S05.E17: A Solo Peanut, a Social Butterfly, and the Truth

[Bort]

Sheldon gets an odd request from an old friend, Paige. Also, George Sr. and Mary are caught in the middle of Meemaw and Dale's breakup, and Georgie comes clean to Mandy.

Airdate: 31 March 2022

[Browncoat]

I love Paige's messenger bag.  But I'm worried about her, too.

Oh, shit, Georgie.

[Spartan Girl]

I KNEW Georgie was going to get her pregnant! It’s the 100th episode, something big was going to happen. Ugh, what a messed-up situation, but I hope Mandy wasn’t going to get in legal trouble. It wasn’t her fault Georgie lied about his age.

“You’re drunk and Sheldon has friends?! This is one crazy-ass dinner.” LOL.

Man, poor Paige. I hope she’s going to be okay.

Edited April 1, 2022 by Spartan Girl

[NeenerNeener]

I thought Sheldon said Georgie was 19 when he got married the first time. But this isn't the first continuity error between this show and TBBT and I'm sure it won't be the last.

Thirding the worry about Paige.

[Pepper the Cat]

5 minutes ago, NeenerNeener said:

I thought Sheldon said Georgie was 19 when he got married the first time. But this isn't the first continuity error between this show and TBBT and I'm sure it won't be the last.

Thirding the worry about Paige.

Mandy being pregnant doesn’t necessarily mean they get married. Georgie could support Mandy and the baby without getting married. 

[ams1001]

"I'm basically fifty." "And we're basically twelve so it all works out."

"How do you have more friends than me?" "I don't know. I don't even want them."

Poor Paige. I want to hug her.

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by ams1001

[ItCouldBeWorse]

Spoiler

Was it ever mentioned in The Big Bang Theory if Georgie has kids?

 

[Chit Chat]

30 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Poor Paige. I want to hug her.

I wanted to see Mary help her out.  I feel like I didn't get much resolution with that storyline with the way they summed up how she went back home - which I'm glad she did - but I wanted another episode of either her mom or Mary talking to her.  Yay that Missy told her mom that Paige was having trouble.  

On a lighter note, it was fun seeing the interaction between Sheldon and his college friends/not friends!  

[greekmom]

Paige NOT having friends is what I would have imagined. Paige's parents seemed to be stricter with her academics than Sheldon's.  I can see her parents and the university arranging for a 24 hour chaperone which wouldn't give her opportunities to mix with the students but go to class, research and study.

Poor Georgie.  I guessed it when Mandy went to see Meemaw that she might be pregnant. Otherwise, she would have ghosted both the laundromat and Georgie.  

I would love a flashback episode of George Sr. and Mary while they were dating. I would like to see the wild Mary before she became a devote Christian. 

[Tattooeddancer]

The actress that plays Paige looked so much older this episode. I couldn't get over it. I was hoping she would get into D&D with Sheldon's friends. 

I also called Mandy being pregnant. I'm now calling an unfortunate end to the pregnancy (and I know that seems dark for a sitcom but look at all the other things it has dealt with and is set up to deal with down the line).

Love Missy helping Meemaw through her post break up stride, and also really caring about Paige. I'm a little surprised Paige never tried to reach out to Missy at all. 

[MollyMelrose]

Just grateful Paige made it home so she can hopefully begin to heal. Was very concerned she might be headed down another path.

Oh, Georgie. A fine mess you have gotten yourself into!

And George gets the line of the night, maybe even the whole season: "You’re drunk and Sheldon has friends?! This is one crazy-ass dinner."

 

[Kiddvideo]

Meemaw can suck a rock. Now she’s pissed off about Georgie lying? And she doesn’t even know about her great grandchild yet.

[Mediocre Gatsby]

When Mandy stormed into the laundromat, the woman on the right-hand side filling a laundry basket with clothes looked like Laurie Metcalf to me, at least in the face. 

 

 

[BitterApple]

I had a feeling Mandy was going to end up pregnant. Mary is going to lose her shit when she finds out.

Poor Paige. I can't imagine how lonely and isolated she must feel. I kind of wished she'd been in the dorm room so we could've gotten a scene of Mary and Missy talking to her. 

MeeMaw hammered at the dinner table was hysterical and poor George Sr. having to be the go-between! I bet he never wants to hear of purple bras again! 

[chocolatine]

I feel so sad for Paige! Even if she didn't have the chaperone, I don't think nerdy, D&D playing college guys like Sheldon's dorm neighbors would be comfortable hanging out with a 13-year-old girl, so making friends in her situation was always going to be difficult. I think she's an example of someone who studies physics because she's highly intelligent and not because she really loves it, like Sheldon does. It would be really hard for her to choose a "normal" path because everyone who knows she has a high IQ expects her to excel academically.

