The Wedding Gift Wormhole

"The Wedding Gift Wormhole" is the second episode of the twelfth season of the sitcom The Big Bang Theory.The episode aired on September 27, 2018.

Summary
Stuart gets the nerve up to ask Denise out on a date, Leonard and Penny give Sheldon and Amy a strange wedding gift and Raj asks his father to find a wife for him.

Extended Plot
At take-out dinner in Apartment 4A, the Coopers are now feeling like areal married couple seen on television and not like Amy’s arguing parents. They returned from their honeymoon and bought everyone an “I heart NY” t-shirt which they ordered from Amazon after boarding their plane. Sheldon suggests that his the t-shirt also could be used if the owner likes singer Neil Young or Egyptian Olympic tennis silver medalist Noha Yossry or even Japanese animi voice actress Nana Yamaguchi (Raj’s suggestion). Penny is not happy that they got her a size double XL. Amy reacts that she told Sheldon that that would happen to which Sheldon replies, “Yes, dear.”

In apartment 4B, Sheldon and Amy are writing thank-you notes for their wedding presents. In his note, Sheldon is complaining to Amy’s Aunt Helen how much his hand hurts after writing sixteen notes. The next present is from Leonard and Penny whose note says that it’s the “perfect present for the perfect couple”. The present a glass carrot with a round knob on the top. Sheldon thinks that its candy, while Amy shakes it to see of it does anything else. Then she wonders if the glass rod was a martial aid. Sheldon say that it’s ridiculous that a glass rod could aid their marriage.

At the comic book shop, Stuart and Denise are working and discussing Superman’s shorts while laughing together. Raj and Howard find it remarkable that Stuart is smiling and flirting. Raj actually saw them making out at Sheldon and Amy’s wedding. Before Denise leaves they don’t succeed in hugging, but they do pat each other on the head. Afterwards Raj and Howard ask how Denise feels about him and Stuart really hasn’t asked. He wonders if he should ask her out. Raj wants him to because love is the most important thing in the world and otherwise you are left with your dog staring at you as you eat a bag of Doritos sitting on the loo.

Lying in bed, Sheldon and Amy can’t stop thinking about Leonard and Penny’s present. The item was supposed to be the perfect present which Sheldon thinks would have been a dinosaur fossil or a pocket watch. Then Sheldon tries to think simply like their friends. Amy doesn’t want to ask them because it would hurt their feelings so they turn over to go to sleep to start fresh in the morning. However Amy changes her mind and suggests that they tear apart the gift box and look for clues. Staying up late and mysteries? Sheldon loves being married.

As Stuart works in the kitchen, Bernadette wonders what is wrong with Stuart’s face. He’s smiling. She comments how happy he looks and Stuart admits that Denise agreed to go on a date with him. Howard tells him to wear clean undies and be well groomed down there, while Bernadette leaves not wanting to be part of their manly discussion.

Sheldon enters Leonard and Penny’s apartment to hand deliver their thank-you note for their “very thoughtful gift.” When asked if they liked it, Sheldon said that they liked it lot more than things that aren’t it. Then Sheldon asks what they were doing when they chose it. Leonard asks him if he knows what it’s for. Penny dismisses her husband saying that Sheldon is the smartest man in the world so he knows. Sheldon appreciates the complement, but he knows that some Chinese people are also very clever. He is going home to use their gift in the manner it was intended to be used. Afterwards, Leonard mentions that he’ll never figure it out and that that makes him happy. From the hallway they hear Sheldon shouting “What are you?”

In the cafeteria, Sheldon asks Howard if he knows what the wedding gift is without telling him. Sheldon and Amy think that it is a clue to a scavenger hunt. Howard then says that if Sheldon thinks that he and Amy have to run all over town for a couple of days looking for the next clue, then he HAS to say yes. Sheldon is overjoyed and leaves as Leonard and Raj join Howard. Leonard is very happy about Sheldon’s incorrect assumption. It is really a dumb crystal wand that Howard and Bernadette gave him and Penny for their wedding. Raj is incensed that Howard gave away the crystal chakra wand that he gave Howard as a wedding present.

The Coopers take their gift to Bert the geologist who thinks that being on a scavenger hunt is exciting. He was kind of on one the previous night looking for his remote. Bert tells them that the object is made of quartz. Sheldon then Googles quartz to find out more about it. Bert comments that they could ask the geologist who won the MacArthur genius grant that was in the room. The word comes from a German variation that has no T in it. No T. Amy asks, “What is not “T”?” Coffee! Then they head to the coffee shop where they first met eight years ago.

At the comic book store, Stuart wants Raj to check out his scent prior to his date with Denise. Raj thinks that Stuart is rubbing it in his face since he has a date. Stuart just wants to get some advice since Raj has gone out with more women than any man he knows. Raj then adds that Sheldon is the smart one, Howard is the funny one and he is the ladies’ man. And Leonard? He’s the forgettable one. Raj recognizes the cologne as Paco Rabanne. Stuart is also worried since he doesn’t want to screw things up with Denise. Raj tells him to go with his instincts, though that has not worked with him his entire life.

Sheldon and Amy enter the coffee shop and check out the table they first used. They tell the couple sitting there to just ignore them, but all Sheldon finds is a wad of gum that disgusts him. Amy goes to check behind the counter. Sheldon tells the couple that he met his wife at that table and that maybe eight years later they could be married too. The man explains that the woman was his sister. Sheldon redoubles that he better not tell others that fact. Amy is now checking out the lost and found box. “Why?”asks Sheldon. Because they were both once lost and they found each other! Sheldon thinks that that makes perfect sense. Inside they found a crystal locket which thrills Amy. The locket is empty which Sheldon feels they have to fell with memories. Amy thinks that it’s the best wedding present ever! Sheldon takes a pair of sunglasses because he thinks that their future is so bright. They leave the coffee shop very happy together.

