This review contains spoilers.
11.22 The Monetary Insufficiency
Sometimes science has to come before comic books, and the same is true for this week’s episode of The Big Bang Theory. When Sheldon figures out a more practical way of testing his theories, he realises he must find $500k from somewhere, and it won’t come without some hard graft.
Leonard, the experimental physicist of the pair, comes up with the method that could help prove Sheldon’s work (don’t ask me what that work is, I’m with Penny here), but the university is understandably reluctant to hand over half a million dollars to a guy who I’m sure they all think is nuts. Sheldon has a brilliant mind, but something tells me he wouldn’t be very good at keeping to a budget.
But then he surprises everyone by, instead of throwing a tantrum, coming up with wide and varied ways to raise the cash. After being denied by the university, he sets up a Kickstarter campaign to raise ten per cent of the money, hoping that this show of good faith will attract much bigger and wealthier investors. It’s not a bad idea, and shows that the writers have at least some concept of how these things work.
Then he starts selling his collectables, which results in a bittersweet scene in which Sheldon laments how much each of his mint-condition comics means to him. Any nerd worth their salt would have felt a pang for him there, as he resolutely decides that, though these things are close to his heart, science is and will always be his first love.
In the end though, it might be Amy who means the most of all.
The girls’ side of the episode is still focused on the upcoming wedding, and it’s a sweet little arc that once again puts Penny in the position of friendship giver rather than taker. It feels like a long time ago we were watching Amy lust after the affections of her cool, new friend, and now the partnership seems so solid and caring that Bernadette is often left as the third wheel.
The trio go wedding dress shopping and, after two absolutely stunning dresses are shown off, Amy comes out beaming with a dress that – in Sheldon’s words – makes her look like a pile of swans.
What follows is a nice look at what to do when your best friend is a little kooky. While Penny and Bernadette initially hold their tongue, Penny forces herself to reveal her true feelings in the hope that Amy won’t regret her choice later. Amy reacts as badly to this as expected, and finally Penny realises that this isn’t her wedding, it’s not her dress, and that she and Amy are not remotely the same person.
It’s all very lovely, especially Amy’s reaction to seeing herself looking so glammed up. Even the dress itself is in character, like something out of Little House on the Prairie.
The closer, however, is Sheldon accidentally stumbling upon his bride-to-be and, despite not being privy to the last twenty minutes of episode, reassuring her that she looks amazing and he can’t wait to marry her. These two might have their quirks, but they fit together like pieces of a jigsaw.
Read Caroline’s review of the previous episode, The Comet Polarisation, here.