Welcome back, friends! Once again, my apologies for the delay on these last two reviews - and thanks for your patience. I've just returned home from a wonderful cruise vacation. I had sporadic internet throughout the week and a half, so I was able to see some of the many ShAmy wedding tweets on my Twitter timeline - and even got a message from a friend who said she couldn't wait for me to watch it. We're almost there - but first, let's break down the second last episode of the season that aired on May 3rd.
We begin with Sheldon angrily on the phone, with who turns out to be his mother. She wants her boy to invite his brother, Georgie, to the wedding.
Amy's confused why he didn't in the first place. Sheldon brings up the years of torment he faced in his childhood at the hands of Georgie, and says he's not deserving of a slice of his Millennium Falcon cake. Amy shoots him a look.
OK. Just a plain wedding cake. And exhale.
Amy tries to convince Sheldon to give his brother a chance, but he says he won't. Mary Cooper's face then burns through his soul and he blurts out that he'll have to because she said so. I'm not sure why the gang hasn't bought Mary her own place in the apartment complex yet, given she has so much power over Sheldon. Amy might not have to follow a bathroom schedule if she were around!
At Bernadette and Howard's, the ladies are putting together wedding welcome bags. Inside are some cute items, like chocolate and a map of the venue. There's also things like Purell and the number for Poison Control.
Any guesses who was responsible for what?
Amy shares that Sheldon won't invite his brother, and that in turn his mother won't be coming. Penny and Bernadette are living for this drama. Howard walks down the stairs asking what the symptoms Pink Eye are. Bernie tells him, and he reveals that both kids have it.
DANG. Everyone goes into full panic mode, Penny barricading the stairs so Howard can't get close to Amy. Talk about bad timing for this to have happened! The girls tell Howard to quarantine himself and take a shower. Penny throws in that he should burn all of his clothes while he's at it.
No harm in trying!
At Penny and Leonard's apartment, Raj and Leonard are playing video games when Raj says he wants to find a date for the wedding. Apparently Stuart and Sheldon's aunt might be shackin' up. That's all we need to know. Before the conversation can go further Sheldon barges in and tells the guys that his brother is avoiding him.
He even created a customized voicemail for Sheldon. Raj mentions that he has a brother he didn't get along with growing up - especially because he let his pet mongoose run out of the house.
How does one recover from losing such a cherished animal?
Leonard isn't sure what else Sheldon's mother wants him to do - he's reached out, after all. It's not like he would actually fly to Texas or anything. That'd be plain silly!
We out here!
Back at Bernie and Howard's, Raj says he has a coffee date set up that could lead to him having a wedding date! Bernie asks if he thinks it's too sudden to invite a girl to a wedding after one date. Raj wishes there was a service you could pay for to have someone attend events for you... and that could lead to sex. Bernie points out that escort services do exist. Raj doesn't want to think of it as that. Hey - maybe Esther Rosenblatt from season two could help Raj out!
Memories Bernie should never find out about. Howard yells downstairs that Raj shouldn't have borrowed his VR goggles the other day...
This isn't looking good! Literally. Who knows if he can even see out of that swollen mess.
The guys make it to Georgie's workplace in Texas.
Georgie made something of himself, after all! He has a chain of stores by this title. Sheldon's quick to point out that he's not in fact a doctor, despite the name of his brand. Once they walk inside Leonard asks if they can see Georgie, and a woman replies that she'll ask if the doctor is in. We can practically see the steam coming out of Sheldon's ears. Anyone else shaking in their cowboy boots?
Wow, Georgie has glowed up! Oh, my bad - he prefers to be called George now. But Sheldon doesn't like that, so George it is! He wants to know why Georgie isn't returning his calls. Despite his brilliance, he lacks understanding of... basic human interaction. Georgie says that after 10 years of not speaking, he's upset that Sheldon thinks he can walk in and just ask for something. After a back and forth on whether Sheldon understands sarcasm (spoiler: he doesn't), he falls for Georgie's sarcastic trap of giving him whatever he wishes for. We need Mary Cooper up in here!
In Pasadena, Penny gets a video call from Bernadette.
The Wolowitz home has been completely infected with Pink Eye! Apparently she couldn't keep her hands off of Howard, despite his face looking like it had just been run over by a car. Bernie wanted to make sure that Penny and Amy didn't catch the infection. Penny didn't!
An angry bride-to-be did, though. A week before her wedding! I don't think any makeup can fix that! Bernadette suggests wearing a veil.
Amy finds it anything but amusing. She's mostly worried that Sheldon won't come back from Texas if he discovers that his fiancé has Pink Eye. Bernadette says they should tell him the theme of the wedding is The Walking Dead, and this is their best zombie look. I'm actually digging that idea. Anyone else want to see zombie themed ShAmy nuptials? Amy storms out, and Penny walks over to the wedding welcome bags on the counter.
