The Big Bang Theory: The Decision Reverberation (12x20)

I'm going to rapid-fire this one.

Cons:

I wish the writers of this show were actual nerds, or that they got actual nerds to look it over, so that their discussions would sound realistic. The idea of the guys sitting around trying to decide what time to go see Avengers: Endgame is so patently ridiculous to me, because if these guys are as nerdy as they're supposed to be, they definitely bought their tickets for opening weekend weeks ago. It's little things like this that have made me frustrated with this show from day one.

This episode wasn't offensively bad or anything, but it was yet another example of the show being half-assed with its ideas. Leonard is going to stand up for himself and be a stronger advocate? Sure, but his plan doesn't really lead to any real changes in his life. He gets a cool new opportunity at work, but with only four new episodes to go, it's unlikely we'll get to actually explore that as a real character development. Similarly, it's always nice, or whatever, when we see that Sheldon cares about Leonard and is trying to be a good friend, but we don't get a chance to actually explore Sheldon's jealousy vs. his real concerns over Leonard's career choices. It's not like I expected anything better out of this show, but still.

Pros:

For what it was, though, I guess I do like the idea of Leonard standing up for himself a bit more. It's always somewhat satisfying to see people refuse to cave in to Sheldon's controlling and bullying. I liked Penny's whole thing, of trying to help Leonard be more assertive. The bit where Leonard is on the stairs, freaked out about making a decision, worked for me. His thought spiral was actually very relatable - Penny wants him to pick out something that he wants to do, without taking Penny's feelings into account. But Leonard is afraid that if he picks something Penny would like, then she'll suspect him of not really picking something for himself. So does that mean he should pick something he knows Penny won't want to do?

I liked that Amy became the unofficial sounding board for everyone. The recurring gag with people sitting on the stairs was mildly amusing.

The subplot was harmless fun - Raj accidentally gets branded as someone who believes in intelligent alien life, and a bunch of crackpot magazines start taking a quote from an article he wrote wildly out of context. When he tries to explain himself, he only makes things worse. A simple premise, with lots of opportunities for silly, fun jokes. I liked the scene at the planetarium, with Howard and Bernadette planted in the audience to ask Raj questions. Also, it was good to see Anu again, if only for a brief moment. It's been a while.

Oh, one last thing - there's a moment where Bernadette talks about how excited she is to see shirtless Thor in Avengers: Endgame. Without spoiling anything for those who haven't seen it yet, let's just say that that line is hilarious for a very unintentional reason.

Okay, that's all, folks. I'm still counting down the days until we're finally done with this show!

7/10