Ever since The Big Bang Theory introduced the concept of Super-Asymmetry at Sheldon and Amy’s wedding last May, I’ve been reluctant to embrace their enthusiasm. It had nothing to do with Sheldon and Amy working together as a team, but everything to do with feeling like I was back in high school chemistry struggling to understand the basics. It just wasn’t exciting.
The results on the show have been mixed as well; sometimes Super-Asymmetry has paved the way for important discussions; other times I’ve tuned out completely. But in tonight’s episode—titled “The Citation Negation”—I felt truly invested for the first time.
The episode opens with Sheldon and Amy recruiting Leonard to help them track down hundreds of citations before they publish their paper on SA. In an effort to keep their project secret, they ask Leonard to spend hours in a dark library doing the legwork. I’m not sure what Leonard gets out of this, but he already has Penny, so what more does the guy need in life?
Meanwhile, my favorite character, Anu, sadly isn’t in this episode, so the writers pair Raj with Leonard in the dungeon dimly-lit library. It’s as boring as that aforementioned chemistry class until Leonard and Raj discover something that doesn’t look quite right; apparently Sheldon and Amy may not have been the first to discover Super-Asymmetry.
Leonard and Raj bring their findings to Howard, who confirms that in 1978 a Russian scientist already disproved SA. As the findings read, “Super-Asymmetry is inherently flawed and does not bear the weight of further examination.” Yikes.
Leonard breaks the news to Sheldon and Amy, who are in complete and utter disbelief. Sheldon somehow manages to thank Leonard for relaying the news knowing that couldn’t have been easy for him. His maturity then turns to a childlike response as he destroys one of the boards on an easel. I can’t remember the last time I witnessed such profound anger from Sheldon. The moment aims to inject a bit of humor to the scene, but it’s too late; there’s nothing funny about it. Sheldon and Amy are devastated, and they have every right to be.
Sheldon retreats to the other room, rummaging through papers hoping to find something—anything—that could give insight into what just happened. Amy is equally depressed but wants to do what she can to help her husband. She even offers to sing him “Soft Kitty”—if that’s not love, I don’t know what is. Sheldon doesn’t understand how Amy can be so calm in the midst of professional turmoil, but she tells him she’s just trying to hold it together for his sake.
Sheldon tells Amy that her pretending to be OK actually makes him feel worse, which provides the opening Amy needs to come to terms with their disappointing reality. “Fine! I’m not OK!” she says, her voice quivering. “We came up with this idea at our wedding. We poured months of our lives into it. I thought we were changing the course of science, and now it’s all gone!”
Wow. Big Bang doesn’t usually go there, but that scene was nothing less than beautiful and heartbreaking at once.
The next day, a despondent-looking Sheldon and Amy don’t even go to work (who can blame them?). In fact, they don’t even know what day it is.
PHOTO: Sonja Flemming/CBS
“You had a setback,” Penny says before launching into the most ill-timed pep-talk. “This is the time you gotta dig in and try harder! It’s like halftime, and you’re down by 7!” Leonard tries to quell the mood with his own inspiring speech (“Individually you’re the smartest people I know! Together you can do anything!”), but it’s not well-received. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do,” Sheldon says, “but please stop. You can’t make this better.” Adds Amy, “I’m with Sheldon. We worked our butts off on this paper, and it was all for nothing. If you think some pep talk can help us, then you don’t understand.”
She’s right. Shamy needs time to grieve. This has been their baby for the better part of a year. Of course they’ll find their footing again, but they have to process their disappointment first. And no offense to Super-Asymmetry, but that’s the storyline I want to watch.
