These two do it up big, and as it turns out, part of that might spring from some advice A-Rod got as he started out on this journey with J.Lo. According to Page Six, a friend apparently advised that, “Whatever you do, you cannot mess her around.”
As the friend told the tabloid, “I said, ‘This lady is like American royalty. Whatever happens, you cannot treat her badly. If you split up for any reason, she has to be the one to dump your ass!’ It’s a lot of pressure on someone to date Jennifer Lopez! But they both fell in love.”
Yeah, we’re guessing that dating one of pop music’s biggest icons isn’t exactly a low-key deal—even if you are a super-famous former baseball player. But it seems like it’s all worked out for the two of them. As A-Rod told Vanity Fair for their October 2017 cover story, the two share a lot of bonds that make for a solid foundation: “We are very much twins,” he said. “We’re both Leos, we’re both from New York, we’re both Latino…and about 20 other things.”
According to another source from Page Six, the two are super-supportive of each other in their day-to-day relationship, too—which is especially important when both partners are in high-powered careers. “They’re so respectful to each other,” the source told Page Six. “When Alex is working for ESPN [calling baseball games], Jennifer goes … and sits quietly in the booth because she likes to watch him. They have that kind of relationship. Likewise, when she was doing her [concert residency] in Vegas, he would fly in. He was at almost every show. The support level is incredible.”
Bless this happy couple, an inspiration to us all.
Encourage she has. Through the Tory Burch Foundation, the designer started the Embrace Ambition summit last year, to connect female entrepreneurs for professional development and personal growth in an honest and meaningful way. Now in its second year, the event has grown beyond a one-day gathering in New York into a week-long series in Tory Burch stores across the country. (It’s free to attend, but you have to apply for a ticket. “They had to write an essay about why they should come,” Burch says. “In the first 24 hours, we had 1,200 applicants with 1,200 essays that were heart-wrenching and beautiful and inspiring.”) The series kicks off in Philadelphia, but if you can’t make it in person, you can catch the conversation on a live stream. (There are also guidebooks, articles, and more to keep the conversation going all year.)
Founding a company, being a creative director, CEO, philanthropist, mentor, and mother doesn’t come without its bumps in the road. “I’ve been through a fair amount in 14 years,” she says. “Being a very private person, going through things in a very public way is not always easy. Protecting my family, building a business, [running a] business in 2008 when markets changed overnight, bringing a team along that believes in you—it’s not always easy.” But harnessing her ambition made things a little easier. Soak up some of her wisdom here.
Throw out any preconceptions about the word “ambition.” “In retrospect, I’ve always been a bit ambitious in various ways,” says Burch. But she never really thought of herself that way until she was called ‘ambitious’ by The New York Times. “I remember the exact moment when he [the journalist] said ‘Wow, you’re ambitious.’ And I was like, ‘Iow, that’s such a rude thing to say.’ It was the first article written on our company, and it seemed like a negative,” she recalls. A friend helped change her thinking. “She called and said, ‘You know, I love the article, but you shied away from the word ambition.’ I was a bit taken aback. But I realized that she was absolutely right. It really struck a chord and really set the trajectory for the next years to come on how I felt about the word, what it meant to me, what I felt it should mean.” The change in how people think of the word may not change overnight; it can be a process, like it was for Burch. “Over time I made this shift of when someone called me ambitious, I took it as a compliment,” she says. “I redefined my relationship with the word. It’s still something that I think about to this day, and I describe myself as ambitious. I’m proud of that.”
Burch at her Spring 2019 show during New York Fashion Week.
WWD/REX/Shutterstock
Your personal ambition might not be obvious—but that shouldn’t stop you from trying to find it. “I have always been ambitious—starting a company is not for the unambitious—but it has manifested in different ways throughout my life,” Burch says. “I started a sorority as a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania. I became an entrepreneur before entrepreneurship was talked about. And, of course, being a mom was one of my greatest ambitions. Identifying and prioritizing your ambitions can be tricky. Mine came at a crossroads when I found out I was pregnant with my third son. I had just been offered the position as president of a big fashion company, but I knew I couldn’t take the job and be the kind of mom I wanted to be to three boys under the age of four.” After a lot of thinking, she decided to jump. “It was one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to make,” she says. “When I left, I had no idea that I would begin conceptualizing our company. Taking a step back gave me a new perspective, and a new ambition began to emerge. Ambitions evolve with time.”
