S02.E22: A Swedish Science Thing and the Equation for Toast

[Bort]

Season 2 Finale

Quote

Sheldon invites the entire school to a party for the Nobel Prize announcements. Also, Meemaw learns more about Dr. Sturgis' past, and Georgie's desire for cable TV leads to a standoff between him and George Sr.

Airdate: Thursday, May, 16, 2019

[Browncoat]

Oh, Missy, sweetie, you should have stopped with two things you know about Sweden -- the meatballs and the Chef.  LOL

Loved the shots at the end of the young gang, especially Amy, reading one of the Little House books.  🙂

Edited May 17, 2019 by Browncoat

[Bort]

I don’t even know what to say about the end scenes.

[Snow Apple]

Damn it. BBT already made me tear up. I didn't expect to have tears continue on here too.

[BryroseA]

Oh, John.😥 That scene on the roof was heartbreaking.

[mojoween]

At first I didn’t make the connection with the kids at the end but whoo boy when I did the waterworks started up again.

Little Howard was perfect.  Also Penny passed out sleeping, ha!

Edited May 17, 2019 by mojoween

[libgirl2]

8 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

Damn it. BBT already made me tear up. I didn't expect to have tears continue on here too.

Me too!

[anna0852]

I  I love that it was actually Howard's old bedrooms Set that we used to see on BBT and that they really did dub in carol ann's voice for his mom.

[Spartan Girl]

Awww the mini Big Bang gang!

LMAO at Missy catching George watching the adult movie channel.

Can't wait for next season, though it'll be weird without BBT.

[2727]

I didn't even realize I was so fond of Sheldon, but his sadness at the realization that he doesn't have any friends (even Tam didn't come), along with the promise of his future made me for real sob.

[TV Diva Queen]

The ending was everything!  I just love Shelly. Young and old. 

[ams1001]

So Little Bernadette sleeps the same way Sheldon does?

[Frost]

This was a very bittersweet episode.  Poor Dr Sturgis and his sorrow at realizing his life's dream was never going to happen.  Bombshell about his being hospitalized in the past.  Definitely story potential for next season.

I felt so bad for Sheldon when the camera panned over all the empty chairs and the carefully arranged boxes of cereal and milk on ice.  And then the scientist he was rooting for didn't even win the Nobel.  I've felt that soul deep loneliness and it's so hard to watch it happen even to a fictional character.  The cut aways to the other children broke my heart.  I know Penny, Bernadette, and Raj had normally happy childhoods but Leonard, Howard, and Amy have some tough times ahead of them, just like Sheldon.   I wanted to let them all know that they are going to find each other.  A perfect companion to the BBT finale.

[Zoe]

Nice trivia in the credits: we get the ages of all of the BBT gang for the first time.

[ams1001]

3 minutes ago, Zoe said:

Nice trivia in the credits: we get the ages of all of the BBT gang for the first time.

I missed it 😞

[Zoe]

25 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I missed it 😞

I think it was: Penny - 4, Bernadette - 5, Leonard - 8, Raj - 9, Howard - 9, Amy - 12.

Is Sheldon 10 or 11 right now?

[ams1001]

7 minutes ago, Zoe said:

I think it was: Penny - 4, Bernadette - 5, Leonard - 8, Raj - 9, Howard - 9, Amy - 12.

Is Sheldon 10 or 11 right now?

I think he's 10.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Zoe said:

I think it was: Penny - 4, Bernadette - 5, Leonard - 8, Raj - 9, Howard - 9, Amy - 12.

Is Sheldon 10 or 11 right now?

Thanks. I missed that part. They said Sheldon was 10 at the start of this season so he should be 11 now. 

ETA: If the show is moving in real time Sheldon should be 11. However that Nobel prize announcement was from October 1990 making Sheldon 10. 

Edited May 17, 2019 by Guest

[SmithW6079]

Dr Sturgis's breakdown was heartbreaking, and I may have started crying when Connie found him and convinced him to come in as he took her hand. Kudos to Annie Potts and Wallace Shawn for that scene.

When Mary came out to tell Sheldon Dr Sturgis wasn't coming, for a second I thought she was going to say he had died.

