The Meemaw Materialization

"The Meemaw Materialization" is the fourteenth episode of the ninth season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. This episode first aired on Thursday, February 4, 2016.

Summary
Meemaw visits Pasadena and gets to meet Amy. Meemaw seems to have an axe to grind with her over the breakup. Sheldon comes to Amy's defense, but not before Meemaw lets a little secret of his slip out -- that he has an engagement ring for Amy. Raj meets a cute blonde woman named Claire who wants to work with him.

Extended Plot
Entering the lobby to get his, Sheldon tells Leonard and Penny an interesting mail fact. If someone breaks his right outside of the, they are under the jurisdiction of the Pasadena. If it's his left thumb is in the mailbox, that is under and the  would be involved. Leonard quips to Penny that if he were to go to, it would be because he ed Sheldon. Sheldon receives a from his Meemaw that he lets Penny sniff. , and, which Penny describes as ""Grandma" by Calvin Klein". In letter she describes how she got a new set of and then found her old ones and that she is coming to visit.

At the Sheldon checks up on her on the  that was unknowingly slipped into her luggage by Sheldon's sister. Meemaw walks into the waiting room calling Sheldon Moonpie. Leonard is pleased to meet her and also calls her Meemaw. Sheldon snaps at Leonard that he has to call her Constance and that he should call his grandmother Meemaw, even though she died when Leonard was 4 years old. Meemaw makes him. Leonard asks her if she could live with them forever.



At the comic book store, Howard and Raj are in a long discussion about the attributes of the movie "". A cute  next to them adds her own  in their argument and then joins in. She is shocked that they had been arguing about it for an.

Meemaw is resting in Sheldon's spot after what she describes as 800 flights of stairs. Sheldon things that her huffing and puffing was so cute. Sheldon gets really excited as Amy arrives to meets Meemaw. He is sure that they will hit it off since they both have the same sense. They both greet each other and Amy asks about her. Sheldon wants her to ask for a so that his grandmother can pull one out of her  just like grandma. Sheldon runs off to get her room ready, but not to look in her for any. He might find her and. Meemaw then gets with Amy. She came to to "size her up." Amy retorts that she'll probably like her once she gets to know her. Meemaw snaps that she better hope so. Sheldon runs in excited about the set that she brought him.

At the store, Raj and Howard sit down with the woman whose name is Claire and talk about the comic she was reading. Raj introduces himself and Howard. She is a //a month away from her. Raj admits that he is an which excites Claire. She wants to pick Raj's for her, an  film for. She give him her number and then takes off. Howard wonders about his girlfriend Emily. Raj is going to help Claire, but not mention it to his girlfriend.

Leonard and Penny have joined them in 4A. Meemaw turns down Penny's offer of, but does want her tall of. Amy asks why she calls him. He's so nummy-nummy she could just eat him up. Leonard and Penny join in the. Penny learned it ago while going through Meemaw's letters to Sheldon ("The Terminator Decoupling". Meemaw wants to know why Amy didn't know that. Sheldon replies that she never bothered to ask. "Now I know," snaps Amy. Meemaw talks to Penny about her new . She thinks it's wonderful that these modern  have it all. Amy has a job and a relationship that doesn't set well with Meemaw. Besides Sheldon takes a lot of caring for and Leonard's job is more of a  according to Sheldon. Amy tells her that maybe she knows more what Sheldon needs. Meemaw appreciates her honesty and tells her that she doesn't like her. Amy replies that maybe she doesn't like her. Sheldon gets upset that they have to like each other. Amy decides that she should leave. Meemaw exclaims that under no circumstances should he give her that . That stops a confused Amy. Sheldon admits that he has one. Amy asks Penny if she knew about it; however, the Hofstadters leave to give them privacy. Amy finds out that he has had it since before they. Meemaw reiterates that her is never going to be on this woman's finger. Sheldon doesn't want to correct her Meemaw and Amy says that she might not want to be engaged to Sheldon or have her old hand-me-downs. Sheldon argues that they have only known each other for less than a day and then wonders if their have synced. Meemaw tells Sheldon to leave so that the can talk.

