We are all the end result of a lifetime of experiences. Who we are today has been directly decided by what we’ve seen, done, and been exposed to in the past. On tonight’s episode of The Big Bang Theory, we have insight into one of the most baffling minds on television: Sheldon Cooper’s.
It’s the general consensus in The Big Bang Theory fan-circle that Sheldon is written to be Autistic; more specifically, he has Asperger Syndrome. His difficulties in understanding social behavior, his dependence on repetitive behavior, his limited circle of interests and his unusual diction are hallmarks of the condition. Due to his odd mannerisms being played for laughs, the show’s producers avoid offending the Autistic community by only canonically referring to Sheldon as weird, or just a little off. How CBS gets away with this is amazing.
Tonight’s episode begins with Penny and Leonard beta testing a new board game created by Sheldon himself. “Research Lab,” Sheldon boasts, “The physics is theoretical, but the fun is real.” Attempting to weasel out of future game nights, Penny claims she needs to pick up an old friend from the airport who is in town visiting, will be sleeping on her couch, is a “definitely not gay” male, and is a rock musician she used to date. Naturally, Leonard becomes territorial and jealous.
This sets off tonight’s plot; the completely-incompatible-but-dating-anyways-because-its-TV couple begins fighting over issues of trust, fidelity, communication, and independence. However, the omnipresent Sheldon demonstrates an idiosyncratic defensive technique; whenever in the presence of an argument, he does whatever possible to drown out the fighting. His efforts are comical, but effective. He makes sno-cones, pulsating the blender in tune with the tirades. He stealthily sidles out of the room without anyone noticing, lest he is forced to take sides. While in the passenger seat, he politely asks the driver to pull over, and then darts off in another direction.
As the Leonard and Penny argument grows, it awakens dormant turbulence in Howard and Rajesh. The parallel between the two and an old married couple is a reprise from last week’s episode, but this week, the joke works. Everything I railed against last week was improved. The b-storyline was much more in tune with the main plot. The pacing sped up considerably, making the arguments feel more heated, and thus more comical. The disturbing and unintentional sexual tension was happily absent. Most importantly, when the joke was over, the joke ended, instead of being perpetuated throughout the remainder of the episode. Harold and Rajesh appear again later in the episode as the independent characters they’re supposed to be, contributing to the main plot, and not like a gimmicky duo gunning for a spin off.
Stuck in the midst of dual arguments, unable to find refuse even in the holy sanctuary of his beloved comic shop, Sheldon snaps. In an unprecedented moment of clarity, Sheldon refers to the source of his totally-not-Asperger issues. When Sheldon was young, his parents fought loudly, verbally, emotionally, and often. This was a quick reveal, played directly for laughs, but so integral to the otherwise single-dimensional character, it’s essential to not overlook. Earlier this season, we learned Sheldon’s mother was an overbearing, controlling fundamentalist while Sheldon’s father was an alcoholic, borderline abusive redneck. It wasn’t until tonight’s understated reveal that we put the puzzle pieces together and understood true tragedy of Sheldon Cooper.
Haunted by reminders of his childhood, and still unable to quell the fighting, Sheldon regresses to his childhood defenses, running away from Penny and Leonard, taking refuge in the comic shop, surrounding himself with stacks of graphic novels and toy robots. Like Howard and Rajesh earlier emulated a married couple, Sheldon becomes a neglected child to Penny and Leonard’s comical parental facsimile. After bribing Sheldon to come home and promising to rationally work out their spat, Sheldon returns home, one comic and one toy robot richer.
Tonight’s performance was sporadic. The largest problem was the writing, which tripped every time the narrative switched from humor to character or plot development. The comedy of The Big Bang Theory is good; tonight they proved their storytelling can be equally effective. The challenge lies in getting these two elements to effectively mix. The entirety of the restaurant scene between Sheldon and Penny is a prime example. The scene switches, between Seinfeld-esque inquiries about half sandwiches and the nature of Penny and Leonard’s relationship, about as effectively as a one-armed man can shift a car with a manual transmission. Sadly, as we are well into the fourth season, a sharp increase in writing ability seems highly unlikely. The mixing is theoretical, but the funny is real.
