The Big Bang Theory: The Long Distance Dissonance (10x24)

I mean, yeah, okay. I'm alright with this latest development. I really wish that this were the last season of The Big Bang Theory so I could finally be free from this cursed show, but since it's not, I guess I'm glad we're going this route!

Cons:

We focus entirely on Amy and Sheldon's relationship now that Amy is across the country, and that's fine, but it feels odd that this finale didn't really touch on any of the other characters. We barely mentioned Howard and Bernadette's baby... Leonard and Penny's weird relationship troubles were absent... it felt like a regular old episode, not like a season finale (until the final seconds, that is).

This is a complaint that I lodge in my head every time I watch this show, but I always forget to mention it. They do "previously on" sections wrong. It's supposed to be the bare minimum to remind viewers of details they may have forgotten. Or, it can sometimes be a replay of the last minute or so of a previous episode, leading up to a shocking cliffhanger. The Big Bang Theory uses these recap moments to pad the run-time by like two minutes, and they just repeat jokes wholesale because they think they're funny enough to do twice. Super irritating, honestly.

Pros:

In all, this episode worked okay. Despite my complaint above that most of the characters didn't have a lot to do, I did rather like the fact that one big story got all of the focus. Amy and Sheldon seem to be doing okay with the long distance thing. They Skype regularly and go about their own lives. However, things get tricky when Ramona Nowitzki shows up and begins pursuing a romance with Sheldon once again. Sheldon is of course oblivious to Ramona's romantic interest, and the rest of the group gets increasingly uncomfortable about the whole situation. Finally, Penny tells Sheldon about Ramona's interest, and when Sheldon asks her about it, she confirms her interest by kissing him.

Sheldon immediately excuses himself from the room. We are then treated to a montage of Sheldon taking a cab to the airport, buying a ticket, watching Spongebob on the plane, getting a cab to Princeton, and showing up at Amy's door. He knocks three times in his customary way, and when Amy opens the door, Sheldon is down on one knee with a ring in his hand.

Yeah. I mean it's not that big a surprise, right? We ended a few seasons ago with the knowledge that Sheldon had a ring and was planning to propose, so we finally get around to it here. I did like the ending montage. It was funny and strange and felt like it was leading up to something big. The reason this whole episode's concept worked is that Sheldon is totally oblivious to Ramona's advances. However, once Penny makes him aware that something is going on, he doesn't let the situation continue, and he make it clear that he's not interested. This sort of plot thread could be really cringe-y very easily, but they avoided that nicely. Also, I did get a really big smile on my face when I saw Sheldon proposing. Those two crazy kids deserve this.

Some other highlights: Raj being put out that Ramona wasn't interested in him. Yeah. Get it through your head, Raj. You're just not that desirable.

Penny talking to Sheldon about the Ramona situation, and Sheldon saying that he doesn't think that's what's going on. Penny asks him: well, what do you think is going on? And Sheldon's response is that 1) Ramona is a colleague and a friend; 2) Penny and Leonard should go to marriage counseling, and 3) Sheldon needs to add swimming as a "special skill" on his resume. This made me laugh, particularly the quip about marriage counseling. Sound observational skills, there, Sheldon.

I guess that's all I've got to say. In many ways this didn't feel like a finale... but we did get a big proposal, so there's that. I really hope we don't need to go through the whole rigmarole of Amy finding out that Ramona kissed Sheldon, etc. etc., and we can just skip to the happy part of this whole situation.

I guess I'll see y'all next year for more coverage of The Big Bang Theory... God help me.

8/10