Ellen Page first stole our hearts in the indie classic Juno. The film earned her an Oscar nomination and led to buzzy roles in movies like the X-Men series, Inception, and Whip It. But outside of her acting, Page is also rightfully celebrated for her fierce commitment to LGBTQ+ activism and awareness.
Page first came out on Valentine’s Day in 2014, during a speech at the Human Rights Campaign’s “Time to Thrive” conference in Las Vegas. Since, she’s hosted Gaycation, a documentary series exploring the lives of marginalized LGBTQ+ people in countries where homosexuality is banned, and has worked with the Astraea Lesbian Foundation. Lately, Page has been in the headlines for alleging a church Chris Pratt attends is “infamously anti lgbtq” on Twitter. She also wrote an essay for The Hollywood Reporter about hate violence in response to the current conversation around Jussie Smollett.
Now, Page is starring in Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy, which is currently streaming. She plays Vanya Hargreeves, the only sibling in a clan of superheroes not to have supernatural abilities.
Below, Page answers Glamour‘s “The Big Questions.”
What is your full name, and where does it come from?
My name is Ellen Grace Page. My mom liked the name Ellen, and Grace is for my dad’s aunt.
What’s your idea of true happiness?
Going on a hike in the middle of the woods with my wife and my dog. That’s when I’m like, “Oh my god, it’s too much; it’s so beautiful.”
What’s your idea of hell on Earth?
Probably a lot of things that are happening now, like environmental degradation, oppression and violence towards marginalized people.
If you could be anyone, real or fictional, who would you be?
Naomi Klein, who’s such an extraordinary writer and has written book after book that has inspired since I was a teenager, like No Logo and The Shock Doctrine. I’ve learned so much from her and admire her courage and bravery.
What’s a headline you’d love to read about yourself?
“Ellen Page Gets 3 New Puppies.”
If you were on a dating app, what would your opening line be?
“My dog is super cute. It’s worth putting up with me for this little guy.”
When the zombie apocalypse comes, what skill will you contribute you to the new society?
A snack. If you’re in a lot of trouble, and you’re really starving, I’ll be your snack. That’s all I can do.
What’s your most irrational fear?
Walking over a grate on the sidewalk. I don’t know how people do it.
What chapter of your life would be the most fascinating to read?
My shift from not being known, to being known, and years after that being closeted and dealing with it in this industry.
Would you rather be able to stop time or speed it up?
Speed it up, because when you have food poisoning on an eight-hour flight, you could speed up time.
How do you stand up for what you believe in?
By sharing information and trying to create channels for more representation for more people, particularly members of the LGBTQ+ community. Like show I made with Vice called Gaycation, which is about LGBTQ+ communities around the world.
You’re stuck on a desert island and can bring only three things. What are they?
My wife, my dog, and a fire starter.
You have to give up sex, booze, or laughter. Pick one.
Judith Light deserves to sit on a throne, but when I walk in to the room where she’s doing press for her new Lifetime movie, Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story, she is sitting on the equivalent of a foot rest. (With perfect posture, no less.) It’s the middle of January and Light has come down with a winter bug, and the foot rest is perfectly aligned with a nearby space heater. I tell her I’m happy to move somewhere more comfortable for her, but she swears she’s fine. She just wants me to be good. Down to earth, gracious, no frills—yep, Judith Light is an icon.
Light first came to mainstream attention in the late ’70s, when she played Karen Wolek on the ABC soap One Life to Live and won two Daytime Emmys. Then came the hit ’80s sitcom Who’s the Boss?, which she says is the role fans still want to talk to her about the most. As a career woman and single parent to a young son, her character was a mom not often seen on TV, while Tony Danza’s Tony Micelli took on the role of den mother/housekeeper.
In the years since, Light has won critical acclaim for every role she’s played, whether it’s Claire Meade on Ugly Betty or Shelly Pfefferman on Transparent. She’s been living her best life (and killing the red carpet game) as she makes the award circuit rounds with her fellow cast members from Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace. And now, she embarks on her latest role as barbaric head nurse Matron Grady in Lifetime’s first of several true crime movies based on real women.
Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story introduces viewers to investigative reporter Nellie Bly (played by Christina Ricci) as she goes on a mission to expose the horrible treatment of patients at the Women’s Lunatic Asylum. While undercover as a patient, Bly encounters Light’s Grady. “[Nellie Bly] was a very courageous and inspirational woman who got herself committed to do a story, but she almost didn’t get out,” Light says. “A lot of people don’t know Nellie’s story, so that was part of the reason I wanted to do the film.” The other reason was that she wanted to continue to shed light on mental health. “We need to keep having an ongoing, consistent dialogue in this country about mental health. It’s really important for us to have that conversation.”
