Well, after a few weeks showing some slight improvements, the show seemed to backslide a bit this week. I’m not exactly sure what went wrong. All the elements seemed to be there for a good episode, a jealous pregnant Bernadette, Raj messing up another relationship, bringing back Barry Kripke and Colonel Williams, the military project subplot, and yet, I just did not find myself laughing very much, and none of the scenes really seemed to stand out for me.
So the majority of the episode revolved around the news that behind the backs of the Howard and Leonard, Sheldon came up with a new communication system based on the old navigation system they had developed for the military last season, and he began working for the military once more, without inviting in the other guys. And all of this occurs right after the gang watches a documentary about Edison and Tesla, with everyone agreeing that Edison was a glory-hog and Tesla was the real genius, hence the insult Howard and Leonard throw at Sheldon, claiming he is more like Edison then they thought, which angers Sheldon greatly, especially when Amy agrees with them about it. Later, as Howard and Leonard fume about what Sheld0n did, Leonard gets an idea to improve upon Sheldon’s communication method, an idea which he and Howard plan to pitch to the military to oust Sheldon, but they need the help of Sheldon’s enemy Barry Kripke to do the math, which they get, much to Sheldon’s annoyance. Eventually, they learn that Kripke himself stole the idea and sold it to the military on his own, leaving them all in the dust, and everyone has now lost control of the project they once all worked on together, realizing they might all be Tesla’s with Kripke being the Edison.
Meanwhile, Raj and Ruchi visit the bed-ridden Bernadette, and Bernie suspects Ruchi is after her job, tasking Raj with getting the dirt on his new lady. Raj is reluctant, but does as Bernadette says, but does not try to stop Ruchi, as he enjoys his relationship with the woman, especially since it is all physical with no demands of a real relationship. Bernie is pissed, and does not answer Ruchi’s texts when she asks for work advice, and when Ruchi asks Raj what is going on, he explains that Bernadette has accused her of trying to take her job at work, but that Raj stuck up for her, which annoys Ruchi because she says she does not need Raj to do that, especially since they are not a couple. 
Raj then informs her that with all the time they are spending together they are basically in a relationship, and it all ends up with Raj in bed with Bernadette sadly eating ice-cream, in shock that Ruchi broke up with him, which of course is not surprising to anyone else.
QUOTES OF THE NIGHT:
PENNY: (when Sheldon mocks her for not knowing who Tesla is) You don’t have to be so smug about it. You went to see the movie ‘It’ because you thought it was about scary I.T. guys.
RAJ: (after Bernie explains what she needs to say to Ruchi) Oook, what you’re saying sounds nice. But the way you’re saying it makes my testicles want to take cover in my abdomen.
SHELDON: (after being insulted by Amy agreeing he is similar to Edison) Ok, well if I’m Edison, and you love me, what does that say about YOU?
AMY: (confused) I honestly don’t know.
SHELDON: Ok, well I have to Google some stuff about Mrs. Edison, I’ll be right back.
SHELDON: If we’re going to call Tesla crazy for loving something small and unappealing we might as well put Penny in a cell right now.
Again, a little disheartening to see how quickly the show can lose the funny, but hopefully this is just an outlier, and they will come back stronger in the coming weeks going into the Winter Finale. I had kind of hoped to see the military story come back into play with the idea that Colonel Williams might still end up being Howard’s father, but the longer he keeps making appearances without that happening, the less likely a scenario that seems. And I don’t really like that Amy’s biggest scenes lately have only been with Sheldon, while I do really like their relationship, she has such great comedic timing and chemistry with the rest of the cast that they really need to get her out there with the other characters more, because with Sheldon she always has to play the straight woman, but with the other characters (especially Penny), she gets to be the weird one. Anyways, here’s hoping the next episode will prove more entertaining, see you back here then!
