S09.E22: The Fermentation Bifurcation

[Winston Wolfe]

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With regard to Raj, this show is reminding me of "Frasier" where by the final seasons of the who the only one who didn't find love was Frasier himself.  They wrapped things up at the very end with him moving to Chicago after meeting a woman who could be "the one". 

That was sad with Fraser, wasn't it?  Although the character did get to date some incredible women.  I've always been a little bit jealous of Kelsey Grammer for  being able to snuggle up to all those beauties, lol.  The difference between Fraser and Raj, as I see it, is that while Fraser had his issues (pretentiousness, etc.), he was always at heart a really decent guy.  Raj?  Not so much.

[LoneHaranguer]

On 5/1/2016 at 0:48 AM, Snarklepuss said:

Perhaps having to fess up to both women he's two-timed will make him realize which one he really cares about and we'll see him finally settle down.

I don't know where he is with Emily, but he hasn't really two-timed Claire. Previously, Raj was going back and forth on the phone with both while in his car and openly talking to Claire about going to see Emily instead of meeting up as was originally planned. With Claire this episode, he seemed pretty clear that their dating was "casual", not exclusive.

[Snarklepuss]

I was kind of hoping that Raj would have some kind of epiphany about his life and who he wants to spend it with and realize that one of these women might just be someone special to him and start wanting to date her exclusively, and that this episode might be a pivotal moment in that change in him.  If this show acts like the 20,000 other shows and movies before it, he'll have to lose the woman he'll later realize really matters to him after she cuts him off and only then will decide to date her exclusively.  Then maybe he'll start to become a decent person too.  I'm kind of surprised that they didn't start going down that path sooner with him.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Snarklepuss

[rab01]

I'm actually hoping that Raj becomes healthier before he meets his soulmate. Until a few years ago, he was physically unable to talk to a woman sober. When he did talk to women he wavered frighteningly between obsequious and coming on way too strong.  I am totally uninterested in him settling down with someone before he fixes himself a little more first. So, yeah, I'm hoping that both relationships end this season but Claire tells him that he can call her again when he is ready to act more like a normal adult.

[hnygrl]

I agree, rab01. Raj is still crappy at confrontation with a woman. He tried breaking up w/Emily but when she started to cry he punked out. He needs a good old fashioned coming of age storyline. He's got a lot to offer the right woman and I would really love to see him with someone who would appreciated the uniqueness that is Raj.

I'd also like to to be wealthy/successful in her own right so there's no need to mention he's rich. So's she. And?

What started when what's her face dumped him needs to continue. Maybe having both women read him the riot act and dump him, and his friends NOT taking his side, would do it. But this is a Lorre show that's on its last leg so....he'll probably marry Emily. In a bloody Halloween themed ceremony. That will freak everybody out. Hilarious. Ah me.

 

I saw on a (decidedly not to be believed) Gossip site (well, THREE gossip sites *blush*) that Kailey Cuoco's not coming back for next season...

[shapeshifter]

There have been a lot of hints over the years that Raj might be in denial over being gay, so they could resolve the situation that way too. 

[Big Mother]

On 4/29/2016 at 11:24 AM, proserpina65 said:

Okay, I just googled, and yes, the actor who plays Zach (or is it Zack?), Brian Smith, was on the Amazing Race with his brother Greg.  It's the season where Rob and Amber were beaten to the final mat by Joyce and Uchenna.  I can't believe I didn't recognize him, because the episode where he and Greg have a car accident in Africa is one of the more memorable eps of the show.

WHOA! Copy that!! I watched every season of TAR, and Season 7 is one of my favorites. I did not recognize Zach as one of the brothers. But that's probably because I didn't watch TBBT between 2013 and 2015, and I binge watched the entire AR last spring, so I didn't connect the two. Interesting! Wow.

[CherryAmes]

Finally saw this episode last night and enjoyed it.  Aside from all else it seemed a little longer than previous episodes.  Sigh.  Or maybe I've just gotten used to the endless commercial breaks.  Anyway the highlight for me was Sheldon being so sweet with Bernadette but overall I thought this was one of the stronger episodes of the season.  I do agree though with those that pointed out that Howard and Amy had bonded over their shared love of Neil Diamond, to the point where they were going to go to a concert together so them being so uncomfortable when they were alone together was awkward and another clear sign that the writers don't read their past scripts.  Or don't care.

