Episode 14 - The Cooper/Kripke Inversion
12 February 2013
Synopsis: Sheldon and Kripke are forced to work together on the same project and Sheldon is shocked to find that he is lagging behind. Kripke’s theory is that it must be due to all the sex Sheldon and Amy are having. Meanwhile Raj and Howard order expensive action figures which are meant to resemble them. When they don’t look good they buy an even more expensive 3D printer and make their own.
The Good: The discussion over Sheldon’s sexuality was handled pretty well. It came up organically in the conversation and I really liked the way everyone reacted to it. Initially both Leonard and Sheldon looked shocked that Penny was bringing it up and yet Sheldon was open to sharing his feelings. The use of his recent vapour rubbing (610) as an example of how he is slowly becoming more comfortable with physical contact (in an episode where Amy gave him comforting hugs) made sense and his admission that future intimate relations were a “possibility” seemed about as far as it was wise to push things at this stage. Penny’s ecstatic reaction to these revelations was excellent and I loved the touch that she then thanks him for opening up.
There were a couple of nice roommate moments too (see Comic Highlight) as Leonard demonstrates his knowledge of Sheldon’s beverage needs and then later tells him off in a parental manner and exclaims “I gotta remember how I did that.”
A few jokes landed like Sheldon hiding his equations from Kripke only to reveal his “drawing of a really cool train.” I also smiled at the logic of Howard thinking through whether his 3D printer could actually create plastic lady parts and Sheldon claiming he was giving Amy’s parts “A proper jostling.”
The Bad: I guess on some level I wanted there to be more depth to Sheldon’s disinterest in sexual intercourse. But I don’t actually think that would benefit the show much so this seemed like a pleasant development in his growth.
There wasn’t much of a story surrounding Kripke. The episode built up like a classic Sheldon versus someone story and then veered off into an exploration of his sexual identity. It left a very flat ending where Kripke tries to do some locker room talk to Sheldon’s bemusement.
The Howard story did conclude but was merely an excuse to bring out a 3D printer. The producers love to latch onto new technology and feature it but they don’t usually do anything interesting with them. The action figures were a cute idea but it lead into pretty dull sit com territory as Bernadette clamped down on Howard’s spending.
Comic Highlight: I smiled at Leonard working out which drink fitted Sheldon’s outraged mood. But I actually laughed when Sheldon (talking about Kripke) asked “Do you have any idea what it’s like to be paired with someone who is so incredibly annoying?” and Leonard responded eagerly (with hand raised) “Oh teacher, me! Me!”
In Conclusion: The sex discussion was a major milestone for the show but it came amidst a dull run-of-the-mill episode.
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