*Spoiler warning for The Big Bang Theory season 12, episode 19.
Regina King as HR director Janine Davis on The Big Bang Theory. Photo courtesy of CBS, screenshot by Linda Maleh.
With only a few episodes left to the final season of The Big Bang Theory, the show is really digging into the storyline of Sheldon and Amy being up for a Nobel prize. This makes sense since it’s the thing Sheldon’s been working towards from episode 1. This episode, however, is not so much about the pressure on Sheldon to win a Nobel prize, but on Amy.
Last episode when Amy had her meltdown at the reception where they were supposed to be talking themselves up to some Nobel laureates, Amy did real damage to their chances. As a result, Amy and Sheldon both get called in to human resources this episode, to discuss the incident. Up in the line of celebrity guest stars for the show’s final season, Oscar-winner Regina King plays the calming HR director, Janine Davis. While President Siebert mostly just flips out on Sheldon and Amy for blowing their chances at a Nobel prize, and tells them to lie low for a while, Ms. Davis points out to Amy how big of a deal it would be if she won, since she would be only the fourth woman in history to win a Nobel in physics.
Ms. Davis’ words stick with Amy, and she’s in a panic the whole rest of the episode, saying she feels like she’s letting all women down. Sheldon, being the typical male, can’t internalize why this is such a big deal to Amy, and doesn’t know how to help her. To calm Sheldon and Amy down, Leonard and Penny suggest a session in a sensory deprivation talk. This works very well for Sheldon, and not at all for Amy, who emerges from the tank more stressed out than ever.
After talking with Leonard and Penny, Sheldon finally realizes what he can do to help, and he sits with Amy, holding her and singing “Soft Kitty” (awww). Amy finally goes back to Ms. Davis and says she took her words to heart, but can’t sit on the sidelines, and wants to fight for this honor. Ms. Davis agrees, and the two sit down to have a drink.
While Sheldon and Amy deal with the pressure of their Nobel prize, Howard gets a scooter since it reminds him of his single days. He tries to hide it from Bernadette, but while sharing the scooter with Raj, he gets busted. Bernadette freaks out, since she’s worried about her husband dying in a fiery wreck. She also reminds him that his single days were not so glorious since he used to live with his mother. She convinces Howard to sell the scooter to Bert, who immediately gets into an accident, but meets a cute ER nurse as a result. After the big storyline with Sheldon and Amy, this one felt a little lackluster.
