It may be fate or coincidence, but for whatever reason whenever I fill in for Ben L. on his task to review TBBT it’s always a standout episode; granted, last season I only did it once for the May 4th Star Wars / Professor Proton episode and on this week’s episode, but still, it’s gotta be surprising that I get to review some of the greatest TBBT episodes while he is gone.
More surprisingly considering the start of season 8 was very lacking and very slow; the Monday run of TBBT this season was really disappointing and underwhelming considering how regularly great season 7 was, but last week when it moved back to Thursdays it felt right and it was pretty funny, and this episode was great on a whole other level, so I’m suspecting the show is back to its groove.
So is there something that I didn’t like about the episode? Some minor issues: the fat mama jokes at the beginning are beyond tired, and while there was this great reference of season 3 with Howard’s second cousin Jennie back into the picture it seemed like wasted potential, going mostly for punchlines that were hit or misses while this could have been a perfect setup opportunity for future episodes. But those are minor complaints an episode that was essentially great.
The whole Prom Do-Over idea was something that I liked from the very beginning; the idea of reliving something you never had the chance to fully enjoy in the first place is an open field of opportunities for a comedy series: things can wrong, well, they can get emotional and it can showcase a lot of heart. The episode did all that altogether, which makes is even more memorable; the balance between the storylines during the episode was just outstanding.
Penny wasn’t sold at first on the idea of a Prom Do-Over, but doing it with Leonard just feels right and she gets to relax and just enjoy his fiancée’s company, and Leonard is just as happy - if not more-. To see them being so happy just by dancing with each other is just heartwarming, and it brings this couple the sweetness it has been on needing for a while now.
So, what’s everyone else up to? Howard thinks Stuart is going to bring his mother as a date, but surprisingly he brings Howard’s second cousin Jennie who he had sex with. This brings up a lot of great punchlines and many laughs, but just as I said above I felt that this was a missed opportunity as I don’t get the feel we’ll see more of Jennie in the future as the writers already fired as many punchlines as they possibly could. Also I felt bad for Bernadette having to put up with a second not so great prom.
So I saved the best for last: Sheldon and Amy.
As Sheldon has to go to prom with Amy he starts to feel too much pressure from Penny and Leonard who constantly kid him about having sex and losing his virginity on prom night; it’s just something Sheldon is not ready to handle as much as he tries to. And the most surprising part is that he truly puts an effort to just go with it, but he can’t, and as such when he sees Amy all dressed up and Leonard and Penny engage on the innuendo he just can’t take it and he suffers from a panic attack.
Amy goes to check him out to see if he’s ok and at first she is understanding, but as minutes go by she doesn’t want to miss another prom and she starts walking away; then Sheldon comes out and says “I really did think you looked pretty”. At that moment I said on my mind “this is the headline for this review”, but I hadn’t taken to account what would happen next.
Sheldon has been more open about his insecurities ever since he came back from his train trip; at first it wasn’t really noticeable because the season played out with too much filler in the middle, but he admitted he failed on his train ride, he tried hard to withstand the simulation of the coal mines trying to overcome his failure and now he finally let himself admit how terrifying it is for him to be facing a serious relationship and all the pressure that comes from it.
Amy tells him to relax that they don’t have to hook up because it’s prom. Sheldon asks if she hoped they would and she delivers a killer line: “I’m always hoping”. Amy’s desire to engage with Sheldon in a more intimate way is always a bit heartbreaking because we don’t know how much does she have to wait, but this episode makes easier to let this one slide on Sheldon.
The fact that Sheldon finally could recognize that loves Amy is another milestone in his crusade of ever becoming a better partner for her; everyone knows Sheldon is different, he has very stiff walls of obnoxiousness and selfishness that sometimes makes even the viewers furious, but there is something human about him deep down, and when the show reaches Sheldon’s humanity through these moments of vulnerability is when the show really shines.
Everything works out so well and so perfectly brilliant during the episode that even those minor flaws I commented on the beginning doesn’t bother me at all. It’s prom night, things go wrong, funny things happen, things get emotional and there’s a lot of heart. Can we ask more for this night?
Grade: A
Stray Observations:
-Is it me or is it creepy when Sheldon says ‘booty’?
-Leonard: “Even if it’s a fake prom it’d be a dream to go with someone as beautiful as you.”
Penny: “Ugh, thanks a lot.”
Leonard: “What?”
Penny: “Now I can’t blow this thing up without being bitch.”
Raj (clapping): “That sounds like a yeeeees!”
-I love how Bernadette’s voice goes pitch high when she says: “Isn’t this exciting?!” And the howling that followed was a great detail.
-Howard stating he didn’t take his mom to prom: “She was a chaperone!”
Bernadette: “I saw pictures of you dancing together.”
Howard: “What was I going to do?! They were playing our song!”
-Sheldon knocks more than usual on Penny’s door to save up time in case he is in a hurry some other time.
-Sheldon after explaining alien sex to Penny: “I’m not an expert on facial cues, but I can tell you’re a little turned on.”
-Raj on why he told Emily about Jennie: ”It was our first date, there was an awkward silence, what I was supposed to say?”
-Making woopy should catch on from now on. At least when Jim Parsons says it, it just lands.
-Best Prom photos: a tie between Raj saying “say cousin!” followed by Howard storming off and Stuart leaving Jennie behind to go back with Howard’s mom.
