The Big Bang Theory: The Fermentation Bifurcation (9x22)

I really, really liked one of the plot threads here. And then the other one was so-so. In all, this is an improvement from the past couple of weeks.

Cons:

Claire and Raj. UGH. So done with Raj and his disgusting ways. Basically, Penny gets a free wine tasting from her work, and the gang (minus Bernadette and Sheldon) go along. Raj invites Claire, and the rest of the night turns in to everybody talking about their relationship. Penny's ex-boyfriend, Zach, also turns up to wreak havoc. My complaints about Raj stand: apparently he has told both Emily and Claire that they're not exclusive, but he hasn't definitively told them about each other. Also, Claire seems to be really interested in Raj, but I still don't understand why. What is their connection built on?

Also, Zach's appearance here was mostly wasted. He made a few decently funny jokes, I guess, but I expected a lot more. Or rather, if I trusted this show to turn out humorous content, I would have expected a lot more. As it was, Zach mainly stood around offering one-liners, and didn't really speak to Penny at all. The writers also made sure to remind us of Zach's past on the show by having Zach tell us the history of him and Penny breaking up, dating again briefly, and then ending things for good. It just didn't do much for me.

On top of all of that, the fact that they were at a wine tasting didn't offer any funny material at all. The one attempt at a joke was that Leonard couldn't smell or enjoy any of the wine because of his allergies. I didn't even crack a smile.

Pros:

There was one good thing about the main plot, though. Zach learns about the guys' navigational system, and he asks them about the military applications of the technology. This forces them to start thinking about the deeper consequences of their research. What if what they're building is used to help kill people? How will they feel about that? It's a surprisingly deep thing for this show to bring up. I can understand the moral revulsion to doing something that's going to help kill people. But as many of the others point out, every scientific advancement has the potential to be used for harm. That can't be a reason to stop progress, can it? I hope that we continue to examine this plot thread as we move forward.

Bernadette and Sheldon had a great subplot. Sheldon plans a whole fun day of activities for them, since Bernadette can't go to the wine tasting due to her pregnancy, and Sheldon doesn't like to drink. They learn about different types of toast, and trains, and then they play Dungeons and Dragons. Sheldon creates a character for Bernadette that gets to revel in all the things the real Bernadette doesn't get to do because of her pregnancy. Her character gets to eat sushi, drink beer, get in a hot spring (hot tub, essentially), and has tiny ankles and feet. She's also a bad-ass warrior queen, who happens to be tall.

Bernadette and Sheldon are two characters that don't have much of a relationship by themselves, but this episode did a wonderful job of showcasing their friendship. Sheldon is certainly an odd guy, but he can often use his oddities to try and do nice things for his friends, and it's this version of Sheldon that I find compelling as a character. Sure, Dungeons and Dragons might not be Bernadette's ordinary favorite activity. But Sheldon catered the game towards her, trying to take her mind off of the pain and inconvenience of pregnancy. It was an enormously kind thing to do, when you think about it, and must have taken him a long time to put together.

Another great moment was when Bernadette asked Sheldon why he liked trains so much, and he explained that trains had provided stability to his chaotic life as a child. I love moments when the other characters ask Sheldon sincerely about his idiosyncrasies, and don't belittle him for his differences. This was a great moment, because Bernadette was asking a question that seems so simple, but that Sheldon had clearly never been asked before. We all knew Sheldon loved trains. Did we bother to think about why?

Before I sign off, shout-out to the weirdest yet most hilarious joke in the episode. On two separate occasions, Sheldon brings up his friends "Frank and Alicia," to Leonard's bewilderment. That's really it, that's the whole joke. Apparently Sheldon plays games with them and hangs out with them sometimes. The idea that Sheldon has other friends that the gang doesn't know about really tickles me. Maybe some day we'll meet the mysterious Frank and Alicia!

That's all I've got. I wish Raj would stop being such a douche, but the strength of Sheldon and Bernadette's plot line saves this episode from too much of my wrath.

8/10