The Big Bang Theory: The Solder Excursion Diversion (9x19)

I think people liked this episode because it was showing a deeper side to Sheldon and Amy's relationship (supposedly), but I wasn't a big fan. Let's take a look.

Cons:

We'll start with the subplot, which was one of those classic situations where this show wastes its setups on throwaway jokes. Basically, Bernadette and Penny stop by to help Howard and Leonard with putting together their navigation system. They help assemble these coil things, and Howard and Leonard step out at one point to get some supplies that they ran out of. While the guys are gone, they get offered a free early screening of Suicide Squad, and they decide to lie and say they got a flat tire so the girls won't be mad. However, Howard texts Raj to brag about getting to see the movie, and Raj is with the girls in the lab at the time. They decide to pull a prank on the guys by hiding Raj in a closet and having him come out and yell "busted." However, when the guys come back they have flowers for their wives. They tell the truth and apologize for lying, and all go out to dinner, leaving Raj behind.

I couldn't believe how many missed opportunities this plot thread had. At first I thought Penny or Bernadette was going to mess something up with the project, or maybe when they wanted to pull a prank on the guys, they would pretend something terrible had happened to all of their work, just to freak them out. What kind of lame prank involves nothing more than somebody hiding in a closet? They kept making stupid "Raj is in the closet" jokes too, and I feel like that stopped being funny years ago. Then there's the fact that Howard and Leonard go to see Suicide Squad, but there are no funny jokes related to the franchise. Not one real reference to the contents of the movie was made. I thought this setup showed promise, but they didn't go far enough with the stuff in the lab, or the stuff with the free movie screening.

The main plot was better, but I will admit it was difficult to understand the tone they were going for. There were moments when even the normally exuberant studio audience didn't know whether or not they should be laughing. They laughed a couple of times at things that would have been totally serious and even depressing had there been silence, and then there was silence at moments that I really don't think had enough weight to them. It was an awkward plot thread in terms of my emotional investment. How serious was I supposed to be taking this? I just can't tell.

Pros:

The subplot did have some good moments, despite its overall lack of creativity. I liked the idea of Penny and Bernadette helping the guys out, and thought it would have been funny if maybe Penny had had some sort of insight that the guys had missed about how to do the project better. But even without that, it was nice to see them getting involved. Raj's sad sack routine is certainly an improvement over his frequent annoying misogyny, so there's that too. I also liked Howard being a dickish best friend and promising to spoil the movie for Raj the minute he saw him.

The main plot was, I think an overall success... but only if it leads to more material in future. Basically, Sheldon's old and faithful laptop finally dies, and Amy buys him a new one, despite his protests that buying a new laptop is deeply personal. He does like the new computer, however, so all is forgiven. When Amy tells Sheldon that he can recycle his old laptop, Sheldon is hesitant. He tells Amy to come with him, and the two go to a storage unit, where Sheldon reveals a shameful secret: he has never thrown anything away. He still owns every book, article of clothing, miscellaneous knick-knack, broken technology, etc. that he's ever owned. Amy is shocked and disturbed, and Sheldon admits that he's ashamed of this behavior, because he's supposed to be a man of science and rational thought, and instead he indulges himself with this weird behavior. Amy tells him that she'll be there for him if he wants to do something about it, and Sheldon tries to take the first step by throwing away the golf ball that his brother hit him with when they were children. He ends up slipping the ball back inside the storage unit, though.

I mentioned that this plot thread had some tonal inconsistencies, but I'll admit that I admire what they were going for, even if the execution was a tad shaky. Any plot thread that focuses on Sheldon opening up with Amy is doing something right, and this one was particularly effective at showing how awesome Amy really is at being Sheldon's emotional support. But it wasn't one-sided, as it sometimes is. Amy seemed legitimately a bit turned off by this new idiosyncrasy of Sheldon's, and she seemed to find it a strong sign of something being really wrong. Despite that, she sticks with him and offers to help. At first I was annoyed at what I saw as an inconsistency, because Sheldon has plenty of other irrational behaviors and this is the first time he's gotten all embarrassed and ashamed about it. But I think ultimately it works quite well - Sheldon's other behaviors can be said to be rational, to a fault, even, as they do seem to benefit him in some manner. But this one? He doesn't like owning all of his old stuff. It makes him feel bad about himself whenever he comes in to add something new. And yet he can't stop. I wish this show would have the guts to directly address Sheldon's mental illnesses, because that would have made this episode even stronger.

On the humor side of things, I did enjoy Sheldon's mournful ceremony for his dead computer, and his joyous examination of the new one. I think most people know that awesome feeling of getting a new phone or computer and marveling at how fast it's running in comparison with your old device. Also, Sheldon sending Amy home so he could use his new computer to Skype with her was pretty funny. Amy does the whole put-upon routine very well.

I guess that's all I've got. Both of these plots had really good setups but the execution left something to be desired. That's often the case with this show... I feel bad, because I know a lot of people really enjoyed this one, but I just couldn't get totally behind it.

7/10