The BEST episodes of Bones season 4

Every episode of Bones season 4, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Bones season 4!

Forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan and cocky F.B.I. Special Agent Seeley Booth build a team to investigate murders. Quite often, there isn't more to examine than rotten flesh or mere bones.

Last Updated: 3/17/2024Network: FOXStatus: Ended
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The Critic in the Cabernet
star
7.74
2588 votes

#1 - The Critic in the Cabernet

Season 4 - Episode 25 - Aired 5/7/2009

The team is on the case when human remains are found inside a barrel of wine during a wine tasting. When the victim turns out to be a wine critic whose scathing reviews were capable of sending a vineyard to its ruin, everyone from the winery's owner to the victim's own wife becomes a suspect.

Directors: Kevin Hooks
Watch Now:Amazon
The Hero in the Hold
star
7.69
2508 votes

#2 - The Hero in the Hold

Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/5/2009

While trapped and trying to escape from a ship in the middle of the ocean, Booth is haunted by strange hallucinations.

Directors: Ian Toynton
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Mayhem on the Cross
star
7.64
2567 votes

#3 - Mayhem on the Cross

Season 4 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/16/2009

When it is discovered that a stage prop used by a Norwegian death metal band is in fact a real human skeleton, the remains are sent to the Jeffersonian when authorities determine the victim was an American citizen.

Directors: Jeff Woolnough
Writer: Dean Lopata
Watch Now:Amazon
The Doctor in the Den
star
7.64
2606 votes

#4 - The Doctor in the Den

Season 4 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/2/2009

When the half-eaten body of Cam's former fiancee is found in the tiger cage at the zoo, Booth and Brennan uncover that his death was far from accidental. Now the team must put the pieces of the fiancee's final day back together, including hypnotizing a suspect in order to spark his memory.

Directors: Ian Toynton
Watch Now:Amazon
The Double Death of the Dearly Departed
star
7.55
2675 votes

#5 - The Double Death of the Dearly Departed

Season 4 - Episode 22 - Aired 4/20/2009

When a Jeffersonian coworker dies of heart failure, the entire team goes to the wake where, upon viewing the body, Brennan realizes the death was no accident.

Directors: Milan Cheylov
The Science in the Physicist
star
7.54
2637 votes

#6 - The Science in the Physicist

Season 4 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/9/2009

Booth and Brennan are sent to investigate when human remains are found during a photo shoot. When the team uncovers a meteorite in the victim's ear, they are led to the Collar Institute of Science in D.C.

Directors: Steven DePaul
The Skull in the Sculpture
star
7.54
2454 votes

#7 - The Skull in the Sculpture

Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/5/2008

When the smashed remains of a well known artist are found in an impounded junkyard car, Booth and Brennan are on the case to find out if foul play is to blame for his death. With suspects ranging from the artist’s rival to his own assistant, the team must race against the clock to find evidence of murder before the car is relinquished and put on exhibit as the sculptor’s ultimate display of self-sacrifice for the sake of his art.

Directors: Allan Kroeker
Writer: Janet Lin
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Passenger in the Oven
star
7.50
2457 votes

#8 - The Passenger in the Oven

Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/19/2008

While en route to China to identify prehistoric anthropological remains, Booth and Brennan are called upon to solve a murder in midair when the flight attendant discovers a fully cooked human body in the plane's microwave.

Directors: Steven DePaul
The Princess and the Pear
star
7.47
2388 votes

#9 - The Princess and the Pear

Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/19/2009

The team investigates a sci-fi convention when a woman in a medieval princess dress is found murdered. With Booth's back injured, Agent Payton Perotta steps in once again to help

Directors: Steven DePaul
The Finger in the Nest
star
7.47
2385 votes

#10 - The Finger in the Nest

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/17/2008

Parker, Booth's son, discovers a corpse's finger in a bird's nest, causing the team to launch an investigation to try to find the rest of the body. After finding the corpse, the team discovers that the death was caused by a dog, leading them to an illegal dog fighting ring and a search for the killer dog and its owner.

Directors: Jeff Woolnough
Writer: Lyla Oliver
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Bone That Blew
star
7.47
2607 votes

#11 - The Bone That Blew

Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/26/2008

Brennan's father Max lands a teaching position at the Jeffersonian. When he ends up helping out with the murder case at hand, Brennan is noticeably bothered by his sudden presence in her professional life.

Directors: Jessica Landaw
Yanks in the U.K. (1)
star
7.47
2493 votes

#12 - Yanks in the U.K. (1)

Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/3/2008

Season four begins all the way in England, with Booth speaking at Scotland Yard and Brennan guest-lecturing at the prestigious Oxford University. Knowing of Booth and Brennan's expertise in their respective fields, local officials ask for their help with a high-profile murder investigation that involves a British heiress.

Directors: Ian Toynton
The Perfect Pieces in the Purple Pond
star
7.47
2634 votes

#13 - The Perfect Pieces in the Purple Pond

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 9/24/2008

The pieces of a dismembered body are found lying in a purple pool of water, except the head is missing. The team finds that the body belongs to Jared Addison, a science fiction writer who had several mental problems. With Sweets' help, several suspects are hunted down, however the team has trouble finding enough evidence with the victim's head still missing.