Mental health is just one of the many social issues that Light is passionate about. Here, she opens up about the work being done with Time’s Up, the biggest difference she’s noticed at award shows, and more.
PHOTO: Michelle Faye Fraser/Lifetime
Judith Light in Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story
Glamour: You’ve played such extraordinary characters throughout your career, some more dark than others. How do you let that go once you’ve immersed yourself in that mindset for so long?
Judith Light: You just stop and let it go. It’s like, “Don’t indulge yourself in this.” There’s only been one time when I had difficulty letting something go many, many years ago, but that was because something was happening in my life and it was coloring the situation. But [otherwise] it’s like, just stop, you’re a character. You don’t need to drag that around in your life.
Please tell me that the character in question was not Angela Bower from Who’s the Boss? [Laughs].
JL: No, no. [Laughs] I loved that role. And a lot of people [want the show to come back]. A lot of people do.
She flipped professional and personal norms of being a single mom in the ’80s.
JL: No question. That was ABC [who deserves the credit]. I didn’t know what that show could do [at the time]. It isn’t until now that I have these young women come up to me and say, “Angela was my role model. I knew I could do something in the world because Angela was doing something in the world.” It’s very powerful for me to see all these young women seeing life in this way. I’m very appreciative.
Is there a role you’ve yet to play that you’d love to sink your teeth into?
JL: I cannot at this moment think of anything, and I’ll tell you why that is: If I had thought about what my career should be and what I would get, I couldn’t have come up with the things that have been as glorious as the ones I’ve gotten.
Do you get anxious when you take on roles?
JL: Such a good question. Always. I think, have I done enough work? Is it going to speak to people? Will it work? How will it be? How can I make it better? I want to make sure people are responding to it. And people have really responded to me in a way that I’m so grateful for it and don’t take any of it for granted.
I have a very dear friend by the name of Mary Fisher; you may not have heard of her, but she was the first woman at the Republican National Convention in 1992 to say “I am the face of AIDS.” Mary and I have remained friends [since then]. She had gotten AIDS from her husband. He’s passed on, and she’s still alive. I would always ask Mary, “What do you say before you go make a speech? What is your devotion?” And she said, “I always say, ‘Let me say this the way they need to hear it.’” That’s my devotion.
PHOTO: Kevork Djansezian/NBC
Judith Light at the 2019 Golden Globes
You were just at the Golden Globes and heard some incredible women say powerful things in their speeches. What in particular is resonating with you right now?
JL: Yes, there’s no question. We can’t forget who our sisters were who began this work, that have been unacknowledged, shoved to the side…[our] culture has not allowed for this kind of flourishing, and I am in this moment with all of my sisters in the flourishing of who we all are. All of a sudden at these award shows it’s like there’s no competition. [Everyone is] honored to be a part of it and so happy for you…and really meaning it. [They’re] really saying, “I have seen how the culture has affected the way I have related to you as my friend and my sister and the person who I have great regard for, and now I want to let you know that I am absolutely here for you.” You can see it happening absolutely everywhere. It’s really thrilling.
There’s a shift that’s happening, no doubt.
JL: In the early days of the AIDS pandemic, people were going, “What’s going on? Why are people treating other people this way?” What we saw was that it wasn’t just about AIDS or HIV, it was that homophobia lived in the culture. That’s partly why Ryan Murphy wanted to do the story of Gianni Versace. This homophobia that lives within the culture needs to be addressed and spoken to, so when that happened everybody woke up to the fact that this was happening, that it had always been there. I think the same is true with Time’s Up. It’s like, that’s right, you don’t get to do that anymore.
People who are feeling that women are taking something away from them…we’re not taking anything away from anybody. We are saying we are here. Many people don’t feel that they live in an abundance mentality. They live in a scarcity mentality. So if you live in a scarcity mentality, you can never transform yourself. The universe is either a friendly place or an unfriendly place for you. When you realize you can actually make a difference, that’s when everything begins to shift. That’s what I feel is one of the things that’s happening…there’s a shift in the wind. Something’s happening that is very different.
Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story, stars Christina Ricci, Judith Light, and Josh Bowman, and premieres on Lifetime this Saturday, January 19.
