How Bones Fans Really Feel About Dr. Goodman's Relationship With The Squints

Throughout its 12-season run on Fox, "Bones" was not a series one equated with frequent changes to its cast. In fact, "Bones" seemed more charmed than most network shows in respect to keeping its central crew together, with Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz, and a few other key players anchoring the serio-goofy action from its pilot all the way to the series finale. There were, of course, changes made along the way, with a handful of "Bones" regulars breaking bad, getting tragically killed off, or simply bidding their days at the Jeffersonian adieu.

Then there's the case of Dr. Daniel Goodman (Jonathan Adams), who ran things at the Jeffersonian before ceding the position to Dr. Camille Saroyan (Tamara Taylor) in Season 2. As his story went, Dr. Goodman stepped away from his Jeffersonian duties to take a two-month sabbatical at the end of the Season 1 finale. For one reason or another, the character never graced the hallowed halls of the institute again. Turns out, some "Bones" fans still miss Dr. Goodman even more than a decade after he made his series exit. And yes, they still have some pretty intense feelings about how he handled the so-called squinterns in the show's first season. 

Some "Bones" diehards remain so passionate in their support for Dr. Daniel Goodman that they took to Reddit to sing his praises. The thread in question is actually dedicated to debating which Jeffersonian boss got it right: Jonathan Adams' straightlaced, autocratic Dr. Goodman or Tamara Taylor's more down-to-Earth Dr. Camille Saroyan. Though fans had a lot of love for both characters, many actually felt Dr. Goodman had a better way with the squints.

That was the clear case with u/messythelioma, who claimed Adams' character just had a more natural vibe with the brainy Jeffersonian crew. They argued, "Goodman had better chemistry w/ the squints imo. It just felt more natural and he had more an authoritarian presence. Cam works well as a sort of friend/lab member rather than as her boss persona. It would've been nice to have had both involved." Redditor u/kitkat01359 backed up that thought with the comment, "I did really enjoy Dr. Goodman and I love Cam and the energy she brings to the show. Like others have commented, I would have liked to see them both."

While the general opinion is that both characters held their own with the squinterns, u/JoePikesbro felt Dr. Saroyan didn't bring enough to the proceedings, commenting, "Cam is my least favorite character. Goodman was a solid character and the 'squinterns' respected him." It's worth noting, of course, that Dr. Adams had the benefit of dealing with the same interns (including Eric Milligan's fan-favorite Zack Addy) for the entirety of his one season of "Bones," whereas Dr. Saroyan was eventually working with a veritable revolving door of squints, which likely hindered the possibility of forming truly deep relationships with any of them. Regardless, it seems that for some "Bones" fans, it's hard to best the original squintern wrangler.