S04.E18: The Wild and Woolly World of Nonlinear Dynamics

[HyeChaps]

They haven’t shown Missy hanging out with other girls. At that age, girlfriends are essential 

[hoodooznoodooz]

On 5/15/2021 at 11:18 PM, WinnieWinkle said:

Mary was wrong to go off at Missy as if the only issue of the evening was her tearing something that belonged to Sheldon, however as the mother of a former drama queen there is no way I would have let my daughter hold the whole family hostage to her crisis.  Not blaming Mary entirely here, she walked in on things and didn't bother to find out what was going on before she jumped on Missy.  IMO anyway Meemaw and George should never had indulged Missy the way they did.  My daughter for one thing absolutely would not have been allowed to play the same damn song at full blast over and over and over!  In her case at that age it would have been the Spice Girls.  No.  Just no.

I agree with you, but I feel as if Missy doesn’t pull drama queen stuff very often. She’s generally very low maintenance and usually seems to accept that her mom indulges Sheldon often.

[Chit Chat]

On 5/17/2021 at 12:30 PM, HyeChaps said:

They haven’t shown Missy hanging out with other girls. At that age, girlfriends are essential 

Seems like they made reference to her being popular (I think that's when Brenda took an interest in her popularity), so I've assume she's one of the "cool girls" at school.  I guess they don't have enough time in order to show us a day in the life of Missy!  There are quite a few characters on this show, so squeezing them all in is a tall order!  

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 5/15/2021 at 11:18 PM, WinnieWinkle said:

Mary was wrong to go off at Missy as if the only issue of the evening was her tearing something that belonged to Sheldon, however as the mother of a former drama queen there is no way I would have let my daughter hold the whole family hostage to her crisis.  Not blaming Mary entirely here, she walked in on things and didn't bother to find out what was going on before she jumped on Missy.  IMO anyway Meemaw and George should never had indulged Missy the way they did.  My daughter for one thing absolutely would not have been allowed to play the same damn song at full blast over and over and over!  In her case at that age it would have been the Spice Girls.  No.  Just no.

Maybe Missy should have been told to turn the tape recorder down, but in my opinion,  it was perfectly reasonable for Missy to want to be left alone for a few hours.  Yeah, it's Sheldon's room, too, but a more typical sibling would have understood and left her alone for a while.

[shapeshifter]

On 5/17/2021 at 11:03 AM, Ziggy said:

Somehow, I also have complete faith here.  They've been little by little planting seeds all season.  Still, this episode kind of hit me.  I thought, wow, they're really going to do it.

I’m content to live in the land of at least semi-denial where characters (and people) are “innocent” until seen on screen in the act, similar to how @Caoimhe chooses to experience shows:

On 5/17/2021 at 10:04 AM, Caoimhe said:

Lucky for me local TV was a year behind on HIMYM where I was living so I knew before the last season arrived that they'd (IMO) ruined it.  For me the show ended a year early! 

I will continue to record YS and read up on episodes before deciding if I want to watch them or not, there are sure to be some good episodes that deal with topics other than George's infidelity and death.

—la la laaa la laa, I’m still open to Sheldon having gotten it wrong, especially since my own adult children have shared how they were (erroneously) sure I was secretly dating after my divorce 30 years ago. Even if George is shown on screen “having relations” with “another woman,” since it’s TV and not a real life Nanny Cam, in my mind there’s always room for a retcon à la JR’s “it was all a dream.”

[Sarah 103]

On 5/17/2021 at 1:30 PM, HyeChaps said:

They haven’t shown Missy hanging out with other girls. At that age, girlfriends are essential 

My guess is that it was realted to COVID restrictions. They probably wanted to minimize the number of people on set, especially young actors that would need to spend time in school. We have heard about Missy's friends and a bit about what goes on in school, so she has them, we just haven't seen them yet. 

On 5/18/2021 at 9:06 PM, ChitChat said:

Seems like they made reference to her being popular (I think that's when Brenda took an interest in her popularity), so I've assume she's one of the "cool girls" at school.  I guess they don't have enough time in order to show us a day in the life of Missy!  There are quite a few characters on this show, so squeezing them all in is a tall order!  