While fixing, Bernadette summarizes Raj's dilemma as they met, exchanged and are meeting just to discuss her screenplay. That seemed okay with her. Howard insists that something was going on between them. "A little never hurt" replies Bernadette, "but don't you do it my dear ." Raj still wonders if Emily is the right person for him.

Leonard and Penny are in her apartment talking about Penny's. The most exciting thing about her was wondering if the from her  would fall into her  (she even ate it). Sheldon joins them and explains that Meemaw and Amy are having a private discussion. And he wants one of them to go over and get his train set.

While having dinner, Raj has decided to call Claire and also tell her that he is in a. Howard and Bernadette figure that he has decided to breakup with Emily. He gets Claire at her job and she wonders when he is free. Raj first wants to tell her that he has a. She thinks that that is great. Raj doesn't want to mislead her since she. It was only to discuss her screenplay she insists. Raj thought they had a vibe together which she reluctantly admits to. Raj asks them what his next move should be. Bernadette says that he still has a girlfriend. Raj agrees and es Claire good luck on her screen play. Claire wonders why to can't get together. Raj was already planning their. It's just, and if Raj  she promises to say no. She'll  him later. Raj is still not planning on telling Emily.

Amy tells Meemaw that she is still Sheldon best shot and that she has no idea how much she had to put up with. Meemaw replies that she knows her better than she thinks. She had to live with Sheldon's Pop-pop who was also a,. On some days, she wanted to fill his with  and throw him to the. Then why was she giving Amy such a hard time? She says it's because Amy broke up with him and it hurt him really deeply and she doesn't want that to happen again. The other guys return with Penny explaining that Sheldon has something to say. He disagrees, but then tells his grandmother that he has to defend his girlfriend. Amy is very thankful. Sheldon watched his grandparents and saw how she made his Pop-pop a better person. He has been working on improving Amy the last five years. Amy rephrases it as they have together. Sheldon gawks at it until Penny makes him agree. Meemaw concedes that if they feel that strongly, she won't stand in their way. Sheldon thanks here and then Amy asks if it's okay for Sheldon to give her the ring. Meemaw says, "I suppose" as Amy breaks into a big smile and strokes Sheldon's shoulder. He tells her to cool her. He just gave her his.

Raj is helping Claire at the comic book store. She doesn't want her screenplay to be too scary for children. Raj starts about having a  with her. The have a and  who is currently being fed by Claire. Raj is finishing explaining to his son how his parents met. Claire asks if he is ever going to tell Emily. He still plans to.

Credits

 * Guest starring:
 * June Squibb as Meemaw
 * Alessandra Torresani as Claire
 * Teleplay: Steven Molaro, Steve Holland & Tara Hernandez
 * Story: Chuck Lorre, Jim Reynolds & Maria Ferrari

Critics

 * Jesse Schedeen of IGN - The idea that Meemaw would finally appear in the flesh was an enticing one. Sadly, "The Meemaw Materialization" did very little with this long-awaited guest appearance....The conflict did take an interesting swerve when it became clear that Meemaw wasn't simply paying a friendly visit to Pasadena. It was interesting to see so much friction between Meemaw and her potential future granddaughter-in-law, especially since Amy is poorly equipped to handle that sort of situation on the best of days. But this conflict lost its edge when it was revealed that Meemaw was simply worried about Sheldon getting hurt again. That made the whole ordeal seem like a lot of fuss over nothing. Not to mention that Sheldon more than deserved that breakup, so seeing Amy taken to task for hurting his feelings was a little frustrating. The best that can be said for this storyline is that it forced Sheldon to choose between his devotion to his grandmother and his loyalty to his girlfriend.


