The Proposal Proposal

"The Proposal Proposal" is the first episode and season premiere of the eleventh season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. The episode aired on Monday, September 25, 2017.

Summary[]

Howard and Bernadette find out they are expecting a second child, while Amy gives her answer to Sheldon's sudden marriage proposal.

Extended Plot[]

Following a surprising kiss from Dr. Ramona Nowitzki, Sheldon hops on a plane and travels across the U.S. to Princeton University to propose to Amy. Amy finds Sheldon on his knee and he asks her to marry him. Immediately Sheldon's phone rings and he answers it to not be rude to the callers, Leonard and Penny. Amy wonders why he is answering his phone at that moment while the Hofstadters want to know where Sheldon has been. Sheldon explains about the kiss which shocks everyone, including Amy, and how that made Sheldon realize that Amy was the only woman he wanted to kiss for the rest of his life, which pleases her. Also before he left he consulted Stephen Hawking and asked Amy's father for her hand. Penny is excited about them being engaged; however, Sheldon replies that she hasn't yet answered the question. An irritated Amy tells Sheldon "Because you're on the phone!" Sheldon realizes what he is doing and tells Leonard and Penny that he'll call them back. After a brief pause, he immediately continues the call explaining that she said yes. Lenny cheers!

A date? She hopes that that will be the last time he asks.

First Sheldon calls his mother who is very happy for them. Sheldon explains how Ramona's kiss made him realize that Amy was the only woman for him. Mary wonders that since two women wanted Sheldon, that maybe she had been praying too hard. Afterwards she tells God that what just happened to Sheldon was a mighty impressive miracle.

Both Raj and Howard are excited about the news. Bernadette explains that she doesn't believe it, but she is actually responding to a positive pregnancy test. Halley is going to be a sister!

Penny and Bernadette are having tea in 4A, while Bernie doesn't seem to be paying attention to Penny's musings about Sheldon wanting a Star Trek themed wedding. Bernadette drops the pregnancy news to Penny who tries not to freak out like Bernie had asked her to. Penny tries to make her friend feel good about her new blessing. Then they both change their tone and wonder what she was thinking about doing it again.

Back in Amy's apartment, Sheldon is booking a plane back to Pasadena, as he only intended to come for the proposal. Amy wants him to stay a few days, which he agrees to after she suggests he can gets some clothes at a nearby comic book store. Amy is having dinner that night with two of her colleagues and she wants them to meet her fiancée. They playfully kid each other that they aren't even married yet and she is already nagging him.

Back in Pasadena, the gang is having lunch and they notice Dr. Nowitzki eating alone. Raj goes over to give her the news about the engagement, though she already knows. Raj again twice asks her out and that it's her last chance. She hopes that it will be the last time. Raj makes a hasty retreat.

Howard enters the kitchen and Bernadette shows him her positive pregnancy test. After exchanging a series of no's and yes's, Bernadette says that they are both responsible adults and that they can handle it. Howard asks whether she is sure about that and then Bernadette screams, No!"

Raj goes to the comic book store to buy Sheldon an engagement gift. Stuart is excited though he is peeved that the couple had not called him. Stuart suggests a statue of Superman and Wonder Woman. Raj turns bitter about their engagement and asks if he has something for someone who is bitter and alone. Anything in the store!

At dinner, Sheldon meets Amy's colleagues as she gets goose bumps introducing her fiancé. They are excited to meet Sheldon, but only want to talk about Amy's work. As usual Sheldon wants to talk about himself. They do ask about Sheldon's military project, but he can't discuss it since it's classified.

Returning to Amy's apartment, Sheldon is complaining that her friends were rude because they only wanted to talk about her and not him. Amy doesn't have a problem with them talking about her work and then challenges him that he isn't always the smartest person in the room. And he might not be the smartest person in the apartment suggests Amy. Sheldon sarcastically asks if Neil deGrasse Tyson was behind the couch. Amy storms off to the bedroom; while Sheldon looks for another room to storm off to since the apartment has only one bedroom.