She's pouring out that Purell like it's her job! Well, her job to ensure she looks good in all of the wedding photos.
In Texas, Sheldon and George are arguing in his office. George tells Sheldon that if he wants him at the wedding, all he has to do is ask nicely. Sheldon takes a deep breath and does just that.
Turns out he'd rather eat a pregnant wildcat and poop out a litter of kittens. That's one visual I would've been just fine never seeing. After he realizes the conversation is going nowhere, Leonard ushers Sheldon out.
At their hotel, Sheldon's on the phone with his mother who says she refuses to get in the middle of their argument. Sheldon's lost all hope, saying he's put up with his brother's antics his entire life - including one year having his scientist Halloween costume thrown away and being forced to go as a ghost. Poor man scared himself to death all night.
Sorry. Serious moment. Leonard offers to try and reason with George one last time. What a pal. Let's cross our fingers!
At the Wolowitz Contamination Centre, Bernie asks Raj how his date went.
I wonder what it was like to be the makeup artist for this episode. He or she probably saw more Pink Eye up close than a doctor does.
Raj's eye dripped in his date's latte.
Anyone else's eye stinging a little right now? At this point I wouldn't be surprised if we catch it, too.
Amy's salty that she's sick the week before her wedding, and everyone takes a moment to yell at Penny for being healthy. For now. If I were her i'd be far, far away from Pink Eye Ground Zero!
At the Doctor (Tire)'s office, Leonard walks in and overhears George successfully convincing someone to buy expensive tires. He's good at what he does! The two discuss the years of torment the brothers put each other through, including the Halloween costume incident. George says he tried to save Sheldon from ridicule for dressing up as a "girl" scientist. Leonard points out that it was Madame Curie.
His bad, he didn't know she was a Madame. And the time he sat on Sheldon's head when he tried to watch Star Trek - which Leonard admits was funny, too. George says after doing positive things for his brother for years, like defending him from bullies, he's yet to get a 'thank you'. Leonard understands, as he's been picking the red balloons out of Sheldon's Lucky Charms for a long while (among other things) and has never heard those words.
George reveals that all of the extra money the family had growing up went to pay for Sheldon's college tuition, meaning he had to work his tush off to start the Doctor Tire franchise. He also says that despite his hard work, Mary Cooper is most proud of Sheldon. Leonard says his mother is most proud of Sheldon, too. George is softening up to Leonard and offers him a beer.
Except he can't open the twist cap. Cheers to friendship!
The infected gang (plus Penny) are at the children's doctors office waiting to hear whether the Pink Eye is viral or bacterial.
Penny is finding preschool level ways to have fun as she passes the time. Howard suggests Amy wear a welder's mask to her wedding. Raj chimes in that it could be the "something borrowed". Bernie pops her head around the corner of the door to reveal that the infection is bacterial, and everyone lets out a cheer! They then proceed to wash their hands - but Amy's still salty that Penny didn't catch it, so holds her back. Penny's in for it.
At the hotel, Sheldon decides to phone up room service and correct typos on their menu. The conversation lasts approximately one minute, until he's hung up on. Leonard and George walk in, and the brothers finally talk about how they really feel. George tells Sheldon that after their dad died their mother wasn't well and George had to step up and care for the family - but nobody told Sheldon to protect him.
Not even George, because he's Sheldon's big brother. Sheldon genuinely apologizes to George, and says it would mean a lot to him to have him at the wedding. George says he wouldn't miss it.
Someone cutting onions?
Later, Sheldon video calls Amy to share that he and George made up.
Amy doesn't want to show Sheldon her eye. He asks if it has to do with her feeling bad about herself because of how women are portrayed in magazines. Yup, that's the reason!
Amy looks at how long she'll have to take her eye drops for and then says Sheldon should spend 2-3 more fun days in Texas now that he and George are on good terms. Lucky Leonard is in for an exciting trip to the railroad museum! He didn't choo-choose this life, it chose him.
Finally, in line at the pharmacy, the lady in front of Raj tells him to stand back as she has none other than Pink Eye. Raj is overjoyed that they share a common illness!
He then invites her to the wedding. Well, if they hit it off, that's one heck of a first meeting story!
Prior to this episode we had only seen Georgie through Young Sheldon. I love that the writers are tying together some loose ends of Sheldon's past prior to one of the biggest moments of his life. I also enjoy that George and Leonard bonded over the stress they've been put under due to Sheldon - there's nobody the two can relate more to than each other. I hope they remain close.
Down below, let me know if you thought Sheldon and George would be able to make amends, and if you're as impressed as I am by George's work ethic and the business he's created!
Time to get those wedding bells a-chimin'! My review of the season finale of The Big Bang Theory is now live, too! Click here to jump into wedded bliss - this is one review you won't want to miss.
