The Big Bang Theory: “The Positive Negative Reaction” Review

There’s going to be another baby in the Wolowitz house.

Last week’s Big Bang Theory wasn’t notable for much, but it did at least introduce a new wrinkle into the show in the form of Bernadette’s pregnancy. “The Positive Negative Reaction” took that ball and ran with it, resulting in a much more cohesive, satisfying and Valentine’s day-worthy episode than “The Valentino Submergence.”

The baby twist is important for two reasons. First, it gives the show an overarching conflict to focus on now that Sheldon and Amy’s relationship drama has come to an end. Second, it allows the writers to refocus on Howard and Bernadette’s relationship. As the first couple to settle down and get married, they’ve pretty well fallen into a rut in the past few seasons. Howard is the immature husband, Bernie the nagging wife, and too rarely has the show deviated from that formula. Between this development and Raj’s recent romantic woes, there’s a sense that the other half of the Big Bang Theory crew are finally getting the attention they deserve this season.

If this episode accomplished anything, it was in reminding us why the Howard/Bernie romance is so endearing in the first place. There was a genuine sense of rapport between Simon Helberg and Melissa Rauch this week as their characters experienced the joy of being expectant parents followed by the inevitable sense of panic and dread that comes next. Howard’s reaction to the news was the first in several sweet moments between the two. We also saw the beginnings form of what should be a solid character arc for Howard. After years of being the spoiled child of his household, he’s trying to step up and be a responsible adult. Not that he has any clear idea of how to do that, but it’s the thought that counts. This episode also mined a lot of humor out of Howard’s man-child status. Bernie’s crack about already buying children’s clothing for one person in the house was especially funny.

The guys celebrate Howard’s big news.

I appreciated that the writers didn’t overdo the conflict this week or try to play up Howard’s baby worries to an excessive degree. It’s easy to picture Howard experiencing an emotional meltdown at the thought of fatherhood and fighting with Bernie. But even in their weaker moments, neither Wolowitz treated this development as anything other than a positive development in their lives. The tone was joyful, not somber.

This episode focused a great deal of attention on how the rest of the gang reacted to this big news. It wasn’t a very ambitious approach, as the whole thing really boiled down to two groups of characters sitting around a table and talking. But the banter was amusing enough that this didn’t matter much. Amy was frequently the highlight of the evening with the way she was so keen to let everyone know that she understands how sex works now. Sheldon was pretty entertaining as well. As you’d expect, he managed to make the news all about him and how the arrival of a baby would upset his carefully controlled world. There’s a sense that maybe Sheldon was a stand-in for the audience and the general fear about babies marking the death knell for long-running sitcoms. Hopefully he wasn’t predicting the future.

If “The Positive Negative Reaction” had a flaw, it’s that the conflict wasn’t quite enough to fill an entire half-hour. It could have used a subplot of some sort. And no, Sheldon getting drunk didn’t really count, even if it was pretty amusing. By the time that extended karaoke sequence rolled around, there was a sense that the characters were just killing time until the end. Bad karaoke is all well and good, but the joke was played out by the time Howard sang his final number and fled from Sheldon’s drunken wrath.