The Grant Allocation Derivation

"The Grant Allocation Derivation" is the seventh episode of the twelfth season of the sitcom The Big Bang Theory. The episode aired on Thursday, November 1, 2018.

Summary
Leonard is caught between a rock and a hard place when he's responsible for distributing extra grant money. Also, Bernadette turns the backyard playhouse into a hideaway from her husband and kids.

Extended Plot
The gang is working in Howard and Bernadette’s backyard assembling their kid’s new that includes  and running water. Sheldon keeps talking about an raising, while not actually working on the building. Bernie comes out in her and asks Howard to take the kids so that she can get some work done. She is very overworked with two kids.

President Siebert is meeting with Leonard. He needs someone to distribute some extra grant funds. He wants Leonard to decide who gets the funds and wants to hear nothing about the outcome.

At, Howard thanks her work crew. Sheldon is from distributing all his knowledge/. Leonard tells them is from Seibert and his friends are now expecting a lot of people lining up to grobble before him. Next Kripke comes up, fawns over him and then tries to Leonard.

Bernadette comes up to her front and hears the kids giving Howard a hard time. She runs back to the playhouse and calls him that she is going to be stuck at work. Afterwards she admits that Howard deserves better though she snuggles down in her comfortable.

In apartment 4A, Leonard is turning down funding requests from everyone. Penny is impressed on how Leonard was being. Sheldon comes in hoping to get a machine in the cafeteria. No. Denied!

Penny is visiting with Bernadette telling her about Leonard’s taking charge and how that was. Bernadette is distracted because she told Howard a little about working late and she hung out in the playhouse. Penny thinks that it’s more sad and strange than awful. Bernie just feels the extra hour of not having to deal with the kids makes her feel human again.

Back at the, a asks about her grant application on the  of. She wants to upgrade her bird because she thinks that they are planning something since found out that crows can hold a grudge. Three projects are on Leonard’s short list. The crow research, Raj’s {{w|telescope software upgrade and Kripike’s project. Howard’s request was denied since he just sent him a {{w|movie}} clip that said “{{w|Show me the money}}!!” They are all pressuring him to decide and he walks off not even knowing when he’ll decide or where he was going.

Leonard is going over this three proposals and Penny comes in looking turned on. Leonard complains that he can’t decide on the three proposals that all have merit even though used several {{w|decision models}} and another system to score his various scoring systems. Penny is confused so she joins Bernadette to share some {{w|wine}} in the playhouse.

Leonard goes back to the {{w|President}} to get more money to fund all three worthwhile projects. Seibert denies Leonard’s request. Leonard wants to know what the President would do. He claims that he would put some other sap in charge so that he wouldn’t have to be the bad guy. Leonard then gets that that is what Seibert had done…to him.

Amy catches Penny sneaking out of her apartment and asks what she and Bernadette have been doing together without her. She doesn’t believe Penny’s excuses and then finds out the {{w|truth}}. She thinks that it’s like a secret club. Penny tries to tell Amy that it’s just a place where they get together and don’t tell anyone about it. Like a secret club. Amy then gets invited.

Sheldon and Leonard are playing {{w|3-D chess}} while Sheldon describes how Leonard never wins. Leonard is distracted about who should get the funding and asks Sheldon to help since he doesn’t care if he upsets people. Sheldon doesn’t want to help Leonard since it could be a learning experience for him.

Now the entire posse is in the playhouse. Penny said that she was at {{w|yoga}}. Sheldon doesn’t even think about her when she is gone, but is so happy when she finally shows up. Bernie is making {{w|quesadilla}} in the {{w|Easy-Bake oven}}. Howard and Raj come out on the deck to use the {{w|hot tub}}. He already knows that his wife has been hiding in the playhouse. They hear a {{w|cork}} pop so he figures that Penny also there.

Raj comes into the cafeteria asking why his project wasn’t funded. None of the top three were because a last minute proposal came in for a European-doped {{w|laser}}. Leonard bought it for himself since he was sure that everyone would be mad at him no wonder what he did. So he did it and got a laser.

While Leonard is explaining his new laser to Sheldon, he finds his car covered with intelligent crows that might be holding a grudge. They quickly leave.

Credits

 * Guest starring:
 * Joshua Malina as President Siebert
 * John Ross Bowie as Barry Kripke
 * Maribeth Monroe as Doctor Lee
 * Teleplay: Steve Holland, Dave Goetsch & Maria Ferrari
 * Story: Eric Kaplan, Anthony Del Broccolo & Alex Yonks

Critics

 * Caroline Preece at Den of Geek! - A few weeks after Penny revealed her lack of desire to have children and everyone reacted very poorly, she gets her chance to tell a judgmental Bernadette ‘I told you so’ and doesn’t take it! Opportunity comes when, completely overwhelmed by her challenging work and home lives, Bernadette takes to hiding in the kids’ playhouse every evening. After telling Howard that she has to work late, it’s the quiet solo time she’s been craving and, as soon as she confides in Penny, they decide to make it a group activity away from their husbands. Of course, they’re not the only married ladies in town anymore, and Amy soon catches wind of the ‘secret club’ they’ve established without telling her...Leonard gets his own storyline this week for a change, and its more or less a solo one. Given the responsibility of assigning grant money to one project at the university, he discovers that sometimes power can just make you feel even more powerless.


 * IMDb user reviews

Trivia

 * Bernadette is using her kids playhouse as her own private sanctuary in her own back yard. The rest of the posse joins her.
 * Leonard is now in charge of giving out some extra grant money at Caltech and every person is sucking up to Leonard to get their project funded.

Quotes
To be entered.