Dr. Lance Sweets died in a parking lot in the Season 10 premiere of Bones. John Francis Daley had played the beleaguered FBI psychologist since Season 3, where we met him as a 22-year-old with a doctorate in psychology.
In his first scene in the series, Dr. Brennan (Emily Deschanel) insults Sweets' "meaningless exercises," Booth (David Boreanaz) insults his youth, and Brennan says, "I don't care how young you are" — which makes him smile — before she adds, "I've never believed in psychotherapy." In his final moments, the dying man comforted Booth and Brennan: "The world's a lot better than you think it is." Earlier in the episode, Brennan calls his discipline "pseudo-science," but she also calls him a friend.
He was a friend because he was charmingly dorky.
He was dedicated to his craft.
Even though he was a psychologist, he wasn't always tactful.
He had an expressive face.
And a sense of humor.
His comebacks were not always the best, because snippy wasn't his go-to place.
He was kind.
He somehow knew the right thing to say, even when it seemed counter-intuitive.
He was a nerd.
He was immodest.
He swore like a small child.
He found the joy in the hard sciences, even if he did not understand them.
Brennan once said to Sweets, “I was not happy when Booth told me that you were coming to stay with us, and I am not happy that you’re leaving.”