In apartment 4A, Howard and Bernadette are having dinner with Leonard and Penny. Bernadette describes their news as a surprise coming with crying and yelling, and Howard's turned down suggestion of sex even though they couldn't be more pregnant. Then, she realizes that it is a gift, even though Howard remarks that they already have one. Leonard and Penny assure them that Bernadette and Howard are amazing parents and that they will do anything to help; except as Bernadette suggests, have their own baby so they can go through it together. Leonard and Penny plan to have one when they're ready or when she is planning to leave him over the subject.

Raj continues to talk to Stuart about his bitterness since both of them are alone. Stuart then mentions that he has a date with someone and he goes to it.

Sheldon ends up discussing his argument with Amy with Stephen Hawking. Sheldon ways in that his dinner companions were in the present of a world class mind and all they wanted to talk about was themselves. Professor Hawking can't get Sheldon to see the irony in his statement.

Back in 4A, Penny comes home to Leonard holding a chocolate cake with sprinkles. Penny wants to know if it's their anniversary, and Leonard says that he wants to celebrate them, since there is so much going on in their friends' lives. He didn't want her to feel sad about them having nothing for the moment. She is grateful and still takes the cake while Leonard realizes that they both did forget their anniversary. Penny turns around with chocolate icing on her face and wishes him a happy anniversary.

At Princeton, Sheldon apologizes to Amy using the example of Iron Man appearing in a Captain America movie. He can make a movie cameo without being mad that it isn't an Iron Man movie. Sheldon should have handled dinner in such a manner. Amy thanked him. Sheldon had acted like the Hulk, though Amy quickly cuts off his Avenger metaphors. Sheldon says that he is proud of Amy and that they are a team like...um...the Los Angeles Dodgers. After embracing, he agrees to go back to Pasadena so she can experience the spotlight for herself. Amy replies that he just wants to return where everyone makes a fuss over him. He replies that her colleagues are right and that she is brilliant. They kiss.

Three months later the rest of the gang are excited to see Amy and gush over her engagement ring. Amy spies Ramona and goes over to talk to her. Raj fears that something bad is going to happen, much like when his Aunt Noopur showed up at the family reunion wearing the same sari as his cousin. Ramona is nervous as she greets Amy. Amy hugs her thanking her as a confused Ramona returns the hug. The guys are equally shocked.

Credits[]

Guest starring:
- Laurie Metcalf as Mary Cooper
- Stephen Hawking as Himself
- Riki Lindhome as Ramona Nowitzki
- George Wyner as Dr. Zane
- Susan Chuang as Dr. Harris
Teleplay: Steve Holland, Maria Ferrari & Tara Hernandez
Story: Chuck Lorre, Eric Kaplan & Jeremy Howe

Notes[]

Title Reference: Sheldon proposes to Amy.
Taping date: August 15, 2017
This episode was watched by 17.65 million people with a rating of 4.1 (adults 18–49).
Total viewers including DVR users 23.08 million.
The Big Bang Theory was ranked #4 for the week ending 1 October 2017.
This episode aired in Canada on September 25, 2017.
Chuck Lorre's vanity card. [1]

Critics[]

Caroline Preece at Den of Geek! - Amy's answer to Sheldon's proposal was obvious to anyone with even a passing familiarity with The Big Bang Theory's most recent seasons. The couple's trajectory has been stretched out so far already that there really isn't anything else the writers could do with them aside from break them up yet again...Tired as it is watching Sheldon not understand his own arrogance and narcissism and then apologizing for it later, it's a decent establishing plot for the premiere on this new season and their relationship's next stage. I’ve long assumed that the show would end with Sheldon and Amy's wedding, so that would mean that this engagement will last as long as the series does...Leonard and Penny's story thread is as brief and background as it ever is, but it also spawns one of the best scenes of the episode...The Big Bang Theory universe is not going anywhere anytime soon and...it's happy to simply tread water until it's shown the door. [2]
IMDb user reviews

Trivia[]

