Bones' T.J. Thyne Went Method For Hodgins' Paralysis Plotline
"Bones" had an almost miraculous 12 season run on Fox and, in the days of streaming shows being lucky to make it to three seasons, that feels downright unthinkable. Part of what kept the show going — aside from the whole murder of the week appeal of it all — is the fact that the show's writers weren't pulling punches. A prime example of that is the season 11 mid-season finale, which led to T.J. Thyne's Hodgins being paralyzed from the waist down. It was a bold move, and Thyne went all-in when it came to playing his longtime character with his new disability.
The episode in question, titled "The Doom in the Boom," centers on the investigation of a murdered police officer. At the end of the episode, a bomb was detonated, with both Hodgins and Aubrey (John Boyd) caught in the blast. Hodgins suffered a spinal cord injury that left him without the use of his legs. This episode was straight-up brutal, whereas the "Bones" season 11 finale was a bit awkward for the cast and crew by contrast. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly after the episode aired, series co-showrunner Michael Peterson revealed how committed Thyne was as an actor:
"[Hodgins] is going to go through a heck of an arc. This is a big thing to have to go through, and we have looked at the stages of grief, whether you're in denial, anger, depression, everything else. T.J. is such a magnificent actor, and Michaela as well. We're looking forward to really letting them show off their chops. They are just loving it. I mean, T.J. has not left his wheelchair since this has happened. He shows up every day, and he's in it. It doesn't matter if he's eating craft service, if they're in between takes — he does not stand. He's just absolutely committed. And they're having fun. He's sending me emails every day, like, 'Oh, here's another thing we can do!'"
Bones didn't want to do the TV version of paralysis
By the time this episode aired in December 2015, Thyne had played Hodgins in more than 200 episodes of the show. In fact, he was one of just four actors to appear on every single episode of "Bones." Needless to say, he had settled into the role by this point. But this major event offered a significant shake-up to his comfort level. That said, Peterson further explained that the actor seemed to relish the opportunity. More than that, the staff was committed to making sure that this was a more authentic depiction of paralysis than one might typically see on network TV:
"We don't want it to be a TV-convention version of paralysis. It's very real. And again, I'm just in awe of T.J.'s commitment. The other day, I think he was like wrapping bungee cords around his legs or something, just to feel what it felt like to have really no feeling. Our rule right now is we don't want this to be like 'Downton Abbey' where this miracle thing happens right away. It just seems silly. This is very real, and our people know medicine. He's going to go through the ringer. [...] Certainly when you first see Hodgins again, he's going to feel like he's going to be able to get back to his old self, and we're going to throw some things at him, some road blocks. That's his hope, but it's not going to be that easy."
It might have been easy for some actors to go the easy route for something like this. But Thyne had reservations about signing on for a long role in a TV show before joining "Bones." A big part of that had to do with not wanting to do the same thing over and over again. That being the case, this feels like something that would have excited the actor in him after a decade in Hodgins' shoes.
"Bones" is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Hulu.