If you’re a regular viewer of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, there’s a good chance the name Ken Fuchs rings a bell. As director of the show, he estimates he’s overseen at least 350 episodes of the franchise and counting. “I did the math once, and I counted all the roses I’ve seen handed out, and it was an obscene number,” he says. “But I don’t remember that now. I’ll have to go back and figure it out.”
We can forgive Fuchs—who also works on Shark Tank, Family Feud, and Deal or No Deal—for not knowing his final rose count. After all, there are more pressing matters to keep track of each week. From following all the drama in the house to packing up and moving locations every week, Fuchs is lucky if he knows what time zone he’s in. “Think about a traveling carnival, and that’s us,” he says. “Everything you’re watching, we’re either in the next room or a few rooms over.” For Fuchs and his technical department, sometimes that means building a makeshift a tent in Bali that can keep the equipment cool, or finding a way to get cables to the 50th floor of a skyscraper. “The team is tremendous because it’s such an undertaking. From the art department to the lighting department, we work closely together just to figure out how to make the show.”
After nearly 17 years on the air, it’s safe to say they’ve more than figured it out. And now, with season 23 of The Bachelor about to premiere (January 7 on ABC), Fuchs is opening up about some of those production secrets and more. Read on.
Glamour: How often are you actually in contact with the contestants?
Ken Fuchs: It really depends on if I need to communicate something or if I need to reach somebody that I can’t reach from afar, because I’d rather not be [on set]. The more we can do that, the better for the content of the show, so we really make an effort of staying in the background. Obviously the cameramen are there, but I try to stay away because we want them as much as possible to forget the cameras are there. Every time they see me, it’s like, ‘Uh-oh.’ It’s a little bit like when they see [Chris] Harrison…something’s up. Sometimes I come through the kitchen and steal some of their appetizers, but that’s about it. However, the lead Bachelor or Bachelorette for that season, I’ll get to know because I’ll see him or her everyday. Every now and then we’ll give them television instruction, but it’s very, very minimal and we try to keep it that way.
PHOTO: Ken Fuchs
During a rose ceremony, it takes forever for the Bachelor or Bachelorette to announce each person’s name. Is that just editing, or are you instructing them via an earpiece when to call out names?
KF: I can tell you one thing: Yes, we’re making a TV show, so there is some of that [suspense we want to create]. No, the person never wears an earpiece themselves. They’re not driven in that way at all. There are occasions where we’ll cue them to do something or we might have to wait to do something, but it’s as simple as a camera has to change its battery or sometimes it’s a mundane reason. It’s not like we’re purposely extending it. We may have called two names back-to-back and in editing we can open up the time it takes for dramatic purposes. So, again, a huge credit to our post [production] department. That’s where all of that is created, and I’m sort of involved in that a little bit, but not terribly much so.
You’re basically saying they’re not counting, ‘One Mississippi, two Mississippi…’
KF: No, no. [Laughs] I know it must feel that way for sure and there is a little bit of a television contrivance, but no, it’s never that way. Also, we don’t want the Bachelor or Bachelorette thinking about us as they are holding a rose [deciding who to give it to]. We want them thinking about the faces in front of them and the emotions that they’re feeling. That’s the most important thing. And I can promise you all the music is added in post [production].
As the director of the show, which past Bachelor or Bachelorette did you find most captivating?
KF: Oh boy…I think Ben Higgins was very captivating. There’s something so earnest and sweet about him that really I think captured people’s imaginations. I think you root for all of them along the way, but some of them have been more divisive. There’s been years where people have questioned our decision. I’m not on the inside of that decision-making process, but in general I think our casting has been great. The suitors that show up for night one are always fascinating and crazy and weird and fun. So I think it’s a good mix.
Two recent ‘characters’ that come to mind are Jordan Kimball from Becca’s season and Krystal Nielson from Arie’s season. What intrigued you about them?
KF: There are so many great ‘characters,’ like Bekah Martinez. I’m always looking for great reactors and people who can be in the scene and not always talking, but reacting and listening. In other words, just engaged in the process, whether they are goofballs or serious or nice girls or mean girls…really just listening and being a participant in the process. If it leads them into strange territory, then that’s up to them—and all the better for the show. It really runs the gamut of emotions.
You make a great point about Bekah Martinez, because her expressions were priceless.
KF: Right. Right. And truth is stranger than fiction. Things come out of their mouth, and we sit around and say, “We couldn’t possibly write that. No one would believe it.” It would be too farcical for us to have a character say those lines, but here they come! Comes right out of their brain, out their mouth, and God bless ‘em.