Amy says yes to Sheldon's marriage proposal, and thus, they become engaged.
Amy's father is mentioned again for the second time in the show after having been mentioned for the first time ever in "The Emotion Detection Automation" (S10E14).
Mary Cooper and Ramona Nowitzki return in this episode.
- This is the last season premiere episode that Mary appears in after "The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation" (S3E1), "The Matrimonial Momentum (S9E1), and "The Conjugal Conjecture" (S10E1). This is also the third time in a row.
Stephen Hawking made his last appearance on the show before his passing on March 14, 2018.
Howard and Bernadette are expecting another baby and Halley will have a sibling. This story development was introduced to deal with the real-life pregnancy of actress Melissa Rauch (and is likely why Bernadette is mostly on bed rest in subsequent episodes). On December 4, 2017, she announced on Instagram that she had given birth to a girl, Sadie.
Raj complained about being lonely when he asked out Ramona twice.
Two new characters Dr. Zane and Dr. Harris appeared in this episode. They were portrayed by George Wyner and Susan Chuang respectively.
This is the second episode in which the title has the same word repeated twice after the Season 9 finale ("The Convergence Convergence").
This is the first time since "The Deception Verification" (S7E2) that Bernadette speaks nicely to Leonard without any bad talk after, a span of 95 episodes. Bernadette speaks to Leonard sweetly and smiles at him with nothing terrible happening afterwards, so this also shows that she truly loves and cares for him, like in "The Conjugal Conjecture" when she says "the love we have for them" with the 'we' referring to herself and the attendees and the 'them' referring to Leonard and Penny.
When Howard discovered Bernadette's second pregnancy, she shot down his offer of makeup sex. In the series finale "The Stockholm Syndrome", a pregnant Penny accepted Leonard's request for sex. Both Howard and Penny make the statement that "[they] can't get more pregnant".
Ramona shows up to push Sheldon into acting on his relationship with Amy. Many times the writers have brought on characters to provoke actions in the main characters like when Alex and Priya were brought in to make Penny appreciate Leonard.
- Ramona is the second character after David Gibbs to help the Shamy relationship move forward.
This episode aired exactly ten years and one day after the pilot episode.
This episode begins with a recap of the last episode, the season 10 finale. This time it segues directly into the beginning of the episode in Amy's apartment, with the usual "and now..." text appearing over the scene, which picks up directly where the last episode ended, with no transition in between.
Dr. Nowitzki gets nervous when Amy approaches her, not knowing what the former girlfriend (now fiancée) would do to her, only to be relieved when she only hugs and thanks her.
Many scenes in this episode were in the season 12 premiere trailer.

Quotes[]

Sheldon: [talking to Stephen Hawking via Skype] They've had one of the greatest minds in the world sitting next to them, and all they wanted to talk about was their stupid nonsense!

Hawking: Do you see the irony in that sentence? How about now? (pause) How about now? (pause) How about now? (pause) I'll wait.

Amy: [noticing Ramona sitting at a table nearby] Is that the woman who kissed Sheldon?

Leonard: Maybe. Tell us about Princeton.

Amy: Excuse me. Dr. Nowitzki?

Ramona: [looking up at Amy] Oh. Dr. Fowler. Hello.

Amy: [hugging Ramona] Thank you, thank you so much. [Ramona nervously pats Amy's arm with a smile]

Penny: You asked Stephen Hawking and not her father?

Sheldon: Stephen Hawking's a genius. If he said no, I wasn't gonna waste my time on her father.

Amy: But you did ask my father?

Sheldon: I did. He said yes. (Amy smiles) Although not in a robot voice, so it wasn't nearly as cool.

Penny: Okay. Oh, my god, I can't believe you guys are engaged.

Sheldon: Well, we're not engaged yet. She's taking forever to answer.

Amy: (irked) Because you're on the phone!

Sheldon: We'll call you back. (he hangs up; Leonard hangs up his end, as well; a second later, the phone rings) She said yes.

Leonard/Penny: (both excited) Congratulations!/Yay!

(Sheldon and Amy kiss)

Sheldon: There's something I need to say to you.

Amy: I'm listening.

Sheldon: I've been thinking about the Avengers.

