Bones’ 447 Mystery Explained: What The Number Actually Meant

447 was a mysterious number that showed up in multiple seasons of Bones, and it turned out to have a significant meaning for Agent Booth (David Boreanaz) and Dr. Brennan (Emily Deschanel) as they worked together to solve crimes. The enigmatic integer first appeared in season 4, episode 1 “The End in the Beginning” when Booth’s alarm clock read 4:47 in a dream sequence where Brennan was climbing into bed with him. It started out as the time flashing on digital clocks in season 5 and season 6 (when Booth’s coma-induced dream became a reality) but later turned into a number seen on objects and in key locations.

The 447 mystery appeared in Easter eggs throughout the series for eagle-eyed fans to spot and postulate about the hidden details in Bones’ characters, sometimes showing up multiple times in a single episode, and eventually hinting at a significant payoff once the series finally ended with season 12. Whether it was something relevant to a serial killer’s diabolical plans, or simply something eerie and supernatural, it offered a way to ensure fans felt close to Booth and Brennan as their lives seemed destined to be entwined by a repeating integer of fate.

Bones’ Ending (Sort Of) Explained The Show’s 447 Mystery

When Bones ended with season 12 and the final episode “The End is the End,” Brennan packed a clock that had stopped at 4:47, signifying the time when the Jeffersonian lab was bombed. Brennan kept the clock as a totem that symbolized the exact moment “when things were about to end, but didn’t.” At various moments of great tumult or change, 447 was a prominent fixture, such as 7 when Booth received the call from Angela about the victim’s identity, when Christine was born, while Brennan and Booth attended her Christine’s christening, or when Pelant switches out their alarm clock for one that reads 4:47.

The last season of Bones challenged both Booth and Brennan about who they were, both to each other and to themselves. 447 represented a constant through line for their feelings about each other and a way to emphasize that their destinies were also intertwined. There were moments in the episode, particularly for Brennan, when both characters got close to losing what made them who they were, and 447 was a reminder of how far they had come along their personal journeys, and how far they still had the luxury of going together because the unspeakable had never happened.

What Bones Left Unresolved About “447”

Bones left a lot unresolved depending on fan perspectives. Series creator Hart Hanson, showrunner Stephen Nathan, and other pivotal creators involved with the series each had a different view of what 447 was, and with so many diverging theories, none would satisfy just one fan. Bones suggested a more supernatural meaning for the 447 mystery, namely that it was akin to a harbinger or an omen concerning a defining moment for the two main characters as though their fates were always meant to be intertwined, while at the same time, it was part of innocuous things like the code for the briefcase where Booth kept his guns.

By making 447 something that had just been there all along, it’s easy to apply significance in an arbitrary way. Ultimately, in order to make it anything other than a fun Easter egg to keep fans guessing and tuned in, it needed to have something life-altering to do with Brennan and Booth, but simply indicating that their destinies were intertwined wasn’t any more evident than them choosing each other over and over again in the wake of chaos and uncertainty.

Why Bones’ “447” Didn’t Work

Ultimately, the meaning behind 447 didn’t really work. While the impact of 447 is subjective and will depend on the viewer, it’s not something that ends up being very significant after all the lead-up. It might have held significance for Booth and Brennan’s consummated relationship if it also hadn’t been used in a variety of other situations of unrelated significance. In this way, it seemed like the writers were placing it in different scenarios hoping to land on something that would merit its inclusion, ultimately deciding that it should hold the most bearing on Booth and Brennan’s romantic relationship.

Fans were meant to think that its impact was always foreshadowed, but ultimately, the lasting effect is underwhelming. The number 447 was simply a common thread over the course of the series that, although a fun thing for fans to look out for, wasn’t as earth-shattering as they thought, and was more clever as a concept than in execution. Fortunately, completely ignoring the 447 doesn’t make the series any less enjoyable, as the natural spark and chemistry between Booth and Brennan in Bones lead to their inevitable solidification through adversity.