who breathed life into Sweets for seven seasons feel about the conclusion of his character’s run? He explained to TVLine that he understood the reason that it was better in the long term for the program to have closure, despite the fact that he would have liked to have been able to figure out some kind of schedule agreement between the two parties. 

He pointed out that in the end, “it would be more satisfying for the Bones’ fans to wrap up Sweets in a dramatic way rather than for the character to be up in the air and have him come back halfway through the season.”

The decision that Daley made to leave the show and make his debut as a director was described by him as “not something that I could walk away from” and as “a huge opportunity.” Up to this point, those hunches have shown to be absolutely correct. 

With a budget of $31 million, Vacation came in with a total of $107 million at the box office, even though it was not very well received by critics. Game Night, a movie he directed and co-wrote with Jonathan Goldstein, a collaborator on Vacation, was his follow-up film, released in 2018. 

The fact that Game Night was not just a commercial triumph but also regarded as one of the best films of 2018 is evidence that Daley’s decision to move in a different direction with his career was a good one.

John Francis Daley’s Career After Bones

Following his departure from the show, John Francis Daley movies and TV shows demonstrated that he was an exceptionally talented writer despite Bones being never the same without him. 

Before Daley was given the opportunity to reimagine Peter Parker through the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: Homecoming, which is widely considered to be among the very best Spider-Man movies ever made, he and his co-writer Jonathan Goldstein collaborated on the writing of The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2, and both installments of the Horrible Bosses franchise.

Although the film Vacation, which was released in 2015, was met with a lackluster reception, Daley and Goldstein have demonstrated that they are as skilled as directors. In 2018, they developed a contemporary comedy with the mystery comedy Game Night.

The fantasy adventure movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was successful not just because it had brilliant Easter Eggs that were related to the popular game series but also because it was successful on its own merits, providing an introduction to the vast universe. 

Even though Daley has achieved great success since the ending of Bones, the fact that his storyline came to an unsatisfactory close feels like a disappointing conclusion to one of the show’s most compelling characters.

The Response Of Fans To The Passing Of Sweets On Bones

Nathan is said to have been astonished that the news of Sweets’ death did not become public knowledge prior to the episode’s airing. Sweets’ death had been in the writings behind the scenes for some time. 

When the viewers eventually got to see the young psychologist passing away, they were naturally shocked to see one of their favorite elements of the program being so brutally disposed of. This was especially true for a series that is not known for murdering prominent characters. On the evening when the episode was broadcast, Twitter was filled with Bones fans expressing their shock. Some of them even asserted that they wouldn’t have been able to watch the show again if Sweets was not a part of it.

Post-death, Ariane Lange wrote a piece for BuzzFeed in which she summarized why people were so devoted to Sweets. His “charmingly dorky” character, his lavishly expressive face, his enthusiastic love of science, and his friendliness were all obvious features that contributed significantly to the series. 

In a recent interview for Vulture, Daley noted the outcry from fans to the death of his character, saying, “I am very flattered by the reception from the Twitter-sphere.” What a cool thing that is! Knowing that it had an effect on a dedicated fan base is a pretty great thing.

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