episodes 1222 'The Maternal Conclusion' (May 9)

[Tripper]

The Maternal Conclusion
Airs Thursday, May 9 at 8/7c on CBS

Leonard is pleasantly surprised when Beverly (Christine Baranski) comes to visit and she's genuinely kind to him, until he finds out the real reason she's there. Also, Denise and Stuart overstay their welcome at the Wolowitz house.

Christine Baranski returns as Dr. Beverly Hofstadter.

[Die Zimtzicke]

I can't wait to see Christine again.

[veejay]

26 minutes ago, Die Zimtzicke said:

I can't wait to see Christine again.

So do I. Curious what surprise is in store for us this time. 🙂

[Tonstar17]

Another chance for the writers to rub it in Leonard face that she is here to support and congratulate Sheldon and Amy on their pregnancy.

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

[smartandbeautiful]

15 minutes ago, Tonstar17 said:

Another chance for the writers to rub it in Leonard face that she is here to support and congratulate Sheldon and Amy on their pregnancy.

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk
 

Nooooo, I think then Mary should've been in the episode too... 

[Die Zimtzicke]

29 minutes ago, Tonstar17 said:

Another chance for the writers to rub it in Leonard face that she is here to support and congratulate Sheldon and Amy on their pregnancy.

It says she is genuinely kind to him. She wouldn't have to be kind to him if that's all she was there for.

 

12 minutes ago, smartandbeautiful said:

Nooooo, I think then Mary should've been in the episode too... 

Laurie's schedule is making that hard, from what I heard.

[Tonstar17]

Nooooo, I think then Mary should've been in the episode too... 

Since when do the writers care. As long as it hurts Leonard, it funny in their eyes. Just speculating on the potential plot or the pointless plot.

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

Laurie's schedule is making that hard, from what I heard.

And the it says he finds out the real reason. Could mean anything. Beverley can be, kind and then heartless. Kinda remind me of someone.

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

[chucky]

On 4/19/2019 at 10:12 AM, Tonstar17 said:

And the it says he finds out the real reason. Could mean anything.

Personally, I'm tired of Beverly. I believe she out played her icy, bitchiness! When she's in the episode, it don't bode well for Leonard.

[MsGreentea]

I love Beverly and Leonard. Someone mentioned LaurieMetcalf’ schedule.  Her play just opened but has been in previews since midMarch.  She is off Monday’s, and that is it, unless they skipped a Sunday Matinee during previews for her (doubtful but certainly possible). I guess we may see her on Skype.  Inserting a trip to Ca. Between a Sunday matinee and a Tuesday performance would be brutal.

[Die Zimtzicke]

2 hours ago, MsGreentea said:

Inserting a trip to Ca. Between a Sunday matinee and a Tuesday performance would be brutal.

Didn't she do it once for the wedding ep already or am I misremembering?

[vonmar]

5 minutes ago, Die Zimtzicke said:

Didn't she do it once for the wedding ep already or am I misremembering?

Yes she did, for "The Bow Tie Asymmetry".  She was doing "Three Tall Women" on Broadway and flew to LA to pre-shoot her scenes.  Was back in her Broadway show by Tuesday night.

Edited April 22, 2019 by vonmar

[veejay]

I’m not sure, but it looks like someone "just released the kraken". 😉

(Taken from the promo vid)

[bfm]

1 minute ago, veejay said:

I’m not sure, but it looks like someone "just released the kraken". 😉

(Taken from the promo vid)

That looks like the most affectionate gesture she's ever done with him. I'm gonna watch this one, or at least the Beverly plot. I'm curious.

[veejay]

2 minutes ago, bfm said:

That looks like the most affectionate gesture she's ever done with him. I'm gonna watch this one, or at least the Beverly plot. I'm curious.

Just be careful! 🙂

[Tripper]

What did you think of this episode?

[RoRo]

I am easily entertained. I enjoyed this episode, Leonard figuring out it is what it is, the hug was sweet and keeping Raj from going after a not so sure thing. The Stuart/Denise thing was sweet/weird at the same time. 

Edited to add Johnny and Christine were very good in this episode.

Edited May 10, 2019 by RoRo

[vonmar]

From Glamour  (full review in the link)

The Big Bang Theory Season 12, Episode 22 Recap: Leonard and Beverly Just Broke My Heart

The second to last episode of The Big Bang Theory is in the books, and you'll probably need someone to sing "Soft Kitty" to you after you watch. Or at least a hug. Christine Baranski and Johnny Galecki brought the house down with their raw, emotional portrayals of Beverly and Leonard, and their relationship will never be the same. Same for Raj, who made the biggest decision of his life. You know what that means: Spoilers ahead, so proceed with caution.

<snip>

Next week: The two-part series finale. If you think tonight’s episode was emotional, take it from someone who was at the finale taping: You haven't seen anything yet.

[SRAM]

Remember how in season 6 the writers made it a big joke that Howard kept talking about going into space and would relate it to everything he said, well the writers seem to not be able to put out an episode in season 12 without either mentioning Asymmetry or the Nobel or both.

[chucky]

On 5/3/2019 at 11:08 AM, veejay said:

I’m not sure, but it looks like someone "just released the kraken

Now, that's funny!  

[joyceraye]

Well, whoever suggested Beverly was only coming for research nailed it !  Shades of 'The research isn't over' or words to that effect in the babysitting/parenting episode. Leonard may forgive his mother and accept her personality for what it is, but scars aren't that easily healed. He's still going to be affected up to a point by the last forty years for the next forty or fifty or so.

[Sah]

I thought it was fine. My favorite parts were Raj and Howard, and Stuart and Denise. Raj and Howard have made me laugh over and over again with their amazing bromance. Loved seeing Howard chasing him down at the airport. Stuart and Denise just make me smile because they are so awkward. Glad they are moving in together. I really like Denise and I just wish we could have met her earlier in the series and gotten to know her more. 

