Zack Addy

Infobox character
colour = orange
name = Dr. Zack Addy, PhD


caption =
first = "Pilot"
last = (As a regular) "The Pain In The Heart"
cause =
nickname = Zackaroni, King of the Lab
alias =
species =
gender = Male
age = 26
born =
death =
occupation = (Former) Graduate student; (Former) Dr. Brennan's former assistant; (Former) Forensic anthropologist; (Former) Gormogon's apprentice; (presumed) Inmate
title = Doctor (PhD)
callsign =
family = 3 brothers, 4 sisters
spouse =
children =
relatives =
residence =
episode =
portrayer = Eric Millegan
creator = Hart Hanson

Zachary Uriah "Zack" Addy PhD is a fictional character in the television series, "Bones". He is portrayed by Eric Millegan. The character was introduced as Dr. Temperance Brennan's brilliant young assistant at the beginning of the series before he received his doctorate in Forensic Anthropology in the series' second season and became a professional forensic anthropologist.

Brief character history

Coming from a large Michigan family (with three brothers and four sisters), Zack is a former child prodigy, a genius with an I.Q. well above 163 and a supposed photographic memory. He has started two doctorates, one in Forensic Anthropology, which he has completed, and one in Engineering, which he seems like he has yet to finish, but "The Killer in the Concrete" episode suggests otherwise.

His specialty, just like Dr. Brennan, is in the analysis of remains, especially identifying cause of death and weapons from marks remaining on skeletal remains. It is usually his task to remove the flesh from the bones, a process known as "debriding". Because of his tremendous intellect, he has a strong broad-based knowledge of many of the specialties in the Jeffersonian lab.

Zack's best friend seems to be Jack Hodgins. Although it at first appears that Hodgins and Zack are roommates, it is later revealed that Zack rents the apartment over Hodgins's garage. Zack also carpools with Hodgins because he cannot drive or ride a bike. He once made a comment to Booth that if he (Booth) had the same understanding of structural engineering, he would be afraid to drive as well.

Episodes towards the end of the first season of "Bones" reveal that Zack's colleagues, especially Dr. Goodman, feel he has become too comfortable as Dr. Brennan's assistant and is therefore not completing any of his Doctorates to avoid having to grow into a new position. Goodman and Hodgins conspire to make Zack less comfortable in his position to motivate him to complete his studies and assume a role above that of an assistant.

Right before he was about to complete his doctorate, Zack asks Dr. Saroyan if he could have a job working at the Jeffersonian, but she replies that she could not put him in front of a court to testify because people would not take him seriously. Zack then goes to ask Angela for fashion advice and she completely redoes his look including a new haircut and suit. After completing his doctorate, and getting a makeover from Angela, Zack again asks Dr. Camille Saroyan for a job, and she gives it to him.

At the end of the second season, Zack receives a request from the office of the President to ship out to Iraq. What his duties there would be is not revealed, and he only tells Hodgins and Booth about it. He initially seems inclined to go, but after talking about the reality of war with Booth, he seems less sure, asking Booth for advice because he "knows more about duty and honor than anyone else" he knows. He also turns down the offer to be best man at Hodgins and Angela's wedding in case he decides to go to Iraq and is killed, because he doesn't want Hodgins's memories of the wedding to be tainted with sadness. In the first episode of season 3, it is revealed that he did in fact go to Iraq but returned in that same episode.

In the final episode of season three,"Pain in the Heart", Zack receives third-degree burns and massive tissue damage (the cartilage on his left hand was destroyed, among other things) on both hands after an explosion in the lab. It is later revealed that he is working as the apprentice of The Gormogon, and the explosion was intended as a distraction so the Gormogon could break into the lab and steal a skeleton. Zack's weaker personality was manipulated by the Gormogon (whom he referred to as "the Master") so completely that Zack believed his belief system irrefutable, even killing a lobbyist and dividing his bones among the Jeffersonian's storage units. However, he still maintained a loyalty to his friends, willing to injure himself to keep Hodgins safe and giving up the location of Gormogon's house.

At the end of the episode, the prosecutor Caroline Julian says that while Zack has confessed to killing the lobbyist, she is willing to work out a deal to have him declared non compos mentis, a decision which will commit him to an asylum rather than prison. Zack will no longer be a regular character on the show, but series creator Hart Hanson said that he may become a recurring character to provide consults to the team with "certain talents we can use in a 'Hannibal Lecter' kind of way." [Mitovitch, Matt Webb. " [http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Tv-Mattrs/Exclusive-Bones-News/800040137 Exclusive: Bones Boss Responds to Finale "Zack-lash"] ", "TV Guide", May 21, 2008.]