Amy: I believe that. But I don't think that's something you needed to say to me.

Sheldon: I realized that Iron Man is great. And also, that Captain America is great. And sometimes, Iron Man is in a Captain America movie, and he's not mad it's not an Iron Man movie. You know, he can fly in, give the audience a thrill, and then fly away. And that should've been me tonight. I should have been the delightful cameo in your movie.

Amy: Thank you, Sheldon.

Sheldon: Instead, I was like the Hulk, and I...

Amy: Okay, please stop talking about the Avengers.

Sheldon: Will you marry me? (his phone rings) One moment, please.

Amy: (incredulous) Really? You're gonna answer that right now?

Sheldon: It's Leonard. I don't want to be rude.

Leonard: Hey, where you been? We've been calling you for hours.

Sheldon: Oh, I'm sorry. My phone was on "airplane" mode.

Leonard: Why?

Sheldon: Because I was on an airplane. (he gives Amy a "duh" look)

Penny: Put it on speaker. (Leonard puts his cell on speakerphone) Hey, where are you?

Sheldon: I came to Princeton to see Amy. It's a funny story, actually. I was having lunch with Dr. Nowitzki, and she kissed me.

Penny: Excuse me?

Leonard: What?

Amy: I'm sorry?

Sheldon: And in that moment, I realized that Amy was the only woman I ever wanted to kiss for the rest of my life. So, I came to New Jersey to ask her to marry me.

Leonard/Penny: (chuckles)/Aw that's so sweet.

Amy: (touched) Sheldon...

Sheldon: Although, there was one man's blessing I needed first.

Sheldon: Mother, I have some good news to share.

Amy: [giddily] We're engaged!

Mary Cooper: I am so happy for you two, but I'm not surprised. I've been praying for this.

Sheldon: Well, God had nothing to do with it. It happened because I was kissing another woman, and it made me realize I wanted to be with Amy.

Mary Cooper: More than one woman was interested in you? I might have prayed a little too hard.

Sheldon: I want to let you know right now that we are not getting married in a church.

Mary Cooper: That's all right, Sheldon. Anywhere Jesus is is a church.

Sheldon: Well, he won't be at our wedding.

Mary Cooper: He's in my heart, so if I'm there, he'll be there.

Sheldon: Okay, well, then he's your plus-one. You don't get to bring anyone else.

Mary Cooper: That's fine. Love you.

Sheldon: Love you, too. Bye.

Mary Cooper: [they hang up] Lord, thank you. Even though you can do anything, that was mighty impressive.

Sheldon: We're engaged.

Raj: Oh, my god, that's amazing! Wait, uh, tell me everything.

Sheldon: Well, Dr. Nowitzki was kissing me...

Amy: Okay, you can stop leading with that part of the story.

Howard: [on the phone with Sheldon] Well, congratulations. I'm so happy for you two. Hold on, I have to tell Bernadette. [knocking on the closed bathroom door. Hey, Bernie, guess what? Sheldon and Amy got engaged. Can you believe it?

Bernadette: [staring in worry at a pregnancy test] Oh, my god. I cannot believe it.

Howard: [obliviously] She's so happy... I think she's crying.

Bernadette: Look, I'm gonna tell you something, but you can't freak out because I'm already freaking out.

Penny: Oh, my god. What is it?

Bernadette: I'm pregnant again.

Penny: Wha... (realizing she's about to freak out, she composes herself) Interesting.

Bernadette: Howard's gonna lose his mind.

Penny: Wait, you haven't told him yet?

Bernadette: No.

Penny: (touched) You told me first? Oh, Bernie!

Bernadette: This wasn't supposed to happen. We were careful.

Penny: Yeah, I didn't even think you could get pregnant while you were breastfeeding.

Bernadette: Well, guess what? You can.

Penny: Okay, look... look, this is a good thing. Halley's gonna have a little brother or sister to play with.

Bernadette: I guess that would be pretty cute.

Penny: And, you know, I was a surprise to my parents, and my dad said it was the best thing that ever happened to them.