Yes! I would love to see scenes of Missy at school interacting with her classmates, the way we saw Georgie at school in earlier seasons. Maybe next year that will happen. I'm still holding out for an episode that Missy narrates and an episode that Georgie narrates. 

[chediavolo]

On 5/13/2021 at 10:03 PM, Nordly Beaumont said:

Exactly what I said, out loud to no one!

I shared a room with my sister.  If I came home and heard "Can't Live" by Harry Nilsson playing, I knew it was time to go somewhere, anywhere, else for a several hours!

I thought it was sweet the way George tried, in a dad sort of way, to talk to Missy. And I liked that he turned the song back on before he left her room.

Why IS Missy sharing a room with Sheldon?! The boys should be together. It was ok when they were very young, but what parents do this at their age?! It’s kind of gross. 

Edited May 26, 2021 by chediavolo
Why the hell do the words I type keep getting changed?

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, chediavolo said:

Why IS Missy sharing a room with Sheldon?! The boys should be together. It was ok when target were very young, but what parents do this at their age?! It’s kind of gross. 

I'm surprised this question didn't come up sooner for this episode.
At least the twins are still just twelve-year-olds, right? So maybe we should fanwank that their parents are aware that something needs to change too and just haven't done it yet. 
I'm guessing that the bedroom situation will have changed when the show comes back next season.
Maybe Covid Chaos had something to do with them not creating new sets this season?

 

[anna0852]

Putting Georgie and Sheldon in the same room might lead to homicide. 

[WinnieWinkle]

My youngest brother and sister shared a room for a few years but by the time they were Missy and Sheldon's age that had changed.  There may not be perfect solutions but most families would not keep a teen boy and girl sharing a room so I think the Coopers are going to have to do something fairly soon.

[shapeshifter]

10 hours ago, WinnieWinkle said:

My youngest brother and sister shared a room for a few years but by the time they were Missy and Sheldon's age that had changed.  There may not be perfect solutions but most families would not keep a teen boy and girl sharing a room so I think the Coopers are going to have to do something fairly soon.

I'm sure Georgie would be happy to live in a camper in the driveway so Missy and Sheldon could have their own room. 😉
But maybe the Coopers think it's more socially acceptable to have everyone inside of the house instead of in a camper in the driveway.
My mother-in-law couldn't stop remarking in a snooty tone that even though she was one of 11 kids, they *never* had *bunk* beds (like 2 of my 3 girls had).

OTOH back in the 1940s, my mother shared a room with her 4-year-younger brother until she got married at 19, and then their grandmother shared the room with Mom’s brother (my uncle) until he joined the Navy at 17.
At the same time, my father slept on the sofa in the living room of their 2-bedroom apartment with 3 adults and 5 kids.

I realize this show's timeline is 2 generations later and in suburbia, but even in the 1980s when I mentioned to a pastor of a church that we were looking for home, he asked "a 1-bedroom or a 2-bedroom?" even thought we were a family of 2 adults and 3 kids. I thought that was pretty weird thing to say. 

Anyway, I thought it was weird that Sheldon and Missy were sharing a room from the pilot episode, and always do cringe for a moment when I see it again.
 

Edited May 26, 2021 by shapeshifter

[Yeah No]

On 5/20/2021 at 4:38 AM, shapeshifter said:

I’m content to live in the land of at least semi-denial where characters (and people) are “innocent” until seen on screen in the act, similar to how @Caoimhe chooses to experience shows:

—la la laaa la laa, I’m still open to Sheldon having gotten it wrong, especially since my own adult children have shared how they were (erroneously) sure I was secretly dating after my divorce 30 years ago. Even if George is shown on screen “having relations” with “another woman,” since it’s TV and not a real life Nanny Cam, in my mind there’s always room for a retcon à la JR’s “it was all a dream.”

Yeah, I'm also living in that semi-denial world about this show, but I really do have faith in the writers to pull something out of a hat to explain Sheldon's recollection.  He is well known for getting the wrong impression from social situations, especially romantic ones so they have a lot to work with here.  It was all a dream, or she slipped on a banana peel, she had a bee down her blouse and he was trying to get it out, etc., LOL.  I've been watching TV a long time, I've seen it all.  Wouldn't surprise me if I saw it here again.

