The Big Bang Theory - The Donation Oscillation - Review

It is not news to any of us that Bernadette would rather die than give in. When Howard assumes she would not like to experience weightlessness she is insulted. How dare he assume that he knows what she likes?! To prove him wrong she joins him, Raj and Anu on a trip to the Vomit Comet. It is an experience on a plane that lets you feel weightlessness. For the majority of the episode, Bernadette keeps pretending to love activities that get her adrenaline up high. At least until she reads the waiver that they are required to sign prior to the adventure. The moment she reads the words “injury” and “death” she decides that she cannot do this, despite knowing this activity is safer than riding a car. Instead of admitting that she is scared she uses the excuse of being a parent: “We have kids, and it's not smart to put us both in danger.” Howard agrees. However, he has already experienced weightlessness, he is an astronaut after all. Generous as he is, he yields Bernie precedence this time around. He passes on the activity so Bernie can float around in zero-gravity. Even now she denies being afraid. Stubbornly, she joins Raj and Anu in the zero-gravity room. She absolutely hates it but it’s so worth it. Anything to prove a point to Howard.

While Bernadette is trying to not vomit while floating around in microgravity, Penny regrets giving Leonard the go-ahead on being the sperm donor for her ex-boyfriend's baby. She understands that Leonard wants to pass on his genetic material but she simply does not want him to do it right now. Not like that. Not with her ex-boyfriend. In order to make sure the sperm sample is as "good" as it possibly can be, Leonard is not supposed to have sex for five days. Usually, this would not be particularly hard but Penny makes it almost impossible for him to abstain this long. She wants to seduce him so his sperm is not at its top quality on the day of the donation which would make it a bit less likely that an egg gets fertilized. Leonard escapes to Sheldon and Amy’s place to get away from his wife. It is Amy who finally made him see how problematic it would be if he were to father this child. Because he would not actually be the father. He would be completely out of the picture. Leonard realizes that he has not thought this through.

Leonard: I-I would be heartbroken if I had a kid out there and I wasn't his dad.
Penny: I know you would.

In this episode, Penny’s dad Wyatt (Keith Carradine) returned and seems rather unhappy about the fact that Penny won’t be gifting him with grandchildren. Eventually though, he accepts her decision not to want kids. If Penny’s dad can understand this I really don’t see why a big part of Western Society can’t.

What are your thoughts on the episode? Let us know in the comments!