S05.E13: A Lot of Band-Aids and the Cooper Surrender

[Bort]

Sheldon makes friends with his dorm neighbors. Also, George Sr. learns his job is in jeopardy.

Airdate: 27 January 2022

[ams1001]

Nothing Chinese ends in 'roni. 😄

Now I want chicken and broccoli and rice.

Poor Missy. Love Meemaw: Did someone die? No. Then we can fix it.

Meemaw's grin after "That's where the drinkin' comes in" cracked me up.

 

[Izzy85]

Ugh, Missy broke my heart, those bitches indeed 😠

[Spartan Girl]

That moment with Mary and George was nice. Mary needs to clued in on George’s problems. He wants support but he can’t get it if he won’t let her in.

I did like George and Missy bonding over their rebelliousness. Too bad those mean girls ruined it for Missy, she looked great in that outfit. Thank goodness for Connie.

Another episode of Sheldon cutting loose! LOL him getting sick from eating too much junk. Gives new meaning to Skittles’ “Taste the rainbow.”

[MollyMelrose]

 Sheldon's video game acquaintance eventually becomes the father of Axl Heck's college roommate, Kenny.

[Chit Chat]

38 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

That moment with Mary and George was nice. Mary needs to clued in on George’s problems. He wants support but he can’t get it if he won’t let her in.

It was a nice moment.  The thing with most men is that they tend to keep things bottled up and don't want to talk about their problems right away.  Sometimes it takes them a day or two before they'll say anything.  George was obviously distressed though, so I think that Mary should've asked him what was wrong when he said he was having a rough day, but she ignored that clue and crawled his ass about picking up Sheldon. 

I'm not blaming Mary for anything, just that she could've been a little nicer when he first said he was having a bad day.  I was really hoping that she wouldn't go running to get Sheldon.  I wanted to see his new friends help him out, which they were doing.  I would love to see more scenes with all of them too.  

[Magnumfangirl]

I liked this episode and both of Missy's outfits (the one she left home in and the one she changed into) were cute.  I love that Sheldon's gamer nerd neighbors were only into root beer, Skittles, Cheetos, and Chinese food.  It's nice to see some college kids that aren't drunk or stoned all the time on TV.

Edited January 28, 2022 by Magnumfangirl

[chocolatine]

Between this episode and the last, it was great to see Sheldon develop the interests that he's known for on BBT. I hope Mary isn't going to be too protective of him and starts letting him sleep over a few nights a week, as long he eases up on the junk food and root beer.

It was really bittersweet to see Mary give George a heartfelt hug and him waiting several beats before hugging her back, and only with one arm. A few seasons ago George got an offer to coach a university football team, so it was established that he was good at his job. I wonder if his team's performance deteriorating is a sign of him slipping deeper into depression, like he doesn't even care anymore whether his team wins or loses.

Edited January 28, 2022 by chocolatine

[ItCouldBeWorse]

9 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

Between this episode and the last, it was great to see Sheldon develop the interests that he's known for on BBT. I hope Mary isn't going to be too protective of him and starts letting him sleep over a few nights a week, as long he eases up on the junk food and root beer.

Sheldon's shouldn't be sleeping over; it's too great a liability for the college to allow an unsupervised 12 year-old there on his own.  I think even the President, who would do almost anything to make Sheldon happy, would take away the room if she knew he was sleeping there.  or at least, make him return the key every day before he left campus.  Yes, in real life kids have attended college at extremely early ages, but I don't believe that kids younger than 16 would be allowed to live on a normal college campus, and even 16 and possibly 17 year-olds would likely have to provide some sort of parental-signed waiver, as is done at sleep-away camp.

[Mediocre Gatsby]

Missy and George Jr. Missy and MeeMaw. There needs to be a Young Missy show. 

 

[zoey1996]

I really felt for Missy. My mother was conservative about makeup, leg shaving, etc., and I had hairy legs long after classmates had started shaving their legs, and I was teased/bullied about it. Thank goodness I didn't try what Missy did!

Peer pressure - root beer! I love root beer!