PHOTO: ABC
The show has changed a lot since those early days in the beginning. Anything you miss about those times?
KF: I do cherish those early years because we were such a close-knit family, and now it’s quite a juggernaut. We’re going to sometimes six different countries on two or three different continents, and that requires an army of production. We have a few more cameras and audio and lighting. Things have grown a little bit more, but even for a fairly big group, it’s still pretty small. But there were some great friends and people those first few years and figuring it out together and being in the trenches together. A highlight was Trista and Ryan’s wedding; I’ll never forget that.
Is there a location that you’d love to visit again?
KF: I’d love to go back to New Zealand. And I think about Cape Town, South Africa a lot.
Do you have kids, or nieces or nephews, and if so, would you let them go on the show?
KF: I have three sons. People always say, ‘If you had a daughter would you let her be on the show?’ but I have three boys in their 20s, and I’m having a little baby girl after all these years. So I’m really excited about that. In 18 or 20 years, I don’t know if she’ll be allowed to watch the show.
Would you let your sons go on the show?
KF: Yeah, maybe it’s a double standard in that I think I would. I see a lot of good things on this show. I see a lot of camaraderie, a lot of friendships made, a lot of self-exploration, and I see [these guys] asking questions and figuring things out about themselves. It’s really a beautiful thing. So I think if you’re outgoing and an up-for-anything type of person, I would say it’s a great experience.
Is there a piece of advice that you wish you could give these contestants? Even if their mistakes make for good TV, what would your one piece of advice be to them?
KF: You have to really, really bring your true self, because that’s the only way you’re going to stick around. If you become friends with the rest of the house, then your focus really isn’t where it should be. It’s a balance. I think some of the guys on The Bachelorette can’t figure out that balance quick enough and just fall behind.
PHOTO: Paul Hebert / ABC
Like poor Grocery Store Joe.
KF: Yeah, yeah, right. And then there are guys that go to the other extreme and are like, ‘I’m here for her, I’m here for her, I’m here for her,’ and they make no effort to just be a regular guy. You don’t have to make best friends, but you might as well make friends since you’re going to be living and traveling with them hopefully.
Finally, with all the time you spend on set, do you ever bring home extra roses to your wife?
KF: Oh man, I tried that early on. I don’t know, not all women like leftover roses. They’re a little cheesy. But on our studio [reunion or tell all] shows, where we have roses everywhere, sometimes an arrangement will wind up in my car. I’m not too proud. Yeah, free is me. [Laughs]
The new season of The Bachelor premieres on ABC on Monday, January 7.
TV crossover events are usually just a ratings ploy, but tonight’s Big Bang Theory proved to be the exception. The episode delivered a satisfying—and emotional—arc and moved the story forward, something that’s all-too important as Big Bang approaches the last half of its final season.
This episode, titled “The VCR Illumination,” was also the perfect promo for anyone not watching Young Sheldon (the smart, charming spin-off starring Iain Armitage as the pint-size prodigy). In tonight’s episode, young Sheldon pays grown Sheldon (Jim Parsons) a visit via VHS tape, but it’s the appearance of Lance Barber’s George Cooper Sr. (as Sheldon’s dad) that brilliantly links the present with the past.
The episode begins as a continuation from the most recent episode—”The Citation Negation”—when Sheldon and Amy discovered that Super-Asymmetry is inherently flawed and “does not bear the weight of further examination.” It was devastating news for the newlyweds, who had spent the better part of the last year working on their theory.
The passage of time hasn’t helped either, at least when it comes to Sheldon. In the days that have passed, he’s understandably still mourning the loss of this scientific breakthrough. It’s shaken him so much that he starts questioning everything about himself. Asparagus? Maybe he likes it after all. Jazz music? Perhaps it is music to one’s ear. When Amy points out that these are all things he hates, he says, “I thought so too, but I also thought Super-Asymmetry was a good idea, so what else am I wrong about?” (To be honest, I kind of like this Sheldon.)
Amy worries that if he’s re-thinking everything, how long will it be until he re-thinks her? (Don’t be silly, Amy; you’re still the best thing ever to happen to him).
