The Relationship Diremption

"The Relationship Diremption" is the twentieth episode of the seventh season of the  The Big Bang Theory. The episode aired on April 10, 2014.

Summary
Sheldon is depressed over his lack of progress in his twenty years of work on string theory. Howard and Bernadette go out with Raj and Emily who had an earlier embarrassing date with Howard.

Extended Plot
In the Caltech cafeteria, the guys are discussing the recent primordial gravity wave discoveries recent discoveries. Their work on the big bang theory elevates those astrophysicists to the level of rock stars though without the sex. Sheldon is not impressed since work on gravity waves doesn't help the man on the street. Sheldon is really jealous because the origin of the universe has been explained and he has been working on String Theory for the last twenty years with no similar discoveries proving it. Sheldon claims that he has had other important things on his plate including watching show during this golden age of television. Kripke tells Sheldon that there is big sting theory news from work done at the Hadron Collider. Sheldon is interested until Kripke taunts him that the news is that Cooper will believe anything. Sheldon reminds him that he is also a string theorist. Kripke is really a string theory preagmatist where when there is something that can't be prove, he applies for grants and spends the money on liquor and blondes. Sheldon then wonders if he is wasting his life on something that can not be proven.

As Penny wakes up and heads for her morning coffee in apartment 4A, she finds Sheldon up early because he can't sleep. She asks what is bothering him and he doesn't feel that she would understand. Penny is still willing to listen. Sheldon feels he has wasted his life because he has concentrated on string theory since he has had no significant discoveries making him feels like a fool. Even though Penny didn't understand all the jibber-jabber in the middle, she admits that she knows what it feels like to put your heart and soul into something and get nothing out of it. Sheldon asks if she talking about her failed attempts in her acting career, going back to college or the lack of progress with her relationship with Leonard. Those were not the things that Penny was thinking about. His string theory work sounded like a relationship. Penny has had many failed relationships and that she just has to put them behind her and have the courage to move on. Leonard comes in blowing is nose loudly and asking what was going on. Sheldon then tells her to break it off and move on.

At Caltech, Raj is describing how his dating life two women is going. Lucy learned about Emily and can't handle it, so he is down to dating just Emily. Howard wants to meet Emily before Raj screws it up. Sheldon bring in a box of his old string theory books offering them to his friends. Since Penny compared his string work to a relationship, Sheldon read in Cosmopolitan magazine that one way to get over a relationship is to get rid of all reminders of that relationship. He would have burned them as suggested, but then smell would remind him too much of church picnics in East Texas. He reminisces over a doodle he made based upon his work for his dissertation, gets upset and runs away. Howard then kids Raj asking him if he was still together with Emily.

Howard and Raj are playing a video game at Raj's Apartment and tells him that he and Bernadette are free the next night for dinner. Dinner is fine with Raj, but he doesn't want Howard kidding him about his extremely close relationship with his dog or that hs took ballet. Howard is still convinces that Emily is a blow up rubber doll.

Sheldon is now considering a makeover, which was also suggested by Cosmo so Penny is giving him a new hair cut. Leonard thinks that his old look is "well groomed ventriloquist doll". Sheldon wants to look like a cross between Bill Gates and Nikola Tesla, however, Penny just styles it for him. Leonard wonders what new work Sheldon is going to pursue. Sheldon suggests black holes and dark matter. Penny doesn't understand what dark matter is and neither does Leonard according to Sheldon. She finishes with Sheldon's hair and both Leonard and Penny think that he looks good. Sheldon sees himself as a member of a scientific boys' band as the dreamy one and the smart one. Amy show up and doesn't like his new cute look. All the girls are now going to go after him since he looks like sex on a stick. Sheldon agree that he looks too hot.

Howard and Bernadette are waiting in the restaurant for Raj and Howard is hoping that Raj doesn't blow it with Emily. When they get there, Howard recognizes Emily from a previous embarrassing escapade. She thinks she remembers him from spin class. Raj wonders when Howard had ever gone to spin class. Emily is a dermatology medical resident. She may have seen Howard because he was an astronaut who went to the space station. Finally Emily remembers that they had had a blind date four years before. Howard who was sick that night, clogged up her toilet and he was so humiliated that escaped through the bathroom window like Lucy would do. She also didn't get back her apartment deposit back. Howard apologizes profusely. She is cool about it and says that all her girlfriends loved the story and call him "Clog-zilla". Then he becomes the butt of Raj's jokes. Later Bernadette wonders why she got into dermatology. Emily likes to cut into people and in all other circumstances that is illegal. Raj loves her because she is scary, but "cute" scary. The bathroom incident is still bothering Howard, however, Bernadette assures him that everyone else has moved on. Howard then mentions that the restaurant could have filled up his soup bowl more causing everyone to snicker about his problem with the overflowing toilet bowl.

While Penny, Leonard and Amy have dinner, Sheldon is going through the books in the bookcase looking for a new field to work on. He also finds a geology book in the bookcase and describes geology as the Kardashians of science. Amy and Leonard suggest other fields that Sheldon could get into including Loop Quantum Gravity Theory which he used to argue with Leslie Winkle about and still has no respect for. Penny feels that he shouldn't rush into something new and maybe something will find him. Sheldon thinks that that isn't bad advice. He got into string theory because that was the biggest book some bullies could find to hit him with. String theory found him. Penny gets the guys to toast to Sheldon's new found freedom. Finally Amy puts a drunken Sheldon to bed.

The next morning Sheldon wakes up horrified looking at the pillow next to him. No it wasn't Amy. He fell asleep reading the geology book. A hung over Sheldon comes out carrying the offending book and Leonard asks Sheldon to introduce him to his friend. Sheldon denies that the book is his friend. Leonard teases him that he was very loud last night reading from the book. Sheldon is treating it like he had a one night stand. After he learns that Amy put him to bed, he wants to call her to apologize. Then he finds out that he left multiple phone messages for Stephen Hawking.

Having lunch together, Howard and Sheldon are both down over their embarrassing previous evening's activities. Sheldon tells him the story of a king that has a ring made up that would make him happy when he was sad. On the ring was inscribed. "And this too will pass. Barry Kripke then comes in and mocks Sheldon about calling Hawking and calls Howard "Quod-zilla". Finally several of the messages Sheldon left are heard on Hawking's answering machine. Stephen Hawking can be heard calling him a jackass.

Critics
To be entered.

Trivia

 * Sheldon looks down upon geology again after "The Pants Alternative" (S3E18) and "The Skank Reflex Analysis" (S5E01). The former of which he also got into an embarrassing scientific situation due to alcohol.
 * This is the second time Sheldon has let Penny change his hair; the first was in "The Werewolf Transformation".
 * Again, Sheldon humilates himself after drunk. The first time is in "The Pants Alternative" (S3E18).
 * Sheldon again berates Loop Quantum Gravity Theory, which he used to argue about with Leslie Winkle who specialized in that field.
 * Howard at first might be kidding Raj about his foibles at dinner and ends up to be one being joked about.
 * Howard and Raj are seen playing Killer Instinct (2013) at Raj's house.  No game footage was shown, but certain sound effects from the game can be heard if listened to closely and an opened case of the game can be seen next to Raj's television.  In reality, there is no retail version of the game and is available for digital download only.
 * On a date with Emily four years earlier, Howard escapes through her bathroom window just like Raj's ex Lucy used to do.

Quotes

 * Sheldon: Am I wasting my life on a theory that can never be proven?


 * Penny: What do you think?
 * Sheldon: I suppose I can see myself in a scientific boy band, and of course, I'd be the dreamy one and the smart one.


 * Stephen Hawking: What a jackass.