The Big Bang Theory: The Solo Oscillation (11x13)

I can't force myself to be enthusiastic about this show, guys. I just can't do it. However, this episode was not bad!

Cons:

We get the brief return of Howard and Raj's band, but Howard decides he needs to step down because his music is interfering with his home life. Raj replaces him with Bert, but then Howard comes back after Bernadette gets annoyed with Howard's new efforts to go solo. This plot thread was... nothing. It was nothing. I feel no connection to the band, I didn't learn anything new about family dynamics, we haven't touched on Raj and Howard's recent major fight... it was just nothing.

There was one moment where I felt some missed potential - Amy asks Leonard if getting married makes things different, and he says no. Amy is relieved, because she likes where she and Sheldon are right now. Okay, all of that is fine. I actually liked seeing these two have a serious conversation. But wouldn't this have been a good time to bring up the stagnation in Leonard and Penny's life? They've been treading water for so long now, and this felt like an actual opportunity to bring that up.

Pros:

As I mentioned, it was fun to see Amy and Leonard play science together. Their friendship is a sweet one, and I wish we could spend more time with it, honestly. I like the fact that Penny lets them have their fun, even if she can't be a part of it in the same way.

Sheldon gets the best plot of the night - he's still stuck in a rut professionally, and he kicks Amy out for a couple of nights so he can focus on his next big idea. Penny stops by with dinner to give Amy and Leonard time to make their experiments, and she talks to Sheldon about what he's going through. He tells her the string theory is still a focus for him, and after a few minutes, he comes up with a new idea based on an off-hand comment of Penny's, that may revolutionize the way he's been thinking about the theory all along.

There were just so many quick jokes and quippy moments here. I love how Sheldon distracts himself by running probability numbers on his mom running in to an old acquaintance, after she calls to tell him about it. He does everything in his power to distract himself, and when Penny comes along, they have a nice conversation about his crisis. Penny can't understand any of the science, but she does understand that Sheldon is going through a hard time, and she manages to help him out by getting him out of his rut. Their friendship is so special to me. And the episode tag, where Penny comes in and tells Amy and Leonard that she was helping Sheldon solve string theory... man, that was hilarious. Great line delivery from everyone involved.

So there you have it. Mostly just a lot of shrugging, as per usual with this show. But the stuff with Penny and Sheldon was pretty great!

8/10