The Big Bang Theory: The Separation Triangulation (11x14)

Yeah, okay. Raj didn't annoy me this week and he so easily could have. So that's a good thing!

Cons:

I will mention one thing, though - Raj's story involves him being stuck between a newly separated married couple. He ends up empathizing with the husband, but we never see him ask the wife for her side of the story at all. He just sleeps with her, and then later asks her to give her husband another chance. I really wish we could have seen Raj as more of a go-between, bonding with both people equally and feeling torn about what to do.

Pros:

I did love the scenes with Raj, Bernadette, and Howard. Since Bernie is still on bed-rest, these scenes all take place with the three of them lounging about like an adult sleepover or something, as Raj gossips about his sex life, and Howard gets very jealous of Raj's new friendship with his girlfriend's husband: "you did pie halvsies with another man?" Really great line delivery in that moment. Very fun. I also like that Raj is unselfishly really happy for his new friends when they decide to give it another chance.

I got some old-school Sheldon and Leonard fun in this episode as well, which was a real delight. Sheldon rents his bedroom out from Penny and Leonard so he has some space to work on string theory without taking up his and Amy's apartment. Leonard is annoyed because Sheldon is a model tenant, which means that all of his obnoxious behavior in the past was a conscious choice. Amy admits that she misses having Sheldon around, but she can't exactly say anything because Sheldon is trying to be considerate of her feelings. Leonard is super annoyed at Sheldon being polite and perfect. Of course, once the trial period expires and Sheldon is secured in his new lease arrangement, he's right back to being obnoxious... and Leonard kind of likes it.

This plot thread, while nothing special in terms of the concept, had a ton of funny individual jokes. Actually, that's true of both stories tonight. Very quotable. I loved when Leonard calls Sheldon a jerk for being considerate, I loved Penny's flat-toned reaction to Sheldon emerging from his old bedroom as she tries to muster up some false outrage, I loved Leonard and Sheldon discussing the new agreement... it felt like vintage The Big Bang Theory. And don't get me wrong - this show has pretty much always been garbage in a lot of ways. But back in the early days, at least the jokes were fresh. This episode felt like a callback to those times.

There you have it. A decent episode, although of course I'm still waiting for this show to die with whatever shred of dignity may remain...

8/10