Sheldon and Amy we're ok. Not much to do

Leonard and his mom were Ok. I didn't feel any strong emotions. Nothing really tugged at my heart strings. I was happy when Penny screamed at his mom and tried to make her appologize to him. I was happy he stood up for heimself and called his mother out. 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2019 by Sah

[MTBigBangTheoryFan]

Tonight episode was the best this season imo.  

[veejay]

7 hours ago, vonmar said:

From Glamour  (full review in the link)

The Big Bang Theory Season 12, Episode 22 Recap: Leonard and Beverly Just Broke My Heart

The second to last episode of The Big Bang Theory is in the books, and you'll probably need someone to sing "Soft Kitty" to you after you watch. Or at least a hug. Christine Baranski and Johnny Galecki brought the house down with their raw, emotional portrayals of Beverly and Leonard, and their relationship will never be the same. Same for Raj, who made the biggest decision of his life. You know what that means: Spoilers ahead, so proceed with caution.

<snip>

Next week: The two-part series finale. If you think tonight’s episode was emotional, take it from someone who was at the finale taping: You haven't seen anything yet.

I like to quote an excerpt from this recap:
"It really is just Sheldon’s world and we just live in it."
Me, myself & I tried, but no, never ever!

Edited May 10, 2019 by veejay

[bfm]

4 hours ago, joyceraye said:

Well, whoever suggested Beverly was only coming for research nailed it !  Shades of 'The research isn't over' or words to that effect in the babysitting/parenting episode. 

🙋‍♀️

_________________________

Wow. Finally an episode in this season (except the Halloween one) I really loved. Not the comedy in it though, bit the drama. These things were long overdue. I get people who won't like the episode, it was more dramatic than light comedic, I think that's because the writers waited with all those things to the last moment and so they were crammed together. 

I LOVED LOVED LOVED that they finally dealt with Leonard's issues with his mother in a more deep and serious way. The things he said in this episode, about always having the hope of getting his mother's approval reignited when interacting with her, always trying to win this approval, even though he knows he is unlikely to get it, it all reminded me of some posts I made, I think in season 11, maybe the novel episode?, about his repetition compulsion. Repetition compulsion in a nutshell, a veryvl simplified nutshell, means a person repeatedly brings him/herself into situations where a traumatic experience is repeated. Leonard repeatedly got (gets) himself into situations where he wouldn't get approval and recognition from his mother and others, instead getting degraded. This can be seen as playing a role in his relationship with Sheldon (their real friendship, good times, shared interests etc. notwithstanding). 

Many talk about how whimpy Leonard is, what a loser he is. It's easy to see it that way when focusing on whay we see on the show, the show does focus on that and it's easy to forget about the context. But taking this character in context, IMO, shows how resilient, strong, he really is. This character is a person who has been emotionally abused by his mother, while his father was mostly absent (thus enabling it). Many people like that would be far less functional. Yet he had managed to grow, function, live his life and then expend his life, "opening to the world" with the help of Penny (as Johnny says, to Leonard Penny represented a way to get out to 'the world out there'). And here we saw that strength full-blown when Leonard was able to accept his tragedy and move on. He also decided not to dwell on it when he realised it just won't help, in fact saying his list probably would've made Beverly counter-attack with criticism and detached, analytical behavior (her defenses). Leonard's strength (which is despite, and not because of Beverly), IMO, is what made possible for Beverly to get to a place where she finally, finally could recognize her failures (and at that perhaps a sort of inability). 

Johnny was fantastic IMO. Like Leonard, I find him incredibly underrated. He was awesome. Top performance. Christine Baranski was amazing as well, first by making me want to slap Beverly in the face several times and then with Beverly's moment of truth and vulnerability, with she managed to pull off genuinely with so little time (in a longer show this scene would've gotten several additional minutes). As you can see above, just the few seconds of the hug from the promo made me see the unusual affection shown there. I teared up in that Leonard and Beverly scene and in some previous Leonard parts.

Penny had some good zingers, although I gotta say her awkward smile when Leonard realized Beverly came for research distracted me. The episode also showed well how Penny has trouble dealing with intense emotions. I'm not saying that as a complaint about her, that's the character. They also showed Amy's way of coping - intellectualising, using Biology, and Sheldon's avoiding connection with his friend's complex hurt feelings and staying in his own world.

 

Raj - great call there. My problems were the unbelievable pace (Anu goes to a convention and right there starts a new job?) and the lack of the others' responses (Lenny, Shamy). It is very true that Raj was desperately chasing something that didn't appear to be there, just so he could have a marriage and a family. His saying it may be his last chance at that did hit home though, being single myself while many friends are getting married and everybody at work have children (I'm years younger than they are). Loved Howard making the grand romantic gesture to help his dear, dear friend. And Bernadetre yelling at him to go (can't remember the line right now) was funny.

Stuart and Denise plot was nice and it was time.

Edited May 10, 2019 by bfm

[joyceraye]

10 minutes ago, bfm said:

My problems were the unbelievable pace (Anu goes to a convention and right there starts a new job?)

Unusual perhaps, but it can happen that a post falls vacant suddenly. If an owner needs a manager unexpectedly and makes an offer provided the job can be taken up straightaway, Anu's going to jump at it. As a Commonwealth citizen she can work in the UK with relatively less palaver than were she American. In her line of work they probably don't care what country they're in. Raj is  doing what Sheldon did:jumping on a plane to surprise his girlfriend with a proposal. It didn't take him eight years to get round to it, but considering the short time he and Anu had been courting it seemed rushed, yes, especially considering they'd agreed to take their time. I'm glad Bernie and Howard finally intervened.