Missy had some good one-liners, and I laughed out loud at George and Georgie's battle over the cable TV: "This isn't over, little man! Not by a long shot!"

Edited May 17, 2019 by SmithW6079

[jewel21]

That was sad. Poor Dr. Sturgis. 

I loved seeing all of Sheldon's future friends at the end. I especially loved how Penny basically looks like Missy when she sleeps, heh. 

[BitterApple]

Aw, man, what a beautifully done episode.

I had a pit in my stomach the entire time because I was afraid we were going to find out Dr. Sturgis committed suicide or had to be institutionalized. His heartbreak over realizing his dream would never come true was palpable.

Ditto for poor Sheldon, with his meticulously arranged breakfast and empty chairs. When the scene shifted to the montage of young BB castmembers, the waterworks started flowing. That was an awesome way to tie the shows together.

A+ for this finale.

[Mystery]

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

Little Howard was perfect.  Also Penny passed out sleeping, ha!

The kid who played her was way too big to be four, though. I did like that ending. Especially juxtaposed with what happened to Dr. Sturgis, who couldn't make connections. 

As usual, Missy for the win. 

I thought that George would point out that he paid for the TV that Georgie was watching his cable on. 

[elle]

2 hours ago, Zoe said:

I think it was: Penny - 4, Bernadette - 5, Leonard - 8, Raj - 9, Howard - 9, Amy - 12.

Is Sheldon 10 or 11 right now?

Eleven year old Amy

[2727]

I hope the show doesn't go anywhere dark with Sturgis. He's such a kind, gentle character who treats both Sheldon and Connie with respectful consideration and delight.

It fit the plot for him to go into a bit of a tailspin in this episode because he never achieved his Nobel dreams, but I wouldn't want any further sad storylines about his physical or mental decline. Let him continue to be a smart, charming side character who rides his bicycle with a wok strapped to his back.

[rmontro]

I was really not expecting that turn for Dr. Sturgis.  And here I was just thinking how much I enjoy his relationship with MeeMaw on the show, they're very cute together.  I hope this doesn't mean that Wallace Shawn won't be back next season ☹️

I thought the ending tribute to Big Bang was very touching.  Sheldon really is lucky to have grown up to have so many good friends, as juxtaposed with his loneliness here.  The fact that he goes to school with kids so much older than him doesn't help.

[chocolatine]

Little Leonard in his red dressing gown - I die! And how cute is Little Amy?

I thought Mary trying to console Sheldon was sweet, but she really should have managed his expectations when he first floated the idea of inviting people over for the announcement. This was one of many situations where her coddling didn't help him in the long run.

With Superstore having just had a really dark season finale, I was worried that John would commit suicide, so I'm really glad that didn't happen. I have a feeling though that his relationship with Meemaw won't last after this, and Sheldon will be sad not to have John in his life on a regular basis anymore.

[Katy M]

8 hours ago, 2727 said:

I didn't even realize I was so fond of Sheldon, but his sadness at the realization that he doesn't have any friends (even Tam didn't come), along with the promise of his future made me for real sob.

Even if he had had friends, and I'm sure this is the excuse for Tam, how were they supposed to get there at the 5 a.m. even had they wanted to get up.

5 hours ago, Mystery said:

I thought that George would point out that he paid for the TV that Georgie was watching his cable on. 

That, and not only did Georgie have it set up that they couldn't watch the cable he paid for, they also couldn't watch the free TV (which I never in my whole life got) they were already watching.  I get why Georgie wouldn't want to pay for cable for the whole family, but he should have also bought a TV and had set up in his own room.

3 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I thought Mary trying to console Sheldon was sweet, but she really should have managed his expectations when he first floated the idea of inviting people over for the announcement. This was one of many situations where her coddling didn't help him in the long run.

I don't think he would have listened to her any more than he listened to Missy, and disappointments are a part of life.  Theoretically that could have been better for him in the long run.  I kept expecting Missy to come in after Mary left, though.  I think they would have gone that way had they not wanted the Big Bang kids set up. Speaking of which, I'm not sure why Leonard's  mother yelled at him that he should be in bed.  If it was 5 in TX, then it would have been 6 in NJ.  If it was a weekend, who cares when he gets up, and if it was a weekday, he would have had to get up soon for school anyway, right?  