I felt badly for George. Being a high school athletic coach is not an easy job. I don't know what class(es) he teaches, but if the school can hire a coach who can also teach those classes, they will. Boosters can be brutal if they perceive the team's losing is the coach's fault. You're only as good as your last winning season, and those winning seasons will be forgotten as soon as you have a losing season.

[shapeshifter]

If Missy's legs were really that hairy, wouldn't MeeMaw have noticed when Missy was trying on the skirt in the store and said something?
I assumed her legs weren't very hairy and the other girls were just being catty and jealous.

Missy having sliced up her legs that much was disturbing.

I am very close to quitting this show.

[kay1864]

10 hours ago, Magnumfangirl said:

I love that Sheldon's gamer nerd neighbors were only into root beer, Skittles, Cheetos, and Chinese food.  It's nice to see some college kids that aren't drunk or stoned all the time on TV.

Probably because either one tends to make you lose at D&D.

9 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I hope Mary isn't going to be too protective of him and starts letting him sleep over a few nights a week, as long he eases up on the junk food and root beer.

But what about his room schedule? What will all those couples that need to study there do now? 😆

[SusanM]

9 hours ago, chocolatine said:

A few seasons ago George got an offer to coach a university football team, so it was established that he was good at his job. I wonder if his team's performance deteriorating is a sign of him slipping deeper into depression, like he doesn't even care anymore whether his team wins or loses.

I just saw that episode a few days ago.  I know there was no way he was going to take the job given way the show has been constructed but I also thought this as well.  Relocating a family based on a job like a coach, where one bad season - sometimes even just a run of bad weeks - can mean you're fired seems like a very risky move to me.  

[Tom Holmberg]

I was glad they finally had an episode this season where Missy got a plot line.  I guess we can expect that not to happen again for a while.  They seem to have dropped the casino, though that, I'm sure, will be back.

[jalady]

Quote

and even 16 and possibly 17 year-olds would likely have to provide some sort of parental-signed waiver, as is done at sleep-away camp.

Not unless things have changed dramatically since I went to college.  I was 16 and three weeks when I started and no waivers were necessary 😏

[ams1001]

 

22 minutes ago, jalady said:

Not unless things have changed dramatically since I went to college.  I was 16 and three weeks when I started and no waivers were necessary 😏

I was still 17 when I started college because my birthday is in October (I was actually born on the cutoff date. One of my friends from my dorm is six months younger; she skipped 1st grade); I don't remember if my parents had to sign any kind of permissions/waivers for me. I know the school didn't treat us any differently. But I'd think a 12 year old would be a bit of a different story.

[freeser]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

If Missy's legs were really that hairy, wouldn't MeeMaw have noticed when Missy was trying on the skirt in the store and said something?
I assumed her legs weren't very hairy and the other girls were just being catty and jealous.

Missy having sliced up her legs that much was disturbing.

I am very close to quitting this show.

Missy cutting her legs, Sheldon barfing up Skittles, George possibly getting fired, etc.  I want more laughter and fun from my comedy shows.  There were a few chuckles this week, but overall it seems to have taken a pretty dark turn from what it was in the beginning of the series.  

[Bort]

4 hours ago, zoey1996 said:

I really felt for Missy. My mother was conservative about makeup, leg shaving, etc., and I had hairy legs long after classmates had started shaving their legs, and I was teased/bullied about it. Thank goodness I didn't try what Missy did!

Taking to small talk…

[highway61]

58 minutes ago, freeser said:

Missy cutting her legs, Sheldon barfing up Skittles, George possibly getting fired, etc.  I want more laughter and fun from my comedy shows.  There were a few chuckles this week, but overall it seems to have taken a pretty dark turn from what it was in the beginning of the series.  

This is really jumping out at me as I catch the repeats on TBS. Though to be honest, it also has a lot to do with the presence or absence of Wally Shawn!

 

[Sarah 103]

I hope that Sheldon learns from his experience and is allowed to play D&D with them again. Although George did it out of anger, him letting Sheldon stay was also in keeping with who he is and his attitude towards Sheldon. He wants Sheldon to meet people, make friends, and have more human interaction, while Mary wants to protect him and have him stay her precious little boy forever. 

