Marshall vs The Machine

Marshall finally returns to the wedding party in the most amazing way possible! Darren the Devil tries breaking up friendships right and left—arguably intentionally—and destroying wedding bands. And one more person gets to meet The Mother.

So, who was most responsible for Ted and The Mother meeting? Marshall? Lily? Barney and Robin? Will the whole cast end up playing a key role?

Determined to walk from his five-mile bus stop, The Mother picks up Marshall and Marvin for the last, final, leg of their long journey. They both inspire one another to stand up to their problems and face confrontation.

(For the record, Marvin’s first word was “mommy.”)

Today in paradise, Ted, Barney, Robin, and Lily bemoan their missing Scotch (and Marshall) and Lily’s Italy dilemma. Then, along comes a spider. A mysterious invitee arrives hell-bent on destroying friendships via the Disney method, luring you in and conniving your problems.  The devil of which I speak is named Darren: lead singer of the wedding band. Yes, the Mother’s wedding band.

I have to say, this episode made my wintertime cold just a bit more bearable. Yes, Darren almost wrecked Lily and Robin’s friendship—and ousted Ted’s move to Chicago to Barney—yet all he accomplished happened to be making their friendships (and broships) stronger, more resolved. I mean, these are the friends they would go to jail for. That’s the dream. Lily even paused her anger toward Marshall; if there’s any theme for this season, it happens to be to trust in your marriages.

We didn’t get a sneak peek this premiere, but it doesn’t take a Darren to remind us our beloved series is swiftly coming to a close. Now, everyone is in place for the finale. The question is: what will it entail? And how can we ever say goodbye?

"I've seen things."

How does every cast member answer what their true love gave them on the first day of Christmas? Judging by their holiday daydreams, I’d first ask who was their true love of the hour. Then I could guess how Sheldon Cooper WOULDN’T reply.

Excuse me: Uncle Dr. Cooper.

That’s right, Sheldon’s sister is having a baby boy this holiday season, and Sheldon departed for Texas to take part in the home birth. Meanwhile, the rest of the cast (and Stuart) came over to the fourth-floor abode to decorate the tree and reminisce on episodes of season’s passed.

One small segue later and the team discover they actually wouldn’t be connected in the way they thought had it not been for their esteemed friend and roommate. This, of course, leaves them to wonder what their lives would be like Sheldon-less. In the holiday spirit of It’s a Wonderful Life, The Big Bang Theory team unravels what I could only dub a fangirl’s wish episode sprung to life.

While Sheldon’s brutally scarred by witnessing the live birth, Leonard, Penny, Amy, Howard, Raj, and Bernadette par down who they might have met instead, who they’d have to do without, and what paths would have never crossed at all.

Stuart jumps in from time to time.

Deep breath all:

Penny would have still lived across the hall from Sheldon, and according to Amy would thusly have fallen madly in love with the double Ph.D. On the other hand, she would ultimately end up with someone like Zack, who handles himself better than Leonard while Leonard lives (and consumes inordinate amounts of food) with Raj and Stuart, leaving Howard to violently revere his late mother and Amy to celebrate birthdays alone.
Bernie might have more or less progressed.

How’s this for a holiday number? Should Amy and Sheldon’s relationship shift by the end of the season? Should they repeat their holiday special next year?