This week’s episode of the ‘The Big Bang Theory’ felt a little bit like a bridge episode, but I think I was ok with it because, for the most part, we got some solid moments and some seasonal plot advancements that were needed. As always I wish they had more scenes with the whole cast together, as that is when they really shine, but I did enjoy the usage of Amy this episode more than last week, and it is nice seeing Bernadette get back into the swing of things outside of her bedroom, where she was stuck on bedrest for far too long earlier this season.
The episode opens with Sheldon and Amy announcing their wedding date, May 12, which Penny points out is rather close (only 2 months away), and Amy reminds her it took this long to set a date and not to rock the boat. Still, Amy knows her friend has a point, and talks with Sheldon about needing a venue, with both deciding to try for the Athenaeum Club near Sheldon’s work as Amy likes it and as Sheldon keeps reminding her, Einstein was once a member. However, Sheldon warns it is very exclusive as Leonard had been trying to get Sheldon and him in for years with no luck.
Oddly, Amy finds no problem getting them a tour and the Club seems very welcoming to the couple, and that is how they discover Leonard and Penny having lunch there, and Sheldon learns Leonard lied to him to keep him out of the club, and Penny learns Leonard also lied to her (by also telling her the club was very exclusive), though she is impressed with his moxie.
Sheldon is hurt about Leonard and annoyed that Barry Kripke is also a member of the club but they decide to move forward with their wedding plans nonetheless. Sadly, when Amy calls they learn the venue is already booked, as Kripke is having his birthday 
party there on May 12 and Sheldon and Amy cannot talk him out of it. To make up for his lie, Leonard tries to talk Kripke into helping Sheldon but on the condition that Leonard has to clean out radioactive waste containers for the scientist first.
Sheldon finds out and they decide to outwit Kripke together, but then they both end up cleaning out the containers. Finally, Kripke relents, with conditions, which Amy is not happy about as they include being invited to the wedding, bringing a date that Sheldon and Amy may have to pay by the hour, and allowing Kripke to sing “Volare” at the reception. While talking, the idea of having the wedding at the Planetarium comes up, which Amy and Sheldon like, so they decide instead to look into that option.
Meanwhile, at the Wolowitz home, Bernadette and Howard are trying to decide if either of them wants to stay home with the kids while the other goes back to work. At first, they both think they might want to stay home, with Howard insulted that Bernadette does not think he is the right choice, and trying his hardest to prove her wrong, and eventually getting so exhausted his duties fall back on Raj, who does not understand the myriad colors of the baby’s poop as it only drinks milk. Bernadette visits work with Penny to check in before she officially goes back and in between getting coffee and cookies from her assistant and answering a “quick email” from a colleague realizes how much she loves her work. In the end, both parents realize they want to go back to work, and neither really wants to stay home, but they still have the two kids to consider. The answer to their problem has not yet been found, but maybe next week…
QUOTES OF THE NIGHT:
RAJ: (after speaking to Howard and Bernadette on video chat) Seeing them all together like that has got my biological clock ticking like crazy.
PENNY: I don’t think men have…
RAJ: I DO.
RAJ: (on the idea of Howard staying home with the kids instead of going back to work) It’d be hard for me to buck traditional gender roles like that.
HOWARD: Didn’t you see Taylor Swift TWICE last month?
RAJ: Yeah- because she’s hot. Not because she sings my truth…
AMY: Maybe Barry will change his mind.
SHELDON: I doubt it, I said some pretty unprofessional things about his work. I may have even used the “s” word.
AMY: SUB-PAR?!?
SHELDON: I’m not proud of it Amy! But I have a temper!
Definitely not the best episode of the season, but I did find myself laughing a few times, which is always a good sign. I love when Amy sees a Sheldon tantrum coming and starts mumbling to herself under her breath like at the Athenaeum Club, and Kripke is always a welcome addition (as I’ve said before), though I’m sad we won’t be seeing his rendition of “Volare.” I do hope they find something for Penny and Leonard to do soon (besides having marital problems, which has been done way too many times) as they seem to be becoming the side characters in every storyline, and once they were the stars of the show. Ah well, see you back here for the next episode!