I hate the Mandy pregnancy storyline, it's such a cliche.

Spoiler

It was never mentioned on BBT that Georgie had a shotgun marriage, only that he got married at 19, so this storyline wasn't necessary.

Missy is always a delight even with a short amount of screen time.

[Mediocre Gatsby]

22 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

 

  Reveal spoiler

It was never mentioned on BBT that Georgie had a shotgun marriage, only that he got married at 19, so this storyline wasn't necessary.

Missy is always a delight even with a short amount of screen time.

I couldn't figure out how to remove the spoiler tag, but as far as your Missy comment goes: PREACH

[Katy M]

7 hours ago, Kiddvideo said:

Meemaw can suck a rock. Now she’s pissed off about Georgie lying? And she doesn’t even know about her great grandchild yet.

To be fair, she did yell at him earlier and told him to tell Mandy the truth.  I do think she should have taken the matter into her own hands and told Mandy herself, but it's not like she didn't care at all before.

9 hours ago, greekmom said:

Paige NOT having friends is what I would have imagined. Paige's parents seemed to be stricter with her academics than Sheldon's.  I can see her parents and the university arranging for a 24 hour chaperone which wouldn't give her opportunities to mix with the students but go to class, research and study.

If Paige is in an all girls dorm, I don't think it would have been that hard for her to have at least superficial friends (which is all Sheldon has).  I can see my friends and I at least sometimes hanging out with a genius 12 year old. Especially one that isn't as condescending as Sheldon.

Paige doesn't look 12 any more than the twins do.

 

[greekmom]

29 minutes ago, Katy M said:

If Paige is in an all girls dorm, I don't think it would have been that hard for her to have at least superficial friends (which is all Sheldon has).  I can see my friends and I at least sometimes hanging out with a genius 12 year old. Especially one that isn't as condescending as Sheldon.

Paige doesn't look 12 any more than the twins do.

 

I don't think that it's the fact that Paige is in a co-ed or all girls dorm. I think it's more that she's set apart purposely to keep her from losing her drive to excel.

I agree with you about Paige, Missy and Sheldon not looking 12.  More like 15.  I know McKenna is 15, Ian is 13/14 and Regan is 14.

[Browncoat]

Part of what made Paige look older was that they had her dressed as a 35-year-old.  But I still love her messenger bag.

[hoodooznoodooz]

I don’t buy Paige having no friends at UT. She’s charismatic and interesting. And she can read a room, unlike Sheldon. She’d pick up D&D quickly, and join the chess club. 
Missy was funny, advising Sheldon not to tell their dad about his interest in Sassy magazine.

[Chit Chat]

10 hours ago, Tattooeddancer said:

I'm a little surprised Paige never tried to reach out to Missy at all. 

As Paige said, Sheldon is the only one she thinks would understand her.   Paige didn't expect to see Sheldon thriving in college.  She probably thought they'd sit around and commiserate on how awful the college experience has been.  It's too bad that Sheldon is clueless in reading people, or he might've been able to be of more comfort to her.  He can't help it that he's a robot!  

Missy probably could've offered words of encouragement, but Paige needed to talk to a fellow child genius.  I loved Missy's scenes with her MeeMaw.  Mary definitely needs to lighten up a little bit.     

[DavidWeis1]

I nearly feel off the couch the first time I heard Sheldon speak in the episode. I knew he was getting bigger and his voice was changing, but last night I almost thought they’d gotten Christian Bale to speak in his “I’m Batman” voice. ” Maybe I’ll get used to it. I guess I have no choice.

what’s going on with Paige seems important , but I don’t see how it can have any relevance to the TBBT plot.

is it just me who finds Missy to be the true star of this show?

[Chaos Theory]

I think people are trying WAY too hard to connect every storyline to the BBT.  Georgie was only mentioned occasionally and usually by Sheldon who is an unreliable narrator of his own past.  We don’t really know every last detail of Georgie’s history because Sheldon didn’t care enough to tell us.

As for Paige:   One of the huge late series storylines of BBT was how hard and unfair the hard science world was on women.  It judged women harshly and in ways it didn’t on men.  I can see Paige’s storyline being a version of this.   They are equally intelligent but while Sheldon is given every advantage being a white male child genius brings the exact opposite happens with Paige being a female.  She is seen as a threat to both the males and the females for different reasons.  Of course Young Sheldon can’t really go into it in detail but I like the little hints and it hasn’t forgotten the points it made on BBT about how hard the sciences were and continue to be for women.    And Paige is the main focus of that storyline.