[rasalas]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

That, and not only did Georgie have it set up that they couldn't watch the cable he paid for, they also couldn't watch the free TV (which I never in my whole life got) they were already watching.  I get why Georgie wouldn't want to pay for cable for the whole family, but he should have also bought a TV and had set up in his own room.

The parental controls are for the cable box, not the TV. So George could have still watched the TV the way he always had before -- using the existing antenna, not the box.

But I'm pretty sure that parental controls were not available on set-top cable boxes during the time period the show is set, even though the producers did a good job of making them look "old school."

[TV Diva Queen]

I liked how Raj was studying and not sleeping. #timezones

[Katy M]

33 minutes ago, rasalas said:

The parental controls are for the cable box, not the TV. So George could have still watched the TV the way he always had before -- using the existing antenna, not the box.

I guess I was thinking you would have to unhook/hook up a bunch of crap on the back of the TV to watch antenna TV.  I've always lived in rural areas where antenna TV was not an option.

[Bort]

7 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I guess I was thinking you would have to unhook/hook up a bunch of crap on the back of the TV to watch antenna TV.  I've always lived in rural areas where antenna TV was not an option.

They would typically use the same prong hookup. Or if the TV also had a coax hookup, the box would use that. Either way, the box is set to jack into either channel 3 or 4 on the TV (whichever one was not occupied by an antenna channel) and you could watch antenna TV as usual by changing the channels on the TV itself, while the box would have its own separate remote. (Our box in that time period was just a knob you turned, it didn't have a remote and definitely didn't have parental control lockout.)

[Bali]

Dang, I wasn't expecting that to hit me in the feels. I was expecting maybe Leonard and Penny's baby's name, or Raj and Missy became a thing. Not little bitty young BBT. 

And can we skip John going bonkers. Had enough of that on an HBO show. Let's just pick up next season with him healthier, okay?

[Zoe]

9 hours ago, elle said:

Eleven year old Amy

Thanks--she and Sheldon are about the same age then.

... Amy better get crackin' on those kids!

[mammaM]

🎶🎶Someday we'll be together🎶🎶

Love the song over the little TBBT montage, realized it halfway through and went back to watch it again😂

And I love Wallace Shawn and Annie Potts together, so I hope they keep John.

[Tom Holmberg]

I wondered if the mental illness twist wasn't a way to drop Sturgis' character from next season.

[Tom Holmberg]

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

guess I was thinking you would have to unhook/hook up a bunch of crap on the back of the TV to watch antenna TV.

There are A/B switches that let you push a button to switch input from cable to antenna and back. Those were common back then.

[Driad]

Sturgis asked Connie to marry him, but did not mention that he had had this problem that might reoccur?

[hoodooznoodooz]

The Missy actress was superb walking in on her dad looking at naked women on TV. Her “Ooohh!!” was perfection and conveyed so much.

[Quark]

Really great episode.

Looking forward to next season, I'm going to miss this show.

Favourite quote, something along the lines of "On Friday night, our football team is going to plan another football team." Brilliant.

[Traveller519]

16 hours ago, 2727 said:

I didn't even realize I was so fond of Sheldon, but his sadness at the realization that he doesn't have any friends (even Tam didn't come), along with the promise of his future made me for real sob.

That really hit hard. I've had events that people bail on for all sorts of reasons, but when you put work into something and want to share it with friends, it's hard not to take it personally. I empathized with Sheldon.

This show has really grown into something better than it had any right to be when it was announced, mixing in appropriate drama with the comedy. Nearly all the actors hit it out of the park and can play up multiple angles. I do wish we had been able to explore more of Missy this season than straight-up comic relief, but she does it so well.

The young friends paired so well with TBBT finale. I know there's no logical reason for Young Sheldon to interact with any of them, but it would be so interesting to occasionally find a reason to check in with them. Young Leonard was especially emotional.

[Katy M]

49 minutes ago, Traveller519 said:

That really hit hard. I've had events that people bail on for all sorts of reasons, but when you put work into something and want to share it with friends, it's hard not to take it personally. I empathized with Sheldon.