The episode "The Perfect Pieces in the Purple Pond" reveals that Zack is receiving psychological treatment from Sweets. It is also shown that at least Hodgins and Angela have both been in contact with Zack during his imprisonment. Hodgins is shown bringing Zack a mathematical riddle to solve. In his session with Sweets, Zack admits to feeling guilty for killing the lobbyist, but claims that he was not actually crazy, arguing that he committed the crime for what had appeared to be perfectly logical reasons at the time. "I was wrong, not delusional," he says. Sweets believes that Zack should feel more guilty about killing the lobbyist and less about having been taken in by Gormogon's rhetoric.

Towards the end of the episode, Zack escapes from the institution. It is revealed that he could have escaped at any time but did not feel that it was necessary to do so until that particular moment. After helping his former coworkers solve the case, Zack willingly returns to the institution with Sweets and Booth.

After Booth reliquishes Zack to Sweets' hands, Zack tells Sweets that while he had helped Gormogon find the lobbyist, he himself had not actually stabbed him. In other words, Zack believes that he killed the lobbyist, but from a legal standpoint be considered only an accessory or co-conspirator. Sweets insists that Zack change his story, but Zack refuses. Zack fears that if his secret were to come out, he will find himself in prison, where he is sure to do very poorly. He reminds Sweets that as Zack's therapist, he must not reveal Zack's secret because if Sweets were to do so, he would be violating doctor-patient confidentiality. The episode closes with Zack behind bars and Sweets keeping Zack's secret.

Characterization

Despite his intelligence, Zack is unsure of himself and though he has come up with crucial insights vital to some of the team's cases, he is unable to forcefully express his opinion to Dr. Brennan. This may be due to hero worship and also to romantic feelings toward her. When he discovered that Temperance's own Forensic Anthropology professor had become her lover, Zack repeatedly wondered aloud whether he might enter into a similar relationship with Dr. Brennan. He was quickly disabused of the notion by his colleagues. [cite episode
title = The Girl in the Fridge
series = Bones (TV Series)
credits = Hart Hanson, Dana Coen, Sanford Bookstaver
network = Fox
airdate = 2005-11-29 ]

Zack appears to have an on-again, off-again relationship with "Naomi in Paleontology", despite hints in the first season that she was dissatisfied with his sexual prowess [cite episode
title = A Boy in the Tree
series = Bones (TV Series)
credits = Hart Hanson, Patrick Norris
network = Fox
airdate = 2005-09-27 ] . In the third season, they accompany each other to the annual Jeffersonian Institute Halloween party, agreeing to dress as the front and back half of a cow.

In "The Wannabe in the Weeds" episode of Bones, it was discovered that Zack was a singer during his childhood as a way for his parents to help integrate him socially. Though it did not appear so, this fact becomes evident in a scene with Hodgins as a way to prove himself when Hodgins doubted him.

According to Emily Deschanel, Zack "almost definitely has Asperger's syndrome", a high functioning condition similar to autism. [Gray, Ellen, " [http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/ellen_gray/20070131_Ellen_Gray___Boreanaz_says__Bones__is_not_procedural.html Boreanaz says 'Bones' is not procedural] ", "Philadelphia Daily News", January 31, 2007.] Although well-meaning, helpful, and friendly, when a situation calls for social interaction or intuition, he is often lost. Further evidence of his social ineptitude can be seen in the frequent, on-screen coaching in social matters he gets from Jack and Angela.

In the episode "The Killer in the Concrete," Booth is on the phone with Zack and Dr. Brennan while looking for "Icepick" (real name, Hugh Kennedy) at a model airplane enthusiasts gathering. Booth comments that every "airplane freak" in the area was at the event, and Zack corrects him by saying that the enthusiasts prefer to be called "pilots." Unaware of Zack's interest in planes, Zack mentions, "Forensic anthropology is only one of [his] doctorates. The other is in applied engineering. [He] is extremely adept to practical aeronautics." Though not sufficient enough evidence, Zack's comment suggests that along with his doctorate in forensic anthropology, he has a doctorate in applied engineering as well.

As seen in the episode "The Man in the Fallout Shelter" Zack has a large family and greatly values them, remarking that the true meaning of Christmas is "Brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews; forty people who love you and are happy to see you."

References