I loved Georgie and Missy in the car. Georgie is an enjoyable blend of responsible and irresponsible. He is driving her to school, but also encouraging her to rebel against thier mother.

I liked that Mary's objection to the clothes wasn't based on her own religious beliefs but on the school's dress code. Mee-Maw to the rescue multiple times. It's actually great that Missy has an adult she can go to when she doesn't want to talk to her mother. I like that Mee-Maw is very practical and that anything other than death can probably be fixed. 

[HouseofBeck]

5 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

If Missy's legs were really that hairy, wouldn't MeeMaw have noticed when Missy was trying on the skirt in the store and said something?
I assumed her legs weren't very hairy and the other girls were just being catty and jealous.

Missy having sliced up her legs that much was disturbing.

I am very close to quitting this show.

For what it’s worth, my first time shaving my legs, with shaving cream, still resulted in me being quite perforated.

I didn’t notice any overt hairiness during the dressing room scene and even if I had, I’d have found it refreshing. Wish it could have been a “you do you” teaching moment instead, somehow. Missy feeling she has to embark on a lifelong campaign of hair removal when she doesn’t want to is just too sad (and familiar).

[Tattooeddancer]

16 minutes ago, Sarah 103 said:

I liked that Mary's objection to the clothes wasn't based on her own religious beliefs but on the school's dress code. 

I would imagine it was a mix of both. She objected to length before the mention of the school/finger test, and also insisted that she wear leggings under it even on the weekends

Related to Mary’s religious conservatism, I couldn’t believe she didn’t scold Georgie for reading his horoscope. I feel like Mary would consider astrology satanic or witchcraft of some sort.

[Chit Chat]

55 minutes ago, Sarah 103 said:

I hope that Sheldon learns from his experience and is allowed to play D&D with them again.

I pictured Sheldon being a loner during his college days, so seeing this recent development was a refreshing change from some of the heavy drama we've been seeing.  I hope Sheldon learned that moderation is key when imbibing in root beer, skittles and cheese curls!  This interaction with his peers was actually a good lesson for him.  I wish Mary hadn't stepped in.  I understand her concern, but I was enjoying seeing his new friends help him out rather than just kick him out of their dorm - which would've been the easiest thing for them!  

[vibeology]

Mary was completely right to step in. I often think she coddles Sheldon but this is one of those times where she was right. He's 12 years old and no campus officials knew he'd be staying over night. When he was given the room it was for use during his downtime in the day. Whatever they have as an RA wouldn't know he was there. Security wouldn't know he was there. It was not a safe position for him. And I'm not even touching on the practical things like where would he be getting his dinner or breakfast? Luckily, Sheldon is a good kid who made good friends and they had his back but he should not have been there overnight. 

I think Sheldon is mature enough to stay the night in his dorm room once the school is aware and it's planned, but just deciding right then and there because George had a bad day and was too frustrated to parent was garbage.

[chitowngirl]

1 hour ago, Sarah 103 said:

Georgie is an enjoyable blend of responsible and irresponsible. He is driving her to school, but also encouraging her to rebel against thier mother.

Plus, he volunteered to take her!

[kwnyc]

1 hour ago, Sarah 103 said:

He wants Sheldon to meet people, make friends, and have more human interaction, while Mary wants to protect him and have him stay her precious little boy forever. 

George has helped Sheldon expand his boundaries far more than Mary, from driving him to see the (non) space shuttle launch to flying with him to California. And helping him make the video that convinced Mary to let Sheldon go to college.

I rather wish they could ignore the BBT future of George, and let him & Mary be relatively happy before he drops dead.

[SusanM]

1 hour ago, Sarah 103 said:

I hope that Sheldon learns from his experience and is allowed to play D&D with them again. Although George did it out of anger, him letting Sheldon stay was also in keeping with who he is and his attitude towards Sheldon. He wants Sheldon to meet people, make friends, and have more human interaction, while Mary wants to protect him and have him stay her precious little boy forever. 