To be fair, I don't think anybody, with the possible exception of TAm, said they were coming.  He doesn't really have any friends, so I imagine everybody he invited was like, OK, whatever. Plus it was at 5 a.m.  No kid is going to get out of bed at 5 and traipse over to a not-friend's house for something they didn't care about in the first place.  Yes, it sucked for Sheldon, but it's not really anybody's fault.

[Gothish520]

I enjoyed this more than the BBT finale! 

I felt so bad for both John and Sheldon. It must be incredibly hard to be so smart and think so differently from others, and feel so alone because few people, if any, understand you. I've always had sympathy for Sheldon, because for the most part he can't help being the way he is. Seeing him as a child has helped to explain and clarify so much about who he is as an adult. 

My husband reminds me quite a bit of Sheldon - he's very intelligent but also an odd duck, as he would be the first to admit, and throughout his life he has had difficulty making friends. I really felt for Sheldon when no one showed up to his party, as my husband has a similar story of throwing a party in college that had the same result. My heart broke when he told me that story, and it broke for Sheldon too!

Excellent and very emotional episode!

[wendyg]

In case anyone's curious, the song Wallace Shawn was singing while digging the garden is "The Garden Song", by the long-serving folksinger David Mallett. It was I think the very first song that made the folk scene aware of his talents sometime in the late 1970s, so it was great to hear it popping up.

[2727]

The thing that made me tear up about Sheldon's radio party was that he was so sad. I would've expected him to be determinedly excited to listen and, as per usual, not care what the other "unexceptional" kids think or do.

The scene highlighted how vulnerable he is despite his assumptions of superiority and inability to read social signals. His immediate reaction to send Sturgis a get well card was very sweet. I also enjoyed his cereal shopping and the reasons he discarded all choices other than Cheerios. Birds on the boxes!

There's a clip of the "Someday we'll be together" ending that I've watched a few times; I especially love that Howard is in his adult bedroom. Great job with casting and make-up on the kids!

[BitterApple]

9 hours ago, Bali said:

Dang, I wasn't expecting that to hit me in the feels. I was expecting maybe Leonard and Penny's baby's name, or Raj and Missy became a thing. Not little bitty young BBT. 

And can we skip John going bonkers. Had enough of that on an HBO show. Let's just pick up next season with him healthier, okay?

I hear ya, although someone needs to tell the producers of that "other" show this is how you subvert expectations. Dr. Sturgis' history plus the ending scene were completely unexpected, but seamlessly executed.

Edited May 17, 2019 by BitterApple

[MaryMitch]

Here's the tweet with the final shot:

[ams1001]

16 hours ago, chocolatine said:

Little Leonard in his red dressing gown - I die! And how cute is Little Amy?

I am sure I spent some time with a flashlight under the covers reading that same book (among many, many others).

41 minutes ago, MaryMitch said:

Here's the tweet with the final shot:

Thanks for posting that! I didn't notice little Penny snoring the first time. That's great.

[Friendly kitty]

Perfect season finale ... Perfect episode. Perfect touch of this show with BBT.

So you want to regret and cheer up the unfortunate young Sheldon. So you want to comfort Dr Sturgis ... Their life was ruined.

But Sheldon has a loving family, and the doctor has his beloved Connie. I hope she can support him, and soon he will again become cheerful and joyful.

And most importantly, we know that all BBT babies, who are now waiting for difficult times, will be fine in the future. They will find each other and become happy.

Edited May 18, 2019 by Friendly kitty

[secnarf]

I was quite surprised with Dr Sturgis' storyline. At first I thought they were setting up a dementia storyline, but then it was way too sudden onset and then we found out it has happened before. It seemed like a manic episode with psychotic features to me. I wonder how they will deal with this moving forward.

[Magnumfangirl]

As cute as the final montage was, the episode was kind of a downer.  I wanted to see Sheldon and John listening to the announcement together. And it would have been nice if John and Sheldon had discussed what it took to win, why John would never win, and why the winner won. This just felt like a way to get rid of Dr. Sturgis.  TBBT ended on a happy note, this was depressing.