“No money, no helium.”
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
One of the more significant running storylines from The Big Bang Theory’s eighth season involved Leonard and Sheldon collaborating on a breakthrough physics paper. As we learned in tonight’s episode, the duo still have a long, uphill battle ahead of them before achieving true scientific acclaim. This episode offered a welcome change of pace in terms of shifting away from the relationship drama that’s dominated the season so far and emphasizing the shenanigans at Caltech. At the same time, it still offered a little progress on the Sheldon/Amy front as the latter embraced her new life without the former.
This week’s crisis arose after Sheldon discovered that a group of Icelandic scientists were poised to test the Hofstadter/Cooper hypothesis before our heroes and steal their thunder. Why Leonard and Sheldon waited this long before taking the next step is a mystery. But in any event, this forced the two to resort to desperate measures in order to procure the liquid helium needed for their experiment.
That’s where this week’s big guest star came in. Michael Rapaport (Boston Public, Justified, Public Morals) stopped by to play a shady helium dealer. Rapaport was an inspired choice for the role. He has a vague tough guy aura about him, but also enough goofy charm to fit into the squeaky clean world of The Big Bang Theory. It was great to see this episode make such strong use of Rapaport. Rather than having a quick “in and out” role, his character played a fairly important part in the episode. The dynamic between Leonard and Sheldon and their new helium dealer friend was a lot of fun to watch. Each side was pretty wary of the other, escalating what should have been a quick, simple transaction into one that could easily have gone bad for all involved.
The writers got a lot of mileage out of the semantic debates that sprung up as the trio argued over terms like “stalemate” and “Mexican standoff.” The real highlight of this encounter came when Sheldon explained how their encounter could be turned into a Mexican standoff, only to inadvertently cause one in the process. By the end, I was sure Rapaport’s character was going to turn out to be an undercover FBI agent or something, but eventually the deal was closed as the guys got their helium.
Whoever wins, we lose.
The real conflict, as it turned out, came as Leonard and Sheldon were forced to make a hard decision about their research. Was it ethical to rely on ill-gotten goods to further their research, even if the alternative was watching another group of scientists steamroll right over them? An interesting dilemma, and I was a little disappointed that the mere thought of being thrown in jail was enough to make them turn tail and run. Worse, how much of a pushover do you have to be to let your vaguely shady helium dealer not only keep your original payment, but charge you all over again to return the goods?
The episode would have ended on a sour note if this were the conclusion of Leonard and Sheldon’s story. Luckily, Barry Kripke of all people came to the rescue. This is the second week in a row that Barry put in an appearance. This time he was back to his old habits – taunting Leonard and Sheldon and holding a precious commodity out of their reach. Barry can be a hard character to tolerate in large doses, but he worked well enough in the context of this episode. The important thing is that he spurred Leonard and Sheldon back into action and ensured a happier ending to their story. It should be interesting to see what the next step for these two partners-in-crime is.
Elsewhere, this week’s subplot united the rest of the gang (even Stuart) as they all discovered the joys of a Tinder-like dating app. The show is a little behind the times here, as it’s a little strange to see a group of reasonably hip 30-somethings marveling at a dating app in late 2015. This subplot was a little bland when it came to comedy. Having the gang gather round to make fun of lonely losers on the Internet is more sad than amusing. But it did build to a nice moment as Amy asserted herself and revealed that she had taken it upon herself to start dating. The writers seem intent on using this breakup to help Amy escape her perpetual Charlie Brown-like existence, and it’s already paying off.
The Big Bang Theory found success this week in veering a little away from the usual relationship drama and renewing focus on Sheldon and Leonard’s scientific careers. Their black market dealing proved to be a lot of fun, especially thanks to guest star Michael Rapaport. And while the subplot was generally disappointing, it did offer some more welcome growth for Amy as she continued to come out of her shell.
