Bones Star Emily Deschanel Directed One Of The Show's Most Important Episodes

Temperance "Bones" Brennan is easily Emily Deschanel's biggest and most well-known role. The Fox procedural became a popular Thursday night hit for the network, running for an impressive 12 seasons, which kept Dr. Brennan and her partner Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) in the public consciousness for more than a decade. But "Bones" provided Deschanel with more than a high-profile starring role. By the time the show wrapped up in 2017, the actor had become a producer on the show and also made her directing debut, helming a particularly important episode in the series' history.

It took a full 11 seasons before Deschanel would get her chance to direct, but when she did finally step into the role, she oversaw the return of a beloved character in the form of Eric Millegan's Zack Addy, who left "Bones" after the third season. That season ended with the Addy being sent to a mental institution for his role as an apprentice to the cannibalistic serial killer known as the Gormogon — a character at the center of a storyline that star David Boreanaz wasn't a fan of.

The Zack Addy twist proved to be controversial, as it transformed Brennan's formerly-likable assistant into a stooge of one of the series' most notorious serial killers. But "Bones" intentionally left Addy alive at the end of season 3, bringing him back for guest appearances throughout the fourth and fifth seasons before giving him a full storyline in the final season. It was this storyline that Deschanel helped bring to life by directing the season 12 premiere.

Zack Addy began as Dr. Temperance Brennan's assistant in the first season of "Bones," before completing his doctorate in season 2 and landing a job at the Jeffersonian Institute alongside his former boss. Unfortunately, the character made an ignominious exit from "Bones" at the end of season 3 after his alliance with the Gormogon was revealed. But creator Hart Hanson — who was generally resistant to putting the main characters in danger — made sure the writers had the option to bring back what had become a fan-favorite character by that point.

That's just what happened in the 12th and final season of "Bones." In the premiere episode of that season, titled "The Hope in the Horror," Addy returns to kidnap Brennan before it's revealed that he did so in order to protect her from a new serial killer. The former lab assistant is also desperate to clear his name (something he achieves by the end of season 12), though none of this is clear to Seeley Booth and the rest of the team, who desperately search for Brennan after discovering her missing.

Addy's return to the series was a big deal not only because the character had been a fan-favorite before he was written out of the series, but because the Gormogon twist was so controversial at the time and giving Addy a chance to redeem himself was a big moment in "Bones" history. Making your directorial debut with such a consequential episode might seem like a bad idea, but that's exactly what Emily Deschanel did — and seemingly handled it all like a pro.

Making the jump to director in after a full 11 seasons of "Bones" may seem odd, but not only did it give Emily Deschanel the chance to become extremely comfortable with how the series functioned behind-the-scenes, she was actually supposed to direct an episode much earlier on in the show's run. Back in 2010, the actor told Give Me My Remote that she would be making her directorial debut in season 6 of "Bones," and seemed incredibly eager to do so, telling the outlet, "I kept asking and asking and knocking on their doors and asking and shaming and everything, so I am going to direct this season."

Alas, her season 6 directing gig never materialized, with executive producer Stephen Nathan telling Give Me My Remote back in 2011, "It became a very complicated issue scheduling-wise and I think we want her to do it when she's fresh." Evidently a trip to Florida to shoot season 6 episode "The Finder" made scheduling Deschanel's directorial debut difficult, with Nathan adding, "It was a bit unfair to her and also a little bit to the show, because we would have had to write her out and we really didn't want to end the year with Emily being light in a few shows." Thankfully, Deschanel managed to direct an episode before "Bones" ended, even if it did take five more years for that to happen. 

Interestingly enough, "The Hope in the Horror" remains Deschanel's one directing job, according to her IMDb page. While that might seem to suggest that the actor, who also co-produced "Bones" beginning with its third season, had a rough time in her one directing job, her comments to the Hollywood Reporter suggest otherwise. Speaking to the outlet in 2019, she said:

"Directing I really loved, and I'm very much interested in doing more of that in my life, but it takes up time. It depends on the time and finding the right project, because you don't want to spend all that time producing or directing something that isn't something you are completely passionate about. It's about finding the right project, and the right timing, with family and everything, I could do that again."

Thus far we're yet to see Deschanel direct again, but if the rumored reunion happens and we get a "Bones" season 13, perhaps that will change.