In this situation I'm torn.  I don't consider it being overprotective to not want a 12 yr old hanging around socially with college age students.  I also don't really think George should be encouraging Sheldon to make friends with people at least 6 to 8  years older than he is.   But, and it's a big but - Sheldon is never going to find friends within his own age group and the friends he's making share interests with him that aren't (hopefully) going to lead him down any dark alleys.  Still and all I just can't get around the reality that Sheldon is still only 12 yrs old.  He shouldn't be hanging out with 20 yr olds.

 

[Tom Holmberg]

19 minutes ago, SusannahM said:

 Still and all I just can't get around the reality that Sheldon is still only 12 yrs old.  He shouldn't be hanging out with 20 yr olds.

 

Then again he's hanging out with 20 year olds who act more like 12 year olds.

[freeser]

2 hours ago, highway61 said:

3 hours ago, freeser said:

Missy cutting her legs, Sheldon barfing up Skittles, George possibly getting fired, etc.  I want more laughter and fun from my comedy shows.  There were a few chuckles this week, but overall it seems to have taken a pretty dark turn from what it was in the beginning of the series.  

This is really jumping out at me as I catch the repeats on TBS. Though to be honest, it also has a lot to do with the presence or absence of Wally Shawn!

 

I do think you are right about feeling the absence of Dr. Sturgis!  He added so much to the show.  Also when you think about it, there are others who added a lot who are not on the show enough.  Dr. Linkletter was funny in every appearance.  Brenda and Billy Sparks add to the humor. Paige could be fun as she put Sheldon down in many ways.  The high school principal and librarian were so entertaining.  

Missy and Georgie never fail in their roles to be funny and believable.  Someone else mentioned that the show should be "Young Missy" - I would love to see that!

MeeMaw can go either way - fun or annoying.  It depends.  Her boyfriend Dale is a terrible substitute for Dr. Sturgis as Dale is pretty much a dud.  Mary is of course essential to the show, but she is so buttoned down that it is hard to take as a viewer.  She says she can be fun, but she does not seem able to let loose. I can't imagine how she would really be as a Mom.  Poor George looks like he is in for a tough time regarding his job so it might not be a lot of fun watching him.  

As far as Sheldon, I think it always happens that actors and roles somehow are not as appealing as the character get older.  Sheldon can be annoying, selfish and rude.  But in early years, there was also an endearing innocent quality to him and his role.  Now he is quite obnoxious most of the time to me.  The innocence is gone and he is old enough to know better but has gotten way too used to being totally able to control his just about everyone and get his way.  The other kids are very aware that Sheldon is the center of their Mom's life and it shows.  

[Tom Holmberg]

I also have to wonder, if the show runs long enough, if they'll have an episode where Sheldon's testes descend (which he said occurred when he was 15), considering they had a Missy episode where she gets her period and now where she gets body hair.  Just to be fair.

[rmontro]

Wow, they are really dumping on George, aren't they?  I understand why they're doing it, but it is kind of a downer.  I was thinking those alumni adults were just as mean in their way as the kids teasing Missy were.  But football coaches are expected to win, so it's one of those facts of life.

I'm trying to remember if they've shown Sheldon playing D&D before?  He said he had experience as a dungeon master, but I don't remember him ever having a circle of friends to play with.

I wanted to see Sheldon try an eggroll.  It could have been the beginning of his appreciation for Asian food, of various types.  I had Chinese food this week, and I was thinking at the time this is about the best food on earth.  With the possible exception of pizza.

[shura]

1 hour ago, Tom Holmberg said:

Then again he's hanging out with 20 year olds who act more like 12 year olds.

Yes, exactly. Sheldon is self-overprotective. He won’t do many things that are actually safe. So if he feels comfortable hanging out with those guys, then it’s probably safe with room to spare.

And George did not blow off his parenting duties because he was frustrated after a bad day at work. If you watch the scene again, he is telling Mary that Sheldon thinks it’s safe, the campus is safe, Sheldon will be with his friends, and all that. He gave it a thought and made a parenting decision that at some point you have to start trusting that your kid may be on his own and this is not a bad situation for that.  We may agree or disagree whether it was a bad parenting decision, but he did exactly what Mary asked him to do - take one thing off her plate and be a parent.

Of course, what Mary wanted was not to let George do parenting, but to just go and pick up Sheldon because she wanted the parenting to be done her way.