Edited April 1, 2022 by Chaos Theory

[Magnumfangirl]

No comments on Sheldon's son being named Leonard?!

[kwnyc]

1 hour ago, Chaos Theory said:

As for Paige:   One of the huge late series storylines of BBT was how hard and unfair the hard science world was on women.  It judged women harshly and in ways it didn’t on men.  I can see Paige’s storyline being a version of this.   They are equally intelligent but while Sheldon is given every advantage being a white male child genius brings the exact opposite happens with Paige being a female.  She is seen as a threat to both the males and the females for different reasons.  Of course Young Sheldon can’t really go into it in detail but I like the little hints and it hasn’t forgotten the points it made on BBT about how hard the sciences were and continue to be for women.    And Paige is the main focus of that storyline.

SO true...even today. Women tend to leave the STEM fields because of the way they are treated. I wondered about how Paige was going to do as soon as they introduced her. And I wonder if she'll end up in a different field because she feels so left-out and alone.

[Chit Chat]

4 minutes ago, Magnumfangirl said:

No comments on Sheldon's son being named Leonard?!

We heard him say that in a previous episode (his graduation party?), so we discussed it then, but it's fun to hear him say it again!!

2 minutes ago, kwnyc said:

And I wonder if she'll end up in a different field because she feels so left-out and alone.

I hope we'll see her again.  I can't remember if her parents ended up divorcing, or they were in the process of separating a few seasons ago.  She's already had that to deal with, so going to college and not fitting in is really sad for her.  

[aqusdealer]

It’s possible that in the end Georgie turns out not to be the father.

[MollyMelrose]

I think Paige's biggest problem is that she has the emotional intelligence that Sheldon lacks. His obtuse cluelessness is actually a blessing for him; he has no idea at what price his brilliance comes - what he is missing being a "regular kid." (So hope Leonard Cooper takes A LOT after Aunt Missy. Sheldon richly deserves it.)

Paige is keenly aware. I think she'd love to at least have the option of leading Missy's kind of life. She is brilliant, but she is also a "normal" kid in many respects. She has a foot in two worlds and doesn't fully belong in either.

Edited April 2, 2022 by MollyMelrose

[HurricaneVal]

I vaguely remember that when the Adult!Sheldon narration first spoke about his son Leonard, he hastily followed that up with a statement that Leonard was named for a famous scientist.  I think that's his own denial that he doesn't want to be viewed as so sentimental and illogical to name his son after his best friend.

[EVS]

What I remember is that Sheldon wanted to name his son Leonard Nimoy Cooper and Amy said no to Nimoy and said something like “Be glad I let you name him Leonard”.

 

Edited April 6, 2022 by EVS
Correct spelling of Nimoy

[EVS]

I wonder if Sheldon used the napkin Penny gave him on BBT to grow his own Leonard Nimoy. 

Edited April 6, 2022 by EVS
Correct spelling of Nimoy

[Snow Apple]

1 hour ago, MollyMelrose said:

I think Paige's biggest problem is that she has the emotional maturity that Sheldon lacks. His obtuse cluelessness is actually a blessing for him; he has no idea at what price his brilliance comes - what he is missing being a "regular kid." (So hope Leonard Cooper takes A LOT after Aunt Missy. Sheldon richly deserves it.)

Adult Sheldon's voiceover said he has to take Leonard to the skateboard park so I bet Aunt Missy (and Uncle Georgie) has some influence.

[Sarah 103]

16 hours ago, ChitChat said:

Yay that Missy told her mom that Paige was having trouble.  

Missy going to Mary was a good sign and says a great deal about Missy, all of it positive. As much as she tries to defy her mother and thinks her mother is often wrong, Missy understands when a situation is really serious and requires an adult. 

16 hours ago, Tattooeddancer said:

The actress that plays Paige looked so much older this episode. I couldn't get over it. I was hoping she would get into D&D with Sheldon's friends. 

It was the hairstyle that made her look older like an adult when we first saw her. Later in the episode, when she was wearing her hair in a ponytail, she looked younger/closer to her actual age. I think Sheldon's friends are surprisingly open-minded. They have no problem inviting a girl to play videogames or D&D with them. I get the vibe that anyone is welcome as long as they won't mock them or make fun of them. 

