The Long Distance Dissonance

"The Long Distance Dissonance" is the twenty-fourth episode and season finale of the tenth season of the sitcom The Big Bang Theory. The episode aired on Thursday, May 11, 2017.

Summary
The gang is concerned when Sheldon's former admirer, Dr. Ramona Nowitzki, resurfaces while Amy is away at Princeton.

Extended Plot
Sheldon is Skyping with Amy from her apartment in New Jersey. She clearly misses him especially when she ended a sentence with a proposition and Sheldon wasn’t there to correct her. They then start teasing each other on how he would punish her for such an infraction.

At the Caltech cafeteria, Leonard is complaining about all the errands he has to take Sheldon on now with Amy away. Raj offers to take him to Home Depot so Sheldon can look at ladders. Sheldon shows up with Dr. Ramona Nowitzki who was the graduate student that was so taken with Sheldon in season 2. She is back at Caltech working on her post doctorate degree. She brought Sheldon a from  which Leonard claims to love. Sheldon and Ramona go to sit elsewhere. They guys wonder what is happening while Sheldon and Ramona are talking about their work and laughing together. She is even touching his arm without Sheldon complaining.

Bernadette and Penny are discussing the Sheldon situation. Howard mentioned Ramona touching him while Leonard could only remember the Toblerone bar. They decide not to worry Amy, while Penny wonders if living with Amy has somehow stirred up Sheldon's sexual appetite. Bernadette is revolted by Penny even putting those words together.

Over in Apartment 4B, Sheldon is talking to Amy about his trip to Home Depot and then mentions having lunch with Dr. Nowitzi. Sheldon feels that Amy would like her since she is a brilliant scientist, like her, except that she is she's tall, blonde and used to be an. Amy excuses herself and calls Penny. She yells at her, “I gave you one job! Keep an eye on him. How hard is that?” The girls thought she’d meant to not let him run out into traffic which he only did once. They tell her that they didn’t want her to worry. SHOULD she be WORRIED? Penny thinks not since it’s Sheldon. Amy is worried that she has been smacking that bottle for a long time. All she's got to do is tip it over and point it at her fries.

At the comic book store, they guys are complaining that Sheldon did something and their wives are yelling at them. Should they do something about Nowitzi? Raj and Stuart both argue about who should ask her out to test her interest in Sheldon.

In the cafeteria, Raj approaches her and even though she is polite, she tells him that he can’t sit down at her table. Howard feels that they should call for the world’s fasted turn down.

Later at apartment 4A, the guys figure that that is not a test since there are hundreds of reasons to turn down Raj. Sheldon then shows up with Ramona who has just gone swimming with her. They are excited since Sheldon never goes swimming. Penny asks if she had talked to Amy today. He has and Ramona can’t wait to meet her; she keeps asking how long she’ll be away. Ramona doesn’t have anyone special, but had been working with Peter Higgs at CERN in Switzerland. Sheldon had some correspondence from him and they both go over to 4B to look at them.

Looking over the letters, Sheldon shows her one from which says that if he comes over to his house again, he gets to meet his dogs. Amy calls up looking happy until she realizes that Dr. Nowitzi is in their apartment with Sheldon. Ramona says that she is happy to meet her. Leonard then calls Amy to warn her, and Sheldon objects to him calling her at this late hour. Ramona also agrees.

While the gang struggles with what to do, Sheldon returns to say good night because Amy says that he is tired and should go to bed. Ramona asks him to walk her to her car. Penny volunteers everyone to go with them and they places themselves between the two all the way to the street. Penny tells Sheldon that they have to have a little talk.

Back in Penny’s old apartment, she explains that Sheldon doesn’t have a lot of experience with women and that Ramona seems to have a romantic interest in him. Sheldon objects that she is just a colleague and that she knows that he has a girlfriend. Yes, but some woman don’t care. Penny wants him to think of himself as a limited collector’s toy. Sheldon realizes that because there are few of him that makes him more valuable. Then Sheldon adds that Amy's has already taken him out of my package and played with him. Penny changes her approach and doesn’t want to discuss Sheldon’s sex life. Finally Sheldon still feels that Ramona is just a friendly colleague while Leonard and Penny need to see a marriage consulter about Leonard calling Amy up.

Finally, Ramona brings lunch into Sheldon who tells her that that is very thoughtful. She says that it’s nothing since she likes to spend time with him. Sheldon then asks her directly if she had a romantic interest in him. SO what if I had? Sheldon lists the problems that they are colleagues, he has a girl…Ramona quickly kisses him looking for a reaction. A shocked Sheldon excuses himself, gets into a taxi, foes to the airport, flies to New Jersey ending up at Amy’s apartment door. Amy is on her computer and hears the familiar: Knock-knock-knock Amy; knock-knock-knock Amy, knock-knock-knock Amy. Surprised she goes to door to find Sheldon on his knee with his grandmother’s ring asking her to marry him. Fade out.