[tennisgurl]

Its too bad those mean girls ruined Missy's day, she looked really cute in both outfits. Meemaw was really sweet with her, it was nice to get a plot with Missy and Meemaw, its been awhile. 

I can get Mary being upset about Sheldon staying at school alone, but Sheldon making friends at school is a very good thing, and the dorm guys all seem like good friends for him to have. I really like that his new friends were just hanging out playing DND, TV likes to portray college as a non stop keg party 24/7 when plenty of college students spend most of their non school time just hanging out and eating junk food with their friends. 

Poor George, they really are just piling onto him, I wish we could see him having at least a few more good times before the inevitable happens. At least he and Mary had a really nice moment when she gave him a hug. He clearly really needed that. 

[babyhouseman]

1 hour ago, rmontro said:

I'm trying to remember if they've shown Sheldon playing D&D before? 

There was an episode where he played it with Tam and Billy. Mary freaked out because the devil was involved. 

[peacheslatour]

6 minutes ago, babyhouseman said:

There was an episode where he played it with Tam and Billy. Mary freaked out because the devil was involved. 

I'm confused. There is no "devil" in D&D. There  are the usual Tolkienesque creatures but nothing about heaven or hell or anything like that. I had the same confusion about Harry Potter.

[ams1001]

41 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I'm confused. There is no "devil" in D&D. There  are the usual Tolkienesque creatures but nothing about heaven or hell or anything like that. I had the same confusion about Harry Potter.

Some people can find the devil anywhere. If there's "magic" involved that seems to be enough.

[highway61]

40 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I'm confused. There is no "devil" in D&D. There  are the usual Tolkienesque creatures but nothing about heaven or hell or anything like that. I had the same confusion about Harry Potter.

Not 100% sure but I think Mary was somewhat taken aback by the 'almost naked' demon on the classic Dungeon Masters guide cover.

[Guest]

6 hours ago, vibeology said:

Mary was completely right to step in. I often think she coddles Sheldon but this is one of those times where she was right. He's 12 years old and no campus officials knew he'd be staying over night. When he was given the room it was for use during his downtime in the day. Whatever they have as an RA wouldn't know he was there. Security wouldn't know he was there. It was not a safe position for him. And I'm not even touching on the practical things like where would he be getting his dinner or breakfast? Luckily, Sheldon is a good kid who made good friends and they had his back but he should not have been there overnight. 

I think Sheldon is mature enough to stay the night in his dorm room once the school is aware and it's planned, but just deciding right then and there because George had a bad day and was too frustrated to parent was garbage.

I completely agree with you. Mary was right about this particular situation but overall neither of them is right. Sheldon is only 12 but even without knowing what is to come it would be unrealistic to assume he will be living at home for much longer. His parents should be helping him to gain some independence with a safety net. So telling him no the first time he asks but coming up with a plan to let him stay later or all night. 

2 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

I'm confused. There is no "devil" in D&D. There  are the usual Tolkienesque creatures but nothing about heaven or hell or anything like that. I had the same confusion about Harry Potter.

When Mary first walks in on Sheldon, Tam and Billy playing they are a quest involved Baalzebul. The similarity to Beelzebub and cover @highway61 mentioned is probably what led her to the conclusion. Although Tam did say that he wasn’t the devil but a monster who didn’t wear pants. She wasn’t convinced. 

Edited January 29, 2022 by Guest

[possibilities]

I like that this episode, and the one before it, focused more on Sheldon making friends and exploring his interests, rather than him just being an obnoxious troublemaking brat. He can be a fun character if they focus on that stuff and don't just amplify his arrogance all the time. BBT would never have succeeded if all the plots were about was how Sheldon is shitty. He had his moments but he was overall way more than that, and YS needs the same kind of balance. It's like they forgot that for a while, but maybe they're getting back on track a bit, if these two episodes are an indication.

Mary being concerned about Sheldon is one thing. But her flying in there making a scene is harmful to his development. She treats him like he's 5, not 12. 

[possibilities]

I'm a woman and I've never shaved. I'm 56. I know plenty of women who don't shave, either. But we are definitely a rarity in the overall population.

