The Big Bang Theory 9×15 brought changes for all the show’s couples in tonight’s Valentine-themed episode.
“The Valentino Submergence” pulls its name from the rabbit which Howard and Bernadette discover, half drowned, in their new hot tub. The discovery ruins their romantic plans for the evening as they tend to “Valentino,” but the rather minuscule plotline culminates in Bernadette revealing to the audience that she is pregnant.
This revelation isn’t hugely surprising, given Howard and Bernadette’s very stable life stage, and the fact that The Big Bang Theory has gone nine years without a pregnancy storyline. Certainly, it will be interesting to see how the writers set up Bernadette telling Howard, and then the gang, the big news.
But given the show’s track record with its female characters, it’s a coin toss whether or not they will manage to treat the pregnancy with anything approaching respect. (Let’s save the worry for how they’ll handle an infant for another time.)
It’s also a bit deflating to see Bernadette won over to motherhood with so little effort. The character had been adamant on the issue of remaining childless in earlier seasons, and only recently agreed to consider the idea. A shock, it’s not, as “childless by choice” is not usually given much respect on television, especially for women. But it would have been nice to see Bernadette agree to, for example, foster a child instead of an abruptly happy pregnancy.
In any case, Bernadette’s news is not the only change in The Big Bang Theory 9×15. At long, long last, Raj breaks up with Emily, only to immediately regret his decision when Claire (the new object of his affections) is neither interested nor available. It’s bittersweet to bid farewell to Laura Spencer, who is always fun to watch, but Emily has long since felt like an afterthought for the writers. Let’s all move on to better things.
Raj’s post-breakup depression leads him to call in to Sheldon and Amy’s live-streamed episode of “Fun With Flags.” This was not in Sheldon’s plans, so he throws a tantrum as Amy attempts to console Raj. When she reminds Sheldon how painful their breakup was, he delivers a nice piece of classic, unearned Sheldon wisdom about how their time apart made his and Amy’s relationship stronger. (We’d buy it, if The Big Bang Theory demonstrated it was true.)
Finally, The Big Bang Theory 9×15 took a cue from Friends and gave Penny a minor aging crisis. This is an inevitable move for shows that stretch to such extended years, and it’s handled tolerably well here; in any event, Penny’s anxieties are stated without being dwelt on for very long. However, it must be said that confetti and costumes aren’t a particularly good look on Leonard.