 * IMDb user reviews

Trivia

 * Meemaw makes her first appearance in the show, played by June Squibb.
 * Meemaw's first name is Constance.
 * Amy finally finds out about the engagement ring. Penny didn't tell her.
 * Amy finally gets to meet a member of Sheldon's family while being his bona fide girlfriend. They had just met when Sheldon's mother got them back together in season 4.
 * New story arc for Raj - a love triangle involving new character Claire, played by Alessandra Torresani.
 * Meemaw, unfortunately, doesn't meet Raj, Bernadette and Howard throughout this episode.
 * Bernadette is only seen in two scenes at the kitchen of the Wolowitz house with Howard and Raj in this episode and each of those three folks (Bernadette, Howard and Raj) don't come to Apartment 4A to meet Meemaw with Sheldon, Amy, Leonard and Penny throughout this episode.
 * This is the first time where Bernadette meets no other member of Sheldon's family (which is Meemaw) as of this episode since the times where Bernadette still hasn't met Sheldon's mother since the previous season episode of "The Maternal Combustion" (S8E23) and her two absent appearances in Season 4's "The Zazzy Substitution" (S4E3) and Season 5's "The Rhinitis Revelation" (S5E6).
 * Bernadette, Raj and Howard share no Apartment 4A scenes with the 'Lenny' couple (Leonard and Penny) and the 'Shamy' duo (Sheldon and Amy) in this episode and those three gang members (Bernadette, Raj and Howard), unfortunately, don't meet Meemaw with Penny, Leonard, Amy and Sheldon throughout this episode either, which is similar to Penny, Leonard, Sheldon and Amy not coming to the Wolowitz house to meet Bernadette's father (Mike Rostenkowski) with Bernadette, Raj and Howard in the other season 9 episode "The Spock Resonance" (S9E7) or Howard's half-brother Josh Wolowitz in season 8's "The Fortification Implementation" (S8E20) (whom they should meet soon).
 * The Wolowitz's remodeled kitchen is seen for the first time.

Quotes

 * Sheldon: Here's a fun Postal fact. Yeah, the inner side of our mailbox is under federal jurisdiction. So, if you broke my right thumb, that's Pasadena city police. But if you broke my left thumb, that's the FBI.
 * Leonard: If I'm going to jail, I'm killing him, not breaking his thumb.
 * Penny: Yeah.
 * Sheldon: Oh, I got a letter from my Meemaw. Umm. Smell this.
 * Penny: What is that?
 * Sheldon: Uh, roses, bengay, and Dr. Scholls' foot powder.
 * Penny: Yeah, "Grandma", by Calvin Klein. Yeah, the last time I got a hand written letter, it was from someone who told me I parked like a blind person.
 * Leonard: That someone has a name.
 * Sheldon: Uh, thank you. Oh, Meemaw got a new set of teeth. Oh, but then she found her old ones. Oh, so now the new ones are just gonna be her church teeth. Fun.
 * Leonard: Like your Comic-Con Spock ears and your around the house Spock ears.
 * Penny: I park fine.
 * Sheldon: Oh, my goodness, she's coming to visit!
 * Leonard: Oh, it'll be nice to finally meet her.
 * Sheldon: Oh, you are going to love her. She is the kindest, sweetest woman you'll ever meet. Yeah, unless you're a gopher digging up her vegetable garden. In that case, you can expect to have your head bashed in with a shovel.


 * Bernadette: (she's very cross with Raj) Okay, so you met this girl, you exchanged numbers, and you're gonna meet up with her.
 * Raj: Just to help her with her screenplay.
 * Bernadette: Oh. Well, I guess that's not so bad.
 * Howard: You weren't there. He was really flirting.
 * Raj: Hey, it's not my fault if American women project their fantasies on foreigners with the kind of magical voice that grants wishes.
 * Bernadette: I'm sure it was harmless. People flirt. No big deal.
 * Howard: Really? So it's okay if I fl...
 * Bernadette: (crossly) Not you. I own your ass. The real question is, where are you with Emily?
 * Raj: Uh, it's hard to say. I think we're good, but things like this make me wonder if Emily's really the right person for me. I mean, did you guys ever have doubts about each other?
 * Howard: No. Never.
 * Bernadette: Absolutely.
 * Howard: What?
 * Bernadette: Howie, you forget how much of our early dates involved you doing magic and me doing this. (nodding with a fake smile.)
 * Howard: Fine. I had reservations about you, too.
 * Bernadette: No, you didn't.
 * Howard: No, I didn't.
 * Bernadette: Well, it doesn't matter now, 'cause I love how things worked out.
 * Howard: Me, too. And I think you're even more beautiful than this rose. (nods and fake smiles again)


 * Raj: Yeah, see, if you just change the story to the destruction of our galaxy, then a super massive black hole could work. This is great. Thank you so much. I just got to figure out a way for everyone to die that isn't too scary for children.
 * (cut to Raj's daydream)
 * Raj: And that's how Mommy and Daddy met.
 * Claire: Hey, did you ever tell Emily about us?
 * Raj: I will!


