The Gyroscopic Collapse

"The Gyroscopic Collapse" is the twenty-third episode and penultimate episode of the tenth season of the sitcom The Big Bang Theory. The episode aired on May 4, 2017.

Summary
Amy is offered a fellowship at Princeton. Raj also has made some new living arrangements and Colonel Williams takes over the gyroscopic project, confiscating it from Leonard, Howard, and Sheldon, much to their disbelief.

Extended Plot
After the gang celebrate their Air Force Project, they find that their project has been taken over by Colonel Williams. Meanwhile Amy has been offered a research position at Princeton but is hesitant if she should go unless she checks with Sheldon, Sheldon is in doubt but eventually allows Amy to go to Princeton. The gang also discuss Raj's living arrangement and Leonard helps him to move.

Credits

 * Guest starring:
 * Dean Norris as Colonel Richard Williams
 * Kimberly D. Brooks as Computer Voice (VO)
 * Teleplay: Steven Molaro, Jim Reynolds & Saladin K. Patterson
 * Story: Chuck Lorre, Steve Holland & Alex Ayers

Critics

 * Caroline Preece at Den of Geek! - Maybe I’m just feeling generous today, but I quite like the underwhelming nature of this ending. Our surprise and displacement mirrors that of the characters and we’re left to wonder what’s next for them. Will Leonard try to work on his marriage with Penny? Could Howard’s post-project clinginess turn into something more destructive? How will Sheldon cope without Amy around to take care of him or a project to distract him?...We learn early in the episode that Amy has been offered a prestigious research fellowship which would take her away to Princeton for months...Amy is about to turn it down in order to protect her relationship, but Leonard explains to Sheldon that he needs to be a more supportive boyfriend. He’s completely dependent on her, as he says, but now it’s time for the two of them to see how they do without each other for a while. The biggest sign of change is his willingness to have sex at an unscheduled time, and to allow someone breathing room when they so clearly need it. Sheldon stayed living with Leonard for years with little concern for how beneficial it would be for he and Penny to live alone, and that less evolved Sheldon could easily have done the same to Amy by preventing her from pursuing this opportunity.
 * IMDb user reviews

Trivia

 * In the opening scene the episode has flashback scenes from "The Locomotion Reverbration".


 * Colonel Williams returns in this episode. His previous appearance was in "The Locomotion Reverbration". He is seen in flashbacks and Sheldon, Howard and Leonard talk to him with a webcam.


 * Howard had feared that Air Force would take the Gyroscopic project away from them and in "The Fermentation Bifurcation" (S9E22), Zack had also believed that the military would get their hands on the project, this episode proves Howard's fears and Zack's words were ultimately correct.


 * Starting with this episode Amy will be away at Princeton leading to the events in the Season 10 finale.


 * Sheldon explicitly states Leonard got his PhD from Princeton University. It had been implied he attended Princeton in "The Speckerman Recurrence". This creates an inconsistency as per "The Staircase Implemenation". (See also "The Extract Obliteration" Trivia.) This can be resolved, however, if one assumes he received his doctorate in absentia from Princeton while doing top secret government research at Caltech.

Quotes

 * Penny: Hey, what's going on?
 * Leonard: You won't believe it; the military confiscated our project!
 * Penny: (shocked; sits down next to Bernadette) What?!
 * Bernadette: (in disbelief) You're kidding! Why would they do that?
 * Howard: They wouldn't say.
 * Sheldon: (still outraged) I feel so betrayed. All my life, I thought Uncle Sam was a friendly uncle who gave you presents. Turns out, he's the other kind.
 * Amy: Sheldon, I am so sorry.


 * Bernadette: So what happens next?
 * Howard: It's phase two. We test it, perfect it, and hope to live long enough to see the movie based on our lives starring more attractive versions of ourselves.


 * Sheldon: All my life I thought Uncle Sam was a friendly uncle who brought you presents. Turns out he's the other kind.

[First lines]
 * Penny: Champagne, champagne, and for the world's tallest two grader, apple juice.
 * Sheldon: No bendy straw. Some party.


 * Leonard: Sir, I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. You came into our lab in the middle of the night and took our prototype and all of our research and didn't even tell us?
 * Colonel Williams: Sounds like you get it.
 * Howard: Why would you do that?
 * Colonel Williams: You guys completed Phase One, we'll take it from here.
 * Sheldon: Where did you move it?
 * Colonel Williams: I can't tell you that.
 * Leonard:Colonel Richard Williams: I can't tell you that.
 * Sheldon: Wait, so you're just going to take all the work we've done for the last year and toss us aside?
 * Colonel Williams: That one I can tell you: yes.
 * Howard: This is all very upsetting.
 * Colonel Williams: I'm sorry to hear that. As you know, the primary focus of the United States Military is people's feelings.
 * Sheldon: If that's sarcasm, please save it for our enemies.


 * Howard: How can you work on something for a year and they just take it?
 * Leonard: I can't believe the Air Force would treat us like that.
 * Sheldon: You know, I have a good mind to stop paying my taxes. It's too bad I enjoy doing them so much.


 * Amy: This might cheer you up. I made your favorite oatmeal: plain.


 * Sheldon: Princeton. A fine institution. It's where Einstein taught. It's also where Leonard got his PhD, so it may have gone downhill since then.


 * Sheldon: [Walks into an empty apartment by mistake] The Air Force did it again! They're erasing our lives!
 * Leonard: [Sees number on door] Third floor. Wrong apartment.
 * Howard: Although, if anyone's gonna clean out your apartment and disappear, it'd be Penny.
 * Leonard: She might disappear, but she's definitely not going to clean anything.


 * Leonard: Are you excited to have your own place again?
 * Raj: I am, but I'll miss you guys.
 * Leonard: We'll miss you too.
 * Raj: You could try saying that without smiling.
 * Leonard: I'm trying. This is the best I can do.


 * Raj: Come on, Sheldon. Amy's only gone for a few months. And now that I'm moving out, your old room is empty, so you can stay there whenever you want.
 * Leonard: Raj, could I talk to you on the hall for a second?
 * Raj: Sure. [Raj steps out, Leonard closes the door behind him and locks it]


 * Computerized Voice: Leonard Hofstadter. Access granted.
 * Leonard: I don't care if this thing's burning out my retinas. Makes me feel special.