PHOTO: Bill Inoshita
That’s when Leonard remembers that Sheldon has kept an emergency VHS tape in the safe with a pep talk from his younger self. Leonard gives it to Amy, who plays it for Sheldon; and for the first time, viewers see young Sheldon and older Sheldon in the same scene. On the tape, young Sheldon says he’s guessing something bad happened, otherwise why else would he be watching this (“I’m so smart!” grown Sheldon remarks). But as soon as young Sheldon begins to dish out advice (“Never forget, no matter how bad things seem….”) the tape switches to one of George Sr.’s football games. Yep, “taping over syndrome” is a struggle that ’80s kids will never forget. Sheldon is angry; when Amy asks what she can do to help, he barks that she can build a time machine to go back and tell his younger self to give up because nothing is going to work out how he wants.
Leonard and Penny, realizing their friend is full in crisis mode, call in back-up in the form of Dr. Beverly Hofstadter. She says Sheldon needs to grieve and suggests they throw a funeral of sorts. Sheldon thinks it’s a ridiculous idea…until he finds out Beverly made the suggestion.
So Sheldon, Amy, Leonard, and Penny all head to the bathroom for a weird makeshift funeral and end up catching the shower curtain on fire. Prior to that, Sheldon gives a moving eulogy in which he says, “I know this is just a scientific theory, but it was more than that. It described the universe in a new and beautiful way. I want that to be the universe we live in. But I guess it’s not.”
PHOTO: Bill Inoshita
Later that night, Sheldon wakes up to the sound of Amy in the living room re-watching the old VHS tape. She wants to see if she can find anything further from young Sheldon’s speech, but adult Shelton says it doesn’t matter. It turns out he remembers everything he said in the tape. Amy wonders why he can’t just rely on that. “It would have meant more coming from me,” he says in total seriousness. (Can’t argue with genius, I suppose.)
But then, in a miracle equivalent to figuring out a Rubik’s cube, the tape also has a recording of George Sr.’s pep-talk to his players during halftime. On it, George Sr. says, “I know we’re down by a lot, and we’re probably not going to win this one. In fact, we’re definitely not going to win this one. But we’re not going to quit either. And if we do lose, that doesn’t make you losers. You learn as much about who you are and what you’re made of from failing as you do from success. Maybe more. So you can spend the next half feeling sorry for yourselves or you can get out there and give ‘em hell.”
Sheldon’s older brother Georgie (another fun cameo, this time by Young Sheldon‘s Montanta Jordan) makes an appearance as one of the football players and yells, “Yeah, give ’em hell!” But George Sr. says, “You watch your mouth, your mother’s watching!” Sheldon just so happens to pause the tape at the exact moment George Sr. is looking straight at the camera; it’s almost as if George Sr. is telepathically sending a message to his now-grown son.
PHOTO: Bill Inoshita
But just as Amy is prepared to write off George Sr.’s speech as a nice pep-talk that didn’t really work (Sheldon points out that his dad’s team lost that day), Sheldon says maybe it did. “I’ve been acting like the game is over,” he says. “But maybe it’s only half time. There’s a lot more physics left to play.” Amy is impressed. I mean, it is the first time Sheldon’s ever used a sports metaphor, but that’s not all.
”It’s interesting,” he continues. “I always thought that my father’s journey and mine were so different, but he also faced failure and setbacks. Maybe our lives mirrored each other more than I thought.”
This is the point in the show where the sweeping movie soundtrack would start to take over, but we’re not there yet. Amy remarks that from one viewpoint, Sheldon and George Sr.’s lives are asymmetrical; from another vantage point, they’re symmetrical. “Sheldon, what if symmetry and asymmetry are observer relative?” she asks. “That would mean the Russian paper was right…”
By the way, if you’re still following all this science talk, you’re much smarter than I am.
Sheldon realizes that Amy’s on to something big. The Russian paper may have been right—that Super-Asymmetry is inherently flawed—but Sheldon notes that’s only from one perspective. If they look at it from a deeper view with more dimensions, their theory still stands. Not only does it still stand, Amy notes, but, “it might be a bigger idea than the one we were originally proposing.”
Sheldon—overcome by an enormous sense of urgency—tells Amy to run and get her laptop. “We have a paper to fix!”
Then, in perhaps the series’ most touching moment to date, Sheldon looks back at the TV screen—still paused on the image of George Sr. looking straight into the camera—and says, “Thanks, dad. We’re going to give ’em hell.” In just those two lines, Jim Parsons manages to both break your heart and put it back together. And then, in absolute silence, Sheldon turns off the light, walks to the bedroom, and the scene fades to black.