Bernadette: Okay. Maybe this baby actually is a blessing.

Penny: Oh, my god, honey, of course it is.

Bernadette: (pause) How am I pregnant again?

Penny: Yeah, what were you thinking?

Sheldon: Alright, I'm all checked in for my flight.

Amy: Well, I'm sad you're leaving. Why'd you only book a flight for one day?

Sheldon: I came here to propose. If you'd said no, I wouldn't want to stick around looking at your stupid face. (seeing her expression) Now, mind you, your face is only stupid in the "no" version of the story.

Amy: (happy) But I said yes, so I get a lifetime of this.

Sheldon: Yes, you do, smart face.

Amy: Why don't you stay a few extra days?

Sheldon: Well, I don't have any other clothes.

Amy: We'll get you some.

Sheldon: Oh, I don't know. I'm pretty particular.

Amy: Well, there's a comic book store less than a mile from here.

Sheldon: Perfect. Let's go shopping.

Amy: I'm having dinner with some colleagues tonight. I'm sure they'd love to meet you. (he lets out a moan of disinterest) Come on, what do you say?

Sheldon: Aw, you're nagging me. It's like we're already married.

Amy: Is that a yes or a no?

Sheldon: Jeez, save some for the honeymoon.

Raj: Now that Sheldon's out of the picture, I could give you one more chance to go out with me.

Ramona Nowitzki: Nope. I'm good.

Raj: You sure? I will not ask again.

Ramona Nowitzki: I sincerely hope not.

Raj: Very well. I'm going to leave before this gets awkward.

Amy: Sheldon, these are the heads of my research team.

Sheldon: (shaking hands) Hello.

Amy: Dr. Zane, Dr. Harris, this is my fiancé, Dr. Sheldon Cooper. That's the first time I've said that, and it kind of gave me the goosebumps.

Dr. Harris: Dr. Cooper, we are so excited to meet you.

Sheldon: Oh. Well, that's very kind of you. If you'd like, I could autograph your menus after dinner, yeah? But I'd better not see those on eBay.

Dr. Zhang: [he laughs] No, no, no. We're just excited to meet the man who landed this brilliant woman here.

Sheldon: Oh! That wasn't hard. She threw herself at me. Now, getting the universe to show me her naughty bits, that... that took some doing.

Dr. Zhang: I'm sorry, I'm sure you don't want to sit here and listen to a bunch of work talk.

Sheldon: Oh, no, I love it. No, but let's talk about work. Amy's work, my work. You know what? Why don't we start with my work?

Dr. Harris: Actually, I do have a question for Dr. Cooper. When Amy first told you about her approach to synaptic tracing, did you think it was gonna revolutionize the field?

Sheldon: I d... really? That's your question? What are you, "Entertainment Tonight"? You know what? I'm gonna give you a better question. Here, um... "Dr. Cooper, I heard you were working on a top-secret project for the U.S. military. Why don't you tell us about that?". See, that's a great question.

Dr. Harris: Okay, what was that like?

Sheldon: Oh, I can't tell you that. It's top secret.

Sheldon: Boy, that was exhausting. You know, no offense, but your colleagues were pretty rude.

Amy: Really? They were rude?

Sheldon: Yes. They just kept talking about you and how great you are, no matter how many times I brought me up.

Amy: You know, these are my colleagues, and they want to talk about my work. Why does that bother you so much?

Sheldon: Because I was there. It's like having Optimus Prime over to dinner and not asking him to turn into a truck.

Amy: You know what, Sheldon? You're not always the smartest person in every room. You may not even be the smartest person in this room.

Sheldon: Oh, I am sorry. What, is Neil deGrasse Tyson hiding behind the couch? 'Cause if he is, he's not that smart; it's pretty dusty back there. (Amy storms off) Hey, where are you going?

Amy: I'm storming off to my room.

Sheldon: Wait, where am I supposed to storm off to?

Amy: Well, you're so smart. Why don't you figure it out?

Sheldon: (looking around as her door closes) Is there another bedroom? Perhaps a... a den?

