The Big Bang Theory: The Convergence Convergence (9x24)

Well... that certainly didn't feel like a finale. I'm disappointed... although should I really be surprised at this point?

Cons:

I know I sound like a broken record, but The Big Bang Theory has this huge problem with wasted opportunities. Maybe we'll get to see Penny and Leonard's wedding ceremony in the Season Ten premiere, but this episode was nothing but the buildup to it. The plot is basically that Leonard's father shows up and argues with his mother a lot, and that Sheldon invited his mother to the wedding as well. Leonard's father and Sheldon's mom hit it off, to the consternation of their sons. That's the whole main plot. Penny's family doesn't even make an appearance to spice things up.

Another thing about this main plot is that it doesn't really give me a lot of Penny/Leonard relationship feelings. You would think maybe we'd get some insight into their love and their marriage, but no. Other than one quick toast, the focus is all on the parental drama. It doesn't even seem like Penny and Leonard care about this ceremony at all. Penny pretty much admits she's only doing this to try and foster a better relationship for Leonard and his mother.

The subplot focused on Raj and Howard. Howard's tracking system officially works, and he is immediately contacted by the U.S. Air Force. Howard starts to get paranoid about the government taking over and using his weapon for evil means. This could have been an interesting way to pick up on the doubts Howard had expressed earlier, about the wisdom of advancing scientific discovery when it might lead to harm. Instead, the plot was all about Howard thinking that the government was watching him, that they were going to come after him and silence him if he tried to object to their goals.

Pros:

Even though nothing about this episode was particularly meaty or complex, there were still some good laughs. The drama between the parents was pretty funny. I particularly liked Sheldon's obliviousness to the growing connection between his mother and Leonard's father. When both of them fail to get ahold of their parents in the morning, and Penny tells them it's because they've turned their phones off, Leonard and Sheldon look at each other in horror, each highly uncomfortable at the idea that their parents might be having sex. It wasn't a particularly original concept, but it did make me laugh.

The subplot was more successful than the main one, even if it didn't go far enough in exploring ideas of morality. (Honestly, was I expecting anything better with this show?) I think my favorite thing about this was that it started off with Howard being paranoid, and Raj joined in fairly quickly, and then even Bernadette got caught up in it by the end. It created an escalating plot with a funny conclusion. Raj kept announcing to rooms: "I love America!" so that the listening government would know he was patriotic. On the way to the restaurant, Penny, Leonard, and Beverly happen to be behind Howard's car, and they drive up closer to try and follow him. He thinks it's the government, and tries to escape, leading to the cops pulling him over as he raves about the government chasing him down. Again, not the most complex of plots, but still - pretty funny. I think the best part was when Penny flashed the lights of her car, and Raj said that the car wanted them to pull over. Bernadette, finally succumbing to her own fear, exclaims: "don't pull over! I'm not raising this baby alone!"

That's really all I've got. This did not feel like a finale whatsoever. A pretty lackluster way to close out the season, honestly. Dare I hope that Season Ten is their last? That would be a gift at this point.

6.5/10