[Anothermi]

4 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

Finally saw this episode last night and enjoyed it.  Aside from all else it seemed a little longer than previous episodes.  Sigh.  Or maybe I've just gotten used to the endless commercial breaks.  Anyway the highlight for me was Sheldon being so sweet with Bernadette but overall I thought this was one of the stronger episodes of the season.  I do agree though with those that pointed out that Howard and Amy had bonded over their shared love of Neil Diamond, to the point where they were going to go to a concert together so them being so uncomfortable when they were alone together was awkward and another clear sign that the writers don't read their past scripts.  Or don't care.

I saw that whole bit differently than most appear to have seen it. We all know that those two bonded over their mutual love for Neil Diamond songs... BUT...

1- they weren't in public then. It was just the two of them in a moving car instead of stuck at a table in a wine bar.

2- they appeared to me to be actively avoiding the topic of their mutual love of Neil Diamond songs. I felt they may even feel guilty that they have this thing in common - treating it like they shared a drunken kiss/cheated on their significant other.

3 - not talking about that either reinforced that they truly have nothing else in common, or that they're only focus was on trying to avoid discussing it in public so they couldn't think of anything else to say.

Needless to say, I don't think the writers forgot about that iconic scene. I think they believed we would remember it, too, and so didn't HAVE to bring it up. It was the elephant in the room between them.

[caligirl50]

Bernadette isn’t showing.  At all.  She doesn’t look even the sightless bit pregnant.  TBBT has great make-up and wardrobe people.  What the heck?

[CherryAmes]

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1- they weren't in public then. It was just the two of them in a moving car instead of stuck at a table in a wine bar.

They also did karaoke together in a public place so it wasn't entirely them alone.  I guess it is possible if the writers are really thinking things through that they now feel uncomfortable that they got so carried away that day but I dunno, based on other things that have happened this season I'm inclining towards the belief that writers don't care about what they wrote last week when it comes to this week's script, let alone what they wrote last year!

[AnnaRose]

6 hours ago, Anothermi said:

I saw that whole bit differently than most appear to have seen it. We all know that those two bonded over their mutual love for Neil Diamond songs... BUT...

1- they weren't in public then. It was just the two of them in a moving car instead of stuck at a table in a wine bar.

2- they appeared to me to be actively avoiding the topic of their mutual love of Neil Diamond songs. I felt they may even feel guilty that they have this thing in common - treating it like they shared a drunken kiss/cheated on their significant other.

3 - not talking about that either reinforced that they truly have nothing else in common, or that they're only focus was on trying to avoid discussing it in public so they couldn't think of anything else to say.

Needless to say, I don't think the writers forgot about that iconic scene. I think they believed we would remember it, too, and so didn't HAVE to bring it up. It was the elephant in the room between them.

I didn't see it as a continuity-fail either.   They said it was three years since they hung out (which I'm assuming was the Neil Diamond thing - was it really that long ago?)... and I think that is actually very realistic for it to go back to being very awkward.  I could totally relate to it anyway, and I like how the actors played that scene.

[takalotti]

The Scavenger Vortex (Neil Diamond bonding episode) aired Oct 3, 2013. So more like 2.5 years ago. Not too terribly off.

While I do think Raj has been a douche about dating two women at once, I don't think he's been cheating or two-timing. Leonard specifically asked how this worked, and Raj said both women knew it was an open relationship but they don't talk about what's going on elsewhere. I've never been in an open relationship, but isn't that how it works? And I didn't get the impression he told his friends to zip it because he didn't want Claire to find out he's "cheating" on her. It's because he wanted to seem chill and smooth about casual dating, when he's really not.

I also thought it was weird writing the way they made Claire flip flop. On the phone, she seemed more interested in maintaining their casual status than Raj was. But then when she arrived she acted more like she was putout that she hadn't been upgraded to the super coveted status of Raj's Girlfriend. 

And Zack is only "smarter" than Leonard. He was the only one who hadn't considered the military applications yet. They others just hadn't talked about it. 

Edited May 9, 2016 by takalotti

[jjj]

On ‎4‎/‎29‎/‎2016 at 8:24 AM, mojoween said:

Zach and his real life brother were on season 7 of The Amazing Race, a GREAT season of TAR.  I love Greg and Brian SO MUCH and they were so incredibly funny.

I have seen all the seasons of The Amazing Race, and completely missed that Zack was a Racer!  I'll have to watch that season again this summer.  What a hoot!