Leonard: So, how are you guys doing with all the new events in your... womb?

Bernadette: Good, you know? Obviously, it was a surprise. There was some crying and some yelling.

Howard: Some suggestion of make-up sex that did not go over well, even though it's not like we can get more pregnant.

Bernadette: But then we realized that it's a gift, in the sense that we didn't ask for it, and we may not have chosen it...

Howard: And we already have one.

Penny: You know, whenever I find a top I like, I always go back and get a second one in a different color. [realizing what her statement sounds like] Which I hope is not the case for your baby.

Leonard: I know you guys are freaked out, but you're great parents, and if you ever need help, we are here for you.

Penny: Yeah. Anything at all, just ask.

Bernadette: Ooh, you know what you could do? You could have a baby, too.

Penny: (crossly through a smile) I'm sorry, what?

Howard: No, that's a great idea. We could go through it together. Wouldn't that be fun?

Leonard: You guys were just saying how freaked out and miserable you are.

Bernadette: I say a lot of crazy things. I'm pregnant and hormonal. Do it! Have a baby, do it!

Howard: Come on, it'd be so cute, our kids playing together? What do you say? Why don't you two hit the old mattress and whip up a family?

Penny: Okay, we're not gonna have a baby just to make you guys feel better.

Leonard: Yeah. If we're gonna have a baby, it's gonna be when we are ready, or when I'm certain Penny is gonna leave me.

Penny: Exactly.

(Penny gives Leonard her hand, which he kisses)

Leonard: [offering Penny a cake] Surprise!

Penny: Oh, crap. Is it our anniversary?

Leonard: No. Wait. [thinking for a moment] No.

Penny: No. All right, so what are we celebrating?

Leonard: Well, you know, Bernadette and Howard are pregnant again, and Amy and Sheldon are getting married. I didn't want you to feel left out.

Penny: Oh. Left out? Well, Bernadette has to grow a baby inside of her, and Amy has to marry one. My life is great.

Leonard: So, do you not want the cake?

Penny: [he moves to take it back] Try and take it away, see what happens.

Leonard: [pulling his phone out of his pocket and checking it] Oh, crap. It is our anniversary.

Penny: [through a mouthful of cake] Happy anniversary!

Sheldon: I'm proud of you. And I'm going to try to do a better job of sharing the spotlight, because we're a team. You know? Much like... t-the Dodgers. If they had superpowers, and fought crime. And Thor was in them.

Amy: Sheldon, I know this isn't easy, but you'll have a whole lifetime to practice.

Sheldon: I... it could take that long. I'm really bad at it. [they hug] You know, maybe, um, I should start right now and go back to Pasadena and let you have this experience to yourself.

Amy: You just want to go back 'cause that's where everybody makes a fuss over you.

Sheldon: You know, your colleagues are right. You are brilliant.

Stuart: Who would've thought that Sheldon and Amy would be the next two to tie the knot?

Raj: Tell me about. I'm the one who caught the bouquet at Leonard and Penny's wedding.

Stuart: Okay. Uh, you know, they might like this. Superman and Wonder Woman, it's kind of romantic.

Raj: Hmm. You know what? Why am I buying them a gift? They have love. Screw them and their happiness. What do you have for: someone who's bitter and alone?

Stuart: (gesturing around the store) Literally everything.

Raj: They're my friends, and I should be happy for them. And... and I'm trying, but all I feel is this gnawing, empty sensation in my gut.

Stuart: I had that once. Turned out it was a tapeworm.

Raj: Cool. Uh... it's just... it's hard talking to my other friends about this, but I knew you'd understand.

Stuart: Why is that?

Raj: Because you and I are both alone, which is actually kind of comforting, because at least we can be alone together.

Stuart: Mmm. This is... this is awkward. I, um... I was actually gonna close up a little early tonight 'cause I have a date.

Raj: Really?

Stuart: Yeah.

Raj: Forgive me if I'm having trouble being happy for you.

Stuart: Don't be silly. I'm loving your pain.

Penny: Do you think Sheldon's gonna want some weird "Star Trek" wedding?