12 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I feel so sad for Paige! Even if she didn't have the chaperone, I don't think nerdy, D&D playing college guys like Sheldon's dorm neighbors would be comfortable hanging out with a 13-year-old girl, so making friends in her situation was always going to be difficult.

Paige was capable of making/having friends her age. It seems like it should have been possible to find some way for Paige to still interact with kids her own age even though she was in collge.  

I thought Mary was overreacting regarding Missy and MeeMaw. I understand Mary not wanting Missy to hear intimate detials of MeeMaw's relationships, but I think Missy is old enough to hear that MeeMaw broke up with her boyfriend. It was smart of George to want to stay out of it. No good can come from him being directly involved in the relationship drama and he knows that. 

I like that Mee-Maw was able to get through to Georgie by bringing Missy into it. Her point was, you wouldn't a guy to lie about something important to Missy, so don't lie to the girls you date. It's solid advice, and I think Georgie will remember it. 

 I don't know how accurate pregnancy tests were, but my guess is that it's a false positive and just a scare.  

Also, I hope we get to hear more about Sheldon and Amy's future children.  

Edited April 1, 2022 by Sarah 103

[Chit Chat]

Sheldon:  "I'm basically the social glue of our floor."   Hmm.  Where have we heard that before!!  :)  

15 hours ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

When Mandy stormed into the laundromat, the woman on the right-hand side filling a laundry basket with clothes looked like Laurie Metcalf to me, at least in the face. 

I went back and looked.  She does resemble her!  Good catch! 

57 minutes ago, Sarah 103 said:

 I don't know how accurate pregnancy tests were, but my guess is that it's a false positive and just a scare.  

It seemed pretty early for her to be taking a pregnancy test.  Didn't they just have sex a few days before?  

[anna0852]

That wasn't the first time they had sex

[Grizzly]

Why isn't a 29 year old, single and having sex, woman on birth control?

[proserpina65]

10 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

Why isn't a 29 year old, single and having sex, woman on birth control?

She may be, but no method of birth control is 100% effective except abstinence.  My thought was that Georgie didn't learn much from The Talk with his dad since this is the second time a girlfriend of his might be pregnant.  Seriously, Georgie, use protection even if you don't want to listen to your dad talk about it.

[freeser]

19 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

Why isn't a 29 year old, single and having sex, woman on birth control?

This is the first thing I thought of also.  We are not talking about two teenagers.  At 29, she should be quite familiar with birth control.  

The episode where Georgie was talking to his father about marriage is the one in which Older Sheldon narrated that Georgie first got married at 19.  So it seems that this current situation with 17 year old Georgie does not end up in a marriage.  

I don't know exactly how I feel about this story line.  The show has really made a turn from a lighter, regular comedy to something heavier.  It is realistic and serious, but it is not what I necessarily want to view every Thursday.  The kids have matured and gotten older, so I guess thing must change.  But this seems a bit much.....

[Browncoat]

32 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

Why isn't a 29 year old, single and having sex, woman on birth control?

The Pill is not for everyone.  Some people can't tolerate the extra hormones.  And they're not 100%, especially if they aren't taken correctly (missed pill, or the timing is off).  IUDs had recently fallen out of favor (google Dalkon Shield) in the 80s.  Condoms break or slip off.  All that to say, they might have been using some form of birth control and it failed.

 

[Chit Chat]

1 hour ago, anna0852 said:

That wasn't the first time they had sex

Got 'cha!  I thought that they hadn't slept together before then.  

51 minutes ago, freeser said:

I don't know exactly how I feel about this story line.  The show has really made a turn from a lighter, regular comedy to something heavier.

I feel the same.  There are moments where it feels like a light, funny show, then it takes a turn to the darker, heavier side.  

[tennisgurl]

Poor Paige, I felt so bad for her. She has a lot going against her, she's a child at college, a woman in STEM, and it sounds like the school/her family keeps her on a very tight leash, having an adult follow her around almost all of the time, no wonder she feels so alone. Then she went to see Sheldon, hoping to find someone who would understand her struggles, only to find out that Sheldon, of all people, has actually managed to make friends and have something of a real college experience. In a lot of ways, Sheldon's utter lack of social graces has been a blessing, he's never minded being alone and being different than his peers, while Paige is much more socially aware, being brilliant but also wanting those connections and being painfully aware of her own isolation. I am glad she made it hope but I wish Mary and Missy had given her the care package they made. 

17 hours ago, MollyMelrose said:

And George gets the line of the night, maybe even the whole season: "You’re drunk and Sheldon has friends?! This is one crazy-ass dinner."

 

And Missy's chuckle at that! Hilarious! 

