The Big Bang Theory – The Long Distance Dissonance

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

If anyone else was as floored by this season finale as I was, I would love to chat! With Amy (Mayim Bialik) away for her fellowship at Princeton, her sweetie Sheldon (Jim Parsons) is about to have an old admirer return to the fold. I’m sure we all remember Dr. Ramona Nowitzki (Riki Lindhome) as Sheldon’s biggest fan who immediately got the brush off once she tried to take partial credit for his work. How will Dr. Nowitzki’s presence while Amy is gone affect the group?

As Shamy (Sheldon/Amy) share their version of sweet nothings via Skype sessions, the next day Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Howard (Simon Helberg) and Raj (Kunal Nayyar) wonder how Sheldon has been faring without Amy there. But never fear as Sheldon approaches the table with none other than Dr. Ramona Nowitzki, who is going to be at Cal Tech and wants to catch up with Sheldon. What appears to Sheldon as two friends catching up appears much different to the guys as they take note of Ramona’s flirtatious behavior.

When Leonard shares the news with Penny (Kaley Cuoco) her and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) are unsure of how to break the news to Amy about Ramona. But it is Sheldon who does when during another Skype session he tells Amy about catching up with Ramona. This prompts Amy to initiate an immediate Skype session with Penny and Bernadette where she screams at them how they had one job to do while she was away.

At the Comic Book Store Leonard and Howard lament how to deal with their upset wives and diffuse the Sheldon/Ramona situation immediately. When they decide to try and bring another man into the picture Stuart (Kevin Sussman) initially offers himself up for the task, but Raj volunteers instead. Unfortunately, that encounter does not go well when Ramona rejects his sitting with her in the University cafeteria and instead invites Sheldon over.

Later at the Hofstadter residence Penny, Bernadette, Raj, Leonard and Howard try to figure out how to keep Sheldon away from Ramona’s advances. When Sheldon comes to join them for dinner he has brought Ramona with him since she helped him overcome his fear of swimming pools. The group reluctantly has her join them for dinner, but Bernadette makes sure to interject herself physically between Ramona and Sheldon on the couch. In conversation it is clear Ramona is single and knows all about Amy, but makes it a point to rather ask how long she’ll be away rather than when she is coming back.

Ramona and Sheldon head over to Sheldon’s apartment upon mention of Dr. Cooper’s correspondence with renowned physicist Peter Higgs. This leaves the group in a bit of panic on how to proceed, ultimately deciding to have Leonard warn Amy. But it’s too little too late when during Ramona’s perusal of the letters Amy has decided to initiate a Skype session with Sheldon and the two women finally meet. Leonard does call in during the session to which Ramona and Sheldon see the interaction as inappropriate. Amy does eventually convince Sheldon he is tired and when he goes back across the hall to let everyone know, they jump to action creating a barrier between Ramona and Sheldon.

As Dr. Nowitzki drives off Penny takes Sheldon back to his apartment to sit him down and explain Ramona’s true motives. Sheldon still doesn’t believe that Ramona is anything more than a friend, dismissing Penny’s claims and leaving the room. Penny looks over to the gigantic portrait of her and Amy trying to explain how she is doing her best.

The next day in Sheldon’s office Ramona comes over with lunch and Sheldon confronts the situation head on. He asks whether Ramona is trying to pursue something with him to which she responds “What if I was?” As Sheldon goes through the reasoning that it cannot happen she leans over to kiss him, confirming Penny’s accusations. Sheldon excuses himself for a minute and leaves the office. But it is more than just a few minutes as we watch Dr. Cooper get into a taxi to head to the airport and on a flight to New Jersey. Later that night Sheldon arrives at Amy’s room and knocks on the door. Startled by hearing Sheldon’s voice she goes to open it and finds Sheldon down on one knee, asking her to marry him.

The Big Bang Theory leaves Season 10 with one of the biggest cliffhangers to date! We have so much to look forward to in the 11^th season, including Amy’s answer. Will she say yes? Does Sheldon tell her what happened with Ramona? And is Ramona going to stick around for a while? We shall find out in the fall when The Big Bang Theory returns for Season 11!