The Big Bang Theory: The VCR Illumination (12x10)

I felt like I was supposed to be emotional about some things in this episode, but it did not work for me.

Cons:

The minute we see that Sheldon's motivational speech to himself was recorded over, I knew that something about the football game was going to inspire Sheldon. Sure enough, that's exactly what we got. Sheldon's father gives a speech to his losing team at halftime, and it makes Sheldon realize that the game isn't over. Even if he's been losing so far, he still has time to make a comeback. I imagine that this scene might have been emotionally resonant for some people if a) they cared about these characters, and/or b) they watched Young Sheldon and felt a connection to Sheldon's father. Neither of those things apply to me, and ultimately the scene felt too emotionally manipulative.

Howard and Bernadette's plot thread had some promise, but I don't think it went quite far enough. If we're going to see Bernadette be a pageant mom, then I want to see her go all out.

Pros:

I do like that we actually spent time dealing with Amy and Sheldon's depression over their failed theory. I might have wished that Amy got a bit more attention, but it was still sweet to see her, Leonard, and Penny try to genuinely figure out the best way to help their friend. Leonard's mother helps them to realize that Sheldon is grieving, and that maybe they should undergo some form of ritual to lay the failed paper to rest. They do a viking funeral, which ends up setting their shower curtain on fire. But before that, it was a nice moment, and it's good to see people taking Sheldon's pain seriously, even if it manifests in a way that seems strange to most.

We also get Amy coming up with a breakthrough that means their paper might not be disproved after all. I could sit here and complain about how this doesn't represent actual science and how things work in the real world. It still doesn't make sense that Sheldon and Amy wouldn't have found evidence of the Russian paper when writing their original theory. But setting that aside, I'm glad we're getting a continuation of this arc. If The Big Bang Theory has one true series-wide arc, it's Sheldon's quest for career advancement. It feels appropriate to spend time on that here in the final season.

I did like Howard's inept singing and magic performance, and the way that it mimicked a child beauty pageant, due to Bernadette's coaching. That was pretty hilarious.

The best joke of the night also went to Howard. Penny and Leonard are listing things that shouldn't be mentioned around Sheldon and Amy so as not to upset them. They say that "Russian" is off the table, or any derivative of it, and Leonard points out that of course Rocky IV is also off the table. When Bernadette asks why, Howard turns to her in horror and says "because he fights a Russian! I'm sorry about her." I just liked Howard's genuine embarrassment that Bernadette wouldn't immediately pick up the reference.

That's all I've got. Not a terrible episode, so... that's as good as I can expect.

8/10