Oh Georgie, you dunderhead. 

[januaryman]

So Missy thinks Sheldon is gay? At least she's progressive about it; George apparently isn't. Was that a running gag on the original series?

I thought they were heading for a much darker ending with Paige; having her OD or something would be way too heavy and dramatic. 

This is the first episode I've seen with a TV-14 rating - I was actually expecting violence! They probably filmed Emily Osment saying the word. What else was there - pregnancy talk?

[ams1001]

15 minutes ago, januaryman said:

So Missy thinks Sheldon is gay? At least she's progressive about it; George apparently isn't. Was that a running gag on the original series?

If anything, they assumed he was asexual, at least until Amy came along.

[HurricaneVal]

5 hours ago, EVS said:

I wonder if Sheldon used the napkin Penny gave him on BBT to grow his own Leonard Nemoy.

OMG.  You know, if there was anything that might motivate Sheldon to gain skills in the "dirty" science of biology, that would be it!

[babyhouseman]

1 hour ago, januaryman said:

So Missy thinks Sheldon is gay? At least she's progressive about it; George apparently isn't. Was that a running gag on the original series?

I'm going to take this to the TBBT vs Young Sheldon thread.

[Bobbin]

It seems to me that when Paige was first introduced, she did have some time unwinding with Missy. Maybe not.

In the '70s, it was headline news in Michigan when James Dallas Egbert III,  a teenage prodigy, disappeared ("escaped" as it turned out) from the MSU campus. A private detective finally tracked him down and escorted him back to his family -- and his academic life. The following year,  he "exited" again, this time permanently, tragically.

There was a "Doogie Howser. M.D." episode* that dealt with another young prodigy, one who was never allowed time for friends or "frivolous recreation." At the end of the episode, Doogie's dad asked Doogie if he never wondered why his parents encouraged his friendship with neighbor and BFF Vinnie, with all of his antics and creative adventures. It was because Vinnie was his rock; with Vinnie in his life, they never had to worry about him being under too much pressure. Paige needs that kind of outlet. She needs to join a bowling team.

*S2 E8 "Revenge of the Teenage Dead"

Edited April 2, 2022 by Bobbin
Added citations, corrected time frame.

[SusanM]

2 hours ago, ams1001 said:

If anything, they assumed he was asexual, at least until Amy came along.

Yes the running gag about someone being gay on BBT was the relationship that Raj and Howard and their  "ersatz homosexual marriage".  I don't recall Sheldon being gay being any kind of plot point.

[SusanM]

22 hours ago, Tattooeddancer said:

I also called Mandy being pregnant. I'm now calling an unfortunate end to the pregnancy (and I know that seems dark for a sitcom but look at all the other things it has dealt with and is set up to deal with down the line).

I know they aren't always sticking to BBT canon but at least on BBT there is mention a few times that Mary's first grandchild is the baby Missy had in the course of that show.

[Tattooeddancer]

1 hour ago, Bobbin said:

It seems to me that when Paige was first introduced, she did have some time unwinding with Missy. Maybe not.

 

She did. They enjoyed shopping at the Hello Kitty store (and later shoplifting at Hot Topic), playing dolls, staying up late and telling each other scary stories, etc.

That's why it surprised me that Paige never reached out to Missy. Paige had brains, but she also knew how to cut loose like a "normal" kid. I can see her being able to separate her friendship with girls her age with her academic accomplishments, because she was able to in the past.

[Yeah No]

15 hours ago, Katy M said:

If Paige is in an all girls dorm, I don't think it would have been that hard for her to have at least superficial friends (which is all Sheldon has).  I can see my friends and I at least sometimes hanging out with a genius 12 year old. Especially one that isn't as condescending as Sheldon.

I think it can be trickier for a girl who is in many ways a misfit to make female friends that are that much older than her and don't share her advanced intelligence or interests.  In my own experience guys tended to be less cliquish and more accepting so it was easier to hang with them than with girls in general.

I am nowhere near in her category but I had trouble relating to the girls in my neighborhood.  They were playing with dolls and their Suzy Homemaker kitchens while I was playing chess and other "brainiac" games and listening to classical music.  I only had one good female friend on my block because the others just didn't share my interests and were on a completely different wavelength.  And to be honest I didn't have much in common with them either.  I can just imagine if they were all at least 5 years older than me on top of that!

So I can totally see why Paige feels alone and different and isn't clicking with anyone at her school.  Her life and thoughts are likely completely different from theirs and in my experience if you're not like the other young women you can get labeled a freak and avoided.