 * Sheldon: Are you comfortable?
 * Meemaw: Very. It’s nice to rest after 800 flights of stairs.
 * Sheldon: You were so cute huffin’ and puffin’. [Knocking.] There’s Amy. I know you’re gonna just hit it off. You have the same fashion sense. Hello. Come in, say hi to my Meemaw.
 * Amy: Hi. Nice to meet you. How was your trip?
 * Meemaw: Wonderful. And the pilot did such a good job, I gave him a butterscotch.
 * Amy: That’s great. And look at you, sitting in Sheldon’s spot. You’ know, I don’t even get to sit there.
 * Sheldon: Yeah. And you never will. Oh, hey, oh. Ask her to do the tissue thing. Do it, ask her.
 * Amy: Can I have a tissue?
 * Meemaw: Of course. (does the tissue trick: pulling one out of her sleeve)
 * Sheldon: [Laughs] Isn’t that the best? She’s like Grandma Spider-man.
 * Meemaw: He’s been saying that since he was little. I still don’t know what it means.
 * Sheldon: Oh well, you two sit down and get to know each other. I’ll get your room ready.
 * Meemaw: Oh, don’t you go looking through my suitcase for presents.
 * Sheldon: If I did, would I find any?
 * Meemaw: Maybe. But you might also find my brassieres and bloomers.
 * Sheldon: That’s a risk I’m willing to take.
 * Amy: Well, this is nice. He’s so excited to have you here and…
 * Meemaw: Okay. Now let’s you and me get something straight. He may think I came here to bake him cookies, but the real reason is to size you up.
 * Amy: S..s..size me up?
 * Meemaw: Sheldon’s mother may be okay with you, but I’m not so easy.
 * Amy: Well, I’m…I’m sure you’ll like me once you get to know me.
 * Meemaw: Oh, you better hope so.
 * Sheldon: A Texas Special cattle and calf car train set with authentic horn and bell! Thank you, Meemaw!
 * Meemaw: Oh, you’re welcome, Moonpie.
 * Sheldon: Amy, why don’t you look excited? You get to watch me play with it.