Credits

 * Guest starring:
 * Kevin Sussman as Stuart Bloom
 * Riki Lindhome as Dr. Ramona Nowitzki
 * Teleplay: Steven Molaro, Eric Kaplan & Jim Reynolds
 * Story: Chuck Lorre, Steve Holland & Tara Hernandez

Critics

 * Caroline Preece at Den of Geek! - How we get to the proposal isn’t in any way surprising or inventive, and has felt like a foregone conclusion for more than a season now, but the choice to include it here definitely piques my interest for a season eleven (and twelve) I can’t imagine anyone’s particularly excited for otherwise. But to have it as a cliffhanger makes little sense, because there’s not a reality in which Amy would say no. If the show really wanted to keep us on edge, a much better ending might be Amy turning him down before the cut to credits, with her reasoning something to be explained and resolved in the season premiere. It’d be cheap, but also perhaps a little more intriguing.
 * IMDb user reviews

Trivia

 * Ramona Nowitzki returned to the show after having first appeared in "The Cooper-Nowitzki Theorem" (S2E6), a span of 208 episodes.
 * This is the first time that Ramona was seen with Bernadette, since the latter didn't appear on the show yet during Ramona's one-time appearance in the past. She also meets Amy for the first time, via Sheldon's laptop. While Stuart appeared in the episode, he did not meet Ramona, but was willing to date her to distract her from Sheldon.
 * Ramona has also been inside Apartment 4B for the first time since Sheldon now lives there and her obsessive crush on him returned in the episode.
 * This episode is the season 10 finale.
 * The painting of Penny and Amy is again seen on the fourth wall of Apartment 4B when Penny talks to it.
 * Sheldon proposes to Amy. Amy does not yet provide an answer.
 * During Sheldon's plane flight, he can be seen watching the  episode "Plankton!" on his phone.

Quotes

 * Sheldon: Knock knock knock* Amy *knock knock knock* Amy *knock knock knock* Amy. (She opens her door, and is shocked at seeing him on one knee, holding his Meemaw's ring out to her in its box) Will you marry me?


 * Amy: I was offered a summer research fellowship at Princeton.
 * Sheldon: A fine institution. The place where Albert Einstein taught, and where Leonard got his PhD, so it may have gone downhill.


 * Amy: I gave you one job! Keep an eye on him. How hard is that?


 * Amy: Why didn't you tell me?
 * Bernadette: We didn't want you to worry.
 * Amy: Should I worry?
 * Penny: No, come on, it's Sheldon. Nothing is gonna happen.
 * Amy: That's what you said to me when I started dating him. And then five years later, bingo-bango, something happened.


 * Amy: I've been smacking that ketchup bottle for a long time. All she has to do is tip it over and point it at her fries.


 * Penny: Do you think living with Amy has somehow stirred up Sheldon's sexual appetite?
 * Bernadette: (grimacing with disgust) Ugh. How can you think that? Why would you even put those words together?


 * Leonard: Uh, so, Ramona, tell us about yourself. Do you, do you have a boyfriend?
 * Sheldon: Leonard, your wife is sitting right here. What are you doing?


 * Sheldon: I'm sorry you had to go through that.
 * Amy: In fact, that's when I started to really miss you.
 * Sheldon: You know you just split an infinitive.


 * Sheldon: So, tell me about your scalar dark energy experiment.
 * Ramona Nowitzki: Not 'til you tell me about your latest paper on quantum loop theory.
 * Sheldon: Oh. You must be one of those dessert before dinner people.


 * Amy: Did I? Are you gonna teach me a lesson?
 * Sheldon: I am. It is naughty to put an adverb between the word "to" and the verb stem.
 * Amy: What are you gonna do about it?
 * Sheldon: I'm going to admonish you.
 * Amy: Vigorously?
 * Sheldon: That's the only kind of admonishing I do.


 * Sheldon: I've learned some fun facts about New Jersey to help you make small talk. Would you like to know the state bird or the murder rate? They're both shocking.
 * Amy: Actually, I want to hear about you. How are things at home?
 * Sheldon: Well, I'm a lot less likely to see an Eastern Goldfinch or be murdered, I'll tell you that.Leonard: Wait, isn't she the grad student that used to follow him around?
 * Howard: Oh, yeah. Back before he hit puberty and grew man parts.


 * Penny: All right, then we agree. He's not making any moves, it's this Dr. Ramona chick.
 * Bernadette: Nowitzki. I Googled her, she's pretty cute.
 * Penny: Really? All I got from Leonard was the Toblerone bar had nuts.


 * Raj: Dr. Nowitzki. Good to see you.
 * Ramona Nowitzki: Good to see you, too.
 * Raj: May I join you?
 * Ramona Nowitzki: No.
 * Raj: Good to see you.


 * Sheldon: She's always been a huge fan of my work, and now she's doing research at Caltech.
 * Amy: Huge fan, you say?
 * Sheldon: Yes. I think you'd like her. She's extremely intelligent, just like you. Unlike you, she's tall, blonde and used to be an Olympic swimmer.


 * Sheldon: That may be true, but Dr. Nowitzki's just a friend. In fact, I wouldn't have even noticed she's a woman if she hadn't worn that bathing suit that highlighted her bosom.


 * Penny: Okay, I know you don't have a lot of experience with women, but Ramona seems to have a romantic interest in you.
 * Sheldon: That doesn't make any sense. She knows I have a girlfriend.
 * Penny: Well, sometimes women don't care. Sometimes it makes them want a guy even more.
 * Sheldon: That may be true, but Dr. Nowitzki's just a friend. In fact, I wouldn't have even noticed she's a woman if she hadn't worn that bathing suit that highlighted her bosom.
 * Penny: Okay. Um (clears throat) Let's try this. Think of yourself as one of those limited edition toys people like to collect.
 * Sheldon: I already do.
 * Penny: Well, then you get it.
 * Sheldon: (gasps) Because there's only one of me, I'm more valuable.
 * Penny: Right.
 * Sheldon: Although, Amy's already taken me out of my package and played with me.
 * Penny: Let's forget the toy thing,okay? Um, maybe...
 * Sheldon:I Penny, look. I appreciate your concern, but I don't think that's what's happening.
 * Penny: All right. What do you think is happening?
 * Sheldon:I think Dr. Nowitzki is a friendly colleague. I think you and Leonard need to see a marriage counselor. And I need to update my resume to include swimming as a special skill.
 * Penny: (Looking and the Penny and Amy portrait.) Don't look at me like that, I tried.