'The Big Bang Theory' Recap: Sheldon Experiments With the Theory of No Pain, No Gain
Warning: This recap contains storyline and character spoilers for the “The Anxiety Optimization” episode of The Big Bang Theory.
It was game night on The Big Bang Theory: to poke fun at his friend Raj’s obsession with his dog, Cinnamon, Howard created “Emily or Cinnamon,” in which the rest of the group was challenged to guess if certain Raj quotes had been uttered to his girlfriend or his fuzzy puppy.
And with Sheldon feeling all kinds of frustrated that he hasn’t been able to forge a breakthrough in his research since switching his focus to dark matter, he asked his pals and girlfriend Amy to engage in whatever activities might help juice up his stress levels, thinking that a state of anxiety is required for him to get the old noggin working at capacity.
Guess which game was more fun than the other?
OK, “Emily or Cinnamon,” but only because what started out as fun with Sheldon — taste of his own medicine, and all that — turned self-destructive, as the anxiety amp-up worked, which made him super productive, but also sleepless and on the brink of a nervous breakdown. It was nothing a quick duet of “Soft Kitty” by Leonard and Penny couldn’t cure, with the couple watching their friend finally fall fast asleep and then bonding over their shared desire to cover his face with a pillow.
Back to the Raj game, Howard and Leonard took special delight in sharing with everyone the creepy things Raj has said to Cinnamon. “Check it out, I got us matching sweaters,” Raj utters to one of his beloveds. Leonard knew which one right away. “We all got the Christmas card… Cinnamon.”
Photos: What a Day in the Life of Mayim Bialik Looks Like
"You know, a man can care deeply about a woman and a pet. It’s not that strange," Raj says in defense.
Leonard: “Oh, Emily! I heard him say that to Emily.”
But by the end of the episode, when you’re feeling pretty sympathetic to the verbal bruising Raj has taken from his friends, he shares a kiss with Emily.
"Why is there dog hair in your mouth?" she asks.
Big Bang Bits:
* The psychological experiment Sheldon mentions, in which productivity increases when anxiety levels rise? Real thing: the Yerkes-Dodson Law.
* Penny and Leonard lured an intellectually exhausted Sheldon to his bedroom for a much-needed nap by telling him the “President of Science” was waiting for him there.
* Penny, on a downward spiraling Sheldon: “I love him, but if he’s broken, let’s not get a new one.”
* The quotes (and answers) posed in “Emily or Cinnamon”: “I want you to know, the bed feels so lonely when you’re not in it” (said to Cinnamon); “You’re so lucky… you have the shiniest hair” (Leonard points out it’s tough to answer, because he brushes both of them); “It’s just so perfect that we’re both Libras” (Cinnamon); and “How can such a little girl eat such a big steak?” (no answer, but we’re guessing Cinnamon).
* Sheldon’s special annoying voice mash-up, to keep him in the anxiety “sweet spot”: the Joker’s laugh, Godzilla’s roar, and Darth Vader’s breathing. “I tried including Taylor Swift in the mix… turns out, I love her.” When a crabby Leonard tells him to turn the noise down, so he can sleep, Sheldon concludes, “Taylor was right. Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.”
* TMI: Raj revealed Cinnamon loves him so much she drinks his bath water, and the only thing that made it less nausea inducing is the way Kunal Nayyar says “bahth water.”
* Sheldon + Red Bull = “He chased a squirrel around the quad for a while, and then he threw up in my car,” Leonard says.
* Sheldon to Leonard, about Penny exercising: “She’s trying much harder to stay attractive in this relationship than you are.” Leonard: (Pushes giant frosted cinnamon roll away).
* The anxiety-testing cap Sheldon wore was everything — big props to the wardrobe crew member who fashioned it.
