The Big Bang Theory: The Brain Bowl Incubation (10x08)

Surprisingly, this episode was good. It could so easily have been very bad, but it was not!

Cons:

I thought Sheldon and Amy's plot thread could have been treated with a bit more gravitas, given how serious the situation is. Essentially, Sheldon is inspired by the miracle of science to create a baby with Amy. Amy is not ready for kids, and continually evades his seductive advances. The idea of Sheldon wanting a kid is an interesting one, and of course it would be the pursuit of science that got him there. But I do wish we could have had a scene where maybe Sheldon contemplated what it would really mean to him to be a father. Maybe we'll get that in the coming weeks? I don't know. As it stood by itself, this plot thread was all comedy without any of the heart to ground it.

Pros:

That being said, the comedy itself was great. Amy and Sheldon create neural cells out of their combined skin cells (I have no idea how the science of any of this is supposed to work, but whatever). Sheldon is proud of the skin cells, taking pictures and bragging about them to everybody. He compares his and Amy's experience with these cells to Bernadette's impending motherhood, which of course irritates her. It was fun to see Sheldon so enthusiastic about something. It reminded me that Amy and Sheldon's relationship doesn't always have to be such a push-and-pull. They share things in common and they get all nerdy and excited over them. That's awesome.

The real meat of this episode was in Raj's plot thread. I know. I can't believe it either. Basically, Raj meets a woman named Isabella at work when she comes in at the end of the day to clean up his work space. They hit it off, but Raj lies when his friends ask him about her, saying she's a fellow scientist. When Raj tries to pursue a relationship with Isabella, she is reluctant at first because she works two jobs and is quite a bit older than Raj. She's got a nineteen-year-old son. Raj prepares her food in his office, and the two share a meal. When Howard comes by, Isabella discovers that Raj lied about her job. She rushes off in a huff, but Raj follows and tells her he's sorry, that he hates himself for being bothered by her job. Isabella agrees to let Raj take her out on a date.

So this is what I mean when I say the episode could have very easily gone very bad. Raj's track record with women is... well, it's stomach-turning, honestly. But here, he had a genuine connection with somebody, and although he made a mistake, he owned up to it. There is a real divide between people based on their education and profession. That's not a fake problem, and it's not necessarily a shallow one, either. Isabella and Raj also have a significant age difference, and they've clearly lived very different lives.

This episode actually dealt with racial stereotyping in a way that didn't make me want to gouge my eyes out. Raj makes food for Isabella from her "home land," and then when she says she's from Cuba, Raj is embarrassed to have made Mexican food. Later, Isabella tells Raj that he should feel free to take her out to a Pakistani restaurant. When Raj corrects her and says he's Indian, Isabella responds: "now you know how it feels." That was brilliant. Having somebody assume your nationality is not the most horrific thing that people of color have got to face in this country, obviously, but it's a real problem nonetheless.

I hope, I pray, that Isabella can stick around. She can give Raj something to do other than third-wheel all of Howard and Bernadette's plot threads, and she might add some nuance in her own right. I'm excited to see what happens next!

8/10