Directors: Jeannot Szwarc
Writer: Josh Berman
Double Trouble in the Panhandle
star
7.46
2758 votes

#14 - Double Trouble in the Panhandle

Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/22/2009

A shallow grave holds the remains of conjoined twins; Booth and Brennan infiltrate a circus community after they discover that the twins were jugglers there.

Directors: Dwight Little
Writer: Lyla Oliver
The Bones That Foam
star
7.45
2620 votes

#15 - The Bones That Foam

Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/12/2009

When newlyweds encounter a corpse while bungee-jumping off of a bridge, Brennan and Booth are sent to investigate. After determine the cause of death was not suicide, the team at the Jeffersonian discover an unknown substance coming from the body. This sends the lab into lockdown and have only 24 hours to uncover the murderer before the body disintegrates.

Directors: David Boreanaz
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Cinderella in the Cardboard
star
7.45
2602 votes

#16 - The Cinderella in the Cardboard

Season 4 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/15/2009

Booth and Brennan are called when an image of the Virgin Mary is found in a bale of compressed cardboard.

Directors: Steven DePaul
The Girl in the Mask
star
7.45
2625 votes

#17 - The Girl in the Mask

Season 4 - Episode 23 - Aired 4/23/2009

Booth's detective friend friend from Tokyo, Ken Nakamura, calls him when his sister, Sachi, goes missing while in Washington, D.C. With Brennan, Booth investigates her disappearance.

Directors: Ian Toynton
The Salt in the Wounds
star
7.44
2643 votes

#18 - The Salt in the Wounds

Season 4 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/19/2009

The body of a pregnant 16-year-old athlete found buried in a mound of salt in a city de-icing truck leads Booth and Brennan to the discovery that many of her teammates are pregnant or have babies after a pregnancy pact.

Directors: Steven DePaul
Yanks in the U.K. (2)
star
7.43
1066 votes

#19 - Yanks in the U.K. (2)

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/3/2008

With the case of the murdered heiress solved, Booth and Brennan prepare to head back home, but are shocked to learn of another murder - and this time it's someone they know. Meanwhile, with Birimbau unexpectedly coming back into Angela's life, things get complicated between her and Hodgins.

Directors: Ian Toynton
Watch Now:Apple TV
Fire in the Ice
star
7.38
2711 votes

#20 - Fire in the Ice

Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/22/2009

When a volunteer fireman is murdered at an ice rink, Booth and Brennan begin the investigation, but Booth must excuse himself due to a conflict of interest. When details come to light, Booth becomes a suspect in the homicide.

Directors: Chad Lowe
The End in the Beginning
star
7.37
2439 votes

#21 - The End in the Beginning

Season 4 - Episode 26 - Aired 5/14/2009

The Season 4 Finale. A dead body is found at a club called "The Lab." The team has to do some unexpected and unusual things that have to do with this club. Brennan and Booth may become a couple.

Directors: Hart Hanson
Writer: Hart Hanson
The Beaver in the Otter
star
7.37
2521 votes

#22 - The Beaver in the Otter

Season 4 - Episode 24 - Aired 4/30/2009

When a human body is found inside the strung up Otter mascot uniform of a rival school, Brennan and Booth investigate whether the body inside the costume was dead beforehand, or killed during a Middlesex University bonfire event. The body is identified as Jimmy “Beaver” Bouvier, a fraternity brother at Middlesex University. When Brennan and Booth question his fraternity brothers, they learn that Beaver had a money-making operation on the side and was making a killing of his own. Meanwhile, Booth offers to help his brother Jared find a new job after being dishonorably discharged from the Navy.

Directors: Brad Turner
The He in the She
star
7.35
2388 votes

#23 - The He in the She

Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/8/2008

Booth and Brennan go to investigate a body found in the Chesapeake Bay. After arriving, they find only the upper torso, giving the team little to work with other than remnants of the victim's breast implants. Brennan and Booth are led to a small church in Maryland, where they find that the victim was a pastor. When the team finds the lower half of the body, they learn that their initial assumptions may not been incorrect.

Directors: Craig Ross Jr.
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Con Man in the Meth Lab
star
7.32
2424 votes

#24 - The Con Man in the Meth Lab

Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/12/2008

Booth’s Brother Jared Booth and Brennan investigate the scene where a body was uncovered during a botched practice police raid. The team identifies the body as a struggling inventor’s father who had recently reunited with his son. But when a second body surfaces, the team is led on a trail of deception to find out who was the actual con-man in the inventor’s life. Clark Edison returns to the lab, and he and Hodgins work on piecing together blueprints from one of the inventor’s potentially valuable inventions. Meanwhile, Brennan likes Booth's brother and goes out on a date with him. She learns a thing or too about Booth's past while out on the date.

The Crank in the Shaft
star
7.29
2172 votes

#25 - The Crank in the Shaft

Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/1/2008

The remains of a despised office manager are discovered in an elevator shaft, and Booth and Brennan must figure out which employee killed him. After some investigating, they find that the manager had more than a fair share of complaints on file. Meanwhile, Angela and Hodgins try to make peace in the lab after their break-up.

Directors: Steven DePaul