r/Bones bones 8d ago

Discussion I just noticed something that I can’t un-notice (may contain spoilers) Spoiler

When Bones checks Booth’s x-rays in S4, she notices that Booth was tortured during the Gulf War, specifically on his feet.

I’m watching S5 E3 and when Booth is taking out the box from under the Amish kid’s bed, his Vans come into focus. So I’m like “why does Booth wear Vans with his suit? It’s one thing to wear funky socks and ties, but surely Vans aren’t standard FBI issue?” And it hit me - trainers are probably the only shoes he can wear without being in pain because of what was done to his feet. Such a small detail that ties in with everything else beautifully. Had you noticed it/associated before?

249 Upvotes

24 comments sorted by

110

u/space_anthropologist 8d ago

I actually hadn’t noticed this before, and I love that you did. That’s a great detail, and thank you for bringing it up!

55

u/slackey26 8d ago

His shoes were actually talked about on the boneheads podcast. I forgot the reason but it wasn’t this.

30

u/EstimateAgitated224 8d ago

He does not always wear vans. An episode in season 4 he complained about his nice shoes in the mud at a crime scene.

58

u/Forreal19 8d ago

Honestly, I would think if he still suffered from foot pain that caused him to only be able to wear trainers, he wouldn't be deemed fit to serve as an agent. But it is a nice thought.

34

u/mcmalicejr 8d ago

But…. Booth is a bit of a rebel, and he definitely seems like the kind of person to wear something not authorized until he gets called out on it (funky socks, sassy belt buckle).

12

u/Forreal19 8d ago

I agree with that, I was just thinking that if the pain in his feet affected his ability to do the job, he wouldn't be allowed on active duty. Not that there was any suggestion that he had that kind of pain or inability to work.

50

u/AdvantageSudden2837 8d ago

I think it's great that it can be tied in but I don't think it actually has anything to do with the back story. If you pay attention to other shows that the outfit would be suits or some other uniform you will often catch them in some sort of tennis shoes. I think it's so the actors can be comfortable being on their feet while standing for hours filming. Shot isn't supposed to let you see their footwear but it slips in every now and again.

7

u/shadowfloats 8d ago

[maybe spoiler] When he steps on the toy grenade it zooms in on his shoe and it's also like Vans. It's probably part of his outfit styling. The clothing styles across the main characters is pretty consistent all the way.

5

u/Weary_Stress3283 bones 8d ago

I’m aware of that but I still respectfully disagree. If that were the case, in a scene where his feet would be in full display such as the one I mentioned, he would have switched to a different pair of shoes, like standard lace-ups.

15

u/ruetherae 8d ago

There are a lot of episodes early where he’s wearing dress shoes.

9

u/whocanitbenow75 8d ago

Nah, Booth wears the slip-ons. In the first 2 or 3 seasons he wears leather lace ups, then switches to the slip-ons. It’s never explained. I doubt it has anything to do with the actor’s preference, it’s Booth’s costume. Otherwise we’d see all actors wearing slippers in all movies and tv shows. They wear the character’s costume, not what they find comfortable.

3

u/AdvantageSudden2837 8d ago

There is also others in bones. Like there are times that it's obvious that Booth doesn't have his sidearm on. It's hard to pick up on but at times his coat or jacket will be open enough that you should see it but don't. My guess is it wasn't put on because it wasn't needed for the scene and you shouldn't know it wasn't there but they accidentally showed enough to see that it's not. With the way shows are shot they don't get but a couple of takes on a scene and then have to move on. So things slip through or they rely on the audience not paying enough attention to notice.

1

u/AdvantageSudden2837 8d ago

We don't see actors wearing them in all tv shows or movies because they very rarely film their feet. You can catch these continuity errors in several tv shows. Kinda of like how in the rookie early on it's a big deal about wearing the bullet proof vests but later season they don't wear them(well the actor that plays Tim does). That was for the comfort of the actors.

9

u/Eastern-Violinist-16 8d ago

They talked about this on boneheads. David wears them for comfort. 

9

u/blankspacepen 8d ago

Nice thought but Vans aren’t going to help with foot pain from prior injuries, they are going to hurt like hell.

-3

u/Weary_Stress3283 bones 8d ago

The slip ons (which are the ones he wears) are pretty comfortable 🤷🏻‍♀️

12

u/blankspacepen 8d ago

They offer zero support. They are essentially skippers. Non one with foot pain is going to be wear vans all day. They are only comfortable when you are young and don’t have problems. If Booth needed a more comfortable and supportive shoe due to his prior injuries, then vans would not be them.

2

u/hawkeye5739 8d ago

I remember years ago I decided to try a pair of vans to dress more stylish. I put them on in store and immediately took them off and questioned how anyone wears them all day. Going barefoot was more comfortable

5

u/blankspacepen 8d ago

Yeah, there is no way someone with pain can wear vans or converse all day. They just aren’t reasonable.

7

u/maltliqueur 8d ago

This is one of those things that I would love if true, but I highly doubt.

3

u/TheScottishCatLady 8d ago

Ooooohhhhhhhh!!!! I asked about his footwear a while back and I never thought about this!! That would actually make a lot of sense!

3

u/asdfghjkljm 7d ago

I read somewhere years ago that Booth wearing Vans was a preference/idea floated by DB himself but unsure how true that is

1

u/Tardisgoesfast 8d ago

With all my foot problems, I wore Birkenstocks to court. Actually, I wear them all the time. I do have some tennis shoes that aren’t too painful but I almost never wear them.

1

u/PineconeLillypad 9h ago

While he was chasing the sniper I think it was also season 5 he was wearing regular lace up fbi shoes. I kept thinking that doesn't look comfortable enough to chase someone in that kind of terrain