When I was in high school, I got weird looks but no one actually bullied me. I wore opaque tights or long pants when I got older and worked in an office, because I figured it would be hard to get hired if I didn't blend in.

Both in high school and as an adult, when I let my bare legs be seen, I did get a lot of rude questions about why I don't shave and I just always said I never felt a need to, and would ask the querent why they did it. Not one person ever had an answer. They always would just kind of stammer and go silent. 

The peer pressure to shave is really strong, so I felt bad for Missy. I liked Meemaw's way of comforting her and helping her patch herself up and reclaim her sense of self. But I wasn't thrilled with her acceptance of the idea that men are gross and women need to resign themselves to "grin and bear it" in the cause of endless hair removal in service to their relationships, which require inebriation to tolerate. I mean... go ahead and shave if you want to, but if the situation makes you need to drink, that's kind of a bad advertisement for the practice, and a terrible message to give your teenager.

 

[shapeshifter]

22 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I liked Meemaw's way of comforting her and helping her patch herself up and reclaim her sense of self. But I wasn't thrilled with her acceptance of the idea that men are gross and women need to resign themselves to "grin and bear it" in the cause of endless hair removal in service to their relationships, which require inebriation to tolerate. I mean... go ahead and shave if you want to, but if the situation makes you need to drink, that's kind of a bad advertisement for the practice, and a terrible message to give your teenager.

Good point. But I can’t think of another character on the show who  would have been as positive without the message of self medication. Maybe that’s supposed to be a negative reflection on society in east Texas in the 1980s? 

[Neiman]

I kept waiting for George to run to Brenda Sparks for consolation or for the boosters to get behind giving the job to the more sensitive and politically correct assistant coach.

I love the focus on Sheldon’s college life, but honestly don’t feel a need to focus on Missy when her plot line doesn’t include Sheldon. 

[jewel21]

18 hours ago, rmontro said:

I'm trying to remember if they've shown Sheldon playing D&D before?  He said he had experience as a dungeon master, but I don't remember him ever having a circle of friends to play with.

He also played with Meemaw, Dale, and Missy when his friends backed out of a game. 

Missy wanted to be a Ninja Turtle Princess. 

[ams1001]

3 hours ago, jewel21 said:

He also played with Meemaw, Dale, and Missy when his friends backed out of a game. 

Missy wanted to be a Ninja Turtle Princess. 

I forgot about the Ninja Turtle Princess!

I just got a notification on my phone about how the next episode won't be until late February. Made it sound like some dramatic happenings were going on with the show or something, so I read the article and it's just because of the Olympics. 🙄 They really just decided last minute to not show new episodes opposite the Olympics?

[snarkylady]

I didn't like Missy cutting herself so badly and I complained to CBS about it.  There are enough stories and ideas without heading into having a young girl hurt herself.   I didn't like the vomiting either,  Not funny in the slightest. 

[SusanM]

23 minutes ago, snarkylady said:

I didn't like the vomiting either,  Not funny in the slightest. 

Agree but the powers that be behind any Chuck Lorre show I've ever seen seem to be convinced it's hilarious.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, snarkylady said:

I didn't like Missy cutting herself so badly and I complained to CBS about it.  There are enough stories and ideas without heading into having a young girl hurt herself.   I didn't like the vomiting either,  Not funny in the slightest. 

Thank you.

[DoYouLikeMutton]

1 hour ago, snarkylady said:

 I didn't like the vomiting either,  Not funny in the slightest. 

Agreed!  Retching was the last sound we heard -- enough already. 

[Sarah 103]

2 hours ago, snarkylady said:

I didn't like Missy cutting herself so badly and I complained to CBS about it.  There are enough stories and ideas without heading into having a young girl hurt herself. 

This makes it sound like it was deliberate self harm, which is a very serious and real problem but not at all what was happening in this episode. Yes, Missy hurt herself, but her goal/intention was not to cause herself pain and injury. From Missy's perspective, what happened to her was quite far from her goal and not at all the desired result. If anything, young girls watching this episode are going to learn that dry shaving is a horrible idea and not something they should try to do.