Why Bones Fans Think This Character Was The Biggest Crime Solver
Over 12 seasons, viewers saw the squints of the Jeffersonian solve every type of murder possible on Bones. They were able to identify the remains of people who had been crushed in a car compactor, rubberized in a cask of wine, and incorporated into a cannibalistic artist's sculpture. They even did a facial reconstruction on a body without bones. On a show called Bones, they don't even need bones. Think about that for a second.
In-universe, these scientists are the best of the best. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Jack Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) have multiple doctorates, Dr. Camille Saroyan (Tamara Taylor) was the youngest coroner in New York City, and Angela Montenegro (Michaela Conlin) ... draws well? It sometimes seems inexplicable that Angela is a member of this crimefighting team of super-duper nerds. Even she seems confused as to how her life wound up like this. In multiple episodes, she considers quitting the Jeffersonian — either because she misses making art or because the emotional toll is too high. But if the Jeffersonian had lost Angela, they might never have solved another case.
Angela's computer skills border on magical
Angela was the secret weapon of the Jeffersonian, and the fans know it. "Angela is the absolute MVP of this team," wrote one redditor. "She's been the one who has come up with creative solutions for so many personal and professional things. Basically she's my favorite and they paint her as a promiscuous airhead."
Angela's computer skills are often the most powerful crime-solving tool on Bones because they are so vague. Cam deals with flesh, she understands the messier and more immediate side of forensics. Hodgins is the "bug and slime guy"; his job is to analyze particulates left on a body. Brennan knows everything about bones, and precious little else. Angela, like Donatello the Ninja Turtle, "does machines." Her main role is to use computers to reconstruct faces. But she can also program a completely foolproof physics engine to recreate how someone died, can trace someone's internet activity across multiple sites, and even out-hacks villainous hacker Christopher Pelant (Andrew Leeds) at one point.
One person has always known Angela was integral to the team: Temperance Brennan. She handpicked Angela after seeing her do a caricature on the street. In season 12, Bones nominates Angela for a MacArthur Fellowship, officially labelling Ang as the genius she always was.