 * Penny: Constance, are you sure I can’t poor you some wine?
 * Meemaw: Oh, no wine for me. Sheldon’s bringing me my whiskey.
 * Sheldon: Here you go Meemaw. I made it just how you like—a lot in a glass.
 * Meemaw: Thank you, Moonpie.
 * Amy: Um, curious. Why do you call Sheldon “Moon Pie”?
 * Meemaw: Cause he’s so nummy-nummy…
 * Leonard & Penny: She could just eat him up.
 * Sheldon: And I call her Meemaw, because, well, just, well, look at her.
 * Meemaw: It’s interesting that Leonard and Penny know about his nickname and you don’t.
 * Amy: Oh, well, you know, now-now that I’m hearing it, it does sound familiar.
 * Sheldon: How could it? I never told you, and you never bothered to ask.
 * Amy: Well, now I know. Yeah.
 * Meemaw: Well, Penny I understand you have a new job.
 * Penny: Yes. I’m a pharmaceutical sales rep.
 * Meemaw: Oh, it’s so wonderful you modern gals can have it all. A husband and a full-time career.
 * Amy: I have a relationship and a full-time career, too.
 * Meemaw: That doesn’t bode well.
 * Amy: Why not? You-you just said its okay for her to work.
 * Meemaw: Well, Leonard doesn’t need as much tending to as Sheldon does. And as Moonpie explained, Leonard’s work is more of a hobby.
 * Leonard: (annoyed) That’s my best friend.
 * Amy: Look, I-I get your protective of your grandson, but he’s an adult know. Maybe I understand what he needs better than you.
 * Meemaw: I appreciate your honesty, dear.
 * Amy: Thank you.
 * Meemaw: And here’s some more honesty. I don’t like you very much.
 * Amy: Well, maybe I don’t like you either.
 * Sheldon: No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Y-you have to like each other. Well, we have a 4:30 reservation at Applebee’s.
 * Amy: I think I should leave.
 * Sheldon: But why? Other than you two fighting, we’re having such a good time.
 * Amy: The minute you left the room, your precious meemaw started giving me a really hard time. I don’t need this.
 * Meemaw: Let her go. And under no circumstance will you give her that engagement ring.
 * (Amy stops in her tracks)
 * Amy: What ring?
 * Leonard: Maybe we should give them some privacy.
 * Penny: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You go ahead. I’ll catch up with you.
 * Amy: You have an engagement ring?
 * Sheldon: Yes.
 * Amy: Penny, did you know about this?
 * Penny: All right, let’s go. [Hofstadters exit]
 * Amy: When did you get an engagement ring?
 * Sheldon: My mother gave it to me, and I had been thinking of giving it to you, but then we broke up.
 * Meemaw: Well, thank heavens for that.
 * Amy: Sheldon, will you please tell your grandmother to stay out of this?
 * Sheldon: Oh, I don’t think I could do that.
 * Meemaw: Sheldon, tell this girl that my ring will never be on her finger.
 * Sheldon: I’m going to opt out of that one, too.
 * Amy: Who said I even want to be engaged to him? And if I do, I..I don’t need your hand-me-downs.
 * Sheldon: All right, all right. Look, let’s all…let’s remain calm and analyze this situation. Now, I realize that you’ve only for less than a day, but is it possible this crankiness is because you cycles have synced?
 * Meemaw: You leave the room and let the grown-ups talk. Now.
 * Amy: You don’t speak to him like he’s a child.
 * Sheldon: Thank you. I’m gonna next door to play with Leonard.


 * Amy: Look, I know you don’t think I’m right for Sheldon, but trust me. I’m his best shot. You have no idea how much I put up with!
 * Meemaw: I know more than you think I do.
 * Amy: Really? You know what it’s like to have date night ruined because Google changes their font?
 * Meemaw: Young lady, if you think I don’t know what it’s like to live with a stubborn egoistical man, then you’re wrong. ‘Cause that was my husband.
 * Amy: Really?
 * Meemaw: [Sigh.] There were days I wanted to fill his pockets with corn and toss him in the pigpen.
 * Amy: Well, if you understand, then why are you giving me such a hard time?
 * Meemaw: Because when you broke up with Sheldon, it hurt him deeply, and I don’t want to see that happen again.
 * Penny: Hi. Sorry. Sheldon would like to say something to you.
 * Sheldon: No. I wouldn’t.
 * Leonard: Just, get in here.
 * Sheldon: Hello.
 * Penny: Go ahead.
 * Sheldon: Meemaw, look. I’m sorry, but…I have to defend my girlfriend to you.
 * Amy: Oh, Sheldon, thank you.
 * Sheldon: Oh, great. Now you’re gonna get emotional. I always looked up to you and Pop-pop. I..I know what a challenging man he could be, but I saw how you stand by him and-and make him a better person.
 * Meemaw: I did.
 * Sheldon: Yeah, well that is exactly what I have been doing for the last five years with this little work in progress.
 * Leonard: He never disappoints, does he?
 * Amy: I think what Sheldon means to say is we’ve both grown together. Isn’t that right?
 * Sheldon: Well…
 * Penny: Say yes.
 * Sheldon: Yes.
 * Meemaw: Fine. If you feel so strongly, I won’t stand in your way.
 * Sheldon: Thank you.
 * Amy: So if he wanted to give me that engagement ring, we would have your blessing?
 * Meemaw: I suppose.
 * Sheldon: [Amy, smiles at Sheldon hoping to get engaged.] I just gave you my virginity, woman. Cool your jets.