The Gruesome
Bones pretty much had to return with the most gruesome, horrifying dead body imaginable. And "The Prisoner in the Pipe" delivers. Without giving too much away, let's just say that this week's corpse is the stuff that nightmares are made of.

Unless you work at the Jeffersonian, of course. In that case, this week's corpse is the stuff that carnival games are made of.

FOX Renews Bones for Season 8!

The Funny
All good Bones episodes are funny. That's just how it works. Thus, for "The Prisoner in the Pipe" to be good, the episode must be funny.

It is.

From Brennan's effect on a hospital tour group to Booth's feelings about espresso to the inappropriateness of Daisy Wick, there is no shortage of laughter in this Bones episode.

The Mystery
Occasionally, Bones fails to balance its character-driven plots with a good, solid mystery. "The Prisoner in the Pipe" does not have this problem. The mystery-of-the-week kills it.

After the aforementioned gruesome beginning, the FBI and the Jeffersonian track the victim to a prison and slowly piece together how and why the man died. There are plenty of suspects, plenty of motives, and plenty of squinty detective work to entertain us throughout the episode.

Can't wait to watch "The Prisoner in the Pipe"? Click here to watch some preview videos from the Bones episode.

The Heart
There are times when Bones is very a little sappy. Unashamedly sappy. And you know what? That's not always a bad thing.

In an episode like "The Prisoner in the Pipe," sappy totally works. We are, after all, talking about an episode in which two beloved characters welcome their baby into the world. Childbirth is one of those situations in which "sappy" is totally appropriate.

And Bones knows sappy.

The Romance
However much humor, gore and mystery it has, Bones only truly works because of the central relationship between Booth and Brennan. For years, fans wondered if their chemistry was no more than the standard will-they-or-won't-they fare doled out by every TV show since the dawn of time. Would any change in that relationship doom Bones to the mythic Moonlighting curse?

Nope. Nothing has changed in that relationship. Not really.

"The Prisoner in the Pipe" may have some physical closeness and "I love you" moments that are new to Bones viewers, but the fundamental Booth-Brennan relationship is what it has always been: Two opposites -- both extreme in their own ways -- who need to filter everything through the other in order to make sense of the world.

It's a great relationship. And nothing -- not time, not love and not even a baby -- seems likely to change that.

"The Prisoner in the Pipe" airs on Monday, April 2 at 8pm on FOX.

Are you looking forward to the next episode of Bones? Are you excited to meet the Bones baby? Leave your comment below!

(Image courtesy of FOX)