In their kitchen, Howard comes across a picture that Halley made at daycare that he calls “pretty good.” Bernadette asks, “is it?’ Tough Mom. Stuart comes in colored orange because he had a problem with his spray tan. Now it doesn’t want to come off. And Bernadette needs to get new towels, a bath mat and a new toilet seat. Stuart is supposed to pick Denise up in an hour. Howard asks him what he was going to “oompa loompa dopedity doo”? Bernadette suggests either put off the date or just go on it telling her what happened. Howard then adds that he could swing by the chocolate factory and see if they were hiring.

Raj is skyping with his father. He appreciates the call on his birthday which Raj had forgotten. Raj adds that his perfect gift is for his son to marry an Indian woman like he always wanted. His father thinks that that is great news and wants to know who it is. Raj corrects him saying that he is tired of being single and he wants his father to arrange a marriage for him. His father will do it, but wants Raj to stop sending him pictures with his dog in matching sweaters. He also shows Raj a picture of a beautiful young Indian woman that gets Raj excited, but that is the woman that his father is dating. Dr. K wonders if she has an older sister.

Amy is showing Leonard and Penny the locket that she has put small pictures of her and Sheldon in. Sheldon thanks them for the three gifts they gave them, the locket, the scavenger hunt and the realization that Sheldon and Amy can doing anything as long as they work together. So the Coopers wrote them a special thank-you note in ancient Sanskrit that Leonard and Penny have to decipher together. Also they can’t use the Internet to cheat because they have been locked out of their Wi-Fi and the answer in Sanskrit is their new password. Leonard no longer feels happy about their gift to the Coopers. Raj then runs in explaining that he is getting married because his father found him a bride. Her name is Anu, she is in her 30s, works in hotel hospitality and he thinks it will work if he can get through six to ten dates without his true self coming through. Sheldon then tells Amy that he knows the perfect wedding gift the new couple. Raj is going to get back his wand.

Denise opens up her door and exclaims “Wow” after seeing Stuart. He admits to a series of bad decisions in preparing for their date. Denise declines breaking the date, though they could go out and find Nemo. She also wonders if the other 63 crayons knows he is missing. Stuart asks if she is going to do that all night. Probably. Then Stuart asks if she’d like Chinese food. Sure, especially Chicken Ala Orange.

Credits

 * Guest starring:
 * Kevin Sussman as Stuart Bloom
 * Brian George as Dr. Koothrappali
 * Brian Posehn as Bert Kibbler
 * Lauren Lapkus as Denise
 * Luis Aldana as Greg
 * Kikéy Castillo as Leslie
 * Teleplay: Dave Goetsch, Eric Kaplan & Andy Gordon
 * Story: Steve Holland, Steven Molaro & Maria Ferrari

Critics
There are several great things about this storyline, but the main one is the nostalgia tour that it sneaks in. No one owns up to the game at the end, and Sheldon and Amy are happier than ever thinking that they’ve won some grand scavenger hunt. The cherry on top - they’ve locked Leonard and Penny out of their Wi-Fi and written down their new password in a code they now have to solve...But the thing everyone’s talking about is Raj. Finally - finally! - the show appears to be taking Raj’s love life seriously, and not treating it as an excuse to invite various guest stars into the show for its final season. For too long the poor lad has drawn the narrative short straw, and its rarely led to anything good, funny or impactful. Now, Raj is getting married, and it promises to be a huge boost for the season. 
 * Caroline Preece at Den of Geek! - The main thrust of the episode involves, as it should, the interplay between Sheldon, Amy, Penny and Leonard. When the latter couple gifts the former with a mysterious glass cylinder, it slowly becomes apparent that its mystery was part of the gift and Leonard and Penny are simply treating their friends to same maddening curiosity that they experienced when handed it by Howard and Bernadette...The gulf between the season’s first outing and this couldn’t be bigger. While The Conjugal Configuration opted

Trivia

 * Stuart starts dating his assistant store manager Denise.
 * Sheldon and Amy return to the coffee shop that they first met in.
 * Raj again asks his father to find him a wife.
 * Denise's last name is yet unknown.
 * Amy and Sheldon are seen for the first time at hone even though they were seen in the extra footage released by the production company showing Stephen Hawking's wedding gift to them.
 * Raj's dad is revealed to be dating again, implying that he is divorced from his ex-wife.
 * Stuart tries to get a spray tan for his date with Denise, but it backfires.
 * Howard keeps comparing Stuart to the orange colored Oompah Loopahs seen in the "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" movie.

Quotes

 * Sheldon: What are you?!?


 * Denise: I'm in the mood for Orange Chicken.


 * Amy: You don't suppose it's a marital aid, do you?
 * Sheldon: Don't be ridiculous. How is this big glass shaft going to aid our marriage?


 * Sheldon: I met my wife here and we sat at this very table. So if you play your cards right, in eight years you could marry this woman.


 * Amy: Sheldon, look. I asked the Barista if anyone left anything here for us and she said to look in this "Lost and Found" box.
 * Sheldon: Why would it be in the "Lost and Found" box?
 * Amy: Because we were lost and then we found each other.
 * Sheldon: It makes perfect sense.
 * Amy:Oh look at this. A locket, and that stone in front, I bet it's quartz.
 * Sheldon: This must be it. This must be the actual gift. Open it up, what's inside?
 * Amy: Nothing. It's empty.
 * Sheldon: Of course. Our lift together is just starting and they want us to fill it with our memories.
 * Amy: This might be the best wedding gift ever!
 * Sheldon: They also left us a pair of sunglasses because our future's so bright!
 * Amy: They thought of everything!