16 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I'm surprised this question didn't come up sooner for this episode.
At least the twins are still just twelve-year-olds, right? So maybe we should fanwank that their parents are aware that something needs to change too and just haven't done it yet. 
I'm guessing that the bedroom situation will have changed when the show comes back next season.
Maybe Covid Chaos had something to do with them not creating new sets this season?

I think Sheldon is stunted in some ways and he is basically asexual anyway so in some ways he is immature and because of that maybe his parents aren't thinking they need to put them in separate rooms just yet.  But it's still not fair to Missy, IMO, and this episode really brought that out.  

Having grown up in the Bronx a long time ago it was not all that uncommon for me to see brothers and sisters continuing to share bedrooms past age 12, though.  Most apartments only had 2 bedrooms and people didn't have the money for more anyway, so it was not possible to change the situation.  

[Sarah 103]

18 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I'm surprised this question didn't come up sooner for this episode.
At least the twins are still just twelve-year-olds, right? So maybe we should fanwank that their parents are aware that something needs to change too and just haven't done it yet. 
I'm guessing that the bedroom situation will have changed when the show comes back next season.
Maybe Covid Chaos had something to do with them not creating new sets this season?

The house only has three bedrooms (that we know of) and no basement. Will the house magically gain the attic/apartment over the garage that happens in so many series (Brady Bunch, Happy Days, Growing Pains, Sister Sister and others) when the show comes back? It's TVLand-that kind of thing totally happens. 

[WinnieWinkle]

6 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

The house only has three bedrooms (that we know of) and no basement. Will the house magically gain the attic/apartment over the garage that happens in so many series (Brady Bunch, Happy Days, Growing Pains, Sister Sister and others) when the show comes back? It's TVLand-that kind of thing totally happens. 

They could build on to the house as one solution but realistically moving Sheldon in with Georgie is the logical move to make.  Keeping the twins together when they were small made sense, keeping a teen boy and girl sharing when there is another bedroom available is unlikely to happen in most families.  Georgie may not be happy about it but I've never felt the Coopers were going out of their way to keep Georgie happy!

[Sarah 103]

8 hours ago, WinnieWinkle said:

They could build on to the house as one solution but realistically moving Sheldon in with Georgie is the logical move to make.  Keeping the twins together when they were small made sense, keeping a teen boy and girl sharing when there is another bedroom available is unlikely to happen in most families.  Georgie may not be happy about it but I've never felt the Coopers were going out of their way to keep Georgie happy!

In a normal family, Georgie and Sheldon moving in would be what happened. However, I do not see that happening with this show. Sheldon would not be happy with that and Georgie would not be happy with it. It's also worth remembering Mary tends to give in to what Sheldon wants. My guess is magic attic room that Missy will move into. 

[shapeshifter]

Have we seen an exterior view of the house? The house I grew up in had 3 bedrooms and a garage. It was eventually purchased by a family who had 4 kids. They added 2 bedrooms over the garage.

But I prefer the visual @Sarah 103 suggested of Missy in a renovated attic room. The neighborhood where I now live has a lot of those.

But Georgie fixing up the garage seems the most logical. 

[WinnieWinkle]

10 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

But Georgie fixing up the garage seems the most logical. 

They do have a garage - and that would make sense - but Sheldon would lose his train room!  

Spoiler

I could see adult Sheldon bemoaning this in a voice over if they did decide to do that.

 

[Sarah 103]

41 minutes ago, WinnieWinkle said:

They do have a garage - and that would make sense - but Sheldon would lose his train room!  

  Hide contents

I could see adult Sheldon bemoaning this in a voice over if they did decide to do that.

 

I realize and acknowledge I am putting way too much thought into this. If Missy moves out, then that would free up a ton of space in the current room the twins share. I think there would be more than enough space for Sheldon's trains in his current bedroom. 

[possibilities]

Over thinking is what we do here, so I endorse your solution to the train problem!

Georgie is getting old enough to move out soon, which is another reason not to go into debt adding an addition to the house.

