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After last week’s somewhat disappointing and short episode, I have to admit that I enjoyed this week’s ‘The Big Bang Theory ‘ outing a lot more (and it did clock in closer to 20 minutes, which might have something to do with it). They dove right into the Sheldon and Amy bickering while being new roommates storyline, and still had time for a pretty full story over at the Wolowitz house that included both Raj and Stuart and gave us some new information at last about the status of Raj’s love life, which we have not heard about all season.

bbt-penny-and-leonard-prepare-to-helpJumping right in, of course the major argument that just about breaks up the Shamy is over Sheldons demands regarding a bathroom schedule, which of course Leonard and Penny sympathize with Amy about. They dealt with it for years, and they consul Sheldon that they he has to learn to compromise, which does not sound like something he wants to do, especially when Amy suggests he wants them to keep their toothbrushes in the same holder. Sheldon responds that it might be time to break up and find new partners, which is crazy to Amy as they have only slept together once, and she cannot believe he is interested in other women (to which he responds she awakened the sexual beast inside him).

Leonard and Penny realize they need to keep the couple together or else Sheldon will move back in, so Leonard takes Amy and Penny takes Sheldon and they consul their friends. While Amy and Leonard commiserate about the difficulties of living with Sheldon yet how far he has come with her by his side, Penny takes Sheldon to the ice-cream shop where they talk about the similar issues they have with Amy and Leonard. Sheldon also finally shares the original of his three knock at the door rule, as when he was 13 he returned home from spring break and walked into a bed-room to find his father cheating on his mom with another woman. They locked eyes and Sheldon fled, and they never spoke on it again, but he always made sure to allow people time to put their pants back on when he was entering a room from then on. He explains he is being hard on Amy so he can spare her future pain like what his father did to his mother, but Penny tells him he should instead focus on easing her current pain. So they return home and he makes things right with Amy, and they end up sharing that toothbrush holder after all, causing Penny to tear up.

bbt-wolowitzs-at-the-windowAt the Wolowitz house, a failed excursion to Palm Springs (foiled by Bernie’s morning sickness) leads to the couple deciding to instead have a staycation at home, with Howard immediately amorous despite Bernie having just thrown up. They panic as they hear someone downstairs, and find that Stuart has let himself in and gone into their hot tub, so they spy on him from the bedroom window, fascinated by his boldness in using their home while they are “away.” He is intruded upon by Raj who has had the same idea, and while the couple eavesdrops from upstairs, Raj reveals that he has free time right now as he lost both of his girlfriends, which no one knew about. Bernie feels bad that Raj did not feel comfortable telling them, but Howard reminds her that Raj is currently one of two squatters in their house using their hot tub and drinking their wine, and she jokes that he deserves to be unhappy. They continue to spy on their friends until they leave the hot tub, and it is revealed that Stuart had entered commando style, at which point a furious Howard announces their presence and informs Raj and Stuart they just bought that hot tub.

QUOTES OF THE NIGHT:

LEONARD: (giving advice to the new roomies) I think the best thing we can tell you is. No backsies!!

SHELDON: Oh look who’s in favor of compromise. The woman who married Leonard Hofstadter.
LEONARD: Hey. She didn’t compromise. She settled. There’s a difference.

SHELDON: (on why its tough to live with Amy) When we’re sleeping, she breathes on me. One night it got so bad I almost grabbed Toto and headed for the storm cellar.

LEONARD: Here’s the thing you need to understand about Sheldon. He’s the worst.

STUART: (on sneaking into the Wolowitz house before) They heard me in the bushes once, but they thought I was a raccoon.
BERNIE: (whispering, hitting Howard) I told you raccoons don’t say “uh oh!”

SHELDON: The first knock is traditional. The second and third knocks are to put your pants back on.

Definitely a more solid episode, and not just because it had more laughs. There just felt to be more story in general, and the episodes where they delve into anyone’s backstory always feel like there is more depth to the story and more humanity to the characters, especially when they do it with Sheldon, and this particular story about his father actually goes a long way toward explaining his eccentricities, not just about knocking, but also about women in general and his romantic life. I really enjoyed this episode, and I’m glad to see not all of the magic is gone from the show, and I’m really hoping that this was not a fluke, and they have more episodes like this one lined up going forward.

See you back here next week!

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Nick is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, who belongs to the privileged few who enjoyed the ending to ‘Lost.’ For more of Nick’s thoughts and articles, follow him on Twitter.