The Big Bang Theory: The Gyroscopic Collapse (10x23)

This episode felt a tad bit unbalanced, as two very big ideas were introduced and the one sort of supplanted the other. That being said, it's so rare that we have substantive plot in an episode of The Big Bang Theory, so I'm not going to complain.

Cons:

As the episode begins, Howard, Sheldon, and Leonard are celebrating the completion of Phase One on their guidance system. They then discover that the military has swooped in and taken over, and that they are off the project. The guys have to wrestle with the fact that the thing they've worked so hard on is now out of their control, and they might not get recognized for their hard work. This seemed like a really meaty subject to explore, and we did get some hints of exploration. But for the most part, the episode pivoted and became about Amy's impending departure instead. I'm not complaining about the Amy-centric focus, but I found it odd that the next piece of the guidance system plot was thrown in here and then sort of left to flounder.

Pros:

That being said, I did like the way we see each of the guys dealing with it. Leonard seems resigned but mostly okay. Sheldon is upset and indignant, but when he learns that Amy has gotten a job offer that will move her across the country, his emotions are supplanted by that news. And then there's Howard, who becomes very clingy with Bernadette because he doesn't have a project to work on. This is where the straight comedy in the episode comes in, and as I have often found with this show lately, Bernadette and Howard are actually quite funny and sweet. Bernie has a polite conversation with Howard about his tendency to get clingy, and Howard responds by pointing out that Bernadette signed them up for ballroom dancing the last time she had a project taken from her unexpectedly. This isn't a one-sided thing. Pretty cute!

Meanwhile, Raj is moving out of Penny and Leonard's place and into a room at Bert's. Not much really happened here other than the humor of Leonard and Penny both pretending to be bummed out that Raj is leaving, but letting the pretense fall very quickly as it becomes clear how excited they are to have the place to themselves again. Not much to report, but again I'm happy to see the show push forward with some real momentum. Raj is actually progressing through his big life transition instead of stagnating.

In the meatiest plot of the episode, we learn that Amy has been offered a guest lecture job at Princeton. She's hesitant to take it, because she doesn't want to leave Sheldon alone. Sheldon tells her she should go, but is initially quite petty and morose about it. After a talk with Leonard, Sheldon realizes that he needs to be more supportive. He buys Amy some luxury luggage and tells her that he's proud of her and he supports her. It's so strange to me that a relationship like Sheldon and Amy's actually works. We see Sheldon growing as a person through his relationship with Amy, and we see Amy learning to put herself first sometimes and not let Sheldon consume her identity. There were so many great moments with this, from Amy making Sheldon tasteless oatmeal, to the two of them agreeing to have sex as a special occasion (again, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I adore the way this show navigates sex in a relationship where one person is clearly asexual and the other is not). In the end, Sheldon gives Amy various pieces of instruction and advice as he walks her out so she can go to the airport. He tells her to Skype every morning, call when she gets in, and if she ends up working with a handsome scientist, to call him immediately. He peppers all of this funny advice with sincere words of pride and support. I'm really pleased by how the whole thing was handled.

Sheldon is often a selfish child when he doesn't get his way, but we've actually seen some character growth with him, particularly through his relationship with Amy. I hope that we have a bit of time to explore the long-distance relationship thing in next week's finale.

8.5/10