[Driad]

56 minutes ago, Sarah 103 said:

I think there would be more than enough space for Sheldon's trains in his current bedroom. 

Assuming Sheldon got to keep the larger room.  But we all know he would.

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, Sarah 103 said:

 

2 hours ago, WinnieWinkle said:

They do have a garage - and that would make sense - but Sheldon would lose his train room!  

  Reveal spoiler

I could see adult Sheldon bemoaning this in a voice over if they did decide to do that.

 

Expand  

I realize and acknowledge I am putting way too much thought into this. If Missy moves out, then that would free up a ton of space in the current room the twins share. I think there would be more than enough space for Sheldon's trains in his current bedroom. 

 

Wait, if they’re considering repurposing the train room, why wouldn’t they just make that Sheldon’s room ?

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, SoMuchTV said:

Wait, if they’re considering repurposing the train room, why wouldn’t they just make that Sheldon’s room ?

I think Sheldon would be averse to sleeping in a garage ("I'm not a car, am I?") whereas Georgie would like a place to tinker with his car (when he gets one) and make out with his girlfriend.

[WinnieWinkle]

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

Georgie is getting old enough to move out soon, which is another reason not to go into debt adding an addition to the house.

Spoiler

This reminds me of the episode where George has the job opportunity at a college.  Those of us who watch BBT know that it's just as well the family chose not to relocate given's George's fate.  Same with Georgie - we know he was out of the house by the time he was 19 and for that matter Sheldon pretty much had moved out by the time he was 14 although if we stick with BBT canon he still has a room set aside for him in Mary's house.

 

[Sarah 103]

15 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I think Sheldon would be averse to sleeping in a garage ("I'm not a car, am I?") whereas Georgie would like a place to tinker with his car (when he gets one) and make out with his girlfriend.

There is no way Sheldon would agree to sleep in the garage. Georgie would love the idea of sleeping in a renovated garage. From his perspective, it would be like having his own place (sort of). To some extent he could come and go without his parents knowing (or least, that's what how it would work in Georgie's mind). 

 

[SmithW6079]

On 5/15/2021 at 11:49 PM, hoodooznoodooz said:

No matter how dark this gets, I will watch for Missy, Georgie, George and John. I think those actors are so talented.

Sturgis is OK, so I can take him only in small doses. But I agree that the George, Georgie, and Missy are the reasons I watch. I can't stand Connie either most of the time. 

On 5/16/2021 at 12:29 PM, ChitChat said:

Usually it seems to be Connie making the snide remarks to George, but that comment George made about her other children was a bit mean.  In his defense though, some of Connie's comments in the past weren't very nice either.    

Connie deserves whatever she gets. She's nasty to George all the time. She blames him for knocking up her baby girl and 17 years later still holds a grudge. And she's nasty about him not only to his face,  but she belittles him to his children. That's unforgivable. 

[John Potts]

So my takeaway from this episode is that everything would worked out for the best (or at least, OK) if they'd just listened to Meemaw...

As a metaphor for chaos theory a pool table is really bad as it’s 100% predictable*!

Funny that it was Sheldon that got through to Missy. And despite what she said, I do believe it wasn’t just the fact that Sheldon just doesn’t like change. Fundamentally, he does care about his family, and not just through his obligation as her big brother.

On 5/14/2021 at 6:38 AM, Yeah No said:

Maybe after a night of drinking and being seen with this woman Mary might get wind of it and believe something happened that didn't actually happen.  Or the next morning George himself will believe something happened that didn't happen and won't remember what actually happened because he was drunk.

More likely (if more depressing), Mary will accuse him of cheating, he’ll deny it and she won’t believe it. George reacts by saying “Be hung for a sheep as for a lamb” and actually cheat

On 5/15/2021 at 6:12 PM, shapeshifter said:

Of course, Young 13-year-old Sheldon may have just seen something that appeared to be adulterous, and was really just a woman slipping on a banana peel and landing on top of his father in his bed.

Or something purely innocent, like they were just wrestling naked!

* OK, 99%. There are still imperfections of the table, random draughts and (in a bar) the possibility that passing patrons will jog your arm that make it less than perfectly predictable