The Big Bang Theory: The Line Substitution Solution (9x23)

Okay! Let's rapid-fire this one.

Cons:

This was a surprisingly solid and engaging episode, which makes the one insensitive joke all the more aggravating. Sheldon and the other guys are waiting in line to see a special screening of The Avengers, and Sheldon gets mad that somebody cuts in line. He talks about the injustice of it, and then makes a reference to Rosa Parks and how she wouldn't stand for being pushed to the back of the line. Everybody is horrified and embarrassed, but then Leonard turns to Raj and says "you may need to pretend to be black to get us out of this." I'm sorry, but... Sheldon not understanding racism is a really tired joke that was never really funny to begin with. And none of his friends really tried to correct him or tell him he was out of line. And then Leonard's comment to Raj was just... gross. 

This show has a problem with followthrough. The idea of waiting in line to see a special movie screening is fine, but there's no payoff to the buildup, because we don't get to see these characters experience the thing they were waiting for. Similarly, Stuart had a funny subplot but then just kind of shrugged his way out of the story without ceremony.

Pros:

Leonard, Sheldon, Raj, and Howard all wait in line for The Avengers screening, and we get lots of funny jokes about Raj's stick chair, which he brings along so he can give his legs a rest. It was nice to have Raj be the butt of some innocent jokes this week. I didn't get pissed off about his blatant sexism even once!

Sheldon was supposed to go shopping with Amy, but instead hired Stuart to go shopping with her instead, so he could wait in line for the movie. When Amy finds out, she turns around and hires Stuart to go yell at Sheldon for his behavior. Stuart then gets hired by Sheldon to apologize to Amy, and then later hired by Sheldon again to stand in line while Sheldon goes to apologize to Amy in person. All of this was really funny. Sheldon's apology was so very Sheldon-esque. He quickly lists the three components to a good apology and runs through them. Amy knows he doesn't mean it, but accepts the apology anyway. This could hint at larger problems in their relationship, but I didn't mind the whole thing being played for laughs this week. The fact that it actually made me laugh is always a plus.

The other plot focused on Penny trying to forge a bond with Leonard's mother. She picks her up from the airport and has her over for dinner, inviting Amy and Bernadette along as well. Penny gets more and more frustrated as Beverly bonds more and more with Bernadette and Amy, and continually brushes her off. When Penny finally confronts her about her insulting behavior, Beverly reveals that she's hurt at having not been invited to her own son's wedding. Penny realizes that Beverly does have feelings, and offers to hold a small ceremony while she's still in town. Beverly says that would be acceptable, and Penny rejoices in her new bond with her mother-in-law.

Beverly's character has always been a bit baffling to me, because we're supposed to think she's funny, but I've always just thought her obvious abusive behavior towards Leonard was really disheartening and difficult to watch. In this episode, we see her attempt to be kind to Penny even though she was hurt, and it did help to humanize her a little bit. Hopefully in next week's finale Beverly can find a moment to have a sincere connection with her own son. I also liked the humor of this plot thread, especially when Amy and Bernadette kept trying to bring the conversation back to Penny, but they keep getting bogged down in academic topics.

This episode had a really funny opening scene that didn't connect much with the rest of the episode, but is still worth mentioning. Sheldon and Penny both have flash cards, and are quizzing each other. Sheldon is quizzing Penny on basic math and science terms and symbols, while Penny is quizzing Sheldon on pop culture. This plot thread could have so easily been insulting, but instead there was no value judgments being placed on which skill set was more important. In that moment, both Penny and Sheldon were sincerely trying to expand their own knowledge base to better themselves. Sheldon didn't make a single disparaging comment about the things Penny was trying to show him. My favorite was when Penny shows a picture of Bill Nye, and Sheldon immediately knows that it's Bill Nye the Science Guy. But Penny pushes him to answer as to why she would know who he is. Sheldon thinks about it and then gleefully reaches the answer: "creepy old guy from Dancing with the Stars!"

All in all, I quite enjoyed this episode. The Rosa Parks joke made me cringe like you would not believe, but the setups and the jokes were actually pretty solid across the board.

8/10